The List 7276
To All,
.Good Tuesday morning August 26-….overcast and a cool 65 this morning. Clearing by 7 and heating up to 86 by 1 .
..Well the junk man is coming this morning to get rid of a whole lot of stuff from our garage. While I was at Tailhook my son came down from Idaho and cleared out the inside of the top of the garage of things we had forgotten we owned. . I can now see the rafters and we should get at least one car in the garage but are working on space for another one. A third is a pipe dream.
Classes went well last night but made it a long day. Testing starts next week and some need a lot of work. Today and tomorrow will be long ones but the end result will be great. Anybody need a wood lathe?
Regards
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. 26
1775 The R.I. delegates press the Continental Congress for creation of a Continental Navy to protect the colonies due to the harassment of shipping by the British.
1839 The brig USS Washington seizes the Spanish slaver Amistad, near Montauk Point, N.Y. The Africans are held on murder charges due to their prior seizure of the ship in July. The case goes to the Supreme Court in Jan. 1841, and former President John Quincy Adams successfully argues the defendants' case.
1843 The day after the steam frigate, USS Missouri, becomes the first steam-powered ship to complete a Trans-Atlantic crossing, she accidently catches on fire, explodes and sinks at Gibraltar, without loss of life.
1912 A detachment of Marines from USS Rainbow lands at Camp Nicholson, near Shanghai, China, to protect American interests from local revolutionaries.
1944 Motor torpedo boats PT-511, PT-514, and PT-520 take part in a night engagement that turns back the last German attempt to reinforce the besieged garrison at La Havre. The PTs sink Germany artillery ferries AFP-98 and AFP-108.
1949 While operating in stormy seas off northern Norway, USS Cochino (SS 345) suffers a series of serious battery explosions that result in her loss. Though Cochino's crew is successfully rescued by USS Tusk (SS 426), the submarine loses seven of her own men during this difficult effort.
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This Day In World History August 26
1071 Turks defeat the Byzantine army under Emperor Romanus IV at Manzikert, Eastern Turkey.
1429 Joan of Arc makes a triumphant entry into Paris.
1789 The Constituent Assembly in Versailles, France, approves the final version of the Declaration of Human Rights.
1862 Confederate General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson seizes Manassas Junction, Virginia, and moves to encircle Union forces under General John Pope.
1883 The Indonesian island of Krakatoa erupts in the largest explosion recorded in history, heard 2,200 miles away in Madagascar. The resulting destruction sends volcanic ash up 50 miles into the atmosphere and kills almost 36,000 people--both on the island itself and from the resulting 131-foot tidal waves that obliterate 163 villages on the shores of nearby Java and Sumatra.
1920 The 19th Amendment to the Constitution is officially ratified, giving women the right to vote.
On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was to become WNBC-TV. Announcer Red Barber called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York.
At the time, television was still in its infancy. Regular programming did not yet exist, and very few people owned television sets—there were only about 400 in the New York area. Not until 1946 did regular network broadcasting catch on in the United States, and only in the mid-1950s did television sets become more common in the American household.
In 1939, the World's Fair—which was being held in New York—became the catalyst for the historic broadcast. The television was one of the fair's prize exhibits, and organizers believed that the Dodgers-Reds doubleheader on August 26 was the perfect event to showcase America's grasp on the new technology.
1943 The United States recognizes the French Committee of National Liberation.
1957 Ford Motor Company reveals the Edsel, its latest luxury car.
1966 South African Defense Force troops attack a People's Liberation Army of Nambia at Omugulugwombashe, the first battle of the 22-year Namibian War of Independence.
1970 A nationwide Women's Strike for Equality, led by Betty Friedan on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment calls attention to unequal pay and other gender inequalities in America.
1977 The National Assembly of Quebec adopts Bill 101, Charter of the French Language, making French the official language of the Canadian province.
1978 Sigmund Jähn becomes first German to fly in space, on board Soviet Soyuz 31.
1978 Albino Luciani elected to the Papacy and chooses the name Pope John Paul I ; his 33-day reign is among the shortest in Papal history.
1999 Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
August 26
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
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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 26.August . .
26-Aug: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2988
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 History Facts
When Did People Start Using Last Names?
There were around 6.3 million different surnames, also known as family names or last names, reported in the 2010 U.S. census, and there are millions more worldwide. Some, of course, are more popular than others: More than 106 million people have the last name Wang (a Mandarin term for "prince" or "king"), making it the most common surname in the world. And if you live in the U.S., there's a pretty good chance you know someone with the last name Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, or Jones — the five most common surnames in the country.
As populations grew, surnames began as a way to differentiate between people with the same first name, for both legal and social purposes. Having more than one name helped identify which John owned a specific parcel of land or which Robert had a son who was getting married. Over time, they became important to an individual's identity and heritage, particularly as people began to emigrate from their homelands. Today, etymologists and genealogists continue to research the origins of last names as a way of gaining insight into how people and societies have developed personal and collective identities. Here's what we know about how this naming convention came to be.
Surnames First Emerged in China
The concept of surnames dates back thousands of years, with the earliest examples found in China as early as the third millennium BCE. (Some of those names, such as Zhong, also written as Chung, are still used today.) Genealogists believe that matrilineal surnames were used in China until the Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), when there was a shift to using patrilineal names.Other ancient societies, including Greece and Rome, had their own systems of assigning names based on family and clan associations. The ancient Romans assigned three-part personal names (tria nomina) that included a praenomen (given name), nomen (clan name), and cognomen (family name), indicating the importance of lineage and family connections even in early Western cultures.
The Norman Conquest Helped Popularize Surnames
While the use of last names was established in some ancient societies, surnames weren't widely used in Europe before the Middle Ages. The earliest recorded example of a European surname is the Irish Ó Cléirigh (O'Clery or O'Cleary in English), meaning "descendant of the clerk," recorded in County Galway, Ireland, in 916 CE. Before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Anglo-Saxon surnames were inconsistently used and were specific to an individual. It wasn't until the Norman barons introduced their system of fixed and hereditary surnames that the practice began to take hold and spread throughout the European continent.The use of last names was inconsistent in the beginning, as the names were often changed or dropped altogether over time. Surnames could also have a wide variety of spelling variations due to the fact that many people couldn't read or write, so names were spelled phonetically, or even abbreviated, for official records. Despite the lack of a formal naming system, the use of last names became a practical necessity for distinguishing among people as cities developed and populations expanded.Early on, surnames were primarily used by the European aristocracy and land-owning class. By the 15th century, however, hereditary surnames were widely used in England and parts of Scotland. Women traditionally took their husband's last name and, under King Henry VII, children's names were also recorded under their father's last name. The introduction of parish records in the 16th century and subsequent civil registration systems helped standardize the use and spellings of surnames. For instance, there were more than 80 different spelling variations of William Shakespeare's surname, including Shackspeare, Shagspere, and Shaxberd. Accurate and consistent documentation helped in property transactions, tax collection, and other legal matters.
