The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Operation Tiger - Slapton Sands (4/28/1944)- Apr. 29th, 2003

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq20-2.htm ^ | June 1988 | Charles B. MacDonald

[SAMWolf]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

.

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

.

.................................................................................................................................

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Slapton Sands: The Cover-up That Never Was

"It was a disaster which lay hidden from the World for 40 years . . . an official American Army cover-up."

That a massive cover-up took place is beyond doubt. And that General Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized it is equally clear."

Generals Omar N. Bradley and Eisenhower watched "the murderous chaos" and "were horrified and determined that details of their own mistakes would be buried with their men."

"Relatives of the dead men have been misinformed -- and even lied to -- by their government. "

It was "a story the government kept quiet ... hushed up for decades ... a dirty little secret of World War II."

What was that terrible event so heinous as to prompt those accusations of perfidy 43 years later from the British news media from some American newspapers and in a particularly antagonistic three-part report from the local news of the ABC affiliate in Washington D. C. WJLA-TV?

It was two hours after midnight on 28 April, 1944. Since the moon had just gone down, visibility was fair. The sea was calm.

A few hours earlier, in daylight, assault forces of the U S 4th Infantry Division had gone ashore on Slapton Sands, a stretch of beach along the south coast of England that closely resembled a beach on the French coast of Normandy, code-named Utah, where a few weeks later U.S. troops were to storm ashore as part of history's largest and most portentous amphibious assault: D-Day

The assault at Slapton Sands was known as Exercise Tiger, one of several rehearsals conducted in preparation for the momentous invasion to come. So vital was the exercise of accustoming the troops to the combat conditions they were soon to face that commanders had ordered use of live naval and artillery fire, which could be employed because British civilians had long ago been relocated from the region around Slapton Sands. Individual soldiers also had live ammunition for their rifles and machine guns.



In those early hours of 28 April off the south coast in Lyme Bay, a flotilla of eight LSTs (landing ship, tank) was plowing toward Slapton Sands, transporting a follow-up force of engineers and chemical and quartermaster troops not scheduled for assault but to be unloaded in orderly fashion along with trucks, amphibious trucks, jeeps and heavy engineering equipment.

Out of the darkness, nine swift German torpedo boats suddenly appeared. On routine patrol out of the French port of Cherbourg, the commanders had learned of heavy radio traffic in Lyme Bay. Ordered to investigate, they were amazed to see what they took to be a flotilla of eight destroyers. They hastened to attack.

German torpedoes hit three of the LSTs. One lost its stern but eventually limped into port. Another burst into flames, the fire fed by gasoline in the vehicles aboard. A third keeled over and sank within six minutes.

There was little time for launching lifeboats. Trapped below decks, hundreds of soldiers and sailors went down with the ships. Others leapt into the sea, but many soon drowned, weighted down by water-logged overcoats and in some cases pitched forward into the water because they were wearing life belts around their waists rather than under their armpits. Others succumbed to hypothermia in the cold water.



When the waters of the English Channel at last ceased to wash bloated bodies ashore, the toll of the dead and missing stood at 198 sailors and 551 soldiers, a total of 749, the most costly training incident involving U.S. forces during World War II.

Allied commanders were not only concerned about the loss of life and two LSTs -- which left not a single LST as a reserve for D-Day -- but also about the possibility that the Germans had taken prisoners who might be forced to reveal secrets about the upcoming invasion. Ten officers aboard the LSTs had been closely involved in the invasion planning and knew the assigned beaches in France; there was no rest until those 10 could be accounted for: all of them drowned.

A subsequent official investigation revealed two factors that may have contributed to the tragedy -- a lack of escort vessels and an error in radio frequencies.

Although there were a number of British picket ships stationed off the south coast, including some facing Cherbourg, only two vessels were assigned to accompany the convoy -- a corvette and a World War I-era destroyer. Damaged in a collision, the destroyer put into port, and a replacement vessel came to the scene too late.



Because of a typographical error in orders, the U.S. LSTs were on a radio frequency different from the corvette and the British naval headquarters ashore. When one of the picket ships spotted German torpedo boats soon after midnight, a report quickly reached the British corvette but not the LSTs. Assuming the U.S. vessels had received the same report, the commander of the corvette made no effort to raise them.

Whether an absence of either or both of those factors would have had any effect on the tragic events that followed would be impossible to say -- but probably not. The tragedy off Slapton Sands was simply one of those cruel happenstances of war.

Meanwhile, orders went out imposing the strictest secrecy on all who knew or might learn of the tragedy, including doctors and nurses who treated the survivors. There was no point in letting the enemy know what he had accomplished, least of all in affording any clue that might link Slapton Sands to Utah Beach.

Nobody ever lifted that order of secrecy, for by the time D-Day had passed, the units subject to the order had scattered. Quite obviously, in any case, the order no longer had any legitimacy particularly after Gen. Eisenhower's Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, in July 1944 issued a press release telling of the tragedy. Notice of it was printed, among other places, in the soldier newspaper, Stars & Stripes.


The long beach at Slapton and its evacuated hinterland was the great practice ground for the invasion of Europe. During many months U.S. forces attacked with heavy bombardment and live ammunition in large-scale maneuvers.

With the end of the war, the tragedy off Slapton Sands -- like many another wartime events involving high loss of life, such as the sinking of a Belgian ship off Cherbourg on Christmas Eve, 1944, in which more than 800 American soldiers died--received little attention. There were nevertheless references to the tragedy in at least three books published soon after the war, including a fairly detailed account by Capt. Harry C. Butcher (Gen. Eisenhower's former naval aide) in My Three Years With Eisenhower (1946).

The story was also covered in two of the U.S. Army's unclassified official histories: Cross-Channel Attack (1951) by Gordon A. Harrison and Logistical Support of the Armies Volume I (1953) by Roland G. Ruppenthal. It was also related in one of the official U.S. Navy histories, The Invasion of France and Germany (1957) by Samuel Eliot Morrison.

In 1954, 10 years after D-Day, U.S. Army authorities unveiled a monument at Slapton Sands honoring the people of the farms, villages and towns of the region "who generously left their homes and their lands to provide a battle practice area for the successful assault in Normandy in June 1944." During the course of the ceremony, the U.S. commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Gen. Alfred M. Guenther, told of the tragedy that befell Exercise Tiger.



All the while, a detailed and unclassified account of the tragedy rested in the National Archives. It had been prepared soon after the end of the war by the European Theater Historical Section.

For anybody who took even a short time to investigate, there clearly had been no cover-up other than the brief veil of secrecy raised to avoid compromise of D-Day. Yet, in at least one case -- WJLA-TV in Washington -- the news staff pursued its accusations of cover-up even after being informed by the Army's Public Affairs Office well before the first program aired about the various publications including the official histories that had told of the tragedy.

[SAMWolf]

Yet why, a long 43 years after the event, the sudden spate of news stories and accusations?

That had its beginnings in 1968 when a former British policeman, Kenneth Small, moved to a village just off Slapton Sands and bought and operated a small guest house. Recovering from a nervous breakdown, Mr. Small took long walks along the beach and began to find relics of war: unexpended cartridges, buttons and fragments from uniforms. Talking with people who had long lived in the region, he learned of the heavy loss of life in Exercise Tiger.

Why, Mr. Small asked himself, was there no memorial to those who had died? There was that monument the U.S. Army had erected to the British civilians, but there was no mention of the dead Americans. To Mr. Small, that looked like an official cover-up.

