The List 7271
To All,
.Good Monday morning August 18….Still cloudy and 61. Clearing by 9 and headed to 84 by 2.
Busy day today
I hope that you all had a great weekend .
skip
.HAGD
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here to see the director's corner for all 92 H-Grams
August 18
1918—The first naval railway gun, a 14-inch, 50 caliber, Mark IV Navy gun mounted on a railway carriage, became operational in St. Nazaire, France during World War I. The "rail guns" operated until the end of the war.
1838—The Exploring Expedition led by Lt. Charles Wilkes embarks on a world cruise.
1908—The first Navy Nurse Corps superintendent, Esther Voorhees Hasson, is appointed. Under her leadership, 19 additional nurses are recruited and trained for naval service during 1908.
1943—USS Philadelphia (CL 41) and USS Boise (CL 47) and four destroyers shell Gioia, Taura, and Palmi on the Italian mainland.
1966—The first ship-to-shore satellite radio message is sent from USS Annapolis (AGMR 1) in the South China Sea to Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor.
1995—USS Tucson (SSN 770) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine is the second to be named for the city in Arizona.
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Today in World History: August 18
1587 In the Roanoke Island colony, Ellinor and Ananias Dare become parents of a baby girl whom they name Virginia, the first English child born in what would become the United States.
1590 John White, the leader of 117 colonists sent in 1587 to Roanoke Island (North Carolina) to establish a colony, returns from a trip to England to find the settlement deserted. No trace of the settlers is ever found.
1698 After invading Denmark and capturing Sweden, Charles XII of Sweden forces Frederick IV of Denmark to sign the Peace of Travendal.
1759 The French fleet is destroyed by the British under "Old Dreadnought" Boscawen at the Battle of Lagos Bay.
1782 Poet and artist William Blake marries Catherine Sophia Boucher.
1862 Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart's headquarters is raided by Union troops of the 5th New York and 1st Michigan cavalries.
1864 Union General William T. Sherman sends General Judson Kilpatrick to raid Confederate lines of communication outside Atlanta. The raid is unsuccessful.
1870 Prussian forces defeat the French at the Battle of Gravelotte during the Franco-Prussian War.
1898 Adolph Ochs takes over the New York Times, saying his aim is to give "the news, all the news, in concise and attractive form, in language that is permissible in good society, and give it early, if not earlier, than it can be learned through any other medium."
1914 Germany declares war on Russia while President Woodrow Wilson issues his Proclamation of Neutrality.
1920 Tennessee becomes the thirty-sixth state to ratify the nineteenth amendment granting women's suffrage, completing the three-quarters necessary to put the amendment into effect.
1929 The first cross-country women's air derby begins. Louise McPhetridge Thaden wins first prize in the heavier-plane division, while Phoebe Fairgrave Omlie finishes first in the lighter-plane category.
1939 The film The Wizard of Oz opens in New York City.
1942 Japan sends a crack army to Guadalcanal to repulse the U.S. Marines fighting there.
1943 The Royal Air Force Bomber Command completes the first major strike against the German missile development facility at Peenemunde.
1963 James Meredith, the first African American to attend University of Mississippi, graduates.
1965 Operation Starlite marks the beginning of major U.S. ground combat operations in Vietnam.
1966 Australian troops repulse a Viet Cong attack at Long Tan.
1969 Two concert goers die at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, New York, one from an overdose of heroin, the other from a burst appendix.
1973 Hank Aaron makes his 1,378 extra-base hit, surpassing Stan Musial's record.
1974 Luna 24, the USSR's final major lunar exploration mission, soft-lands on moon.
1979 Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini demands a "Saint War" against Kurds.
1982 Pete Rose sets record with his 13,941st plate appearance.
1987 Ohio nurse Donald Harvey sentenced to triple life terms for poisoning 24 patients.
1988 Republican Convention in New Orleans nominate the George H.W. Bush-Dan Quayle ticket.
1991 A group of hard-line communist leaders unhappy with the drift toward the collapse of the Soviet Union seize control of the government in Moscow and place President Mikhail S. Gorbachev under house arrest
1992 Dennis Rader, the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) killer receives 10 consecutive life sentences. He had terrorized Wichita, Kansas, murdering 10 people between 1974 and 1991.
1993 Historic Kapelbrug (chapel bridge) in Luzern, Switzerland, burns, destroying 147 of its decorative paintings. It was built in 1365.
2010 Edelmiro Cavazos, mayor of Santiago, Nuevo Leon, is found handcuffed, blindfolded and dead following his abduction three days earlier. He had championed crackdowns on organized crime and police corruption.
2011 Gold hits a record price of $1,826 per ounce.
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
August 18
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.
An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).
Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "for 18.August .
