TheList 7466

To All.

Good Friday Morning March 6, 2026.

Good Bubba Breakfast this morning and it was great to have Roy Stafford aka Shadow join us. He has been a great contributor to the List for many years.

The weather was wonderful and should be about the same tomorrow.

A late start on the list this morning and a few errands to run but I did get it out before the sun went down on the west coast.

All the best Skip

Warm 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. 

March 6: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2814 

. This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)

.March 6

 1822—The schooner Enterprise captures four pirate ships in the Gulf of Mexico. During her time in the Gulf, Enterprise takes 13 vessels while suppressing pirates, smugglers, and slaves.

1943—Task Force 68, commanded by Rear Adm. Aaron S. Merrill, bombards Vila and Munda, Solomons and sinks Japanese destroyers Minegumo and Murasame in the Kula Gulf. For his leadership, Adm. Merrill earned both the Legion of Merit and the Navy Cross.

1944—USS Nautilus (SS 168) attacks a Japanese convoy approximately 240 miles north-north west of Saipan and sinks transport (ex-hospital ship) America Maru.

1960—USS Kearsarge (CVS 33) rescues four Russian soldiers from their landing craft 1,000 miles from Midway Island, which had been drifting several weeks after their engine failed off Kamchatka Peninsula.

1991—President George H. W. Bush addresses a joint session of Congress and states, "I can report to the nation: Aggression is defeated. The war is over." 

2010—USS Dewey (DDG 105) is commissioned at Seal Beach, CA. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is named after former Adm. of the Navy George Dewey, hero of the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War of 1899.

 

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On this day in World history

March 6

1521   Ferdinand Magellan discovers Guam.

1820   The Missouri Compromise is enacted by Congress and signed by President James Monroe, providing for the admission of Missouri into the Union as a slave state, but prohibits slavery in the rest of the northern Louisiana Purchase territory.

1836   After fighting for 13 days, the Alamo falls.

1853   Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata premieres in Venice.

1857   The Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision holds that blacks cannot be citizens.

1860   While campaigning for the presidency, Abraham Lincoln makes a speech defending the right to strike.

1862   The USS Monitor left New York with a crew of 63, seven officers and 56 seamen.

1884   Over 100 suffragists, led by Susan B. Anthony, present President Chester A. Arthur with a demand that he voice support for female suffrage.

1888   Louisa May Alcott dies just hours after the burial of her father.

1899   Aspirin is patented following Felix Hoffman's discoveries about the properties of acetylsalicylic acid.

1901   A would-be assassin tries to kill Wilhelm II of Germany in Bremen.

1914   German Prince Wilhelm de Wied is crowned as King of Albania.

1916   The Allies recapture Fort Douaumont in France during the Battle of Verdun.

1928   A Communist attack on Beijing results in 3,000 dead and 50,000 fleeing to Swatow.

1939   In Spain, Jose Miaja takes over Madrid government after a military coup and vows to seek "peace with honor."

1943   British RAF fliers bomb Essen and the Krupp arms works in the Ruhr, Germany.

1945   Cologne, Germany, falls to General Courtney Hodges' First Army.

1947   Winston Churchill opposes the withdrawal of troops from India.

1948   During talks in Berlin, the Western powers agree to internationalize the Ruhr region.

1953   Upon Josef Stalin's death, Georgi Malenkov is named Soviet premier.

1960   The Swiss grant women the right to vote in municipal elections.

1965   The United States announces that it will send 3,500 troops to Vietnam.

1967   President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his plan to establish a draft lottery.

1973   President Richard Nixon imposes price controls on oil and gas.

1975   Iran and Iraq announce that they have settled the border dispute.

1980   Islamic militants in Tehran say that they will turn over the American hostages to the Revolutionary Council.

1981   President Reagan announces plans to cut 37,000 federal jobs.

1987   The British ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes in the Channel off the coast of Belgium. At least 26 are dead.

  More

The German company Bayer patents aspirin on March 6, 1899. Now the most common drug in household medicine cabinets, acetylsalicylic acid was originally made from a chemical found in the bark of willow trees. In its primitive form, the active ingredient, salicin, was used for centuries in folk medicine, beginning in ancient Greece when Hippocrates used it to relieve pain and fever. Known to doctors since the mid-19th century, it was used sparingly due to its unpleasant taste and tendency to damage the stomach.

