0060 St Paul thought to have been shipwrecked at Malta 1098 Crusaders defeat Prince Redwan of Aleppo at Antioch 1535 12 nude Anabaptists run through Amsterdam streets 1549 Tomé de Sousa appointed Governor-General of Brazil 1635 Académie Française is founded in Paris (by Cardinal Richelieu) 1676 Wampanoag Indians under King Philip kill all men in Lancaster MA 1713 Netherlands & England sign accord concerning anti-French Barrier 1716 Scottish pretender to the throne James III Edward returns to France 1720 Edmund Halley appointed 2nd Astronomer Royal of England 1746 English Pelham government resigns 1749 10th (final) volume of Fielding's "Tom Jones" is published 1763 Treaty of Paris ends French-Indian War, surrenders Canada to England 1774 Andrew Becker demonstrates diving suit 1794 Joseph Haydn's 99th Symphony in E, premieres 1807 US Coast Survey authorized by Congress 1824 Simon Bolívar named dictator by the Congress of Perú 1840 British queen Victoria marries her cousin Albert von Saksen-Coburg 1846 British defeat Sikhs in battle of Sobraon, India 1846 Beginning of Mormon march to west US 1855 US citizenship laws amended all children of US parents born abroad granted US citizenship 1859 General Horsford defeats Begum of Oude & Nana Sahib in Indian mutiny 1860 John Brahms' 2nd Serenade in A, premieres 1862 Dutch 2nd government of Thorbecke forms 1863 1st US fire extinguisher patent granted to Alanson Crane, Virginia 1863 PT Barnum stages wedding of Tom Thumb & Mercy Lavinia Warren (New York NY) 1866 Dutch government Frans van der Putte forms 1868 Conservatives & military, seize Convention Hall in Florida 1870 City of Anaheim incorporates (1st time) 1870 YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) is founded (New York NY) 1878 Peace of Zanjón 1878 Peter Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony in F, premieres 1879 1st electric arc light used (California Theater) 1879 Henry Morton Stanley departs to the Congo 1880 Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Arcanum about Christian marriage 1881 Jacques Offenbach's opera "Les Contes d'Hoffman" premieres in Paris 1882 Rimski-Korsakovs opera "Snyegurochka" premieres in St Petersburg 1883 Fire at un-insured New Hall Hotel in Milwaukee WI, kills 71 1890 Around 11 million acres, ceded to US by Sioux Indians opens for settlement 1897 New York Times begins using slogan "All the News That's Fit to Print" 1899 -39ºF (-39ºC), Milligan OH (state lowest temperature record) 1899 US-Spain peace treaty signed by President McKinley; US gets Puerto Rico & Guam 1900 Peter Ostlund skates world record 500 meter (45.2 seconds) 1904 Japan & Russia declares war after Japan's surprise attack on Russian fleet at Port Arthur disabled 7 Russian warships 1906 Britain's 1st modern & largest battleship "HMS Dreadnought" launched 1906 State of siege proclaimed in Zululand 1908 Tommy Burns KOs Jack Palmer in 4 for heavyweight boxing title 1912 Hobbs & Rhodes make 323 cricket opening stand vs Australia at MCG 1913 Edward Sheldons "Romance" premieres in New York NY 1916 Conscription begins in Britain 1917 Johanna Westerdijk installed as Netherlands 1st female professor 1920 Baseball outlaws all pitches involving tampering with the ball 1923 Ink paste manufactured for 1st time by Standard Ink Company 1923 Owen Davis' "Icebound" premieres in New York NY 1923 SDAP speaks out against allied occupation of Ruhrgebied 1924 Bucky Harris, 27, becomes youngest baseball manager (Washington Senators) 1925 1st waterless gas storage tank put into service, Michigan City IN 1925 AL decides to alternate leagues for game 1 of World Series each year 1926 Building of Olympian Stadium Amsterdam, begins 1927 President Coolidge asks for 2nd disarmament conference 1930 Grain