The FReeper Foxhole Revisits The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot (19-20 June, 1944) - June 17th, 2005

http://www.angelfire.com/fm/odyssey/1.htm ^ | David James

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

The Battle of the Philippine Sea
19-20 June 1944

In September 1943 Japanese Imperial Headquarters resolved that in the near future the entire strength of their fleet would be deployed against the US Navy in a great decisive battle, and that in this battle the enemy fleet would be destroyed "in one blow." By the Spring of 1944 Japanese commanders had decided that the decisive encounter was imminent, and on 3 May the order for the operation - "A-Go" - was issued.

The A-Go Plan was based on the assumption that when the great battle came about the American fleet would be carrying out an offensive in the Central Pacific and that the Japanese would therefore have the advantage of numerous island air-bases within range of the scene of battle. The Japanese command knew that their forces would suffer from a considerable inferiority in carrier airpower, and they were therefore depending on their own land-based air-power to redress the balance.

On June 15 1944 the initial US landings in the Marianas took place - on the island of Saipan. The Japanese had been hoping and expecting that the American attack would come in the Carolines or the Palaus, to the south of the Marianas, and closer to the main Japanese sources of fuel. Their land-based aircraft had been disposed accordingly - with relatively weak forces in the Marianas.

Thus the great operation began with a setback for Japanese strategic hopes. Another blow to their expectations was that the threat from American submarines restricted Japanese carriers to their anchorage, so that they were unable to conduct proper flight training in the run-up to the battle.


Lieutenant Vraciu shot down six Japanese aircraft in less than eight minutes. One aircraft was destroyed as it tried to crash into an American destroyer.

A preliminary US carrier strike in the Marianas on June 11 persuaded Admiral Toyoda, C-in-C of the Combined Fleet, that this was where the next landings would take place, and accordingly Japanese forces began to converge on the Marianas for the decisive battle. Their main groupings made rendezvous on June 16 in the western part of the Philippine Sea and completed refuelling on June 17. By the evening of that day Admiral Ozawa, commanding the Japanese forces, had reasonably accurate intelligence of the composition of the US fleet. A few minutes after midnight 17/18 June, Ozawa - in the tradition of the Japanese Navy - issued a final exhortation to all the ships of his fleet : "This operation has an immense bearing on the fate of the Empire. It is hoped that all forces will do their utmost and attain results as magnificent as those achieved in the Battle of Tsushima."

Spruance's Decision

The Japanese forces had been sighted by American submarines as early as June 15. By June 16 Admiral Spruance, commanding the US Forces (the Fifth Fleet), was satisfied that a major sea battle was approaching, and made plans accordingly. By the afternoon of June 18 Task Force 58 (the Fast Carrier Task Force under Admiral Mitscher) was concentrated near Saipan ready to meet the Japanese fleet.



More intelligence of the Japanese fleet's movements, from submarines and radio intercepts, came in during June 18. Shortly before midnight 18/19 June Admiral Nimitz sent Spruance a message from Pacific Fleet Headquarters indicating that the Japanese flagship was approximately 350 miles to the west-south-west of Task Force 58. Shortly afterwards Mitscher sought Spruance's permission to head west during the night to what - as Mitscher and his staff considered - would be an ideal launch position for an all-out dawn air attack on the enemy force.

However, Spruance refused. Throughout the run-up to the battle he had been concerned that the Japanese would try to draw his main fleet away from the landing area using a diversionary force, and would then make an attack around the flank of the US carrier force - an "end run" - hitting the invasion shipping off Saipan. Such methods were a long-standing part of the Japanese Navy's tactical doctrine .

Spruance was intensely conscious that protection of the invasion shipping was his paramount responsibility, and should therefore take precedence over the destruction of the Japanese fleet. Moreover, the Admiral considered, as he was later to observe, that "if we were doing something so important that we were attracting the enemy to us, we could afford to let him come - and take care of him when he arrived." In effect this was to be what happened during the battle.



Mitscher and his staff were aghast at Spruance's decision. Captain Arleigh Burke, the Task Force 38 Chief of Staff, bitterly commented that it "meant that the enemy could attack us at will at dawn the next morning. We could not attack the enemy."

The Fifth Fleet Commander was adversely criticised by many naval officers after the battle and continues to be condemned - by some writers - to the present day. A still common allegation is that Spruance decided as he did because he was not an aviator, and therefore must have had an inadequate understanding of the principles of carrier warfare.

Initial Actions of 19 June

At dawn - 0430 - on 19 June Task Force 58 was steaming E by N about 150 miles to the WSW of Saipan and about 100 miles to the NW of Guam.

This huge fleet - with nearly 99,000 personnel on board - was disposed in five groups - the four carrier groups and Admiral Lee's Battle Line.