 

This Day In History: 03/06/1899 - Bayer Patents Aspirin

 

In 1897, Bayer employee Felix Hoffmann found a way to create a stable form of the drug that was easier and more pleasant to take. (Some evidence shows that Hoffmann's work was really done by a Jewish chemist, Arthur Eichengrun, whose contributions were covered up during the Nazi era.) After obtaining the patent rights, Bayer began distributing aspirin in powder form to physicians to give to their patients one gram at a time. The brand name came from "a" for acetyl, "spir" from the spirea plant (a source of salicin) and the suffix "in," commonly used for medications. It quickly became the number-one drug worldwide.

 

Aspirin was made available in tablet form and without a prescription in 1915. Two years later, when Bayer's patent expired during the First World War, the company lost the trademark rights to aspirin in various countries. After the United States entered the war against Germany in April 1917, the Alien Property Custodian, a government agency that administers foreign property, seized Bayer's U.S. assets. Two years later, the Bayer company name and trademarks for the United States and Canada were auctioned off and purchased by Sterling Products Company, later Sterling Winthrop, for $5.3 million.

 

Bayer became part of IG Farben, the conglomerate of German chemical industries that formed the financial heart of the Nazi regime. After World War II, the Allies split apart IG Farben, and Bayer again emerged as an individual company. Its purchase of Miles Laboratories in 1978 gave it a product line including Alka-Seltzer and Flintstones and One-A-Day Vitamins. In 1994, Bayer bought Sterling Winthrop's over-the-counter business, gaining back rights to the Bayer name and logo and allowing the company once again to profit from American sales of its most famous product.

 

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Thanks to the Bear and Dan Heller. 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 ..March 6 . .

March 6: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2814 

 

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. From the archives for all you aviators

Thanks to Interesting Facts

Your ears

Many of the folks on this List are or were pilots and I am sure that All of us have stories of ear problems. Some humorous and some very painful

Most of us don't think about our ears much until we have trouble hearing. But ears are more important than many of us know. They allow us to balance, and monitor the environment for threats while we're asleep. Here are six fascinating facts about these indispensable organs on either side of our head.

 

Interesting facts about your ears

1 of 6

Ears Provide Our Sense of Balance

Within the ear are three semicircular canals filled with fluid. They lie at different angles, and each one monitors when we move our heads in a specific direction. Together, they send information about body position to the brain, which then sends it on to our eyes and muscles. That's how we keep our balance. All together, this network is called the vestibular system.

Motion sickness arises from a mismatch in signals coming from our eyes and ears. When you're in a ship's cabin, for example, your inner ear picks up on rolling motions and sends one set of signals to your brain. Your eyes see motion, too, but not to the same degree. As a result, you might become dizzy or nauseated.

 

2 of 6

Ears Are Full of Delicate Hairs

On average, we're born with about 16,000 tiny sensory receptors, called hair cells, in a hollow spiral-shaped bone located in the inner ear and called the cochlea. These hair cells allow our brains to register sounds. They're delicate and can be easily damaged to the point where they break and don't grow back. However, up to half of those cells can be damaged or destroyed before changes in your hearing show up on a hearing test.

 

3 of 6

Ears Respond to Changes in Air Pressure

The air around us has weight. It presses against everything it touches, as gravity pulls it down. When we go deep into the water, or high up in a plane, or even just into the mountains, that pressure changes dramatically.

Small tubes on each side of our faces, called Eustachian tubes, respond to changes in pressure. They connect our ears to the back of our throats. Normally, they're closed, but when we yawn, chew, or swallow, they open. They also open when the air pressure in the environment changes. This equalizes the pressure on the two sides of the eardrum, a thin tissue that vibrates in response to sound waves. If the pressure becomes unequal, the drum could tear, causing hearing loss.

 

4 of 6

Everyday Noise Can Damage Ears

About a quarter of American adults aged 20 to 69 suffer from hearing loss linked to noise. Loud sounds can hurt hair cells, which means the bad effects continue long after the noise stops.

According to the CDC, noise above 70 decibels for a prolonged period can start to damage hearing. That level of noise can be produced by washing machines, dishwashers, city traffic (from inside the car), lawnmowers, and more. Loud clubs or bars can produce noise around 105 to 110 decibels, which can cause hearing loss in less than five minutes. A dog's loud barking in the ear can cause hearing loss after two minutes.

