To All
Good Monday morning June 29. Same weather different day. It is overcast and a cool 61 now. The clouds are clearing by 11 and we are heating up to 74 by 1.
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HAGD
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Thanks to Al this Monday morning
I want to start this out with a high note, so listen to God Bless the USA at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Japc8M8RQw&list=RD0Japc8M8RQw&start_radio=1
I Am the Nation Written by Bug Roach skip
I was born July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence is my birth certificate. The blood lines of the world run in my veins because I offered freedom to the oppressed. I am many things, and many people.
I am the Nation. I am 200,000,000 living souls---and the ghosts of millions who have lived and died for me.
I am Nathan Hale and Paul Revere. I stood at Lexington and fired the shot heard around the world.
I am Washington, Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. I am John Paul Jones and the Green Mountain Boys, and Davy Crockett. I am Lee and Grant and Abe Lincoln.
I remember the Alamo, the Maine, and Pearl Harbor. When freedom called, I answered and stayed until it was over, over there. I left my heroic dead in Flanders Fields on the rock of Corregidor, and on the bleak slopes of Korea. I am the Brooklyn Bridge, the wheatlands of Kansas, and the granite hills of Vermont.. .1 am big; I sprawl from the Atlantic to the Pacific. I am more than 4,000,000 farms. I am forest, fields, mountain and desert. I am quiet villages and cities that never sleep.
You can look at me and see Ben Franklin walking down the streets of Philadelphia with his loaf of bread under his arm. I am Babe Ruth and the World Series. I am 169,000 schools and colleges and 250,000 churches where my people worship God as they think best. I am a ballot dropped in a box, the roar of a crowd in a stadium, and the voice of a choir in a cathedral. I am an editorial in a newspaper and letter to a congressman. I am Eli Whitney and Stephen Foster. I am Tom Edison, Albert Einstein, and Billy Graham. I am Horace Greeley, Will Rogers, and the Wright Brothers. I am George Washington Carver, Daniel Webster, and Jonas Salk. I am Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Walt Whitman, Thomas Paine.
Yes, I am the Nation. I was conceived in freedom and, God willing, in freedom will I spend the rest of my days. May I always possess the integrity, the courage and the strength to keep myself unshackled, to remain a citadel of freedom and a beacon of hope to the world.
The fireworks, barbecues, and parties will soon begin, but should we only celebrate our independence on July 4? I suggest we maintain the spirit of independence 365 days a year—the spirit of our forefathers, the minutemen, the entrepreneurs—and take care of America the way they formed it. Here are some thoughts by folks much more eloquent than me:
• Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. --Thomas Paine
• This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.--Elmer Davis
• The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation.--Woodrow Wilson
• Let freedom never perish in your hands.--Joseph Addison
• You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.--Erma Bombeck
• Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.--Dwight D. Eisenhower
• In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.--Franklin D. Roosevelt
• A statistician made a few calculations and discovered that since the birth of our nation more lives had been lost in celebrating independence than in winning it.--Curtis Billings
• This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope. So it was in the beginning. So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith.--Lyndon B. Johnson
• For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?--Ralph Waldo Emerson
• That which distinguishes this day from all others is that then both orators and artillerymen shoot blank cartridges.--John Burroughs, Journal
• Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.--Louis D. Brandeis
• It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.--Dick Cheney
• May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country!--Daniel Webster
• We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.--Robert J. McCracken
• If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.--Hamilton Fish
• I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.--Author Unknown
• Where liberty dwells, there is my country.--Benjamin Franklin
• Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.--George Bernard Shaw
• Many politicians are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim.--Thomas Macaulay
• We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.--William Faulkner
• How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!--Thomas Jefferson
• We need an America with the wisdom of experience. But we must not let America grow old in spirit.--Hubert H. Humphrey
• Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.--Abraham Lincoln
• Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.--Moshe Dayan
• And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.--Lee Greenwood
• It is sweet to serve one's country by deeds, and it is not absurd to serve her by words.--Sallust
• Freedom is never free.--Author Unknown
• There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.--William J. Clinton
We have enjoyed the redneck jokes for years. It's time to take a reflective look at the core beliefs of a culture that values home, family, country and God. If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I'd choose a half dozen or so rednecks to back me up. Tire irons, squirrel guns and grit -- that's what rednecks are made of. I hope I am one of those. If you feel the same, pass this on to your redneck friends. Ya'll know who ya are...You might be a redneck if:
• It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, 'One nation, under God.'
• You've never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.
• You bow your head when someone prays.
• You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.
• You treat our armed forces veterans with great respect, and always have.
• never burned an American flag, nor intend to.
• You know what you believe and you aren't afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.
• You respect your elders and raised your kids to do the same.
• You'd give your last dollar to a friend.
On this our country’s 250th birthday, I stop and ponder, “Is America great?”
For all our prayers of peace, we are a nation in international conflict this Independence Day. Our military is prepared in the Middle East, of course, but that's not what I mean—or at least, not all that I mean. We are also in conflict with ourselves, with the very idea and ideal of the United States of America.
We are fighting about immigration that nevertheless sinks often into mud holes of xenophobia and racism. We are fighting about the abridgement of civil liberties, the conduct of war, the idea that socialism is the answer. We are fighting about identity, about who we are and who we are willing to be.
Is America great? I say yes, of course—hedged with some disclaimers. But I say yes.
Hope lives in the United States. In so many places, hope lies strangled or stillborn, abandoned or forgotten. But hope has a home in America.
I have been hearing more and more a term I like: “American exceptionalism,” as in the abiding conviction that this is a nation set apart, a nation unique among all the nations of the world.
And it seems to me it is not the people who make America great, but America that has made the people great. Meaning that we are blessed to have been shaped by revolutionary ideals. Equality before the law. The freedom of speech. The freedom of assembly. The freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. The inalienable right to pursue one's own happiness.
Is America great? Not always, no. And when we are not great, it has usually been because the people have been unable or unwilling or scared to be as large as the nation's ideals. History tells us it has happened too often: with the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, with slavery, with government censorship of periodicals and songs during World War I, with the internment of Americans of Japanese heritage during World War II, with segregation, with McCarthyism, with government surveillance of its citizens..
One can only wonder what history will someday say about this era where the rule of law is flouted, hate groups are rising, people are frightened and the very idea of American exceptionalism, that there are some risks you take, some things you don't do, some challenges you just have to meet, because this is after all, America, seems frayed and worn and spent.
And you might say, well, who cares? It's just an ideal. Can ideals save this country?
Actually, ideals are the only things that ever have.
Have a great week and a great Fourth,
Uncle Sam
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA !!
"Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above thy fruited plain. America, America, God shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea."—Irving Berlin
"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal."--Thomas Jefferson
"I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."--Patrick Henry
"Our flag is red, white and blue, but our nation is a rainbow -- red, yellow, brown, black and white--and we're all precious in God's sight."--Jesse Jackson
"Our flag is our national ensign, pure and simple, behold it! Listen to it! Every star has a tongue, every stripe is articulate."--Robert C. Winthrop (1809-1894), Senator from Massachusetts
"You can't appreciate home till you've left it, money till it's spent, your wife until she's joined a woman's club, nor Old Glory till you see it hanging on a broomstick on a shanty of a consul in a foreign town."--O. Henry
"To live in the hearts of those you leave behind is never to die"--Robert Orr
"Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o'er, sleep the sleep that knows not breaking, dream of battled fields no more. days of danger, nights of waking."--Sir Walter Scott
"The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children."--William Havard
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends."--John 15:13
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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
June 29
1860 The steamer USS Mystic, commanded by William E. LeRoy, captures the slaver, Thomas Achorn at Kabenda, Africa and sends her to New York.
1862 During the Civil War, the steam sloop USS Susquehanna, commanded by Cmdr. R.B. Hitchcock, captures the blockade-running British steamer HMS Anna near Mobile, Ala.
1871 Capt. Charles F. Hall's arctic expedition sails from New York on USS Polaris. Aiming for the North Pole, USS Polaris reaches 82X 11 N, 61X W. latitude, then the furthest point north reached by a vessel.
1950 USS Juneau (CLAA 119) and USS De Haven (DD 727) fire the first naval shore bombardment of the Korean War in the vicinity of Samchock, Korea.
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Today in World History: June 29
1236 Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon take Cordoba in Spain.
1652 Massachusetts declares itself an independent commonwealth.
1767 The British parliament passes the Townshend Revenue Act, levying taxes on America.
1862 Union forces, falling back from Richmond, fight at the Battle of Savage's Station.
1880 France annexes Tahiti.
1888 Professor Frederick Treves performs the first appendectomy in England.
1903 The British government officially protests Belgian atrocities in the Congo.
1905 Russian troops intervene as riots erupt in ports all over the country, leaving many ships looted.
1917 The Ukraine proclaims independence from Russia.
1925 An earthquake ravages Santa Barbara, California.
1926 Fascists in Rome add an hour to the work day in an economic efficiency measure.
1932 Siam's army seizes Bangkok and announces an end to the absolute monarchy.
1938 Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, and Olympic National Park, Washington, are founded.
1950 President Harry S. Truman authorizes a sea blockade of Korea.
1951 The United States invites the Soviet Union to the Korean peace talks on a ship in Wonsan Harbor.
1955 The Soviet Union sends tanks to Poznan, Poland, to put down anti-Communist demonstrations.
1966 The U.S. Air Force bombs fuel storage facilities near Hanoi, North Vietnam.
1967 Israel removes barricades, re-unifying Jerusalem.
1970 U.S. troops pull out of Cambodia.
1982 Israel invades Lebanon.
On June 29, 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.
Many of you remember Hoot Gibson from Miramar. The last time I saw him was by the Hangers and we had parked next to each other as both of us had 1965 Porsch SC He was on his way to astronaut training. He had quite few interesting missions and was the first one to take the Shuttle back into orbit after the Disaster. He also made the news after dead sticking his P-51 at the Reno Äir races when the engine quit. He said it was easier than landing the Shuttle….skip
This historic moment of cooperation between former rival space programs was also the 100th human space mission in American history. At the time, Daniel Goldin, chief of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), called it the beginning of “a new era of friendship and cooperation” between the U.S. and Russia. With millions of viewers watching on television, Atlantis blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida on June 27, 1995.
The Space Race
Just after 6 a.m. on June 29, Atlantis and its seven crew members approached Mir as both crafts orbited the Earth some 245 miles above Central Asia, near the Russian-Mongolian border. When they spotted the shuttle, the three cosmonauts on Mir broadcast Russian folk songs to Atlantis to welcome them. Over the next two hours, the shuttle’s commander, Robert “Hoot” Gibson expertly maneuvered his craft towards the space station. To make the docking, Gibson had to steer the 100-ton shuttle to within three inches of Mir at a closing rate of no more than one foot every 10 seconds.
The docking went perfectly and was completed at 8 a.m., just two seconds off the targeted arrival time and using 200 pounds less fuel than had been anticipated. Combined, Atlantis and the 123-ton Mir formed the largest spacecraft ever in orbit. It was only the second time ships from two countries had linked up in space; the first was in June 1975, when an American Apollo capsule and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft briefly joined in orbit.
Once the docking was completed, Gibson and Mir’s commander, Vladimir Dezhurov, greeted each other by clasping hands in a victorious celebration of the historic moment. A formal exchange of gifts followed, with the Atlantis crew bringing chocolate, fruit and flowers and the Mir cosmonauts offering traditional Russian welcoming gifts of bread and salt. Atlantis remained docked with Mir for five days before returning to Earth, leaving two fresh Russian cosmonauts on the space station. The three veteran Mir crew members returned with the shuttle, including two Russians and Norman Thagard, a U.S. astronaut who rode a Russian rocket to the space station in mid-March 1995 and spent over 100 days in space, a U.S. endurance record. NASA’s Shuttle-Mir program continued for 11 missions and was a crucial step towards the construction of the International Space Station now in orbit.
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June 27
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 elow and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip
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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From the archives to start your day
Thanks to Boysie ... and Dr. Rich
Lexophila
Lexophilia: Although not in the dictionary, it is reported that "Lexophile" describes a person who loves sentences such as,
"You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish," and,
"To write with a broken pencil is pointless."
An annual competition is held by the 'New York Times' to see who can create the best original lexophile.
This year's submissions:
◾I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.
◾England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
◾Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.
◾This girl today said she recognized me from the Vegetarians Club, but I'd swear I've never met herbivore.
◾I know a guy who's addicted to drinking brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
◾A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
◾When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.
◾I got some batteries that were given out free of charge.
◾A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.
◾A will is a dead giveaway.
◾With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
◾Police were summoned to a daycare center where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
◾A bicycle can't stand alone; it's just two tired.
◾The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine last week is now fully recovered.
◾He had a photographic memory but it was never fully developed.
◾When she saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye.
◾Acupuncture is a jab well done. That's the point of it.
◾I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
◾Did you hear about the crossed-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?
◾When chemists die, they barium.
◾I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.
◾I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down.
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Thanks to Dick
Bob Beavis is a former UAL pilot & retired USMC aviator/Col
I joined VMF-235 shortly after Orson ejected from his F-8 Crusader and was captured in 1966. We grew up respecting the Flag of the United States of America. Most all of us still do and especially those of us who paid our dues on behalf of this Nation. Please remember the Country that has given you freedoms and success. And respect our Flag. Semper Fi, Bob Beavis
The Flag -- thanks to my friend, Dixie Ferguson, for inspiring these thoughts a few years ago!
27 November, 2018
Earlier this year, some friends of mine, patriotic citizens all, were discouraged by the actions of one of the members of their City Council. This member of the City Council refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance at the opening of each City Council meeting, as was customary. The council member refusing to stand was Hispanic-American, and said, essentially, the Flag did not represent her. She was not born in the USA. I was asked by my friends what I thought of her conduct. I sent the following comment to them.
Orson Swindle
The American Flag
Lt. Colonel Orson Swindle, USMC(ret)
I could not help but reflect on a day long ago – March 4, 1973 – and being at the airfield in Hanoi, North Vietnam, awaiting a big, beautiful C-141 aircraft to fly me and my fellow POWS home after years of incarceration and pain – 6 years and 4 months for me.
