The List 7387
To All
Good Tuesday Morning December 16 2025 . It is supposed to be clear and sunny all day and hit 71 by 1. The weather guessers are still busy changing and predicting clear skies for the next week or so. Counting today we have 9 shopping days left before Christmas. I am a bit better today but it is not happening quick enough for me. I hope you are all well and functioning.
By the way we have had a few visits from bobcats recently but the largest one I have seen showed up last night. He walked all around the cage and on top. His eyes lit up like two non blinking stop lights when hit by the cameras. He was bigger than both my dogs. He knows what is in the cage and did a real good recce last night so I think he will be back.
.Regards
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.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 94 H-Grams.
December 16
1821 Lt. Robert F. Stockton and Dr. Eli Ayers, a naval surgeon and member of American Colonizing Society, persuade a local African king to sell territory for a colony that becomes the Republic of Liberia.
1907 The Great White Fleet departs Hampton Roads, Va. to circumnavigate the world in 14 months, a journey of 43,000 miles that included 20 port calls across six continents. Fourteen thousand Sailors and Marines participated in the voyage, leaving a lasting legacy at home and abroad.
1922 Lt. Cmdr. Walter A. Edwards, commanding USS Bainbridge (DD 246), leads the rescue of 482 passengers from the burning French transport Vinh-Long by placing his destroyer in dangerous positions to ensure the passengers could disembark, despite a series of explosions. He later brings them to Constantinople. For his leadership and heroism, Edwards receives the Medal of Honor.
1944 USS Swordfish (SS 193) attacks a Japanese convoy south of Hainan Island and sinks Japanese army transport Atsutasan Maru.
1998 In Operation Desert Fox, Navy cruise missiles attack Iraq to degrade Saddam Husseins ability to make and use weapons of mass destruction.
2017 The Freedom variant littoral combat ship USS Little Rock (LCS 9) is commissioned in a ceremony at the Canalside waterfront in Buffalo, New York. It is the second warship named for the Arkansas state capital and is commissioned alongside the first USS Little Rock (CL 92), which serves as a museum at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.
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Today in World History December 16
1431 Henry VI of England is crowned King of France.
1653 Oliver Cromwell takes on dictatorial powers with the title of "Lord Protector."
1773 To protest the tax on tea from England, a group of young Americans, disguised as Indians, throw chests of tea from British ships in Boston Harbor.
In Boston Harbor, a group of Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three tea ships and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor.
The midnight raid, popularly known as the "Boston Tea Party," was in protest of the British Parliament's Tea Act of 1773, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a virtual monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the East India Company to undercut even tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as another example of taxation tyranny.
1835 A fire in New York City destroys property estimated to be worth $20,000,000. It lasts two days, ravages 17 blocks, and destroys 674 buildings including the Stock Exchange, Merchants' Exchange, Post Office, and the South Dutch Church.
1863 Confederate General Joseph Johnston takes command of the Army of Tennessee.
1864 Union forces under General George H. Thomas win the battle at Nashville, smashing an entire Confederate army.
1930 In Spain, a general strike is called in support of the revolution.
1939 The National Women's Party urges immediate congressional action on equal rights.
1940 British troops carry out an air raid on Italian Somalia.
1944 Germany mounts a major offensive in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. As the center of the Allied line falls back, it creates a bulge, leading to the name--the Battle of the Bulge.
1949 Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung is received at the Kremlin in Moscow.
1950 President Harry Truman declares a state of National Emergency as Chinese communists invade deeper into South Korea.
1976 President Jimmy Carter appoints Andrew Young as Ambassador to the United Nations.
1978 Cleveland becomes the first U.S. city to default since the depression.
1998 The United States launches a missile attack on Iraq for failing to comply with United Nations weapons inspectors.
2003 President George W. Bush signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which establishes the United States' first national standards regarding email and gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce the act.
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Thanks to the Bear. We will always have the url for you to search items in Rolling Thunder
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER …
. rollingthunderremembered.com .
Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..December 16
16-Dec: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1497
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
By: Kipp Hanley
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. From the archives
Great Mig 21 video Thanks to Denny
Here is a good clip I had not seen before.
