The List 7407
To All
Good Monday Morning January 5, 2026 . The day started out partly cloudy but has already gone mostly cloudy. Temps are supposed to be from 51 to 62 today... The weather guessers are predicting rain on Wednesday. Tomorrow is supposed to be like today Have a great week. More on the Venezuela action at the end
.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 94 H-Grams.
January. 5
1776 The first Continental Navy squadron is ordered to sea by Congress to seek the British off coasts of the Carolinas and Rhode Island and in the Chesapeake Bay.
1875 Cmdr. Edward Lull leaves New York to begin the Panamanian Expedition to locate the best ship canal route across Panama. The route mapped is followed 30 years later.
1943 While bombing airfields and installations during the Guadalcanal campaign, USS Helena (CL 50) becomes the first U.S. Navy ship to use Mk.32 proximity-fused projectiles in combat, downing a Japanese Aichi Type 99 carrier bomber (VAL) with her second salvo.
1944 USS Omaha (CL 4) and USS Jouett (DD 396) were summoned to engage the German blockade runner Burgenland under the guise of SS Rio Grande. Gunfire and scuttling charges, sank the German runner.
1945 Kamikaze attacks continued against the U.S. Navy force bound for the Lingayen Gulf. Eight ships were hit and Rear Admiral Theodore E. Chandler was among those who were killed.
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This day in World History January 5
1757 Robert Francois Damiens makes an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate King Louis XV of France.
1815 Federalists from all over New England, angered over the War of 1812, draw up the Hartford Convention, demanding several important changes in the U.S. Constitution.
1861 The merchant vessel Star of the West sets sail from New York to Fort Sumter, in response to rebel attack, carrying supplies and 250 troops.1904 American Marines arrive in Seoul, Korea, to guard the U.S. legation there.
1914 Henry Ford astounds the world as he announces that he will pay a minimum wage of $5 a day and will share with employees $10 million in the previous year's profits.
1917 Bulgarian and German troops occupy the Port of Braila.
1919 British ships shell the Bolshevik headquarters in Riga.
1920 GOP women demand equal representation at the Republican National Convention in June.
1921 Wagner's "Die Walkyrie" opens in Paris. This is the first German opera performed in Paris since the beginning of World War I.
1923 The U.S. Senate debates the benefits of Peyote for the American Indian.
1925 Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is sworn in as the first woman governor in the United States.
1936 Daggha Bur, Ethiopia, is bombed by the Italians.
1942 U.S. and Filipino troops complete their withdrawal to a new defensive line along the base of the Bataan peninsula.
1947 Great Britain nationalizes its coal mines.
1951 Inchon, South Korea, the site of General Douglas MacArthur's amphibious flanking maneuver, is abandoned by United Nations force to the advancing Chinese Army.
1952 Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Washington to confer with President Harry S. Truman.
1968 U.S. forces in Vietnam launch Operation Niagara I to locate enemy units around the Marine base at Khe Sanh.
1969 President Richard M. Nixon appoints Henry Cabot Lodge as negotiator at the Paris Peace Talks.
1971 President Richard M. Nixon names Robert Dole as chairman of the Republican National Party.
1979 Ohio officials approve an out-of-court settlement awarding $675,000 to the victims and families in the 1970 shootings at Kent State University, in which four students were killed and nine wounded by National Guard troops.
1982 A Federal judge voids a state law requiring balanced classroom treatment of evolution and creationism.
1991 The South Ossetia War (1991-92) begins as Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia, Georgia.
2005 Eris, largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System is discovered in images taken Oct. 21, 2003, at Palomar Observatory.
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Thanks to Al
Monday Morning Humor--Musings for the New Year
. Submitted by Mark Logan:
• My new car has a button for pretty much everything. There is even one that says "Rear Wiper". I'm still too afraid to try that one.
• Why is it after I push "ONE for English" I still can't understand the person on the other end?
• I saw this guy today at Starbucks: no iPhone, no tablet, no laptop. He just sat there drinking coffee…like a psychopath.
• Why does the Flat Earth Society say it has members all around the globe?
• It's better to grow old with a sense of humor than to grow old with no sense at all.
• When I was a kid we played 'spin the bottle'. If they didn't want to kiss you, they'd have to give you a quarter. By the time I was twelve, I owned my own home.
• Yesterday, I was cooking dinner, and my son came up to me and said, "One day I will work and help you with the bills, the groceries, and the house expenses." My eyes started to tear up, My baby will be 32 next month.
• I remember my teacher told me not to worry about spelling because in the future there will be autocorrect. And for that I am eternally grapefruit.
• You know you're getting old when a recliner and a heating pad is your idea of a hot date.
• This past New Years I recalled how they say 40 is the new 30 and 50 is the new 40, but I realized as I have aged that 9 PM is the new midnight.
