The FReeper Foxhole Revisits -The Battles for Pork Chop Hill - 1953 - March 13th, 2004

http://13thengineerbn.homestead.com/files/bridgetoporkchopII.htm ^ | Capt. James A. Brettell C.O. Company A 13th Engineer (C) Bn

[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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THE BRIDGE TO PORK CHOP HILL

By the end of the 4th of July 1953, it had been raining for 24 hours. Summer rains there are devastating to the roads and create enourmous maintanence problems for the supporting Engineer troops. It doesn't just rain it pours very hard for long periods of time. It was not uncommon to schedule around the clock road maintanence operations because the roads would wash out over night if left unattended. The rains also created serious problems for the infantry units defending positions all along the MLR and especially at such outposts such as Pork Chop hill because the rain masked noises that could alert our troops of the approach of the Chinese. Another aspect of the road maintanence problem is the swelling of streams which normally flow at depths of only a few inches, but which during these rains rapidly rise to depths far too deep to ford with a wheeled or even a tracked vehicle. M-46 tanks and APCs were no match for the swift currents of a swollen stream in the summer Korean rains.

On July 6, the Chinese, launched their last attack of the Korean War at Pork Chop Hill under the cover of darkness and the rains. It was ferocious and unrelenting. The 17th infantry suffered heavy casualties in the initial onslaught. Pre-arranged counter attack plans were implemented immediately. Each of these plans included use of "A" Company supporting engineers. A squad of engineers were assigned to each company of the 17th and regularly practiced counter attack procedures. The engineer troops had pre-arranged basic loads of ammunition, satchel charges, bangalore torpedoes. mines, radios and rations that each individual carried with him for use in the counter attack.

During these counter attacks the continuous rains complicated our routine road maintenance operation so much that we considered the need for a Bailey bridge over one particular stream. Normally small and fordable, this stream flowed diagonally to the northwest crossing the only supply route to Pork Chop and on out into "no man's land" just west of the Chop.

The 17th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division was defending Pork Chop and being supported by A-Company of the 13th Engineer (C) Battalion. Early on the morning of July 7th, M/Sgt. Goudy and I conducted a reconniassance to determine whether a Bailey bridge could be used to span the stream. Our affirmative report to battalion headquarters set the wheels in motion. The remainder of the story is an example of Murphy's Law in action.

Battalion quickly informed us that an engineer bridge unit normally assigned for such a task from I Corps was not available. That meant the job would fall to "A" Company to do in addition to their other duties. This assignment might not have been so difficult had there been time for even a brief refresher training period of the details of a Bailey bridge and the construction sequences so neccessary for the job to proceed smoothly. Every engineer soldier has training in Bailey bridge construction, but no one in Able company had even thought of a Bailey for a very long time. However the job had to be done and the fact that our troops were rusty on the details of the Bailey was only one of the many handicaps that would present itself in the next 36 hours.



We all knew that a bridge panel was 5 feet by 10 feet and weighed 560 pounds, but in a matter of minutes M/Sgt. Goudy came up with a tech manual to provide the rest of us with the bridge details that we needed. The bridge construction had to begin right away because the stream was rising rapidly and soon would cut off the only re-supply capability of the 17th Infantry to move Troops,ammunition and food to the Chop and to evacuate the wounded.

The first order of business was a recon to determine how much bridge was needed and select the exact location. M/Sgt. Goudy and I during day light hours moved by jeep to a location out of sight of the Chinese occupying "Old Baldy" and prepared to move from there on foot to an area exposed to anyone who wanted to watch us. We realized we were in sight of the Chinese on "Old Baldy" but we hoped the rain would disguise our presence long enough for us to get our job completed. As we approached the general location for the bridge, M/Sgt. Goudy stepped on something that emitted a very loud "CLICK"! We both knew immediately that he had stepped on a pressure release mine, but Goudy had the presence of mind and the courage to stand still with his weight on his left foot so as not to release the pressure on the switch that would detonate the mine. We stood there for what seemed an eternity but after we caught our breath, he asked "What do I do now?" I said "Stand still and let me think a minute." Murphy was alive and well!

It didn't take long to realize we had very few options. By this time it occurred to me that we had been out there for a very long time. The probability of being observed increased each minute and we were well within range of small arms fire of the Chinese on "Old Baldy".