Best,
Denny Who said it was a lot of fun to fly and easy to maintain Just Gas and oil
This is very interesting and well done
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Another from the archives Thanks to Denny
Here is a great story of a C-130/F-35 midair near El Centro.
Denny
Great story of survival
USMC KC-130J Collision With an F-35 over the Salton Sea
https://www.coffeeordie.com/raider-five-zero
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Electric eels inspired the world's first battery.
From smartphones to electric cars, today's world is powered by batteries, and it's all thanks to electric fish and one stubbornly curious Italian chemist. Near the end of the 18th century, Alessandro Volta wanted to see if he could artificially recreate the electric organs found in electric eels (which are technically not eels) and rays. These organs look like stacked cells that closely resemble a roll of coins, and are used to stun potential prey with up to 1,000 volts. Volta tried to mimic this structure by stacking sheets of various materials to see if he could similarly produce electricity. All of his experiments failed, until he stumbled across a winning combination: alternating copper and zinc disks separated by paper soaked in salt water. While Volta originally named the world's first battery an "artificial electric organ," he actually discovered a wholly separate mechanism for creating electricity. Instead, fishes like eels use a process similar to how human nerves transmit electricity, but on a much larger scale. Yet because of Volta's happy electrochemical accident, you can read these words on your favorite battery-powered, eel-inspired device.
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From the archives. I so remember growing up with this story and the song…skip
. Thanks to "Dr. Rich
Thanks to Thierry at Air Journey ...
What a beautiful story …
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
As the holiday season of 1938 came to Chicago, Bob May wasn't feeling much comfort or joy. A 34-year-old ad writer for Montgomery Ward, May was exhausted and nearly broke. His wife, Evelyn, was bedridden, on the losing end of a two-year battle with cancer. This left Bob to look after their four-year old-daughter, Barbara.
One night, Barbara asked her father, "Why isn't my mommy like everybody else's mommy?"
As he struggled to answer his daughter's question, Bob remembered the pain of his own childhood. A small, sickly boy, he was constantly picked on and called names. But he wanted to give his daughter hope, and show her that being different was nothing to be ashamed of. More than that, he wanted her to know that he loved her and would always take care of her. So he began to spin a tale about a reindeer with a bright red nose who found a special place on Santa's team. Barbara loved the story so much that she made her father tell it every night before bedtime. As he did, it grew more elaborate. Because he couldn't afford to buy his daughter a gift for Christmas, Bob decided to turn the story into a homemade picture book.
In early December, Bob's wife died. Though he was heartbroken, he kept working on the book for his daughter.
A few days before Christmas, he reluctantly attended a company party at Montgomery Ward. His co-workers encouraged him to share the story he'd written. After he read it, there was a standing ovation. Everyone wanted copies of their own.
Montgomery Ward bought the rights to the book from their debt-ridden employee. Over the next six years, at Christmas, they gave away six million copies of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to shoppers. Every major publishing house in the country was making offers to obtain the book. In an incredible display of good will, the head of the department store returned all rights to Bob May. Four years later, Rudolph had made him into a millionaire.
Now remarried with a growing family, May felt blessed by his good fortune. But there was more to come. His brother-in-law, a successful songwriter named Johnny Marks, set the uplifting story to music. The song was pitched to artists from Bing Crosby on down. They all passed.
Finally, Marks approached Gene Autry. The cowboy star had scored a holiday hit with "Here Comes Santa Claus" a few years before. Like the others, Autry wasn't impressed with the song about the misfit reindeer. Marks begged him to give it a second listen. Autry played it for his wife, Ina. She was so touched by the line "They wouldn't let poor Rudolph play in any reindeer games" that she insisted her husband record the tune.
Within a few years, it had become the second best-selling Christmas song ever, right behind "White Christmas". Since then, Rudolph has come to life in TV specials, cartoons, movies, toys, games, coloring books, greeting cards and even a Ringling Bros. circus act. The little red-nosed reindeer dreamed up by Bob May and immortalized in song by Johnny Marks has come to symbolize Christmas as much as Santa Claus, evergreen trees and presents. As the last line of the song says, "He'll go down in history.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All Y'all !!
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Thanks to Brett
You need this to start your week..
I don't care what your politics are, this guy is a Hoot!
