The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Korean War POW's - Feb. 13th, 2004

http://korea50.army.mil/history/factsheets/pow.shtml ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

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


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Operations Big and Little Switch



POW repatriation in Korea

For as long as there has been war, there have been prisoners of war. Throughout history, prisoners have been enslaved, executed and ransomed. To develop humanitarian laws to protect wounded combatants and civilians during times of war, a series of international meetings were held. The resulting agreements became known as the Geneva Convention. The third meeting in 1929 specifically addressed treatment of prisoners of war (POWs). The fourth convention, ratified in 1949, replaced the agreements of the first three conventions and called for the protection of civilians during wartime.

When hostilities broke out in 1950, it was incumbent upon both sides to treat POWs humanely — to house them, feed them and administer adequate medical care, for example. Unfortunately United Nations Command (UNC) service members often were subject to inhumane treatment and many died while in captivity.

Early Problems

The disposition of prisoners of war represented a major source of contention during the prolonged Korean War truce talks. The North Koreans had not expected to fight the Americans and had no plan for dealing with American POWs. The primary sticking point was the issue of voluntary repatriation. The debate concerned whether POWs should have the option of refusing repatriation or be forcibly returned. Among North Korean People's Army (NKPA) POWs were Republic of Korea (ROK) soldiers who had been captured and forced into the NKPA ranks. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) POWs held by the United Nations Command included Chinese Nationalist soldiers who had been forced into CCF ranks. In January 1952 the UNC took a firm stand for voluntary repatriation, but this matter was not basically resolved until June 1953 when the creation of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC), an organization that took custody of POWs who refused repatriation.

U.S. personnel captured or interned during the Korean War totaled 7,245. Of this number, 2,806 died in captivity, 4,418 were returned to military control, and 21 refused repatriation. In the summer of 1950 the absence of a POW policy by the NKPA became especially evident with the capture of Taejon in the Republic of Korea. The NKPA killed several thousand South Korean civilians and summarily executed 42 captured American soldiers. Additional executions of American soldiers occurred during this period, but there was no firm evidence that the North Korean High Command sanctioned this practice. The absence of an NKPA POW program coupled with the rash conduct of uncontrolled North Korean small units contributed to the atrocities.


Photo Caption: U.S. Army soldiers under Chinese People's Volunteer Army guard, most likely from initial fighting around the Chosin (Changjin) Reservoir. November 1950

Communist POW Camps

Confinement of U.S. military personnel in the POW camps located in North Korea operated in three phases: July 1950 until the entry of the CCF into the war in November; the winter of 1950-1951 when several temporary camps were created that included the three "Valleys"; and the permanent camps. As mentioned, the NKPA had no POW system, just collection points. During the summer and fall of 1950, the NKPA moved POWs to the rear on foot, often by a death march. For example, during a 120-mile forced march during November 1950, approximately 130 of 700 POWs died. The First Offensive of the Chinese Communist Forces in late 1950 resulted in the capture of several thousand U.S. soldiers and Marines. Like the NKPA, the CCF at that time had no established POW system.

As an expedient, the CCF set up a temporary camp called the "Valley" located 10 miles south of Pyoktong, North Korea, near the Yalu River. Primitive living conditions there resulted in the death of 500 to 700 of the 1,000 internees. American soldiers, most of them members of the 2d Infantry Division captured at Kunu-ri in November 1950, were kept at a place called "Death Valley," 30 miles southeast of Pukchin. Forty percent of the camp's 2,000 inmates died within three months. The other internment point known as "Peaceful Valley," located near Kanggye, that held about 300 U.S. POWs, had better living conditions than the other two "Valleys" and only a 10 percent death rate.

Overall, U.N. POWs died in large numbers during the first year of the war. Lack of food, shelter and medicine took its toll. During the first winter, some American POWs reported marching for days, sometimes in circles it seemed. Prisoners, weakened from battle, the cold and lack of food, who could not keep pace with their fellow prisoners were often left to die or executed by their captors. Prisoners carried and dragged one another through these marches. Some American POWs were young teenagers. One soldier captured during the Chosin Reservoir Campaign was 16 years old.


Photo Caption: American prisoners held by North Koreans

Through most of 1951, despite established camps, casualties continued to mount. Prisoners were fed what North Korean peasants lived on and medical supplies were unavailable to the doctors. Finally the death rate, sometimes approaching 40 percent, alarmed the Chinese. Soon food and medical supplies were provided and conditions improved for the rest of the war.