 

5 of 6

Ear Wax Is Good

Everybody has earwax, which keeps the ears clean and moisturized. It traps and prevents dust, bacteria, and anything else that gets into your ear from irritating the delicate skin inside. If you try to pry it out with a cotton swab, you'll just stimulate your ear to make more wax.

However, wax buildups can occur. If you wear hearing aids, they may be stimulating your ears to produce too much wax. Some people just tend to produce too much wax naturally, and it can harden and block sound. Hardened earwax can also give you an earache, aggravate tinnitus, and make your ears feel too full. If you have those symptoms, try using earwax drops available in drugstores, or asking an ear, nose, and throat doctor to clean your ears.

 

6 of 6

Your Ears Don't Sleep

When we're asleep, our ears stay awake. They're on the job, taking in possible threats while our eyes are shut. Our brains are also on the job, judging which information is important.

It's work — which is why noisy bedrooms are bad for our health. Noise doesn't have to wake you up to affect your sleep. It doesn't even have to be loud. In one study, the murmur of hospital equipment showed a measurable impact in encephalographic measurements of brain activity in sleeping healthy adult volunteers. Their ears heard the noise and their brains measured mild alarm.

 

For many of us that flew a lot we at one time or another had an ear block which comes from among other things flying with a cold. It is painful and usually involves a trip to the doctor. I had one once and went to a quack. He said that he could fix me right up. He gave me a cup of water and told me to swallow slowly and out of nowhere he pulled out an air hose and stuck in in my nostril and pulled the trigger. OMG was that a trip.  I thought my ear was going to explode. The Eustachian tube for that ear was full of stuff and this thing blew it out. He grounded me and told me not to fly with a cold again. I learned how to open that thing up by moving my lower jaw around and helping it open the tube. Also swallowing opens it up. My best buddy had a major operation on his inner ear and almost lost the ability to be able to fly again. The way he described it was they took it all apart and put it back together again and grounded him for months. It all worked out. I am sure Dr. Rich knows all about this….skip

There is also the humorous story of the old pilot sitting next to a young lady on the airplane  with a new baby and when they were descending she started breast feeding her baby. It all went well and the baby never had a problem. The old pilot asked her about it she told him her doctor told her to do it and he said in all these years I thought  that the only way was to do the hold my nose and blow trick. The joke is told much better but I do not have it available….skip

 

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. Thanks to Interesting Facts

The world's largest waterfall is under the ocean.

Waterfalls are some of the world's most amazing wonders. Millions of people flock to these water-rushing giants — with names like Niagara, Yosemite Falls, and Iguaçu — to see them up close and in person. However, the largest waterfall in the world has no ticket counter, no gift shop, and no tourists. In fact, there's nothing at all to see, because this waterfall is entirely underwater.

Nestled between Greenland and Iceland is a body of water known as the Denmark Strait, and beneath its waves lies the world's largest waterfall. Known simply as the Denmark Strait cataract (a "cataract" is a type of powerful, flowing waterfall), it cascades 11,500 feet toward the seafloor. This incredible deluge — like other underwater cataracts — is actually a dramatic dance between warm and cold water. In the case of the Denmark Strait cataract, cold water from the Nordic Sea meets the much warmer water of the Irminger Sea southwest of Iceland. The cooler, denser water sinks beneath the lighter, warmer water, dropping more than 2 miles to the seafloor. The resulting waterfall completely dwarfs Venezuela's Angel Falls, the tallest terrestrial waterfall in the world, by more than 8,000 feet. The Denmark Strait cataract is also a staggering 100 miles wide, nearly 15 times wider than the widest terrestrial waterfall, the Khone Phapheng Falls in Laos, which is only 6.7 miles wide. By every single metric, this underwater avalanche towers over the competition — even though it never rises above sea level.

 

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March 6, 2026

 

 

            China's Strategic Restraint in the Iran War

Energy security and trade stabilization with Washington outweigh deeper alignment with Tehran.

