The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Richard Morton Hess - Warrior Wenesday - Jan 8th, 2003

http://www.klhess.com/dad_wwii.html ^

[SAMWolf]

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"Warrior Wednesday"

We plan to introduce a different veteran each Wednesday.
The "Ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us

Our Veterans.

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Richard Morton Hess
503rd Airborne Regimental Combat Team

This history is based on March 1996 interviews of Richard M. Hess by his son Kenneth L. Hess. Richard made corrections based on personal notes and memories. All direct quotations are Richard's.

Richard Morton Hess

Corregidor Island, Philippines
February 16, 1945 to February 17, 1945

Typically they would be told of an invasion 3-4 days in advance. Plenty of time to get nervous. Normally they didn't know where the invasion would be until 1-2 days before. "Of course the officers knew."

"At almost 20 years of age, I was still the third youngest soldier in the 503rd."

"There wasn't a whole lot of talking at breakfast. It was quiet. We bivouacked on the airfield at Mindoro next to the jump planes. They got us up at 5:30 am. We were all ready to go by 6:00 and we had to stand around waiting for what seemed like a long time. We boarded the C-47's at about 6:30 and immediately took off heading north in formation."

Dad was in the 3rd Battalion, H Company, 3rd Platoon, 3rd Squad. The battalion commander was Lieutenant Colonel John L. Erickson. This battalion was the first to go in.



They came across the narrow width of the island with 24 paratroopers in each C-47.

"I was in one of the first planes as they came across the island in single file. When I left the plane, I could see right ahead of me, close to the ground, the B-25 and A-20 planes strafing with their 50 caliber cannons [like gatling guns]. Before we went in they bombed and shelled Corregidor for three solid weeks. We couldn't hold Manila harbor without taking Corregidor. The guns were on railroad cars. It was like a battleship on an island."

The plane was at 400 feet above Topside, the drop zone. "I was the first one out the door of our plane. I only oscillated one and a half times. We had a lot of wind there. Wind steals the air from your chute and you come down faster."

The records say the drop occurred at 8:30 am, but his watch was stopped cold at 8:20 when he landed. "It never ran again. I hit pretty hard, solid rock. I hit so hard it paralyzed me. I couldn't move for 2-3 minutes."

He had landed in a gully in front of the parade field on Topside.

About an hour after landing, he was hit by a piece of shrapnel (probably from a mortar). It hit his cartridge belt and barely broke his skin.

Dad doesn't want to get specific about having shot anyone. "Let's just say I did my part. I don't want to talk about it."


North side of Corregidor

"It was a real busy place, let me tell you. There was not a moment, of anything being a soft spot. It was a beehive of activity continually. There was gunfire all the time. The enemy were like bees--they were everywhere."

The enemy fought using banzai charges. These were suicidal charges by from one to maybe 24 Japanese, intended to inflict as much damage to life and property as possible without regard to their own personal safety. "When you heard 'Banzai! Banzai!' the earth shook--someone was going to die right now."

"The Japs were in tunnels. MacArthur and his engineers built the whole system. They'd come out 2-3 at a time, a dozen at a time. They were all around us. They'd come out firing weapons and throwing hand grenades. We'd kill them and then some more would come out. They must have had hundreds of exits. Intelligence said there were only 650 Japs on the island. Actually, there were 6500 to 9000 Japanese Marines, maybe more. Even the Japanese are not sure of the actual number of troops on Corregidor. About 900 were killed the first day. Most were killed later when they committed suicide by blowing up the tunnels. They almost took out a whole company of the 503rd when they did it. Blew them right into the air."

His squad was securing the perimeter of Topside, above Middleside when he was wounded by machine gun fire at 4:30 pm.


Monkey Point after the explosion that leveled the hill and part of the 1st Battalion. The square shaped image in the back center of the photo is the overturned carcass of the Sherman tank shown above.

"My lung was collapsed, I was breathing right through my chest. That bullet entered from my back. My arm was hit from the front. In other words, we were surrounded. The first things the Japs take out are the light machine guns, the BAR, and I was the BAR."

"The one that hit me in the arm ricocheted off a rock. Zing, splatter! They both hit me within 3 seconds of each other."

"There was a strange feeling for about 20 minutes as my heart pounded in my chest. I could actually feel the pounding--and with each beat of the heart, blood gushed violently out of my chest. I knew this was the end and I prayed the Lord's Prayer."

"I couldn't get my arm down. It was like I was saluting someone. It was an hour before I could get my arm down. I don't know why."

At about 5:30 pm the medics put him in the bombed out barracks on Topside which was close by. "That night I was in there they sprayed it with machine gun fire and darn near got me again. A buddy of mine got a bullet through his appendix when he came up to see me. It went through his trench knife handle, then through his appendix. They had to take the appendix out right away. The next morning they operated on me. At about 8:00 am they put my stretcher across a couple of oil drums shot full of bullet holes. I asked the doctor if I was going to live and he said, 'Just hang in there, just hang in there trooper.' They brought a Navy guy up from the beach and gave me a direct blood transfusion. I'd lost a lot of blood. I was going to die. I knew I was going to die. Then every hour, as I was still alive, I kept telling myself, 'Maybe I am going to make it' and I prayed."

"The doctor was from Vincennes, IN. A real nice guy. He cut a circle of flesh around the wound, it was about a quarter inch wide and two feet long. He dropped it in a can. He said, 'If you had been turned another few degrees it would have gone right through your heart. It was as close as you can get without...' After they got it closed, I wasn't sucking air in there anymore. I was in the hot sun the rest of the day."


North Dock

"I didn't see how I could live, losing that much blood. Nobody cleaned me up or anything. I was covered with blood. (This was not the place for cleaning someone up and is not meant as a complaint.) The flies just drove me nuts out there in the hot sun."

"Later in the day [actually there's some chance it may have been the next day, but Dad doesn't believe he spent another night there] they started working me and about seven or eight other guys down to the beach on stretchers. There was a small hospital ship about a mile off shore from the South Dock." The trip from Topside to the evacuation point on San Jose Beach was about one half mile. "It was a long half mile."