Baby Senator John Kennedy's FUNNIEST One-Liners Compilation
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Thanks to Brett
Victor Davis Hanson: What Has Hegseth Done Compared to Obama?
Victor Davis Hanson
December 13, 2025
Victor Davis Hanson @VDHanson
Victor Davis Hanson, a senior contributor for The Daily Signal, is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and host of "The Victor Davis Hanson Show." His website, The Blade of Perseus, features columns, lectures, and exclusive content for subscribers.
On this episode of "Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words," Victor Davis Hanson and Sami Winc dissect the effort to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Biden administration's effort to drum white conservative males out of the service.
Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., announced Wednesday his intention to file articles of impeachment against Hegseth, for "Murder and Conspiracy to Murder and Recklessness and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information." The first charge is in connection with a Sept. 2 military strike on a boat believed to be carrying drugs to the U.S.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and, of course, President Donald Trump have also faced impeachment calls this week from House Democrats.
Editor's note: This is a lightly edited transcript of a segment from today's edition of "Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words" from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson.
Sami Winc: What do you think about these impeachments? They're obviously not going to go through. So, what's the point?
Victor Davis Hanson: Why are they doing it? They don't control the House. It's just a way. Now you mentioned these guys' names, and now I know them. That's what it's for. Our listeners heard their names. That's it.
They're not going to get an impeachment majority vote. And there's no way in the world they're going to get 60 senators to vote. No way for a conviction.
So, I would ask them, "What would be an impeachable offense if you're Pete Hegseth?" He took out 30 boats. Let's say there were seven people on them, right? He didn't kill anybody, but 20 people were killed in this kinetic operation.
Barack Obama killed over 550. I haven't heard Pete Hegseth joke about it. Let me just ask the two congressmen this question: I'm Pete Hegseth. You know, I didn't think I was good at killing, but I found out I'm well suited for it.
And then he's going tell to a big audience, all the media in Washington, all the marquee media in America, he's going to say, I just want to make a joke. Anybody want to date my daughters? It's called P-R-E-D-A-T-O-R, Predator drone strike. Be careful.
So, what are [Hegseth]'s crimes? Well, he came in, and they were 45,000 recruits short in the military, and they had drummed out between 8,000 and 8,500 people for not getting the mRNA vaccination.
Aside from the question of whether that was a wise move, most of those people had had COVID by that time. So, they had a natural immunity. And we know now that the natural immunity is as good or better than the boosters or whatever. Speaking to someone who had both Moderna and I've had four cases of COVID, two serious and two not as bad.
And then, they were letting in 10,000 people a day across the border without any audit. So, they were telling the U.S. military, you've got to get an experimental, unproven Moderna or Pfizer vaccination, but the people coming from Latin America or all over the world, they don't have to. They're more entitled than you are.
So, he solved that problem. There's no recruitment crisis. Why are you raising your hand?
Winc: Because I want to say something about that. They undoubtedly felt in the military under [President Joe] Biden that they could get rid of people that were politically right-wing if they said people who did not get vaccinations, because the majority of the people that were against either vaccinations or the lockdown tended to be the right wing.
So that was probably more the goal than anything else.
Hanson: This is what they did. This is what they did intentionally. [Former Secretary of Defense] Lloyd Austin and Joe Biden. And to an extent, Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken. They said to the military, how do we get rid of these conservative people in the ranks? Well, they are more likely, as you said, not to get vaccinated. Let's get rid of 8,500. These were some really good veterans, great people.
Then they said, well, let's really push the trans, gay, DEI agenda. Let's run commercials of women pregnant in air suits. Let's have trans shows on military bases. Let us have, we won't call them quotas, that's illegal, but we will have racial quotas and gender quotas. And let's have women in combat units regardless. We'll lower the standards.
What was all the purpose of that? They said it was for inclusivity and diversity. No, it was to target a particular type of soldier. And that soldier fits a profile. Let's just take today's potential recruit, 18. His father fought in the Gulf War. His father fought in Vietnam. His father fought in Korea. His father, or grandfather, fought in World War II. His great-grandfather fought in World War I.
That was the type of demographic that volunteers to go into the military, especially the Army. And I say this until I turn blue in the face, but if you go in and try to decipher Pentagon websites or Pentagon-related—and they do not want to talk about this—but if you look at it, they have every DEI stat you can imagine. How many colonels are black? How many women are in combat units?