• You know when you buy a bag of salad and it gets all brown and soggy? Cookies don't do that.
Submitted by Dave Harris:
• Don't grow up. It's a trap.
• Pulled a nose hair out today to see if it hurt! Judging by the screams of the guy asleep on the bus next to me, YES it did hurt!
• I found a book called "How to Solve 50% of Your Problems". So, I bought two.
• I've heard that April Fools' Day is cancelled this year because no made up prank could match the unbelievable crap going on in the world right now.
• If you get a loan at a bank, you'll be paying it back for 30 years. If you rob a bank, you'll be out in 10 years. Follow me for more financial advice.
• I finally found a diet plan that really works. It's called "The Price of Food."
• I found that I have been happier since I changed from coffee in the morning to orange juice. My doctor explained that it's the vitamin C and natural sugars but I really think it's the vodka.
• Due to our ridiculous gas prices, I will no longer stop at stop signs or red lights. I can't afford to idle. Thank you for your understanding and stay safe.
Submitted by Colleen Grosso:
• I choked on a carrot this morning, and all I could think of was, "I'll bet a doughnut wouldn't have done this to me."
• It only takes one slow-walking person in the grocery store to destroy the illusion that I'm a nice person.
• It turns out that when asked who your favorite child is, you're supposed to pick out one of your own. I know that now.
• It's fine to eat a test grape in the produce section, but you take one bite of rotisserie chicken and it's all, "Sir, you need to leave!"
• One thing no one ever talks about, when it comes to being an older adult, is how much time we devote to keeping a cardboard box because it is, you know, a really good box.
• I can't believe I forgot to go to the gym today. That's seven years in a row, now.
• If you dropped something when you were younger, you just picked it up. When you're older and you drop something, you stare at it for just a bit contemplating if you actually need it anymore.
• I like to make lists. I also like to leave them lying on the kitchen counter, and then guess what's on the list when I am at the store.
• Ask your doctor if a drug with 32 pages of side effects is bad for you.
• I relabeled all of the jars in my wife's spice rack. I'm not in trouble yet, but the thyme is cumin.
• I just read a book about marriage that says treat your wife like you treated her on your first date. So tonight after dinner I'm dropping her off at her parent's house.
• The best way to get back on your feet is to miss two car payments.
• I love bacon. Sometimes I eat it twice a day. It takes my mind off the terrible chest pains I keep getting.
• As I watch this generation try to rewrite history, one thing I am sure of is that it will be misspelled and have no punctuation.
• When I was a kid, I used to watch the 'Wizard of Oz' and wonder how someone could talk if they didn't have a brain. Then I got Facebook.
• Apparently RSVP'ing to a wedding invitation with "Maybe next time" isn't the correct response.
• I just burned 1,200 calories. I forgot the pizza in the oven.
• Who knew that the hardest thing about being an adult is figuring out what to fix for dinner and doing it every single night for the rest of your life until you die?
• Never trust an electrician with no eyebrows.
• Instead of cleaning my house, I just watch an episode of "The Hoarders," and think, "Wow! My house looks great."
Submitted by Skip Leonard:
• Still trying to get my head around the fact that 'Take Out' can mean food, dating, or murder.
• Threw out my back sleeping and tweaked my neck sneezing so I'm probably just one strong fart away from complete paralysis.
• Being popular on Facebook is like sitting at the 'cool table' in the cafeteria of a mental hospital.
• I too was once a male trapped in a female body…but then my mother gave birth.
• If only vegetables smelled as good as bacon.
• When I lost the fingers on my right hand in a freak accident, I asked the doctor if I would still be able to write with it. He said, "Probably, but I wouldn't count on it."
• I woke up this morning determined to drink less, eat right, and exercise. But that was four hours ago when I was younger and full of hope.
• Anyone who says their wedding was the best day of their life has clearly never had two candy bars fall down at once from a vending machine.
• When a kid says "Daddy, I want mommy" that's the kid version of "I'd like to speak to your supervisor".
• It's weird being the same age as old people.
• Last night the internet stopped working so I spent a few hours with my family. They seem like good people.
• If Adam and Eve were Cajuns, they would have eaten the snake instead of the apple and saved us all a lot of trouble.
• We celebrated last night with a couple of adult beverages …… Metamucil and Ensure.
• Weight loss goal: To be able to clip my toenails and breathe at the same time.
• Some of my friends exercise every day. Meanwhile I am watching a show I don't like because the remote fell on the floor.
• I just got a present labeled, 'From Mom and Dad', and I know darn well Dad has no idea what's inside.
• Someone said, "Nothing rhymes with orange." I said, "No, it doesn't."