Surnames Also Developed From Occupation and Geography
As the practice became popular in medieval Europe, choosing a surname took different forms. The earliest last names were typically related to a person's occupation, physical characteristics, geographic location, or paternal lineage. Occupational surnames, such as Baker or Carpenter, reflected a person's profession and helped indicate their trade skills. A surname could also be derived from a nickname that referenced a personal trait or reflected how someone was seen in their community, such as Armstrong, indicating physical strength, Brown, referring to someone with brown hair or skin, or Young, used to distinguish between a father and son.Geographic names, known as locative or toponymic surnames, were connected to the location where a person was born or lived. These place names were often chosen in relation to a nearby city, such as Warwick or York, or based on local landmarks. For instance, the name Churchill could mean a person lived near a church on a hill, while Southgate could refer to someone who lived near the southern gate of a town.Patronymic family names were derived from the name of a father or male ancestor and often used a prefix or suffix to indicate a person's lineage. For example, the suffix "-son" in the English name Johnson and the prefix "Mac-" in the Scottish name MacGregor mean "the son of John" and "the son of Gregor," respectively. Similarly, the prefix "O'-" in the Irish name O'Grady means "descendant of Grady." Smith, which is the most common surname not only in the U.S. but in the entire English-speaking world, derived from an Old English word meaning "to smite or hit," and was used by blacksmiths. There are just a few hundred professional blacksmiths in the United States today, but more than 2.3 million people still carry the last name Smith.
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. Thanks to interesting Facts
Eleven U.S. states have just one area code.
As the largest and smallest states by area, Alaska and Rhode Island are in some ways diametrically opposed. But they do share one particular quirk: Each has just one area code. In fact, there are a total of 11 U.S. states whose residents use the same area code — Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming — and the reason has to do with the lower population numbers in those locations.
In 1947, AT&T introduced area codes in an effort to standardize phone numbers across the United States and parts of Canada. The company issued 86 original area codes that are still in use today; the more well populated a state was, the more likely it was to be allotted multiple area codes. Back then, it was common practice for the middle digit to be "0" if the area code covered an entire state, and "1" if it covered only a portion. Today, many states have grown large enough to be given additional area codes, but there are still 11 holdouts. For instance, every inch of Alaska's 665,384 square miles uses the same 907 area code. The same is true for the fourth largest state by area, Montana, whose residential phone numbers all start with 406. Many of these 11 states have come to embrace their singular area codes as an emblem of local pride. You'll often find those three digits emblazoned on shirts, craft beers, bumper stickers, and other souvenirs sold throughout each state.
Helena, Montana, was once home to the most millionaires per capita.
In 1864, Helena was founded as a camp for miners. Within a few years, many of the town's residents saw their wealth skyrocket. By 1888, there were around 50 millionaires living among the 12,000 locals, making Helena home to the most millionaires per capita in the world.
Alaska is nicknamed the "_The Last Frontier_."
Numbers Don't Lie
Square miles serviced by the 867 area code
1.5 million+
Year Indiana received its first nonoriginal area code
1948
Area codes currently used in California (the most of any state)
40
First assigned area code (northeastern New Jersey)
201
Square miles serviced by the 867 area code
1.5 million+
Year Indiana received its first nonoriginal area code
1948
Multiple states with single area codes will soon run out of phone numbers.
Of the 11 states that still rely on a single area code, several are projected to run out of available phone numbers in the near future. Once that happens, those states will have to implement new area codes for the first time since 1947. Experts project North Dakota will run out of 701 numbers by 2026, and Montana is estimated to max out its capacity of 406 numbers the following year. Maine is also teetering on the precipice, as it's expected to supplement its 207 area code by the year 2033. This is due to growing populations and increased cellphone use, both of which require additional phone numbers. However, many local leaders in these states are attempting to delay the addition of other area codes by changing the way phone numbers are assigned, as the current system leads to many numbers being left unused.
Today's edition of Interesting Facts was written by Bennett Kleinman and edited by Brooke Robinson.
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. Thanks to History Facts
The oldest business in North America was founded in 1670.
Hundreds of years before Amazon, Walmart, Alphabet, and other modern megacorporations existed, King Charles II of England invested in what is now the oldest continually operating company in North America: the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), a retail giant founded in 1670 and currently headquartered in New York and Toronto. HBC's origins can be traced to fur traders and brothers-in-law Médard Chouart des Groseilliers and Pierre-Esprit Radisson, the first Europeans to extensively explore the forests of northern Canada. The French explorers launched their first expedition in 1659, spurred on by rumors of vast untouched beaver preserves north of Lake Superior.
Beaver pelts were at the center of a European fashion craze in the late 17th century that created a surge in demand for beaver-fur felt hats. However, des Groseilliers and Radisson made their journey in secret, without obtaining a trading license. Upon their return to Quebec, the French authorities confiscated their furs, levied fines against them, and briefly jailed des Groseilliers. Angered by their treatment, the explorers offered their services to other nations, eventually finding a receptive ear in England.
On May 2, 1670, King Charles II granted a royal charter to the Hudson's Bay Company, named after Canada's Hudson Bay. The company was incorporated with three goals in mind: fur trade with Indigenous tribes, mineral exploration, and finding a passage to the West. HBC possessed exclusive commercial domain over a large territory around the Hudson Bay, giving the company a virtual monopoly on the fur trade. By the mid-19th century, the company's landholdings encompassed around 1.5 million square miles, making it the largest private landowner in history. HBC operated as a monopoly until 1869, when the land was effectively transferred to the newly formed nation of Canada. Today, HBC's historic connection to fashion lives on in luxury clothing stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue.
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From the archives
Thanks to USAF Col Mugs who has over 100 Traps in an F-8 on the USS Midway in Vietnam in 1971
Send this to all those folks who claim the USAF doesn't care about CAS.
Mugs
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From the Archives
THANKS TO BORIS More on the battle of Guadalcanal
Problems: Withdrawal of the Carriers (3 of 3)
In a series on carrier operations at the beginning of WWII it would be remiss not to discuss the controversial decisions made by VADM Fletcher concerning withdrawing his TF-61 carriers from the immediate vicinity of the attack after the initial landings. The basic role of the carriers in the Watchtower landings was, of course, to provide air support, in particular fighter cover.