The dead? That's hard. How many people died by race? But if you can find that, and I have found it, it's about 72 to 74% in Afghanistan and Iraq.
So let me just summarize. They came in and said we do not like these recruits. And we're going to keep in your face DEI, in your face vaccination, and we're gonna insult them on radical abortion, and we're gonna get rid of them.
And then they said, well, these people constitute white male rural, Southern, you know what I'm talking about, our suburbs, they constitute about 35%, 70%, 67%—I know they inflate, there's multiracial, all that—but say 67 to 70% are white and half of that. So, you're talking about 34 to 35% of that pool was dying at double their numbers.
And yet that was the one they targeted to get rid of them. And they did. They just quit. 45,000 of them. Then you go to the Pentagon websites, and you think who is not being recruited? And you can see it, that was 90% white males. Then you talk to retired officers and generals, and they email you or they're angry at you or they trash you if you say this, and they have me.
Then you ask them why the shortfall? They will give you every answer except the truth. They will not say that white males die at twice their numbers in the demographic, and we try to alienate them through these social programs. They'll say, people are too fat. They have too many tattoos. They're on drugs. They're out of shape. We have to compete with private enterprise. It's all a lie.
And he solved that problem, Pete Hegseth. There is no shortage now. All of them are back.
And he solved the problem as well of if you want to smuggle drugs into the United States and you're in Latin America, we have a wall across the southern border now and there's zero entry, then you have to come by sea. And he was waiting for them.
And they kill 75,000 people a year through imported fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs.
[Hegseth is] compared to what? I think George W. Bush ordered targeted assassinations of about 50 people. He never killed a U.S. citizen.
Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump have not killed more than 30 or 40 people, maybe more in Iraq in the first term or Syria. And they have not, to our knowledge, killed a U.S. citizen. And the very people who joked about it under [Barack] Obama are now wanting to impeach him.
And then the final thing he's done very well: He's broken up the idea that you only buy major weapons systems from Raytheon or General Dynamics or Lockheed or Northrop. These are all great companies. The people that run them are great, but they're very expensive. $14 billion carriers, $75 million planes, $170 million fighters. So why not a million drones? Why not a million robotic drones on land? Why not a million drones in the ocean? Why not cheap missiles that people carry on their back?
So, that's what they're doing. They're trying to break up that monopoly and get on the shelf practical quantity as well as quality.
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Thanks to 1440
Good morning. It's Tuesday, Dec. 16, and we're covering an arrest in the death of a Hollywood director and his wife, charges in a foiled New Year's Eve attack, and much more
Hollywood Homicide Probe
The son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner was booked into a Los Angeles jail yesterday on suspicion of murdering his parents.
The LA Fire Department reportedly found the couple, 78 and 70, stabbed to death in their home while responding to a medical aid call Sunday afternoon. Their youngest son, Nick, is currently being held without bail, and prosecutors are expected to file charges by the end of the day tomorrow. The 32-year-old has previously spoken publicly about his struggles with drug addiction and homelessness. He collaborated with his father on the 2015 film "Being Charlie," which is loosely based on his teenage years.
Rob Reiner met his wife, Michele, in the late 1980s while directing "When Harry Met Sally..." and their relationship inspired him to change the ending of the romantic comedy. Reiner's other notable directing credits include "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Princess Bride," and "A Few Good Men."
NYE Bomb Plot Foiled
Federal authorities yesterday announced four people have been arrested on charges of plotting New Year's Eve bombings at multiple sites of two US companies in Southern California.
Court records identified the suspects as members of an antigovernment group known as the Turtle Island Liberation Front. The individuals were arrested last week in the Mojave Desert while preparing to test explosives. One member allegedly provided a confidential FBI source with an eight-page plan of their attack, dubbed "Operation Midnight Sun," which detailed simultaneous bombings at five locations of Amazon-type logistics centers; company names were not disclosed. The plan included instructions for building pipe bombs, avoiding DNA evidence, using burner phones, and exploiting fireworks to mask explosions.
The suspects—all from the Los Angeles area and aged 24, 30, 32, and 41—face charges of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, with additional charges expected.