• There's a fine line between a numerator and a denominator. Only a fraction of people will find this funny.
• I have many hidden talents. I just wish I could remember where I hid them.
Have a great week,
Al
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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
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From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..January 5
January 5: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2682
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This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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. 1933
January 05
Golden Gate Bridge is born
On January 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure's huge anchorages.
Following the Gold Rush boom that began in 1849, speculators realized the land north of San Francisco Bay would increase in value in direct proportion to its accessibility to the city. Soon, a plan was hatched to build a bridge that would span the Golden Gate, a narrow, 400-foot deep strait that serves as the mouth of the San Francisco Bay, connecting the San Francisco Peninsula with the southern end of Marin County.
Although the idea went back as far as 1869, the proposal took root in 1916. A former engineering student, James Wilkins, working as a journalist with the San Francisco Bulletin, called for a suspension bridge with a center span of 3,000 feet, nearly twice the length of any in existence. Wilkins' idea was estimated to cost an astounding $100 million. So, San Francisco's city engineer, Michael M. O'Shaughnessy (he's also credited with coming up with the name Golden Gate Bridge), began asking bridge engineers whether they could do it for less.
Engineer and poet Joseph Strauss, a 5-foot tall Cincinnati-born Chicagoan, said he could.
Eventually, O'Shaughnessy and Strauss concluded they could build a pure suspension bridge within a practical range of $25-30 million with a main span at least 4,000 feet. The construction plan still faced opposition, including litigation, from many sources. By the time most of the obstacles were cleared, the Great Depression of 1929 had begun, limiting financing options, so officials convinced voters to support $35 million in bonded indebtedness, citing the jobs that would be created for the project. However, the bonds couldn't be sold until 1932, when San-Francisco based Bank of America agreed to buy the entire project in order to help the local economy.
The Golden Gate Bridge officially opened on May 27, 1937, the longest bridge span in the world at the time. The first public crossing had taken place the day before, when 200,000 people walked, ran and even roller skated over the new bridge.
With its tall towers and famous trademarked "international orange" paint job, the bridge quickly became a famous American landmark, and a symbol of San Francisco.
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My roommate was the youngest PSA captain and as a result was stuck on the Red Eye flights for a long time. He brought home a string of young ladies in the early morning hours over the time I was there. Then one day in early 1972 I left to CQ on the USS Midway and came back from Vietnam over 11 months later. Ah the memories…skip
Thanks to Shadow
Just Remembering' .
I rode on PSA frequently while working for Reagan's re-election campaign for Governor back in the sixties. Myself and Steve Cooley traveled to most of the Colleges and Universities in the state to try to explain that a $3 billion dollar increase in funding for higher education over his first four years, was not a cut in funding for higher education, as the Democrats were claiming; even with copies of the State budget in hand… it was a hard sell.
Since all our trips were in state… PSA was the logical choice for our travels. If ever there was a "fun" airline to ride in those days… PSA was it! The Stews in those days were top shelf, mostly beautiful by any standard and were a hoot. Didn't hurt that their uniforms consisted of miniskirts and Hot Pants. Wasn't uncommon for one of them or the flight crew to get on the PA system and point out different points of interest or share a joke.
I'll never forget leaving Sacramento one day heading back to San Diego… we had about a 45 minute late departure due to a mechanical. Once airborne, the Captain came on the PA and announced that in appreciation of our (the Pacs) patience… the cabin crew would be offering free champagne curtesy of PSA… enjoy! Big cheer and the Stews went about making everybody happy. For what ever the reason, one of the Stews made some funny comments about the flight deck crew… and that led to some really funny back and forth between the pilots and Stews. Seemed like all onboard were feeling their oats and in a great mood! Fun flight!
On rollout in San Diego, the Captain gave his obligatory thank you for flying PSA and hope you enjoyed the great service from our beautiful Stewardesses. Big roar went up in the cabin! The girls all stood up front as we cleared the runway and took a bow… eliciting another roar! The Captain then made a comment along the lines of "what's going on back there"? One of the Stewardesses then answers that the men onboard were showing appreciation for our "service". The Captain then went too far and came back with… "Yes, we have the most beautiful Stewardesses in the world… by the way… the only way you can tell the difference between the young ones from the older ones….. is the stretch marks"! Immediately half the cabin crew started banging on the locked flight crew door as the Pacs started laughing their asses off!
BTW… the door was never opened until all the Pacs were off! Sometimes us men have more balls than brains… but it was the most memorable flight as a passenger I ever had.
Shadow
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. Thanks to Mike
"It's A Wonderful Life," backstory
For all the fans of the movie and Jimmy Stewart.
Just months after winning his 1941 Academy Award for best actor in "The Philadelphia Story," Jimmy Stewart, one of the best-known actors of the day, left Hollywood and joined the US Army. He was the first big-name movie star to enlist in World War II.