The U.N. forces were no better prepared to hold POWs than the communists. Initially enemy soldiers were kept at Pusan, but as their numbers swelled, Chinese and North Korean POWs were moved to compounds on Koje-do Island. Eventually, food, clothing and housing were adequate as reported by the International Red Cross, but the large numbers of POWs — at one time over 80,000 — made close supervision difficult. Fights broke out within the camps and prisoners died in bloody clashes with one another. Disturbances usually were usually along pro- and anticommunist lines.


Photo Caption: A demonstration by Chinese Communist Forces captives at the U.N. POW Camp, Koje-do, is in progress as the camp commandant directs the internees to take down their communist flags, pictures of communist leaders and hand-written banners which condemn so-called American imperialism and allegedly charge violation of international law.

By 1951 the CCF decided that there was propaganda value in a POW system. The Chinese developed eight permanent POW camps that stretched over a 50-mile sector in North Korea along the Yalu River. Survivors of the "Valleys" were brought in, and Camp 5 at Pyoktong became the main camp and headquarters for the Chinese POW command. The CCF segregated the POWs according to rank, race and nationality and created interrogation and indoctrination programs. With their indoctrination program, the CCF tested each prisoner's faith in the democratic process, but the Chinese sought publicity more than converts to communism.

Daily propaganda lectures and broadcasts that attacked capitalist society were conducted, and the CCF persuaded some POWs to sign peace petitions and make pro-communist statements. The term "brainwashing" obtained notoriety at this time and caused concern to American authorities. Brainwashing was defined as an intense and prolonged psychological process designed to erase an individual's past beliefs and to substitute new ones. Even though some American POWs collaborated with their captors, most of them did so for personal convenience. No confirmed cases of brainwashing came out of the Korean War.

Mistreatment of American POWs

The Chinese engaged in physical abuse of American POWs that included kicks and slaps, and there were some cases of physical torture. No cases of physical abuse resulting in the death of American POWs have been proved. However, some of the more than 2,600 men who were officially listed as having died in captivity might have perished from physical abuse. Forty percent of U.S. Army POWs died while confined, but the causes were generally attributed to unchecked disease, untended wounds, malnutrition and extreme cold. Many of these deaths occurred prior to creation of the permanent camps.


Photo Caption: The inscription on the white cross reads "8 P.W. bodies removed from this ditch," mute evidence of communist brutality that took place in POW compound #72. POWs were tried by kangaroo courts and sentenced to death for speaking out against communism.

Some 670, or about 10 percent, of captured U.S. Army soldiers escaped during the Korean War. All of these escapes took place from front- line holding points or aid stations shortly after capture. There were about 50 documented escape attempts by Army POWs from the temporary and permanent camps, but none succeeded. The rough terrain, the problem of blending in with the local population, and the great distances to the UNC lines made escape very difficult.

The issue of POW repatriation was the major point of contention during peace talks, causing the peace process to drag on two years.

During the early discussions on prisoners of war in late 1951, no mention was made about the principles of voluntary or forced repatriation. Army staff officers in Washington had pointed out in mid-1951 that there were many Chinese prisoners of war who had formerly served in the forces of Chiang Kai-shek. They and others who had demonstrated anticommunist attitudes in the UNC prisoner of war camps would likely be severely punished if they were returned to communist control. The possibility of offering such prisoners a choice would be fair and humane.

U.N. negotiators' first concern was the quick and safe return of all the prisoners held by the communists; they were reluctant to espouse any policy that might endanger their release. Some negotiators were willing to try a gambit that might work. If the communists would consent to a one-for-one exchange, the UNC could withhold all prisoners unwilling to return to communist control until all of the UNC prisoners of war had been exchanged and then could let the remaining detainees exercise an option. The enemy negotiators, however, quickly extinguished any hopes for a one-for-one exchange and insisted firmly on an all-for-all settlement.

The enemy secured fresh ammunition for their attacks on voluntary repatriation in May 1952, when violence erupted in the UNC prisoner of war camps on the island of Koje-do, off the southern coast of South Korea. Communist prisoners seized the UNC camp commander and used him to bargain both for concessions and for damaging admissions that the prisoners had been treated inhumanely and had been subjected to forcible screening. Although these concessions were given under duress, the enemy was able to gain the propaganda initiative during the summer of 1952.