We patiently waited, still in the grip of the Communist troops. Then, at a distance, we saw the C-141 on its approach to land. It was like a dream and, after so many years, really hard to believe.
The aircraft landed and began to taxi to the area where we were being held before release. As it approached us, the aircraft became more visible – and, there before our squinting eyes, was a big, red white and blue American Flag emblazoned on the tail of the aircraft moving closer and closer. Among the dozens of Americans standing by, soon to board that aircraft for freedom, I am pretty sure there was not a dry eye among us.
You see, the Flag is more than a piece of cloth or an ornament to be disrespected. It represented the glue that held us together for all those years of abuse, torture, deprivation, uncertainty, fear and pain. We all knew it represented us, our indomitable spirit, our courage, our hopes, our dreams, our faith and our love for our Country. We resisted our captors day in and day out, in my case, for 2,305 days.
We often paid a painful price for our resistance, for remaining loyal to our Country and our Flag. Our motto was Return with Honor.
We had lived in fear of dishonoring that Flag in any way. We were inspired by it and even made little flags from cloth we stole in prison. We were beaten for possessing those little scrap cloth flags. And, every night in our cells, we looked toward home year after year, and we said the Pledge of Allegiance together, although we were often detained in solitary confinement in solid-walled cells, apart from our fellow Prisoners of War.
The Flag, the Pledge, our Country and each other, meant a lot to us – and, they still do.
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Another great H-Gram from Admiral Cox and the Naval History and Heritage Command
H-Gram 050: 70th Anniversary of the Korean War—The Initial Naval Actions
25 June 2020
This H-gram covers the first two month of naval action in the Korean War, which started on 25 June 1950. Sometimes referred to as the “Forgotten War,” I plan to give it pretty thorough treatment because some of the amazing U.S. Navy action has indeed largely been forgotten.
Before dawn on Sunday morning, 25 June 1950, Communist North Korea launched a massive surprise attack across the border into South Korea, smashing through the inadequate South Korean defenses. Within three days, the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) had captured the South Korean capital of Seoul and kept on going south, with little to stop it, while also overrunning the airfields that might have been of use to the U.S. Air Force. The attack not only took the South Koreans by surprise, it caught the United States unprepared for war.
To the extent that the United States was planning for war in 1950, it was almost exclusively focused on a potential Soviet invasion of Europe, which was to be deterred or won (on the cheap, relatively) by U.S. Air Force intercontinental bombers armed with atomic bombs. The U.S. Navy had repeatedly lost the budget and service roles and missions battles of the late 1940s; the size, capability, and readiness of the Navy was a pale shadow of what it had been at the Japanese surrender only five years before.
As it turned out, the U.S. Army was in even worse shape than the Navy, and the first combat actions between the U.S. Army and the NKPA were humiliating defeats for the Americans, with several thousand U.S. soldiers killed and captured as they were steam-rollered by superior NKPA armored forces and sheer numbers. It was also apparent that the massive U.S. Air Force investment in long-range nuclear bombers was useless in a war in which the object was to stop North Korean aggression, without getting into a full-scale war with the Soviet Union—i.e., a “limited war.” And, without airfields in Korea, the ability of Air Force tactical aircraft to affect the battle from bases in Japan was severely constrained.
The U.S. Navy presence in the Western Pacific in 1950 had been reduced to one aircraft carrier (Valley Forge, CV-45), two cruisers, and a handful of destroyers, which were severely short of ammunition and underway logistics support. Nevertheless, it was this naval force, augmented by a smaller British carrier (HMS Triumph) and other Allied ships under a (U.S.-led) United Nations command structure that played a key role in establishing command of the air and of the sea that prevented the U.S. Army from being thrown out of Korea. Without control of the vital sea lanes, there is little doubt that, by August 1950, the North Koreans would have been in possession of the entire Korean peninsula. It was U.S. Navy amphibious capability—as enfeebled as it was by budget cuts—that got a well-trained U.S. Marine brigade into Korea just in time to stiffen the defense of the Pusan Perimeter and prevent the last UN toehold in South Korea from being overrun.
The miniscule Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) acquitted itself well, particularly in a small battle with major strategic consequences, when the largest warship in the ROKN (a submarine chaser) sank a North Korean transport with 600 troops embarked that were attempting a surprise seizure of the port of Pusan on 26 June 1950.
The U.S. and Allied navies were in the action almost immediately, with two U.S. destroyers covering the evacuation of U.S. and friendly foreign nationals from Seoul on only the second day of the war. On 2 July 1950, light cruiser Juneau (CL-119) and two Allied ships sank three of four North Korean PT-boats and two of two motor gunboats in the Battle of Chumonchin Chan. This was the first and last surface engagement between the U.S. and North Korean navies, as it convinced the North Koreans to never try that again (at least until the Pueblo—AGER-2—incident in 1968).
On 3 July, Valley Forge and Triumph (both in Task Force 77) caught the North Koreans by surprise with a strike from the Yellow Sea right into their capital of Pyongyang. The action that resulted in the first air-to-air kill by a U.S. Navy jet fighter, when an F9F Panther flown by Lieutenant (j.g.) Leonard Plog downed a piston-engine North Korean Yak-9 fighter. This was also the combat debut of the Panther and the new AD-4 Skyraider attack aircraft. Although hampered by lack of underway ammunition resupply and refueling, the two carriers bounced back and forth between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan, so the North Koreans could never be sure from which direction they would be hit.
U.S. Navy aircraft played a critical role in interdicting North Korean troop movements and supply lines, which became increasingly vulnerable the farther the NKPA advanced. This forced increased North Korean resupply via small coastal craft, which the ROKN (beefed up with several more sub-chasers) proved very adept at catching and destroying. On the other hand, close air support procedures between the .U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Army proved to be completely bolloxed up, in need of urgent fixing.
Bombardment by Allied ships on the west coast (especially challenging given the extreme tidal conditions) and by (primarily) U.S. ships on the east coast made the North Koreans pay a heavy price for their advance. Naval gunfire on the east coast became even more effective when the heavy cruisers Helena (CA-75) and Toledo (CA-133), with their 8-inch guns, arrived within a month to augment Rochester (CA-124). U.S. surface ships ranged far to the north along the Korean coast shelling key North Korean ports. The destroyer Mansfield (DD-728) put a raiding party ashore in North Korea to blow a key tunnel on the railroad bringing supplies in from Vladivostok, Soviet Union. This was followed by submarine transport Perch (ASSP-313) putting a British commando party ashore in a similar operation. U.S. and UN warships played a key role in keeping the northern end of the Pusan Perimeter from collapsing.
The arrival of a second U.S. carrier (Philippine Sea, CV-47) enabled near-continuous carrier strikes on North Korean targets. The arrival of two escort carriers, Badoeng Strait (CVE-118) and Sicily (CVE-116), each with a Marine Corsair squadron embarked, provided critical air support that enabled the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade to repel North Korean breakthroughs of U.S. Army divisions attempting to hold the hard-pressed Pusan perimeter.