An accomplished private pilot, the 33-year-old Hollywood icon became a US Army Air Force aviator, earning his 2nd Lieutenant commission in early 1942. With his celebrity status and huge popularity with the American public, he was assigned to starring in recruiting films, attending rallies, and training younger pilots.
Stewart, however, wasn't satisfied. He wanted to fly combat missions in Europe, not spend time in a stateside training command. By 1944, frustrated and feeling the war was passing him by, he asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe. His request was reluctantly granted.
Stewart, now a Captain, was sent to England, where he spent the next 18 months flying B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany. Throughout his time overseas, the US Army Air Corps' top brass had tried to keep the popular movie star from flying over enemy territory. But Stewart would hear nothing of it.
Determined to lead by example, he bucked the system, assigning himself to every combat mission he could. By the end of the war he was one of the most respected and decorated pilots in his unit.
But his wartime service came at a high personal price.
In the final months of WWII he was grounded for being "flak happy," today called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
When he returned to the US in August 1945, Stewart was a changed man. He had lost so much weight that he looked sickly. He rarely slept, and when he did he had nightmares of planes exploding and men falling through the air screaming (in one mission alone his unit had lost 13 planes and 130 men, most of whom he knew personally).
He was depressed, couldn't focus, and refused to talk to anyone about his war experiences. His acting career was all but over.
As one of Stewart's biographers put it, "Every decision he made [during the war] was going to preserve life or cost lives. He took back to Hollywood all the stress that he had built up."
In 1946 he took the role of George Bailey, the suicidal father in "It's a Wonderful Life." The rest is history.
Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn't acting. His PTSD was being captured on filmed for potentially millions to see.
But despite Stewart's inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history.
When asked in 1941 why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over Nazi Germany, he said, "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight."
This holiday season, as many of us watch the classic Christmas film, it's also a fitting time to remember the sacrifices of Jimmy Stewart and all the men who gave up so much to serve their country during wartime. We will always remember you!
Postscript:
While fighting in Europe, Stewart's Oscar statue was proudly displayed in his father's Pennsylvania hardware store. Throughout his life, the beloved actor always said his father, a World War I veteran, was the person who had made the biggest impact on him.
Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and died in 1997 at the age of 89.
-- Ned Forney, Writer, Saluting America's Veterans
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From the archives
. THANKS TO Dr. Rich
Thanks to Ed ...
MORE -- first video of a series -- his early story in his own words: (from his biography??)
For The First Time I Realized How Vast America Was. We Never Stood A Chance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRZkMYgceaQ&list=PLGjbe3ikd0XGvh2jAYm7oJwgnbXMQCPEh
On 1/4/2024 12:39 AM, Ed Rathje wrote:
ski instructor at Sugar Bowl ski resort near Lake Tahoe, tennis pro, first rescuer at Sierra train wreck, etc.
Played tennis with Lloyd Bridges, casual ski friend with Robert Stack, etc., etc
2 articles and a video:
How 'Hitler's last soldier' evaded the FBI, ended up in Colorado
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Thanks to 1440
| US Captures Maduro |
| US special forces conducted an early morning raid in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas Saturday, striking military facilities and capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The pair was transported to New York City to face federal drug- and terrorism-related charges, with their first court appearance expected this morning. . President Donald Trump suggested the US would oversee the country until open elections could be held. As of this writing, reports say Maduro allies led by Vice President Delcy RodrÃguez remain in charge but have been in contact with US officials. RodrÃguez condemned the strike and called for Maduro's release. The operation began around 1:30 am local time, with roughly 150 aircraft providing air cover while extraction teams entered Maduro's compound, intervening before the Maduros could enter a safe room. The effort took about two hours, with no Americans killed—.. Maduro assumed power in 2013 following the death of Hugo Chávez. He was indicted by the US in 2020 which eventually offered $50M for aiding in his arrest—on narcoterrorism charges spanning 25 years. Maduro claimed victory in the 2024 election despite evidence that he lost by a wide margin. The administration framed the operation as a federal law enforcement action that did not require congressional approval, while some critics argued it violated international law previously ratified by the US. Legal precedent suggests the circumstances of the capture won't preclude prosecution. . |
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| Earliest Human Ancestor? |
| Fresh analysis of a fossil discovered in the early 2000s appears to strengthen the claim that the earliest known human ancestor walked upright 7 million years ago. Paleontologists discovered the ape-like species, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, in Chad's Djurab desert in 2001. Early research focused on the fossil's skull, with the lead researcher suggesting the creature walked upright based on how it carried its head. Later analysis—of the fossil's ulnae (forearms) and femur (thigh bone)—left unresolved the question of whether the species walked on two legs, and could therefore be classified as a human ancestor. Now, a detailed 3D analysis of the femur and thigh bone confirmed two elements pointing to bipedalism and revealed a third: the presence of a femoral tubercle, which has so far been identified only in hominins . . |
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Thanks to Nice News
. White Storks Set to Return to London This Year After 6 Centuries
White Stork Project
White storks will return to London for the first time in over 600 years, marking an important milestone in urban rewilding. The majestic birds, which have been extinct as a breeding species in England since 1416, were first successfully reintroduced to a countryside estate in West Sussex, about 45 miles southwest of the capital, per The Guardian. This autumn, a breeding colony will find a home in an aviary in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, thanks to a collaboration between the London Wildlife Trust, the local council, and the mayor's Green Roots Fund.