First came the three stronger carrier groups in a north-south line abreast, with the centres of the groups 12-15 miles apart. Due west of the middle group of this line steamed Task Group 58.7 - Lee's Battle Line - with the weakest carrier group - Harrill's Task Group 58.4 - sailing within visual distance to the north of it.

The carrier groups were each disposed in a circle four miles in diameter (with the carriers in the centre of their respective groups but having plenty of room for safe manoeuvering while under attack), and the Battle Line was arranged in a circle about 6 miles in diameter, with the battleship Indiana as guide at the centre of this circle. The formation covered an area of sea roughly 35 miles by 25 miles.

At 0530 the task force turned north-eastwards, directly into the wind, and began to launch combat air patrol, anti-submarine patrols, and search missions. At 0619 Spruance ordered a change of course to WSW, hoping thereby to place the fleet closer to the as-yet unlocated enemy forces. But the carriers had to turn back into the wind whenever they were launching aircraft, and at 10am Task Force 58 was in almost exactly the same position as it had been at dawn.



The A-Go plan called for about 500 aircraft to be available on the land bases in the Marianas. In fact - partly because of the damage inflicted by the American carrier forces in strikes made between 11 June and 18 June - there were a mere 50 or so, all of them based on the island of Guam.

The first attack of the day came at 0550 when a scouting Zero from Guam attacked the picket destroyers of the Battle Line and was shot down.

The next action took place over Guam when Hellcats from the light carrier Belleau Wood, investigating a radar contact, encountered Japanese aircraft taking off from Orote Field. At 0807 more Japanese aircraft were detected by radar, heading towards Guam. These were reinforcements flying in from other Japanese-held islands. Fighters were vectored out to intercept them and there was continuous fighting over and around Guam for nearly an hour. 35 Japanese aircraft were shot down, but others were still taking off from Orote when the Hellcats received a "Hey Rube!" signal (calling them back over the carriers) from the task force flagship. Task Force 58 had detected large numbers of unidentified aircraft approaching from the west. These were the planes of the first attack wave from Ozawa's carriers, 68 or 69 aircraft in all.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

.......

Ozawa's Raids

The initial Japanese raid was detected by radar aboard Lee's Battle Line at 1000 when still 150 miles distant. At 1023 Mitscher's carriers turned into the wind, and began to launch every available fighter. By this time Ozawa's first wave had approached to 70 miles. The Japanese aircraft then began circling as they regrouped and prepared to attack. This gave Task Force 58 ten minutes or more to complete its preparations to meet them.

At about 1036 the first interception was made by 11 Hellcats from the carrier Essex. As these fighters, led by Lt-Commander C.W. Brewer, were carrying out their attack they were joined by other Hellcats from Bunker Hill, Cowpens and Princeton. In this initial action at least 25 Japanese aircraft were shot down. Task Force 58 lost only one fighter. This set the pattern for the air-to-air combats of the day.

The Japanese planes which survived this interception were met by other fighters and 16 more were shot down. Of the remainder some made attacks on the destroyers Yarnall and Stockham, which were operating as pickets for the Battle Line, but the Japanese aircraft caused no damage. Three or four bombers broke through to the battleships, and one made a direct hit on South Dakota which caused many casualties but failed to disable her. Not one aircraft of Ozawa's first wave got through to the American carriers.

At 1107 radar detected another and much larger attack. This, Ozawa's second wave - consisting at this stage of 109 aircraft - was met by American fighters sixty miles out from Mitscher's flagship Lexington.

The first interception was made by 12 Hellcats, again from Essex, led by Commander David McCampbell, who was to become the highest-scoring US Navy fighter ace of the war. The Hellcats shot down approximately 70 aircraft from this raid. Most of the aircraft which broke through the combat air patrol were destroyed or driven off by the gunfire of the Battle Line.

Nonetheless, a handful of the bombers succeeded in attacking the American carriers. Six attacked Rear Admiral Montgomery's group, making near-misses which caused casualties on two of the carriers. Four of the six were shot down. A small group of torpedo aircraft attacked Reeves' group just before midday, one launching a torpedo which exploded in the wake of Reeves' flagship Enterprise. Three other torpedo-planes attacked the light carrier Princeton, but were shot down.

In all 97 aircraft of this - Ozawa's second wave - failed to return.

The third raid, consisting of 47 aircraft, came in from the north. It was intercepted at 1300, some 50 miles out from the task force, by 40 fighters. Seven Japanese planes were shot down. A few broke through and made an ineffective attack on Harrill's group. Many others did not press home their attacks. This raid therefore suffered less than the others, and 40 of its aircraft managed to return to their carriers.