As I looked around I saw no resources except some boulders strewn around the area. I thought must be something we could do with them to solve our dilemma. I told M/Sgt. Goudy to be patient, and soldier that he was he mustered the courage to stand perfectly still while I maneuvered loose boulders to his leg and fashioned a parapet wall right against it. When I finished I told him I couldn't do anything more. I said "I'll get behind that big boulder over there. Whenever you're ready , fall over that wall and drop to the ground as quickly as you can." In a voice typical of his calm and cofident nature, he merely said "OK". Knowing that he was standing on an explosive charge that could take off his leg or even his life didn't seem to faze Sgt. Goudy at all. His voice never wavered a bit! This man was cool!

We both knew this type of mine was designed to be propelled upward with a two or three second delay before exploding, spraying fragments downward in a fan shaped pattern. After assuring that I was in place, he took a deep breath and jumped toward the outside of the boulders. It seemed like an eternity before we realized that the initial explosion had propelled the mine diagonally up and away from M/Sgt. Goudy and me so that when the mine exploded its force was nearly horizontal in one direction and straight down in the other. Neither of us had more then a few scratches! We assumed the mine was an M-2 Bouncing Betty. We knew of no Chinese mine of that sort. This mine must have been planted by our own forces at some earlier time. After recovering our breath, we realized all of Murphy's pronouncements were bad!

In retrospect' it is difficult to understand why the Chinese didn't fire at us or attempt to capture us from their positions on "Old Baldy". Perhaps they didn't fire because they knew the area was mined. Perhaps they were just amusing themselves watching and waiting for us to blow ourselves up. Perhaps they didn't try to capture us because they had only several days earlier captured the Columbian battalion Commander with enough documentation to cause the burning of midnight oil at division headquarters.



What a way to start construction of a Bailey bridge!

In spite of this difficult beginning we remembered our mission. We had come to select a site and determine the lenght required for a Bailey bridge that would provide a life line to the troops defending Pork Chop Hill. As it turned out, it was a good thing we performed that chore when we did because only a few hours later the continuing rains would have made it impossible to do on foot.

Bridge trucks arrived late that afternoon with the bridging materials and we began immediately to move components to a staging area near the bridge site. It was here that the next example of Murphy's law confronted us. The space in the staging area was very limited because the road to the bridge was on a side hill cut and we had to stay behind a nose of the hill to mask our activity from a line of sight to the Chinese. It was difficult and time consuming to maneuver the huge trucks in such a limited space.

By dark we began the construction. We had Korean Army Soldiers, known as KATUSA's integrated into our company. In addition we were fortunate enough to have Korean Service Corps (KSC) personnel to assist in labor tasks. The darkness and rain were serious handicaps for the project but soon the Chinese started firing mortars directly into the bridge site. As if we didn't have enough trouble, it quickly became apparent that due to the language barrier communication with the KATUSAs and the KSC laborers was extremely difficult.Nevertheless the unloading and assembling of the bridge continued. Actual construction of the bridge was under way.



After constructing the first three sections of the bridge, we found that we could no longer push the joined sections of the bridge towards the far shore with the personnel we had available due to the rain, slick footing and intense incoming fire. We moved a Caterpillar D-7 to the site and as sections were added to the bridge they were rapidly pushed toward the far shore. Work halted frequently when it was neccessary to direct the men to take cover from the intense and unrelenting ennemy fire, which continued all night through the entire project. In one instance, M/Sgt. Goudy ran out to the suspended end of the bridge to pick up a wounded KATUSA and carry him back to safety. The men performed heroically time after time, exposing themselves to deadly mortar fire and small arms fire to assemble the bridge that was so essential to the success of the infantry mission. Casualties occured one after the other. Yet the members of Company A as well as the KATUSAs and KSC persisted in assembling section after section until a 60 foof span bridged a rain swollen stream. The vital supply route was reopened by 0600 on the 7th of July.

During the night there were many trips to the Infantry Battalion aid station, not far from the bridge site and to the rear, and we made that trip many times. On one trip M/Sgt. Goudy himself wounded drove another soldier with him to the aid station. After the Medics treated Goudy, they told him the other man was very seriously wounded and would have to be moved to division level immediately. The Doctor said that all of the ambulances were gone and ordered Goudy to take the wounded man to Division. By the time Goudy returned, his platoon leader was pretty grumpy about the delay until he realized Goudy was wearing a new Purple Heart.



By the next morning July 8th, the rising stream was threatening the abutments of the bridge, so we decided to extend the lenght of the bridge to 90 feet. Fortunately the bridging materials were on the site and we were able to begin work right away. Although the in coming mortar fire was threatening every minute, we were able to reassemble the launching nose on the far shore and then assemble additional sections on the near shore without delaying traffic for more then two hours.