From local fishermen; he learned of a U.S. Sherman tank that lay beneath the waters a mile offshore, a tank lost not in Exercise Tiger but in another rehearsal a year earlier. At considerable personal expense, Mr. Small managed to salvage the tank and place it on the plinth just behind the beach as a memorial to those Americans who had died. The memorial was dedicated in a ceremony on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.

That ceremony prompted the first spurt of accusations by the British and American press of a cover-up, but they were soon silenced by publication of two detailed articles about the tragedy: one in American Heritage magazine co-authored by a former medical officer, Dr. Ralph C. Greene, who had been stationed at one of the hospitals that treated the injured; the other in a respected British periodical, After the Battle. Those were carefully researched, authoritative and comprehensive articles; if anybody had consulted them three years later, they would put to rest any charges of a cover-up and various other unfounded allegations.

Kenneth Small, meanwhile, wanted more. Although persuaded at last that there had been no cover-up, he nevertheless wanted an official commemoration by the U.S. government to those who had died. Receiving an invitation from an ex-Army major who had commanded the tank battalion whose lost tank Mr. Small had salvaged, he went to the United States where the ex-major introduced him to his congresswoman, Beverly Byron (D-Md.), who as it turned out is the daughter of Gen. Eisenhower's former naval aide, Capt. Butcher.

With assistance from the Pentagon, Rep. Byron arranged for a private organization, the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army in Colorado, where the 4th Infantry Division is stationed, to provide a plaque honoring the American dead. She also attached a rider to a congressional bill calling for official U.S. participation in a ceremony unveiling the plaque alongside Ken Small's tank at Slapton Sands.

Information about that pending ceremony scheduled for 15 November, 1987, set the news media off. There were accusations not only of a cover-up, but also of heavy casualties inflicted by U.S. soldiers, who presumably did not know they had live ammunition in their weapons, firing on other soldiers. Nobody questioned why soldiers would bother to open fire if they thought they had only blank ammunition ... or why a soldier would not know the difference between live ammunition and blanks when one has bullets, the other not. Nor was there actually any evidence of anybody being killed by small arms fire.

There surfaced a new an allegation made earlier by a local resident, Dorothy Seekings, who maintained that as a young woman she had witnessed the burial of "hundreds" of Americans in a mass grave (she subsequently changed the story to individual graves). Dorothy Seekings also claimed that the bodies are still there.

At long last, somebody in the news media -- a correspondent for BBC television--thought to query the farmer on whose land the dead are presumably buried. He had owned and lived on that land all his life, said the farmer, and nobody was ever buried there.

That tallies with U.S. Army records that show that in the first few days of May 1944, soon after the tragedy, hundreds of the dead were interred temporarily in a World War I U.S. military cemetery at nearby Blackwood. Following the war, those bodies were either moved to a new World War II U.S. military cemetery at Cambridge or, at the request of next of kin, shipped to the United States.

Yet many like Ken Small continued to wonder why it took the U.S. government 43 years to honor those who died off Slapton Sands. Those who wondered failed to understand U.S. policy for wartime memorials.

Soon after World War I, Congress created an independent agency, the American Battle Monuments Commission, to construct overseas U.S. military cemeteries, to erect within them appropriate memorials and to maintain them. Anybody who has seen any of those cemeteries, either those of World War I or of World War II, recognizes that no nation honors its war dead more appropriately than does the United States.

Only the American Battle Monuments Commission--not the U.S. Army, Air Force or Navy -- has authority to erect official memorials to American dead, and the American Battle Monuments Commission limits its memorials to the cemeteries, which avoids a proliferation of monuments around the world. Private organizations, such as division veterans' associations, are nevertheless free to erect unofficial memorials but are responsible for all costs, including maintenance.

Soon after the end of the war, veterans of the 1st Engineer Special Brigade, which incurred the heaviest losses in Exercise Tiger, did just that, erecting a monument on Omaha Beach to their dead, presumably to include those who died at Utah Beach and those who died in preparation for D-Day.

At Cambridge, there stands an impressive official memorial erected by the American Battle Monuments Commission to all those Americans who died during World War II while stationed in the British Isles. That includes the 749 who died in the tragedy off Slapton Sands, and there one finds the engraved names of the missing.

Long before 15 November, 1987, the U.S. government had already honored those soldiers and sailors who died in Exercise Tiger.

[SAMWolf]

Operation TIGER was held 22-30 April 1944, at Slapton Sands, England. It was the major training dress rehearsal for the 4th Infantry Division's assault at Utah Beach, Normandy, France on D-Day, 6 June 1944. In the early morning hours of 28 April 1944, eight Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs) were in Lyme Bay, heading towards Slapton Sands, with the assault's follow on force of combat service support soldiers. The losses sustained during this exercise were a closely held secret until the end of D-Day invasion to keep the Germans from learning about allied invasion plans. The 3206th Quartermaster Service Company sustained the heaviest losses of any unit the night of 27-28 April 1944. According to the historian Charles MacDonald, in an article written for the June 1988 Army magazine, "When the waters of the English Channel at last ceased to wash bloated bodies ashore, the toll of the dead and missing stood at 198 sailors and 551 soldiers, a total of 749, the most costly training incident involving U.S. forces during World War II."



During the buildup phase of TIGER, eight LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank) in a convoy were caught by German E-boats which torpedoed and sank two, causing a loss of life greater than that later suffered by the assault troops during initial attack on Utah Beach. The final account of this incident must take into account naval records not available in the European Theater, but Army records indicate that the following took place.

During the night of 27-28 April (1944), eight LSTs in convoy T-4 were proceeding at about five knots per hour off Portland. The craft were scheduled to participate in the buildup phase of the exercise. They had travelled [sic] almost due east of their points of departure, Plymouth and Dartmouth, had turned around, and were proceeding westerly toward Bruxham [sic]. They were loaded with troops of the 1st Engr Sp Brig, the 4th Div, and VII Corps. Presumably the LSTs were escorted by one corvette, but this vessel does not seem to have been in the vicinity during the action. The night was dark but clear, with no moon. At least one LST was equipped with radar and reported that two unknown vessels were approaching, but it was assumed that these were craft belonging to the convoy.

Times given for the attack vary between 0130 hours and 0204 hours 28 April. The attackers, believed to have been E-boats, were never positively identified, and it is not known whether the two picked up by the radar constituted the whole enemy force. LST 507, the first attacked, was hit by several torpedoes which failed to explode, then was set afire by a direct torpedo hit. Another struck five minutes later. The enemy craft straffed [sic] the decks with machine guns, and fired on men who had jumped into the water. LST 507 began to settle.



About the same time, LST 531 was hit and set afire. Flares were seen to drop, but LST officers did not know whether the planes were enemy or Allied. Some survivors stated that they heard anti-aircraft fire, but there is no evidence of bombs being dropped. LST 511 was struck twice by torpedos [sic] which failed to explode.

About 0210, LST 289 was hit by a torpedo which destroyed the crew's quarters, the rudder and the rear guns. The commanding officer of the 478th Amphibian Truck Company (TC), a 1st Brigade unit, suggested to LST officers that the vessel's ramp be put down and personnel be taken off in the company's dukws (amphibious trucks). This plan was considered but abandoned when flooding was brought under control. LCVPs (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) were put over the side to steer the LST, and it made Dartmouth under its own power at 1430 hours.

Other LSTs put on full speed and escaped, although LST 515, according to Army records, turned and picked up some survivors several hours later. LSTs 507 and 531 continued to burn and settle. Deck guns were not manned, although some shots were fired by Navy personnel. The craft burned for about two hours, LST 531 sank, but the exact time is uncertain. At 0400 a British destroyer arrived and picked up survivors. Its captain ordered that LST 507, which had settled until only its bow was above water, be sunk. The enemy did not suffer any known casualties or damage.

