Replies

Flying Boxcar
Fairchild C-119J

The C-119, developed from the WW II Fairchild C-82, was designed to carry cargo, personnel,

litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute. The first

C-119 made its initial flight in November 1947 and by the time production ceased in 1955, more

than 1,100 C-119s had been built.

The USAF used the airplane extensively during the Korean War and many were supplied to the U.S.

Navy and Marine Corps and to the Air Forces of Canada, Belgium, Italy, and India. In South

Vietnam, the airplane once again entered combat, this time in a ground support role as AC-119

"gunships" mounting side-firing weapons capable of firing up to 6,000 rounds per minute per gun.

The C-119J on display was specially modified for the mid-air retrieval of space capsules

re-entering the atmosphere from orbit. On August 19, 1960, this aircraft made the world's first

midair recovery of a capsule returning from orbit when it "snagged" the parachute lowering the

Discoverer XIV satellite at 8,000 feet altitude 360 miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii.

The airplane was delivered to the Museum in November 1963.

SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 109 ft. 3 1/4 in.
Length: 86 ft. 5 3/4 in.
Height: 26 ft. 7 3/4 in.
Weight: 66,900 lbs. max.
Armament: None
Engines: Two Wright R-3350s of 3,500 hp. ea.
Cost: $590,000
Serial Number: 51-8037
C/N: 10915
PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 290 mph.
Cruising speed: 200 mph.
Range: 2,000 miles
Service Ceiling: 30,000 ft.

Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:
www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/korea/

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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

I remember the C-119 era well. I was an Army dependent in Japan from 1956 to '59, when Korea was the center of attention. I remember the men talking about the 8081st. My Dad used to fly back and forth to Korea in a C-119, which he called "the flying coffin". There were in those days maybe six or ten C-119's lost a year.

The Wright R-3350's, truly the epitome of the radial era, had an unfortunate way of losing oil pressure in seconds, and a loaded aircraft needed two engines to fly.

Knew and old 187th RCT guy, lost track of him a few years ago, who was in the combat drop mentioned in the article. The ground was all big rocks and you couldn't dig in where he was wounded (by Chinese mortar fire). He was as close to the ground as he could get and was wounded just as you would expect from ground bursts in that situation. To make things clear, Snippy, as you try to move around under fire, in order to pull your knees up one at a time you have to raise your behind up in the air, making it a good target!! Remember the sound of mortar fragments maybe six inches above my head, loud buggers!!

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on December 14:
1503 Nostradamus, (Michael de Notredame), French astrologist/prophet/some say fraud, born in St. Remy, Provence, France.
1546 Tycho Brahe, Knudstrup Denmark, astronomer (Golden nose)
1829 John Mercer Langston 1st black to hold US political office
1830 Allen Thomas Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1907
1832 Daniel Harris Reynolds Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1902
1837 William Wells Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1892
1895 George VI, king of England (1936-52)
1896 James Doolittle (aviator: U.S. Army Air Force Lt. General awarded Congressional Medal of Honor for leading 1st U.S. aerial raid against Japan in WWII)
1897 Margaret Chase Smith (politician)
1909 Edward L Tatum, US, molecular geneticist (Nobel 1958)
1911 Spike (Lindley) Jones (musician: drummer; band leader: City Slickers: Cocktails for Two, Der Fuhrer's Face)
1914 Morey Amsterdam (comedian, actor: The Dick Van Dyke Show; radio: NBC Monitor)
1917 Dan Daily (singer, dancer, actor)
1922 Don Hewitt, NYC, CBS news executive producer (60 Minutes)
1932 Abbe Lane (Lassman) (singer)
1932 Charlie Rich ('The Silver Fox': Grammy Award-winning singer)
1935 Lee Remick (actress)
1939 Frank St. Marseille (hockey)
1942 Dave Clark (singer: group: The Dave Clark Five)
1946 Patty (Anna Marie) Duke (Academy Award-winning actress: The Miracle Worker)
1946 Stan Smith (tennis: Amateur US Open Champ [1969], US Open Men's Singles Champ [1971], Wimbledon Men's Singles Champ [1972])
1949 Bill Buckner California, 1st baseman, error cost Red Sox 1986 world series