By: Victoria Herczegh

Despite the outbreak of war in the Middle East, high-level U.S. and Chinese trade negotiations are proceeding as planned. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are expected to meet in Paris in mid-March to discuss potential deliverables for the presidential summit in early April. The meeting would mark the first formal high-level engagement since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key elements of the Trump administration's global tariff strategy, forcing Washington to adjust its trade approach. Talks are expected to cover tariffs (including those related to fentanyl), possible Chinese purchases of Boeing aircraft, commitments to buy U.S. soybeans and politically sensitive matters such as Taiwan. As important as the situation in the Middle East is, the priority for Beijing and Washington is to stabilize their relationship ahead of the planned leaders' summit.

 

China's Restrained Response

 

China's messaging has been clear in response to the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran and the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned the attack as a violation of Iran's sovereignty and international norms and described Khamenei's assassination as "unacceptable." He indicated that China supports Iranian efforts to safeguard its security, territorial integrity and national dignity, and he called for efforts to deescalate the conflict. However, Beijing has refrained from offering Tehran material support.

 

Anything else would have been a stunning departure not only from Chinese-Iranian relations but also from Beijing's historical approach to foreign policy. Although China and Iran signed a comprehensive strategic partnership deal in 2021, Beijing has abstained from making any direct security commitments to Tehran. This is consistent with China's rejection of formal alliances and what it calls a "bloc mentality." China's response was equally restrained during last year's 12-day Iran-Israel war, when it did little more than issue statements criticizing U.S. and Israeli actions. Were it to provide Tehran with weapons or other military assistance, Beijing would expose itself to significant financial and military risks while jeopardizing China's broader priorities. Simply put, the relationship with Iran is less important to China than domestic economic stability and accommodation with the United States.

 

True, the war poses a major risk to China's energy security, and thus its economic stability. About a third of China's imported oil and about a quarter of its natural gas transits the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran says is now closed to ships linked to the U.S., Israel or Europe. Last year, China imported 13.5 percent of its crude from Iran and another 36.8 percent from other Gulf producers reliant on the strait. Traffic through Hormuz has nearly come to a standstill, and at the time of writing, the price of Brent crude has surged by approximately 17 percent, to $85 per barrel, since the war began. For now, however, Beijing's interest in regional stability – especially restoring shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – is more important than any desire to confront Washington on Tehran's behalf.

 

 

Moreover, China is prepared for this contingency., enough to replace approximately three months of imports Years of stockpiling have left the country with at least 1.1 billion barrels of crude in reserve. Beijing has also diversified its suppliers. Russia now accounts for about 20 percent of Chinese crude imports, making it the largest single source. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Malaysia are other top suppliers. To cope with the Gulf disruption, Chinese state oil companies have reportedly increased purchases from Russia, and long-discussed projects such as Power of Siberia 2 (a proposed 2,600-kilometer, or 1,600-mile, pipeline designed to transport 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Russia's Yamal fields to China via Mongolia) might gain renewed significance. That said, China will be careful not to rely too much on Russia, which could leverage Beijing's dependence to demand higher prices. Russian energy can provide short-term relief, but it is not a long-term answer.

 

Besides energy, the war in the Middle East threatens other Chinese economic interests. China's non-oil trade with Iran borders on negligible, but its trade and investment ties with Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are significantly larger and more diversified, particularly in energy, green technology and infrastructure. The conflict has disrupted the operations of Chinese tech companies across the region. It also threatens some important supply chains. For instance, Iran is the second-largest producer of methanol, a biofuel and key raw material for products such as paint, formaldehyde and plastics. Prolonged disruptions could hurt China's methanol-to-olefins industry, which is critical for plastics and synthetic materials.

 

Priorities

 

Not only has China refrained from deeper involvement on behalf of Iran, but it also has not tried to exploit the situation to escalate tensions elsewhere. China could use the diversion of U.S. attention as an opportunity to significantly increase maritime pressure around Taiwan or in the South China Sea. Instead, no major Chinese military drills have been reported since the initial strikes in Iran. Moreover, at the time of writing, Beijing has dispatched no warplanes near Taiwan for six consecutive days – the longest pause in years. It seems China is deliberately avoiding actions that might jeopardize the planned leadership summit.

 

The U.S. apparently shares this priority. To avoid angering Beijing ahead of the summit, the Trump administration has delayed announcing a $13 billion arms package to Taiwan that includes Patriot interceptors and other advanced surface-to-air missile systems. U.S. President Donald Trump has also eased some semiconductor export restrictions and publicly expressed enthusiasm about visiting China, praising his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and recalling Chinese hospitality during his 2017 trip.