The project is part of a broader effort to reintroduce wildlife to communities in London and beyond. Beavers, for example, are set to return to the city in 2027, where the "ecosystem engineers" will help restore local wetlands in a way that benefits other wildlife. Besides improving the environment, organizers hope the endeavor will spark curiosity and pride in residents.
"This is a brilliant achievement for our borough and a real win for our residents," Dominic Twomey, leader of the Barking and Dagenham council, said in a statement, adding: "It's about more than wildlife — it's about giving families, schools, and community groups the chance to be part of something inspiring and hopeful."
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January 5
This Day in U S Military History
1838 – President Martin Van Buren issues a neutrality proclamation forbidding US citizens from taking part in the Canadian insurrection. The privately owned US steamship Caroline, leased by Canadian revolutionaries, has been destroyed by Canadian militiamen on 29 December. President Van Buren orders General Winfield Scott to post militamen along the Canadian frontier.
1846 – Boldly reversing its long-standing policy of "free and open" occupation in the disputed Oregon Territory, the U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution calling for an end to British-American sharing of the region. The United States, one congressman asserted, had "the right of our manifest destiny to spread over our whole continent." In different circumstances, such aggressive posturing might have led to war. The British, through their Hudson Bay Company at the mouth of the Columbia River, had a reasonable claim to the disputed territory of modern-day Washington. In contrast, the only part of the Oregon Territory the U.S. could legitimately claim by settlement was the area below the Columbia River. Above the river, there were only eight recently arrived Americans in 1845. Nonetheless, the aggressively expansionistic President James Polk coveted Oregon Territory up to the 49th parallel (the modern-day border with Canada). Yet Polk was also on the verge of war with Mexico in his drive to take that nation's northern provinces, and he had no desire to fight the British and Mexicans at the same time. Consequently, Polk had to move cautiously. Some of his fellow Democrats in the Congress pushed him to be even more aggressive, demanding that Americans control the territory all the way up to the 54th parallel, approximately where Edmonton, Alberta, is today. For five months, debate raged in Congress over the "Oregon controversy," but the House resolution in January made it clear that the U.S. was determined to end the joint occupation with Great Britain. Luckily, the British agreed to abandon their claim to the area north of the Columbia and accept the 49th parallel as a border. The Hudson Bay Company already had decided to relocate its principal trading post from the Columbia River area to Vancouver Island, leaving the British with little interest in maintaining their claim to area. Despite the cries of betrayal from the advocates of the 54th parallel, Polk wisely accepted the British offer to place the border on the 49th parallel. The new boundary not only gave the U.S. more territory than it had any legitimate claim to, but it also left Polk free to pursue his next objective: a war with Mexico for control of the Southwest.
1945 – In the Ardennes, the US 3rd Army reports reduced activity on its line while US 1st Army continues its attacks. There are German attacks just north of Strasbourg. Eisenhower's decision to divide command responsibility for the Allied defenses around the bulge between Montgomery in the north and Bradley in the south is made public.
1972 – United States President Richard Nixon orders the development of a Space Shuttle program.
1999 – Four U.S. Air Force and Navy jets fired at Iraqi MiGs testing the "no-fly" zone over southern Iraq in the first such confrontation in more than six years. 6 missiles fired by 2 US F-15s missed the 4 MiG 25s of Iraq.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*WALKER, KENNETH N. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Brigadier General, U.S. Army Air Corps, Commander of V Bomber Command. Place and date: Rabaul, New Britain, 5 January 1943. Entered service at. Colorado. Birth: Cerrillos, N. Mex. G.O. No.: 13, 11 March 1943. Citation: For conspicuous leadership above and beyond the call of duty involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. As commander of the 5th Bomber Command during the period from 5 September 1942, to 5 January 1943, Brig. Gen. Walker repeatedly accompanied his units on bombing missions deep into enemy-held territory. From the lessons personally gained under combat conditions, he developed a highly efficient technique for bombing when opposed by enemy fighter airplanes and by antiaircraft fire. On 5 January 1943, in the face of extremely heavy antiaircraft fire and determined opposition by enemy fighters, he led an effective daylight bombing attack against shipping in the harbor at Rabaul, New Britain, which resulted in direct hits on 9 enemy vessels. During this action his airplane was disabled and forced down by the attack of an overwhelming number of enemy fighters.
