FReeper Canteen ~ Part XI of Japan: War, Warfare and Weapons ~ June 15, 2004

On This Day in History

Birthdates which occurred on June 15:
1330 Edward the black prince, prince of Wales (1343-1376)
1767 Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson 1st lady
1843 Edvard Grieg Bergen Norway, composer (Peer Gynt Suites)
1894 Robert Russell Bennett Kansas City, composer/arranger (Oklahoma!)
1902 Erik H Erickson psychologist (Existentionalist)
1910 David Rose London England, orch leader (Red Skelton Show, Stripper)
1914 Saul Steinberg Romania, cartoonist, illustrator (New Yorker)
1922 Morris K Udall (Rep-D-Az)
1932 Mario Cuomo (Gov-D-NY)
1937 Waylon Jennings singer of innumerable country songs (Ramblin' Man)
1941 Harry Nilsson [Johnny Niles],singer/songwriter
1942 Xaveria Hollander [DeVries], Surabaya Indonesia, auth (Happy Hooker)
1945 Rod Argent England, keyboardist (The Zombies-She's Not There)
1946 Jim Varney Lexington KY, "Hey Vern", actor (Ernest Goes to Jail)
1947 Lee Purcell NC, actor (Big Wednesday, Mr Majestyk)
1954 Jim Belushi Chicago Ill, comedian (Sat Night Live, Trading Places)
1956 Polly Draper Palo Alto Calif, actress (Ellyn-30 Something, Hooters)
1958 Wade Boggs Nebraska, Red Sox 3rd baseman (AL bat champ 1985-88)
1964 Courtney Cox Birmingham Ala, actress (Family Ties, Cocoon II)

Deaths which occurred on June 15:
1381 Wat Tyler leader of English Peasants' Revolt, beheaded in London
1467 Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy, dies at 76
1849 James Knox Polk the 11th US Pres, dies in Nashville, Tenn
1968 West Montgomery jazz guitarist dies of a heart attack at 48
1984 Meredith Willson composer (The Music Man), dies at 82
1989 Victor French actor (Highway to Heaven), dies at 54 of cancer

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 KOPFMAN THEODORE F.---KENT OH.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 SWANSON JOHN WILLARD---ARLINGTON IL.

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

On this day...
763 -BC- Assyrians record total solar eclipse event on clay tablet