Deaths which occurred on December 14:
0872 Adrian II, Italian Pope (867-72)/last married pope, dies at about 80
1542 James, king of Scotland (1513-42), dies at 30
1754 Mahmud I sultan of Turkey, dies at 58
1799 George Washington, 1st president USA (1789-97), dies at 66. Some believe from incompetence of physicians who bled him to death while fighting acute laryngitis. [H]
1861 Albert, prince consort of England/husband of Queen Victoria, dies in London at 42 .
1873 J Louis R Agassiz Swiss geologist/paleo-biologist), dies
1903 William Ennis, 1st cop to die in electric chair
1918 Sidonio Pais, prince of Portugal, murdered
1926 Theo van Rysselberghe, Belgian painter (pointillism), dies at 64
1945 Josef Kramer known as "beast of Belsen", & 10 others
hanged for crimes committed at the Belsen and Oswiecim Nazi concentration camps
1947 Stanley Baldwin English premier (1923, 24-29, 35-37), dies at 80
1964 William Bendix actor (Life of Riley), dies in Los Angeles at 58
1974 Walter Lippmann US journalist (One of Dynasty), dies at 85
1985 Roger Maris, HR hitter (61 in 61, NY Yankees), dies of cancer at 51
1989 Andrei Sakharov, father of the Soviet H-bomb, dissident and Nobel Peace Prize (1975) winner for defending human rights, died at age 68.
1989 Lee Van Cleef actor (Good Bad & Ugly, Sabata), dies at 64
1997 Owen Barfield philosopher of language, dies at 99
1997 Stubby Kaye actor (Guys & Dolls, Sweet Charity), dies at 79

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 BRIGHAM ALBERT---SAVANNAH GA.
1966 HOLMAN GERALD A.---NORTHVILLE MI.
[ACFT DITCHED 2 SURV REFNO 0548]
1966 KOENIG EDWIN LEE---SPOKANE WA.
[ACFT DITCHED 2 SURV REFNO 0548]
1966 MOWREY RICHARD L.---SHAWNEE MISSION KS.
[ACFT DITCHED 2 SURVIVED]
1966 NEWELL MICHAEL T.---ELLENVILLE NY.
1966 WILSON CLAUDE D. JR.---STOCKTON CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 06/89]
1967 SEHORN JAMES E.---FOREST GROVE OR.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1971 BOYANOWSKI JOHN G.---HARRISBURG PA.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SEARCH NEG."]
1971 BREMMER DWIGHT A.---OAKLAND TN.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SEARCH NEG."]
1971 CALDWELL FLOYD D.---ST LOUIS MO.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SEARCH NEG."]
1971 HOLLINGER GREG N.---PAUL ID.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SEARCH NEG."]
1971 PERKINS CECIL C.---PORTSMOUTH VA.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SEARCH NEG."]
1971 PERRY OTHA L.---DETROIT MI.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SEARCH NEG."]