18-Aug: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=750
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
By: Kipp Hanley
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This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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Thanks to Al
Monday Morning Humor
Church
. Submitted by Mark Logan:
Church signs…
• Adam and Eve-The First People to Not Read the Apple Terms and Conditions
• Too Hot to Keep Changing the Sign—Sin Bad, Jesus Good, Details Inside
• Whoever Stole Our AC Units, Keep One, It Is Hot Where You're Going
• Be the Kind of Person Your Pet Thinks You Are
• Honk If You Love Jesus. Text While Driving If You Want to Meet Him
• Just Love Everyone, I'll Sort 'Em Out Later—God
• Catch Up with Jesus. Lettuce Praise & Relish Him. 'Cuz He Loves Me from My Head To-ma-toes
• Forgive Your Enemies-It Messes with Their Heads
• Tweet Others as You Would Like to Be Tweeted
• Jesus Is Watching but the Police Have Radar
• With All This Rain We Need an Ark. Fear Not! We Noah Guy!
• Forbidden Fruit Causes Many Jams!
Submitted by Dave Harris:
It was Palm Sunday and, because of a sore throat, five-year-old Johnny stayed home from church with a sitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm branches.
The boy asked what they were for. "People held them over Jesus' head as He walked by."
"Wouldn't you know it," the boy fumed, "the one Sunday I don't go, He shows up!"
A little boy in church for the first time watched as the ushers passed around the offering plates. When they came near his pew, the boy said loudly, "Don't pay for me daddy. I'm under five."
Submitted by John Hudson:
A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. Four worms were placed into four separate jars.
The first worm was put into a container of alcohol.
The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.
The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.
The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.
At the conclusion of the sermon, the minister reported the following results:
The first worm in alcohol - Dead
The second worm in cigarette smoke - Dead
Third worm in chocolate syrup - Dead
Fourth worm in good clean soil - Alive.
So the Minister asked the congregation, "What did you learn from this demonstration?"
Maxine was sitting in the back, quickly raised her hand and said, "As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!"
That pretty much ended the service.
This was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, CA . He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.' I wonder if any of us could have done as well?
(and he had such an assignment, in California , and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen!)
EXPLANATION OF GOD:
One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.
God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because He hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off.
God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.
Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista . At least there aren't any who come to our church.
Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like His father, and He told His father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.
His dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.
You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.
You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!
Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.
If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.
But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases.
And...that's why I believe in God.
Have a great week,
Al
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. Thanks to Dr. Rich
Thanks to Peter via Ken ...
World Famous North Island "I" Bar History:
Bachelor Officers Quarters, Building "I", was constructed as part of the original construction of Rockwell Field. Rockwell Field was the first permanent Army airfield in the United States named in honor of an Army pilot killed in 1912. Joint tenancy by the Army and the Navy from 1913 to the mid -30s ended by presidential executive order of Franklin Roosevelt in 1939. Prior to WW I, the Army sought the talents of renowned architect, Albert Kahn, famous for his "Spanish Colonial Revival" Style, to lay-out a basic field plan and start construction. Work stopped at the end of WWI with few structures completed. The old hangars 501, 502 and 503 along Quentin Roosevelt Blvd were part of the original construction. Additionally, Flag Officer quarters T, U and V on the southwest side of the runway were part of the original WWI construction. In 1932, the firm of Meed and Requa, funded by the Emergency Rehabilitation act of 1932, picked up on Kahn's theme with their "Mission and Spanish Revival" style and started the construction of Bachelor Officer Quarters, Building "I" and the Officers' closed Mess, building 515, located on the corner of Quentin Roosevelt Blvd and East "F" Street. Part of the Officers' Quarters was an Aviators' Bar located in Building "I." The Building "I" complex included a swimming pool, tennis courts, snack bar and adjacent garages. Note: these buildings and associated infrastructure were identical to the BOQ structures on March AFB.
BOQ, Building "I" and the "I" Bar were reserved for senior officers. By the mid-'60s, it had become a general pilots hang-out of unremarkable appearance with bare plaster walls and ceilings. In 1969, the bar was refurbished in the present "Sailing Ship" motif. Much of the original squadron patches and placards remain today. From the beginning of the "I" Bar, the piano was the center of attention...Doc Eugene Moyle was a regular at the keyboard assisted ably by Butch Bucciarelli. Later, Capt C.C Smith, CO of the USS Enterprise was a hit. Captain Smith became VADM C.C. Smith, Commander Naval Air Forces Atlantic Fleet.
In 1956, the "I" Bar was the location for the founding meeting of the Tailhook Association. The Tailhook Association is a U.S. , supporting the interests of sea-based aviation The term, Tailhook refers to the hook underneath the tail of the aircraft that catches the arresting wire suspended across the flight deck in order to stop the landing plane quickly.
The Association was formed by NAS North Island (now Naval Base Coronado)based active-duty Naval Aviators , eventually growing into a national organization headquartered in San Diego, California . During the Vietnam War , the annual Tailhook reunion and symposium provided opportunities for aircrews from the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets to exchange information about events and tactics in Southeast Asia. The discussions continue today to exchange information on lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I" Bar model aircraft collection: In 1969, one of the lady patrons asked if she could display one of her son's model aircraft. This started a collection of 225 models representing 220 distinct aircraft types. This is the most complete collection of U.S. Naval aircraft models to be seen outside a major museum. With the dedication and persistent work by Capt Bob Young, USN (Ret) and CDR Brad Bradford, USN (Ret), the model aircraft collection developed into the collection it is today.