This piece is not intended to cover the events in detail but only to provide basic context in the early evolution of carriers in warfare. It is useful to reflect on three items: 1) TF-61 was composed of three of only four US carriers in the Pacific; 2) it is well worth highlighting how much the rough parity of carrier forces of the two sides contributed to the protracted nature of the overall bloody struggle for the island; 3) This type of co-dependent warfare was new and mostly unpracticed. There were no senior officer experts.
Fletcher's Dilemma
VADM Frank Jack Fletcher was the most battle-seasoned senior officer in Operation Watchtower. The experience of combat had taught him its costs. At both Coral Sea and Midway he had had a great carrier, the Lexington and then the Yorktown, sunk from under him. At a time when the Pacific carrier fleet numbered just four, three of which were assigned to Watchtower, he was fearful of further losses.
During the day, the Enterprise, Wasp, and Saratoga operated from a position about twenty-five miles south of the eastern end of Guadalcanal. From there, naval aircraft on patrol were but a quick few minutes from the beaches. Though Japanese planes from Rabaul six hundred miles away would have little capacity to strike them even if they could find them, the danger posed by the Japanese carriers (of uncertain location, Japan, Truk, Rabul?) and submarines was considerable.
Fletcher envisioned another grim carrier battle soon. He must be ready for enemy carriers at any time, despite rosy intelligence estimates from Pearl—the most recent on the afternoon of 8 August—placing the Japanese carriers in home waters. Intelligence could be wrong, and the resulting surprise quite deadly, as the Japanese at Coral Sea and Midway could attest, not to mention Kimmel at Pearl Harbor. The tactical necessity of protecting a fixed point put heavy demands on the defensive capabilities of Fletcher's carriers. They were accustomed to strike swiftly and draw clear of retaliation. Now they were exposed not only to the threat of opposing carriers, but also subs (messages reported several en route) and the more vigorous than anticipated land-based air.
The sudden appearance of numerous medium bombers toting torpedoes, land-based air's most effective antiship weapon, provided another strong reason for concern, especially given the combat air patrol's questionable performance. Fletcher had not expected torpedo planes, certainly not ones augmented by fierce Zero escorts, could even reach him off distant Guadalcanal.
He queried Noyes whether the noon attackers "were actually carrying torpedoes," and was assured they did. Maas wrote that night, "The use by Japs of long-range torpedo planes makes our present position untenable, dangerous, and foolhardy." That was particularly true if the carriers could legitimately get clear without harming the overall mission.
From 9 to 23 August, Japan only managed, using swift destroyers and stealth, to land one thousand lightly equipped infantrymen, whom Vandegrift's dug-in marines outnumbered ten to one. A few destroyer-loads of infantry could not overrun the First Marine Division. That required artillery and other heavy weapons, plus many more men and supplies that only transports could bring. First, the Japanese must destroy or neutralize Fletcher's carriers.
A severe defeat at that juncture would have cost Guadalcanal.
Fletcher's critics
To Fletcher's legion of critics the request to withdraw defined his naval career. In 1943 Turner bitterly complained to Morison that Fletcher left him "bare-arse." In 1945 he officially characterized the action as nothing less than "desertion," undertaken for reasons "known only" to Fletcher. Vandegrift described Fletcher, "Running away twelve hours earlier than he had already threatened during our unpleasant meeting."
Official judgments were equally unsparing. On 23 August 1942 Nimitz condemned the withdrawal as "most unfortunate." In December Admiral Pye, president of the Naval War College, called the pullout "certainly regrettable," which risked "the whole operation." In 1943 Admiral Hepburn's final Savo report labeled Fletcher's action a "contributory cause of the disproportionate damage" incurred in that battle. The Cominch Secret Information Bulletin No. 2 gave short shrift to the reasons attributed to Fletcher's decision, including needless worry about "bombing and torpedo planes." The 1950 Naval War College analysis of Savo expanded on Pye's original points and concluded, "Such a precipitous departure" would "seriously jeopardize the success of the entire operation" and "prevent the inauguration of Task Two."
Many historians have accepted the official judgments without question. Morison wrote, "It must have seemed to [Turner] then, as it seems to us now, that Fletcher's reasons for withdrawal were flimsy." The carriers "could have remained in the area with no more severe consequences than sunburn." Marine Brigadier General Griffith, historian as well as participant, completely concurred. He conceded, "Fletcher did have a point. We just couldn't lose our carriers, but damn it, how the Marines suffered!" Vice Admiral Dyer did present Fletcher's side, but his sympathies lay with Turner. The situation did not justify the carrier withdrawal. That was also the carefully considered judgment of Richard Frank, who concluded Fletcher, rightly or wrongly, placed the preservation of his carriers ahead of everything else. All other accounts derive from these key analyses.
The paramount question was whether the carriers were foremost in Fletcher's mind, or the overall operation.
Looking at the bigger picture
Fletcher was said to be the only U.S. flag officer who understood that Watchtower would provoke the Japanese to a major naval counterattack. "His major job," wrote author Richard B. Frank, "was to win the carrier fleet action that would decide the fate of the Marines." If that was the case, it would have been reckless to risk his carriers before that threat appeared. He knew he would have to win that battle without ready reinforcement to make up his losses. No new carriers were due from the shipyards until late 1943.
There is little doubt Fletcher's view of the situation off Guadalcanal took a serious accounting of the strategic significance of this scarcity of carrier power.
In January 1943 Rear Adm. George Murray independently confirmed Fletcher's assessment. According to Murray, "The carrier task force problem, so far as refueling is concerned, hinges on destroyer consumption," an "interesting sidelight [that] should be kept constantly in mind." While "in an advanced area a task force cannot afford to approximate the low limit of fuel for the simple reason that it then is virtually immobilized for offensive operations involving 48 hours of high-speed steaming."
A well-situated referee to the controversy over Fletcher's decision making was Marine colonel Melvin J. Maas. If his position on Fletcher's staff makes his sympathy for his boss unsurprising, his status as a leatherneck inclined him to balanced perspective. He believed the only way the Japanese could retake Guadalcanal was through a major amphibious counteroffensive. Maas wrote:
"Marines cannot be dislodged by bombers. Because he saw the carriers as the key to preventing an enemy landing, he favored a withdrawal of the carriers, even at the expense of his brothers.