After this third assault there was a brief lull in the battle. Several US carriers were able to secure from General Quarters, and Mitscher took the opportunity to launch a search mission - one which was, however, unsuccessful.

The fourth and final assault wave was launched from the Japanese carriers between 1100 and 1130. This raid was given an incorrect location for its targets. One group from this raid, failing to find anything at the reported position, headed for the island of Rota to refuel, but sighted Montgomery's task group by chance. 9 dive-bombers eluded the American fighters and made attacks on carriers Wasp and Bunker Hill, but failed to make any hits, and all but one of the attackers were shot down. Another group, of 18 aircraft from the Japanese carrier Zuikaku, lost half its number to the American fighters.

The largest group from this the fourth of Ozawa's raids - 49 aircraft - failed to locate any US ships and made for Guam. It was picked up on radar, and the last Combat Air Patrol of the day - consisting of 12 Hellcats from light carrier Cowpens - was sent to intercept. The US fighters came upon the Japanese planes as they were circling Orote Field ready to land.

As the Cowpens aircraft went in to attack they were joined by seven Hellcats from Essex, again led by McCampbell, and eight from Hornet. These 27 US fighters shot down 30 of the 49 Japanese planes, and the 19 survivors which landed received heavy and irreparable damage.

While Ozawa's air groups were being devastated in this massacre his carriers had come under attack from American submarines.

The US Submarine Attacks

A few days before the battle Admiral Lockwood, commander of Task Force 17 - the patrol submarines of the Central Pacific Force - had positioned four of his boats to intercept the Japanese fleet. Two of these located and attacked Ozawa's force on 19 June.


IJN Shokaku sinking

At 0816 Albacore sighted Ozawa's own carrier division, and soon began an attack on the carrier most suitably placed, which by chance was the Taiho, Ozawa's flagship - the Japanese Navy's most modern and most strongly-constructed carrier. As Albacore was about to fire a salvo of six torpedoes at Taiho her fire-control computer failed, and her commanding officer, Commander J.W. Blanchard, was forced to aim the salvo by visual judgment alone.

Taiho was than steaming at 27 knots. She had just launched 42 aircraft, her component of the Japanese second wave against Task Force 58. Four of Albacore's torpedoes were off-target. The pilot of one of the recently-launched aircraft - Sakio Komatsu - sighted one of the two which were heading for Taiho and heroically crashed his aircraft on it, destroying the torpedo and losing his life in the process. But the other torpedo struck the carrier on her starboard side near her aviation-fuel tanks. Nonetheless the damage to Taiho at first appeared not to be very serious.

Ozawa's Carrier Division also fell foul of the American submarine Cavalla. Shokaku, one of the six carriers which had carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor, was hit shortly before noon by three torpedoes of a salvo of six which Cavalla had fired from the close range of 1,000 yards. Fuel tanks on the carrier were ruptured by the explosions, fires spread through the ship, and at about 1500 a bomb magazine exploded, destroying her.

Meanwhile the flagship Taiho was falling victim to poor damage-control. On the orders of an inexperienced damage-control officer her ventilation system had been operated full-blast in an attempt to clear explosive fumes from the ship. This instead this had the disastrous effect of spreading the vapours throughout Taiho, and at 1532, approximately half an hour after the explosion which sank Shokaku, Taiho was herself wrecked by a huge explosion, and sank shortly after.

Albacore and Cavalla were both subjected to heavy depth-charge attacks, but the submarines escaped without serious damage.

Japanese and American Losses

Ozawa had committed 373 aircraft to his attacks and searches. Only 130 of these returned to their carriers, and about 50 of the Guam-based planes were shot down by Task Force 58. Other Japanese aircraft were lost operationally, and yet more went down with the two carriers sunk by the US submarines. In all the Japanese forces lost around 315 aircraft on 19 June.

Of the hundreds of US aircraft engaged in this great battle only 23 were shot down, and 6 more lost operationally. Task Force 58 lost 29 aircrew and suffered 31 fatal casualties on the ships which were hit or near-missed. In very few battles since medieval times, whether on land or at sea, have losses been so one-sided.

[snippy_about_it]

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The Final Phase
The Air Battle of 20 June

Task Force 58 pushed westwards during the night of 19/20 June in order to attack the Japanese fleet, and at dawn launched air searches. On the Japanese side there was great confusion caused by the fact that Ozawa attempted to control his forces from the destroyer Wakatsuki, to which he and his staff had transferred when the Taiho had to be abandoned. The destroyer's communications were inadequate for her to act as flagship, and at about 1300 on 20 June Ozawa transferred to the large carrier Zuikaku (sister ship to the Shokaku and as of 20 June the only survivor of the six carriers which had attacked Pearl Harbor). It was only now that Ozawa learned of the massacre of his air groups the day before, and that his force had only one hundred aircraft still operational. Nonetheless he was determined to continue the battle, believing that there were still considerable numbers of Japanese aircraft operational on Rota and Guam. Ozawa intended to launch further strikes on the following day, 21 June.