Most of the casualties were from LST 531. There were only 290 survivors of 744 soldiers and 282 sailors. Aboard LST 507 there were 13 dead and 22 wounded. The 1st (Engineer Special) Brigade suffered most heavily in the action with 413 dead and 16 wounded. The 3206th Quartermaster Service Company was virtually wiped out. Of 251 officers and men, 201 were killed or wounded. The 557th Quartermaster Railhead Company also had heavy losses, 69 casualties in all. A complete list of casualties is not available, but Army records, possibly not complete, state that 749 were killed and more than 300 either injured or suffering from severe exposures



The E-boat attack disclosed a number of deficiencies which were rectified for the invasion. Among them were the following:

(1) Lifebelts issued were of the self-inflating type. In many cases they were improperly used. Some belts contained defective inflating capsules or none at all. Contents of others had been discharged, either intentionally or by accident. In marshalling areas before the invasion, troops were impressed with the necessity of retaining the capsules, and were well briefed in the use of the life belts.

(2) The general alarm system aboard the LSTs was not generally understood, although instructions were posted and non-commissioned officers were instructed to brief the men. This, however, did not result in any loss of life, since the men had up to a half hour to reach the deck and there was no difficulty in getting there.

(3) Only two of six lifeboats on LST 507 were lowered. On some of the boats, release pins were bent by the concussion and had to be forced. Of the boats that got into the water, one, with a capacity of 40 to 60 men, was occupied by 80 to 100, and capsized. Drills aboard invasion craft helped to minimize this danger.

Individuals on the LSTs reacted in different ways. According to survivors, some even managed to keep their sense of humor and lept over the rail shouting, "Dry run!" Other men though at first that it was all a part of the problem (exercise).

In general, discipline on deck was poor, due in part to the fact that the loudspeaker systems were put out of order by the explosions and no commands could be given over them. Some men lost valuable time searching for their duffle bags. In some cases there was panic, and men went over the side before the order to abandon ship was given, and were strafed by the E-boats' machine guns fire. Col Eugene M Caffey, 1st (Engineer Special) Brigade commanding officer, later commented, "Officers and NCOs cannot expect their men to remain cool when they themselves seem to go completely crazy."

The unfortunate sinking of the LSTs greatly marred the buildup and supply phases of the exercise, reducing the beach party practically to its assault phase elements. Survivors were warned to keep all details a secret, and no account was released until after the invasion. Critiques of the mounting and assault indicate that results otherwise were fairly satisfactory, although there was a tendency on the part of officers and men to treat TIGER as another problem in a long series. By this time exercises had become routine, practicularly [sic] for the 1st (Engineer Special) Brigade, which had taken part in 15 exercises from January through April. Observers reported that many officers were inclined to dismiss shortcomings as unimportant, and to feel that when the invasion took place, deficiencies shown in TIGER and other exercises would no longer exist.

Mounting, in particular, showed great improvement, particularly in regard to the operation of the camps. There were a few flaws; such as lack of sufficient briefing tents, and the fact that a large shipment of jerricans had just arrived with each can painted yellow so that it was easily seen from the air. Security in the camps was improved, although a lack of uniformity in the pass system was criticized. Camouflage was better than in previous exercises, and signal installations were found to be adequate.

During the period 1-18 May, units which had lost heavily in personnel and equipment during TIGER and the E-boat attack were re-equipped and replacements were secured. The 3206th Quartermaster Service Company, which had been practically wiped out, was replaced by the 363d Quartermaster Service Company, and the 557th Quartermaster Railhead Company, which had lost very heavily, was replaced by the 562d Quartermaster Railhead Company.

Additional Sources:

www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil
www.combinedops.com
www.discounttrainsonline.com
www.army.mil
www.history.navy.mil
www.dwightdeisenhower.com

[SAMWolf]

The subsequent report from Rear Admiral John Hall dated May 5 offered profound regrets to the Americans. The main cause of the tragic incident was attributed to inordinate pressures on staff. Factors included the concurrency of Operation Tiger and Operation Fabius and actions against enemy destroyers on the 25th and 26th and a further planned action on the 28th. Under these extraordinary circumstances communications and signals were delayed and some reporting was incomplete.

Lessons were learned but the appalling loss of life had little or no compensating benefit to the allied landings at Normandy. However recommendations included;

• using larger escort forces if available
• the need for rescue craft during any large scale landing
• ensuring that vital information on enemy contacts was disseminated quickly
• introducing standard procedures and special communication circuits for each Operation including the use of the same radio wavelengths
• reinforcing the message for all hands not to look at flares or fires ... to do so reduced ability to see objects in the dark
• limiting the amount of fuel carried to that needed for the operation itself to reduce combustible material and thereby fire risk
• making rifles and pistols more generally available to fire on E-boats when they paced close aboard especially when guns could not depress sufficiently
• making life boats and life rafts as near ready for lowering as possible
• issuing illumination rockets to help slow moving large ships locate E-boats in darkness
• improving fire fighting equipment including the installation of manually operated pumps for LSTs and other ships carrying large amounts of inflammable material
• providing training in the use of the kapok life preserver jacket in preference to the CO2 single type. The former was more effective in keeping heads above water
• loosening boot laces where an order to abandon ship seemed likely to make it easier to remove heavy waterlogged boots in the water.

When 10 "bigots" were reported missing there was a strong possibility that the plans for the reinvasion of Europe had been seriously and possibly fatally compromised. At the time of Operation Tiger the date for D-Day was not known even to Eisenhower but the 10 officers did know the location of the invasion beaches ... information of vital interest to the enemy. A vast search of Lyme Bay was undertaken and by a miracle the bodies of all ten officers were recovered whilst 100s of others were, at least for the moment, lost at sea. Although the loss of the "bigot" officers was regrettable the relief amongst the allied planners, to know that the their invasion plans had not been compromised, can only be imagined.

To the outside world the disaster of Tiger was kept a closely guarded secret. No official communique was issued and the staff of the 228th Sherbourne Hospital in Dorset, who received hundreds of immersion and burns cases, were simply told to ask no questions and warned that they would be subject to court martial if they discussed the tragedy.

The total of 639 American killed and missing was 10 times the actual losses on Utah beach on June 6 1944.

[SAMWolf]

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[SAMWolf]

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning SAM, everyone.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Feather.

[snippy_about_it]

Good Morning Sam.

[GailA]

Coffee's on

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Snippy.

[SAMWolf]

OHHHHHHH! And Biscuits and Gravy!!! Thanks GailA.

Good Morning.

[GailA]

Today's graphic

[SAMWolf]

I like the first graphic just a ittle moire in the morning. LOL

Thank for taking the time to post your graphic of the day each morning.