"To be able to intercept and defeat [Japanese troop landings], our carrier task forces must be fueled and away so as not to be trapped here.… By withdrawing to Nouméa or Tongatabu, we can be in a position to intercept and pull a second Midway on their carriers. If, however, we stay on here and then, getting very low on fuel, withdraw to meet our tankers, and if they should be torpedoed, our whole fleet would be caught helpless and would be cold meat for the Japs, with a resultant loss of our fleet, 2/3 of our carriers, and we would lose Tulagi as well, with all the Marines there and perhaps all the transports.
"It is true, Marines will take a pounding until their own air gets established (about ten days or so), but they can dig in, hole up, and wait. Extra losses are a localized operation. This is balanced against a potential National tragedy. Loss of our fleet or one or more of these carriers is a real, worldwide tragedy."
Former marine staff officer and historian Herbert Christian Merillat, certainly no admirer of Fletcher, recognized in his postlanding strategy the "classic role of a 'fleet in being.'" The U.S. carriers kept "their enemy counterpart at a cautious distance from the embattled island until one side or the other should find an occasion propitious for forcing the other into a 'decisive battle.'" Although "few marines were aware of it," Merillat thought, "they had reason to be grateful to the American carriers' distant prowling." Those flattops, "so long as they lasted," provided "distant cover for the movement of supplies and reinforcements to Cactus."
Hindsight has obliterated the validity of Fletcher's prudence The critics ignore the possibility Fletcher might actually have learned something at Coral Sea and Midway, especially as he now found himself in the reverse role of his erstwhile opponents in supporting an amphibious thrust deep into enemy-controlled waters. It is worth considering that this was a new type of war for all- land, sea and air, and even to the end both combatants were equally paired. The U.S. could ill afford the loss of most or all of its carriers in Aug 1942.
Just as he thought that with the marines ashore Turner's immediate task neared its end, he understood the job of the carriers had only begun. In the short term they were the only shield against powerful naval and ground forces intent on destroying the marine lodgment. A large counter-landing would require strong carrier support to sweep away naval opposition before the actual landing force drew within range. Was this not compelling enough reason to get the carriers clear of the invasion area and prepare for action.
At that point in the Guadalcanal campaign, Fletcher's ostensible "inaction" served the Allied cause far better than the alternative.
From Boris
My take probably runs counter to many even 81 years after the fact.
Others may have acted differently than VADM Fletcher, but based on what? This stuff was brand new and intel was all over the place.
We lose 3 of 4 carriers in early August, then what? The Battle of the Easter Solomans 24-25 August was a steady state mess. No one knew where anyone was. As I said "Blindman's Bluff." We won-barely against equal Japanese CV forces- barely. And that was with Cactus AF guys now and with open ocean operating.
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. This Day in Aviation History" brought to you by the Daedalians Airpower Blog Update. To subscribe to this weekly email, go to https://daedalians.org/airpower-blog/.
Aug. 23, 1948
The XF-85 Goblin parasite fighter first flew at Muroc Field, California, now known as Edwards AFB. The Goblin was designed to be carried inside another aircraft.
Aug. 24, 1942
Flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Marion Eugene Carl, a 27-year-old fighter pilot assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron 223 (VMF-223) based at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal Island, shot down four enemy airplanes. They were a Mitsubishi A6M "Zeke" fighter, a Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty" medium bomber and two Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers. Carl had previously shot down an A6M during the Battle of Midway, less than three months earlier. He now had five aerial combat victories, making him the Marine Corps' first ace. He was awarded the Navy Cross (his second) for his actions in the Solomon Islands from Aug. 24 to Sept. 9, 1942. To learn more about Captain Carl, visit HERE.
Aug. 25, 1932
Amelia Earhart flew her Lockheed Model 5B Vega, NR7952, from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, a distance of 2,447.74 miles, in 19 hours, 5 minutes, becoming the first woman to fly nonstop across the U.S. Her average speed for the flight was 128.27 miles per hour.
Aug. 26, 1967
Then-Maj. George E. "Bud" Day, F-100 Forward Air Controller pilot, was forced to eject from his aircraft over North Vietnam when it was hit by ground fire. His right arm was broken in 3 places, and his left knee was badly sprained. He was captured by the enemy, but escaped despite his injuries. He was shot in his left thigh and left hand when he was recaptured. As a POW, Colonel Day suffered the most brutal conditions. He was imprisoned for 2,028 days before being released March 14, 1973. On March 4, 1976, he was presented the Medal of Honor by President Gerald Ford. Colonel Day was a Daedalian Life Member. He passed away on July 27, 2013. He was posthumously advanced to the rank of brigadier general by order of the president on June 8, 2018. The former Seagull Flight in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was renamed the George E. "Bud" Day Flight 61 on Dec. 18, 2012, in his honor.
Aug. 27, 1941
William R. Dunn, flying with Eagle Squadron 71 (RAF), shot down his fifth enemy plane to become the first American Ace in Europe. He served in Europe, Burma, and China, and ended the war with 15 aerial victories and credit for 12 destroyed on the ground. Learn more about him HERE.
Aug. 28, 1972
Capt. Steve Ritchie and Weapons System Officer Capt. Chuck DeBellevue, leading Buick flight with their F-4D Phantom II, shot down a North Vietnamese MiG 21 interceptor. This was Ritchie's 5th confirmed aerial combat victory, earning him the title of Ace. DeBellevue would later be credited with 6 kills. Flown by 5 different crews, F-4D 66-7463 shot down six enemy fighters from March 1 to Oct. 15, 1972, and is now on display at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ritchie and DeBellevue are both Daedalian Life Members.
Aug. 29, 1944
Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay became commander of the XX Bomber Command. LeMay, a hard-hitting strategist, was determined to wring out the best possible performances from his new and expensive B-29s.
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Thanks to History Facts
Victorian England had special teacups for men with mustaches.
Mustaches were a fashionable choice during Britain's Victorian era, but life with a bushy upper lip wasn't without its challenges, especially when it came to enjoying a hot cup of tea. Englishmen often used mustache wax to style their facial hair, which melted straight off their upper lip into the warm drink. In response to this predicament, an inventor named Harvey Adams developed an ingenious workaround in the 1870s: the "mustache cup." The cup featured a traditional shape, with an added built-in ceramic ledge for men to rest their mustaches against, as well as a tiny hole for liquid to pass through. Effectively, it was an adult sippy cup. The mustache cups came in a wide variety of sizes, including larger "farmers' cups" for pints of tea and tiny porcelain cups embossed with the owner's name. These teacups were popular not just in the U.K., but also in the U.S., where they were sold at stores such as Sears and Marshall Field's.