Jimmy Lai Convicted
A Hong Kong court convicted 78-year-old former media mogul Jimmy Lai yesterday in a landmark national security trial. The pro-democracy activist faces up to life in prison; his sentencing hearing begins Jan. 12.
Lai founded Apple Daily, a since-shuttered newspaper that reached more than 3.8 million registered web users, about half of Hong Kong's population. At its height, Lai had a reported net worth of $1.2B. In 2020, however, local authorities arrested him under a national security law following antigovernment protests the previous year. Lai was accused of conspiring with foreign governments to sanction China and Hong Kong and to print and distribute seditious articles. He has spent the past five years in jail, including stretches in solitary confinement.
A deal between China and the UK had guaranteed Hong Kong a degree of autonomy until 2047. Critics argue that recent national security laws are designed to restrict free speech.
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From Nice News
I remember watching the video of him taking away the rifle of the shooter.
Apparently he knew nothing about firearms….skip
Inspiring Story
________________________________________
Hero on the path to recovery
Amid Sunday's devastating shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach, a man grabbed a gun from one of the attackers and knocked him to the ground. The brave bystander, 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, suffered two bullet wounds from the gunman — now, he's recovering in the hospital and a GoFundMe campaign started for him has raised nearly $1 million. "My son is a hero," said his father, Mohamed Fateh al-Ahmed. "He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people."
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This Day in U S Military History
December 16
1942 – Admiral Tanaka's supply run is attacked again, US dive bombers sink the destroyer Kagero off Guadalcanal. On land, US troops move on Mount Austen.
1944 – With the Anglo-Americans closing in on Germany from the west and the Soviets approaching from the east, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler orders a massive attack against the western Allies by three German armies. The German counterattack out of the densely wooded Ardennes region of Belgium took the Allies entirely by surprise, and the experienced German troops wrought havoc on the American line, creating a triangular "bulge" 60 miles deep and 50 miles wide along the Allied front. Conditions of fog and mist prevented the unleashing of Allied air superiority, and for several days Hitler's desperate gamble seemed to be paying off. However, unlike the French in 1940, the embattled Americans kept up a fierce resistance even after their lines of communication had been broken, buying time for a three-point counteroffensive led by British General Bernard Montgomery and Americans generals Omar Bradley and George Patton. The Germans threw 250,000 soldiers into the initial assault, 14 German infantry divisions guarded by five panzer divisions-against a mere 80,000 Americans. Their assault came in early morning at the weakest part of the Allied line, an 80-mile poorly protected stretch of hilly, woody forest (the Allies simply believed the Ardennes too difficult to traverse, and therefore an unlikely location for a German offensive). Between the vulnerability of the thin, isolated American units and the thick fog that prevented Allied air cover from discovering German movement, the Germans were able to push the Americans into retreat. One particularly effective German trick was the use of English-speaking German commandos who infiltrated American lines and, using captured U.S. uniforms, trucks, and jeeps, impersonated U.S. military and sabotaged communications. The ploy caused widespread chaos and suspicion among the American troops as to the identity of fellow soldiers–even after the ruse was discovered. Even General Omar Bradley himself had to prove his identity three times–by answering questions about football and Betty Grable–before being allowed to pass a sentry point. The battle raged for three weeks, resulting in a massive loss of American and civilian life. Nazi atrocities abounded, including the murder of 72 American soldiers by SS soldiers in the Ardennes town of Malmedy. Historian Stephen Ambrose estimated that by war's end, "Of the 600,000 GIs involved, almost 20,000 were killed, another 20,000 were captured, and 40,000 were wounded." The United States also suffered its second-largest surrender of troops of the war: More than 7,500 members of the 106th Infantry Division capitulated at one time at Schnee Eifel. The devastating ferocity of the conflict also made desertion an issue for the American troops; General Eisenhower was forced to make an example of Private Eddie Slovik, the first American executed for desertion since the Civil War. Fighting was particularly fierce at the town of Bastogne, where the 101st Airborne Division and part of the 10th Armored Division were encircled by German forces within the bulge. On December 22, the German commander besieging the town demanded that the Americans surrender or face annihilation. U.S. Major General Anthony McAuliffe prepared a typed reply that read simply: "To the German Commander: Nuts! From the American Commander." The Americans who delivered the message explained to the perplexed Germans that the one-word reply was translatable as "Go to hell!" Heavy fighting continued at Bastogne, but the 101st held on. On December 23, the skies finally cleared over the battle areas, and the Allied air forces inflicted heavy damage on German tanks and transport, which were jammed solidly along the main roads. On December 26, Bastogne was relieved by elements of General Patton's 3rd Army. A major Allied counteroffensive began at the end of December, and by January 21 the Germans had been pushed back to their original line. Germany's last major offensive of the war had cost them 120,000 men, 1,600 planes, and 700 tanks.