"Then we were attacked by machine gun fire. The medics set us down on the trail and took cover. I rolled off the stretcher into this shell hole. The medics said, 'Trooper, are you crazy, you want to die of shock?' After the machine gun was silenced, they helped me back to the stretcher and it was shredded with machine gun fire. I will never forget the one medic when he saw the holes in the stretcher. He said, 'Oh my god!' Had I stayed on that stretcher I would have been dead. That was just instinct for me. About an hour later we ran into the same damn problem. I'm laying on the stretcher and I had blood all over me and I had to use my good arm to keep the flies off of me. This one Jap saw me wiping the flies off my face. He lunges at my throat with his bayonet. One of our troops shot him and he fell across my legs. The Jap could have shot me. To this day I think he needed to reload his rifle or he figured he would make a quick kill without any noise."



"They finally got us down to the beach. There was the white hospital ship a mile off shore. The Japanese started machine gunning the LCI as we were about half loaded. Someone on the LCI said, 'Hurry up, let's go.' I was the last guy. Someone said, 'Let's go, that guy's dead.' They were about a hundred and fifty feet away. I raised my good arm to let them know I wasn't dead. As they got me on the LCI one medic carrying me was shot in the shoulder. It didn't seem too severe. They raised the steel ramp in a hail of machine gun fire and you could hear those bullets hitting it. Zip, zip, zip, zip... They headed for the hospital ship which we reached at about 6:30 pm."

"I had a lot of respect for the medics after this operation. It took a lot of courage to get me and my wounded comrades down to and on the LCI."

He didn't sleep for four days after being wounded and he never passed out. "For some reason I knew that I must not go to sleep. I was afraid I'd never wake up."

"I didn't have much pain through the whole thing. They must have given me something."

"To this day I feel that someone was looking out for me. Angels? My life as a soldier was over, but I was still alive."

The 503rd received a Presidential Unit Citation and Dad received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his actions on Corregidor. "The 503rd also received the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. These are awards that are close to my heart."

[SAMWolf]

Hospital Ship
February 1945

On both hospital ships, this one and one that took him to the states, he was next to a porthole. At 9:00 every morning they would play taps, and then using catapults they would bury at sea the men who had died. They didn't stop this practice until about 3 days out of Los Angeles.

Hollandia, New Guinea
March 1, 1945 to April 18, 1945

They cleaned up his arm wound here and put a cast on it.

Dad commented about how sorry he felt for the Navy guys who had suffered severe burns. Many of them were wrapped from head to toe in gauze. Many didn't make it.

"I was able to go to the bathroom, but they put me on a stretcher to take me out to the wharf. I was on the wharf ready to go back to the states. I got a tremendous pain in my side. They diagnosed it as appendicitis and took me back inside. I had my appendix removed, and had to wait for the next hospital ship."

Van Nuys, CA May 12, 1945 to ??

Birmingham General Hospital. He was just here long enough to catch a hospital train to Ohio. He still had a cast. "The third day, I was put in a private room. Gary Cooper came into my room with a couple blonde actresses (they were twins). This was the first time I was close to or talked to a movie star. It lifted my spirits and I started to feel better. Later the doctors said I could go to the Palladium on a bus if I felt like it. I felt pretty good, but when I got there I got really sick." It was yellow jaundice, probably from the blood transfusion. "It was the sickest I got during the whole experience."

"I met a WAC in the hospital who was a nurses aid. She was from my home town." After the war, he ran into her again. "I saw her at a Friday night dance in Ft. Wayne and she was very startled and surprised to see me. She had been transferred to another general hospital shortly after I arrived at Birmingham General Hospital. I can't remember her exact words, but I thought she was about to faint."

Cambridge, OH to November 30, 1945

Fletcher General Hospital. He had two other operations on his left arm. The bullet had shattered the big bone [the radius]. As it mended it got shorter and forced the little bone [the ulna] out of the socket, so they shortened the small bone and reinserted it in the socket. Overall, it made that arm 3/4" shorter.

"This hospital was like heaven. Good food, good care, good everything. In fact, I never did mind the Army food. Some of the best food I ever had was in the Army. You couldn't ask for any better care. They were just tremendous."

They had a good leather-working shop, a shop for plastics (Plexiglas), and college books. "I took advantage of them. I thought I might go to college."

He had studied the atom in high school physics, but "I was amazed by what I read about the atomic bomb."

"On VJ day, we bussed into Zanesville for a big celebration."

They sent him over to Walter Reed Hospital for a second opinion on his arm. Nothing more was done.

"I loved the Army food. Most guys didn't, but I thought it was great. My expectations were lower than others. Prior to entering the service, a major concern of mine was food, clothing, and shelter. The Army gave me all of these."

"If I hadn't been wounded, I might have stayed in the Army. I liked the Army."

"In the hospital, they told my mother that I'd never live to see 40. She never told me that, but my sisters did (Gretchen and Pauline). That's why I got so concerned as I reached 40." Dad also had two close friends and colleagues at Packard Electric pass away during their 40's, Arnie Niemi and Reggie Mahefky.

"In fact at 40 I worried some, but felt OK, felt OK at 50, and at 60. Now I'm an old man!"

"One morning they said, 'Private Hess, we're going to send you home.' Two days later I was off to Ft. Wayne. I was discharged right from the hospital. I left wishing I could have done more for my country, but this was not to be."

"All-in-all, it was a good experience. I had no complaints. It molded me in a lot of ways. I think it molded me for the good. It taught me a lot of things about life I didn't know. I think I had an angel on my shoulder quite a few times. To this day I believe in angels. I'm not overly religious, but I still believe in angels."