Believe it or not, the mustache cup wasn't the only 19th-century kitchen invention inspired by facial hair. In 1868, a New York engineer named Solon Farrer created the mustache spoon, which was essentially a spoon with a lid that lifted up. In 1873, inventor Ellen B. A. Mitcheson tweaked Farrer's idea and submitted a patent of her own. Mitcheson's version added a piece of holed-out metal to the side of the spoon that rested against the lip, thus keeping the mustache from coming into direct contact while slurping down soup. The concept was largely similar in design to the mustache cup, allowing hot liquids to travel through a tiny hole in the spoon while maintaining those perfectly waxed whiskers.
By the Numbers
Year Salvador Dalí published the absurdist book Dali's Mustache
1954
Date of the first known artifact depicting a mustachioed subject
300 BCE
Age at which Victoria became queen of England
18
Bonus given to any Oakland Athletics player who grew a mustache in 1972
$300
French waiters went on strike in 1907 for the right to grow mustaches.
Facial hair was strictly regulated in France around the turn of the 20th century, as French elites attempted to co-opt the mustache as a class symbol. This meant that people who weren't members of the upper class, including waiters, domestic workers, and even priests, were forbidden from growing mustaches, which led to widespread pushback. Tensions came to a head in April 1907, when a group of French waiters participated in a strike to demand the freedom to grow facial hair, as well as benefits such as higher pay. The waiters were fed up with forced shaving, and the decision to strike left high-end Parisian restaurants losing roughly 25,000 francs per day in revenue. A bill was introduced to outlaw mustache bans across France, though it initially failed. Despite this bureaucratic shortcoming, many waiters at individual restaurants across the country successfully earned the right to wear mustaches, though their wages remained stagnant.
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Thanks to the Smithsonian
Largest Diamond Since 1905 Unearthed by Miners in Botswana
Volcanic eruptions long ago brought the 2,492-carat diamond—the latest in a string of stunning discoveries over the last decade—to the surface
Rudy Molinek
Mass Media Fellow, AAAS
August 23, 2024 4:22 p.m.
Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds up the newly discovered diamond, which weighs more than a pound. Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP via Getty Images
Miners in Botswana made a dazzling discovery this week, when they uncovered a 2,492-carat diamond, weighing about one pound. The last time miners unearthed a diamond this big, the Model T Ford was still three years away from rolling off the assembly line.
"This is history in the making," Naseem Lahri, Botswana managing director for Lucara Diamond Corp., the Canadian mining company that found the gem, tells Sello Motseta of the Associated Press (AP). "I am very proud. It is a product of Botswana."
The new diamond was excavated at the Karowe mine, about 300 miles north of Botswana's capital city of Gaborone. The same mine has produced four other large rough diamonds in the last decade, including the 813-carat Constellation diamond that sold for a record $63 million in 2016.
This week's find is almost the largest diamond uncovered by miners in history, second only to the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond found in South Africa in 1905. That gem was cut into stones and put into the English Crown Jewels. An even bigger, black diamond was found in Brazil in the late 1800s, but experts think that one came from a meteorite.
Diamonds in Botswana are found in volcanic features called kimberlite pipes. These carrot-shaped structures brought rocks that formed deep within Earth's mantle up to the surface during volcanic eruptions long ago. The heat and pressure that rocks experience at profound depths, between 93 and 280 miles underground, are critical to forming diamonds.
Powerful eruptions, propelled by the expansion of volatile molecules like carbon dioxide, send magma rushing upward. The fiery material breaks off fragments of diamond-bearing rock and transfers them to the surface. Kimberlites likely develop after the breakup of supercontinents, as the Earth's mantle churns following the catastrophic rifting, according to a 2023 study.
Kimblerlite pipes are rare, and only about one percent of the deposits bear quality diamonds. At the Karowe mine, the diamonds formed deep within the mantle billions of years ago, and they erupted to the surface about 90 million years ago.
"All of the stars aligned with that volcanic eruption, and the conditions were just perfect," Paul Zimnisky, an independent analyst in the diamond industry, tells the New York Times' Lynsey Chutel.
Examining the diamond
Mokgweetsi Masisi, president of Botswana, examines the recently discovered 2,492-carat diamond. Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP via Getty Images
On Thursday, President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana became one of the first people to look at the newly discovered diamond up-close. It was large enough to fill up the palm of his hand.
"It is overwhelming," he said, per the AP. "I am lucky to have seen it in my time."
Botswana is the world's second-largest producer of diamonds, responsible for about 20 percent of the global output.
Finding large diamonds has become more common in recent years as a result of technological developments. Companies use advanced X-ray devices to locate big diamonds in the ore, and refined grinding techniques help avoid breaking them into small pieces during the process of removing the gems from their host rocks.
Lucara aims to leverage these developments with a lofty goal in mind: finding the largest diamond ever.
William Lamb, the company's chief executive, tells the New York Times, "We believe that we can eclipse the Cullinan."
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Thanks to the Smithsonian Magazine
The Liberation of Paris August 1944
During World War II, the Liberation of Paris Saved the French Capital From Destruction
Adolf Hitler wanted Paris razed. Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted his troops to stay out of the city. In August 1944, an uprising by French resistance fighters forced the Allies to intervene
The square outside Notre-Dame Cathedral, usually empty early on a Saturday morning, were filled with hundreds of policemen on August 19, 1944, all of them converging on the fortress-like Prefecture of Police headquarters. A flag unfurled atop the building: the blue, white and red French tricolor, banned by Paris' German occupiers and last flown officially four years prior. The French police, on strike against the occupation, had returned, this time in revolt. Paris' uprising against the Nazis had begun.
Across the City of Light, gunfire crackled as Frenchmen hunted and shot German soldiers. Here and there a car roared by, painted with the letters FFI, an abbreviation for the French Forces of the Interior, a coalition of resistance fighters. American and British troops, who'd invaded Normandy two months earlier, were pushing the German Army east, but they were still 150 miles away from the French capital. Parisians rose up to avenge France's 1940 defeat by the Nazis and their subsequent years of oppression, hoping to liberate the city themselves.
