To All
. Good Monday morning May 4.. We are overcast and cool with rain on the way out to the Oceanside VA early this morning. The high is supposed to be 65. May the fourth be with you. Yes I am an old Star Wars Junkie .
. Regards,
Skip
HAGD
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Go here to see the director’s corner for all 97 H-Grams
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History May 4
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
May 4
1917 Destroyer Division 8, commanded by Cmdr. Joseph K. Taussig, arrive at Queenstown, Ireland, to protect convoy escorts against German U-Boats.
1942 Battle of the Coral Sea begins when TF 17 attacks the Japanese Tulagi Invasion Force at Tulagi, Solomons.
1945 During the Okinawa Campaign, the Japanese attempt to land on Okinawa but are repulsed by the Allied naval forces. Kamikazes attack and sink: USS Luce (DD 522), USS Morrison (DD 560), USS LSM 190, USS LSM 194. Damaged by the suicide bombers are USS Birmingham (CL 62) and USS Sangamon (CVE 26).
1961 Cmdr. Malcolm D. Ross, pilot, and medical observer Lt. Cmdr. Victor A. Prather, Jr, ascend in two hours to more than 110,000 feet in Strato-Lab 5, setting altitude record for manned open gondola.
2013 USS Anchorage (LPD 23) is commissioned in her namesake city. The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock is the second ship to be named after the Alaskan city.
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THIS DAY IN WORLD HISTORY
May 4
1970 National Guard kills four students in Kent State shootings
On May 4, 1970, in Kent, Ohio, 28 National Guardsmen fire their weapons at a group of anti-war demonstrators on the Kent State University campus, killing four students, wounding eight and permanently paralyzing another. The tragedy was a watershed moment for a nation divided by the Vietnam War... read more
1886 The Haymarket Square Riot
2002 Nigerian aircraft crashes in crowded city
1776 Rhode Island becomes first colony to declare independence from England
1929 Legendary actress Audrey Hepburn is born
1948 Norman Mailer's first novel, "The Naked and the Dead," is published
1956 Gene Vincent records "Be-Bop-A-Lula"
1959 Ella Fitzgerald becomes first Black woman to win a Grammy Award
1994 A lawmaker introduces the pun "May the Fourth be with you" on the floor of U.K. Parliament
1961 The first Freedom Ride departs from Washington, D.C.
1990 Electric chair malfunctions in Florida, leading states to change execution methods
1904 U.S. officially acquires the Panama Canal, takes over construction
1994 Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat sign accord for Palestinian self-rule
1924 Paris hosts its second Olympic Games
1966 Willie Mays breaks National League home run record
1865 President Lincoln is buried in Springfield, Illinois
1979 Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first female prime minister
1916 Germany agrees to limit its submarine warfare
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Thanks to Al
Monday Morning Humor--Mothers' Day
Don’t forget to recognize the special lady(ies) in your life on Sunday!!!
Written by Erma Bombeck:
By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one"? And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands."
The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!" said the Angel.
The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"
"And that's just on the standard model?" The Angel asked.
The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yes, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head is to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair is here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."
The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."
"But I can't!" the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine-year-old to stand in the shower."
The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."
"Yes, she is soft", the Lord agreed, "But I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."
"Will she be able to think?” asked the inquisitive Angel.
The Lord smiled and replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate."
The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."
"That's not a leak." The Lord objected. "That is a tear!"
"What's the tear for?” the Angel asked.
The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."
The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Truly, You do all things well... Moms are truly amazing!"
The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked.
And the guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children," A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."
And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I've given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."
And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates." And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her but she is with us still. A mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence."
Your mother is always with you...she's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home; and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space...not even death!
What Moms Really Want for Mother's Day
• To be able to eat a whole candy bar (alone) and drink a soda without any "floaties" (i.e., backwash).
• To have her 14 year-old daughter answer a question without rolling her eyes in that "Why is this person my mother?" way.
• Five pounds of chocolate that won't add twenty pounds to her figure.
• A shower without a child peeking through the curtain with a "Hi Ya Mom!" just as she puts a razor to her ankle.