Stabilization Corporation authorized by Congress 1931 New Delhi becomes capital of India 1931 Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Harts premieres in New York NY 1933 -54ºF (-48ºC), Seneca OR (state record) 1933 Delivery of 1st singing telegram (Postal Telegram Company NYC) 1933 Dutch sea-plane bombs Dutch ship 1933 Hitler proclaims end of Marxism 1933 Mutiny on "7 Provinces" ends (began Feb 4th), 23 killed 1934 Byrd souvenir sheet issued, NYC; 1st unperforated ungummed US stamp 1934 1st Jewish immigrant ship to break the English blockade in Palestine 1934 Howard Hanson's "Merry Mount" premieres in New York NY 1934 Stalin ends 17th CPSU-congress, says "Life becomes merrier" 1934 Thomson/Gertrude Stein's opera "Four Saints in Three Acts" premieres in New York NY 1935 Pennsylvania RR begins passenger service on new streamlined electric locomotive 1937 Ragnhild Hveger swims world free style record 400 meter (5:14.2) 1938 King Carol II of Romania drives out dictator Goga 1940 "In The Mood" by Glenn Miller hits #1 1940 Tom & Jerry created by Hanna & Barbera debut by MGM 1940 US female Figure Skating championship won by Joan Tozzer 1940 US male Figure Skating championship won by Eugene Turner 1941 1st highway post office makes 1st trip, Washington DC-Harrisonburg, VA 1941 Anti-Nazi "Het Parool" begins publishing in Netherlands 1943 "Manifesto of Algerian People" calls for equality & self-determination 1943 8th Army sweeps through North Africa to Tunisia 1943 Van der Veen Resistance starts fire in Amsterdam employment bureau 1944 Belgium resistance fighter/author Kamiel van Baelen arrested 1944 U-666/U-545/U-283 sink off Ireland 1945 "Rum & Coca Cola" by Andrews Sisters hits #1 1946 1st black pro-baseball player Jackie Robinson marries Rachel Isum 1947 Italy cedes most of Venezia Giulia to Yugoslavia 1947 Province of Petsamo returned to Soviet Union by Finland 1947 Netherlands Radio Union forms 1947 WWII peace treaties signed 1948 Greek General Markos' guerrilla army bombs Saloniki 1949 Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" opens at Morosco Theater, NYC 1951 "John & Marsha" by Stan Freberg peaks at #21 1951 Shah of Persia marries 19 year old Soraja Esfandiara Bakhtiari 1953 Ice Dance Championship at Davos won by Jean Westwood & Lawrence Demmy of Great Britain 1953 Ice Pairs Championship at Davos won by Jennifer & John Nicks of Great Britain 1953 Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Davos won by Tenley Albright USA 1953 Men's Figure Skating Champion in Davos won by Hayes Alan Jenkins USA 1954 Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam 1954 Ice Dance Championship at Oslo won by Jean Westwood/Lawrence Demmy Great Britain 1954 Ice Pairs Championship at Oslo won by Frances Dafoe/Norris Bowden CAN 1954 Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Gundi Busch Germany 1954 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Hayes Alan Jenkins US 1956 "My Friend Flicka" premieres on CBS (later NBC) TV 1956 Elvis Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel" for RCA 1957 Fay Crocker wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open 1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference forms 1959 Dutch Princess Wilhelmina publishes "Lonely, but not alone" 1959 Tornado in St Louis kills 19 & injures 265 1960 "Unsinkable Molly Brown" closes at Winter Garden NYC after 532 performances 1960 Charles Ives' "Lincoln, the Great Commoner" premieres 1961 AFL's Los Angeles Chargers move to San Diego 1961 Niagara Falls hydroelectric project begins producing power 1961 Walter Piston's 7th Symphony, premieres 1962 Jim Beatty sets American indoor mile record (3 minutes 58.9 seconds) in Los Angeles CA 1962 USSR swaps spy Francis Gary Power