Soldiers from the French Second Armored Division fight the German Army in Paris on August 25, 1944
Soldiers from the French Second Armored Division fight the German Army in Paris on August 25, 1944. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The risk was huge, the decision contentious. Some resistance leaders had feared starting a bloodbath and provoking German reprisals that might destroy the city. Their fears were justified. Just a few weeks earlier, Adolf Hitler had ordered Dietrich von Choltitz, his top general in Paris, to "stamp out" any insurrection "without pity." Since then, Choltitz had also received orders to destroy Paris' waterworks and power plants, as well as dozens of bridges over the River Seine: historic landmarks, from the centuries-old Pont Neuf to the stunning Pont Alexandre III.
As Paris' revolt grew, Hitler's orders to Choltitz escalated. On August 20, the Nazi leader demanded "the widest destruction possible" in the city. On August 23, Hitler dictated another order. "Paris must not fall into the hands of the enemy," read the führer's cable to Choltitz, "or, if it does, he must find there nothing but a field of ruins."
General Dietrich von Choltitz
General Dietrich von Choltitz Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R63712 via Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA 3.0
Why didn't the German Army destroy Paris, as Hitler wanted? The answer is surprisingly simple: Because the Paris uprising forced Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower's hand.
Eisenhower hadn't planned to liberate Paris, but rather to encircle it so he could use the Allies' limited fuel to drive Hitler's armies back to the German border. The Paris uprising made the American general "damned mad," he later told Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, authors of the 1965 nonfiction book Is Paris Burning? It was "just the kind of a situation I didn't want, a situation that wasn't under our control, that might force us to change our plans before we were ready for it," Eisenhower said.
On August 20, Free French leader Charles de Gaulle, anxious to get to Paris and claim leadership over liberated France, arrived in Normandy and visited Eisenhower's advance headquarters, located in an apple orchard in Granville, near Mont-Saint-Michel on the Atlantic coast. The supreme commander met de Gaulle in his map tent. Tapping the charts with a pointer, he explained the United States Army's plans to surge around and past Paris.
"Why cross the Seine everywhere but Paris?" de Gaulle asked. He urged Eisenhower to reconsider. Liberating the capital was a matter of national importance to France, de Gaulle argued. He warned that the communists, a major force in the Paris resistance, might try to take over the city. Eisenhower told de Gaulle it was too early, concerned, he later recalled, that "we might get ourselves in a helluva fight there."
General Charles de Gaulle and other French officers at Montparnasse railway station on August 25, 1944
General Charles de Gaulle (standing second from left, with cigarette in mouth) and other French officers at Montparnasse railway station on August 25, 1944 Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Meanwhile, back in Paris, the 2,000 police inside the Prefecture had used Molotov cocktails to thwart an attack by three German tanks. A fragile cease-fire, negotiated by the Swedish consul in Paris, saved the French police just as their pistol and rifle ammunition was about to run out.
Resistance fighters erected around 600 street barricades—made of paving stones, trees, carts and sandbags—to stall and harass German troops. They seized government buildings, including the Hôtel de Ville (the city hall), where they pulled down a bust of Philippe Pétain, the French leader who'd collaborated with the Nazis, and replaced it with a portrait of de Gaulle. Uncensored newspapers appeared, their headlines celebrating Parisians' fight: "France is resurrected!" "Paris wins its freedom." "The Allies are approaching." But the poorly armed resistance couldn't push the Germans out of their strongholds around the city. According to Julian Jackson's France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944, 901 FFI members and 582 French civilians died in the fighting.
Communist resistance leader Henri Rol-Tanguy sent an emissary, Roger Gallois, west through the war's front lines to ask the Americans to airdrop arms. But as Gallois slipped across the German lines on August 22, he decided to urge the Allies to send troops instead. The insurrectionists could not liberate the city alone, a worried Gallois told American commanders; they would be killed if Allied soldiers didn't arrive soon.
That same day, Choltitz sat in the German Army headquarters in Paris' Hotel Meurice, struggling with his conscience. Hitler's military operations chief, Alfred Jodl, had just repeated his orders to demolish Paris' industry and the Seine's bridges—orders that Choltitz had stalled rather than carry out. Choltitz had seen Hitler in person in Germany just weeks earlier, and the führer's ragged condition and spittle-flecked rants about "final victory" had convinced him of two things: first, that the Nazi chief was falling apart fast, and second, that Germany would lose the war.
Choltitz calculated that his 22,000 troops in Paris weren't enough to stop a general uprising. He knew that the German high command was planning to withdraw more forces eastward. Paris would eventually fall to the Allies. So why destroy it? "To defend Paris against an enemy, even at the cost of its destruction, was a militarily valid act," wrote Collins and Lapierre. "But wantonly [ravaging] the city for the sole satisfaction of wiping one of the wonders of Europe from the map was an act without military justification."
To defuse the situation, Choltitz turned to Swedish Consul Raoul Nordling, a neutral diplomat. He told Nordling that Hitler had ordered him to destroy large parts of the city. If he ignored the demands much longer, he feared he would be relieved of command. The German general asked Nordling to pass a message to the Allied enemy: Come to Paris quickly. Emissaries, including Nordling's own brother, headed west and crossed the front lines, with Choltitz's permission.
Also on August 22, Eisenhower changed his mind about protecting the French capital. De Gaulle's arguments had stuck with him. "It looks now as if we'd be compelled to go into Paris," Eisenhower wrote to his chief of staff that evening, scribbling on the top of a letter from de Gaulle. He ordered a Free French division toward the capital. "Information indicated that no great battle would take place," Eisenhower recalled in his 1948 memoir, Crusade in Europe.
What influenced Eisenhower's decision besides de Gaulle? Some sources, like Collins and Lapierre, credit Gallois' personal plea to U.S. commanders. Others, including Charles Williams' 1993 biography of de Gaulle, note that the U.S. Army's G-2 intelligence division had told the Allied commander that the situation in Paris was worsening and that the Germans might counterattack.
"[General Omar] Bradley and his G-2 think we can and must walk in," Eisenhower wrote to his chief of staff. And though Nordling's emissaries didn't reach the American commanders until August 23, de Gaulle biographer Don Cook later wrote that a diplomatic cable from Nordling had reached Eisenhower via London, predicting that a quick advance would lead to a German surrender.
On August 25, 1944—80 years ago this week—the Free French Second Armored Division rolled into Paris, with the American Fourth Infantry Division close behind. Rapturous crowds jammed the streets to greet the Allies, who encountered "15 solid miles of cheering, deliriously happy people waiting to shake your hand, to kiss you, to shower you with food and wine," as a U.S. Army major recalled.