Negotiations stalled. Both U.N. Commander General Mark W. Clark, and chief UNC negotiator Major General William K. Harrison recommended that the UNC present the communists with several alternate proposals for the disposition of the nonrepatriates:

1. All prisoners would be brought to the demilitarized zone and checked off by Red Cross or joint military teams. They could then choose whether to be repatriated or to remain in the control of the side that detained them;

2. All prisoners desiring repatriation would be exchanged expeditiously. All non-repatriates would be brought to the demilitarized zone in small groups and would be interviewed by teams from countries not involved in the war and could then elect repatriation or nonrepatriation;

3. All prisoners desiring repatriation would be exchanged as quickly as possible. All nonrepatriates would then be brought to the demilitarized zone and freed. They could then go, without screening or interviews, to the side of their choice.

When the communists turned down these proposals and continued to demand full repatriation, Harrison declared on Oct. 8, that the meetings would be in recess until they accepted one of the UNC proposals or offered a constructive one of their own. The talking stage had come to an end.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

Operation Big Switch





The Ice Thaws

On March 5, Soviet Premier Josef Stalin died unexpectedly and a thaw began in East–West relations as his successors sought to consolidate their power during the transition period that followed. Evidence of the change came in late March. In the previous month Clark had sent a routine letter to the North Korean and Chinese communist commanders that requested the immediate exchange of sick and wounded prisoners. Earlier attempts along this line had been fruitless and Clark held little hope that his suggestion would be accepted at that time. In the aftermath of Stalin's death, the communist military commanders, on March 28, not only accepted Clark's offer on the sick and wounded, but also opened the door for further negotiations to settle the disposition of the other prisoners as well.



In the meantime, the liaison officers met April 6, to discuss the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners in a completely different and businesslike atmosphere, free of recriminations and rhetoric. Lists were prepared and exchanged and arrangements were made for transporting the sick and wounded to Panmunjom for their transfer.



Operation LITTLE SWITCH, as it was called, took place on April 20-May 3, 1953, when the UNC turned over 5,194 North Korean and 1,030 Chinese soldiers, plus 446 civilian internees, to the communists, and received 684 sick and wounded soldiers, including 149 Americans, from the enemy.


Korea - At Panmunjom, Korea, POW's (recently repatriated in the UN POW exchange) are off-loaded from ambulances. Note the ones in the foreground walking towards tent. U.S. Air Force Photo

Finally, the communists were ready to complete the armistice agreement. A final demarcation line was drawn and last-minute arrangements for the transfer of prisoners, repatriates and nonrepatriates was settled. On July 27, the plenary delegates met at Panmunjom and signed 18 copies of the truce agreement. Twelve hours later, the fighting came to an end.



Shortly after the Armistice was signed, the exchange of prisoners got under way. Operation BIG SWITCH was the main POW exchange. Beginning in August the UNC transferred 75,823 POWs to the communists in the DMZ and received 12,773 allied POWs in return. Of the 75,823 enemy POWs, 70,183 were North Koreans and 5,640 were Chinese.



The 12,773 allied POWs included 7,862 ROK personnel, 3,597 Americans, 945 Britons, 229 Turks and smaller numbers from other countries. On Sept. 23, 1953, the UNC turned over 22,604 nonrepatriates: 14,704 Chinese and 7,900 Koreans. Of the 22,604 CCF/NKPA nonrepatriates, 628 returned to communist control, 13 escaped, 38 died while in NNRC custody, 86 went to India and 21,839 were released to UNC control. Of the 21,839, 14,235 were Chinese, most of whom went to Taiwan. There were 359 allied nonrepatriates: 335 ROK soldiers, 23 (later 21) Americans, and 1 Briton.