When we finally finished the additional 30 feet, we heaved a huge sigh of relief and took stock of our assets. We had suffered 38 casualties during the previous 36 hours! There were 21 valor awards on this single operation. The job was done in spite of Mr. Murphy and his law! NOTE: M/Sgt. James Goudy traveled from his home in Wisconsin to Texas to collaborate with Capt. James A. Brettell on the writing of this historical record of the 13th Engineers. In addition Lt. Edward Larkin, also a member of A Company at the time of this event came from Louisville to assist in preparation of this document.

BRONZE STAR FOR VALOR AWARDS

The Following 21 Men Of A-and H&S CO. were awarded the Bronze Star For Valor. In addition 38 Purple Hearts were awarded to men of A-Company who worked on this bridge.

CAPT. JAMES A. BRETTELL
LT. JOSEPH M. McMAHON
LT. JAMES J. DIETZ (First Oak Leaf Cluster)
2ND. LT. RICHARD W. WHITE
M/SGT. JAMES R. GOUDY
M/SGT. JAMES SILER
M/SGT. HOUSTON LONG
M/SGT. RICHARD J. ASTRUP
SGT. KENNETH KELLY
SGT. NICHOLAS TOMASINI
CPL. WILLIAM J. WEST
CPL. KENNETH B. THOMAS
PFC. JOHN KIMMEL (First Oak Leaf Cluster)
PFC. CHARLES A. AUSTIN
PFC. CHARLES DOUILLETTEE
PFC. ARTHUR J. LaFRANCE
PFC. J. JONES
PFC. JAMES B. YORK
PFC. MARVIN C. WARD
PVT. TOM V. HOWARD
SGT. ROBERT L. HARRIS (H&S-Co)

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

..........

One of the last skirmishes was the battle for Pork Chop Hill between July 6 and 10, 1953. Officially Hill 255 (from its elevation in yards), it was dubbed Pork Chop Hill because of its geographic shape. One of a series of outposted hills along the "Iron Triangle" in the western sector of the line of contact, it had long been contested by the enemy. Earlier, in November 1952, the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division's Thailand Battalion had come under heavy Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) attack there, but the assault was beaten back.

On March 1, 1953, then defended by the 7th Infantry Division's 31st Infantry Regiment, Pork Chop Hill came under an 8,000-round CCF artillery barrage. Then on March 23, the CCF 67th Division, under cover of an intense mortar and artillery barrage, made a ground attack on Pork Chop Hill. After some initial gains they were beaten back, only to resume the attack on April 16. Once again they were beaten back by counterattacks from the 31st Infantry, reinforced by a battalion from the 7th Infantry Division's 17th Infantry Regiment. But it was artillery that made the difference, as the 7th Infantry Division massed the guns of nine artillery battalions and fired 77,349 rounds in support of the two-day battle.



On July 6, 1953, the CCF made yet another attempt to capture Pork Chop Hill. This time they gained a foothold on a portion of the crest. After repeated attempts to dislodge them were repulsed, General Maxwell D. Taylor, the Eighth U.S. Army commander, ordered the hill to be abandoned on July 11, 1953. Two weeks later, with the signing of the armistice agreement at Panmunjom on July 27, the hill became part of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

Ever the politician, General Taylor had made his decision based on his perception of American public and political reactions to the high numbers of U.S. casualties. During the month of July 1953 alone, the United States and its allies along the line of contact, including Pork Chop Hill, had suffered 29,629 casualties both from enemy ground attacks and a record 375,565-round CCF artillery barrage. Chinese and North Korean casualties were estimated at 72,112, most from allied airstrikes and a 2-million-round artillery barrage.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

http://13thengineerbn.homestead.com/files/bridgetoporkchopII.htm

[snippy_about_it]

BATTLE OF PORK CHOP HILL
APRIL 16-18

The following is a snapshot of the war’s final battles as told by the actual participants. All of the accounts you are about to read were submitted by VFW members who were actually there. Most are identified by rank and unit at the time.

Fighting for “The Chop” in April involved Companies E, F, K and L, 31st Inf. Regt. And Companies A, E, F and G of the 17th Inf. Regt., 7th Infantry Division. By 6 p.m. on the 18th, the Chinese were driven from the hill. The 45-hour battle on Hill 255 claimed a heavy toll in U.S. lives and wounded.