• A full-time cleaning person who looks like Brad Pitt.
• For her teenager to announce, "Hey, Mom! I got a full scholarship and a job all in the same day!"
• A grocery store that doesn't have candy/gum/cheap toys displayed at the checkout line.
• To have a family meal without a discussion about bodily secretions.
• To be able to step on a plane with their toddlers and NOT have someone moan, "Oh no! Why me?!?"
• To occasionally get to sleep late on the weekend. I mean is this too much to ask?
• To actually carry on a normal phone conversation with her toddler in the SAME room.
• To actually be able to finish a HOT cup of coffee while her kids are present. An impossible feat!
• To take a hot bath without her toddler suddenly screaming, "Mommy, I have to go potty!" as soon as she hits the water.
These familiar saying have somehow been handed down from mother to daughter right through the ages. How many of these did you grow up with?
• Who do you think you are?
• Ask your father (closely followed by "Ask your Mother")
• Bored! How can you be bored? I was never bored at your age.
• I'll treat you like an adult when you start acting like an adult!
• Look at me when I'm talking to you.
• Don't you roll your eyes at me!
• Don't pick it, it'll get infected.
• I don't care if "insert child's name here" Mom said yes.
• You'll put your eye out with that thing!
• I'm going to give you to the count to three.
• Don't put that thing in your mouth; you don't know where it's been.
• Wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident and have to go to hospital.
• Don't cross your eyes like that, one day they'll freeze that way
• I don't care who started it, I'll finish it!
• Don't EVER let me catch you doing that again!
• Why? Because I SAID SO, that's why!?!
• If such and such jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?
• If I catch you doing that one more time, I'll...
• Your father is going to hear about THIS when he gets home!
• If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
• How many times do I have to tell you, don't throw things in the house!
• Do you think your clothes are going to pick themselves up?
• "I don't know" is NOT an answer!
• I know it's not fair. Life isn't fair.
Real Mothers…
• Don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it.
• Know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.
• Often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.
• Know that dried PlayDough doesn't come out of shag carpets.
• Don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.
• Sometimes ask "why me?" and get their answer when a little voice says, "Because I love you best".
• Know that a child's growth is not measure by height or years or grade…it is marked by the progression of Mama to Mommy to Mom.
NOW HIRING
Position: Parent
Job Description: Long-term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work various hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24-hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.
Responsibilities: This is for the rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $5 to go skating. Must be willing to bite their tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery-operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
Possibility for Advancement and Promotion: Virtually none. Your objective is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills so those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.
Previous Experience: None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
Wages and Compensation: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.
Benefits: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.
This is for all the mothers…
• Who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Kraft Dinner and wieners, birthday cake, and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."
• Who have walked around the house all night with their babies when they kept crying and wouldn't stop.
• Who have shown up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purses
• Who have run carpools and made dozens of cookies for school teas and sewn Halloween costumes.
• Who HAVEN'T because they're at work trying to keep on top of the bills.
• Who gave birth to babies they'll never see
• Who took those babies and gave them homes and all their love.
• Who have frozen their buns off in bleachers at hockey, baseball or soccer games any night of the week instead of watching from their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and meant it.
• Who have yelled at their kids in the grocery store and swatted them in despair when they stomped their feet like a tired 2-year-old does, who wants ice cream before dinner, and then hated themselves for "losing" it.
• Who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies.
• Who wanted to but just couldn't.
• Who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."
• Who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school.
• Who opted for Velcro instead.
• Who taught their sons to cook and sew and their daughters to be brave and strong (and sink a jump shot).
• Whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home or grown up.
• Who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away. And they do.
• Whose children have gone astray, and who can't find the words to reach them.
• Who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed when their 14-year old dyes their hair green.
What makes a good Mother anyway?
• Is it patience?
• Compassion?
• Broad hips?
• The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?
• Or is it the heart?
• Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?
• Or the terror in your heart at 1 AM when your teenager with the new driver's license is an hour late getting home.
• The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 AM to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
• Or to feel the dull ache as you look in on your sleeping daughter or son the night before they leave for a college in another city.
