[alfa6]

Hartney considered Luke a pain in the rear that July but changed his mind soon after, as we shall see. Hartney wrote this story ten years later:

The first time I really took much of an interest in him was about three days after I had lost six of my officers and Don Hudson had shot down two biplane Rumplers carrying four men on Aug. 1, 1918. I had already been up to the lines to see if I could find any of my boys.... That first day I could not get any farther than Villers Cotterets, not far from our small advance airdrome, although farther north, and had to return by foot and freight train via Paris.

A couple of days later Luke came to my tent and said, 'Major, Lt. Clapp says it is all right for me to go up with you this morning if you can take me.' I shall never forget that journey. Frank, one enlisted man and I went along in my Packard. On this trip he talked freely, of his days on the plains back home, of incidents of his training, of his ambition to be an outstanding flier. He was extremely serious always.

Walking to the top of a hill we found the two German planes Hudson had brought down... The two pilots and their observers were still there, their faces black, the summer sun getting in its rapid work. One of them had on very light patent leather low shoes. This impressed Luke. 'Wonder where he was the night before,' he murmured. Rumor had it among the ground troops that one of the Germans was a girl, but this was not true.

Three hundred yards farther we came to the top of another knoll and looked down the other side, a smooth space of about a hundred acres. Never have my eyes rested on such a sight. May they never again behold one like it. The hill was literally covered with dead men, side by side, head to head, little or no space between, practically all of them American doughboys. They had died in droves charging German machine gun nests left behind to cover the retreat. Right in front of us were a German and an American who had actually pierced each other with their bayonets and neither bayonet had been withdrawn.



Frank stooped over and picked up some unmailed postal cards fallen from a pocket of one of the dead boys. The one on top was addressed to his mother out in Iowa.

‘Leave them there,' I said. 'That American padre over there is busy picking up such things to send back to the next of kin.'Carefully and reverently, Luke replaced the cards in the pocket of the dead Yankee.

'Boy!' he exclaimed. 'I'm glad I'm not in the infantry. They haven't a chance, have they, Major?'

Hiking back to the road, we got into our car and made our way farther along toward Fismes, on the Vesle, where somebody had told us the front line lay. We noticed some peculiar stares in the eyes of several small detachments of American troops marching on the road. Presently a young second lieutenant stopped us.

'Sir, do you realize you're beyond the front lines? The last car that went up there didn't come back. It was captured.'

Things were so quiet it seemed incredible...

...We found several, including two enemy and several British Camels. Most of them had bullet holes through the headrests. On one we actually found a rifle lying on the wing. The plane seemed intact and only a splotch of blue and a torn helmet indicated what had happened to the pilot.

‘These men were all diving away when they were hit, weren't they, Major?' asked Luke.

'Yes,' I replied. 'It's what I've told you and the other boys a dozen times. That's about the only time one gets hit.'

'By God, they'll never catch me that way,' said Frank.

.... We walked farther and saw other wrecks but none of them ours. Then we went back to the Packard and drove toward Fere-en-Tardenois. Luke asked permission to go over and take another look at the two crushed, interlocked German two-seaters. We got out and I strolled over to glimpse again that terrible slaughter field where so many men lay dead for economic and political reasons beyond their comprehension. It was getting dark. Except for the rumble of distant guns there was absolute silence. Silhouetted against the evening skyline on top of that hill was one moving figure. It was the steel-helmeted padreSlowly he would stoop over and pick up something and put it in his pocket. I did not disturb him.

Again in the car we were almost to Fere-en-Tardenois when something attracted our attention. It was a group of American soldiers watching something in the sky a little distance away. We got out and joined them. It was a single German plane. He had dropped from the sky like a bullet and poured some incendiary bullets right into one of our observation balloons. The sausage, full of hydrogen, was falling in flames. The occupants had bailed out in their parachutes. Even as we watched, the heine pilot dipped into a swift attack on a second balloon nearby. He caught it asit was being dragged down by its winch. It, too, went up in flames. The rattle of our machine guns were terrific but it meant nothing. The Boche Albatross went blithely hedge-hopping homeward. All was still again.