Our mission was to construct field fortifications on the hill and to dig out the collapsed trench system. Pork Chop was a reinforced platoon forward position. It was not meant to harbor a company of infantry, much less a battalion of infantry plus support units. The hill was literally covered with parts of bodies. During the course of the battle we were relieved as engineers and reverted to infantry. In fact, just about every unit in the 7th Inf. Div. was reassigned as infantry.

- Master Sgt. Richard J. Astrup, A Co., 13th Engineer Bn., 17th Inf. Regt.

The battle for Pork Chop Hill on April 16-18 was supposedly a turning point of the war and speeded up the negotiations at Panmunjon. At exactly 2300 hours, the green flare went up, the artillery and mortar rounds started coming in and the bugles started to blare. We fired until we ran out of ammo or the barrels of our weapons melted.

The Chinks overran our positions, and we got into hand-to-hand combat in the trenches. There were so many enemy that our own artillery, including the 280mm cannons, were zeroed in to fire V.T. fire on our own position. The 17th Regt. was able to retake the hill. It suffered tremendous casualties. We actually witnessed some of our men being dragged off the hill as prisoners, but could do nothing to stop it.

- Sgt. 1st Class Jeri Wooddell, 1st Plt., E Co., 31st Inf. Regt.

I do remember Cpl. Hatfield was the first killed (in the April battle). He died while I was treating his wounds. He asked me not to leave him. There were several wounded. I don’t remember how many.

Also a patrol (I believe from Love Co.) was on its way out in front of Pork Chop Hill when it was hit by Chinese forces. I do not know the number of men in the patrol, but I remember retrieving three bodies from this patrol the day after the battle.

- Sgt. Samuel K. Maxwell, medic, 1st Plt., K Co., 31st Inf. Regt.

From July 6-10, the hill was again the scene of fierce fighting. Cos. A and G, 17th Inf. Regt., held Pork Chop against successive Chinese attacks. L Co., 32nd Inf. Regt. Relieved them near the end. On the 11th, the 7th Division was ordered off the hill. Lt. Richard T. Shea of A Co. earned a Medal of Honor, posthumously.

The dead bodies of enemy troops were stacked two and three deep in the trenches. It was hot and dry and the stench was almost unbearable. It was a very dark night; not near enough flares, heavy action, good buddies killed, our first aid station mistakenly attacked by our own troops. I received numerous grenade wounds but lived to tell about it. All in all, a day and night I will never forget.

- Cpl. Curtis Gullickson, I Co., 32nd Inf. Regt.

Pfc. White manned a .30 cal. Machine gun all night, was wounded and later died. Pfc. Adam, our company clerk, was killed in a CP (command post) bunker.

- Cpl. R.J. Rodriguez, K Co., 32nd Inf. Regt.

We sustained approximately 50% casualties during this encounter.

- 1st Lt. Raymond C. Allmendinger, I Co., 17th Inf. Regt.

I was one of the 21 survivors who came off the hill.

- Sgt. Addison Lance, medic, 1st Bn., 17th Inf. Regt.

When we were ordered to evacuate, there were a total of 11 men to walk off the hill. These were the ones that were not killed or wounded. That was out of 160 men from King Co., and eight combat engineers. So, you see, if Jesus goes with you, you can go anywhere.

- Pfc. Mark R. Lay, A Co., 13th Combat Engineers
Attached to the 17th Inf. Regt.

Love Co., 32nd Inf., was the last company to leave Pork Chop Hill. We were pulled off on the 10th or 11th. The hill was bombarded for days and nobody ended up holding the hill. Love Co. had no one killed and only a few wounded.

- Paul E. Cassidy, 1st Plt., L Co., 32nd Inf. Regt.

King Company made a counter-attack on Pork Chop Hill. There were so many casualties, seemingly all at once, that I cannot remember how many. There are parts of this that I have no memory of at all.

- Sgt. Samuel K. Maxwell, medic, 1st Plt., K Co., 31st Inf. Regt.

[snippy_about_it]

'“War in Korea lasted three full years, from June 25, 1950 through July 27, 1953. Yet the last half of the war, especially 1953, is virtually ignored in all the histories of the Korean War.'

-- VFW Magazine.

[snippy_about_it]

Saturday's at the Foxhole ~ The Foxhole Revisits...

The Foxhole will be updating some of our earlier threads with new graphics and some new content for our Saturday threads in this, our second year of the Foxhole. We lost many of our graphic links and this is our way of restoring them along with revising the thread content where needed with new and additional information not available in the original threads.