to US for Rudolph Abel 1963 Mickey Wright wins LPGA St Petersburg Women's Golf Open 1963 US female Figure Skating championship won by Lorraine Hanlon 1963 US male Figure Skating championship won by Thomas Litz 1964 Australian destroyer "Voyager" sinks in collision, killing 82 1964 Destroyer Voyager sinks off Australia after colliding with aircraft carrier Melbourne 1964 WBGU TV channel 27 in Bowling Green OH (PBS) begins broadcasting 1966 Harmel government in Belgium resigns 1967 25th Amendment (Presidential Disability & Succession) in effect 1968 "Spooky" by Classics IV hits #3 1968 Peggy Fleming wins Olympics figure skating gold medal, Grenoble, France 1969 LSU Pete Maravich scores 66, despite losing to Tulane 101-94 1970 Dry powder avalanche moving at 120 mph smashes into youth hostel killing 40 Belgian, French, & German youths (Val d'Isere, France) 1970 26.4 cm precipitation falls on Mount Washington NH (state record) 1971 American Mensa, Ltd incorporates in New York 1971 John Guares "House of Blue Leaves" premieres in New York NY 1971 Royal Albert Hall bans scheduled concert featuring Frank Zappa 1972 BBC bans "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" by Wings 1972 Ras al Khaima joins the United Arab Emirates 1972 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR 1973 2nd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0 1973 83 meter wide gas tank on Staten Island NY explodes, crushing 40 1973 Mushtaq Mohammad follows up 201 to take 5-49 vs New Zealand Dunedin 1974 Silver futures hit record $4.81½ an ounce in London 1974 "Gigi" closes at Uris Theater NYC after 103 performances 1974 Gail Denenber wins LPGA Sears Women's Golf Classic 1974 Iran/Iraqi border fight breaks out 1974 Judy Ikenberry wins 1st Us women's marathon (2:55:17) 1975 William "Judy" Johnson selected to baseball Hall of Fame 1977 Yehonathan Netanyou Lane in the Bronx named in honor of Bronx-born Israeli soldier who died freeing hostages in Entebbe Raid (1976) 1977 "Party with Comden & Green" opens at Morosco Theater NYC for 92 performances 1977 Bomb explosion in Moskouse metro 1978 Frank C Carlucci succeeds John F Blake as deputy director of CIA 1979 "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" by Rod Stewart peaks at #1 1979 Border is named 12th man for Australia, only Test Cricket he missed 1980 Ianford Wilsons "Talley's Folly" premieres in New York NY 1980 Jane Blalock wins LPGA Elizabeth Arden Golf Classic 1981 8 killed & 198 injured by fire at Las Vegas Hilton 1981 33rd NHL All-Star Game Campbell beat Wales 4-1 at Los Angeles CA 1981 Dennis Lillee becomes Australian Cricket's top wicket-taker with 249 1982 28 skiers perform backflips while holding hands, Bromont Québec 1983 Anglican synod vote 338-100 against unilateral UK nuclear disarmament 1985 -61ºF (-52ºC), Maybell CO (state record) 1985 Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-E mission 1985 35th NBA All-Star Game West beats East 140-129 at Indiana 1985 Andrea Schöne skates ladies world record 5 km (7:32.82) 1985 Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Classic 1985 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR 1986 John Lennon's "Live in NYC" album is released 1987 Philippine troops murder 17 civilians-Lupao Massacre 1988 3-judge panel of 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco strikes down Army's ban on homosexuals (later overturned by appeal) 1988 Rocky Malebane-Metsing coup in Bophuthatswana fails 1989 Miami Vice's 100th episode seen on TV 1989 Minor League Football System opens organizational meeting, St Louis MO 1989 To gain deregulation WWF admits pro wrestling is an exhibition & not a sport, in a New Jersey court 1989 Celtic Kansas City Jones & Cavalier Lenny Wilkens elected to