Compared to the massive casualties being suffered by the U.S. and ROK armies, the cost to the U.S. Navy in the first months of the war was relatively light, with only a handful of aircraft shot down (and even more lost to operational causes than the enemy). However, the first Navy Cross went posthumously to Commander Raymond Vogel, the commander of Air Group 11 (CVG-11), who was shot down while dropping a span on the Han River Bridge in Seoul on 19 August 1950.
Although Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps aircraft inflicted massive losses to North Korean troops, tanks, and supply lines, the North Koreans just kept attacking. At the end of August 1950, the issue was still very much in doubt as to whether the Pusan Perimeter would hold.
That the U.S. Navy accomplished anything at all was a testament to the leaders and sailors who hadn’t forgotten how to win, despite shortfalls in just about everything. In 1949, the general consensus in the new unified Department of Defense was that the Navy was obsolete, and the Secretary of Defense cancelled the next-generation aircraft carrier (United States, CVA-58) and gave orders to reduce the number of operational fleet carriers from eight to four. An additional draconian budget cut in mid-1949, if implemented, would have meant putting every aircraft carrier into mothballs, along with the last battleship that wasn’t already in reserve. Upon the outbreak of the Korean War, the Truman administration suddenly discovered that a navy really truly can come in handy, and can do things that strategic bombers and atomic weapons can’t. So, in some respect, the U.S. Navy can thank Kim Il-sung (grandfather of today’s “Dear Leader”) for showing the rest of the Defense Department the error of their ways.
For more on the U.S. Navy’s role in the first months of the Korean War, please see attachment H-050-1.
As always, you are welcome to forward H-grams in order to spread these stories of U.S. Navy valor and sacrifice. Back issues of H-grams enhanced with photos may be found here.
Published: Fri Jun 26 08:20:47 EDT 2020
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Thanks to History Facts
The Most Popular Things Traded on the Silk Road
Though it’s often thought of as a single trail, the Silk Road was actually a vast network of trade routes spanning multiple centuries and continents, connecting cultures as far as 6,000 miles away from each other. The network started around 138 BCE, when Han dynasty China sent out an envoy to make trading connections with other Asian countries. Over the next two centuries, trade routes extended westward through the Indian subcontinent, the Syrian desert, and the Arabian Peninsula, all the way to Greece and Rome. Some of these connections were made over land, but many were made by sea, too. This vibrant network lasted around 1,500 years, ending in 1453 CE when the Ottoman Empire closed off trade with the West — but not before the global exchange of goods and ideas changed the course of history. Here are seven of the most influential and sought-after things that were traded on the Silk Road.
Silk and Other Textiles
Craftspeople in China had been raising silkworms and working with silk for thousands of years before the luxurious textile became a valuable commodity. Silk was so prized in ancient Rome that one 19th-century German geographer named the Silk Road after the coveted material. Silk reached India in the second century BCE, and in the third century CE, Persia became a major silk-trading hub that connected Europe to East Asia. The trade route spread the popular textile around the world, paving the way for the complex woven patterns of Byzantium and Iran. Silk production, however, remained a closely guarded secret in Asia even after Byzantine Emperor Justinian I had silkworms smuggled over in bamboo tubes.Silk wasn’t the only fiber that changed hands along the Silk Road, however. Hemp, cotton, and wool were all popular items as well. The cultural exchange also included finished fabric and weaving techniques. Different types of clothing traveled between nations, too; trousers, which made horseback riding easier, originated in Mongolia, and various sorts of woven belts evolved throughout the era.
Paper
It’s easy to take paper for granted now, but in the early days of the Silk Road, it was a new technology for many cultures. Early writing appeared on clay, bone, wax, and parchment, which was made from animal skins and was labor-intensive to create. The first known paper, made from mulberry fibers and other discarded materials, appeared in China during the Han dynasty (25 to 220 CE). Buddhist monks started sharing religious writing on paper because it was durable and easy to transport. It spread through religious communities first and eventually hit trade routes. Paper was extraordinarily useful — merchants both sold it and used it themselves for recordkeeping — so it spread quickly. It was a popular item in its own right, as well as a means to convey other valuable commodities, such as scientific ideas and literature. Many regions set up their own paper industries; Baghdad, for example, became known for producing stationery. Paper production eventually reached Europe via Sicily and Spain, but Chinese paper remained a valuable export because it was considered higher quality.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder is a carefully measured mix of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur, designed to burn quickly and trap enough gas to propel an object, be it a firework or a cannonball. It was a later addition to Silk Road trade routes, and its exact history is unclear, though it’s believed to have originated in China, where it was in use by the 10th century CE — and possibly a few centuries earlier — for signaling and fireworks. Its use in weaponry originated in China, too, starting between the 10th and 12th centuries CE, with a precursor to a gun made out of a bamboo reed. Full-fledged guns evolved by the end of the 13th century, and soon moved westward. Guns and gunpowder reached the Middle East by 1304 CE, and were introduced to Europe, including England and France, by the end of the 14th century CE.
Spices and Tea
Spices are among the oldest goods to make their way along the Silk Road; cinnamon was being traded throughout Asia as early as 2000 BCE. Many plants had limited distribution at that time, so specific seasonings became especially prized — nutmeg and cloves, for example, grew only in the Moluccas, a small group of Indonesian islands known at the time as the Spice Islands. Traders often made up dazzling stories about the origins of spices to drive up their intrigue and value. Spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger were so prized that the word “spice” is even derived from the Latin word for “special wares.” Around the turn of the second century CE, Alexandria, Egypt, then under Roman rule, became an important spice-trading hub, and soon the tasty goods spread northward to Greece. Spices reached northern Europe via Genoa and Venice starting around the 11th century.The Silk Road saw a robust tea trade, too. Camellia sinensis, the plant that grows tea leaves, originated in Southeast Asia (roughly where China, India, and Myanmar meet today) and has been part of Chinese culture since at least as far back as the 10th century BCE. Its first trips on the Silk Road were eastward to Japan and Korea, where the plant began to be cultivated. Over the next several centuries, these East Asian nations developed a culture and ritual around both brewing and drinking tea. Associated pottery, such as teapots, followed tea as it spread to India, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.
Glass and Porcelain
If you’ve ever heard porcelain goods referred to as “china” — as in “china dolls” or “fine china” — it’s because porcelain was a distinctly Chinese art for many years. Sculpted from a special clay only available in a certain region of China at the time of the Silk Road, porcelain stood out from other ceramics for both its durability and its translucent white color. The form that became best known in the West was developed during the Yuan dynasty, which spanned the 13th and 14th centuries CE. The classic blue-and-white wares became prized collector’s items, especially in the Islamic world, and inspired similarly styled ceramics in other regions.Glassware, meanwhile, traveled in the other direction. Glassblowing techniques, particularly with soda-lime glass, developed in the Mediterranean and Middle East starting around 3500 BCE, and examples of that work dating back to the first millennium BCE have been found in East Asia. Roman glass, such as purple glass mosaic bowls, was especially prevalent — Romans loved silk, so they may have swapped the glass for Chinese silk. While Chinese craftspeople produced glass beads in the first few centuries BCE, it was chemically distinct from Western imports. Romans worked with soda-lime glass, the most commonly made type of glass today, which isn’t particularly durable. Imagine keeping it intact for 5,000 miles!