American searches failed, for most of 20 June, to find the Japanese fleet, but eventually - at 1540 - an Avenger piloted by Lieutenant R.S. Nelson, from the veteran carrier Enterprise, found Ozawa's force. Nelson's message reporting the contact was however so garbled that Mitscher did not know what had been sighted or where. He nonetheless decided to make an all-out strike when more information came in, despite the fact that there were now only about 75 minutes to sunset, and that the strike would therefore have to be recovered in darkness. By 1605 further reports from Lt. Nelson had given the Task Force 58 commander the information needed.



At 1610 the aircrew manned their planes, and at 1621 the carriers turned into the wind to launch the strike, which consisted of 216 aircraft. The launching was completed in the remarkably short time of eleven minutes.

The attack went in at 1830. Ozawa had been able to put up very few fighters to intercept - no more than 35 according to the American pilots' later estimates, but these few were skilfully handled, and the Japanese ships' anti-aircraft fire was intense.

The first ships sighted by the US strike were oilers, and two of these were damaged so severely that they were later scuttled. The carrier Hiyo was attacked by 4 Avengers from the light carrier Belleau Wood and hit by at least one of their torpedoes. The carriers Zuikaku, Junyo and Chiyoda were damaged by bombs, as was the battleship Haruna. The torpedoed Hiyo later sank. Roughly 20 American aircraft were lost in this strike.

By nightfall on 20 June Ozawa had therefore lost three carriers, including two of his finest ships, and of the 430 aircraft which had been available to his force on the morning of 19 June only 35 were still operational.

The Night Recovery

Twilight was closing in as the American attack ended, and the aircrew were faced with the difficult and dangerous task of making a landing on what proved to be an exceptionally dark night. They had flown 275-300 miles to the enemy fleet and had almost as long a return flight to the US carriers. Their fuel was therefore dangerously low.



At 2045 the first returning planes began to circle over Task Force 58. Mitscher - who invariably showed unusual concern for the safety and well-being of his flyers - then took the decision to fully illuminate the carriers, despite the risk of attack from submarines and night-flying aircraft. All ships of the task force turned on their lights, and the screening destroyers fired starshell throughout the recovery, which lasted two hours. Despite these measures eighty of the returning aircraft - with pilots neither trained nor equipped for night landing - were lost, some crashing on flight decks, the majority going into the sea. But of the 209 aircrew participating in the 20 June strike 160 were rescued either during the operation or in the following few days.

The End of Japanese Seaborne Airpower At 2046 on 20 June Ozawa received orders from Admiral Toyoda, C-in-C of the Combined Fleet, to withdraw from the Philippine Sea. After the night recovery of Mitscher's aircraft the US task force moved westwards in pursuit of the retreating Japanese, but the battle was over.

The two-day engagement had been the largest pure carrier-versus-carrier battle in history, and was to be the last. The immediate consequence of the Japanese defeat was the US capture of the Marianas. This broke the Japanese inner line of defence, and meant that American bombers based in the islands could now reach targets on Japan itself. As a result of their huge losses of aircrew in the battle the remnants of the Japanese seaborne air groups were never again able to challenge the American fleet, and at the Leyte Gulf four months later the Japanese carrier force - which had once dominated the Pacific War - was reduced to playing the role of decoy, while the primary attacking role was, of necessity, assigned to the Imperial Navy's battleships and their attendant cruisers and destroyers.

Additional Sources:

www.onwar.com
www.history.navy.mil
www.brooksart.com
www.microsoft.com
www.multied.com
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/933517/posts

[snippy_about_it]

In the early morning hours Japanese reconnaissance finds US Task Force 58 while remaining undetected. The Japanese immediately launch 372 aircraft, in four waves, to strike the American fleet. Overall, the Japanese have about 550 planes (including those on Guam) while the Americans have roughly 950. Furthermore, US radar provides significant advance warning of the attack. There is enough time to launch an air raid on Guam before the Japanese can arrive over their target. American fighters begin intercepting the incoming Japanese planes while 50 miles away. Many of the attackers are shot down before reaching the American fleet; US anti-aircraft defenses accounts for many more. The only hit achieved by the Japanese is on the USS South Dakota which is damaged by one bomb.

The Japanese lose 240 aircraft and the Americans lose 29. The attackers fly on to Guam where American aircraft strike and destroy another 50 Japanese planes.