[SAMWolf]

Current Military News
Job Applications

An Iraqi man fills out a job application with the assistance of a U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldier in downtown Baghdad, Iraq, April 21. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin P. Bell


A soldier stands guard in downtown Baghdad as Iraqis wait to fill out job applications April 21. The Civil/Military Cooperation Center is looking for translators, electricians, plumbers and other skilled laborers to help rebuild Baghdad. The CMCC has been set up to bring together the knowledge and resources of the military and government and charitable relief organizations to help the Iraqi people. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin P. Bell


A soldier reviews a job application that has been filled out by a Baghdad resident on April 21. The Civil/Military Cooperation Center is looking for translators, electricians, plumbers and other skilled laborers to help rebuild Baghdad. The CMCC has been set up to bring together the knowledge and resources of the military and government and charitable relief organizations to help the Iraqi people. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin P. Bell


Iraqi men fill out job applications with the assistance of U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldiers in downtown Baghdad, Iraq on April 21. The Civil/Military Cooperation Center is looking for translators, electricians, plumbers and other skilled laborers to help rebuild Baghdad. The CMCC has been set up to bring together the knowledge and resources of the military and government and charitable relief organizations to help the Iraqi people. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin P. Bell


An Iraqi woman fills out a job application with the assistance of a U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldier in downtown Baghdad, Iraq on April 21. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin P. Bell


An Iraqi man is searched before he heads off for a job interview at the Civil/Military Cooperation Center in downtown Baghdad on April 21. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin P. Bell


A U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldier conducts a job interview with an Iraqi man in downtown Baghdad April 21. The Civil/Military Cooperation Center is looking for translators, electricians, plumbers and other skilled laborers to help rebuild Baghdad.


A U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldier conducts a job interview with an Iraqi man in downtown Baghdad, Iraq on April 21. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin P. Bell

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt"

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt originated from the drawing board of Alexander Kartveli of the Seversky Aircraft Corporation (later renamed Republic Aviation). The Thunderbolt is consistently rated as one of the three outstanding USAAF fighters of World War II-- rated right up there along with the North American P-51 Mustang and the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The P-47 was built in larger numbers than any other American fighter, 15,683 examples rolling off the assembly line before production finally ended.

This multi-role fighter, affectionately know as the JUG, was the largest, heaviest, most destructive, single engine aircraft used during World War II. The P-47 excelled in close ground support and aerial combat.

At one time during the heady days of 1944, there were no less than 31 front-line fighter groups flying Thunderbolts. Thunderbolts fought on all fronts in World War 2, including Alaska. Approximately two-thirds of all Thunderbolts built actually reached operational units overseas. In two and a half years of combat, from March 1943 to August 1945, these Thunderbolts flew over half a million combat missions, destroying over 12,000 enemy aircraft both in the air and on the ground, as against a total of 5222 Thunderbolts lost, only 824 of them in the heat of combat. This corresponded to 54 percent of the Thunderbolts which went overseas being eventually lost either to enemy action or to accidents, which was a fairly typical attrition rate for a wartime fighter. Losses of Thunderbolts on operational missions were 0.7 percent of those dispatched, an exceptionally low figure.

Throughout WW II, the P-47 served in nearly every active war theater as well as for the forces of numerous Allied nations.

By the end of the war, the Thunderbolt had established an overall ratio of air-to-air combat victories to losses of 4.6 to 1. Thunderbolts dropped 132,482 tons of bombs, fired 59,567 rockets, and expended 135 million belts of machine gun ammunition.

SPECIFICIATIONS:
Contractor: Republic Aviation Corp
Primary Function: Pursuit (fighter)
Crew: One
Unit Cost: $85,000 -- P-47D
Wing Span: 40 feet - 9 inches
Length: 36 feet - 2 inches
Gross Weight: Over 20,000 lbs
POWER PLANT: Pratt & Whitney R2800, Turbo-Supercharged, 18 cylinder air cooled radial engine rate at over 2,000 horsepower.

Performance
Speed: 433 mph (697 km/h)
Ceiling: 42,000 ft -- P-47D
Range: 1,725 miles (2,776 km)

Armaments:
Eight Browning .50 caliber wing mounted machine guns
Over 2,000 lbs of other ordinance such as bombs, rockets and napalm.

DESIGNER: Alexander Kartveli
FIRST FLIGHT: May 6th, 1941
TOTAL BUILT: 15,683

WORLD WAR II COMBAT RECORD:
Enemy Vehicles Destroyed: 160,000
Enemy Aircraft Destroyed: 11,874
Enemy Trains Destroyed: 9,000

[SAMWolf]

This multi-role fighter, affectionately know as the JUG, was the largest, heaviest, most destructive, single engine aircraft used during World War II.

Not as glamorous as the P-51 Mustang but a classic plane in it's own right. The ThunderBolt II (A-10) carries on the Ground support tradition. Thanks Johnny for your AirPower posts.

[Jen]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!

To be removed from this list, please send me a blank private reply with "REMOVE" in the subject line! Thanks! Jen

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Jen.

[Jen]

Good morning Sam! Did you hear about the rocking and rolling in Georgia this morning??? I thought it was my big fat cat jumping in bed with me and some thunder. hahahaha