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

On this day...
0644 Osman ibn Affan appointed 3rd kalief of islam
0867 Adrian II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0872 John VIII begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1124 Theobald Buccapecus elected Pope Coelestinus II (he refuses)
1287 Zuider Zee seawall collapses with loss of 50,000 lives
1799 George Washington dies on his Mount Vernon estate.
1819 Alabama is admitted as the 22nd state, making 11 slave states and 11 free states.
1861 Prince Albert of England, one of the Union's strongest advocates, dies.
1863 Confederate General James Longstreet attacks Union troops at Bean's Station, Tenn.
1863 President Abraham Lincoln grants amnesty to the widow of Confederate General B.H. Helm after she swears allegiance to the Union. Mrs. Helm is the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.
1882 Henry Morton Stanley returns to Brussels from the Congo
1900 Max Planck presents the quantum theory at the Physics Society in Berlin.
1906 The first U1 submarine is brought into service in Germany. Italy's MAS torpedo boats.
1908 The first truly representative Turkish Parliament opens.
1909 The Labor Conference in Pittsburgh ends with a "declaration of war" on U.S. Steel.
1911 Roald Amundsen and four others discover the South Pole.
1915 Jack Johnson is 1st black world heavyweight boxing champion
1920 The League of Nations creates a credit system to aid Europe.
1939 The League of Nations drops the Soviet Union from its membership. Joseph Avenol sold out the League of Nations.
1941 German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel orders the construction of defensive positions along the European coastline. Desperate Hours on Omaha Beach
1941 1st NFL division playoff, Bears beat Packers 33-14
1941 Prime Minister Winston Churchill travels to US on board HMS Duke of York
1946 The United Nations adopt a disarmament resolution prohibiting the A-Bomb.
1949 Bulgarian ex-Premier Traicho Kostov is sentenced to die for treason in Sofia.
1960 A U.S. Boeing B-52 bomber sets a 10,000-mile non-stop record without refueling.
1969 Jackson Five made their 1st appearance on "Ed Sullivan Show"
1977 War criminal Pieter Menten sentenced in Amsterdam to 15 years
1977 "Saturday Night Fever,"starring John Travolta, premieres in NYC
1980 NATO warns the Soviets to stay out of the internal affairs of Poland, saying that intervention would effectively destroy the détente between the East and West.
1981 Israel annexes Golan Heights (seized from Syria in war of 1967)
1986 The experimental aircraft Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world.
1990 Right to Die case permits Nancy Cruzan to have her feeding tube removed, she dies 12 days later
2000 U.S. businessman Edward Pope was pardoned and released by Russia after being convicted of espionage.
2000 President-elect George W. Bush conferred by phone with congressional leaders of both parties and planned a goodwill tour of Washington, D.C.; he also received a flood of congratulatory calls from world leaders on his first full day as president-elect
2003 Saddam Hussein(Lion of Iraq, Scourge of the crusaders) shows off his latest palace and proves to the world that he doesn't have lice.

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

Alabama : Admission Day (1819)
El Salvador : Revolution Day
Iran : Death of Iman Ja'far Sadeq Day
Turkey : Festival of Mevlana-Jelaeddin Rumi (Whirling Dervishes)
World : Halcyon Days
US : Halcyon Days Begins (7 days, 1st of two zones)
US : Tell Someone They're Doing A Good Job Week Begins
Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Month

Religious Observances
Third Sunday of Advent
Lutheran : Commemoration of Teresa of Avila
Roman Catholic, Lutheran : Memorial of St Spyridon
Roman Catholic, Lutheran : Feast of John of the Cross, priest/doctor

Religious History
1363 Birth of Jean Charlier de Gerson, French theologian. During the papal schism of 1378_1414, Gerson attended the councils of Pisa (1409) and Constance (1414_18). He spent his last years in a monastery at Lyons teaching children, composing hymns and writing books on Christian mysticism.
l836 Birth of Frances Ridley Havergal, English devotional writer. In frail health most of her life, Miss Havergal was nevertheless a fruitful writer, and authored such hymns as "Take My Life and Let It Be," "Who is on the Lord's Side?" and "I Gave My Life for Thee."
1922 "Toc H" (the British alphabetic letter abbreviation for "Talbot House") was chartered. A Christian fellowship which originated in 1915 in Belgium under Anglican chaplain P.T.B. Clayton, M.C., its various branches minister through a variety of Christian social services.
1955 Catholic religious leader, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, 60, was quoted in "Look" magazine on this date as stating that 'an atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support.'
1981 The modern nation of Israel formally annexed the Golan Heights, which had been captured from Syria during the 1967 War.

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

Thought for the day :
"If your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt."

Question of the day...
Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?

Murphys Law of the day...(Jenkinson's Law)
It won't work.

Amazing Fact #104,973
Hamsters love to eat crickets.