Key to the success of the "I" Bar has been its outstanding and understanding Bartenders. The first was Walter Simmons, SDS (Ret), a Pearl Harbor survivor. There have been eight bartenders since Walter. They are Jan, Villa, Sherrie, Karen, Diane, Ernie and Tess. The current bartender Debbi is the pride of Naval Aviation and the "I" Bar.
Over the years there have been a number of patrons who have help to keep the spirit of the "I" Bar going. Some are, 2E Bates, Diz Laird (WW II Fighter Ace), Bob Young, and Brad Bradford. Former Commanders of the Naval Air Forces Pacific Fleet, VADM Mike Bowman, RADM Lyle Bull and his son RADM Del Bull, RADM Scotty Walker, RADM Don Baird, Ted Sexton, Bob "Bubbles" Nordgren, "Bullet" Bob Canepa, Greg Labuda, Evan Piritz, John Boyd, Butch Bucciarelli, Doc Moyle, and hundreds of active duty and retired flag officers, Squadron Commanding Officers, and Commanding Officers of North Island home ported Aircraft Carriers, and many more have lent their support to ensure its continued popularity.
The "I" Bar at Naval Air Station North Island is an outstanding and unique national historical resource and a rich Naval historical site.
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Grunt tales thanks to Shadow
. THE ROCKPILE
We always say we were at the Rockpile… but actually we were about three to four hundred meters north of it, almost inline with the southern end of the Razorback… just east of it.
The area was on top of some low knolls… that was covered with elephant grass in the beginning, but soon walked or scraped away. The only trees (really just saplings only about 15 to 20 feet high) I remember being in the perimeter… were on the south end of the hills, below the crest. It was in a cluster of some of these, on a finger of the south side of the hill, that Westerman ordered his CP tent to be pitched. Phouc and I set up our tent about 10 meters away. Beyond us about twenty meters away, was the Battalion CP itself. All this was just below the crest of the hill.
We had a full view of the Rockpile and with just a few steps up the hill, we could see the entire east end of the Razorback, the valley to the north… and the rolling mountains just northeast of us that we'd previously covered on our sweep back to Cam Lo. We didn't have a commanding view of everything, like the Rockpile itself, but it was a pretty good one.
Within days, the area was pretty built up. We had a "Four Deuce" mortar unit attached to us… and some other units, along with the first "Sniper Team" I worked with in Viet Nam.
The Four Deuce's fired a round that was almost or as big as a 105 round. Unlike the 82mm mortars, their rounds had no fins… and the propellant was not in little bags like on the 82's… but they had a metal rod on the back end of the round and there were these little yellow wafers, with a hole in the center… that slipped over the rod. They looked very much like a Kraft Cheese Singles packet, except they had a hole in the center. The more wafers slipped on the end of the rod… the farther the round would go. It could be that they came with the max number already on them (like the little bags on the 82's) and they removed wafers as necessary to reduce the charge.
What ever… These little suckers were volatile… I was over at the burn pile one day and these two Marines were having a great time tossing these little wafers like Frisbee's over the flames of burning trash and they'd go phffffit… and burn up completely in a micro-second, they just disappeared in a yellow/blue flame. It was really kind of neat.
We had a new XO, it was his first time in the field with us. One day we're all sitting in Westerman's tent having a briefing… When the four deuces sent out a fire mission or it was one of their daily H&I fire exercises (I keep thinking they'd do this every afternoon)… Anyway… when I look out at the Rockpile from the back of his tent, I see the dull gray smoke from explosions hitting the rock… I also thought I heard the sound of rounds going over our head… but these were different… they seemed awfully fast.
I kinda half sat up and said, "Colonel… we got incoming"! He responded that it was just the out going fire from the four deuces. About that time I heard another round go over and it too, hit the side of the Rockpile… The XO was close to me and I pointed the impact out to him and said to Westerman, "Then why are our guys shooting at the Rockpile… We've got people up there"? The XO confirms that rounds had hit the Rock and Westerman cusses and flies out of the tent… saying he was gonna have someone's ass. I turned and looked at the XO and he said, "Do you really think it was incoming"? I said, "I tell you what Major… I'm so sure… I'm getting in a hole". There were two holes right at the entrance of Blackjack's tent that the SgtMaj had a working party dig. I got in the one on the right and the XO gets in the one to the left. I was sure I was right… The XO then says, "I'll feel like an idiot if you're not right".
Just then, BOOOM! A round goes off just outside the tent… shredding it with shrapnel… Immediately there were yells of "Incoming…. Incoming"! Then a second round hit just short of the first… another "BOOOM"! I heard the XO yell out, "Jeesuus Christ"! Quite frankly, it scared the shit out of me too… It was really close. I then heard Westerman yell out from the battalion CP tent, "Are you OK"? I responded that we were, but I hoped they didn't get any closer.