French and German tanks exchanged fire on the Champs-Élysées and fought around the Jardin des Tuileries. The French troops reached the nearby Hotel Meurice, where Choltitz surrendered after a short firefight. The general spent the next several hours convincing German holdouts around the city to lay down their arms. The French division liberated the capital, losing around 100 to 150 soldiers. "Is Paris burning?" Hitler ranted inside his military headquarters. It wasn't.
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All of the video does not work but the pictures are there…skip
. From the archives
Thanks to Carl
Russia Releases "Tsar Bomba" Test Footage Of The Most Powerful Nuclear Bomb Blast Ever - The Drive
Russia Releases "Tsar Bomba" Test Footage Of The Most Powerful Nuclear Bomb Blast Ever
This previously classified film provides a new and fascinating glimpse into the 50-megaton Cold War nuclear test that occurred nearly six decades ago.
BY THOMAS NEWDICKAUGUST 24, 2020
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This Day in U S Military History August 26
1804 – Following the death of Sergeant Charles Floyd, Lewis and Clark promote Patrick Gass as his replacement. Barely three months into their journey to the Pacific, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark lost the only man to die on the journey. On August 20, 1804, Sergeant Charles Floyd died from a disease Lewis diagnosed as "Biliose Chorlick," or bilious colic. Based on the symptoms described, Floyd's appendix had probably ruptured and he died of peritonitis. After burying Floyd on a high bluff above the Missouri River, the expedition moved on toward the Pacific Ocean. Two days later, the captains held an election among the men to determine Floyd's replacement. Private Patrick Gass received a majority of the votes. A native of Pennsylvania, Gass had joined the U.S. Army in 1799 at the age of 28. He proved to be a reliable soldier and soon won promotion to sergeant. When a call for volunteers to join Lewis and Clark's journey of exploration to the Pacific was released, Gass jumped at the chance. Lewis overrode the commander's objections to giving up his best noncommissioned officer, and Gass joined the Corps of Discovery as a private. Gass proved himself a capable man in the first weeks of the mission. The captains agreed with their men–Gass was the best choice to replace Floyd as one of the two sergeants on the expedition. On this day in 1804, Lewis issued an order promoting Gass to the rank of "Sergeant in the corps of volunteers for North Western Discovery." Gass proved more than equal to the task. He served faithfully during the long journey to the Pacific and kept a careful journal throughout the journey, an important historical contribution. After the expedition returned, Lewis and Clark released Gass from duty, giving him a letter testifying to his excellent service. Gass settled in Wellsburg, West Virginia, where he prepared for the publication of his journal. Appearing seven years before the official narrative of the journey was published, A Journal of the Voyages and Travels of a Corps of Discovery was a well-crafted account of the journey that continues to be useful to historians. Having already completed the adventure of a lifetime, Gass still had many decades ahead of him. He served again in the army, lost an eye during the War of 1812, married at the age of 58, and fathered seven children. For most of his later years, Gass was the sole surviving member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He lived until 1870, dying only a few months short of his 100th birthday
1957 – The Soviet Union announces that it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of being fired "into any part of the world." The announcement caused great concern in the United States, and started a national debate over the "missile gap" between America and Russia. For years after World War II, both the United States and the Soviet Union had been trying to perfect a long-range missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Building on the successes of Nazi Germany in developing the V-1 and V-2 rockets that pummeled Great Britain during the last months of World War II, both American and Russian scientists raced to improve the range and accuracy of such missiles. (Both nations relied heavily on captured German scientists in their efforts.) In July 1957, the United States seemed to win the race when the Atlas, an ICBM with a speed of up to 20,000 miles an hour and an effective range of 5,000 miles, was ready for testing. The test, however, was a disaster. The missile rose only about 5,000 feet into the air, tumbled, and plunged to earth. Just a month later, the Soviets claimed success by announcing that their own ICBM had been tested, had "covered a huge distance in a brief time," and "landed in the target area." No details were given in the Russian announcement and some commentators in the United States doubted that the ICBM test had been as successful as claimed. Nevertheless, the Soviet possession of this "ultimate weapon," coupled with recent successful test by the Russians of atomic and hydrogen bombs, raised concerns in America. If the Soviets did indeed perfect their ICBM, no part of the United States would be completely safe from possible atomic attack. Less than two months later, the Soviets sent the satellite Sputnik into space. Concern quickly turned to fear in the United States, as it appeared that the Russians were gaining the upper hand in the arms and space races. The American government accelerated its own missile and space programs. The Soviet successes–and American failures–became an issue in the 1960 presidential campaign. Democratic challenger John F. Kennedy charged that the outgoing Eisenhower administration had allowed a dangerous "missile gap" to develop between the United States and the Soviet Union. Following his victory in 1960, Kennedy made missile development and the space program priorities for his presidency.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*HANDRICH, MELVIN O.
Rank and organization: Master Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 5th Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Near Sobuk San Mountain, Korea, 25 and 26 August 1950. Entered service at: Manawa, Wis. Born: 26 January 1919, Manawa, Wis. G.O. No.: 60, 2 August 1951. Citation: M/Sgt. Handrich, Company C, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. His company was engaged in repulsing an estimated 150 enemy who were threatening to overrun its position. Near midnight on 25 August, a hostile group over 100 strong attempted to infiltrate the company perimeter. M/Sgt. Handrich, despite the heavy enemy fire, voluntarily left the comparative safety of the defensive area and moved to a forward position where he could direct mortar and artillery fire upon the advancing enemy. He remained at this post for 8 hours directing fire against the enemy who often approached to within 50 feet of his position. Again, on the morning of 26 August, another strong hostile force made an attempt to overrun the company's position. With complete disregard for his safety, M/Sgt. Handrich rose to his feet and from this exposed position fired his rifle and directed mortar and artillery fire on the attackers. At the peak of this action he observed elements of his company preparing to withdraw. He perilously made his way across fire-swept terrain to the defense area where, by example and forceful leadership, he reorganized the men to continue the fight. During the action M/Sgt. Handrich was severely wounded. Refusing to take cover or be evacuated, he returned to his forward position and continued to direct the company's fire. Later a determined enemy attack overran M/Sgt. Handrich's position and he was mortally wounded. When the position was retaken, over 70 enemy dead were counted in the area he had so intrepidly defended. M/Sgt. Handrich's sustained personal bravery, consummate courage, and gallant self-sacrifice reflect untold glory upon himself and the heroic traditions of the military service.