• The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
This is for working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Those who have ‘mothered’ children not their own. Grandmothers whose wisdom and love remains a constant for their grown children and their children's children.
Don't forget Mother's Day on Sunday!!!!!!
Have a great week,
Al
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May 4
Hello All,
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.
An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).
If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you Dan
Thanks to Micro
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip
For Monday May 4 ..
May 4: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2215
Holy crap Batman that is one hell of a story of survival
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.
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 Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in “search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
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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. .Thanks to History Facts
. Pigeons have always gotten a bad rap, especially when you consider the disparity between their reputation and that of the dove — which is actually just a pigeon with a better PR team. In addition to being much more intelligent than you may have realized, some members of the Columbidae bird family are even war heroes. This includes the three pigeons who were awarded a military medal in 1943, all of whom served in the U.K.’s Royal Air Force. White Vision, Winkie, and Tyke were the inaugural recipients of the Dickin Medal, which was created by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) to honor animals who aided Britain’s efforts in World War II; the carrier pigeons delivered lifesaving messages that led to the rescue of ditched aircrews.
All three decorated pigeons traveled great distances to complete their duty, with Winkie flying some 120 miles in order to alert the RAF Leuchars air base of his handlers’ predicament. The flight crews were located within 15 minutes, and all of them were saved. The birds’ medals, meanwhile, included this citation: “for delivering a message under exceptionally difficult conditions and so contributing to the rescue of an Air Crew while serving with the RAF.” In the 80 years since the Dickin Medal was created, a total of 32 messenger pigeons have received the medal alongside as many as 38 dogs, four horses, and one cat. The bronze medallion is inscribed with the words “for gallantry” and “we also serve.”
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. Thanks to History Facts
What Everyday Life Was Like in Ancient Rome
. Ancient Roman history is usually dominated by larger-than-life rulers such as Julius Caesar and eloquent senators such as Cicero. However, these men led an empire of millions of everyday citizens who were usually less concerned with conquering the world than they were with putting bread on the table and simply enjoying life. A look at the lives of typical Roman citizens reveals a culture that in many fundamental ways is not so different from ours; the ancient Romans worked, played, socialized, and expressed themselves — albeit often quite rudely. Here are six facts that offer a glimpse of what it was like to be an average citizen in one of the world’s largest and most influential empires.
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No Matter Where You Went, You Could Always Find a Public Bath
The Romans were masterful architects of public baths, called thermae. These were complex facilities with elaborate heating systems where Romans from all walks of life came together to relax, socialize, and of course, get clean. Bathing in the Roman thermae wasn’t just a simple dip in the water — there was a whole process involved. A visitor would begin by doing some light exercise followed by a hot bath, then a warm bath, and then a cold bath; they could also spend time in a steam room or get a massage. Public baths were a central part of Roman culture, and some citizens even considered them a symbol of Roman identity. In fact, baths were such an essential component of daily life that they were built in nearly every part of the Roman Empire, even in its most remote regions. Roman thermae could be found as far north as the British Isles and as far south as Egypt.
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The Empire’s Cities Were Filled With Graffiti
Archaeological evidence from well-preserved ancient Roman cities such as Pompeii and Herculaneum reveals that, much like people in modern society, the denizens of ancient Rome liked to express themselves through some good old-fashioned graffiti. Since the ancient Romans lived a few millennia before the invention of spray paint, they had to make do by scratching and carving their designs and messages into plaster surfaces around the empire’s cities. Graffiti carved by everyday Romans can be found on the walls of bars, public baths, and other places where people commonly went to socialize. Ancient Roman street art ranged from simple drawings of stick figures and animals to colorful, R-rated jokes and insults. While some of the more famous Romans, such as emperors and statesmen, were commemorated through huge monuments and stately statues, graffiti was often a common person’s best shot at leaving their mark on the world, and many ancient graffiti artists included their names in the messages they left, to be remembered by future generations — even if it was just for a rude boast or scatological joke.