When all the firing stopped, we got out of the holes… I looked at the XO and he looked at me… We were both drenched in sweat. We turned and looked back at the tent and it was full of holes… The stool that the XO had been sitting on was blown over and full of holes also. Just then Blackjack comes up and says, "Damn that was close, I thought you two were goners". The XO then said, "I know one thing, I'll never doubt his word again… The next time Stafford says there's incoming, I'm getting in a hole immediately… If we hadn't gotten in when we did, I'd be dead". He then pointed to the holes in the tent and the stool where he'd been sitting.
We went outside and we could see that the rounds had hit only five and ten feet from the tent… It was also obvious it was not a mortar round but probably a recoilless rifle. I really believe that the tent was the intended target… but he was aiming too high for the first few rounds. The XO was my buddy after that. It was a close call.
There were a lot of "Legends" about the Rockpile… One of them involved the troop of "Rock Apes" that lived on it. We could see these black apes up on the side of the rock. Every time we got mortared or fired out ourselves, they'd get real active, whooping and jumping from one outcropping to another. They were just a little bit bigger than a large baboon. One of the sniper guys wanted to shoot at some for practice… but that was nixed.
The legend part was that on occasion, one of our guys would start firing on the perimeter, claiming he heard noises like a grenade hitting the ground… The next morning we'd go out and find nothing… someone, to cover up for being trigger happy, claimed he'd seen a Rock Ape throwing a rock at the perimeter… and that was where all the grenade noises were coming from… Good story… but I'd never heard of rock throwing Rock Apes… Learn something new… every day.
It was at the Rockpile that I took my first revenge on Donnelly… We were getting re-supplied every day by helo. One morning I was working a flight of H-37's… That was the huge twin-engine Sikorsky helicopter. It was giant… had two engines mounted on pylons out to the side and clam shell doors on the front. It was the biggest helo we had in the Corps until the CH-53 came along. Had a tremendous downwash from the rotor blades… dirt and shit would fly everywhere.
The pilots called in asking for the wind and which direction we wanted them to come in from? He also reminded me of their severe down wash. I stood up to check the wind… There was none… I then looked around to see what was going on so as not to dust off anyone, unnecessarily. As I looked toward the Razorback, I could not believe what I was seeing.
Just below the crest of the hill was the only other tree of any consequence… Donnelly had requisitioned this tree as his own, invoking his rank as the H&S Company Commander. He had tied one end of his tent to it and had all kinds of shit hanging off its' limbs.
He had picked this moment in time… to shave… He had a mirror nailed to the tree and had wedged his steel pot in a fork in the tree, in which he'd swish his razor, to clean off the shaving cream.
Call it Divine Providence… Great juju… Good karma… Call it what ever you want… But this was an opportunity that just could not be missed… I had come to loath Donnelly. Not even Blackjack could stand him. As he smugly went about shaving… He had no earthly idea… that the genies of fate… along with a pissed off Corporal and a savvy helicopter pilot… were about to urinate all over his best intentions.
I called the helo's and suggested that they circle around the Rockpile and come into the LZ from the southwest. He acknowledged my request and I saw them fly behind the Rock. As they wheeled around the other end… I called them on the radio and said, "You see that tree on the southwest side of the hill"? He replied, "Roger". "Do you see the tent under it"? He said "Roger"…. "Well… a real asshole lives there". He replied, "I UNDERSTAND"!
This guy flew a beautiful approach… He started his flare just before he got right over Donnelly, maximizing the hurricane force winds below… Donnelly was so oblivious (as usual)… he didn't know anything was going on… until it was too late.
When the down wash hit… It blew away his tent, blew off all the stuff he had hanging on the tree… and flipped his helmet right back into his face, cutting the bridge of his nose. He went right to his knees, with sticks, debris and dirt swirling all around him!
As the helicopter continued his approach to landing, I pumped my fist in the air. I looked over at the helo as it stopped… I saw the pilot look back over his right shoulder, he then turned and looked directly at me, smiled and gave me a thumbs up! As soon as the off load was complete, he lifted off and I called him and said, "Mission accomplished… Thanks". He replied, "Anytime… Glad to be of help".
About ten seconds later, Donnelly comes running over in a rage… Blood was running down his nose, dirt covered his body and gave his shaving cream a reddish tint… He demanded to know who was controlling the helicopter! I told him I was. His face got even redder than it already was (if that's possible)…. And he started screaming at me that I'd done it on purpose (I had)… and that he was going to have me Court Martialed for assaulting an officer!
Westerman comes over to see what all the commotion is about and Donnelly continues his tirade… saying that I'd tried to hurt him, intentionally. Westerman asked me what happened and I told him right in front of Donnelly… That people were up on the east side of the hill… and that I'd chosen to bring the helos in from the west, trying to avoid hurting someone… I also mentioned that I was afraid the downwash from the H-37's might blow the Colonel's tent down if I let them land from the east. I then added the kicker that I'd yelled out a warning… but obviously the Captain didn't hear me.
He turned to Donnelly and told him to get a hold of himself… It was obviously an accident… To settle down and go clean himself up… With that he turned his back to Donnelly, looked me right in the eye…. and winked. He then walked back to his tent.