BACON, NICKY DANIEL
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division. Place and date: West of Tam Ky, Republic of Vietnam, 26 August 1968. Entered service at: Phoenix, Ariz. Born: 25 November 1945, Caraway, Ark. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Bacon distinguished himself while serving as a squad leader with the 1st Platoon, Company B, during an operation west of Tam Ky. When Company B came under fire from an enemy bunker line to the front, S/Sgt. Bacon quickly organized his men and led them forward in an assault. He advanced on a hostile bunker and destroyed it with grenades. As he did so, several fellow soldiers including the 1st Platoon leader, were struck by machine gun fire and fell wounded in an exposed position forward of the rest of the platoon. S/Sgt. Bacon immediately assumed command of the platoon and assaulted the hostile gun position, finally killing the enemy gun crew in a single-handed effort. When the 3d Platoon moved to S/Sgt. Bacon's location, its leader was also wounded. Without hesitation S/Sgt. Bacon took charge of the additional platoon and continued the fight. In the ensuing action he personally killed 4 more enemy soldiers and silenced an antitank weapon. Under his leadership and example, the members of both platoons accepted his authority without question. Continuing to ignore the intense hostile fire, he climbed up on the exposed deck of a tank and directed fire into the enemy position while several wounded men were evacuated. As a result of S/Sgt. Bacon's extraordinary efforts, his company was able to move forward, eliminate the enemy positions, and rescue the men trapped to the front. S/Sgt. Bacon's bravery at the risk of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
DAY, GEORGE E.
Rank and organization: Colonel (then Major), U.S. Air Force, Forward Air Controller Pilot of an F-100 aircraft. Place and date: North Vietnam, 26 August 1967. Entered service at: Sioux City, Iowa. Born: 24 February 1925, Sioux City, Iowa. Citation: On 26 August 1967, Col. Day was forced to eject from his aircraft over North Vietnam when it was hit by ground fire. His right arm was broken in 3 places, and his left knee was badly sprained. He was immediately captured by hostile forces and taken to a prison camp where he was interrogated and severely tortured. After causing the guards to relax their vigilance, Col. Day escaped into the jungle and began the trek toward South Vietnam. Despite injuries inflicted by fragments of a bomb or rocket, he continued southward surviving only on a few berries and uncooked frogs. He successfully evaded enemy patrols and reached the Ben Hai River, where he encountered U.S. artillery barrages. With the aid of a bamboo log float, Col. Day swam across the river and entered the demilitarized zone. Due to delirium, he lost his sense of direction and wandered aimlessly for several days. After several unsuccessful attempts to signal U.S. aircraft, he was ambushed and recaptured by the Viet Cong, sustaining gunshot wounds to his left hand and thigh. He was returned to the prison from which he had escaped and later was moved to Hanoi after giving his captors false information to questions put before him. Physically, Col. Day was totally debilitated and unable to perform even the simplest task for himself. Despite his many injuries, he continued to offer maximum resistance. His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy. Col. Day's conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Armed Forces.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 26, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
26 August
1939: Majs Charles M. Cummings and Stanley Umstead, pilot and copilot, flew a B-17A from Miami to the Panama Canal Zone in 6 hours 45 minutes. The 1,200-mile flight indicated how fast reinforcements could be rushed to protect the canal. (24)
1943: The US AAF used a new type of perspective maps with targets drawn as seen from the air to improve high altitude precision bombing abilities. (24)
1944: Eighth Air Force sent 997 heavy bombers and 897 fighters against targets in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany; 13 bombers and 13 fighters were lost, while 148 bombers and 15 fighters sustained damage. (4)
1950: The 91 SRW at Barksdale AFB received the first RB-45, a "C" model, four-engine jet reconnaissance aircraft. (1) KOREAN WAR. Fifth Air Force organized the 47 TCS and 48 TCS (Provisional) at Tachikawa with C-46s from the Far East to augment FEAF airlift resources for UN offensives in September. At Ashiya, Japan, FEAF organized the 1st Troop Carrier Task Force (Provisional) as the nucleus of the new Combat Cargo Command (Provisional) with Maj Gen William H. Tunner, architect of the "Hump" airlift of World War II and the Berlin airlift, 1948-1949, commanding the Combat Cargo Command. (28)
1954: After being launched by a B-29 Superfortress above Edwards AFB, Maj Arthur "Kit" Murray flew the Bell X-1A to 90,443 feet and set a new FAI altitude record. (9) (20)
1959: The first F-104 Starfighter landed in Europe as part of George AFB's rotation program.
1967: MEDAL OF HONOR. After shooting down his F-100 Super Sabre, the North Vietnamese captured Maj George E. Day. They took him to a prison camp for interrogation and torture. Despite crippling injuries, Day escaped and evaded the enemy for two weeks. He eventually crossed the demilitarized zone and came within two miles of a Marine Corps base before he was shot and captured again. He continued to resist his captors until released in 1973. For that action, he earned the Medal of Honor. (21)
1974: McDonnell Douglas test pilot Irving L. Burrows and Col Wendell ("Windy") Shawler, Vice Commander, 4950th Test Wing, flew the TF-15 prototype from Loring AFB to RAF Bentwaters, UK. They completed the 3,007-mile flight with no refuelings or escort in 4 hours 59 minutes. Through 27 August, 2 C-141s airlifted more than 34 tons of medical relief supplies into Burma, India, after flooding devastated that country. (18)
1975: The YC-15 medium short takeoff and landing transport completed its first flight from the McDonnell Douglas facility at Long Beach to Edwards AFB. (3)
1976: SAC launched its 500th missile, a Minuteman II, from Vandenberg AFB. (6) Two groups of women pilot candidates began flight screening at Hondo Municipal Airport, prior to entering undergradute pilot training at Williams AFB on 29 September. The 77-08 class included Capts Connie Engle, Mary Donahue, Kathy La Sauce, Susan Rogers, and Christine Schott; 1st Lts Sandra Scott and Victoria Crawford; and 2nd Lts. Mary Livingston, Carol Scherer and Kathleen Rambo. They graduated on 2 September 1977. (16) (21)
1980: PACIFIC COMFORT. An F-15/E-3A team deployed for the first time to Australia to participate in this air defense exercise. The exercise continued through 11 September. (16)
1987: The A-6F completed its first flight from the Grumman facility at Calverton, N.Y. The Navy launched a Tomahawk Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) with a live conventional warhead in a pop-up terminal maneuver from a submarine off the California coast for the first time.
2005: From Vandenberg AFB, the 576th Flight Test Squadron launched an unarmed Minuteman III as part of a test to demonstrate the ability to integrate a safety enhanced reentry vehicle into the existing Minuteman III weapons system. (AFNEWS Article, "Vandenberg Launches Minuteman III," 29 August 2005)
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