[SAMWolf]

Decorations and Citations

Purple Heart

Bronze Star Medal
(for meritorious achievement in ground operations against the enemy)

American Campaign Medal

World War II Victory Medal

Asiatic Pacific Theater Campaign Medal
with two Bronze Stars and one Arrowhead

Philippine Liberation Ribbon

Combat Infantry Badge

Good Conduct Medal

Presidential Unit Citation

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation

[SAMWolf]

Wounded on Corregidor

Wounded Feb. 16 on Corregidor, Private Hess, 20, was returned to this country May 12, and is now in Birmingham General Hospital, Van Nuys, Calif. While jumping with the 503rd Infantry Paratroop Unit he received chest and left arm wounds. Just before he was to be released from the hospital on New Guinea, an appendectomy became necessary and he was held there.

"Private Hess entered the service June 28, 1943, and received training at Camp Bowie, Tex. and Fort Benning, Ga., where he was awarded his paratroopers' boots and wings on New Years, 1944. Overseas since April, 1944, he also participated in the Leyte campaign.

He is a graduate of Central High School, and was formerly employed by Martins Nursery here.

-- Newspaper Clipping,
Ft. Wayne News & Sentinel

[SAMWolf]

Thanks, Doughty!

[SAMWolf]

[Valin]

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on January 08:
1081 Henry V Roman German king/emperor (1098/1111-25)
1583 Simon Episcopius Dutch bishop/theologist
1587 Johannes Fabricius Denmark, astronomer (discovered sunspots)
1589 Ivan [Dzivo F] Gundulic Dalmatisch writer (Dubravka)
1628 François de Montmorency-Bouteville duc de Luxembourg, French soldier
1632 Samuel Freiherr von Pufendorf German jurist
1658 Nicolas Coustou French sculptor (Descente de Croix)
1668 Jean Gilles composer
1767 Abraham de Veer Dutch Governor-General of Suriname (1822-28)
1777 Filippo Traetta Italy, composer/musicologist
1779 John White composer
1786 Nicholas Biddle made 2nd bank of US 1st effective central bank
1787 Johann Ludwig Bohner composer
1788 Erik Drake composer
1791 Jacob Collamer (Senator-VT)
1792 Lowell Mason Medfield MA, organist/composer (Zebulo)
1810 Robert Schumann Zwickau Germ, composer (Neue Zeitschrift fuer Musik)
1812 Sigismond Fortune François Thalberg composer
1812 William Henry Holmes composer
1814 Johannes Kneppelhout [Klikspaan], Dutch humorist
1814 Thomas Green Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1815 George Webb Morell Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1883
1815 Lawrence Pike Graham Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1905
1817 John Selden Roane Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1867
1821 James Longstreet Confederate General (1st Corps, ANV)
1822 Alfredo Carlo Piatti composer
1823 Alfred Russel Wallace British zoologist/co-discoverer (evolution)
1824 Per August Olander composer
1824 William Wilkie Collins English novelist (The Woman in White, The Moonstone)
1830 Governer Kemble Warren Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1882
1830 Hans von Bülow Dresden, pianist/virtuoso conductor/musical writer
1836 Fannie M Jackson pioneer & educator, 1st US Black woman college grad
1836 Lawrence Alma Tadema Dutch/British painter/husband of Laura Epps
1846 Albert Cahen composer
1846 William Wallace Gilchrist composer
1851 Gérard Leman Belgian count/General
1860 Nancy Jones US black missionary in Africa
1862 Frank Nelson Doubleday publisher/founder (Doubleday & Co)
1863 Paul Scheerbart [Bruno Küfer], German writer (The Seasnake)
1867 Emily Green Balch US, sociologist/feminist/pacifist (Nobel 1946)
1868 Sir Frank Dyson proved Einstein right about light bent by gravity
1870 Miguel Primo de Rivera Orbaneja dictator of Spain (1923-30)
1873 Lucien Capet composer
1883 Josue Teofilo Wilkes composer
1885 John Curtin Victoria, Australian PM (Labor, 1941-45)
1886 Noble Drew Ali [Timothy Drew], North Carolina, prophet (Moorish Science Temple)
1888 Matt Moore County Meath Ireland, actor (Coquette, Deluge)
1888 Richard Courant German/US mathematician (What is mathematics?)
1889 Paul Hartmann Furth Germany, actor (Haunted Castle)
1890 Sandor Rado Hungarian/US psycho analyst
1891 Bronislava Nijinska ballet choreographer
1891 Walther Bothe Germany, subatomic particle physicist (Nobel 1954)
1891 Storm Jameson English novelist (The Green Man, Cousin Honoré)
1892 Werner Wehrli composer
1896 Jaromir Weinberger Prague Czechoslovakia, composer (Bird's Opera)
1896 Manuel Rojas Sepulveda Chile, writer (Men of the South)
1899 Solomon WRD Bandaranaike premier of Ceylon (1956-59)
19-- Ann Schedeen Portland OR, actress (Alf, Paper Dolls, Marcus Welby)
1900 Queen Marie of Yugoslavia
1901 Edmond Vandercammen French/Belgian writer (L'amour responsable)
1902 Alexander Gray Wrightsville PA, actor (This is Music)
1902 Georgy M Malenkov Stalin's successor as head of CPSU, PM (1953-55)
1902 Carl R[ansom] Rogers US, psychologist (Client-Centered Therapy)
1902 Gret Palucca German dancer/choreography (Silent Song)
1903 Gene Roth [Eugene Stutenroth], South Dakota, actor (She Demons, Spider)
1904 Peter Arno New York City NY, cartoonist (New Yorker)
1905 Carl Gustav Hempel German Logical Positivist philosopher
1905 Giacinto Scelsi composer
1906 Jacob C van Marken Dutch peanut butter maker (Calvé-Delft)
1906 Jan A H J S Bruins Slot Dutch founder illegal Trouw/MP (ARP)
1906 Serge Poliakoff Russian/French painter/guitarist
1908 (Fearless) Mary Nadia Wadia actress
1908 William Hartnell London England, actor (Agitator, Jackpot)
1909 Bruce Mitchell cricketer (South African bat, their top run-scorer (3471))
1910 Richard Cromwell [LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh], Los Angeles CA, actor (Jezebel)
1911 Andrej Ocenas composer
1912 José Ferrer Santurce PR, actor/director (Cyrano de Bergerac, Blood Tide, Dune, Big Bus)
1912 Rudolf G Escher Dutch composer (True Face of Peace)
1913 Horace Smith cricketer (New Zealand, only Test wicket off his 1st ball (Paynter))
1914 Charles Borromeo Mills composer
1917 Stanley Prager New York City NY, comedian (College Bowl)
1917 Peter Taylor US writer
1920 Hendrikus J Wittebold civil servant/resistance fighter
1922 Abbey Simon New York City NY, pianist
1923 Giorgio Tozzi Chicago IL, basso
1923 Joseph Wiezenbaum artificial intelligence pioneer