The sights and experiences of that day must have had a profound impact on Frank Luke. A less intrepid boy would certainly have lost any further desire to go into such gory and savage doings and would have found ways and means of getting himself sent to a safer part of the war zone. But with Luke it was different. All the way home he was silent. And I am positive that on that homeward trip he laid out his future course and made his plans to become our most spectacular flier and the world's greatest strafer of enemy balloons.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on October 20:
1632 Sir Christopher Wren England, astronomer/architect
1812 Austin Flint 19th century heart research pioneer
1854 Arthur Rimbaud France, poet/adventurer (Illuminations)
1859 John Dewey philosopher, educational theorist/writer (Learn by doing)
1874 Charles Edward Ives Danbury Ct, composer (Holliday Quick Step)
1874 Viscount Palmerston (Whig) British PM (1855-65)
1889 Margaret Dumont actress-Marx Brothers' foil
1908 Arlene Francis Boston Mass, radio/TV hostess (What's My Line?)
1911 Will Rogers Jr actor (Down to Earth)
1913 Barney Phillips St Louis Mo, actor (Dragnet, Felony Squad)
1918 Anton Diffring Koblenz Germany, actor (Assignment Vienna)
1921 Pierre Laporte Canada, journalist/statesman (Revolution Script)
1922 John Anderson Clayton Ill, actor (Virgil-Legend of Wyatt Earp)
1923 Herschel Bernardi NYC, actor (Peter Gunn, Arnie, Voice of Charlie the Tuna, The Front)
1925 Art Buchwald Mt Vernon NY, columnist/author (Have I Ever Lied to You)
1926 Ursula Happe Germany, 200m backstroke swimmer(Olympic-gold-1956)
1930 "Grandpa" Louis M Jones Niagra Ky, country singer/banjoist (Hee Haw)
1931 Mickey Mantle NY Yankee, home run slugger (1956 Triple Crown)
1932 Roosevelt Brown Virginia, NFL hall of fame tackle (NY Giants)
1934 Martin Landau actor (Mission Impossible, Space 1999, Tucker)
1934 Michael Dunn actor (Ship of Fools, "The Wild Wild West".... Dr. Miguelito Loveless)
1935 Jerry Orbach actor (Law & Order, Dirty Dancing)
1937 Juan Marichal baseball pitcher (SF Giants)
1946 Connie Chung Washington DC, news anchor (NBC, CBS)
1948 Andrei Suraikin USSR, pairs figure skater (Olympic-silver-1972)
1953 Keith Hernandez SF Calif, NY Met 1st baseman (9 golden gloves)
1953 Tom Petty Gainesville Fla, singer (Heartbreakers-Refugee)
1958 Eric Scott Hollywood Calif, actor (Ben-Waltons)

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Deaths which occurred on October 20:
1765 William August Duke of Cumberland, Engl supreme commander, dies at 44
1906 William "Buck" Ewing hall of fame catcher (NY Giants), dies at 67
1954 Willie Shaw race car driver (Indy 500-1937, 39, 40), dies at 51
1964 Herbert Hoover 31st president of US, dies in NY at 90
1968 Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux TV preacher, dies at 84
1972 Harlow Shapley discoverer of the Sun's position in the galaxy, dies
1989 Anthony Quayle, actor (Moses, Operation Crossbow), dies at 76
1990 Joel McCrea, actor (Ramrod), dies of pulmonary complications at 84
1994 Burt Lancaster, actor (Elmer Gantry), dies of heart attack at 80
2003 Jack Elam (82), character actor and favorite Western villain
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001181/

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Take A Moment To Remember
GWOT Casualties

Iraq
20-Oct-2003 1 | US: 1 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Staff Sergeant Paul J. Johnson Fallujah - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - ambush