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The Roman Workday Ended at Noon
The ancient Romans didn’t have clocks they could use to count the hours of the day. Instead, they kept track of the time using the position of the sun, and employed devices such as sundials to divide the day and night into 12 evenly spaced units called “hora” (hours). Since tracking the sun was the Roman citizen’s principal timekeeping method, the workday was structured around solar positions that were easy to measure with the naked eye, such as sunrise, noon, and sunset. For this reason, a typical citizen would usually start their workday at dawn, which marked the first “hora” of the day, and stop working at noon. This left the rest of the afternoon open for leisure, and citizens from all levels of Roman society would spend that time attending sporting events, theatrical performances, and the all-important public baths.
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The Roman People Loved to Gamble
A love of gambling extended to all levels of ancient Roman society. Less-wealthy citizens would place bets on a wide variety of board games and dice games, which they played in taverns, city streets, and other public spaces, while the rich would build private gaming rooms in their homes. Romans would also frequently bet on the outcomes of gladiator fights and chariot races. (For the most part, only men were permitted to gamble, though women were allowed to participate in games of chance during special festivals.) Even the Roman emperors got in on the action. Rulers such as Augustus and Nero were known for their gaming habits, and for betting small fortunes on a single throw of the dice. Roman Emperor Claudius even had a custom-made carriage built with a gaming table so that he could gamble while traveling.
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The Roman Forum Was the Center of Public Life
With its location right in the middle of the city, the Roman Forum was quite literally the center of everyday life in ancient times. It was where the typical Roman citizen could shop, talk, and find entertainment. It was also the site of most of the city’s public gatherings, the Roman courts of law, and the meeting place of the Roman Senate. What’s more, the forum housed some of Rome’s most important religious sites, including multiple temples dedicated to Roman deities. In other words, if you were a Roman citizen, chances were good that you’d be making frequent visits to the forum for everything from daily errands to grand citywide ceremonies.
There Was a Temple Where Citizens Could Go to Worship Caesar
One prominent temple in the Roman Forum was dedicated not to the worship of a mythological god, but to the former dictator of Rome, Julius Caesar. During the funeral games held in Caesar’s honor shortly after his assassination in 44 BCE, a comet appeared in the sky for seven days, which the Roman populace interpreted as a divine omen that Caesar’s soul had ascended to the status of divinity. This popular belief that Caesar had become a god was codified into law two years later in 42 BCE, when the Roman Senate officially declared him a deity. After this, a temple was built in the forum in Caesar’s honor. It even had an altar where Roman citizens would offer sacrifices to the deified leader, just as they would to supernatural Roman gods such as Jupiter and Saturn.
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. Thanks to Mugs
MAY 3, 1802: HOW THE D.C. GOT IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
It was never supposed to be in a "state," else they would have just put in one.
In 1790, a year after George Washington took office as president, Congress authorized him to find a site along the Potomac River for the new nation’s capital. It was the first time a country had ever established its permanent capital by legislative action. The president ended up choosing a spot just a few miles upstream from his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Surveyors staked out an area of one hundred square miles straddling the river. The idea was to create a special territory, not part of any state, to contain the capital city. The land came from Maryland and Virginia, and the territory was named the “District of Columbia” (“D.C.” for short) in honor of Christopher Columbus.
George Washington hired French engineer Pierre L’Enfant to plan the city that would lie within the new District. In 1791, the District’s commissioners decided to name that city “Washington” in honor of the first president. The federal government moved there in 1800.
On May 3, 1802, Washington was incorporated as a city, with a city council elected by local residents, and a mayor appointed by the president. People began to refer to the capital city inside the District of Columbia as “Washington, D.C.”-- just as they might write “Albany, N.Y.” or “Charleston, S.C.”
For a long time Washington remained a relatively small town, and much of the land inside the District of Columbia lay undeveloped. In 1846 Congress decided it would never need the District’s land on the south side of the Potomac River, so it returned that portion to the state of Virginia. But of course the city did eventually grow, especially after World War II. Today it fills virtually the entire District of Columbia.