 

For China, there is no question about its hierarchy of priorities. Iran is useful but not essential, a long-term asset whose weakness might even deepen its dependence on China in the near future. Conversely, a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten regional stability, potentially lead to an arms race involving Japan, South Korea or Australia, and could endanger China's energy lifelines. Beijing may therefore quietly tolerate coercion against Tehran if it leads to a diplomatic solution without regime collapse. Meanwhile, a stable U.S.-China trade detente offers more immediate relief from China's economic troubles: slowing growth, property-sector stress, youth unemployment and mounting local government debt. Thus, in the short term, the U.S.-Iran conflict has complicated but not derailed U.S.-China accommodation.

 

At the same time, Beijing's decision to remain on the sidelines gives it a certain level of implicit leverage in its negotiations with Washington. A prolonged conflict that severely disrupts oil flows, pushes prices above $100 per barrel or forces China into deeper reliance on Russia could alter Beijing's calculations. Sustained economic pressure might prompt China to harden its stance. Moreover, if Beijing decides that Washington is unwilling to offer meaningful concessions in trade negotiations – particularly regarding tariffs or technology restrictions – it could leverage rare earth export controls more aggressively or even rethink the benefits of its current restraint in the Middle East. Though large-scale Chinese military involvement in Iran remains highly unlikely due to financial and strategic risks, more indirect forms of retaliation or signaling – such as increasing Chinese exports of dual-use technology to Iran or deploying warships to the Gulf – cannot be ruled out.          

 

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. Daily Memo: On US Weapons Supplies

Stockpiles could run low if the war in Iran drags on for several more weeks.

By: Geopolitical Futures

Replenishing stocks. The Pentagon is reportedly planning to request funds from Congress to replenish munitions used against Iran. Missiles for the Patriot and THAAD air defense systems will be prioritized, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles. This comes as the Trump administration has been increasing pressure since early 2025 on defense contractors to ramp up production. According to an analysis by former Pentagon official Elaine McCusker, the first four days of hostilities with Iran cost the U.S. approximately $11 billion – about $5.7 billion of which was spent on interceptor missiles.

Redeployment. Relatedly, the U.S. and South Korean militaries are in talks on redeploying some Patriot air defense systems based in South Korea to the Middle East, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said.

 

French engagement. France's army chief of staff, Gen. Fabien Mandon, is reportedly in Beirut to meet with top Lebanese military and political officials. According to the Intelligence Online outlet, his visit is a last-ditch attempt by the French government to prevent an Israeli deployment to southern Lebanon. France has also reportedly asked the governments of Italy and Greece to coordinate the transit of ships through the Red Sea. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with the prime ministers of both countries, which also agreed to coordinate military support for Cyprus.

Ukrainian support. The U.S. requested Ukraine's support in combating Iranian Shahed drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy said he instructed Ukrainian specialists to "guarantee the required security."

 

Turkish concerns. Turkey's vice president has warned against using military bases in Cyprus for operations in the Middle East. During a visit to breakaway northern Cyprus, Cevdet Yilmaz criticized the government of the Greek Cypriot south for "seeking a role for itself in major power rivalries" by allowing third countries access to bases on the island. He said this policy was putting lives at risk and posed a danger to all countries in the region. Last weekend, a British air base on the island was hit by a drone, which the Cypriot government suspected was fired by Hezbollah.

 

A new era? The United States and Venezuela agreed to restore diplomatic and consular relations, two months after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Caracas said it wanted to pursue a "new stage of constructive dialogue, based on mutual respect." On Thursday, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Venezuelan government would provide security guarantees to mining companies interested in investing in Venezuela. Shell Oil Co. signed several agreements with the Venezuelan government, covering both offshore and onshore natural gas production, following a meeting between Burgum and interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez.

 

Emergency supplies. South Korea will purchase more than 6 million barrels of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates as an emergency measure, the South Korean presidential chief of staff said, amid concerns over rising energy prices. The government deemed the purchase necessary because 70 percent of South Korea's crude supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran said had been shut.