MILLER, FRANKLIN D.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. place and date: Kontum province, Republic of Vietnam, 5 January 1970. Entered service at: Albuquerque, N. Mex. Born: 27 January 1945, Elizabeth City, N.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Miller, 5th Special Forces Group, distinguished himself while serving as team leader of an American-Vietnamese long-range reconnaissance patrol operating deep within enemy controlled territory. Leaving the helicopter insertion point, the patrol moved forward on its mission. Suddenly, 1 of the team members tripped a hostile booby trap which wounded 4 soldiers. S/Sgt. Miller, knowing that the explosion would alert the enemy, quickly administered first aid to the wounded and directed the team into positions across a small stream bed at the base of a steep hill. Within a few minutes, S/Sgt. Miller saw the lead element of what he estimated to be a platoon-size enemy force moving toward his location. Concerned for the safety of his men, he directed the small team to move up the hill to a more secure position. He remained alone, separated from the patrol, to meet the attack. S/Sgt. Miller single-handedly repulsed 2 determined attacks by the numerically superior enemy force and caused them to withdraw in disorder. He rejoined his team, established contact with a forward air controller and arranged the evacuation of his patrol. However, the only suitable extraction location in the heavy jungle was a bomb crater some 150 meters from the team location. S/Sgt. Miller reconnoitered the route to the crater and led his men through the enemy controlled jungle to the extraction site. As the evacuation helicopter hovered over the crater to pick up the patrol, the enemy launched a savage automatic weapon and rocket-propelled grenade attack against the beleaguered team, driving off the rescue helicopter. S/Sgt. Miller led the team in a valiant defense which drove back the enemy in its attempt to overrun the small patrol. Although seriously wounded and with every man in his patrol a casualty, S/Sgt. Miller moved forward to again single-handedly meet the hostile attackers. From his forward exposed position, S/Sgt. Miller gallantly repelled 2 attacks by the enemy before a friendly relief force reached the patrol location. S/Sgt. Miller's gallantry, intrepidity in action, and selfless devotion to the welfare of his comrades are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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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/.
Jan. 3, 1905
In efforts to interest the United States government in the use of airplanes for the military, Wilbur Wright speaks to Congressman Robert M. Nevin, who asks him to prepare a letter for submission to the Secretary of War that Nevin would deliver and endorse. The Army declines the offer.
Jan. 4, 1957
Military Air Transport Service completed "Operation Safe Haven" bringing 10,000 Hungarian refugees to the United States. This was the most significant European humanitarian airlift since the Berlin airlift, executed by the United States for refugee resettlement and relief following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
Jan. 5, 1939
After she had been missing for 18 months, Judge Clarence Elliot Craig of the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles County declared Amelia Mary Earhart legally dead in absentia, at the request of her husband, George Palmer Putnam II. She and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared while en route from Lae, Territory of New Guinea, to Howland Island in the Central Pacific, 2 July 1937.
Jan. 6, 1968
Major Patrick Henry Brady utilizes 3 UH-1 medical evacuation helicopters to evacuate a total of 51 seriously wounded men, many of whom would have perished without prompt medical treatment, from a small, heavily defended site in enemy held territory while deployed to Chu Lai, Vietnam with the 54th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance), 67th Medical Group, 44th Medical Brigade. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Jan. 8, 1928
Lieutenant Christian F. Schilt completes a mission commenced on January 6, 1928 while serving in action with Marine Observation Squadron 7/M (VO-7M) during the progress of an insurrection at Quilali, Nicaragua. Lieutenant Schilt took off in dangerous weather conditions a total of 10 times in the rough, rolling street of a partially burning village, under hostile infantry fire on each occasion. He evacuated wounded and transported a relief commanding officer to his Marine Expedition that had already suffered heavy casualties, and brought supplies and aid to others in desperate need. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for January 5, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
5 January
1914: Marine pilots and enlisted mechanics were sent from Annapolis, Md., to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pa., where they left on the Navy transport, the USS Hancock, for Puerto Rico to join the Advance Base Brigade in Atlantic Fleet maneuvers. This was the first time an all-Marine aviation force acted with Marine ground forces. During the next three weeks, Lts Bernard L. Smith and William M. McIlvain flew a Curtiss C-3 (an F-model Flying Boat) on scouting and reconnaissance missions. (10)
1915: Lt Joseph E. Carberry, Signal Corps, and Lt Arthur R. Christie set a 2-man American altitude record of 11,690 feet at San Diego. The pilots made the 1-hour, 13-minute flight in a Curtiss Tractor (OXX Curtiss 100). (24)
1916: The 1st Company, 2d Aero Squadron, sailed from San Francisco, Calif., for the Philippines. It was the first air unit to serve outside the US. (24)
1935: The de Haviland Queen Bee first flew. (5)
1945: Operation GRUBWORM is completed this date. One month after its initiation, two entire Chinese divisions, Chinese Sixth Army Headquarters, a heavy mortar company, 249 American soldiers, and two portable surgical hospitals are airlifted from Burma to China into the combat zone. In all, more than 1,300 transport sorties by air commando and troop carrier squadrons of the USAAF Air Transport Command are required to complete the operation. Three aircraft are lost while completing the mission.