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From the archives
. Thanks to Dr. Rich
Friendly visitor while napping ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlGfi2ofzFc
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Thanks to1440
. Background
The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the US, announced annually in May by Columbia University in New York City. There are 23 prize categories for achievements in American journalism and the arts, including fiction, music, drama, and photography.
Notable past winners have included novelist Toni Morrison, poet Robert Frost, and journalist and editor Bob Woodward .
History
The awards are named after Joseph Pulitzer, one of the founders of modern journalism, whose major newspapers the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World, transformed journalism by marketing to a mass audience, not just the elite.
The Hungarian-born Pulitzer pioneered investigative reporting, exposing corruption and abuse by presidents and bankers. He also used sensational tactics to sell papers, deploying dramatic headlines and cartoons and highlighting scandals.
When he died in 1911, Pulitzer left $2M to Columbia University to found its journalism school and establish the Pulitzer Prize. Listen to his bio here.
The inaugural prizes in 1917 selected four winners: two for newspaper journalism (including a look inside the German Empire amid World War I) and two for books. Pulitzer’s bequest established nine awards and five scholarships, but the slate has evolved over time to include online-only outlets (2009), magazines (2015), and audio reporting (2020).
Selection Process
Finalists are decided by roughly 100 jurors spread across 22 panels, each chosen by a 19-person board of academics and media professionals on three-year terms.
Juries make three initial nominations for each award category, submitted to the board in a single panel report; deliberations are strictly confidential.
The board, which has complete discretion, then votes on those three nominations or, in rare cases, selects another recipient with a 75% majority vote. This happened in 1993, when New York Times correspondent John Burns received an international reporting Pulitzer for his pieces on the Bosnian War, despite not having been nominated by the jury.
The board can also choose to not issue an award, as in 2021, when no award was given for editorial cartooning. This has occurred five other times since 2000, usually due to the board’s failure to reach a consensus.
Winners receive $15,000 in cash and a certificate; the recipient of the public service award takes home a gold medal.
Impact
Journalists who receive a Pulitzer have claimed the award acts like a press badge, legitimizing the author and providing broader access to career opportunities. The elevated status also brings greater expectations and pressure.
A Pulitzer has the biggest financial benefit for fiction award winners. While nonfiction book winners often see sales increase, total copies of their books are (surprisingly) only in the hundreds or thousands. Novelists see larger sales boosts, like 2014 winner Donna Tartt, whose novel “The Goldfinch” doubled its weekly sales after the win (and has sold nearly 2 million copies).
Snafus
In 1981, Janet Cooke of The Washington Post had to return her Pulitzer for feature writing for her profile of an 8-year-old heroin addict, who turned out not to exist.
In 2012, the Pulitzer board faced backlash when it ignored the jury’s recommendations for the fiction prize—"Swamplandia!," "The Pale King," and "Train Dreams"—instead choosing to issue no award.
Kendrick Lamar became the first rapper to receive a Pulitzer for his 2017 album "DAMN," but the choice was controversial even among fans.
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\Roll back to 1975 On the USS Hancock we went into Manilla to meet our wives who were flying into Manilla. We got a helo ride over and they dropped us off at the embasy landing spot and we had a lot of time to Kill. There was a theater near there and one of the movies was something called Star Wars which none of us had ever heard of before. So we all piled in and loved it. Little did we know that the lines were around the theaters at home. We picked up our wives and told them about the movie and they told us that the lines were so bad that they had not seen it so we all went to see it again . Later on a movie showed up on the USS Hancock called Jaws about a big shark and that went over great. We even picked up the phrase of “We got to get a bigger boat”which we all agreed on….skip
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From the archives
Thanks to Nice News
Happy Star Wars Day — and May the Fourth be with you! The origins are unclear on exactly when enthusiastic fans turned the famous phrase “May the force be with you” into a pun, and subsequently an unofficial holiday, but it lives on nearly 50 years after the first film premiered. And whether you’ve memorized every movie or have yet to see a single one, it’s a fun way to add a little silliness to your Sunday. San Francisco’s BART has definitely gotten into the spirit: The rapid transit system is turning one of its trains into a starship for a free 90-minute ride today with live music, trivia, and prizes for the best costumes. Want to test your knowledge from the comfort of home? See how you fare with 30 bits of trivia that only hardcore Star Wars fans would know.