1923 Larry Storch New York City NY, comedian (F Troop, Larry Storch Show)
1923 Iva Michiels [Rik Ceuppens], Flemish writer (Ksiega Alfa)
1923 Johnny Wardle cricketer (Yorkshire & England left-arm bowler of 50's)
1924 Benjamin Lees (Lysniansky) Harbin Manchuria, composer
1924 Robert Starer Vienna Austria, composer
1924 Ron Moody London England, actor (12 Chairs, Wrong is Right)
1924 Antai Ribari composer
1925 James Saunders English chemist/playwright (Ark)
1926 Soupy Sales [Milton Hines], North Carolina, comedian (Soupy Sales Show)
1926 Evelyn Lear [Shulman], Brooklyn NY, soprano
1926 Jani Christou composer
1928 Sander Vanocur Cleveland OH, news anchor (NBC Weekend News)
1930 Doreen Wilber US, archer (Olympics-gold-1972)
1930 May Wynn [Donna Lee Hickey], New York City NY, actress (Caine Mutiny, Noah's Ark)
1931 Bill Graham Germany, rock promoter (Fillmore)
1933 Charles Osgood New York City NY, news anchor (CBS Weekend News)
1933 Jean-Marie Straub France, director (Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach)
1934 Jacques Anquetil France, Tour de France bicycle racer (5-time winner)
1934 Michael Grierson Jarrett archaeologist
1934 Piet Dankert Dutch politician (PvdA)
1934 Roy Kinnear Lancashire England, actor (TW3, Help!, The 3 Musketeers)
1935 Nolan Miller Burkburnett TX, fashion designer (Dynasty, Love Boat)
1935 Elvis Aaron Presley Tupelo MS, rocker (Blue Suede Shoes, Hounddog)
1935 Jesse Garon Presley stillborn twin brother of Elvis
1936 Ferdinand Hartzenberg South African minister of Education (1979-82)
1937 Bob Eubanks Flint MI, TV host (Newlywed Game)
1937 Robert Moran composer
1937 Shirley Bassey Cardiff Wales, singer (Goldfinger, Moonraker)
1938 Bob Eubanks Flint MI, TV host (Newlywed Game)
1939 Yvette Mimieux Hollywood CA, actress (Time Machine, Where the Boys Are)
1940 Anthony Gaurdine (Little Anthony & Imperials-Goin' Out of My Head)
1940 Cristy Lane US, country/gospel singer
1940 Little Anthony [Gourdine] rocker (& Imperials)
1941 Graham Chapman England, comedian (Monty Python's Flying Circus)
1941 Robby Krieger rocker (Doors)
1942 John Peterson rocker
1942 Stephen Hawking English physicist (Black Holes & Baby Universes)
1942 Vyacheslav Dmitriyevich Zudov USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 23)
1943 Lee Jackson rocker (Nice)
1943 Marcus Hutson rock vocalist (Whispers)
1944 Terry Brooks US, sci-fi author (Sword of Shannara)
1945 John Peters rock drummer (Harpers Bizarre)
1946 Tod Brannan Vice President (Logos Network Corp)
1946 Elaine Cheris Dotham AL, fencer-epee (Olympics-96)
1946 Kathleen Noone actress (All My Children, Party of 5, Knots Landing)
1946 Robbie Kreiger Los Angeles CA, guitarist (Doors-Come on Baby Light My Fire)
1947 Igor Ivanov Leningrad, Canadian chess champion (1981-84, 1985- )
1947 Terry Sylvester rocker (Hollies-The Air that I Breathe)
1947 David Bowie [Jones], London, singer/actor (Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust)
1948 Gillies Mackinnon director (Playboys)
1948 Mel Pritchard rocker
1948 Paul King rocker (Blue Oyster Cult)
1949 Lawrence Rowe cricketer (prolific West Indies batsman, 302 vs England 1974)
1951 Gérard Leman Belgian General
1951 John McTiernan Albany NY, actor (Predator, Die Hard, Medicine Man)
1951 Paul Dresher composer
1952 Laurie Walters San Francisco CA, actress (Joannie-Eight is Enough)
1952 Norm Jarvis Prince Albert Sask, golfer (1984 Chilliwack)
1953 Bruce Sutter pitcher (Cubs, Cards, Braves)
1955 Mike Reno Vancouver BC Canada, rock vocalist (Loverboy-Get Lucky, Heaven in Your Eyes)
1959 Michael Harwood Sydney New South Wales, Australasia golfer
1960 Jolanda Egger Luzean Switzerland, playmate (June, 1983)
1961 Shoaib Mohammad cricketer (son of Hanif Patient & prolific batsman)
1963 Hiromi Kobayashi Fukushima Japan, LPGA golfer (1993 JAL Big Apple)
1964 Virgil Hill Missouri, middleweight boxer (Olympics-silver-1984)
1965 Champaka Ramanayake cricketer (Sri Lankan opening bowler)
1965 Eric Wohlberg Sudbury Ontario, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1965 Maria Pitillo Elmira NY, actress (Dear God, Nancy Don Lewis-Ryan's Hope)
1965 Michelle Forbes actress (Julianna Cox-Homicide)
1966 Darryl Hall CFL linebacker (Calgary Stampeders)
1966 Loretta Lee [Lee Lai Chan], China, actress (Happy Ghost)
1967 Hollis Conway Chicago IL, high jumper (Olympics-silver/bronze-88, 92)
1967 Kent Jones Portales NM, golfer (NM State Amateur-1990-91)
1967 Roger Rowland Jacksonville FL, Nike golfer (1990 Macon Open-2nd)
1967 Willie Anderson US, NBA guard (New York Knicks, Olympics-bronze-1988)
1968 Alexander Alexeev NHL defenseman (Belarus, Olympics-98)
1968 Ami Dolenz Los Angeles CA, actress (General Hospital, Can't Buy Me Love)
1968 Brian Johnson Oakland CA, catcher (San Diego Padres)
1968 Mark Duane Croghan Akron Ohio, 3k steeplechase (Olympics-5th-96)
1968 Paul Carey US baseball infielder (Baltimore Orioles)
1969 Brian Boehringer St Louis MO, pitcher (New York Yankees)
1969 R Kelly singer (I Wish I Could Fly)
1970 Jon Klemm Calgary, NHL defenseman (Colorado Avalanche)
1971 Brenda Lee Armstrong Albert Lea MN, Miss Minnesota-America (1990)
1971 Billy Joe Hobert NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders)
1971 Branislav Janos hockey forward (Team Slovakia 1998)
1971 Brook Mahealani Lee Miss Universe/Miss USA-1997 (Hawaii)
1971 Darren Langdon Deere Lake, NHL left wing (New York Rangers)
1971 Jason Giambi West Covina CA, infielder (Oakland A's)
1971 Roosevelt Potts NFL running back (Indianapolis Colts)
1971 Stephane Barin hockey forward (Team France 1998)
1972 Brandie Burton San Bernardino CA, LPGA golfer (1993 du Maurier Ltd)
1972 Devlin Murphy Honolulu Hawaii, canoe (alt-Olympics-96)
1974 Arjan Blaauw Dutch soccer player (FC Groningen)
1974 Brian Roberson wide receiver (New York Giants)
1975 Jenny Lewis Las Vegas NV, actress (Becky-Life With Lucy)
1975 Star Behl Miss Delaware-USA (1996)
1975 Vitali Yachmenev Chelyabinsk Russia, NHL right wing (Los Angeles Kings)
1976 Brad Snyder Ontario, shot putter (Olympics-96)
1977 Pearl Amoah Miss Ghana-Universe (1996)
1977 Ryan Frances actor (Trevor-Sisters)
1978 Petra Minarova Miss Czech Republic-Universe (1997)
1979 Sequoyah chimpanzee (son of Washoe)
1979 Sarah Polley actress (Sweet Hereafter)
1982 Gaby Hoffman actress (Field of Dreams, Uncle Buck, Now & Then)