 

Nuclear planning. Russia will respond if Finland decides to host nuclear weapons on its territory, a Kremlin spokesperson said. Finnish leaders have proposed lifting restrictions so the country can fully participate in NATO's nuclear planning, though President Alexander Stubb said there are currently no plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Finland.

 

Closer ties. Japan and Canada signed a strategic partnership agreement aimed at intensifying cooperation in defense, energy, trade and technology. The deal involves closer cooperation on international emergency response, joint coast guard exercises and tackling illegal fishing in the North Pacific.

 

 

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This Day in U S Military History

March 6

1521 – Ferdinand Magellan discovered Guam. The Chamorros, Guam's indigenous people, first inhabited the island approximately 4,000 years ago. The island has a long history of European colonialism, beginning with Ferdinand Magellan's Spanish expedition. The first colony was established in 1668 by Spain with the arrival of settlers including Padre San Vitores, a Catholic missionary. For more than two centuries Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons that crossed the Pacific annually. The island was controlled by Spain until 1898, when it was surrendered to the United States during the Spanish–American War and later formally ceded as part of the Treaty of Paris.

1836 – The Alamo fell after fighting for 13 days. Angered by a new Mexican constitution that removed much of their autonomy, Texans seized the Alamo in San Antonio in December 1835. Mexican president General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna marched into Texas to put down the rebellion. By late February, 1836, 182 Texans, led by Colonel William Travis, held the former mission complex against Santa Anna's 6,000 troops. At 4 a.m. on March 6, after fighting for 13 days, Santa Anna's troops charged. In the battle that followed, all the Alamo defenders were killed while the Mexicans suffered about 2,000 casualties. Santa Anna dismissed the Alamo conquest as "a small affair," but the time bought by the Alamo defenders' lives permitted General Sam Houston to forge an army that would win the Battle of San Jacinto and, ultimately, Texas' independence. Mexican Lt. Col. Pena later wrote a memoir: "With Santa Anna in Texas: Diary of Jose Enrique de la Pena," that described the capture and execution of Davy Crockett (49) and 6 other Alamo defenders. In 1975 a translation of the diary by Carmen Perry (d.1999) was published. Apparently, only one Texan combatant survived Jose María Guerrero, who persuaded his captors he had been forced to fight. Women, children, and a black slave, were spared.

1943 – Three American cruisers and seven destroyers bombard Japanese airfields at Munda and Vila. Little damage is done. Two Japanese destroyers, however, are sunk in an encounter engagement.

1944 – US heavy bombers raid Berlin for the first time. A force of 660 bombers is sent and 69 are lost. …….That is over 690 Men.

1944 – On New Britain, the US 1st Marine Division is sent to land on the east side of Willaumez Peninsula with the objective of capturing Talasea. Japanese resistance is weak but the terrain is difficult, so the advance inland is slow.

1945 – The US 9th Army has reached the Rhine all along its front. To the south, US 1st Army is fighting in Cologne and driving toward Remagen farther south — the US 9th Armored Division leads the advance. Farther south, units of US 3rd Army are making a rapid advance toward the Rhine at Koblenz.

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

SCHUTT, GEORGE

Rank and organization: Coxswain, U.S. Navy. Born: 1833, Ireland. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 59, 22 June 1865. Citation: As coxswain on board the U.S.S. Hendrick Hudson, St. Marks, Fla., 5 and 6 March 1865. Serving with the army in charge of Navy howitzers during the attack on St. Marks and throughout the fierce engagement, Schutt made remarkable efforts in assisting transport of the gun, and his coolness and determination in courageously remaining by his gun while under the heavy fire of the enemy were a credit to the service to which he belonged.

SMITH, THOMAS

Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1838, England. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.. 59, 22 June 1865. Citation: As seaman on board the U.S.S. Magnolia, St. Marks, Fla., 5 and 6 March 1865. Serving with the Army in charge of Navy howitzers during the attack on St. Marks and throughout this fierce engagement, Smith made remarkable efforts in assisting transport of the gun, and his coolness and determination in courageously standing by his gun while under the fire of the enemy were a credit to the service to which he belonged.

*OUELLET, DAVID G.

Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy, River Squadron 5, My Tho Detachment 532. Place and date: Mekong River, Republic of Vietnam, 6 March 1967. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. Born: 13 June, 1944, Newton, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. As the forward machine gunner on River Patrol Boat (PBR) 124, which was on patrol during the early evening hours, Seaman Ouellet observed suspicious activity near the river bank, alerted his boat captain, and recommended movement of the boat to the area to investigate. While the PBR was making a high-speed run along the river bank, Seaman Ouellet spotted an incoming enemy grenade falling toward the boat. He immediately left the protected position of his gun mount and ran aft for the full length of the speeding boat, shouting to his fellow crewmembers to take cover. Observing the boat captain standing unprotected on the boat, Seaman Ouellet bounded on to the engine compartment cover, and pushed the boat captain down to safety. In the split second that followed the grenade's landing, and in the face of certain death, Seaman Ouellet fearlessly placed himself between the deadly missile and his shipmates, courageously absorbing most of the blast fragments with his body in order to protect his shipmates from injury and death. His extraordinary heroism and his selfless and courageous actions on behalf of his comrades at the expense of his life were in the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for March 6, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

6 March

1913: Lt John H. Towers and Ensign Godfrey de C. Chevalier (USN), in the Navy Curtiss flying boat, scouted a "hostile fleet" during Guantanamo maneuvers. (24)

1918: Elmer and Lawrence Sperry successfully test an unpiloted aircraft near Long Island, New York. The Curtiss/Sperry "Flying Bomb" was constructed from a Curtiss N-9 seaplane and intended for launch from a catapult. The "Flying Bomb" was mounted on the top of an automobile and driven into the wind until it lifted off and flew straight ahead for about 1,000 yards and then dove to the ground when the engine was cut off by the revolution counter.

1942: The US Army Air School at Tuskegee, Ala., for black aviators graduated its first class. The five black military pilots included Capt Benjamin O. Davis. (24)

1944: 672 B-17s and B-24s dropped 1,600 tons of bombs in the first major American attack on Berlin. In this daylight raid, 75 bombers were lost. (4) (24)

1951: The Naval Ordnance Test Station launched a Talos missile; its 2-minute trip was the longest full-scale ramjet flight to date. (24)

1953: Boeing delivered its last piston-engine bomber, a TB-50H, to the Air Force. (5)

1958: After four successful test launches, Northrop Aircraft Inc. delivered the first production-model SM-62 Snark ICBM to the USAF. (6)

1962: A Navy F4H-1 Phantom II broke records by climbing 7 1/2 miles in 1 minute 17 seconds. (24)

1964: The DoD canceled the development of the XB-70A-3 Valkyrie. (3)

1965: Cmdr J. R. Williford set a helicopter distance record. He flew 2,105.49 miles from San Diego to Jacksonville in a Sikorsky SH-3A. (5)

1984: A 319 BMW B-52G Stratofortress conducted the first ALCM captive-carry test over Canada's northern test range. (16) (26)

1990: SR-71 RETIRED. Lt Col Ed Yeilding (pilot) and Lt Col J. T. Vida (RSO) set four speed records when they flew the SR-71A Blackbird into retirement at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. They flew a 2,404-mile course from Oxnard, Calif., to Dulles Airport, near DC, in 1 hour 8 minutes 17 seconds at 2,112.52 MPH for one record. Other records: 1 hour 4 minutes for Los Angeles to DC (2,153 MPH); 26 minutes 36 seconds from Kansas City, Mo., to DC (2,200.94 MPH), and eight minutes 20 seconds from St. Louis to Cincinnati, Ohio (2,242.48 MPH). (20)

1997: An AFFTC crew used the ALE-50 Towed Decoy System on a B-1B for the first time. (3)

1998: The SECDEF approved the permanent retirement of the SR-71 Blackbird. With that decision the USAF would retire two SR-71A models (returned to active duty in 1995), a SR-71A and the SR-71B trainer model on loan to NASA, and two from returnable storage. While in the Air Force inventory, the SR-71 set numerous world high-altitude and speed records. (AFNEWS Article 980558, 28 Apr 98)

2007: Operation ACHILLES. A C-130 Hercules dropped 30,000 warning leaflets over the mountains of southeastern Afghanistan to deter Taliban insurgency. The mission supported International Security Assistance Force efforts to secure Afghanistan. (AFNEWS, "Operation Achilles: Leaflet Airdrop Delivers Message to Taliban, 6 Mar 2007.)

 

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