NBA Hall of Fame 1989 Ron Brown chosen 1st black chairman of a major US party (Democrats) 1989 Test Cricket debut of Aaqib Javed, Pakistan vs New Zealand age 16 years 189 days 1989 Tony Robinson of Jamaica becomes Nottingham's 1st black sheriff 1989 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site 1990 Buster Douglas KOs Mike Tyson in 10 to become heavyweight boxing champion 1990 Perrier Water pulls product from shelf due to benzene in water 1990 South Africa President de Klerk announces Nelson Mandela will be free Feb 11th 1990 6th Largest wrestling crowd (63,900-Tokyo Dome) 1990 US female Figure Skating championship won by Jill Trenary 1991 NBA All Star Game at Charlotte NC 1991 "La Bete" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC for 24 performances 1991 41st NBA All-Star Game East beats West 116-114 at Charlotte 1991 Beth Daniel wins LPGA Phar-Mor at Inverrary Golf Tournament 1991 Johann Koss skates world record 10 km (13:43.54) 1991 Lithuania votes for independence from USSR 1992 "Dangerous Women" final episode on WWOR-TV 1992 Bonnie Blair wins 1992 Olympics 1st gold medal for the USA 1992 Mike Tyson convicted of raping Desiree Washington in Indiana 1993 "Michael Jackson Talks To Oprah Winfrey" airs on ABC & drew an astounding 39.3 rating/56 share, 90 million people 1993 Jani Sievinen swims world record 200 meter backstroke (1:55.59) 1993 US officially backs peace plan in Bosnia 1995 Chelsi Smith, 21, (Texas), crowned 44th Miss USA 1995 Sun Cayun pole vaults female indoor world record (4.12 meters) 1995 US female Figure Skating championship won by Nicole Bobek 1996 IBM's Deep Blue defeats chess champion Gary Kasparov 1997 13th Soap Opera Digest Awards 1997 5th annual ESPY Awards presented 1997 Comet Shoemaker-Holt 2 Closest Approach to Earth (1.9245 AU) 1997 Lemrick Nelson found guilty in the fatal stabbing on Hasidic Jew Yankel Rosenbaum in Crown Heights Brooklyn in 1991 1997 O J Simpson jury reaches decision on $25 million in punitive damages 1997 Soyuz TM-25 launches to the MIR 1998 AOL raises monthly flat rate Internet access from $19.95 to $21.95 1998 Olympics figure skater Peggy Fleming undergoes breast cancer surgery ______________________________________________________________________
Missing In Action........
1966 HUNTER RUSSELL P. JR. GLASTONBURY CT 1966 HOPPS GARY DOUGLAS CORAL GABLES FL 1966 KIEFEL ERNEST P. JR. HARRISBURG PA 1971 BURROWS LARRY BRITAIN DOB CIRCA 1927 44 AT DOL PHOTOGRAPHER LIFE MAG 1971 HUET HENRI FRANCE BORN VIETNAM 1928 AP PHOTOGRAPHER 43 AT DOL 1971 PIETRZAK JOSEPH R. ROSEVILLE OH 1971 POTTER KENT B. PHILADELPHIA PA UPI CORRES DOB 1948 1971 ROBERTSON MARK J. DETROIT MI 1971 SHIMAMOTO KEIZABURO JAPAN 34 AT DOL NEWSWEEK PHOTOGRAPHER
Deaths which occurred on February 10: 1134 Robert III/II Curthouse Duke of Normandy, dies 1162 Boudouin III son of King Fulco of Anjou/husband of Theodora, dies 1164 Hugo van Fosses/Prémontré abbott of Prémontré, dies 1482 Luca della Robbia Italian sculptor (majolica reliefs), dies at 81 1495 Sir William Stanley English lord chamberlain, executed for conspiracy 1567 Darnley Mary Queen of Scots' husband, murdered 1567 Lord Darnley Stuart husband of English queen Mary, murdered 1588 Joost Sybrantsz Buyck Amsterdam merchant/regent, dies at about 82 1598 Anna van Bull 1st wife of Polish/Swedish king Sigismund II, dies 1657 Sebastian Stosskopf Elizabethian painter, dies at 59 1678 Philip Vingboons Amsterdam's master builder, buried 1686 William Dugdale Garter King of Arms (1677-86), dies 1711 Lukas Fencer Dutch poet (Meleager & Atalante), dies at 22 1772 Jozef Wenceslas monarch of Liechtenstein/general, dies at 75 1772 Louis Tocqué French painter, dies at 75 1774 Florian Leopold Gassmann composer, dies at 44 1783 James Nares