1215 King John signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, England (or else)

1381 Wat Tyler, leader of English Peasants' Revolt, beheaded in London
1389 Battle of Kossovo; Turks defeat Serbs, Bosnians
1520 Pope threatens to excommunicate Luther out of Catholic Church
1567 Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy
1590 Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther
1664 NJ established
1752 Benjamin Franklin, in a dangerous experiment, demonstrated the relationship between lightning and electricity by flying a kite during a storm in Philadelphia. An iron key suspended from the string attracted a lightning bolt.
1775 George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of American Army
1779 General Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, Bronx
1785 2 French balloonists die in world's 1st fatal aviation accident
1804 12th amendment ratified; deals with manner of choosing president
1836 Arkansas becomes 25th state
1844 Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber
1846 Oregon Treaty signed, setting US-British boundary at 49ø N
1851 Jacob Fussell, Baltimore dairyman, sets up 1st ice-cream factory
1860 1st White settlement in Idaho (Franklin)
1862 Gen JEB Stuart completes his "ride around McClellan"
1864 Battle for Petersburg begins as Gen Grant assaults Confederate line
1864 Robert E Lee's home area (Arlington, VA) becomes a miltary cemetery
1866 C H F Peters discovers asteroid #88 Thisbe
1866 Prussia attacks Austria
1869 Celluloid patented by John Wesley Hyatt, Albany, NY
1869 Mike McCoole (US) defeats Tom Allen (England) in bare-knuckle bout
1871 Phoebe Couzins is 1st woman graduate of a US collegiate law school
1876 Sara Spencer (R) is 1st woman to address a US presidential cconvention
1877 Henry O Flipper becomes 1st black graduate at West Point
1878 1st attempt at motion pictures (used 12 cameras, each taking 1 picture) done to see if all 4 of a horse's hooves leave the ground [Eadweard Muybridge]
1887 NY Giants beat Phila Phillies 29-1
1896 Tsunami strikes Shinto festival on beach at Sanriku Japan 27,000 are killed, 9,000 injured, with 13,000 houses destroyed
1902 Canada's Maritime Provinces switch from Eastern to Atlantic time
1902 Justin Clark of Corsicana, Tx minors hits 8 home runs in 1 game
1904 Side-wheeler "General Slocum" burns in NY's East River (1,031 die)
1907 44 nations meet in 2nd Hague Peace Conference
1915 US government mints 1st $50 gold pieces, for Panama Pacific Expo
1918 1" of snow falls in Northern Pennsylvania (more proof of global warming)
1919 1st nonstop Atlantic flight (Alcock & Brown) lands in Ireland
1924 Ford Motor Company manufactures its 10 millionth automobile
1924 Native Americans are proclaimed US citizens
1925 B Jekhovsky discovers asteroid #1093 Freda
1929 1st time NY curb stock exchange transacts more business than NY Exch
1933 C Jackson discovers asteroids #1278 Kenya & #1279 Uganda
1934 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1324 Knysna
1934 Great Smokey Mountains National Park dedicated
1934 K Reinmuth discovers asteroid #1322 Coppernicus
1938 1st night game at Bkln Ebbets Field (Reds 6, Dodgers 0) as Cin Red Johnny Vander Meer hurls unprecident 2nd consecutive no-hitter
1939 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1676 Kariba
1940 French fortress of Verdun captured by Germans
1944 US forces begin invasion of Saipan in Pacific
1950 Itzigsohn discover asteroid 1581 Abanderada, 1582 Martir & 1779 Parana
1951 1st coml electronic computer dedicated Phila
1951 Joe Louis scored his last knock out victory
1956 John Lennon (15) & Paul McCartney (13) meet for the 1st time as Lennon's rock group The Quarrymen perform at a church dinner
1957 42.01 cm (16.54") of rainfall, East St Louis, Ill (state record)
1960 Argentina complains to UN about Israeli illicit transfer of Eichman (Boo Hoo)
1965 Bob Dylan recorded "Like a Rolling Stone" in his first "electric session" at Columbia Studios in New York.
1969 "Hee Haw" with Roy Clark & Buck Owens premiers on CBS TV
1971 Vernon E Jordan Jr, appointed exec director of National Urban League
1973 "American Graffiti" opens in NYC (where were you in 62?)
1977 Spain's 1st free elections since 1936
1978 Jordan's King Hussein marries Elizabeth Halaby, 26-yr-old American
1978 Soyuz 29 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6; they stay 139 days
1979 1st space shuttle SRB qualification test firing; 122 seconds
1982 Riots in Argentina after Falklands/Malvinas defeat
1983 Supreme Court struck down state & local restrictions on abortion
1984 Thomas Hearns KOs Roberto Duran
1985 En route to Halley's Comet, USSR's Vega 2 drops lander on Venus
1986 Pravda announces high-level Chernobyl staff fired for stupidity
1989 Balt Orioles pull their 9th triple play (vs Yankees)
1989 Ronald Reagan is knighted by Queen Elizabeth
1991 Philippines volcano Mount Pinatubo errupts
1994 Israel and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations.
1995 During his trial, O.J. Simpson
1995 Sinead O'Connor attacked two Israeli photographers who'd been following her as she did some sightseeing in Jerusalem.
1996 A truck bomb blew up in a retail district of Manchester, England, injuring more than 200 people in an attack claimed by the Irish Republican Army.
1999 South Korean ships sink a North Korean torpedo boat.
2000 Al Gore named Commerce Secretary William Daley to take over his presidential campaign, replacing Tony Coelho, who had abruptly resigned, citing "health problems".

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

Arkansas : Admission Day (1836)
Denmark : Flag Day/Valdemar Day (1219)
Idaho : Pioneer Day (1910)
Korea : Farmer's Day-day to transplant rice seeds
Oregon : Treaty Day (1846)
Paraguay : Chaco Peace Day (1935)(Sunday)
US : Father's Day (Sunday)
National Little League Baseball Week (Day 2)
National Dog Bite Prevention Week (Day 2)(bite em first)
World : Sauntering Day
Surimi Seafood Month

Religious Observances
RC : Commemoration of SS Modestus, Crescentia, martyrs
RC : Commemoration of St Vitus, martyr, protector of epileptics
Feast of St. Bernard of Menthon.

Religious History
1520 Leo X issued the papal encyclical 'Exsurge Domine,' which condemned German Reformer Martin Luther as a heretic on 41 counts and branded him an enemy of the Roman Catholic Church.
1649 Margaret Jones of Charlestown became the first person tried and executed for witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts.
1686 In Boston, the King's Chapel was organized. It was the first Anglican church established in colonial New England.
1950 American missionary martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'A man without Christ has his roots only in his own times, and his fruits as well.'
1979 Greater Europe Mission moved its headquarters from Chicago to Wheaton, Illinois. Founded in 1949, GEM is an evangelical missionary agency involved in church planting and evangelism in over a dozen European countries.

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

Thought for the day :
"It is much easier to become a father than to be one."

Things To Do If You Ever Became An Evil Overlord...
When you've captured your adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" Just say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought shoot him then say "No."

The World's Shortest Books...
Al Gore: The Wild Years

Dumb Laws...
Minneapolis Minnesota:
Red cars may not drive down Lake Street.

TOP 10 SIGNS YOUR FAMILY IS STRESSED...
Conversations often begin with "Put the gun down, and then we can talk".

Photograph, Medal of Honor and Flags

*JIMENEZ, JOSE FRANCISCO

Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company K, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.

Place and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 28 August 1969.

Entered service at: Phoenix, Ariz.

Born: 20 March 1946, Mexico City, Mex.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a fire team leader with Company K, in operations against the enemy.