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This Day in U S Military History……May 4
1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on what is now Manhattan Island. Peter Minuit became director-general of New Netherlands. Indians sold Manhattan Island for $24 (1839 dollars) in cloth and buttons. The 1999 value would be $345. The site of the deal was later marked by Peter Minuit Plaza at South Street and Whitehall Street.
1942 – Aircraft from the USS Yorktown positioned 100 miles south of Guadalcanal, attack Japanese forces off Tulagi. The Yorktown then returns south to join the American Task Force 17 which is assembling to engage the Japanese. American actions are dictated by their code breaking which has revealed many of the Japanese plans to them.
1945 – On Luzon, the US 25th Division, part of US 1st Corps, capture Mount Haruna, west of the Balete Pass. Northwest of Manila, elements of the US 11th Corps attack toward Guagua but are forced back by Japanese defenses. On Mindanao, the US 24th Division mops up in around Davao while elements of the US 31st Division patrol north of Zibawe. Elements of the US 41st Division reach Parang, north of Cotabato while other forces land north of Digos, near Santa Cruz. On Negros, the Americal Division attempts to reopen its supply lines, which have been cut by the Japanese forces, in the eastern part of the island.
1945 – Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov informs U.S. Secretary of State Stettinius that the Red Army has arrested 16 Polish peace negotiators who had met with a Soviet army colonel near Warsaw back in March. When British Prime Minister Winston Churchill learns of the Soviet double-cross, he reacts in alarm, stating, “There is no doubt that the publication in detail of this event…would produce a primary change in the entire structure of world forces.” Churchill, fearing that the Russian forces were already beginning to exact retribution for losses suffered during the war (the Polish negotiators had been charged with “causing the death of 200 Red Army officers”), sent a telegram to President Harry Truman to express his concern that Russian demands of reparations from Germany, and the possibility of ongoing Russian occupation of Central and Eastern Europe, “constitutes an event in the history of Europe to which there has been no parallel.” Churchill clearly foresaw the “Iron Curtain” beginning to drop. Consequently, he sent a “holding force” to Denmark to cut off any farther westward advance by Soviet troops.
1977 – The US and Vietnam open the first round of negotiations in Paris on normalizing relations. The US pledges not to veto Vietnam’s entrance to the UN and to lift its trade embargo once diplomatic relations are established.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
CUMMINGS, AMOS J.
Rank and organization: Sergeant Major, 26th New Jersey Infantry. Place and date: At Salem Heights, Va., 4 May 1863. Entered service at: Irvington, N.J. Born: 15 May 1841, Conklin, N.Y. Date of issue. 28 March 1894. Citation: Rendered great assistance in the heat of the action in rescuing a part of the field batteries from an extremely dangerous and exposed position.
*McVEANE, JOHN P.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company D, 49th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Fredericksburg Heights, Va., 4 May 1863. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Birth: Canada. Date of issue: 21 September 1870. Citation: Shot a Confederate color bearer and seized the flag; also approached, alone, a barn between the lines and demanded and received the surrender of a number of the enemy therein.
SHAW, GEORGE C.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 27th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Fort Pitacus, Lake Lanao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 4 May 1903. Entered service at: Washington, D.C. Birth: Pontiac, Mich. Date of issue: 9 June 1904. Citation: For distinguished gallantry in leading the assault and, under a heavy fire from the enemy, maintaining alone his position on the parapet after the first 3 men who followed him there had been killed or wounded, until a foothold was gained by others and the capture of the place assured.