---

Deaths which occurred on January 08:
0482 Severinus German monastery founder/saint, dies
0624 Abu Sufjan ibn Harb Kurashite chief, dies in battle
1198 Coelestinus III [Giacinto Bobo], pope (1191-98), dies
1324 Marco Polo Venetian explorer/Governor of Nanking, dies
1336 Giotto di Bondone Italian Renaissance painter, dies at about 71
1455 Laurentius Justitianus [Lorenzo Giustiniani], saint, dies at 73
1567 Jacob Vaet Flemish composer/royal chaplain master, dies at about 37
1598 Johan Georg elector of Brandenburg (1571-91), dies at 72
1642 Galileo Galilei Italian physicist/astronomer, dies at 78 in Arceti Italy
1651 Giovanni Battista Gagliano composer, dies at 56
1696 Michael de Ronghe composer, dies at 75
1711 Philips van Almonde Zealand Lieutenant-Admiral, dies at 66
1713 Arcangelo Corelli composer/violinist (Concerti Grossi), dies at 59
1775 John Baskerville English printer/type designer, dies at 68
1790 John Stinstra Dutch baptist vicar, dies at 81
1796 Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois French National Convention chairman, dies at 46
1808 Messenger horse that sired many great trotters, dies
1811 Friedrich Nicolai writer, dies
1811 Samuel Story Dutch rear admiral (Battle of Kamperduin), dies at 58
1815 Edward Pakenham English General (Battle of New Orleans), dies in battle
1819 Christian Gottlob Saupe composer, dies at 55
1831 Franz Vinzenz Krommer composer, dies at 71
1842 Pierre Earl the Cambronne, French General (Waterloo, Elba), dies at 71
1858 Friedrich Karl Kuhmstedt composer, dies at 48
1859 Antoine GB Schayes Belgian historian/archaeologist, dies at 50
1864 Victor-Charles-Paul Dourlen composer, dies at 83
1880 [Joshua] Norton I Emperor of US/Protector of México, dies at 60
1891 Fredrik Pacius composer, dies at 81
1892 John Heykamp old-catholic archbishop of Utrecht, dies at 67
1894 Pierre-Joseph van Beneden paleontologist (life of tapeworms), dies at 84
1896 Paul M Verlaine French poet (Elégies, Bonne Chanson), dies at 51
1900 Billy Bates cricketer (656 runs & 50 wickets in 15 Tests for England), dies
1906 Jacob C van Marken peanut butter maker (Calvé-Delft), dies at 60
1907 Theodoor Verstraete Flemish painter/etcher, dies at 57
1918 Michael Hertz composer, dies at 73
1919 Peter Altenberg writer, dies at 59
1919 Richard Engländer [Peter Altenberg], Austrian author, dies at 59
1921 Luis Villalba Munoz composer, dies at 48
1922 Colonel Charles R Young dies at 58, in Lagos Nigeria
1926 Emile Paladilhe composer, dies at 81
1928 Dumitru Kiriac-Georgescu composer, dies at 61
1934 Alexandre Stavisky French swindler, dies
1937 John Felix August Korling composer, dies at 72
1941 Lord Robert Baden-Powell founder of the Boy Scout movement, dies at 83
1942 Arvo Hannikainen composer, dies at 44
1945 Jac[obus] P Thijsse Dutch biologist (Omgang met planten), dies at 79
1948 Kurt Schwitters writer, dies at 60
1948 Richard Tauber Austria/British tenor/composer (Léhar), dies at 55
1950 Joseph Issac Shneerson Jewish Lubavitch Chabal leader, dies
1950 George Rowe cricketer (15 wickets in 4 Tests for South Africa 1895-1902), dies
1950 Joseph A Schumpeter Austrian/US economist/Minister of Finance, dies at 66
1952 Antonia Maury discoverer (supergiant, giant & dwarf stars), dies
1952 Joseph Arendt Belgian worker's union leader, dies at 66
1953 Heinrich Kaspar Schmid composer, dies at 78
1963 Stark Young US writer (So Red the Rose), dies at 81
1964 Arnoldus JC Krafft theologist (Atlas of Netherlands Antilles), dies at 71
1964 Julius Raab Austrian chancellor (1953-61), dies at 72
1965 Aloys-Henri-Gerard Fornerod composer, dies at 74
1967 Zbigniew Cybulski Polish actor (See You Tommorrow), dies at 39
1970 Jani Christou composer, dies on 44th birthday
1971 Adriano Lualdi composer, dies at 85
1972 Kenneth Patchen US writer (See You in the Morning), dies at 60
1975 Anthony Warde actor (Big Punch, Buck Rogers), dies at 66
1975 Gertrude Olmsted actress (Cobra, Torrent), dies at 70
1975 John Dierkes actor (Red Badge of Courage), dies at 69
1975 John Gregson actor (Rooney, Assassin), dies at 55
1975 Louis J H C A de Bourbon Dutch writer/poet (Gypsy Blood), dies at 66
1975 Richard Tucker [Reuben Ticker], US tenor (La Gioconda), dies at 61
1976 Chou En-lai China's PM (1949-76), dies of cancer in Beijing at 78
1978 Walter Keirnan TV panelist (I've Got a Secret), dies at 75
1980 Oscar Ewing US government official (Everybody's Business), dies at 90
1981 Woody Chamblis actor (Mr Lathrop-Gunsmoke), dies at 66
1981 Matthew Beard entertainer, dies
1982 Gregoire Aslan character actor (Concrete Jungle), dies of a heart attack at 73
1982 Reta Shaw actress (Ghost & Mrs Muir), dies of emphysema at 69
1983 Lois Wilson actress (Alice-Aldrich Family), dies at 88
1983 Gale Page actress (4 Daughters, Knute Rockney), dies of cancer at 72
1986 Yaroslav Seifert Czechoslovakian poet (Nobel 1984), dies at 84
1987 P G Joshi cricketer (12 Tests for India 1951-60, ct 18 stp 9), dies
1987 Peter Adams actor (Alternative, Blowing Hot & Cold), dies at 69
1988 Frank Pace Jr US Secretary of Army (1950-53), dies at 76
1989 Johnny Jordaan [Jan van Musscher], Dutch folk singer, dies at 64
1989 Kenneth McMillan actor (Our Family Honor, Malone, Concrete Beat), dies of heart attack at 67
1990 Terry Thomas English comic (Heroes), dies of Parkinson's disease at 78
1991 Steve Clark guitarist (Def Leppard-Hysteria), dies at 30
1992 Abderrahim Bouabid Morroco prime secretary (1972), dies
1992 Johnny [Jan] Meijer Dutch king of accordions (Body & Soul), dies
1992 Menachim Begin Israeli PM, dies at 78 of a heart attack
1993 Asif Nawaz Pakistani General , dies
1993 Hakija Turajlic Bosnian vice-premier, murdered
1993 Theo Bruins Dutch pianist/composer (Syncope), dies at 63
1994 Edward Duke actor (Decadence, Silver Bears), dies of cancer at 40
1994 Harvey Haddix pitcher (12 perfect inning game), dies at 68
1994 Jay Blackton US conductor/arranger (Oklahoma!), dies at 84
1994 Lady Caithness wife of British undersecretary, commits suicide
1994 Pat Buttram actor (Haney-Green Acres), dies of kidney failure at 78
1994 Sri Chandrashekhara Saraswathi guru of Kanchi, dies at 99
1994 Vittorio Mezzogiorno Italian actor (Octopus), dies at 52
1995 Carlos Monzon [El Macho], Argentine middleweight boxing champ (1970-77), dies at 52
1995 Joyce McCartan peace campaigner, dies at 68
1995 Louis "Loulou" Gasté guitarist/composer (Doggy in the Window), dies at 88
1996 Francois Mitterrand President of France (1981-95), dies of cancer at 79
1996 Kurt Schmucker member (Union of Christian Democrats), dies
1996 William Mac Lance "Tiny" McCloud musician/songwriter, dies at 52
1997 Carole Carr singer/actress (Down Among the Z Men), dies at 68
1997 Joseph George Handy Hendleman musician, dies at 76
1997 Melvin Calvin scientist, dies at 85
1997 Phyllis Hartnoll writer/editor, dies at 90
1997 Ronald William Eastman cinematographer, dies at 60
1998 Michael Tippett composer, dies at 93
1998 Walter Diemer inventor (bubble gum 1928), dies of heart failure at 93