composer, dies at 67 1816 Johann Paul Aegidius Martini composer, dies at 74 1822 Albert-Kasimir duke of Saxon-Teschen/Governor of Hungary, dies at 83 1825 Paul van Hemert Dutch theologist/philosopher (Kant), dies at 68 1829 Leo XII [Annibale Sermattei], Italian Pope (1823-29), dies at 68 1832 Antonio Benedetto Maria Puccini composer, dies at 84 1837 Alexander S Pushkin writer, dies at 37 1861 Francis Danby Exmouth, painter, dies 1876 Johan August Soderman composer, dies at 43 1879 Honoré V Daumier French painter/lithographer, dies at 70 1879 Wolter R baron van Hoëvell Dutch vicar/abolitionist, dies at 66 1880 Isaäc M "Isaac A" Crémieux French minister of Justice, dies at 83 1887 Ellen Wood English author (Pomeroy Abbey), dies at 73 1887 Pieter van der Aa Dutch geographer, dies at 54 1902 J N Krieger German Selenographer, dies 1905 Ignacy Krzyzanowski composer, dies at 78 1912 Joseph Lister 1st Baron Lister, surgeon (pioneer of antiseptic), dies 1915 Albert J-BJ Thijs Belgian Colonial pioneer (Congo), dies at 65 1917 Emile Pessard composer, dies at 73 1918 Abdül-Hamid II 34th sultan of Turkey (lost Serbia/Egypt), dies at 65 1923 Wilhelm Konrad von Rontgen physicist (Nobel 1901), dies at 77 1932 R H Edgar Wallace British writer/journalist (3 Just Men), dies at 76 1939 Pius XI [Ambrogio D A Ratti], Italian Pope (1922-39), dies at 81 1943 Wa'er shot dead by Defiance 1945 Juan de Hernandez composer, dies at 63 1948 Ewart Astill cricket all-rounder (9 Tests for England 1927-30), dies 1948 Sergei Eisenstein Russian director (Battleship Potemkin), dies at 50 1950 Armen Tigran Tigranyan composer, dies at 70 1951 Joseph Bovet composer, dies at 71 1957 Laura Ingalls Wilder US author (Little House on Prarie), dies at 90 1958 Billy Vine actor (54th Street Revue), dies at 42 1962 Willem Paerels Netherlands/Belgian painter/graphic artist, dies at 83 1966 Billy Rose US theater producer (Diamond Horse Show), dies at 66 1968 Pitirim A Sorokin Russian/US sociologist, dies at 79 1977 Grace Mary Williams composer, dies at 70 1982 K R Meher-Homji cricketer (Test as Indian, catch no stumped), dies 1983 Eduard Franz actor (Zorro), dies at 80 1986 Brian Aherne actor (Juarez, My Sister Eileen, Rosie), dies at 83 1989 Dan Kelly NHL sportscaster, dies at 52, "He shoots, he scores!" 1992 Alex Haley US writer (Autobiography of Malcolm X, Roots), dies at 70 1992 Florence Tarlow dies of cancer at 70 1992 Mau Kopuit Dutch editor-in-chief (New Israeli Weekly Newspaper), dies 1992 Meade Roberts screenwriter, dies of congestive heart failure at 61 1992 Thomas Graftdijk Dutch writer (Dr Faustus), dies 1992 Wim Ramaker Dutch director/writer (On Death Track), dies 1993 John Grossman Czechoslovakian director (Process, Revisor), dies 1993 Joy Garrett actress (Days of Our Live), dies of liver failure at 47 1993 Maurice Bourges-Maunoury PM of France (1957), dies 1995 Kenton Kilmer poet/translator, dies at 85 1995 Louis Sen A Kaw Suriname's great dam builder, dies at 75 1995 Paul Monette writer, dies at 49 1995 S van der Linde church historian, dies at 89 1996 Hugh Francis Lamprey ecologist, dies at 67 1997 Brian McManus Connolly musician, dies at 47 1997 Milton Cato PM of San Vincent & Grenadines (1979-84), dies 1998 Buddy the Wonder Dog dog (Air Bud), dies of cancer at 9 1998 Maurice Schumann French foreign minister (1969-73), dies
BB-39 USS ARIZONA- 04-11-2006
1779 The Battle of Carr’s Fort
On this day in 1779, a force of more than 340 men from the South Carolina and Georgia militias, led by Colonel Andrew Pickens of South Carolina with Colonel John Dooly and Lieutenant Colonel Elijah Clarke of Georgia, attack a group of approximately 200 Loyalists under the command of Colonel John Hamilton at Robert Carr’s Fort, in Wilkes County, Georgia.