Horses
Horses, originally traded by Mongolian nomadic peoples, were a boon along the Silk Road, enabling traders to expand their networks, even over difficult terrain. They were also, conveniently, both a practical and luxury good, showing both high status and military might, and if you were trading them, they literally transported themselves. Horses were very much in demand in China — they were often traded for silk — and “heavenly horses,” a large breed of horse from a region in Central Asia, were particularly culturally significant. A Han dynasty expedition to acquire these horses even opened up an eastern stretch of the Silk Road between 200 BCE and 200 CE.
Knowledge
The global exchange of ideas was just as impactful as the exchange of physical goods along the Silk Road. Astronomy, used for navigation, spread from India and ancient Iran. The Islamic Golden Age from the eighth century through the 13th century CE marked innovations in mathematics that we take for granted today — including the base 10 number system and decimal fractions — and it drew heavily from Greek and Indian knowledge. Science scholarship in Baghdad and Cairo also led to major advancements in medicine, enabled by knowledge, materials, and traditions from other civilizations. Alchemy was a spiritual precursor to some very real modern science, and led to discoveries in chemistry that eventually spread westward to Europe from scholars in the Middle East and India.As goods exchanged hands, so did the knowledge of how to use and create them. Some crops, such as grapes, traveled eastward, while others, such as rice, traveled westward, along with information on how to cultivate them. Different metalworking techniques, including types of armor, spread as craftspeople traveled to sell their wares. Bakers from Central Asia opened shops in China and became part of the evolution of Chinese cuisine. And religious traditions, including Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, and local folk traditions, spread and influenced one another as missionaries traveled the vast Silk Road.
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Thanks to American Facts
Discover 10 "Foreign" Foods That Are Actually American
In the United States—the great melting pot—we have embraced countless delicious dishes brought by immigrants when they arrived in America. At the same time, this cultural exchange gave rise to new recipes that, while borrowing elements from cuisines around the world, were created entirely on American soil. For example, did you know that no one in Italy would serve meatballs and pasta in the same course? Or that there isn’t a single restaurant in Cuba where you can order an authentic Cuban sandwich? Read on to discover 10 dishes you thought were foreign but are, in fact, American!
Chimichangas
What do you mean it’s not a Mexican dish? The name sounds Mexican!" While two Mexican-American restaurants—one in Tucson and the other in Phoenix—dispute the authorship of this dish, one thing is certain: it originated in the United States, more specifically in Arizona.
Today, chimichangas—a stuffed burrito fried in oil or butter—are one of America’s favorite dishes. And although they could never have existed without the culinary influence of our southern neighbor, we also had a lot to do with their creation.
Chop suey
There are many theories about the origin of this popular dish, but one of the most widespread is particularly intriguing. According to lore, chop suey was invented in 1896 by the cook of the Chinese ambassador to the United States. Apparently, the diplomat, who was hosting a dinner for American guests, instructed the chef to prepare a dish that would appeal to both Eastern and Western palates.
While there is no dispute that similar dishes exist in Asian cuisine, this particular moment of cultural and culinary exchange is said to have sparked the American public's fascination with Asian flavors. Soon after, Chinese restaurants began to proliferate across the country, with chop suey as their signature dish.
Russian dressing
Did you know that nobody in Russia has ever seasoned their salad with Russian dressing? It doesn't exist there! This popular condiment is a completely American invention. It’s believed to have been created by a New Hampshire butcher in the early 20th century, who originally called it "Russian mayonnaise." Interestingly, he had no known ties to Russia, so it is unclear why he chose that name.
Perhaps the answer lies in one of the dressing’s original ingredients: black caviar, one of Russia’s most famous exports. Unfortunately, we’ll probably never know the full story. One thing is certain, though—Russian dressing was born in the United States!
Chili con carne
Okay, chili may sound like a traditional Mexican dish, but this meaty version, chili con carne, was actually created in South Texas in the late 19th century. Not only did it feature added animal protein, but one of the key ingredients often associated with chili today—beans—was originally left out.
Chili con carne quickly became a national favorite. Families across the country began experimenting with their own versions, and soon, nearly every state had its own take on the dish. But nothing quite compares to the original Texan chili—the one that started it all!
Fortune cookies
If you asked someone where fortune cookies come from, they’d probably say China. After all, they’re the quintessential treat served at Chinese restaurants around the world. But surprisingly, fortune cookies were invented in the United States—and they’re not even Chinese!
They were first created in the early 20th century in San Francisco, one of the American cities with the largest Asian immigrant populations. Even more surprisingly, they were invented by a Japanese man as a gesture of gratitude to the mayor who had hired him as a designer. He was inspired by a Kyoto tradition called omikuji, which involves offering a treat that contains a random fortune written on a slip of paper.
After World War II, many Chinese entrepreneurs took over Japanese bakeries in the Bay Area, helping to spread the cookie's popularity—and contributing to the common misconception about their origin.
Cuban sandwich
Despite its name, the Cuban sandwich originated in the Cuban-American communities of Ybor City, Key West, and Plant City, Florida, in the early 20th century. It later became popular in Miami and other American cities with large Cuban populations.
Interestingly, the ingredients vary from place to place. What all versions share, however, is Cuban bread—similar to a French baguette but made with slightly different ingredients and a unique baking method. So, is this bread authentically Cuban? Not exactly. It was actually created alongside the sandwich, right here in the United States!
German chocolate cake
Despite its name, German chocolate cake has no culinary ties to Germany, nor is it named in honor of the country. In fact, it takes its name from Samuel German, a confectioner who, in the mid-1850s, developed a type of baking chocolate for the Baker's Chocolate Company of Boston, Massachusetts.
A century later, a recipe using German’s Sweet Chocolate appeared in the Dallas Morning News and became an instant hit among homemakers. Before long, Baker's Chocolate sales soared, marking a strong comeback for German's baking bar. Today, German chocolate cake is an American classic—and now you know its true origin!
Spaghetti and meatballs
You probably thought this dish was authentically Italian your whole life. Well, we hate to break it to you, but spaghetti and meatballs are a hundred percent American invention, though it is, to be fair, a product of early 20th-century Italian immigration.
Meatballs were likely inspired by Italian polpette, a stew made of small balls of breadcrumbs mixed with meat or fish. However, in the Old World, polpette was never served with pasta and marinara sauce; it was a dish on its own. When Italian immigrants discovered how easy it was to buy beef in America, they began incorporating it into many dishes. And thank goodness they did!
Garlic bread
Another food with Italian influences but created in the United States is garlic bread. A staple of Italian restaurants, this side dish was introduced by immigrants who were likely trying to emulate the famous bruschetta.
However, they ran into an obstacle that led to the invention of something totally new—but just as delicious. Olive oil, so abundant in the mother country, was scarce and difficult to obtain in America. Therefore, they resorted to an ingredient found in abundance here: butter. And the rest is history!