1950 – In the wake of the massive Chinese intervention in the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman declares a state of emergency. Proclaiming that "Communist imperialism" threatened the world's people, Truman called upon the American people to help construct an "arsenal of freedom." In November, the stakes in the Korean War dramatically escalated with the intervention of hundreds of thousands of communist Chinese troops. Prior to their arrival on the battlefield, the U.S. forces seemed on the verge of victory in Korea. Just days after General Douglas MacArthur declared an "end the war offensive," however, massive elements of the Chinese army smashed into the American lines and drove the U.S. forces back. The "limited war" in Korea threatened to turn into a widespread conflict. Against this backdrop, Truman issued his state of emergency and the U.S. military-industrial complex went into full preparations for a possible third world war. The president's proclamation vastly expanded his executive powers and gave Mobilization Director Charles E. Wilson nearly unlimited authority to coordinate the country's defense program. Such an increase in government power had not been seen since World War II. The Soviet Union, which Truman blamed for most of the current world problems in the course of his speech, blasted the United States for "warmongering." Congress, most of America's allies, and the American people appeared to be strongly supportive of the President's tough talk and actions. Truman's speech, and the events preceding it, indicated that the Cold War-so long a battle of words and threats-had become an actual military reality. The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953.
1953 – Charles E. Yeager flew 2,575 kph in Bell X-1A.
1997 – The Galileo spacecraft flew to within 124 miles of the surface and recorded images of Europa. Volcanic ice flows implicated a vast ocean below the surface. Giant lightning bolts on Jupiter, a hundred times more powerful than those on Earth, were reported via the spacecraft and it indicated a magnetic field around Ganymede. It also indicated an atmosphere of hydrogen and carbon dioxide around Callisto. Metallic cores inside Io, Ganymede and Europa and the lack of a similar core inside Callisto was also indicated.
1998 – In Operation Desert Fox, Navy cruise missiles attack Iraq. Pres. Clinton ordered a sustained series of missile strikes against Iraq forces in response to Saddam Hussein's continued defiance of UN weapons inspectors. Iraqi envoy Nizar Hamdoon accused UN weapons inspector Richard Butler of producing a biased report on weapons inspections. The strike came one before scheduled vote on Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives and days before the beginning of Ramadan. Some 200 missiles fell on Iraq in the first 24 hours of the attack and initial reports indicated two people killed and 30 injured. The House Republicans postponed impeachment by at least 24 hours.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
WELCH, GEORGE W.
Rank and organization: Private, Company A, 11th Missouri Infantry. Place and date: At Nashville, Tenn., 16 December 1864. Entered service at: Keokuk, Lee County, lowa. Birth: Brown County, lowa. Date of issue: 24 February 1965 Citation: Captured the flag of the 13th Alabama Infantry (C.S.A.).
EDWARDS, WALTER ATLEE
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy. Place and date: Sea of Marmora, Turkey, 16 December 1922. Born: 8 November 1886, Philadelphia, Pa. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 123, 4 February 1924. (Medal presented by President Coolidge at the White House on 2 February 1924.) Other Navy award: Navy Cross. Citation: For heroism in rescuing 482 men, women and children from the French military transport Vinh-Long, destroyed by fire in the Sea of Marmora, Turkey, on 16 December 1922. Lt. Comdr. Edwards, commanding the U.S.S. Bainbridge, placed his vessel alongside the bow of the transport and, in spite of several violent explosions which occurred on the burning vessel, maintained his ship in that position until all who were alive were taken on board. Of a total of 495 on board, 482 were rescued by his coolness, judgment and professional skill, which were combined with a degree of heroism that must reflect new glory on the U.S. Navy.