Meanwhile, the Japanese aircraft carriers Taiho and Shokaku are sunk by the US submarines Cavalla and Albacore.

American participants refer to the day as "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" because of the ease with which the Japanese forces have been suppressed.

'The Battle of the Philippine Sea contributed as much to victory as if Ozawa's fleet had been destroyed; for without its air arm the fleet was crippled, and the six carriers that survived were useful only as decoys to lure another American admiral to do what Spruance had declined to do. Admiral Toyoda had announced on 15 June "the fate of the Empire rests on this one battle." He was right. It decided the Marianas Campaign by giving the United States Navy command of the surrounding waters and air. Thus, the Japanese land forces in Saipan, Tinian and Guam were doomed, no matter how bravely and doggedly they fought. And victory in the Marianas made an American victory over Japan inevitable.'

-- Admiral Spruance

[snippy_about_it]

"FALL IN" to the FReeper Foxhole!



Its' Friday. Good Morning Everyone.

If you want to be added to our ping list, let us know.

[snippy_about_it]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

Thanks to quietolong for providing this link.

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We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

I realized that our Veterans have no "official" seal, so we created one as part of that recognition. To see what it looks like and the Star that we have dedicated to you, the Veteran, please check out our site.

Veterans Wall of Honor

Blue Stars for a Safe Return

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NOW UPDATED THROUGH JULY 31st, 2004




The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

LINK TO FOXHOLE THREADS INDEXED by PAR35

[Diver Dave]

Well written commentary on the Turkey Shoot. Thanks

[Neil E. Wright]

Hiya Kids .... Just to toot the horn of ARIZONA ... but if you go HERE you'll be able to click on a link and see lotsa pics of ARIZONA ... including over 100 pics I took on my last trip to the Grand Canyon ... :)

Just in case you are interested .... :)

BTW ... you both are doing a FANTASTIC JOB on these threads!!! Keep up the good work!

±

"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
Toward FREEDOM

[Iris7]

I hate to find fault in Naval Aviation, now, or then. Some of the best men on the planet are or have been Naval Aviators. But Admiral Mitscher was wrong in his desire to pursue the Japanese Imperial Navy, and Raymond Spruance was correct not to do so. The landing fleet must be protected and there was no doubt that such a huge Japanese fleet had no possible destination but the Marianas.

We all know Raymond Spruance's role at Midway, where it REALLY counted.

In mid-1943 Admiral Spruance recieved command of the Central Pacific Force, later to become the 5th Fleet. He held that job until the end of the war.

Admiral Chester Nimitz (whom you all know I hold in very high respect) trusted Spruance, who was his Chief of Staff and then Deputy Commander to the Commander in Chief, Pacific. Nimitz.

Nimitz, a remarkable judge of character, could have had any man in the Navy he wanted for those jobs except Admiral King.

Spruance could be counted on to take terrible risks if the situation demanded it (recollect the very early launch of the air strikes at Midway and the real likelihood of the loss of the only American aircraft carriers left. Remember only Enterprise survived). At the same time Admiral Spruance was a man never controlled by his emotions, a man who maintained icy control of himself at all times, who, as far as I can find out, never took a reckless risk. A man with a mind as hard as a diamond and sharper than a razor.

Unlike Admiral Halsey upon occasion, heh, heh.

[Iris7]

You know, "In those days there were Giants upon the earth."

Be of good hope, all. These days there are many Americans every bit as good as our "Giants of the earth" who have past away. Perhaps the "American" Left, those Stalinists in all but name, those "liberals", will become one in history with the Japanese Empire. I so pray.

If such a proud and happy day comes about it will be due to the "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" of our very best. And of a big bunch of other fine folks.

They better hurry up or I'll be getting old, shucks, the "39 and holding" is getting tough with all the gray hair!!!! Folks might think me a crotchety old man!!

Well, I prefer cantankerous!!! As Roy Rogers said to Gabby Hayes, "Let me handle that, I'm younger than you." Gabby replied, "You are, are you? You'll have to prove it."

My wife says I am just like Gabby Hayes. That is a fine compliment. She thinks that a little old, smelly, and messy cantankerousness are perhaps besmirching the diamond that is I - well, she usually is right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[alfa6]

TGIF bump for the FReeper Foxhole. only it's Monday for me as I have to work this weekend.

One correction to your otherwise sterling comments regards Spruance Iris7. We only lost the Yorktown at Midway, Both Enterprise and Hornet survuived.

A couple of Hellcat pics from WW-II and then off to work I must go,grumble grumble

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[GailA]

good morning ALL

[The Mayor]

June 17, 2005

Shooing Satan

Read:
James 4:7-10

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. —James 4:7

Bible In One Year: 1 Kings 8-10

Down in Texas where I was raised, the standard way to respond when someone sneezed was to say, "Scat!" It was common practice, but I never knew why we said it. Now I know. It's an old custom dating back to ancient times, when folks believed that sneezing expelled the devil. You said "Scat!" to shoo him away.