Foreign Prisoners of War Repatriated in 1953

Australia ....................... 26
Belgium .......................... 1
Canada ........................ 32
Colombia ..................... 28
Ethiopia ......................... 0
France .......................... 12
Greece ........................... 3
Luxembourg ................... 0
Netherlands ................... 3
New Zealand .................. 1
Philippines ................... 41
South Africa .................. 9
Thailand ......................... 0
Turkey ......................... 243
United Kingdom ....... 977
Total ......................... 1,376


Code of Conduct


Photo Caption: POWs repatriated during a United Nations prisoner exchange file down the stairway at Inchon, Korea prior to being processed and sent home. September 1953

Postwar interviews with U.S. POWs revealed many charges of collaboration with the enemy among the returning soldiers. The Defense Department (DoD) investigated more than 500 of the repatriated soldiers, but only a few were convicted of misconduct by court-martial. A DoD Advisory Committee on POWs drafted a code of conduct for the armed services, which U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed as Executive Order 10631 on Aug. 17, 1955. The committee advised that U.S. armed services personnel receive training in resistance to enemy interrogation, and the code provided a standard of behavior whereby American POWs should resist the enemy and keep faith with their fellow prisoners.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/korea50/k50-15.htm

[snippy_about_it]

Korean War Project

[snippy_about_it]

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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Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

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

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Iraq Homecoming Tips

~ Thanks to our Veterans still serving, at home and abroad. ~ Freepmail to Ragtime Cowgirl | 2/09/04 | FRiend in the USAF

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[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



It's Friday! Good Morning Everyone

If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

Vertol 76 - No info, likely from the late fifties.

[SpookBrat]

Good morning.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[The Mayor]

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. —1 John 4:18

We won't fear God's judgment when we know His forgiving love.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Aeronaut. Have mercy, look at that thing. LOL. Here ya go:

The Vertol 76 received the Army designation VZ-2 in early 1956. The 26.5 ft fuselage was built of metal tube construction, and had a helicopter-like two seat cockpit.

A single 860 bhp Lycoming YT53-L-1 was mounted on the fuselage, and drove the two 9.5 ft three-bladed propellers by a cross-shaft through the 25 ft span wings. In hover, pitch and yaw were controlled by two ducted propellers in the tail; in transition, aerodynamic controls were phased in until the tail propellers were no longer needed in horizontal flight. Ground testing began in April 1957.

The first vertical flight was made on 13 August 1957, first horizontal flight on 7 January 1958, and first complete transition on 15 July 1958. It continued to fly until 1965, making over 450 flights, including 34 full conversions.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning spooky, good to see you. How are things with you?

[radu]

Good morning to all at the Foxhole!

To all our military men and women, past and present,
THANK YOU for serving the USA!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning radu. I'm just about to head out the door. TGIF!

[radu]

Mornin' snippy. Have a great Friday!

I'm heading off to the bat cave. Been a loooooong night.

[The Mayor]

morning snippy

[GailA]

Here's another site to investigate with more facts and lots of good photos of air planes

seanet.com

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks Gail. Great link! Good morning.

[Valin]

With I sense of foreboding, we now present
On this Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on February 13:
1480 Hieronymus Aleander [Girólamo Aleandro], Italian diplomat/cardinal
1599 Alexander VII [Fabio Chigi], Siena Italy, pope (1655-67)
1682 Giovanni Battista Piazzetta Venice, painter (Fortune Teller)
1766 Thomas Malthus Rookery Surrey UK, economist/demographer/population expert (Law of Malthus)
1768 Édouard Mortier French general, duke, prime minister (1834-35)
1831 John Aaron Rawlins Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1869
1833 William Whedbee Kirkland Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1915
1849 Lord Randolph Churchill England, politician, Winston's father
1861 Uchimura Kanzo Tokyo, religious writer (How I Became a Christian)
1885 Elizabeth Virginia "Bess" Truman 1st lady (1945-53)
1887 Alvin York famed US soldier with 25 kills in WWI
1892 Grant Wood US, painter (American Gothic)
1892 Robert Houghwout Jackson 84th Supreme Court justice (1941-54)
1902 Karl Menger Austria/US mathematician (theory of dimension)
1910 William B Shockley London, US physicist (Nobel 1956 - for research on semiconductors and discovery of the transistor effect along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain)
1914 George Kleinsinger San Bernardino CA, composer (Tubby the Tuba)
1918 Patty Berg Minneapolis MN, LPGA golfer (1938 US Amateur, 1943, 1955 AP Sports Woman of the Year)
1919 Eddie Robinson 2nd winningest college football coach (Grambling)
1923 Chuck Yeager US test pilot (1st man to break sound barrier)
1933 Kim Novak [Marilyn], Chicago IL, actress (Vertigo, Of Human Bondage)
1934 George Segal actor/banjo player (Carbon Copy, Fun with Dick & Jane)
1942 Carol Lynley New York NY, actress (Night Stalker, Fantasy Island, Immortal)
1944 Stockard Channing New York NY, actress (Grease, The Big Bus, Without a Trace)
1944 Jerry Springer London England, talk show host (Jerry Springer Show)
1946 Rainer Werner Fassbinder German director/actor
1952 Ed Gagliardi New York NY, rock bassist (Foreigner-Cold As Ice)
1970 Kevin Stocker US baseball infielder (Philadelphia Phillies)
1979 Julie Nagle Miss North Dakota Teen-USA (1997)