Vichyssoise
With such a name, you might think this dish is purely French! Well, not exactly. Although it was created by a French-born chef, it was first made in Manhattan, New York. In 1917, feeling a bit homesick for his homeland, Louis Diat, head chef of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, wanted to recreate a potato and leek soup his mother used to make when he was growing up in Montmarault, France.
But there was a problem: it was summer. Finally, he came up with a brilliant idea—to thin down the hot soup with cold milk and cream. He named his invention after Vichy, the famous spa town near his hometown. The dish was an instant hit among the restaurant’s guests, who soon asked for it to be available year-round.
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From the archives. Worth the repeat
Thanks to Brett
In case you have not yet seen this. It is an excellent summary of what went into the bombing of the Iran nuclear facility.
Gen. Dan Caine Summary of B-2 Mission
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Some bits thanks to 1440
Good morning, it's Monday, June 29. The World Cup's knockout round is in full swing this week. First time reading? Join 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: a small aircraft struck Beijing's tallest building (Need To Know), San Jose Sharks win big in this year's NHL Draft (Sports, Ent., & Cult.), Iran strikes Bahrain and Kuwait (Pol. & World Affairs), mow a virtual lawn for science (Etc.), and much more.
Need To Know
Knockout Round Begins
The knockout round of the World Cup kicked off yesterday, with cohost Canada topping South Africa, 1-0. The win-or-go-home phase of the tournament follows more than two weeks of the round-robin-style group stage, with 32 of the 48 teams advancing. The US, coming off its best group stage showing in team history, plays Bosnia-Herzegovina Wednesday (Fox, 8 pm ET)—see the full 32-team bracket.
Teams are not reseeded in the bracket—placement is determined by group stage performance (see overview)—leading to several heavyweight matchups in the first round. Ranked Nos. 6 and 7 by FIFA heading into the tournament, Morocco and the Netherlands meet tonight (Fox, 9 pm ET), while cohost Mexico face Ecuador tomorrow (Fox, 9 pm ET). Cinderella Cape Verde, playing in its first World Cup, faces superstar Lionel Messi and defending champion Argentina Friday (Fox, 6 pm ET).
Watch the top 10 plays leading into the next stage, and listen to our exploration of the organization that runs the World Cup.
Want more? 1440 is partnering with Men in Blazers to bring you the most detailed coverage of the world’s biggest tournament this summer.
Beijing Plane Crash
A small two-seater aircraft crashed into Beijing’s tallest building Friday, killing the pilot and wounding 13 others, per Chinese authorities. Details surrounding the crash—including the identity of the pilot and whether the crash was deliberate—were not publicly available as of this writing. See footage of the falling debris here (via YouTube).
The crash occurred at 5:55 pm local time. In its immediate aftermath, posts about the incident were reportedly censored on China’s WeChat. Flightradar data suggests the single-engine plane took off from Beijing’s Pinggu District at 5:31 pm and encircled the area before flying west into the city’s center. China’s local government confirmed the crash Saturday afternoon but shared few details on the nature of the incident. It comes weeks after Beijing banned unauthorized purchasing, renting, or flying of drones in the city, citing security concerns.
CITIC Tower is a 109-story skyscraper completed in 2018 and shaped like a traditional Chinese wine vase. Learn more here.
A Little Birdie Told Me ...
A researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, has won the 2026 Coller-Dolittle Prize for progress toward interspecies communication. Julie Elie was awarded $100K for her research decoding the calls of zebra finches.
Elie identified the 11 core calls of zebra finches, including introductory calls and distress signals. To test whether birds associated call types with distinct meanings, she played audio tracks, with one call type associated with a reward. The finches correctly pressed a button to "skip" unrelated call types. In some cases, the birds made a mistake by linking calls with similar meanings—for example, calls indicating different distances—even if the calls were tonally unrelated. The mistakes suggested the birds were listening for a call’s meaning above other considerations. Watch one experiment here (scroll for video).
The prize is awarded annually, with a $10M grand prize for when someone cracks two-way human-animal communication. Jeremy Coller, the billionaire financing the prize, thinks we will cross that threshold by 2030, aided by advances in AI.
In The Know
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
2026 NHL Draft sees San Jose Sharks scoop up top talent, including No. 2 Ivar Stenberg and No. 9 Keaton Verhoeff; Toronto Maple Leafs nab No. 1 Gavin McKenna (More)
"Supergirl" opens to a disappointing $38M domestic opening; with a $170M production budget, the movie will likely need to earn $375M to break even since cinema owners keep roughly half of revenue
Science & Technology
> Anthropic gets go-ahead to release Mythos 5 to some US companies, weeks after federal officials restricted the AI model over national security concerns
> Humans and great apes have similar rhythmic patterns when giggling, a shared behavior potentially dating back at least 15 million years
> Marine expedition off Brazil's Atlantic coast discovers more than 30 new species in two weeks; researchers focused on the "mid-water," roughly 600 feet to 3,000 feet below the surface (
In partnership with EnergyX
The 1,700%+ Lesson From SpaceX’s IPO
SpaceX IPO’d at a $1.75T valuation. Three days later, they were the 6th-most valuable public company. Those who bought right away saw a 40% gain. Andreessen Horowitz, who invested in 2023? 1,700%+. The lesson? Today’s biggest growth can come at the private stage.
A similar dynamic’s playing out in lithium, where EnergyX reached a $1B private valuation. Only now you can invest at the private stage, too. With prices rising and demand growing 5X by 2040, EnergyX can recover up to 3X more lithium than usual methods.
Business & Markets
> Markets close down slightly Friday (S&P 500 -0.1%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq -0.2%), driven by a slide in chipmaker stocks; tech-heavy Nasdaq down 4.6% on the week (More)
> Consumers spend an estimated $26.4B during Amazon's Prime Day, from June 23 to 26, up 9.3% year over year; increase attributed to inflation, larger ticket items (More) | Amazon's most profitable segment is actually its cloud computing service
> Prediction site Polymarket tops $1B in annualized revenue less than two months after launching US exchange (More) | ... and as it reportedly comes under a federal probe for use of deceptive social media videos (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> US Supreme Court is expected to release opinions today, possibly including a ruling on President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order
> Iran strikes US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain and threatens to halt peace talks with the US; comes after US struck Iranian targets last week in response to Iran's alleged drone attack on a Singaporean-flagged ship
> Death toll in Venezuela's earthquakes last week rises to more than 1,400 people, with tens of thousands unaccounted for as of this writing
Historybook: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London destroyed by fire (1613); "The Little Prince" author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry born (1900); "Bird of Paradise" plane completes first successful transpacific flight (1927); Modernist Swiss-German painter Paul Klee dies (1940); Apple releases the first iPhone; see original press release (2007).
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This Day in U S Military History…….June 29
1502 – Christopher Columbus arrived at Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, on his 4th voyage to the new world. He requested harbor and advised Gov. Nicolas de Ovando of an approaching hurricane. Ovando denied the request and dispatched a treasure fleet to Spain. 20 ships sank in the storm, 9 returned to port and one made it to Spain.