That's mere superstition, of course. There are better, biblical ways to chase away the devil.

Satan's schemes always begin with a lie, a false lead, a subtle twist to the truth, which if acted on will tear us away from God. His proposals rarely seem evil, because our minds are repelled by obvious evil. More often they come disguised as good. Satan adds a trace of grace and beauty to every lure, lest we recognize its deadly nature. It's easy to be taken in.

"Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Counter Satan's lies with truth when they first enter your mind. Meet them immediately with a word from God and banish him, as you would shoo away a pushy salesman, before he gets a foot in the door. Call to mind a verse or portion of Scripture that speaks to the particular lie Satan is selling you and submit yourself to that truth.

That's the way to make the devil run. —David Roper

Satan can catch you by surprise—
He'll stop you in your tracks;
So keep on guard and trust God's Word,
Resist his strong attacks. —Branon

When Satan strikes, strike back with the Word of God.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
What In The World Is Satan Doing?

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[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on June 17:
1239 Edward I(Longshanks) king of England (1272-1307)
1703 John Wesley cofounded Methodist movement/author
1742 William Hooper signed Decl of Ind
1811 Jon Sigurdsson Iceland, leader/collects Icelandic legends
1817 Thomas Maley Harris, Bvt Mjr General (Union volunteers), died in 1906
1818 Charles Gounod Paris, France, opera composer (Faust)
1832 Sir William Crookes chemist/physicist; discovered thallium
1867 John Robert Gregg Ireland, inventor (shorthand)
1870 George Cormack created "Wheaties" cereal
1871 James Weldon Johnson lawyer, 1st black admitted to Florida Bar
1882 Igor Stravinsky Oranienbaum, Russia, composer (The Rite of Spring)
1904 Ralph Bellamy Chicago, actor (Air Mail, Dive Bomber, Trading Places)
1910 Red Foley Blue Lick Ky, country singer (Mr Smith Goes to Washington)
1914 John Hersey author (Hiroshima, A Bell for Adano)
1915 Stringbean [David Akeman], Ky, banjoist/comedian (Hee Haw)
1917 Dean Martin, Steubenville Ohio, singer/actor (with Jerry Lewis)
1919 Kingman Brewster college president (Yale)
1923 Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch AAFC, NFL halfback, end (LA Rams)
1928 James Brown godfather of soul (I Feeeel Good))
1929 Tigran Petrosyan USSR, world chess champion (1963-69)
1940 Bobby Bell NFL linebacker (KC Chiefs)
1943 - Newt[on] L Gingrich, (Rep-R-G, 1979- /Speaker of House 1995-97)
1945 Eddy (The Badger) Merckx Belguim, cyclist (5 time winner of Tour de France)
1946 Barry Manilow NYC, singer(?) (Mandy)
1948 Phylicia Allen Ayers Rashad Houston Tx, actress (Cosby)
1951 Joe Piscopo Passaic NJ, comedian(?) (SNL, Miller Lite commercials)
1965 Kami Cotler Long Beach Calif, actress (Elizabeth-The Waltons)
1980 Venus Williams, Lynwood Calif, tennis star

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Deaths which occurred on June 17:
0656 Osman ibn Affan, 3rd kalief of Islam (644-56) murdered
0676 Adeodatus II, Italian Pope (672-76), dies
0855 Leo IV, Italian Pope (847-55), dies
1501 Jan I Olbracht, King of Poland, dies
1672 Orazio Benevoli, Italian composer, dies at 67
1797 Aga Mohammed Khan, cruel ruler of Persia, castrated and killed
1815 Hammida, Algerian admiral, dies in battle
1862 Charles J Canning, English 1st viceroy of British-Indies, dies at 49
1863 Isham W Garrott, US attorney/Confederate brig-general, dies in battle
1885 Gen Edwin H K Freiherr von Manteuffel, mayor (Elzas-Lothar'n), dies
1939 Eugene Weldman last guillotined in France
1961 Jeff Chandler actor, dies at 40
1974 Pamela Britton actress (Blondie, My Favorite Martian), dies at 50
1979 Lou Frizzel actor (Dusty Rhoades-Bonanza), dies at 58
1984 Swale Kentucky Derby winner, collapses & dies