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Deaths which occurred on February 13:
1130 Honorius II [Lamberto], Pope (1124-30), dies
1542 Catherine Howard queen of England/5th wife of Henry VIII, is beheaded
1660 Charles X Gustaaf king of Sweden (1654-60), dies at 37
1818 George Rogers Clark frontier military leader in Revolutionary War, dies
1883 Wilhelm Richard Wagner German composer (Die Walküre), dies in Venice at 69
1891 David Dixon Porter US Rear Admiral (Union Army-Civil War), dies at 77
1941 Naomi Uemura Japanese mountain climber, dies on Mt McKinley
1965 William H Kilpatrick US mathematician/philosopher, dies at 93
1976 Lily Pons French/US soprano/opera diva (Met Opera), dies at 71
1977 Jack Gardner actor (Wild Bill Hickok, 3 Russian Girls), dies at 77
1979 Jean Renoir actor/director (Rules of the Game), dies at 84
1980 David Janssen [Meyer], actor (Fugitive, Harry O), dies at 49
1994 Jack Kirby cartoonist (Marvel Comics), dies at 76
1996 Martin Balsam actor (Archie's Place), dies at 76
2002 Singer/songwriter Waylon "Waymore" Jennings dies at age 64 of complications due to diabetes.

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 CARLSON PAUL V.---MINNEAPOLIS MN.
1969 HERLIK QUERIN E---GREEN BAY WI.
[03/12/69 RELEASED BY SIHANOUK, ALIVE AND WELL 98]