*KINSER, ELBERT LUTHER
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 21 October 1922, Greeneville, Tenn. Accredited to: Tennessee. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while acting as leader of a Rifle Platoon, serving with Company I, 3d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Chain, 4 May 1945. Taken under sudden, close attack by hostile troops entrenched on the reverse slope while moving up a strategic ridge along which his platoon was holding newly won positions, Sgt. Kinser engaged the enemy in a fierce hand grenade battle. Quick to act when a Japanese grenade landed in the immediate vicinity, Sgt. Kinser unhesitatingly threw himself on the deadly missile, absorbing the full charge of the shattering explosion in his own body and thereby protecting his men from serious injury and possible death. Stouthearted and indomitable, he had yielded his own chance of survival that his comrades might live to carry on the relentless battle against a fanatic enemy. His courage, cool decision and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of certain death sustained and enhanced the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
*POWERS, JOHN JAMES
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy. Born: 13 July 1912, New York City, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. Other Navy award: Air Medal with 1 gold star. Citation: For distinguished and conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, while pilot of an airplane of Bombing Squadron 5, Lt. Powers participated, with his squadron, in 5 engagements with Japanese forces in the Coral Sea area and adjacent waters during the period 4 to 8 May 1942. Three attacks were made on enemy objectives at or near Tulagi on 4 May. In these attacks he scored a direct hit which instantly demolished a large enemy gunboat or destroyer and is credited with 2 close misses, 1 of which severely damaged a large aircraft tender, the other damaging a 20,000-ton transport. He fearlessly strafed a gunboat, firing all his ammunition into it amid intense antiaircraft fire. This gunboat was then observed to be leaving a heavy oil slick in its wake and later was seen beached on a nearby island. On 7 May, an attack was launched against an enemy airplane carrier and other units of the enemy’s invasion force. He fearlessly led his attack section of 3 Douglas Dauntless dive bombers, to attack the carrier. On this occasion he dived in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire, to an altitude well below the safety altitude, at the risk of his life and almost certain damage to his own plane, in order that he might positively obtain a hit in a vital part of the ship, which would insure her complete destruction. This bomb hit was noted by many pilots and observers to cause a tremendous explosion engulfing the ship in a mass of flame, smoke, and debris. The ship sank soon after. That evening, in his capacity as Squadron Gunnery Officer, Lt. Powers gave a lecture to the squadron on point-of-aim and diving technique. During this discourse he advocated low release point in order to insure greater accuracy; yet he stressed the danger not only from enemy fire and the resultant low pull-out, but from own bomb blast and bomb fragments. Thus his low-dive bombing attacks were deliberate and premeditated, since he well knew and realized the dangers of such tactics, but went far beyond the call of duty in order to further the cause which he knew to be right. The next morning, 8 May, as the pilots of the attack group left the ready room to man planes, his indomitable spirit and leadership were well expressed in his own words, “Remember the folks back home are counting on us. 1 am going to get a hit if 1 have to lay it on their flight deck.” He led his section of dive bombers down to the target from an altitude of 18,000 feet, through a wall of bursting antiaircraft shells and into the face of enemy fighter planes. Again, completely disregarding the safety altitude and without fear or concern for his safety, Lt. Powers courageously pressed home his attack, almost to the very deck of an enemy carrier and did not release his bomb until he was sure of a direct hit. He was last seen attempting recovery from his dive at the extremely low altitude of 200 feet, and amid a terrific barrage of shell and bomb fragments, smoke, flame and debris from the stricken vessel.
*FOURNET, DOUGLAS B.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Place and date: A Shau Valley, Republic of Vietnam, 4 May 1968. Entered service at: New Orleans, La. Born: 7 May 1943, Lake Charles, La. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Fournet, Infantry, distinguished himself in action while serving as rifle platoon leader of the 2d Platoon, Company B. While advancing uphill against fortified enemy positions in the A Shau Valley, the platoon encountered intense sniper fire, making movement very difficult. The right flank man suddenly discovered an enemy claymore mine covering the route of advance and shouted a warning to his comrades. Realizing that the enemy would also be alerted, 1st Lt. Fournet ordered his men to take cover and ran uphill toward the mine, drawing a sheath knife as he approached it. With complete disregard for his safety and realizing the imminent danger to members of his command, he used his body as a shield in front of the mine as he attempted to slash the control wires leading from the enemy positions to the mine. As he reached for the wire the mine was detonated, killing him instantly. Five men nearest the mine were slightly wounded, but 1st Lt. Fournet’s heroic and unselfish act spared his men of serious injury or death. His gallantry and willing self-sacrifice are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for May 4 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1911: The War Department decided to send the Army's first Wright plane to the Smithsonian Institution.