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On this day...
0624 Moslem army occupies Kurashitische Caravan
0794 Church at Lindisfarne, England destroyed by Vikings
0871 Battle at Ashdown Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army
1198 Lotario di Segni elected Pope Innocentius III
1214 Earl Ferrand of Flanders drops ties with France
1499 Louis XII of France after papal divorce marries Anne, Duchess of Brittany to keep the duchy for the crown
1558 French troops under duke de Guise occupy Calais
1598 Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy
1598 Genoa Italy expels Jews
1656 Oldest surviving commercial newspaper begins (Haarlem, Netherlands)
1675 1st American commercial corporation chartered (New York Fishing Co)
1705 Georg F Händels 1st opera "Almira" premieres in Hamburg
1716 Dutch gang leader "Sjako" arrested
1745 England, Austria, Netherlands & Saxon sign anti-Prussian Quadruple Alliance
1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops occupy Stirling
1760 Comet C/1760 A1 (Great comet) approaches within 0.0682 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1790 George Washington delivers 1st "State of the Union" address
1798 11th Amendment ratified, judicial powers construed
1800 Austrians defeat French in 2nd battle of Novi
1800 Wild Boy of Aveyron discovered in southern France
1806 Cape colony becomes English colony
1806 Lewis & Clark find skeleton of 105' blue whale in Oregon
1811 Louisiana slave revolt by Charles Deslondes at German Coast
1815 Battle of New Orleans-War of 1812 ended 12/24/1814 but nobody knew
1830 Dutch King Willem I fires him displeasing parliament members
1833 Boston Academy of Music, 1st US music school, established
1838 1st telegraph message sent using dots & dashes, New Jersey
1838 Rebellion at Amherstburg, Ontario breaks out
1842 Dutch King Willem II charters Technical College Delft
1848 Austrian soldiers kill 10 students, Pavia
1853 1st US bronze equestrian statue (of Andrew Jackson) unveiled, Washington
1856 Dr John A Veatch discovers borax, Tuscan Springs CA
1857 Dion Boucicauly's "Poor of NY" premieres in New York City NY
1867 Legislation gives suffrage to DC blacks, despite President Johnson's veto
1870 US mint at Carson City NV begins issuing coins
1878 Secret meeting of King Leopold II's agent & Henry Morton Stanley
1884 Chrome tanning process for leather patented by Augustus Schultz
1889 Dr Herman Hollerith receives 1st US patent for a tabulating machine (1st Computer)
1894 Columbus World's fair in Chicago destroyed by fire
1897 Michael Eagan wins 1st US national amateur handball championship
1901 New South Wales score 918 all out vs South Australia in 560 minutes
1902 1st National Bowling Championship held (Chicago IL)
1904 Pope Pius X banned low cut dresses in the presence of churchmen
1913 Frank Chance becomes Yankee manager
1917 Austria-Hungarian troops conquer Forlani Italy
1918 Mississippi becomes 1st state to ratify 18th amendment (prohibition)
1918 President Wilson outlines his 14 points for peace after WWI
1923 Typography strike in Amsterdam
1925 1st all-female US state supreme court appointed, Texas
1926 Abdul-Aziz ibn Sa'ud becomes king of Hejaz; renames it Saudi Arabia
1929 1st telephone connection between Netherlands & West-Indies
1929 CBS radio network buys WABC in New York City NY
1930 Belgium Princess Marie-José marries Italian's crown prince Umberto
1931 Philadelphia Quakers set then NHL record of 15 straight loses
1932 Ratification of present San Francisco City Charter
1934 Jaap Speyers "Bluejackets" premieres in Amsterdam
1935 Spectrophotometer patented, AC Hardy
1937 -50ºF (-45.6ºC), San Jacinto NV (state record)
1938 Bradman scores 107 for South Australia vs Queensland (1st innings)
1940 Britain's 1st WWII rationing (bacon, butter & sugar)
1941 British Air Marshal Richard Peirse resigns
1945 "Youth for Christ" organizes
1947 Toronto Maple Leaf rookie Howie Meeker scores 5 goals in a game
1947 General George Marshall becomes Secretary of State
1948 Queen Wilhelmina signs death sentence against Ans van Dijk for treason
1949 "Make Mine Manhattan" closes at Broadhurst Theater New York City NY after 429 performances
1949 "My Romance" closes at Shubert Theater New York City NY after 95 performances
1949 "Small Wonder" closes at Coronet Theater New York City NY after 134 performances
1951 Thought extinct since 1615, a Cahow is rediscovered in Bermuda
1952 Jordan adopts constitution
1953 Indians bar night games with Browns (who refuse to share TV receipts)
1953 René Mayer forms French government
1954 Elvis Presley pays $4 to a Memphis studio & records his 1st two songs, "Casual Love" & "I'll Never Stand in Your Way"
1955 Furman sets NCAA basketball single-game scoring record with 154 points
1955 Georgia Tech ends Kentucky's 130-game home basketball win streak
1955 Louise Sugg wins LPGA Los Angeles Golf Open
1955 WUNC TV channel 4 in Chapel Hill NC (PBS) begins broadcasting
1956 Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" single goes to #1 & stays #1 for a record 11 weeks (for a single)
1956 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Conrad Aiken