After quickly taking the upper hand in the battle, the Patriots were on the brink of victory when they received word that the Loyalists would soon be getting assistance from several hundred reinforcements then marching to North Carolina to join the battle under the command of Colonel John Boyd, a South Carolina Loyalist. Boyd’s mission was to recruit colonists for the British army from behind Patriot lines. The Patriot commanders decided to abandon the siege at Carr’s Fort and surprise the approaching Loyalists under Boyd. The Patriots marched for four days, then successfully surprised and routed the Loyalists in the Battle of Kettle Creek, during which Boyd was mortally wounded.
Wilkes County, the site of both battles, was founded in 1777 and named in honor of John Wilkes, the radical British pamphleteer. Wilkes supporters, or Wilkites, constituted one quarter of the British population. They advocated for electoral reforms and publication of parliamentary debates. They also supported the American colonial protests of the late 1760s and early 1770s. The colonists responded with money for Wilkes’ legal defense and supportive pamphlets including a mock Apostle’s Creed beginning: “I believe in Wilkes, the firm Patriot….” ________________________________________________________________
1861 Davis learns he is president
Jefferson Davis receives word that he has been selected president of the new Confederate States of America.
Davis was at his plantation, Brierfield, pruning rose bushes with his wife Varina when a messenger arrived from nearby Vicksburg. It was not a job he wanted, but he accepted it out of a sense of duty to his new country. Varina later wrote that she saw her husband's face grow pale and she recalled, "Reading that telegram he looked so grieved that I feared some evil had befallen our family. After a few minutes he told me like a man might speak of a sentence of death."
Davis said of the job: "I have no confidence in my ability to meet its requirement. I think I could perform the function of a general." He could see the difficulties involved in launching the new nation. "Upon my weary heart was showered smiles, plaudits, and flowers, but beyond them I saw troubles innumerable. We are without machinery, without means, and threatened by powerful opposition but I do not despond and will not shrink from the task before me."
Davis was prescient in his concerns. He drew sharp criticism during the war--Alexander Stephens, the vice president, said Davis was "weak and vacillating, timid, petulant, peevish, obstinate," and Stephens declared that he held "no more feeling of resentment toward him" than he did toward his "poor old blind and deaf dog." __________________________________________________________________
1916 U.S. secretary of war resigns
As a result of bitter disagreements with President Woodrow Wilson over America’s national defense strategies, Lindley M. Garrison resigns his position as the United States secretary of war on this day in 1916.
Garrison came to Wilson’s attention while serving as vice-chancellor of New Jersey (in addition to running a legal practice) and was appointed secretary of war in January 1913 upon Wilson’s ascent to the White House. After the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914, Garrison clashed repeatedly with many in the Wilson administration, including the president himself, who regarded the secretary as notably hawkish with respect to America’s national defense.
The main disagreement between Garrison and the president arose from the Wilson administration’s long-term national defense plans and short-term U.S. military preparedness in light of the ongoing war in Europe. At the time, Wilson favored a policy of strict neutrality—he would be reelected later that year on a platform promising to keep America out of the war—and he objected to Garrison’s belief that a full-time reserve army should be created as a foundation for national defense and, more immediately, for support in case the U.S. entered the European war.