(24)
1916: Katherine Stinson gave a short aerobatic show over New York at night. At first, she planned a daytime show at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway, but she arrived too late in her biplane to be assembled for the show. To keep from disappointing her audience, she took off, climbed to 3,000 feet, and performed two loops that could be traced from her plane's lights. She landed on the racetrack below by using red flares as lights. (7)
1927: Capt Hawthorne C. Gray (Air Corps) flew a free balloon to 42,470 feet at Scott Field. (24)
1929: Two Navy officers, Lt Thomas G. W. Settle and Ensign W. Bushnell, won the National Balloon Race for subclass A-7 through A-9 balloons (1600-4000 cubic meters with a FAI distance record of 952 miles) from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Savage Harbor, Prince Edward Island. Their flight also set a 43-hour, 20-minute FAI duration record for subclass A-6 (1200 to 1600 cubic meter) balloons. (9) (24)
1942: BATTLE OF CORAL SEA. Through 8 May, the Battle of Coral Sea featured the first naval engagement fought by aircraft as the opposing ships made no contact. Although both sides lost a carrier (the Japanese Shoho and the USS Lexington), the U.S. successfully thwarted a Japanese invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea, where they would have been able to launch an invasion of Australia. (20) (21)
1950: The Northrop YRB-49A flies for the first time Near Hawthorne, California. The experimental flying-wing design is powered by four internal Allison J-35 turbojet engines housed within 172 feet of the wingspan and two more were mounted under the wings. The sole prototype reconnaissance platform flew only 13 flights before testing ended abruptly on 26 April 1951.
1952: KOREAN WAR. In air operations, 25 F-86s strafed and destroyed 5 of 24 YAK-9s parked in revetments at Sinuiju Airfield in extreme northwestern Korea. (28)
1961: Cmdr Malcolm D. Ross and Lt Cmdr Victor A. Prather (both Navy Reserve) reached a FAI record balloon altitude of 113,739.9 feet in a two-place open gondola. Launched from the USS Antietam near the Mississippi River mouth, the balloon reached its maximum altitude in 2 hours
36 minutes. The death of Commander Prather, who fell from the recovery helicopter’s sling after being pulled from the water, marred this achievement. (9)
1962: At Lowry AFB, the 725 SMS became the first Titan I unit to achieve alert. (7)
1966: USAF A-1E Skyraider pilots flew their first strikes against targets in North Vietnam.
1968: Gen Carl Spaatz (USAF retired) received the Thomas D. White National Defense Award for 1968. (16)
1963: A TWA Boeing Star Stream established a record for a jet- powered passenger transport by covering the San Francisco to Paris route in 9 hours 55 minutes.
1970: A SAC task force of four B-52s won the Blue Steel Trophy for the best combined bombing and navigation results in the RAF Strike Command’s bombing and navigation competition at RAF Station Marham, England. (26)
1979: The A-10B flew its first flight at Edwards AFB. (3)
1982: Through 8 May, the E-3A Sentry AWACS deployed to Turkey for the first time. (16) (26)
1989: During a 4-8 May mission, Air Force Maj Mark Lee on the Space Shuttle Atlantis released the Magellan probe that would map Venus with synthetic aperture radar. (20)
1990: The Hughes/Raytheon AIM-120A Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile demonstrated its ability to achieve multiple kills against multiple targets. On the Gulf Test Range near Eglin AFB, an F-15 flying 650 MPH at 15,000 feet fired two missiles at two QF-100 drones at 10,000 feet and two more at two drones at 5,000 feet. The test resulted in three direct hits and one pass within lethal distance. (20)
1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE. An F-16CJ shot down a MiG-29 over Kosovo. It was the fifth and last USAF aerial victory in the operation. (21) Operation ALLIED FORCE. Through 6 May, the 161st Air Refueling Wing (Arizona ANG) deployed nearly 300 members and six KC-135s to Europe to support NATO’s war against Yugoslavia. (32)
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