1986 Kate Smith singer (God Bless America), dies in Raleigh NC at 78

1987 Dick Howser NY Yankee & KC Royal mgr, dies at 51 of brain cancer
1989 David S Griggs astronaut, dies in crash of WW II vintage plane
1989 John Matusek Oakland Raider/actor, dies at 38 of a heart attack
1992 Dewey Balfa, bayou fiddler, dies at 65
2004 Nabil Sahraoui (also known as Abu Ibrahim Mustapha), killed by Algerian troops (North Africa's most-wanted terrorist leaders)

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GWOT Casualties

Iraq
16-Jun-2003 2 | US: 2 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Specialist Joseph D. Suell Taji Non-hostile - not reported
US Private Shawn D. Pahnke Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - sniper

16-Jun-2004 3 | US: 3 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Major Paul R. Syverson III Balad (Camp Anaconda) Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US Sergeant Arthur S. (Stacey) Mastrapa Balad (Camp Anaconda) Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US Specialist Jeremy M. Dimaranan Balad (Camp Anaconda) Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack


Afghanistan
A Good Day

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White

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On this day...
0362 Emperor Julian issues a edict banning Christians from teaching in Syria
0653 St Martin I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0676 Deusdedit III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1291 Akko reconquered after 200 years by French crusaders, and destroyed
1397 Union of Kalmar established between Denmark, Sweden & Norway
1579 Anti-English uprising in Ireland
1579 Sir Francis Drake lands on the coast of Calif
1700 Mass. orders priests to leave the colony
1745 American colonials capture Louisburg, Cape Breton I from French

1775 The Battle at Bunker’s Hill was actually fought on Breed’s Hill near Boston. It lasted less than 2 hours and was the deadliest of the Revolutionary War. The British captured the hill on their third attempt but suffered over 1,000 casualties vs. about 400-600 for the Americans. Patriotic Joseph Warren died in the battle. Patriot General William Prescott allegedly told his men, "Don't one of you fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" British casualties were estimated at 226 dead and 828 wounded, while American casualties were estimated at 140 dead and 301 wounded.


1789 3rd Estate in France declared itself a national assembly
1815 Stephen Decatur captures Algerian frigate Mashouda
1837 Charles Goodyear obtains his 1st rubber patent
1856 Republican Party opens its 1st national convention in Philadelphia
1861 Battle of Boonville, MI-Brig General Lyon defeats Confederate forces
1863 Battle of Aldie, Confederates fail to drive back the Union in Virginia
1863 Travelers Insurance Co of Hartford chartered (1st accident insurer)
1864 General John B Hood replaces General Johnston
1872 Dodge City founded. George Hoover hauled in a wagon load of whiskey and set up a tent shop called Hoover’s Bar
1880 John Ward, Providence, pitches perfect game vs Buffalo
1882 Tornado kills 130 in Iowa
1885 Statue of Liberty arrived in NYC aboard French ship `Isere'
1894 1st US poliomyelitis epidemic breaks out, Rutland, Vermont
1897 William Frank Powell, NJ educator, named minister to Haiti
1909 A Kopff discovers asteroid #682 Hagar
1916 American troops under the command of Gen. Jack Pershing march into Mexico.
1919 "Barney Google" cartoon strip, by Billy De Beck, premiers
1930 Chuck Klein sets Phillies hitting streak at 26 straight games
1930 The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Bill became law, placing the highest tariff on imports to the U.S.
1937 Marx Brothers' "A Day At The Races" opens in NY
1940 France asks Germany for terms of surrender in WW II
1942 1st WW II American expeditionary force lands in Africa (Gold Coast)
1942 "Yank" a weekly magazine for the U.S. armed services, began publication. Hartzell Spence (d.2001 at 93), executive editor of Yank, a new US Army publication, soon introduced the term “pinup” for the photo inserts of beautiful women and added the “Sad Sack” cartoon strip.
1944 Republic of Iceland proclaimed at Thingvallir, Iceland
1945 Day of Unity in West Germany (National Day)
1946 SW Bell innaugurates mobile telephone commercial service, St Louis
1947 1st round-the-world civil air service leaves NYC
1948 Joe Cronin pinch hit HRs in both ends of a doubleheader
1950 Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria sign security pact
1950 1st kidney transplant (Chicago)
1953 Riots in East Germany for reunification
1953 Sup Court Justice Wm O Douglas stays executions of spies Julius & Ethel Rosenberg scheduled for the next day their 14th anniversary
1954 Rocky Marciano beats Ezzard Charles in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1954 Televised Senate Army McCarthy hearings ends
1957 Tuskegee boycott begins (Blacks boycotted city stores)
1960 Ted Williams hit his 500th home run