1949: Capt Charles E. Yeager flew the Bell X-1 to 23,000 feet at a record ascent of 13,000 feet per minute. (9) (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. At Pyongyang, 59 B-29s dropped 672 tons of incendiary bombs. Additionally, the 18th Fighter-Bomber Group staged its final missions from Suwon Air Base. U.S. ground troops burned the buildings at Suwon's airfield before withdrawing. (28)
1954: Col Willard W. Millikan (Air National Guard) set a speed record, when he flew an F-86F Sabre between New York and Washington DC in 24 minutes. (24)
1961: PROJECT NARROW GAUGE: Tactical Air Command B-57s participated in a test of the runway lighting system at Dow AFB, Me. (11)
1968: The Air Force Academy implemented the T-41 Mescalero Light Plane flight program. (16) (26)
1970: With the acceptance of the 80th Air Defense Group facility at Fortuna Air Force Station, N. Dak., the Aerospace Defense Command's Backup Intercept Control (BUIC) III radar system became fully operational. (26)
1972: President Richard M. Nixon announced his decision to develop a Space Shuttle system. (5)
1985: A C-141 carried a Sikorsky S-70 helicopter to La Paz, Bolivia, to assist in the search for an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 that had crashed high in the Andes Mountains. (16) (26)
1995: Ben Rich, Lockheed Skunk Works designer and "Father of the F-117," dies at age 69
2001: An F-22 Raptor, equipped with combat-capable avionics, flew for the first time at LockheedMartin's facility in Marietta, Ga. (AFNEWS Article 0018, 6 Jan 01)
2002: Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. A 437th Airlift Wing C-17 from Charleston AFB, S. C., arrived at Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the first materials for U. S. Navy Seabee project to build a prison for 2,000 Taliban and Al Qaeda detainees from Afghanistan. In the early weeks of 2002, 21 C-17 missions from Charleston moved 1.2 short tons of equipment and supplies to Guantanamo. (22)
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SOF News
Special Operations News From Around the World
U.S. Strikes Venezuela
By SOF News on 01/03/26
The United States conducted a military operation in Venezuela and captured President Maduro on Saturday, January 3, 2025. The U.S. had been building up its military presence in the Caribbean (SOF News) during the fall of 2025.
Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for drug smuggling. He faces criminal court proceedings tied to a 2020 indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice. The United States had a $50 million reward (state.gov) for the apprehension of Maduro. The U.S. has been attacking narco-boats carrying drugs leaving Venezuela shores and seized sanctioned oil tankers departing Venezuela with oil.
Tensions between the two nations has been building up over the past several months. Relations between Venezuela and the United States headed downhill beginning in 1998 with the election of President Hugo Chavez. He was a Venezuelan socialist that formed close ties with Russia, Iran, and Cuba. In 2013, Maduro took over after the death of Chavez.
President Trump issued a statement on (Truth Social) on the attack early on Saturday morning, January 3, 2026:
"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement."
U.S. air strikes took place at Venezuela air bases, communications facilities, air defense sites, and on other targets. There are initial reports that say that at least five targets were struck; however, it is likely that many more were actually hit. [1] The U.S. has staged a number of Air Force, Marine, and Navy planes and drones throughout the Caribbean Sea over the past few months; many of them supported the operation.
The capture of Maduro involved U.S. special operations forces; most news sources say this was the Joint Special Operations Command's (JSOC) Delta Force and the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Among the helicopters used were MH-47G Chinooks and MH-60M Black Hawks (Direct Action Penetrators or DAP). The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and / or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) likely had personnel involved in the arrest of Maduro.
Map: Caribbean Sea, CIA, 2007. (click here for larger image)
Maduro was captured in Caracas, Venezuela during the hours of darkness on early Saturday morning and taken by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) (DVIDS image). Residents across the capital reported power outages, explosions, and fires. The operation appeared to be limited in scope; suppressing communications and air defense capabilities and capturing Maduro. The majority of the Venezuelan military installations are located in the north of the country.