At this point, I turned and looked Donnelly right in the eye… I gave him a smirk… That I hope he interpreted as… I got you asshole… don't fuck with me again. I then turned away… but knew… we were not done with each other yet.
.… Shadow
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Thanks to 1440
Ukraine Talks Continue
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders are meeting with President Trump today at the White House. The gathering comes days after Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska.
The White House did not provide a formal readout of that meeting. Since then, Trump has dropped the demand for a ceasefire as a precondition for peace talks. According to reports, Putin would be willing to halt the offensive in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and freeze the front lines in exchange for Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas—a region Putin has partially occupied since 2014 and worked to fully capture since 2022. Putin has also reportedly agreed to allow the US and Europe to provide security guarantees to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has rejected ceding territory to Russia, recently calling for a ceasefire. NATO's secretary-general, the European Commission president, and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and the UK will join today's meeting—a change in format from February's meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
12 Golden Facts About Getting Older
It's a fact of life — people grow old. While modern society tends to obsess about the negatives of aging, studies suggest that we often experience more happiness and contentment in our later years. These 12 facts investigate the phenomenon of growing old, debunk some persistent myths about aging, and explore the brighter side of those golden years.
Say Goodbye To Migraines
As our bodies age, they naturally become more susceptible to a variety of illnesses and maladies — but migraines are the rare exception. Migraines often first develop in adolescence, and while both sexes are affected, women are three times more likely to develop migraines compared to men (often due to a fluctuation of estrogen levels). However, the frequency of migraines eventually peaks at the age of 40 and actually gets better as we enter our golden years. Stress and hormones are the most common triggers for migraines, and these two factors usually affect older people with less severity. That said, pain, smoking, and alcohol can still contribute to migraines in seniors, and although migraines generally subside with age, they are still the second-most-common headache disorder in older people (after tension headaches). One in 10 older adults still experience them about once a year.
Hair Doesn't Actually "Turn" Gray
One of the hallmarks of aging is that our lifelong hair color begins to turn gray, or in some cases, white. Although an entire industry is built around hiding this fact, human hair isn't actually turning gray so much as no longer supplying the pigments necessary to produce color. This occurs when hydrogen peroxide builds up after wear-and-tear on the hair follicles. That blocks the normal synthesis of melanin, which is responsible for all shades of hair color.
Older Adults Are Happier Than People in Their 20s on Average
As people age, we also gain a certain calm. A study published in 2016 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry analyzed a random sample of 1,546 people ages 21 to 100 in San Diego. Although younger people in the survey responded positively in terms of physical health compared to older folks (as anticipated), older adults far outperformed younger generations in terms of mental well-being. Panic disorders are also reported as less common among older cohorts compared to younger people, and developing a panic disorder later in life is a rarity.
They Also Sweat Less, Too
As we age, our skin loses collagen, gets thinner, and presses our sweat glands close to the surface of our skin. This process is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, because these glands are squeezed, it's harder for sweat to come out of our pores, meaning older people sweat less overall. This may be a check mark in the "pro" column for personal hygiene, but it does come with a few negative side effects. With a reduced ability to sweat, older adults can have trouble regulating temperature during strenuous exercise or excessive heat. Sweat also plays an important role in healing, as it helps stimulate wound closure in skin cells. Thankfully, a lifetime of physical fitness helps slow down this process so you can sweat long into your golden years.
Older People Vote More Than Any Other Age Group
Older people may not feel as strong as they did in their youth, but in terms of political power, they're as strong as ever. In 2018, 64% of people 65 and over voted in the U.S. midterm election — the highest turnout of any age group — and the 65- to 74-year-old cohort also had the highest turnout in the 2020 election. There are a couple of reasons why the older vote is particularly robust. The biggest may be that older Americans, as well as seniors in other democracies, have government programs and initiatives they rely on, such as Medicare, prescription drug pricing, and Social Security, and because these policies so directly affect them, elections tend to turn out seniors in higher numbers. (There are other factors at play, too — older folks may simply have more time on their hands.) Senior citizens also grease the wheels of democracy, as they're the most likely age group to volunteer as poll workers on Election Day.
Noses and Ears Don't Keep Growing, But They Do Droop
While a common myth purports that our ears and nose continue to grow as we age (while the rest of us generally shrinks), that's not entirely true. Like most other parts of our body, our ears and nose stop growing once we're in adulthood, but the constant tug of gravity over the decades causes these cartilage-filled features to droop over time. This constant pull actually causes the collagen and elastic fibers in our ears and nose to elongate, and this lengthening, combined with surrounding facial structures losing overall volume, often produces the illusion of growing ears and noses as we age. This elongation is a slow and steady process; studies have shown that ears can lengthen some 0.22 millimeters a year. Interestingly, the process is so precise that you can discern a person's age just by measuring their ears.