1958 Cuban revolutionary forces capture Havana
1959 Charles de Gaulle inaugurated as President of France's 5th Republic
1961 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Yvor Winters
1962 Dutch express train crashes into slow commuter train, 91 die (Netherlands)
1962 Golfer Jack Nicklaus, 21, 1st pro appearance, he came in 50th
1963 "Mona Lisa", on loan, unveiled in America's National Gallery of Art
1963 Dmitri Shostakovich's Katharina Ismailova, premieres in Riga
1964 President Lyndon B Johnson declares "War on Poverty"
1964 European Parliament accept Mansholt Plan
1965 Senator Everett Dirksen introduces a bill to make marigold the national flower (didn't pass)
1965 Star of India returned to American Museum of Natural History
1966 Beatles' "Rubber Soul" album goes #1 & stays #1 for 6 weeks
1966 Beatles' "We Can Work It Out" single goes #1 & stays #1 for 3 weeks
1966 Georges Pompidou appointed French premier
1966 Who & the Kinks perform on the last "Shindig" TV show on ABC
1968 Jacques Cousteau's 1st undersea special on US network TV
1971 Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota established
1971 29 pilot whales beach themselves & die at San Clemente Island CA
1972 Dmitri Shostakovich's 15th Symphony, premieres in Moscow
1972 NCAA announces freshman can play on teams starting in fall
1973 Secret peace talks between US & North Vietnam resumed near Paris
1973 USSR launches Luna 21 for Moon landing
1973 "Tricks" opens at Alvin Theater New York City NY for 8 performances
1973 Greg Chappell's best Test bowling, 5-61 vs Pakistan at SCG
1974 Gold hits record $126.50 an ounce in London
1974 Silver hits record $3.40 an ounce in New York
1974 E Wilson Jr's musical "Let My People Come" premieres in New York City NY
1974 Loch Ness Monster photographed
1975 Judge Sirica orders release of Watergate's John W Dean III, Herbert W Kalmbach & Jeb Stuart Magruder from prison
1976 Franklin Mint strikes 1st gold coins for Netherlands Antilles
1978 Israel's Cabinet votes to `strengthen' settlements in occupied Sinai
1979 512 die as oil tanker Bantry Bay blows up
1979 Today Show gets a new theme song
1979 Argentina & Chile sign Beagle Canal accord
1979 Vietnamese troops overtook Khmer Rouge & occupy Phnom Penh
1980 Islander Glenn Resch's 20th shut-out opponent-Canucks 3-0
1980 NCAA decides to sponsor women's championships in 5 sports
1981 "Pirates of Penzance" opens at Uris Theater New York City NY for 772 performances
1981 India all out 63 in one-day international vs Australia
1981 Reds become last team to sign a free agent (Larry Biitner)
1982 Justice Department withdraws antitrust suit against IBM, pending since 1969
1982 Johnny Cash Parkway opens in Hendersonville Tennessee
1984 Washington Capitals Bengt Gustafsson scores 5 goals
1984 NCAA announces that basketball tournament will have 64 teams
1985 Japan launches Sakigake space probe to Halley's Comet
1986 President Reagan freezes Libyan assets in the US
1986 Willie McCovey is 16th elected to Hall of Fame in his 1st year
1987 Jack Sikma (Milwaukee) begins NBA free throw streak of 51 games
1987 Dow Jones closes above 2,000 for 1st time (2,002.25)
1988 9th largest NBA crowd 38,873-Chicago at Detroit
1988 Dow Jones down 140.58 points
1988 Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP-28S Advanced Scientific Calculator
1988 US female Figure Skating championship won by Debi Thomas
1989 Soviet Union promises to eliminate stockpiles of chemical weapons
1989 "42nd Street" closes at Winter Garden Theater New York City NY after 3,486 performances
1989 "Starlight Express" closes at Gershwin Theater New York City NY after 761 performances
1989 Boeing 737-400 crashes in England, 46 die
1991 Davis Rules with Jonathan Winters & Randy Quaid premieres on ABC-TV
1991 Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins & Rod Carew elected to Hall of Fame
1991 Rod Carew is 22nd player elected to Hall of Fame on 1st try
1991 Tamás Darnyi swims world record 400m medley (4 12.36)
1992 US President George Bush gets ill & vomits on Japanese prime minister's lap during Japanese tour
1993 Chicago Bull Michael Jordan scores his 20,000th career point
1993 Elvis Presley Commemorative Postage Stamp goes on sale
1993 NBC offers "Tonight Show" to David Letterman
1994 Rintje Ritsma skates world record 1500m (1 51.60)
1994 Russian manned space craft TM-18, launches into orbit
1994 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Davis
1995 "Guys & Dolls" closes at Martin Beck Theater New York City NY after 1143 performances
1995 15th United Negro College Fund raises $12,200,000
1995 Mike Schmidt is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
1996 Blizzard buries eastern US causing at least 50 deaths
1996 For 1st time in 25 years no one is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1998 New York Giant GM George Young resigns to accept NFL position
1998 Roseanne files for divorce from 3rd husband Ben Thomas
1998 Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski asks to act as his own lawyer
1998 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Ahmed Yousef sentenced to life