20-Oct-2004 1 | US: 1 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Sergeant Douglas E. Bascom Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire


Afghanistan
A GOOD DAY


http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
//////////
Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://soldiersangels.org/heroes/index.php

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On this day...
0480 BC Greeks defeat the Persians in a naval battle at Salamis.
1097 1st Crusaders arrive in Antioch
1349 Pope Clement VI condemns the flagellant movement
1600 Battle of Sekigahara sets Tokugawa clan as Japan's rulers (shoguns)
1740 Maria Theresa became ruler of Austria, Hungary & Bohemia
1803 US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase
1817 1st Mississippi showboat leaves Nashville on maiden voyage
1818 49th parallel established as the border between US & Canada
1818 US & Britain agree to joint control of Oregon country
1847 Little William Nelman poisons his grandpa
1883 Treaty of Ancon, Peru cedes Tarapaca to Chile
1888 Chicago & All America baseball teams play exhibition in Auckland, NZ
1899 Columbia (US) beats Shamrock (England) in 11th America's Cup
1903 US wins disputed boundary between the District of Alaska & Canada
1905 Great General Strike in Russia begins; lasts 11 days
1906 Dr Lee DeForest demonstrates his radio tube
1910 1st appearance of cork centered baseball in World Series (World Series #7)
1911 Roald Amundsen sets out on race to South Pole
1930 British White Paper restricts Jews from buying Arab land
1942 "Durham Manifesto" calls for fundamental changes in race relations
1944 30 blocks of Cleveland OH burn after a liquid gas factory explodes
1944 US 1st army wins battle of Aachen
1944 US forces under Gen Douglas MacArthur return to the Philippines
1945: Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon form the Arab League to present a unified front against the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.
1946 Frank Seno returns kickoff 105 yd, Chicago Cards vs NY Giants
1947 HUAC opens hearings into alleged Communist influence in Hollywood
1955 Yanks begin 16-game exhibition in Japan
1956 58ø F (15ø C), Esperanza Station, Antarctica (Antarctic record high) (More proof of global warming!)
1956 Hannes Lindemann begins journey across Atlantic in a 17' craft
1960 1st fully mechanized post office opened, Providence, RI
1960 Ralph Houk replaces Casey Stengel as Yankee manager
1963 Jim Brown sets NFL single-season rushing record, 1,863 yds
1963 S Africa begins trial of Nelson Mandela & 8 others on conspiracy
1964 Riot at Rolling Stones show in Paris (150 arrested)
1967 7 men are convicted of civil rights violations in Meridan Miss
1967 All white fed jury convicts 7 in murder of 3 civil rights workers
1968 Jacqueline Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis
1973 Arab oil-producing nations ban oil exports to the United States, following the outbreak of Arab-Israeli war.
1973 Sat Night Massacre, Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox dismissed by Solicitor Gen Bork, AG Richardson & Deputy AG Ruckelshaus resigned
1976 70 die as Norwegian tanker Frosta collides with George Prince
1976 NY Nets Julius "Dr J" Erving sold to the Phila 76ers
1977 3 members of rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd die in charter plane crash
1979 John F Kennedy Library dedicated in Boston
1981 3 members of Weather underground arrested for armored truck robbery
1982 Billy Martin fired as manager of the Oakland A's
1982 St Louis Cards beat Mil Brewers, 4 games to 3 in 79th World Series
1983 IBM-PC DOS Version 2.1 released
1984 Islander's Mike Bossy's 30th career hat trick-4 goals
1987 10 die as Air Force jet crashed into a Ramada Inn near Indianapolis
1987 Subway gunman Bernhard Goetz sentenced to 6 months in jail
1988 Britain ends suspects right to remain silent in crackdown on IRA
1988 LA Dodgers beat Oakland A's in 85th World Series 4 games to 1
1988 Man armed with explosives blows self up in 125 St subway station (NYC)
1988 Reggie Rogers, Det Lion's # 1 pick, kills 3 by driving intoxicated
1989 US Senate impeaches US District Judge Alcee L Hastings
1990 3 members of 2 Live Crew acquitted on obscenity charges in Florida
1990 Antiwar protest marches begin in 20 US cities (US-Iraq)
1990 Cincinatti Reds sweep Oakland A's in the 87th World Series
1997 US accuses Microsoft of violating pact forcing IE browser on computers using Windows 95
2000 A former U.S. Army sergeant pleaded guilty to participating in a terrorist plot against Americans. His testimony directly linked Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden to the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
2001 Nat’l. Sec. Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, and Sec. of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, appear on Al Jazeera network to repeat that the war on terrorism is not a war on Islam.
2002 Yao Ming (22), a 7-foot-5 basketball player from China, arrived in Texas to join the Houston Rockets
2002 In Iraq President Saddam Hussein issued an amnesty to all political prisoners and exiles to mark his perfect 100 percent uncontested election.
2004 Lebanon’s PM Rafik Hariri resigned, dissolved his Cabinet and made the surprise announcement that he would not try to form the next government.