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on April 29:
1584 Melchior Teschner composer
1636 Esaias Reusner composer
1642 Christian Weise German writer (Niederländische Bauer)
1660 Matthias Henriksen Schacht composer
1667 John Arbuthnot Scottish writer (Alexander Pope)
1727 Jean-Georges Noverre French dancer/choreographer (ballet d'action)
1745 Oliver Ellsworth 3rd Chief Justice Supreme Court (1796-1800)
1771 Matthaus Stegmayer composer
1780 Charles Nodier French writer (La fée aux miettes)
1783 David Cox English painter (Treatise on landscape painting)
1806 Earnest Freiherr von Feuchtersleben Austria, physician/philosopher
1808 Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch German politician/reformer [or 1883]
1815 Abram Duryee Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1890
1818 Alexander II [N Romanov] Tsar of Russia (1855-81)
1830 Adolph Sutro San Francisco mayor, built Cliff House, railways, tunnels
1842 Karl Millöcker Austria conductor/composer (Beggar Student)
1854 Henri Poincaré France, mathematician/astronomer/philosopher
1855 Anatol K Liadov Russian composer (Bewitched Lake)
1855 Edmund van der Straeten composer
1857 Edouard Rod France/Swiss writer (Mishel' Tes'e)
1857 Frantisek Ondricek composer
1860 Lorado Taft US, sculptor (Black Hawk)
1862 Vittorio Mario Vanzo composer
1863 William Randolph Hearst publisher (San Francisco Examiner, Seattle P-I)
1871 Louis William Stern German/US philosopher (Intelligence of Children)
1872 Eyvind Alnaes composer
1873 Alida J M Tartaud-Klein actress/stage star (Rotterdam Stage)
1879 Sir Thomas Beecham England, composer, founded London Philharmonic
1882 Hendrik N Werkman painter/printer/resistance fighter (Hot printing)
1885 Wallingford Riegger Albany GA, composer (Bacchangle)
1885 Egon E Kisch Czechoslovakia, writer/journalist (Rasende Reporter)
1893 Elisaveta Bagrjana [Beltsheva], Bulgaria, poet
1893 Harold C Urey Walkerton IN, physicist (discovered Deuterium, Nobel 1934)
1894 Paul Hörbiger Budapest Hungary, actor (Liebelei)
1895 Malcolm Sargent English conductor (Promenade Concerts)
1896 Jacques Leon Wolfe composer
1896 Walter Mehring writer
1899 Duke [Edward Kennedy] Ellington Washington DC, bandleader (Take the A Train, It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing))
1899 Karl Yngve Skold composer
1899 Natalie Talmadge actress (Our Hospitality)
19-- Greg Christian rocker (Testament-Souls of Black)
19-- Mark Kendall rocker (Great White-Twice Shy)
19-- Richard Kline New York NY, actor (Larry-3's Company, Dr. Mark Benson-Bold & the Beautiful)
1901 Emperor Hirohito of Japan (1926-89)
1901 George Osborne Sayles historian
1902 Theodore Chanler composer
1903 Frank Parker New York NY, singer (Arthur Godfrey Show, Masquerade Party)
1904 Russ Morgan Scranton PA, orchestra leader (Welcome Aboard)
1904 Enrico Mattei Italian oil magnate
1907 Fred Zinnemann Vienna Austria, movie director (From Here to Eternity, Day of the Jackal, Julia)
1907 Tino Rossi Ajaccio France, singer (Deux Amours, Marlene)
1908 Jack [Stewart] Williamson US, sci-fi author (Firechild, Golden Blood, Cometeers)
1908 Philippe Brun jazz trumpeter
1909 Daniel Raphael Mayer journalist/resistance leader
1909 Tom Ewell [S Yewell Tompkins] Owensboro KY, actor (Tom Ewell Show, 7 Year Itch, Adam's Rib)
1910 John Beavan newspaper editor
1912 Richard Carlson Albert Lea MN, actor (All I Desire, Flat Top, Valley of Gwangi)
1912 Italo Valenti Italian sculptor
1912 Terence de Vere White novelist/critic
1913 Jack Alexander Bently trombonist
1913 Thomas Chalmers broadcaster
1914 Ewan Roberts Edinburgh Scotland, actress (Pvt Benjamin)
1915 Donald Mills singer (Mills Brothers)
1918 Mervyn Roye Harvey cricketer (brother of Neil, Test for Australia)
1919 Celeste Holm New York NY, actress (Gentleman's Agreement, All About Eve)
1920 Edward Blishen writer teacher/broadcaster
1920 Harold Samuel Shapero Lynn MA, composer (9 Minute Opera)
1921 Cornelis de Jager Dutch astronomer (Sun)
1922 George Allen football coach (Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins)
1922 Parren J Mitchell (Representative-Democrat-MD, 1971- )
1922 Tommy Noonan Bellingham WA, actor (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Promises Promises)
1922 Toots [Jean] Thielemans Belgian/US jazz musician/composer
1923 Irvin Kershner Philadelphia PA, director (Never Say Never Again)
1923 Maxine Audley London, actress (Peeping Tom, Ricochet, House of Cards)
1924 Al Balding Toronto Ontario Canada, Canadian Tour golfer (Québec Open-1952)
1924 Renée Jeanmaire Paris France, dancer (Hans Christian Anderson)
1925 Ab Abspoel Dutch actor/director (Surprise Attack, Elevator)
1925 Danny Davis rocker (Nashville Brass
1926 Carie Meek (Representative-Democrat-FL)
1927 Dorothy Manley England, 100 meter sprint (Olympics-silver-1948)
1927 Betsy Ancker-Johnson physicist/auto company exec
1928 Big Jay McNeely rocker
1928 Carl Gardner Tyler TX, rock vocalist (Coasters-Searchin)
1929 [John] Jeremy Thorpe British MP (Liberal)
1929 Peter Joshua Sculthorpe composer
1929 Vaclav Kucera composer
1929 Walter Kempowski German writer (Tadellöser & Wolff)
1930 Alf[red Lewis] Valentine Jamaican cricket player (great West Indian lefty spinner)
1931 Aleksei Aleksandrovich Gubarev USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, 28)
1931 Anthony "Lonnie" Donegan Glasgow Scotland, skiffle vocalist/guitarist
1931 William Ball actor (Suburban Commando)
1932 Alexei A Gubarev cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, 28)
1932 King Hu film director
1932 Yevgeni Alekseyevich Zaikin Russian cosmonaut (Voshkod 2 backup)
1933 Keith Baxter South Wales, actor (Barretts at Wimpole Street)
1933 Darijan Bozic composer
1933 Raymond Earl Hill saxophonist
1933 Rod [Marvin] McKuen Oakland CA, singer/composer (Alone, Beatsville)
1934 Pedro Pires premier (Cape Verde, 1975-91)
1935 Len Weinrib New York NY, comedian (Spike Jones Show)
1935 Otto M Zykan composer
1936 April Stevens Niagara Falls NY, rock vocalist (Deep Purple)
1936 Lane Smith Memphis TN, actor (Perry-Lois & Clark, Chiefs, Nathan-V)
1936 Richard Lynch actor (Xavier-Battlestar Galactica)
1936 Zubin Mehta Bombay India, conductor (New York Philharmonic)
1936 Jacob Rothschild English banker/multi-millionaire
1940 Brian Taber cricket wicket-keeper (Australian between Grout & Marsh)
1941 Jonah Barrington British World champion squash player (1966-73)
1942 Galina Kulakova USSR, skier (Olympics-3 golds-1972)
1942 Klaus Voorman rock bassist (Manfred Mann-Mighty Quinn)
1943 Duane Allen Taylortown TX, country singer (Oak Ridge Boys-Elvira)
1944 Jim Hart Evanston IL, NFL quarterback (St Louis Cardinals)
1944 Benedikte Danish princess/daughter of Frederik IX
1945 [Thomasina] Tammi Terrell [Montgomery] singer (Ain't No Mountain High Enough)
1945 Hugh Hopper rocker (Soft Machine)
1945 Richard Warwick actor (Johnny Dangerously, Sebastine, If)
1946 Franc Roddam director (K2, Bride, Aria, Quadrophenia)
1946 John Waters Baltimore MD, director (Hairspray)
1947 Jim Ryun US, 1500 meter runner/broke 4 minute mile (Olympics-silver-1968)
1947 Tommy James singer (cri-im-son & clo-o-ver o-o-ver & o-o-ver)
1947 John[ny Laurence] Miller San Francisco CA, golfer (US Open 1973, 1974 PGA Player of the Year, British Open 1976)
1948 Reb Brown Los Angeles CA, actor (Cage, Yor, Captain America, Fast Break)
1949 Anita Dobson England, actress (Annie Watts-EastEnders)
1949 Eddie Hart US, 100 meter runner (Olympics-1972)
1949 Susan Pratt actress (Barbara Montgomery-All My Children, Claire Ramsey-Guiding Light)
1951 [Ralph] Dale Earnhardt Kannapolis NC, NASCAR driver/"The Intimidator"
1952 Deborah Van Valkenburgh Schnectady, actress (Too Close for Comfort)
1952 Nora Dunn Chicago IL, comedienne (Saturday Night Live, Miami Blues, Working Girl)
1953 Dale Earnhardt auto racer (6-time NASCAR national champion)
1953 Nikolai Nikolayevich Budarin Kirya Russia, cosmonaut (STS 71, TM-27)
1954 Bill Paxon (Representative-Republican-NY)
1954 Deborah Iyall rocker (Romeo Void)
1955 Kate Mulgrew Dubuque IA, actress (Captain Janeway-Star Trek Voyager, Heartbeat, Kate Loves a Mystery)
1955 Jerry Seinfeld comedian/actor (Seinfeld)
1956 Ron Verlin rocker (Shooting Star)
1957 Richie C Robertson rock bassist/vocalist (Fabulous Poodles)
1958 Eve Plumb Burbank, actress (Jan-Brady Bunch, I'm Gonna Get You Sucka)
1958 Michelle Pfeiffer Santa Ana CA, actress (What Lies Beneath, Up Close & Personal, Ladyhawke, Married to the Mob, Grease 2)
1958 Simon Edwards rocker (Fairground Attraction-Find My Love)
1958 Daniel Day-Lewis England, actor (Last of the Mohicans, My Left Foot)
1960 Joseph Guzaldo Chicago IL, actor (Stir Crazy)
1960 Gerard Joling Dutch singer (Love is in Your Eyes)
1960 William Lee Glasson Jr Fresno CA, PGA golfer (1985 Kemper Open)
1962 Bruce Driver Toronto Ontario Canada, NHL defenseman (New York Rangers)
1962 Dieter Hegen Kaufbeuren Germany, hockey forward (Team Germany 1998)
1962 Robert Druppers runner (world record 1 km indoor)
1965 Reggie Miller NBA player (Indiana Pacers)
1966 John VanderWal Grand Rapids MI, outfielder (Colorado Rockies)
1966 Phil Tufnell cricketer (England slow lefty & slower fieldsman)
1967 Curtis Joseph Keswick Ontario Canada, NHL goalie (Team Canada, Edmonton Oilers)
1967 Elizabeth "Betsy" McCagg Kirkland WA, rower/twin sister of Mary (Olympics-4th-92, 96)
1967 Mary McCagg Kirkland WA, rower/twin sister of Elizabeth (Olympics-4th-92, 96)
1967 Rachel Williams Greenwich Village NY, model (Absolut Vodka, Elle)
1968 Browning Nagle NFL quarterback (New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons)
1968 Carnie Wilson Los Angeles CA, rock vocalist (Wilson Phillips-Hold On)
1969 Arthur Marshall NFL wide receiver (New York Giants)
1970 Andre Agassi Las Vegas NV, tennis star (Olympics-gold-96, US Open-1994 & 1999, Wimbledon-1992)
1970 Arnaud Briand hockey forward (Team France 1998)
1970 Derrick Frazier NFL cornerback (Philadelphia Eagles)
1970 J R Phillips West Covina CA, infielder (Philadelphia Phillies)
1970 Leuea Tagoai CFL defensive end (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1970 Mark McMillian NFL cornerback (Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs)
1970 Uma Thurman Boston MA, actress (Baron Munchausen, Pulp Fiction)
1970 William Martin III Charleston SC, Finnish yachter (Olympics-23rd-1996)
1971 Sterling Hitchcock Fayetteville NC, pitcher (New York Yankees, Sea Mariners)
1972 Gwendolyn Wentland Flint MI, high jumper
1974 Alana Blahoski ice hockey forward (USA, Olympics-98)
1975 John Macready Los Angeles CA, gymnast (Olympics-5th-96)
1976 God Shammgod NBA guard (Washington Wizards)
1976 Nayla Micherif Miss Brazil-Universe (1997)
1978 Mike Bryan Oxnard CA, tennis star (USTA National 18 doubles)
1993 Aurelia Clasina Lucia Wildeboer daughter of Pieter & Mirtle