Old Age Isn't a Modern Phenomenon
A common misconception about old age is that it's a relatively modern phenomenon, as our predecessors lived brutish lives cut short by disease and war. While modern medicine has certainly expanded life expectancy, many people in the past lived as long as people live today. For example, some ancient Roman offices sought by politically ambitious men couldn't even be held until someone was 30 — not exactly a great idea if people didn't live many years beyond that. Scientists have analyzed the pelvis joints (a reliable indicator of age) in skeletons from ancient civilizations and found that many people lived long lives. One study analyzing skeletons from Cholula, Mexico, between 900 and 1531 CE found that a majority of specimens lived beyond the age of 50. Low life expectancy in ancient times is impacted more by a high infant mortality rate than by people living unusually short lives. Luckily, modern science has helped more humans survive our vulnerable childhood years and life expectancy averages have risen as a result.
Older People Requiring Less Sleep Is a Myth
Another myth about getting old is that as we age, humans need less and less sleep, somehow magically subsisting on six hours or less when we enter our senior years. The truth is that the amount of sleep a person needs is only altered during childhood and adolescence as our bodies need more energy to do the tough work of growing. Once we're in our 20s, humans require the same amount of sleep per night for the rest of their lives (though the exact amount differs from person to person). In fact, the elderly are more likely to be sleep-deprived because they receive lower-quality sleep caused by sickness, pain, medications, or a trip or two to the bathroom. This can be why napping during the day becomes more common as we grow older.
Some of Our Bones Never Stop Growing
The common perception of human biology is that our bones put on some serious inches in our youth, and then by the time we're 20 or so, nature pumps the brakes and our skeleton stays static forever. While that's true of a majority of our bones, some don't quite follow this simplistic blueprint. A 2008 study for Duke University determined that the bones in the skull continue to grow, with the forehead moving forward and cheek bones moving backward. Unfortunately, this imperceptible bit of a facial movement exacerbates wrinkles, because as the skull shifts forward, the overlying skin sags.
The pelvis also keeps growing throughout your life. Scientists analyzing the pelvic width of 20-year-olds compared to 79-year-olds found a 1-inch difference in width, which adds an additional 3 inches to your waistband. That means our widening in the middle as we age isn't just about a slower metabolism.
Pupils Get Smaller As We Age
While our hips get bigger, our pupils get smaller. The human pupil is controlled by the circumferential sphincter and iris dilator muscles, and as we add on the years, those muscles weaken. Because of this loss of muscle function, pupils get smaller as we age, and are also less responsive to light. Smaller pupils make it harder to see at night, so people in their 60s need three times as much light to read comfortably as people in their 20s. Reading a menu in a dimly lit restaurant? Forget about it. Other eye changes include an increased likeliness of presbyopia, or farsightedness (which can often be resolved with readers), and cataracts, or a clouding of the eye's lens. In fact, half of people over the age of 80 will have experienced a cataract of some kind.
Older People Have a Stronger "Immune Memory"
Although the body experiences some slowing down as we age, growing old isn't all bad news. Researchers from the University of Queensland found that older people had stronger immunities than people in their 20s, as the body keeps a repository of illnesses that can stretch back decades. This extra line of defense begins to drop off in our 70s and 80s, but until then, our bodies generally just get better and better at fighting off disease due to biological experience. Additionally, as we age we experience fewer migraines, the severity of allergies declines, and we produce less sweat. Older people also exhibit higher levels of "crystalized intelligence" (or what some might call "wisdom") than any other age group.
The Atoms That Make Up All of Us Are Already Billions of Years Old
It's true that age is just a number, and in the cosmic view of the universe, human age is pretty insignificant. The atoms that make up the human body are already billions of years old. For example, hydrogen — one of the key components of our bodies — formed in the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. Likewise, carbon, the primary component of all known life, formed in the fiery cauldron of stars at least 7 billion years ago. So when someone says we're all made of "star stuff," they're very much telling the truth (we're also made from various supernovae). And while we grow old on Earth, this is only the latest chapter of a story that stretches back to the beginning of everything — and it's a story that'll continue until the universe ends.
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This Day in U S Military History…….18 August
1942 – Marines left Makin Island after destroying a seaplane base, two radio stations, a supply warehouse, and killing about 100 Japanese soldiers.
1942 – On Guadalcanal, Japanese reinforcements are landed at Taivu and a detachment of 1,000 troops under the leadership of Colonel Ichiki starts towards the American position. The Japanese believe there are only 3,000 Americans on the Island. There are actually 10,000 and the airstrip is now ready to receive aircraft.
1951 – The Battle of Bloody Ridge began. During the battle, the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and its attached units sustained 326 killed in action, 2,032 wounded and 414 missing. The enemy's dead totaled 1,389. The 15th Field Artillery Battalion set a record of 14,425 rounds fired in a 24-hour period.
1965 – After a deserter from the First Vietcong Regiment had revealed that an attack was imminent against the U.S. base at Chu Lai, the Marines launch Operation Starlite in the Van Tuong peninsula in Quang Ngai Province. In this, the first major U.S. ground battle of the Vietnam War, 5,500 Marines destroyed a Viet Cong stronghold, scoring a resounding victory. During the operation, which lasted six days, ground forces, artillery from Chu Lai, close air support, and naval gunfire combined to kill nearly 700 Vietcong soldiers. U.S. losses included 45 Marines dead and more than 200 wounded.