1835 – Determined to win independence for the Mexican State of Texas, William Travis raises a volunteer army of 25 soldiers and prepares to liberate the city of Anahuac. Born in South Carolina and raised in Alabama, William Travis moved to Mexican-controlled Texas in 1831 at the age of 22. He established a legal practice in Anahuac, a small frontier town about 40 miles east of Houston. From the start, Travis disliked Mexicans personally and resented Mexican rule of Texas politically. In 1832, he clashed with local Mexican officials and was jailed for a month. When he was released, the growing Texan independence movement hailed him as a hero, strengthening his resolve to break away from Mexico by whatever means necessary. Early in 1835, the Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna overthrew the republican government and proclaimed himself dictator. Rightly fearing that some Texans would rebel as a result, Santa Anna quickly moved to reinforce Mexican control and dispatched troops to Anahuac, among other areas. Accustomed to enjoying a large degree of autonomy, some Texans resented the presence of Santa Anna’s troops, and they turned to Travis for leadership. On this day in 1835, Travis raised a company of 25 volunteer soldiers. The next day, the small army easily captured Captain Antonio Tenorio, the leader of Santa Anna’s forces in Anahuac, and forced the troops to surrender. More radical Texans again proclaimed Travis a hero, but others condemned him for trying to foment war and maintained that Santa Anna could still be dealt with short of revolution. By the fall of 1835, however, conflict had become inevitable, and Texans prepared to fight a war of independence. As soon as the rebels had formed an army, Travis was made a lieutenant colonel in command of the regular troops at San Antonio. On February 23, 1836, Travis joined forces with Jim Bowie’s army of volunteers to occupy an old Spanish mission known as the Alamo. The following day, Santa Anna and about 4,000 of his men laid siege to the Alamo. With less than 200 soldiers, Travis and Bowie were able to hold off the Mexicans for 13 days. On March 6, Santa Anna’s soldiers stormed the Alamo and killed nearly every Texan defender, including Travis. In the months that followed, “Remember the Alamo” became a rallying cry as the Texans successfully drove the Mexican forces from their borders. By April, Texas had won its independence. Travis, who first hastened the war of independence and then became a martyr to the cause, became an enduring symbol of Texan courage and defiance.
1945 – President Truman approves the plan, devised by the joint chiefs of staff, to invade Japan. The plan calls for 5 million troops, mostly Americans. Kyushu is to be invaded on November 1st with some 13 divisions (Operation Olympic) and Honshu is to be invaded on March 1, 1946 with some 23 divisions (Operation Coronet), including forces of the US 1st Army from Europe. The British will deploy a very long range bomber force in support of the invasion.
1950 – While defending Suwon Airfield, Air Force Lieutenant Orrin R. Fox, 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, scored two Yak-9 kills and Lieutenants Richard J. Burns, 35th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, and Harry T. Sandlin, 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, each shot down a Yak fighter. These were the first aerial victories made by F-51 Mustang pilots in the Korean War. Interestingly, General MacArthur witnessed the air battle while conferring with Syngman Rhee.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
WHITAKER, EDWARD W.
Rank and organization: Captain, Company E, 1st Connecticut Cavalry. Place and date: At Reams Station, Va., 29 June 1864. Entered service at: Ashford, Conn. Born: 15 June 1841, Killingly, Conn. Date of issue: 2 April 1898. Citation: While acting as an aide voluntarily carried dispatches from the commanding general to Gen. Meade, forcing his way with a single troop of Cavalry, through an Infantry division of the enemy in the most distinguished manner, though he lost half his escort.
SALE, ALBERT
Rank and organization: Private, Company F, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Santa Maria River, Ariz., 29 June 1869. Entered service at:——. Birth: Broome County, N.Y. Date of issue: 3 March 1870. Citation: Gallantry in killing an Indian warrior and capturing pony and effects.
*BENNETT, STEVEN L.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Air Force. 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, Pacific Air Forces. Place and date: Quang Tri, Republic of Vietnam, 29 June 1972. Entered service at: Lafayette, La. Born: 22 April 1946, Palestine, Tex. Citation: Capt. Bennett was the pilot of a light aircraft flying an artillery adjustment mission along a heavily defended segment of route structure. A large concentration of enemy troops was massing for an attack on a friendly unit. Capt. Bennett requested tactical air support but was advised that none was available. He also requested artillery support but this too was denied due to the close proximity of friendly troops to the target. Capt. Bennett was determined to aid the endangered unit and elected to strafe the hostile positions. After 4 such passes, the enemy force began to retreat. Capt. Bennett continued the attack, but, as he completed his fifth strafing pass, his aircraft was struck by a surface-to-air missile, which severely damaged the left engine and the left main landing gear. As fire spread in the left engine, Capt. Bennett realized that recovery at a friendly airfield was impossible. He instructed his observer to prepare for an ejection, but was informed by the observer that his parachute had been shredded by the force of the impacting missile. Although Capt. Bennett had a good parachute, he knew that if he ejected, the observer would have no chance of survival. With complete disregard for his own life, Capt. Bennett elected to ditch the aircraft into the Gulf of Tonkin, even though he realized that a pilot of this type aircraft had never survived a ditching. The ensuing impact upon the water caused the aircraft to cartwheel and severely damaged the front cockpit, making escape for Capt. Bennett impossible. The observer successfully made his way out of the aircraft and was rescued. Capt. Bennett’s unparalleled concern for his companion, extraordinary heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Air Force.
HERDA, FRANK A.
Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). Place and date: Near Dak To, Quang Trang Province, Republic of Vietnam, 29 June 1968. Entered service at: Cleveland, Ohio. Born: 13 September 1947, Cleveland, Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp4c. Herda (then Pfc.) distinguished himself while serving as a grenadier with Company A. Company A was part of a battalion-size night defensive perimeter when a large enemy force initiated an attack on the friendly units. While other enemy elements provided diversionary fire and indirect weapons fire to the west, a sapper force of approximately 30 men armed with hand grenades and small charges attacked Company A’s perimeter from the east. As the sappers were making a last, violent assault, 5 of them charged the position defended by Sp4c. Herda and 2 comrades, 1 of whom was wounded and lay helpless in the bottom of the foxhole. Sp4c. Herda fired at the aggressors until they were within 10 feet of his position and 1 of their grenades landed in the foxhole. He fired 1 last round from his grenade launcher, hitting 1 of the enemy soldiers in the head, and then, with no concern for his safety, Sp4c. Herda immediately covered the blast of the grenade with his body. The explosion wounded him grievously, but his selfless action prevented his 2 comrades from being seriously injured or killed and enabled the remaining defender to kill the other sappers. By his gallantry at the risk of his life in the highest traditions of the military service, Sp4c. Herda has reflected great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
MORRIS, CHARLES B.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant (then Sgt.), U.S. Army, Company A, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate). Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 29 June 1966. Entered service at: Roanoke, Va. Born: 29 December 1931, Carroll County, Va. C.O. No.: 51, 14 December 1967. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Seeing indications of the enemy’s presence in the area, S/Sgt. Morris deployed his squad and continued forward alone to make a reconnaissance. He unknowingly crawled within 20 meters of an enemy machinegun, whereupon the gunner fired, wounding him in the chest. S/Sgt. Morris instantly returned the fire and killed the gunner. Continuing to crawl within a few feet of the gun, he hurled a grenade and killed the remainder of the enemy crew. Although in pain and bleeding profusely, S/Sgt. Morris continued his reconnaissance. Returning to the platoon area, he reported the results of his reconnaissance to the platoon leader. As he spoke, the platoon came under heavy fire. Refusing medical attention for himself, he deployed his men in better firing positions confronting the entrenched enemy to his front. Then for 8 hours the platoon engaged the numerically superior enemy force. Withdrawal was impossible without abandoning many wounded and dead. Finding the platoon medic dead, S/Sgt. Morris administered first aid to himself and was returning to treat the wounded members of his squad with the medic’s first aid kit when he was again wounded. Knocked down and stunned, he regained consciousness and continued to treat the wounded, reposition his men, and inspire and encourage their efforts. Wounded again when an enemy grenade shattered his left hand, nonetheless he personally took up the fight and armed and threw several grenades which killed a number of enemy soldiers. Seeing that an enemy machinegun had maneuvered behind his platoon and was delivering the fire upon his men, S/Sgt. Morris and another man crawled toward the gun to knock it out. His comrade was killed and S/Sgt. Morris sustained another wound, but, firing his rifle with 1 hand, he silenced the enemy machinegun. Returning to the platoon, he courageously exposed himself to the devastating enemy fire to drag the wounded to a protected area, and with utter disregard for his personal safety and the pain he suffered, he continued to lead and direct the efforts of his men until relief arrived. Upon termination of the battle, important documents were found among the enemy dead revealing a planned ambush of a Republic of Vietnam battalion. Use of this information prevented the ambush and saved many lives. S/Sgt. Morris’ gallantry was instrumental in the successful defeat of the enemy, saved many lives, and was in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 29, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
29 June
1909: With Orville Wright at the controls, the first Army airplane began trial flights at Fort Myer, Va. (12) (24)
1927: Through 1 July, Lt Cmdr Richard E. Byrd, Lt George O. Noville, Bert Acosta, and Bernt Balchen, set a record four-passenger flight in their airplane, the America. They flew from Roosevelt Field, N.Y., to Ver-Sur-Mer, France (about 125 miles from Paris), and covered the 3,477 miles in 46 hours 6 minutes. (9) (24)
1928: John H. Mears and Capt C. B. D. Collyer flew around the world from New York and back in 23 days 15 hours 21 minutes to establish an FAI record. (9)
1936: Maj Gen Frank M. Andrews, along with Maj John Whiteley and crew, set a world’s distance record for amphibians in a Douglas YOA-5. Two Wright Cyclone 800 HP engines pulled the aircraft 1,429.7 miles from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Langley Field. (24)
1940: A program to build over 12,000 airplanes by 1 April 1942 approved as the "Army's first aviation objective for training, organization, and procurement. (12)
1950: KOREAN WAR. President Truman authorized General MacArthur to dispatch air forces against targets in North Korea. Later that day, the 3 BG launched 18 B-26s to attack Heijo Airfield near Pyongyang, North Korea. (21) KOREAN WAR. General MacArthur directed General Stratemeyer to concentrate air attacks on the Han River bridges and North Korean troops massing north of the river. B-26s attacked the bridges, and Fifth Air Force F-80s patrolled the Han River area. F-82s from the 86 FAWS, using jettisonable fuel tanks, attacked with napalm for the first time. The 35 FBS and 80 FBS shot down five North Korean airplanes that were attacking Suwon Airfield, while eight 19 BG B-29s attacked enemy-held Kimpo Airfield and the Seoul railroad station, reportedly killing a large number of enemy troops. As the B-29s turned toward Kadena AB, enemy aircraft attacked the formation, enabling B-29 gunners to shoot down an enemy airplane for the first time. (28) KOREAN WAR. General MacArthur authorized FEAF attacks against North Korean airfields. In the first USAF attack, eighteen 3 BG B-26s attacked Heijo airfield near Pyongyang, claiming up to 25 enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground. The 8 TRS began photographing North Korean airfields. Using RB-29 aircraft, the 31 SRS (Photographic) also started operations over Korea from Yokota. (28)
1955: The first Boeing B-52B Stratofortress (serial number 52-8711) entered operational service with SAC at Castle AFB and the 93 BMW. (1) (12)
1956: An Aerobee-Hi rocket, built by Aerojet General Corporation, attained an altitude of 163 miles in a launching from White Sands Proving Ground. (24)
1961: The US Navy’s Transit IV-A navigational satellite, launched from Cape Canaveral on a Thor-Able-Star booster, became the first satellite equipped with a nuclear power generator. A radio-isotope-powered battery of the Snap series provided its power. Two other satellites, the Injun and Greb III, mounted “piggyback” on the Transit IV-A failed to separate and function. (24)
1962: The first Minuteman to be launched by an USAF crew was fired from an underground silo at Cape Canaveral to a target area some 2,300 miles away. (16) (24) In an offensive operation against the Viet Cong about 20 miles northwest of Saigon, 16 Mule Train C-123s and 10 Vietnamese AF C-47s dropped over 1,000 Vietnamese paratroopers. (17)
1965: Capt Joseph Engle qualified as a military astronaut by flying the X-15 No. 3 to 280,600 feet at 3,432 MPH (Mach 4.94). By exceeding 264,000 feet (50 miles), Engle became the third USAF and youngest astronaut. (3)
1972: MEDAL OF HONOR. Capt Steven L. Bennett, a forward air controller, and his observer found enemy troops attacking a friendly unit. He then strafed the enemy forces into retreating. After a surface-to-air missile hit and crippled his OV-10 Bronco and shredded his observer’s parachute, Bennett ditched his OV-10 into the Gulf of Tonkin even though he knew the OV-10 was not likely to survive the ditching. He died, but his observer survived. For his heroic sacrifice, Bennett received the Medal of Honor posthumously. (21)
1982: Lockheed delivered the last C-141B to the USAF. The program cost $489.6 million, an impressive $193.3 million below the 1978 estimate. (18)
1984: The HH-60D completed its first air refueling from an HC-130 tanker. (3)
1985: The 60 BMS, 43 SW, at Andersen AFB became the second B-52G Stratofortress unit to be equipped with the Harpoon antiship missile. This event gave the weapon system full operating capability. (16) (26)
1993: Wright-Patterson AFB successfully tested the OC-135B Open Skies reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft performed surveillance over signature nations to the Open Skies Treaty. (16) (26)
1998: At Edwards AFB, the DarkStar 2 high altitude UAV made its successful first flight, flying for 44 minutes and completing pre-programmed flight maneuvers at up to 5000 feet. (3)
2007: The 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker AFB, Okla., celebrated the 30th anniversary of the E-3A Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System. The first E-3 Sentry arrived at Tinker on 23 March 1977, and since then it served in almost every U. S. military operation. The wing also honored the crewmembers lost in an accident on 22 September 1995, the only E-3 lost in the airframe's 30-year history. (AFNEWS, “Airmen Honor 30 Years of AWACS,” 3 Jul 2007.)
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