L/Cpl. Jimenez' unit came under heavy attack by North Vietnamese soldiers concealed in well camouflaged emplacements. L/Cpl. Jimenez reacted by seizing the initiative and plunging forward toward the enemy positions. He personally destroyed several enemy personnel and silenced an antiaircraft weapon. Shouting encouragement to his companions, L/Cpl. Jimenez continued his aggressive forward movement. He slowly maneuvered to within 10 feet of hostile soldiers who were firing automatic weapons from a trench and, in the face of vicious enemy fire, destroyed the position. Although he was by now the target of concentrated fire from hostile gunners intent upon halting his assault, L/Cpl. Jimenez continued to press forward. As he moved to attack another enemy soldier, he was mortally wounded. L/Cpl. Jimenez' indomitable courage, aggressive fighting spirit and unfaltering devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service.

JOEL, LAWRENCE

Rank and organization: Specialist Sixth Class (then Sp5c), U.S. Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade.

Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 8 November 1965,

Entered service at: New York City, N.Y.

G.O. No.: 15, 5 April 1967.

Born: 22 February 1928, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.

Sp6c. Joel demonstrated indomitable courage, determination, and professional skill when a numerically superior and well-concealed Viet Cong element launched a vicious attack which wounded or killed nearly every man in the lead squad of the company. After treating the men wounded by the initial burst of gunfire, he bravely moved forward to assist others who were wounded while proceeding to their objective. While moving from man to man, he was struck in the right leg by machine gun fire. Although painfully wounded his desire to aid his fellow soldiers transcended all personal feeling. He bandaged his own wound and self-administered morphine to deaden the pain enabling him to continue his dangerous undertaking. Through this period of time, he constantly shouted words of encouragement to all around him. Then, completely ignoring the warnings of others, and his pain, he continued his search for wounded, exposing himself to hostile fire; and, as bullets dug up the dirt around him, he held plasma bottles high while kneeling completely engrossed in his life saving mission. Then, after being struck a second time and with a bullet lodged in his thigh, he dragged himself over the battlefield and succeeded in treating 13 more men before his medical supplies ran out. Displaying resourcefulness, he saved the life of 1 man by placing a plastic bag over a severe chest wound to congeal the blood. As 1 of the platoons pursued the Viet Cong, an insurgent force in concealed positions opened fire on the platoon and wounded many more soldiers. With a new stock of medical supplies, Sp6c. Joel again shouted words of encouragement as he crawled through an intense hail of gunfire to the wounded men. After the 24 hour battle subsided and the Viet Cong dead numbered 410, snipers continued to harass the company. Throughout the long battle, Sp6c. Joel never lost sight of his mission as a medical aidman and continued to comfort and treat the wounded until his own evacuation was ordered. His meticulous attention to duty saved a large number of lives and his unselfish, daring example under most adverse conditions was an inspiration to all. Sp6c. Joel's profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

"If there be any glory in war, let it rest on the shoulders of men like these." -- Audie Murphy

Thank you to every soldier, sailor, airman, marine and coast guardsman who has ensured that I have the freedoms I have today. You are my heroes.
You will not be forgotten.

Graphics and information from the MOH website.

KOPFMAN, THEODORE FRANK

Name: Theodore Frank Kopfman
Rank/Branch: O4/United States Navy, pilot
Unit: VA55
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Kent OH
Date of Loss: 15 June 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 201400 North 1060600 East
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A4E
Missions: 198
Other Personnel in Incident: none

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS: 730212 RELEASED BY DRV

SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor
P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and
spelling errors).
UPDATE - 09/95 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO

THEODORE S. KOPFMAN
Commander - United States Navy
Shot Down: June 15, 1966
Released: February 12, 1973

My family and I wish to express our sincere gratitude to the responsible,
loyal, patriotic, and concerned people of this great Nation for coming to
the aid of its POW's in the year 1969. You forced a cruel and sadistic enemy
to drastically improve our treatment and living conditions by sounding the
voice of our law abiding, normally silent majority.

Please don't allow yourself to take for granted the security provided by the
United States of America. Since the conception of communism we have faced a
deceitful, unethical, and subversive enemy that has sworn to destroy our way
of life. That enemy is real and knows no limit in its use of deceptive
propaganda, linguistical or synonymical distortion. It is important to
understand and analyze the Communistic threat so that every thinking person,
particularly our children, can appreciate how fortunate we are to live in
America.

I request that you proudly display and demand respect for our National
Ensign. We have every reason to be proud and grateful for our citizenship.
It is essential that we protect the overwheiming good that exists within our
form of Government as we patiently correct the very few weaknesses.
Patriotism is "SUPER COOL," not old fashioned.

After six years and eight months as a POW, I possess a profound admiration
for the leadership, wisdom, and unity exhibited by my shipmates in Hanoi. I
proudly observed Americans of all colors, rank, and religions continuously
supporting this country and each other, no matter how severe the punishment.
Those of us who returned consider ourselves fortunate. I believe every one
of us hope and pray you will never let the world forget the dead, the
crippled, or missing in action.

It is my humble privilege to serve our country in any capacity and under any
circumstances.

December 1996
Theodore Kopfman retired from the United States Navy as a Captain. He and
his wife Pat reside in Nevada.

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