Maduro was captured at a residence located within the Fort Tiuna military installation located in the southern suburbs of Caracas. The operation was likely preceded by months of intelligence gathering by the CIA, NGA, NSA, special operations forces, SOUTHCOM, and other agencies to develop a targeting package and 'pattern of life' (POL) that would reveal 'bed down locations' (BDL) suitable for a raid and apprehension.
More than 150 aircraft took part in the operations launching from 20 different bases and vessels. The helicopters that carried in the extraction force traveled at low altitudes. The choppers were protected by F-22 Raptors, F-35 Lightnings, F/A-18 Super Hornets, , and B-1 Lancer.
Other aircraft likely supporting the operation include the E-3G Sentry (AWACS), RQ-170 Sentinel, RC-135 Rivet Joint, EA-18 Growlers, E-2 Hawkeyes, and air refueling tankers. The air component's mission was to protect the helicopters and ground force providing a pathway to and from the target. The EC-130H likely provided wide-area electronic jamming of radar and communications and the EA-18Gs would suppress enemy air defenses.
One of the primary air components missions was conducting suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD). The Russians had recently (2025) supplied some advanced air defense systems to Venezuela including the Pantsir-S1 (mobile short- medium range missile and gun system) as well as the Buk-M2E (medium-range SAM) (TWZ, Nov 4, 2025). In addition, the Russians had previously provided the S-300 long-range SAM. [2] The helicopters came under fire while arriving at the target location; one came under fire and was hit but returned to its base. The extraction force aboard helicopters were over water after conducting the operation shortly after 3:00 am Saturday.
The Navy had significantly increased its presence in the Caribbean – including an aircraft carrier strike group led by the Gerald R. Ford. In addition, the Iwo Jima is in the Caribbean as part of an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) embarked. The Iwo Jima is a Wasp class amphibious assault ship.
Traveling with the Iwo Jima is the special operations mothership M/V Ocean Trader and other ships. The M/V Ocean Trader is a converted commercial vessel commonly referred to as a staging platform for special operations forces. The vessel is described as a floating barracks, helicopter base, and command center for SOF. Read more in "The elusive ship built to carry US special operators is in the Caribbean", by Jeff Schogol and Patty Nieberg, Task and Purpose, September 25, 2025. See also "Photo of the Pentagon's Shadowy Special Operations Mothership Emerges", The War Zone, May 18, 2018.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Dan Caine, stated that all components of the U.S. military provided support for the mission. The ground support arrived at Maduro's compound at 2:01 a.m. local Caracas time. This included operations by U.S. Cyber Command and U.S. Space Command. The capture of Maduro is called Operation Absolute Resolve. The U.S. SOF unit had rehearsed the mission using an exact replica of Maduro's safe house. Training for the mission started in months earlier while the Central Intelligence Agency had a presence on the ground tracking Maduro's movements.
Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, also issued a statement (Twitter) saying:
"Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government. Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization which has taken possession of a country. And he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States."
Maduro has been taken to New York to face charges. His wife is also facing charges. Apparently, the route to New York was by helicopter from Caracas to the USS Iwo Jima, which took him to Puerto Rico, MC-130 to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (Cuba), transport by 757 jet to Stewart Air National Guard Base located northwest of New York City, and finally by helicopter to the DEA building in New York and then to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. (Editor's note: there are varying accounts of how Maduro was transported from Caracas to NYC)
Attorney General Pamela Bondi issued a statement (Twitter) on Saturday morning on the capture of Maduro:
"Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States. They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez may soon become the interim president. Rodriguez issued a statement saying the capture of Maduro was a "brutal" act of aggression and has denounced the attack. According to a press conference conducted on Saturday morning by President Trump and members of his cabinet, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Rodriquez shortly after the operation.
There is a possibility Maria Cornia Machado, a leading opposition figure, may soon be back in Venezuela. She had left the country in early December, extracted by a private organization that assisted her secret departure.
There are calls by many in Venezuela for Edmundo Gonzalez, a career government official and politician, to assume the presidency. Many observers of the July 2024 election believe that he won a majority of the votes during the election; Maduro had refused to cede power stating that he won the election.
The future of Venezuela is a puzzle. Thus far, Operation Absolute Resolve was a decapitation of a head of state; not a regime change. During a January 3rd news conference a number of statements by President Trump probably raised more questions than provided answers for how the United States will interact with Venezuela in the future.
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Maps: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
This story is being updated as more details come to light through government press conferences, press releases, and news media. A press conference was held by President Trump late Saturday morning with presentations by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Watch the 53 minute long video on DVIDS.
Endnotes:
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