1966 – First ship-to-shore satellite radio message sent from USS Annapolis in South China Sea to Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor.
1968 – The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launch a limited offensive in the south with 19 separate attacks throughout South Vietnam. In the heaviest fighting in three months, Communist troops attacked key positions along the Cambodian border in Tay Ninh and Binh Long provinces, northwest of Saigon. In Tay Ninh, 600 Viet Cong, supported by elements of two North Vietnamese divisions, attacked the provincial capital, capturing several government installations. U.S. reinforcements from the Twenty-fifth Infantry Division were rushed to the scene and after a day of house-to-house fighting expelled the communists from the city.
1976 – Two U.S. Army officers were killed in Korea's demilitarized zone as a group of North Korean soldiers wielding axes and metal pikes attacked U.S. and South Korean soldiers. Major Arthur G. Bonifas was attacked and beaten to death by North Korean soldiers as he attempted to cut down a poplar tree in the DMZ.
1998 – In Kenya FBI agents, acting on a tip from Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, raided The Hilltop Hotel in Nairobi and confiscated 175 pounds of TNT. The room was reported to have been occupied by 2 Palestinians, a Saudi and an Egyptian from Aug 3 to Aug 7.
2002 – Operation Mountain Sweep was the first for the 82nd Airborne Division since its arrival in Afghanistan. The troopers of the 82nd joined with Army Rangers and other coalition special operations forces to mount five combat air assault missions. Combat engineers, aviation assets and civil affairs detachments also took part in the operation. Mountain Sweep continued Operation Mountain Lion in searching out al Qaeda and Taliban forces and information about the terrorist organizations. The troops discovered five separate weapons caches and two caches of Taliban documents. The operation took place mainly around the villages of Dormat and Narizah, south of the cities of Khowst and Gardez. The troopers found an anti-aircraft artillery gun, two 82mm mortars and ammunition, a recoilless rifle, rockets, rocket-propelled grenades, machines guns and thousands of small arms rounds. Coalition forces detained 10 persons during the operation. The 229th, serving as the aviation arm for Task Force Shark, conducted 14 helicopter missions in support of the operation. More than 2,000 Coalition forces, consisting of seven infantry companies, combat engineers and elements of three aviation battalions, took part in the operation, completing Operation Mountain Sweep in the former al Qaeda and Taliban areas of Southeastern Afghanistan on August 26.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
TAYLOR, JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Private, Company E, 7th Rhode Island Infantry. Place and date: At Weldon Railroad, Va., 18 August 1864. Entered service at: Burrillville, R.I. Birth: England. Date of issue: 20 July 1897. Citation: While acting as an orderly to a general officer on the field and alone, encountered a picket of 3 of the enemy and compelled their surrender.
*CHELI, RALPH (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Near Wewak, New Guinea, 18 August 1943. Entered service at: Brooklyn, N.Y. Birth: San Francisco, Calif. G.O. No.: 72, 28 October 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy. While Maj. Cheli was leading his squadron in a dive to attack the heavily defended Dagua Airdrome, intercepting enemy aircraft centered their fire on his plane, causing it to burst into flames while still 2 miles from the objective. His speed would have enabled him to gain necessary altitude to parachute to safety, but this action would have resulted in his formation becoming disorganized and exposed to the enemy. Although a crash was inevitable, he courageously elected to continue leading the attack in his blazing plane. From a minimum altitude, the squadron made a devastating bombing and strafing attack on the target. The mission completed, Maj. Cheli instructed his wingman to lead the formation and crashed into the sea.
*THOMASON, CLYDE
Rank and organization: sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 23 May 1914, Atlanta, Ga. Accredited to: Georgia. Citation: For conspicuous heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty during the Marine Raider Expedition against the Japanese-held island of Makin on 17-18 August 1942. Leading the advance element of the assault echelon, Sgt. Thomason disposed his men with keen judgment and discrimination and, by his exemplary leadership and great personal valor, exhorted them to like fearless efforts. On 1 occasion, he dauntlessly walked up to a house which concealed an enemy Japanese sniper, forced in the door and shot the man before he could resist. Later in the action, while leading an assault on an enemy position, he gallantly gave his life in the service of his country. His courage and loyal devotion to duty in the face of grave peril were in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
O'MALLEY, ROBERT E.
Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Cpl.), U .S. Marine Corps, Company 1, 3d Battalion, 3d Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division (Rein). Place and date: Near An Cu'ong 2, South Vietnam, 18 August 1965. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Born: 3 June 1943, New York, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the communist (Viet Cong) forces at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While leading his squad in the assault against a strongly entrenched enemy force, his unit came under intense small-arms fire. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Sgt. O'Malley raced across an open rice paddy to a trench line where the enemy forces were located. Jumping into the trench, he attacked the Viet Cong with his rifle and grenades, and singly killed 8 of the enemy. He then led his squad to the assistance of an adjacent marine unit which was suffering heavy casualties. Continuing to press forward, he reloaded his weapon and fired with telling effect into the enemy emplacement. He personally assisted in the evacuation of several wounded marines, and again regrouping the remnants of his squad, he returned to the point of the heaviest fighting. Ordered to an evacuation point by an officer, Sgt. O'Malley gathered his besieged and badly wounded squad, and boldly led them under fire to a helicopter for withdrawal. Although 3 times wounded in this encounter, and facing imminent death from a fanatic and determined enemy, he steadfastly refused evacuation and continued to cover his squad's boarding of the helicopters while, from an exposed position, he delivered fire against the enemy until his wounded men were evacuated. Only then, with his last mission accomplished, did he permit himself to be removed from the battlefield. By his valor, leadership, and courageous efforts in behalf of his comrades, he served as an inspiration to all who observed him, and reflected the highest credit upon the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service.
*PAUL, JOE C.
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company H, 2d Battalion, 4th Marines (Rein), 3d Marine Division (Rein). Place and date: near Chu Lai, Republic of Vietnam, 18 August 1965. Entered service at: Dayton, Ohio. Born: 23 April 1946, Williamsburg, Ky. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. In violent battle, L/Cpl. Paul's platoon sustained 5 casualties as it was temporarily pinned down, by devastating mortar, recoilless rifle, automatic weapons, and rifle fire delivered by insurgent communist (Viet Cong) forces in well entrenched positions. The wounded marines were unable to move from their perilously exposed positions forward of the remainder of their platoon, and were suddenly subjected to a barrage of white phosphorous rifle grenades. L/Cpl. Paul, fully aware that his tactics would almost certainly result in serious injury or death to himself, chose to disregard his safety and boldly dashed across the fire-swept rice paddies, placed himself between his wounded comrades and the enemy, and delivered effective suppressive fire with his automatic weapon in order to divert the attack long enough to allow the casualties to be evacuated. Although critically wounded during the course of the battle, he resolutely remained in his exposed position and continued to fire his rifle until he collapsed and was evacuated. By his fortitude and gallant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death, he saved the lives of several of his fellow marines. His heroic action served to inspire all who observed him and reflect the highest credit upon himself, the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for 18 August, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
18 August
1910: At Fort Sam Houston, Cpl Glen Madole and Oliver G. Simmons, the Army's first civilian aircraft mechanic, added wheels to Signal Corps Airplane No. 1. This effort produced a tricycle landing gear that eliminated the need for launching rails and catapults. (21)
1911: CHICAGO AIR MEET. Phillip O. Parmalee established a new American altitude record of 10,837 feet. (24)
1926: First contract let for a metal-clad airship. (24)
1941: President Roosevelt announced agreements to let Pan American Airways ferry warplanes from the US to British forces in the Middle East via West Africa. (24)
1948: The Berlin Airlift corridor equipped with flight aids to ensure winter airlift operations. (4)
1951: KOREAN WAR/Operation STRANGLE. FEAF began this operation against N. Korean railroads. (28)
1956: Last class in Air Force to fly piston-engined T-6 aircraft graduated at Barstow AB, Fla. The Air Force used various versions of the T-6 to polish pilot skills since 1941.
1965: The first Minuteman II launch from an operationally configured silo at Vandenberg AFB succeeded. (6)
1977: The USAF accepted its first F-16B from General Dynamics at Fort Worth. (12)
1978: At McConnell AFB, A1C Tina M. Ponzer (381 SMW) became SAC's first enlisted female to perform Titan II alert duty. (1) (6)
1987: The 308 SMW's inactivation at Little Rock AFB officially ended SAC's Titan II missile program.
1992: Operation SOUTHERN WATCH Begins. The operation restricted Iraqi flights south of 32 degrees north latitude. AMC airlifted US forces to Saudi Arabia to support the operation. The command also deployed tankers to refuel fighters flying combat air patrols. (16) (18)
1993: The McDonnell Douglas "Delta Clipper Experimental" (DC-X), a subscale, single-stage-to-orbit prototype completed a 60-second flight over White Sands Missile Range. The 42-foot-tall craft took off vertically, hovered at 150 feet, moved laterally 350 feet, and landed tail down. (20)
1999: Operation AVID RESPONSE. After a devastating earthquake rocked western Turkey, AMC began its support of this international relief effort. A C-5 from the 436 AW at Dover AFB left the US for Istanbul with a 70-person search and rescue team. The team, with 5 search and rescue dogs, 56,000 pounds of equipment, and three vehicles, set up operations in nearby Izmit. Two KC-10s from the 305 AMW at McGuire AFB refueled the C-5 during its nonstop flight to Turkey. By 10 September, when the AVID RESPONSE task force at Topel NAS, Turkey, disbanded, AMC aircraft had flown 20 missions to support the earthquake relief effort. (22)
2005: The 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB became the first unit to achieve initial operational capability with the JASSM cruise missile. (AFNEWS Article, "Dyess AFB Demonstrates B-1B's Upgrades, Combat Capabilities,"
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