In his letter of resignation to the president, Mr. Garrison wrote, “It is evident that we hopelessly disagree upon what I conceive to be fundamental principles. This makes manifest the impropriety of my longer remaining your seeming representative with respect to those matters. I hereby tender my resignation as Secretary of War, to take effect at your convenience.” Assistant Secretary of War Henry Breckinridge also resigned his position out of loyalty to Mr. Garrison.
Newton D. Baker, a former mayor of Cleveland, took over as secretary of war upon Garrison’s resignation. Chosen by Wilson for his pacifist leanings—and distrusted by such hawks as Wilson’s steadfast Republican opponent, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge—Baker would nonetheless help the president reach the decision to enter the war in April 1917, submit a plan for universal military conscription to Congress and preside over the mobilization of some 4 million American soldiers. _________________________________________________________________
1942 Japanese sub bombards Midway
On this day, a Japanese submarine launches a brutal attack on Midway, a coral atoll used as a U.S. Navy base. It was the fourth bombing of the atoll by Japanese ships since December 7.
The capture of Midway was an important part of the broader Japanese strategy of trying to create a defensive line that would stretch from the western Aleutian Islands in the north to the Midway, Wake, Marshall, and Gilbert Islands in the south, then west to the Dutch West Indies. Occupying Midway would also mean depriving the United States of a submarine base and would provide the perfect launching pad for an all-out assault on Hawaii.
Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, mastermind of the Pearl Harbor attack and commander in chief of the Japanese combined fleet, knew that only the utter destruction of U.S. naval capacity would ensure Japanese free reign in the Pacific. Japanese bombing of the atoll by ship and submarine failed to break through the extraordinary defense put up by Adm. Chester Nimitz, commander of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, who used every resource available to protect Midway and, by extension, Hawaii. Yamamoto persevered with an elaborate warship operation, called Mi, launched in June, but the Battle of Midway was a disaster for Japan, and was the turning point for ultimate American victory in the Pacific. ____________________________________________________________________
1965 Viet Cong blow up U.S. barracks
Viet Cong guerrillas blow up the U.S. barracks at Qui Nhon, 75 miles east of Pleiku on the central coast, with a 100-pound explosive charge under the building. A total of 23 U.S. personnel were killed, as well as two Viet Cong. In response to the attack, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a retaliatory air strike operation on North Vietnam called Flaming Dart II.
This was the second in a series of retaliations launched because of communist attacks on U.S. installations in South Vietnam. Just 48 hours before, the Viet Cong struck Camp Holloway and the adjacent Pleiku airfield in the Central Highlands. This attack killed eight U.S. servicemen, wounded 109, and destroyed or damaged 20 aircraft.
With his advisors advocating a strong response, President Johnson gave the order to launch Operation Flaming Dart, retaliatory air raids on a barracks and staging areas at Dong Hoi, a guerrilla training camp 40 miles north of the 17th parallel in North Vietnam.
Johnson hoped that quick and effective retaliation would persuade the North Vietnamese to cease their attacks in South Vietnam.
Unfortunately, Operation Flaming Dart did not have the desired effect. The attack on Qui Nhon was only the latest in a series of communist attacks on U.S. installations, and Flaming Dart II had very little effect. _______________________________________________________________
1971 Journalists killed in helicopter crash
Four journalists, including photographer Larry Burrows of Life magazine, Kent Potter of United Press International, Nenri Huett of the Associated Press, and Keisaburo Shimamoto of Newsweek, die in a South Vietnamese helicopter operating in Laos. The journalists had been covering Operation Lam Son 719, a limited attack into Laos by South Vietnamese forces, when their helicopter crashed.
Vietnam was one of the most reported conflicts in the history of warfare. In 1964, when the massive American buildup began, there were roughly 40 U.S. and foreign journalists in Saigon. By August 1966, there were over 400 news media representatives in South Vietnam from 22 nations. The Vietnam War correspondents in the field shared the same dangers that confronted the front-line troops, risking their lives to witness and report the realities of the battlefield. Sixteen Americans lost their lives while covering the war. American journalists are among the 42 U.S. civilians still missing in action and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, including NBC News correspondent Welles Hangen and Time photographer Sean Flynn, both of whom disappeared while covering the war in Cambodia.
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