1963 Supreme Court rules against Bible reading/prayer in public schools

1965 28.14 cm (11.08") of rainfall, Holly, Colorado (state 24-hour record)
1965 1st bombing by B-52 (50 km north of Saigon)
1966 Peter Green joins John Mayall's Bluebreakers
1967 China becomes world's 4th thermonuclear (H-bomb) power
1969 "Oh! Calcutta!" opens in NYC (almost entirely in the nude)
1970 Edwin Land patents Polaroid camera
1971 C U Cesco discovers asteroid #2399 Terradas
1972 5 arrested for burglarizing Democratic Party HQ at Watergate (3rd rate burglary)
1974 Felix Aguilar Observatory discovers asteroids #2997 & #3083
1975 Voters in Northern Mariana Is approve commonwealth status with US
1978 Ron Guidry sets Yankee record with 18 strike-outs

1982 Pres Reagan 1st UN Gen Assembly address ("evil empire" speech) (Correct....again)

1982 President Galtieri resigns after leading Argentina to defeat
1986 Chief Justice Warren Earl Burger resigns Antonin Scalia nominated
1988 Microsoft releases MS DOS 4.0
1988 Women sentenced to 90 years in 1st product tampering murder case
1991 Country entertainer Minnie Pearl suffers a stroke at 78
1991 South Africa abolishes last of its apartheid laws
1999 The Republican-controlled House narrowly voted to loosen restrictions on sales at gun shows, marking a victory for the NRA(and the American people).
2002 US Supreme Court strikes down an Ohio village's law and ruled that groups have a constitutional right to go door-to-door to promote their causes without getting permission from local officials.
2002 Australian scientists said they had successfully "teleported" a laser beam encoded with data, breaking it up and reconstructing an exact replica a yard away.
2004 In Peru the 400-year-old Lima Roman Catholic cathedral celebrated its restoration.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Germany : Day of German Unity/Rememberance Day (1953)- Date changed 1990 to Oct 3rd
Iceland : Republic Day (1944)
Japan : Lily Festival
Mass : Bunker Hill Day (1775)
Paraguay : Chaco Peace Day (1935) (Sunday)
US : Father's Day (Sunday)
US : Flag Week (Day 6)
National Hollerin' Contest Day
International Violin Day
National Rose Month

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Religious Observances
Ang : St Alban's Day [0622]
Feast of St. Botolph.
Feast of St. Avitus, priest and confessor.

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Religious History
1703 Birth of John Wesley, English founder of Methodism. The systematic disciplines of the 'Holy Club,' which John and his brother Charles founded, elicited the nickname 'Methodies' from their critics.
1822 In New York City, the first elders of the newly founded African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church were ordained.
1846 Iowa College was chartered in Davenport under the joint sponsorship of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches. The school changed location in 1859 and was later renamed Grinnell College.
1859 Birth of J. Wilbur Chapman, Presbyterian pastor and evangelist who authored a number of hymns, including 'One Day When Heaven Was Filled with His Praises.'
1963 English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Oregon Cat Born With Two Faces
The Associated Press


ROSEBURG, Ore. - A newborn kitten recently entered the world with two faces and, hopefully, at least nine lives. Gemini was born Sunday with two mouths, two tongues, two noses and four eyes.

"I kind of feel sorry for her, because I can't know for a fact if she's going to live or die," its owner, Lee Bluetear of Glide, told the (Roseburg) News-Review. "If she makes it, she should be a perfectly normal and healthy cat. Other than having two faces."

Roseburg veterinarian Alan Ross, who examined the kitten on Tuesday, said he can't estimate the kitten's life span. He said when he first saw the kitten, he wouldn't have given her more than a 10 percent chance of survival.

"With the three of our veterinarians here, we have a combined total of 50 years of experience," Ross said. "We have never seen anything like this."


Bluetear, 40, said Gemini is much stronger and drinking more milk than in its first few days. Ross said that if the kitten does survive, it might need surgery to remove the extra tissue in between its two mouths.

Bluetear has been breeding different kinds of animals, starting with dogs, since 1980. Roughly three years ago, she discovered a litter of smaller than normal kittens she calls "miniature cats."

She now has plans to market the miniature cats, which grow to about 4 pounds, on the Internet.
Gemini was born to a miniature mother and a full-size father.
"Everybody is totally amazed that this thing exists," Bluetear said.

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Thought for the day :
"Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can"

[Darksheare]

Wow, that WAS a turkey shoot.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, vehicle commander, 617th Military Police Company, Richmond, Ky., stands at attention before receiving the Silver Star at an awards ceremony at Camp Liberty, Iraq, June 16. Hester is the first woman soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star. Photo by Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp, USA

Have you hugged a SpankenTruppen today size.(Hobbit size flag here)

[SAMWolf]

Morning Snippy.

[SAMWolf]

Morning DD.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Neil.

Nice scenery in Arizona but it looks like someone stole all your trees. ;-)