McGARlTY, VERNON
Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company L, 393d Infantry, 99th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Krinkelt, Belgium, 16 December 1944. Entered service at: Model, Tenn. Born: 1 December 1921, Right, Tenn. G.O. No.: 6, 11 January 1946. Citation: He was painfully wounded in an artillery barrage that preceded the powerful counteroffensive launched by the Germans near Krinkelt, Belgium, on the morning of 16 December 1944. He made his way to an aid station, received treatment, and then refused to be evacuated, choosing to return to his hard-pressed men instead. The fury of the enemy's great Western Front offensive swirled about the position held by T/Sgt. McGarity's small force, but so tenaciously did these men fight on orders to stand firm at all costs that they could not be dislodged despite murderous enemy fire and the breakdown of their communications. During the day the heroic squad leader rescued 1 of his friends who had been wounded in a forward position, and throughout the night he exhorted his comrades to repulse the enemy's attempts at infiltration. When morning came and the Germans attacked with tanks and infantry, he braved heavy fire to run to an advantageous position where he immobilized the enemy's lead tank with a round from a rocket launcher. Fire from his squad drove the attacking infantrymen back, and 3 supporting tanks withdrew. He rescued, under heavy fire, another wounded American, and then directed devastating fire on a light cannon which had been brought up by the hostile troops to clear resistance from the area. When ammunition began to run low, T/Sgt. McGarity, remembering an old ammunition hole about 100 yards distant in the general direction of the enemy, braved a concentration of hostile fire to replenish his unit's supply. By circuitous route the enemy managed to emplace a machinegun to the rear and flank of the squad's position, cutting off the only escape route. Unhesitatingly, the gallant soldier took it upon himself to destroy this menace single-handedly. He left cover, and while under steady fire from the enemy, killed or wounded all the hostile gunners with deadly accurate rifle fire and prevented all attempts to reman the gun. Only when the squad's last round had been fired was the enemy able to advance and capture the intrepid leader and his men. The extraordinary bravery and extreme devotion to duty of T/Sgt. McGarity supported a remarkable delaying action which provided the time necessary for assembling reserves and forming a line against which the German striking power was shattered.
MURRAY, CHARLES P., JR.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company C, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Kaysersberg, France, 16 December 1944. Entered service at: Wilmington, N.C. Birth: Baltimore, Md. G.O. No.: 63, 1 August 1945. Citation: For commanding Company C, 30th Infantry, displaying supreme courage and heroic initiative near Kaysersberg, France, on 16 December 1944, while leading a reinforced platoon into enemy territory. Descending into a valley beneath hilltop positions held by our troops, he observed a force of 200 Germans pouring deadly mortar, bazooka, machinegun, and small arms fire into an American battalion occupying the crest of the ridge. The enemy's position in a sunken road, though hidden from the ridge, was open to a flank attack by 1st Lt. Murray's patrol but he hesitated to commit so small a force to battle with the superior and strongly disposed enemy. Crawling out ahead of his troops to a vantage point, he called by radio for artillery fire. His shells bracketed the German force, but when he was about to correct the range his radio went dead. He returned to his patrol, secured grenades and a rifle to launch them and went back to his self-appointed outpost. His first shots disclosed his position; the enemy directed heavy fire against him as he methodically fired his missiles into the narrow defile. Again he returned to his patrol. With an automatic rifle and ammunition, he once more moved to his exposed position. Burst after burst he fired into the enemy, killing 20, wounding many others, and completely disorganizing its ranks, which began to withdraw. He prevented the removal of 3 German mortars by knocking out a truck. By that time a mortar had been brought to his support. 1st Lt. Murray directed fire of this weapon, causing further casualties and confusion in the German ranks. Calling on his patrol to follow, he then moved out toward his original objective, possession of a bridge and construction of a roadblock. He captured 10 Germans in foxholes. An eleventh, while pretending to surrender, threw a grenade which knocked him to the ground, inflicting 8 wounds. Though suffering and bleeding profusely, he refused to return to the rear until he had chosen the spot for the block and had seen his men correctly deployed. By his single-handed attack on an overwhelming force and by his intrepid and heroic fighting, 1st Lt. Murray stopped a counterattack, established an advance position against formidable odds, and provided an inspiring example for the men of his command.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for December 16, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
16 December
1907: The Chief Signal Officer called for bids on a lighter-than-air "airship." (24)
I watched both of these go off when I lived at Vandenberg. It had just been renamed from Camp Cook when we got there.