---

Deaths which occurred on April 29:
0852 Amalarius/Fortunatus/Symphosius of Metz/Lyon bishop, dies at 76
1499 John IV Dutch army leader/earl of Egmond, dies
1535 John Houghton English, executed
1676 Michiel A de Ruyter Dutch Rear-Admiral, (Newport), killed at 69
1699 Samuel Apostool vicar/theologist (Zonisten), dies at 50
1712 Juan Bautista Jose Cabanilles composer, dies at 67
1813 Christian Danner composer, dies at 55
1841 A Bertrand writer, dies
1864 Charles-Julien Brianchon math (Brianchon's theorem), dies at 80
1871 John Gelinde van Blom Fries notary/author, dies at 75
1905 Ignacio Cervantes composer, dies at 57
1918 Gavrilo Princip Bosnian murderer of arch duke Ferdinand, dies at 22
1921 Arthur Mold British cricket bowler (1893, banished for throwing), dies
1928 Henrich Federer Switzerland, writer (I Switch Off The Light), dies at 61
1935 Leroy Carr rocker, dies=
1936 Florentinus M Wibaut Amsterdam social alderman, dies at 76
1943 Joseph Achron Latvian violinist/composer (Golem suite), dies at 56
1943 Karl Adrian Wohlfart composer, dies at 68
1943 Sidney A K Keyes English poet (Foreign Gate), dies at 20
1947 Irving Fisher US economist, dies at 80
1951 Jules Verstraete [Julien G de Graef] actor (Boefje), dies at 67
1951 Ludwig J J Wittgenstein Austria/English philosopher, dies at 62
1953 Moïse Kisling Polish/French painter (La souris boiteuse), dies at 62
1954 Ernst Heldring Dutch merchant/ship owner/financier, dies at 82
1956 Nemesio Otano y Eugenio composer, dies at 75
1957 Otallo Morales composer, dies at 82
1964 Albert Saverys Flemish painter, dies at 77
1966 Eugene O'Brien actor (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), dies at 85
1967 Anthony Mann US director (El Cid, Last Frontier), dies at 60
1968 Frankie Lymon rocker (& Teenagers), dies of a drug overdose at 25
1972 Ntare V deposed King of Burundi, killed in an abortive coup
1973 Manfred Gurlitt composer, dies at 82
1975 Charles McMahon Jr US USMC lance corporal, killed in Vietnam
1975 Darwin Judge USMC-corporal, 1 of last US soldiers killed in Viet
1975 Michael John Shea USMC-Lieutenant/pilot, 1 of last soldiers killed in Vietnam
1975 William Craig Nystul USMC Captain, 1 of last US soldiers killed in Viet
1976 Wilhelm Maler composer, dies at 73
1979 Julia A Perry US composer/conductor (Soul Symphony), dies at 55
1980 Alfred Joseph Hitchcock British director (Psycho, Birds), dies at 80
1984 Marvin Gaye rocker (Sexual Healing), shot dead by his father at 45
1986 Seamus McElwaine Irish IRA-terrorist, killed at 25
1988 Andrew Cruickshank actor (Body in Library, Murder Most Foul), dies
1988 Jan Kapr composer, dies at 74
1991 Claude Gallimard French publisher, dies
1992 Mae Clarke actress (Public Enemy, Frankenstein), dies at 84
1993 Cy Howard director (Lovers & Other Strangers), dies at 77
1993 Michael Gordon actor/director (Pillow Talk), dies at 83
1993 Mick Ronson English guitarist/producer (Mott the Hoople), dies at 46
1994 Bill Quinn US actor (Quinn Brothers, Birds, Lucky Stiff), dies at 81
1994 Erik Erikson anthropologist, dies at 53
1994 Oscar Sheldon A Williams artist/critic, dies at 74
1995 Robert Gibb zoo/theme park creator, dies at 57
1996 David William Eric Davis broadcaster, dies at 87
1996 Jaime Garcia Terre poet/essayist, dies at 71
1996 Siti Hartinah Suharto wife of President Suharto of Indonesia, dies at 72
1996 Tony Hymphris political activist, dies at 45
1997 Keith Ferguson blues (Fabulous Thunderbirds), dies of overdose at 50
1997 Mike Royko columnist, dies of stroke at 64
1997 Peter Tali Coleman Governor of American Samoa (1956-61, 78-85, 89-93), dies

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 SHELTON CHARLES E. OWENSBORO KY.
RADIO CONTACT / REPORTED DIED AS POW

1966 BOSTON LEO S. CANON CITY CO.

1966 BROWN THOMAS E. DANVILLE IL.

1966 BRUCH DONALD W. JR. MONTCLAIR NJ.

1966 EGAN WILLIAM P. FORT WORTH TX.

1966 MULLEN WILLIAM F. BROCKTON MA.

1966 RUNYAN ALBERT E. OAKLAND CA.
02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98

1967 POLLIN GEORGE J. LAVALLETTE NJ.
POSS DIED CRASH EJECTION SEAT NEARBY REMAINS RETURNED I.D.12/20/90

1967 SIGLER GARY R. TABLE GROVE IL.
03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98

1967 STEPHENSEN MARK L. SALT LAKE CITY UT
REMAINS RETURNED 03/06/88 / ID 08/88

1967 TORKELSON LOREN H. CROSBY ND.
03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED

1970 BISHOP EDWARD J. JR. HARTFORD CT.

1975 COOPER WILLIAM G.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 COWAN KENNETH

1975 DANIEL LEON
08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON

1975 DAWSON ALAN
09/75 EXPELLED SAIGON

1975 EDIGER MAX
05/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 ESPER GEORGE
06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON

1975 FAIGAN LARRY
12/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 FILLER FONG DUONG
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 FORSYTHE JULIA
10/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 FRANJOLA MATT
05/75 EXPELLED SAIGON

1975 GULDEN FREDERICK
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 HEUBECK ELMER K.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 HORTON PAUL L.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 HUGHES JOSEPH
08/12/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 HUGHES RICHARD
08/07/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 HUNTLEY CHAD
06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON

1975 KAJI ANDREW T.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 KALSSEN JAMES
04/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 KIEN CUONG TRIEU
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 KIEN NAM BAO

1975 KIEN NGIEP TRIEU
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 KING JOHN S.
04/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 KISTNER MITCHELL
08/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 KRISH CLAUDIA
07/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 LAFFIE GEORGE

1975 LAFFIE LINA MARLINE

1975 LAURIE JAMES
08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON

1975 LECORNEC JOHN GILBERT CLEARLAKE OAKS CA.
REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85 A/C TECHNICIAN NOT ON LISTS UNTIL REM RET

1975 LINH DAM
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 LUNDGREEN KIM DUNG
12/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 LUNDGREEN KIM THO
12/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 LUSK ANDRE
08/75 LEFT SAIGON WITH FAKE PASSPORT

1975 MIELKE MADELINE XUAN
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 MIELKE RICHARD M.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 MIELNE MISTY S.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 MIKYO MAI LAN
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 MOSLEY MONIQUE C.

1975 MOSS JAMES

1975 NGUYEN THI THI CHIN

1975 NGUYEN VAN CHIEN

1975 NGUYEN XWAN ANH TRU

1975 POLARD PERRY
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 POSNER GERALD
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 QUINN JUDGE SOPHIE
07/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 RANDOLPH CLIFFORD
05/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 REED THERESA
06/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 REGAN JOHN D.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 REGAN LON THI
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 RIOS JOSE
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 RIVERA FREDERICK
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 RODILL DANIEL
08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON

1975 SMITH WILLIAM J.
06/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 STARNER FRANCES
06/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 STEVENS F.

1975 THOMAS FERNANDO K.

1975 THOMASON FORD W.
06/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 THUY NHIEN TRIEU

1975 TO BAO
06/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 TOOP PARTICIA
07/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 UNDERWOOD F.

1975 VOGEL PAUL
06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON

1975 WILLIAMS DANNY MUY

1975 YEE LEONG CHING
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 ZIMINSKE TOM
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 AGOR VICTOR

1975 BENNETT SHERMAN H.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 BERARD ARAM J.
08/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 BANHAM MAURICE J.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 BRICKMAN JOSEPH
04/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 BRINTON KEITH
07/75 LEFT SAIGON