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

Guatemala : Revolution Day/D¡a de la Revoluci¢n (1944)
Kenya : Jomo Kenyatta Day
Getting the World to Beat a Path to Your Door Week (Day 6)
National Shampoo Week (Day 6)
Auto Battery Safety Month
National Brandied Fruit Day
International Marine Travel Month
National Sarcastics' Awareness Month
Clergy Appreciation Month
National Cookie Month! (Cookies will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no cookies.)

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Religious Observances
Buddhist-Laos : End of Buddhist Fast
Christian : Commemoration of St Bertilla Boscardin
Christian : Feast of St Irene
Old Catholic : Commemoration of St John Cantius (now 12/23)

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Religious History
1802 Birth of Ernst W. Hengstenberg, German O.T. scholar. An outspoken defender of evangelical Christianity against the rationalism of his day, Hengstenberg's most significant writing was his four-volume "Christology of the Old Testament."
1828 Birth of American lawyer Horatio Gates Spafford. In 1873, upon learning of the drowning of his four daughters following a ship collision in the Atlantic, Spafford penned the lines to the hymn, "It is Well With My Soul."
1892 Birth of Harry Dixon Loes, sacred music educator. A writer of gospel songs and choruses, it was Loes who composed the hymn tune REDEEMER ("Up Calvary's Mountain, One Dreadful Morn").
1908 Birth of Stuart Hamblen, country songwriter who flourished during the 1950s. His best-remembered Christian songs include "Known Only to Him," "Beyond the Sunset," and "It Is No Secret."
1957 English apologist C.S. Lewis shared his longing for heaven in a letter: 'It'll be nice when we all wake up from this life, which has indeed something like a nightmare about it.'

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

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Stay-At-Home Mom Goes on Strike

Oct 20, 9:39 AM (ET)

By The Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ind. (AP) - A stay-at-home mom is on strike - giving up her daily chores until her family gives her more help around the house.
Regina Stevenson, 41, sat on a lawn chair Tuesday on the sidewalk outside her home in Frankfort, 20 miles southeast of Lafayette, with a sign saying "Mom on Strike."

Stevenson has four children, ranging in age from 7 to 19. The youngest three live at home with her and her husband, Dennis, along with their daughter-in-law and grandson.
Stevenson says the large household means doing a lot of laundry, cooking, cleaning and gardening.
"I do everything except bring home the paycheck," she said, crediting her husband for that contribution.

Stevenson said her children are good kids and that her husband keeps odd hours and can't always pitch in.
But she said she wants more help around the house and that she won't be cleaning, cooking or doing other chores until they clean and learn to appreciate her.
"(Stay-at-home moms) are not paid with money, and I think that you should show a little courtesy and respect for what we do," she said.

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Thought for the day :
"In making theories, always keep a window open so that you can throw one out if necessary."
Bela Lugosi