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

Louisana : Battle of New Orleans/Old Hickory Day/ Jackson Day (1815)
Switzerland : Meitlisunntig Festival-Woman in Villmergen War (1712) - - - - - ( Sunday )

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Religious Observances
Christian : Commemoration of St Gudula, patron of Brussels
Orthodox : St Dominique's Day
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Severinus
Jewish : Asarah B'Tevet (Siege of Jerusalem); Tevet 10, 5758

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Religious History
1800 In London, the first soup kitchens were opened for the relief of the poor.
1954 The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio was formed, representing 39 Southern Baptist churches in that state.
1956 In Ecuador, Plymouth Brethren missionaries Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully and Pete Fleming were killed by the Auca Indians, while attempting to evangelize their tribe. Elliot's widow Elisabeth later published the story of their work and martyrdom in her book "Through Gates of Splendor" (1953).
1966 Stephen Cardinal Wyszynski, the primate of Poland, was barred by the Polish government from attending the Vatican celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of Christianity in Poland.
1979 American Presbyterian apologist Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'A Christian is a person who has the possibility of innumerable new starts.'

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Thought for the day :
" Someone whom you reject today, will reject you tomorrow. "

[SAMWolf]

1966 Beatles' "Rubber Soul" album goes #1 & stays #1 for 6 weeks

IMHO, this is when the Beatles went downhill. A few good songs on this album but I never liked anything they did after this with the exception of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"

[Soaring Feather]

Good Morning SAM

This is great history, my eyes are not focused. I will come back to read later.

[Jen]

PING to the Foxhole.

If you would like to be removed from this list, send me a BLANK freepmail with "REMOVE" in the Subject line. You will be removed promptly. Thanks!

[Fiddlstix]

Good Morning Everybody.

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics J

Coffee & Donuts J

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Ladies.

[SAMWolf]

Good morning Jen. Things going better today?

[SAMWolf]

LOL! I love your "Tag Line"

[Fiddlstix]

LOL! I love your "Tag Line"

Thanks J
LOL
(Hey... I'm an All American Capitalist)

[manna]

Present ...

[SAMWolf]

Thank you manna, for your daily bump.

[SAMWolf]

(Hey... I'm an All American Capitalist)

Only way to be!!

[Jen]

Hi Sam. Things are about the same. My dad's brother got here yesterday, and he's a big help. I'm going home Friday.

[SAMWolf]

Hang in there Jen. We're praying for you and your family.