1975 BORDEN HOWARD A.

1975 BAKER JACKY D.
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 BAILEY MICHAEL
RELEASED

1975 CANTON SUZAN
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 CHUNG YEN BINH
08/76 LEFT SAIGON

1975 HEUBECK NIBRIT H.

1975 JUDGE DARWIN LEE MARSHALTOWN IA.
02/22/76 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV

1975 MC MAHON CHARLES JR. WOBURN MA.
02/22/76 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV

1975 NYSTUL WILLIAM CRAIG CORONODO CA.
"KIA, FUEL RAN OUT DURING EVAC"

1975 SHEA MICHAEL J. EL PASO TX.
"KIA, FUEL RAN OUT DURING EVAC"

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

---

On this day...
1091 Battle at Monte Levunium Emperor Alexius I beats Petshegenes
1429 Joan of Arc leads Orleans France, to victory over English
1522 Emperor Charles V names Frans van Holly inquisitor-General of Netherlands
1540 Emperor Charles V declares all privileges of Gent ended
1550 Emperor Charles V gives inquisiters additional authority
1553 Flemish woman introduces practice of starching linen into England
1623 11 Dutch ships depart for the conquest of Peru
1628 Sweden & Denmark sign defense treaty against Duke of Wallenstein
1636 Prince Frederik Henry occupies Schenkenschans
1644 Farm leader Li Zicheng becomes emperor of China & flees Peking
1661 Chinese Ming dynasty occupies Taiwan
1670 Pope Clemens X elected
1701 Drenthe Netherlands adopts Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is May 12, 1701
1706 Emperor Jozef I becomes monarch of Cologne/Bavaria
1707 English/Scottish parliament accept Act of Union, form Great Britain
1715 John Flamsteed observes Uranus for 6th time
1781 French fleet occupies Tobago
1781 French fleet stops Britain from seizing the Cape of Good Hope
1784 Premiere of Mozart's Sonata in B flat, K454 (Vienna)
1793 Cornerstone laid for Groningen's new townhall
1813 Rubber is patented
1834 Charles Darwin's expedition sees top of Andes from Patagonia
1845 Macon B Allen & Robert Morris Jr, 1st blacks to open law practice
1852 1st edition of Peter Roget's Thesaurus published
1853 Comet C/1853 G1 (Schweizer) approaches within 0.0839 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1856 Peace between England & Russia
1857 US Army, Pacific Division HQ is permanently established at Presidio (San Francisco)
1861 Maryland's House of Delegates votes against seceding from Union
1862 100,000 federal troops prepare to march into Corinth MS
1862 New Orleans falls to Union forces during Civil War
1863 Battle of Chancellorville VA (Fredericksburg, Wilderness Tavern)
1864 Skirmish at Jenkins' Ferry AR begins
1886 1st public Dutch electricity opens
1888 Old Kavallison, Congo Stanley meet Emin Pasha
1892 Charlie Reilly is baseball's 1st pinch hitter
1894 Commonwealth of Christ (Coxey's Army) arrives in Washington DC 500 strong to protest unemployment; Coxey arrested for trespassing at Capitol
1901 27th Kentucky Derby Jimmy Winkfield on His Eminence wins in 2:07.75
1901 Anti semitic riot in Budapest
1903 Limestone slides at Turtle Mountain kills 9 (Frank Alberta)
1905 2" rain falls in 10 minutes in Taylor TX
1905 Pierre de Brazza lands in Libreville Gabon
1910 Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt visits Amsterdam
1912 108º F (42º C), Tuguegarao Philippines (Oceania record)
1912 Frank Wedekind's "Tod und Teufel", premieres in Berlin
1913 Gideon Sundback of Hoboken patents all-purpose zipper
1913 Swedish engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken patents all-purpose zipper
1916 Irish nationalists set post office on fire in Dublin
1918 Tris Speaker ties career outfield record of 4 unassisted double plays
1922 1st official International Weightlifting Federation Champion (Tallinn Estonia)
1925 Netherlands returns to gold standard
1926 France & US reach accord on repayment of WWI
1927 Construction of the Spirit of St Louis is completed
1930 123 runs are scored in 7 major league games
1930 North Sea floodgate at Ijmuiden (biggest in world) officially opens
1930 Telephone connection England-Australia goes into service
1931 Cleveland Indian Wes Ferrell no-hits St Louis Browns, 9-0
1934 Pittsburgh is last major league city to play a home game on a Sunday
1936 1st pro baseball game in Japan is played Nagoya defeats Daitokyo, 8-5
1939 Whitestone Bridge connecting Bronx & Queens opens
1940 1st radio broadcast of "Young Dr Malone" on CBS
1940 Norwegian King Haakon & government flees to England
1940 Robert Sherwood's "There Shall be No Night", premieres in NYC
1942 Japanese troops march into Lashio, cut off Burma Road
1942 Jews forced to wear a Jewish Star in Netherlands & Vichy-France
1943 Dietrich Bonhöffer arrested by Nazi's
1943 Noël Coward's "Present Laughter", premieres in London
1943 US 34th Division occupies Hill 609, North Tunisia
1944 Surprise attack by Van de Peat on General Landsdrukkerij in the Hague
1945 1st food drop by RAF above nazi-occupied Holland (operation Manna)
1945 Adolf Hitler marries Eva Braun
1945 Japanese army evacuates Rangoon
1945 Terms of surrender of German armies in Italy signed
1945 US liberates 31,601 in Nazi concentration camp in Dachau Germany
1945 Venice & Mestre are captured by the Allies
1946 28 former Japanese leaders indicted in Tokyo as war criminals
1948 Bradman scores 107 Australia vs Worcestershire, 152 minutes, 15 fours
1953 Joe Adcock is 1st to homer into Polo Grounds' center field bleachers
1955 Giovanni Gronchi elected President of Italy
1956 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Peach Blossom Golf Open
1956 WLUC TV channel 6 in Marquette MI (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 WSPA TV channel 7 in G'ville-Spartanburg SC (CBS) begins broadcasting
1956 WWBT TV channel 12 in Richmond VA (NBC) begins broadcasting
1957 1st military nuclear power plant dedicated, Fort Belvoir VA
1961 ABC's "Wide World of Sports, debuts
1962 16th Tony Awards Man For All Seasons & How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying win
1962 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship
1963 KRE-AM in Berkeley CA changes call letters to KPAT
1964 Princess Irene marries Spanish Prince Carel Hugo de Bourbon Parma
1964 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1965 Earthquake hits Seattle; 5 die
1965 Australian government announces it will send troops to Vietnam
1965 Malta is 18th member of Council of Europe
1967 Aretha Franklin releases "Respect"
1968 "Hair" opens at Biltmore Theater NYC for 1750 performances
1969 "Trumpets of the Lord" opens at Brooks Atkinson NYC for 7 performances
1970 50,000 US & South Vietnamese troops invade Cambodia
1971 Bill Graham closes down the Fillmore & Fillmore East
1971 Boeing receives contract for Mariner 10, Mercury exploration
1971 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 Gloria Ehret wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic
1974 President Richard Nixon said he will release edited tapes made in White House
1975 Flyers 4-Islanders 0-Semifinals-Flyers hold 1-0 lead
1975 US Forces pull out of Vietnam
1975 Ethiopia nationalizes all ground/earth
1976 Minister Irene Vorrink begins fluoridating Dutch drinking water
1977 British Aerospace forms
1979 Jane Blalock wins LPGA Otey Crisman Golf Classic
1981 Peter Sutcliffe admits he is the Yorkshire Ripper (murdered 13 women)
1981 Philadelphia Phillie Steve Carlton is 1st lefty to strike out 3,000 batters
1982 Québec Nordiques 2-New York Islanders 5-Semifinals-Islanders hold 2-0 lead
1982 17th Academy of Country Music Awards Alabama, Barbara Mandrell win
1982 Alfredo Magana elected President of El Salvador
1983 Harold Washington sworn in as Chicago's 1st black mayor
1984 "Oliver!" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 17 performances
1984 Betsy King wins LPGA Freedom/Orlando Golf Classic
1985 17th space shuttle mission (51-B)-Challenger 7 launched
1985 Ranger Larry Parrish is 5th to hit 3 homeruns in a game in both leagues
1985 Tony Tubbs TKOs Greg Page in 15 for heavyweight boxing championship
1986 Boston Red Sox Roger Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle Mariners
1986 800,000 books destroyed by fire in Los Angeles Central Library
1987 Chicago Cub Andre Dawson hits for the cycle
1987 Japan's premier Nakasone visits the US
1988 "60 Minutes" newscaster Diane Sawyer weds Mike Nichols
1988 Baltimore Orioles beat Chicago White Sox 9-0 for 1st 1988 win after 21 losses
1988 Burt Reynolds & Loni Anderson marry
1989 2nd government of Lubbers falls
1990 "Change in the Heir" opens at Edison Theater NYC for 16 performances
1990 Dan Quisenberry (all-time American League save king, 238) announces his retirement
1990 STS-31 (Discovery 10) lands
1990 Wrecking cranes began tearing down Berlin Wall at Brandenburg Gate
1991 "Our Country's Good" opens at Nederlander Theater NYC for 48 performances
1991 Croatia declares independence
1991 Cyclone strikes Bangladesh, 139,000 die/10 million homeless
1991 Earthquake in Georgia kills 100
1992 "March of Falsettos & Falsettoland" premieres at John Golden Theater NYC for 487 performances
1992 Voting ends on choice of Elvis stamps
1992 27th Academy of Country Music Awards Garth Brooks
1992 Country singer Doug Stone, 35, undergoes quadruple bypass surgery
1992 Jury acquits Los Angeles police officers of beating Rodney King, riots begin
1992 Sheena Easton collapses on stage while performing in "Man of LaMancha"
1994 Ferry boat smashes into Mombasa Harbor Kenya, kills over 300
1994 Israel & PLO sign economic accord
1995 Final TV broadcast of "Empty Nest" on NBC TV
1995 Kansas City Royal John Nonely is 70th to homerun on his 1st at bat
1995 Longest sausage ever, at 2877 miles, made in Kitchener Ontario Canada
1996 "Rent", opens at Nederlander Theater NYC
1996 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Fresno CA on KFRR 104.1 FM
1997 "Candide", opens at Gershwin Theater NYC for 103 performances
1997 Kansas City Royal Chili Davis is 75th to hit 300 homeruns
1998 15th Miss Hawaiian Tropic crowned

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

Japan : Emperor Hirohito's Birthday
Alabama, Florida, Mississippi : Confederate Memorial Day (1868) - - - - - ( Monday )
US-Utah : Arbor Day-plant a tree (1872) - - - - - ( Friday )

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Religious Observances
Bahá'í : 9th day of Ridván-festival
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Peter of Verona, martyr
Anglican : Commemoration of St Catherine of Siena, patron of Italy/virgin/doctor
Bahá'í : 9th day of Ridván (Bahá'í festival); Jamál 2, 20

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Religious History
1607 The first Anglican (Episcopal) church in the American colonies was established at Cape Henry, Virginia.
1834 Birth of Joseph H. Gilmore, American Baptist clergyman and Hebrew instructor. He is better remembered today, however, as author of the hymn: "He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought."
1933 The Navigators trace their origin to this date, when founder Dawson Trotman began the work in San Pedro, CA. In 1943, this evangelical mission was formally incorporated, and is headquartered today in Colorado Springs, CO.
1945 U.S. troops liberated the oldest of the Nazi concentration camps -- Dachau -- in Bavaria, West Germany. It is estimated that nearly 32,000 prisoners (mostly Jews) perished at Dachau during its 12-year existence as a Nazi detention camp.
1952 Death of Samuel M. Zwemer, 85, American Dutch Reformed missionary. Serving in Egypt between 1890-1905, Zwemer helped found the Arabian Mission in 1888 and authored over 50 volumes during his life -- many in Arabic.

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Thought for the day :
"Losing weight: the triumph of mind over platter."