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

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On this day...
1130 Gregorio de' Papareschi elected as Pope Innocent II
1349 Jews are expelled from Burgsordf Switzerland
1545 Willem of Nassau becomes prince of Orange
1566 St Augustine FL founded
1601 John Lancaster leads 1st East India Company voyage from London
1633 Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for trial before Inquisition for professing belief that earth revolves around the Sun
1635 Oldest US public institution, Boston Latin School founded
1668 Treaty of Lisbon Spain recognizes Portugal
1678 Tycho Brahe 1st sketches "Tychonic system" of solar system
1689 British Parliament adopts Bill of Rights
1692 MacDonald clan murdered on orders of King William III
1693 College of William & Mary opens
1741 Andrew Bedford publishes 1st American magazine (The American Magazine)
1795 1st state university in US opens, University of North Carolina
1799 1st US law regulating insurance passed, by Massachusetts
1826 American Temperance Society, forms in Boston(Hey the drinks are on me)
1832 1st appearance of cholera at London
1837 Riot in New York over high price of flour
1858 Sir Richard Burton & John Speake explore Lake Tanganyika, Africa
1861 1st military action to result in Congressional Medal of Honor, Arizona
1861 Abraham Lincoln declared President
1861 Colonel Bernard Irwin attacks & defeats hostile Chiricahua Indians
1862 Siege of Ft Donelson TN
1864 Meridian Campaign fighting at Chunky Creek & Wyatt MS
1866 Jesse James holds up his 1st bank, Liberty MO ($15,000)
1867 Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube" waltz premieres in Vienna
1895 Moving picture projector patented
1899 -1ºF (-18ºC) New Orleans LA
1899 -2ºF (-19ºC) Tallahassee FL (state record)
1899 -16ºF (-27ºC), Minden LA (state record)
1905 -29ºF (-34ºC) Pond AR (state record)
1905 -40ºF (-40ºC) Lebanon KS (state record)
1905 -40ºF (-40ºC) Warsaw MO (state record)
1907 English suffragettes storm British Parliament & 60 women are arrested
1914 American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers-ASCAP forms in New York NY
1920 National Negro Baseball League organized
1920 League of Nations recognizes perpetual neutrality of Switzerland
1920 Switzerland rejoins League of Nations
1924 King Tut's tomb opened
1925 US Congress makes Surpreme Court appeal more difficult
1929 Cruiser Act OKs construction of 19 new cruisers & an aircraft carrier
1932 "Free Eats" introduces George "Spanky" McFarland to "Our Gang"
1934 Austrian Dollfuss government bans socialistic party
1935 1st US surgical operation for relief of angina pectoris, Cleveland OH
1935 Bruno Hauptmann found guilty of kidnap & murder of Lindbergh's infant
1937 "Prince Valiant" comic strip appears; known for historical detail
1942 Hitler's Operation Seelöwe (invasion of England) cancelled
1943 German assault on Sidi Bou Zid Tunisia
1943 Women's Marine Corps created
1945 Allied planes bomb Dresden Germany; 135,000 die
1945 USSR captures Budapest, after 49-day battle with Germany; 159,000 die
1948 Wright Flyer, 1st plane to fly, returns to US from England
1952 Rocky Marciano defeated Lee Savold for his 39th straight win
1953 A's change name of Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium
1955 Israel acquires 4 of 7 Dead Sea scrolls
1955 KRCG TV channel 13 in Jefferson City MO (CBS) begins broadcasting
1955 Patty Berg wins LPGA St Petersburg Golf Open
1959 Barbie doll goes on sale
1960 France performs 1st nuclear test at Reggane Proving Grounds Algeria
1961 Frank Sinatra launches Reprise label under Warner Brothers Records
1961 Soviet Union fires a rocket from Sputnik V to Venus
1968 US sends 10,500 additional soldiers to Vietnam
1969 Mary Hopkin's Postcard album on Apple is released
1970 Man-eating tiger is reported to have killed 48, 80 km from New Delhi
1971 12,000 South Vietnamese troops cross into Laos
1972 "1776" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 1,217 performances
1974 Dissident Nobel writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn expelled from USSR
1974 James "Cool Papa" Bell is named to baseball's Hall of Fame
1979 Washington State's Hood Canal Bridge breaks up in windstorm
1981 Longest sentence published by New York Times-1286 words
1982 Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" is on the charts for 402nd week
1984 6 year old Texan Stormie Jones gets 1st heart & liver transplant
1985 Dow Jones closes at 1297.92 (record high) after topping 1300 earlier
1985 Polish police arrests 7 Solidarity leaders
1987 Tigers' Jack Morris awarded $1.85 million salary by arbitrator
1990 US, England, France & England give Germany the OK to re-unify
1990 50 killed at Inkatha-UDF battle in Natal, South Africa
1991 Syria tells Germany they are ready to recognize Israel
1991 US bombs Iraqi air raid shelter, killing 334

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

St Augustine FL : Fiesta de Menendez
US : Kraut and Frankfurter Week Begins (10 days)
US : Turn Off Your TV Day
US : Love and Laughter Keeps Us from Getting Dizzy Week (Day 6)
US : Blame Someone Else Day
Human Relations Month

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Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Martinian
Methodist : Race Relations Sunday (2nd Sunday in February)
Christian : Commemoration of St Catherine de Ricci, virgin/mystic
Anglican : Commemoration of Absalom Jones, priest,

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Religious History
1826 The American Temperance Society (later renamed the American Temperance Union) was organized in Boston. It quickly grew into a national crusade, and within a decade over 8,000 similar groups had been formed, boasting a total of 1.5 million members.
1849 Otterbein College was chartered in Westerville, Ohio, under sponsorship of the United Brethren Church.
1936 The Lutheran Army and Navy Commission was organized by the Missouri Synod for the purpose of commissioning chaplains for military service and to minister to Lutheran personnel among the military overseas. In 1947 its name was changed to the Armed Services Commission.
1951 Death of Lloyd C. Douglas, 74, American Congregational clergyman and novelist. He published his first religious novel "Magnificent Obsession" in 1929, followed later by "The Robe" (1942) and "The Big Fisherman" (1948).
1973 The National Council of U.S. Catholic Bishops announced that anyone undergoing or performing an abortion would be excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

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

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Thought for the day :
"Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit."

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Question of the day...
Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?

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Murhys Law of the day...(Kitman's Law)
On the TV screen, pure drivel tends to drive off ordinary drivel.

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Astounding fact #789,117...
FRIDAY THE 13TH - how is fear of the number thirteen demonstarted?
More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor.
Many airports skip the 13th gate.
Airplanes have no 13th aisle.
Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue
In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone in The FOXHOLE.