1958: Launching operations began down the Pacific Missile Range with a successful Thor missile shot from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. This was the first ballistic missile flight over the Pacific Ocean. (6) At Dover AFB, Del., Brig Gen Robert J. Goewey flew a C-133 Cargomaster with the heaviest load in aviation history to date. The aircraft carried 117,000 pounds to 10,000 feet. (24)
1960: From Vandenberg AFB, Calif., the Strategic Air Command fired the first Atlas-D equipped with a Mark-3 nose cone over a 4,384-mile course to Eniwetok Island. (24) The Semi-automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) facility at Gunter AFS, Ala., controlled two BOMARC-B missiles launched from Eglin AFB, Fla., and directed their interception of a B-47 drone flying at 500 MPH at 30,000 feet. (24)
1963: A 13-man Air Force and Army team set a 41,000-foot free-fall parachute record.
1970: The 509th Bombardment Wing at Pease AFB, N. H., received the Strategic Air Command's first combat-capable FB-111A. (12)
1976: First F-16A delivered to Edwards AFB, Calif., for testing. (12)
1982: The 416th Bombardment Wing at Griffiss AFB, N.Y., became the first Strategic Air Command unit to be operationally equipped with Air Launched Cruise Missiles. (6) (12)
1985: Pioneer 6 becomes the longest running spacecraft in history. When launched in 1965, the solarorbiting satellite had a six-month life expectancy. (8: Dec 90)
1992: MACKAY TROPHY. At night, a B-52 from the 668th Bomb Squadron lost two engines in flight when one exploded and damaged another. Two other engines on the same side of the aircraft flamed out, forcing the crew into frantic maneuvers to save the aircraft. The pilot managed to restart the two flamed-out engines and land the plane safely. For that feat, the crew received the trophy. (16) (26)
1996: At Seymour Johnson AFB, N. C., Gen Richard E. Hawley, Air Combat Command Commander, and Congressman Walter B. Jones Jr. of North Carolina, named the thirteenth B-2 the "Spirit of Kitty Hawk" to honor the Wright Brothers first flight. (AFNEWS Article 961250, Dec 96) General Hawley also announced that the 509th Bombardment Wing had achieved a limited operational capability with B-2 and conventional weapons at Whiteman AFB, Mo. (AFNEWS Article 961330, Dec 96) Lockheed Martin celebrated a major milestone in C-130 history, when the company assembled its last "H" model to end a 32-year production run. The C-130H was first introduced in 1964 and has been in steady production since. (AFNEWS Article 961271, 16 Dec 96)
1998: Operation DESERT FOX/PHOENIX SCORPION IV. The US and Great Britain initiated the operation against Iraq after Iraq prevented UN weapons inspectors from continuing their work. In the 4-day operation, cruise missiles and aircraft strikes hit about 100 Iraqi weapons production facilities. It was the largest air campaign against the Iraqis since DESERT STORM in 1991, and it featured the first use of the B-1B in combat. Under PHOENIX SCORPION IV, the Air Mobility Command deployed forces that were placed on alert a month earlier as a CONUS Crisis Response Force. In the 4-day deployment, Air Mobility Command aircraft flew 159 missions to airlift 2,462 passengers and 1,940 short tons of cargo. Air National Guardsmen and Air Force Reservists from five different units, plus several active duty units assigned to the Northeast Tanker Task Force in Maine, refueled Air Force aircraft deploying to the Persian Gulf. (21) (22) (32) A 33d Fighter Wing F-15D from Eglin AFB, Fla., became the first in the Air Force inventory to log 6,000 flying hours. (30)
2000: Lockheed Martin's X-35C Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstrator for the Navy made its first flight, a 27-minute trip, from Palmdale to Edwards AFB in California to begin flight testing. It resembled the USAF's X-35A, but had larger wing and control surfaces, ailerons, and a special structure for high-impact landings for carrier operations. (3)
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