A Link to the Original Thread;

The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battles for Pork Chop Hill - 1953 - Jan. 13th, 2003

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[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

NAF DT-4 (1922)

[E.G.C.]

Good morning Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Fxohole.

Good luck to OSU in the Big 12 Semifinal game at dallas today. Better luck next time OU.

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Good morning Aeronaut.

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Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! —John 4:35

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On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 13:
1615 Innocent XII [Antonio Pignatelli] Pope (1691-1700)
1696 Louis F A D Duke de Richelieu French marshal
1733 Joseph Priestly England, clergyman/scientist (discovered oxygen)
1741 Jozef II arch duke of Austria/Roman Catholic German emperor (1765-90)
1764 Charles Earl Grey (Whig), British Prime Minister (1830-34)
1770 Daniel Lambert England, giant (weighed 739 lbs (334 kg) at death)
1798 Abigail Powers Fillmore 1st lady-Millard Fillmore (1850-53)
1818 Albion Parris Howe Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1897
1820 Louis Herbert Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
1855 Percival "Percy" Lowell US astronomer (predicted discovery of Pluto)
1886 John "Home Run" Baker hall of famer (hit 2 homeruns in 1911 world series)
1901 Paul Fix Dobbs Ferry NY, actor (Rifleman)
1908 Walter Annenberg Milwaukee WI, publisher (Triangle-TV Guide)
1910 Sammy Kaye Lakewood OH, orchestra leader (Sammy Kaye Show)
1911 L[aFayette] Ron Hubbard sci-fi writer/Scientologist (Dianetics)
1913 William J Casey headed CIA during Iran-contra scandal (1981-87)
1921 Allan Jaffee comic strip cartoonist/illustrator (MAD Magazine)
1931 Rosalind Elias Lowell MA, mezzo-soprano (Grimgerde-Die Walkuere)
1933 Mike Stoller composer (Lieber & Stoller-Hound Dog, Charlie Brown)
1939 Neil Sedaka Brooklyn NY, singer/songwriter (Breaking Up is Hard to Do)
1950 William H Macy Miami FL, actor (Homicide, Water Engine)
1955 Olga Rukavishnikova USSR, pentathlete (Olympics-silver-1980)
1958 Rick A Lazio (Representative-Republican-NY)
1971 Curtis Conway NFL wide receiver/kick returner (Chicago Bears)
1971 Tracy Wells actress (Heather-Mr Belvedere)

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Deaths which occurred on March 13:
1202 Mieszko III the Elder, grand duke of Poland (1173-77, 1200-02), dies
1516 Vladislav II Jagiello king of Bohemia (1490-1516), dies at 60
1569 Louis Condé French prince/co-leader of Hugenot, dies in battle
1619 Richard Burbage English actor (Shakespeare), dies
1879 Adolf Anderssen German world champion chess (1851..66), dies at 60
1881 Alexander II Tsar of Russia, assassinated at 62
1901 Benjamin Harrison 23rd President (1889-1893), dies in Indianapolis at 67
1906 Susan B[rownell] Anthony American suffragist, dies at 85
1938 Clarence S Darrow Scopes Monkey Trial attorney, dies in Chicago at 80
1946 Thomas Frederick Dunhill composer, dies at 69
1964 Kitty Genovese stabbed to death in Queens; 40 neighbors looked on
1975 Ali Sastroamidjojo Indonesian attorney/minister/premier, dies at 71
1991 Jimmy McPartland US, jazz cornetist, dies
1993 Ralph Smith Fults US gangster (Bonnie & Clyde gang), dies at 82
1995 Abdul Ali Mazari Afghan shite leader, shot to death
1995 Leo Kaplan lawyer (ASCAP), dies at 89

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1966 DAVIS GENE E.---EVANSVILLE IN.
1966 DUVALL DEAN A.---MONTICELLO IN.
1966 HENNINGER HOWARD W.---HANFORD CA.
1966 MORGAN EDWIN E.---SALISBURY NC.
1966 OLSON GERALD E.---WINTER HAVEN FL.
1966 PASEKOFF ROBERT E.---PITTSBURGH PA.
1966 PAULEY MARSHALL I.---MILTON WV.
1966 PARKER UDON---PHENIX CITY AL.
1967 HARRIS PAUL WINIFORD---CHILLICOTHE OH.
1967 TERWILLIGER VIRGIL BYRON---MC CLURE OH.
1968 BYRNE JOSEPH HENRY---EVANSTON IL.
1968 COLLINS GUY FLETCHER---MIAMI FL.
1968 EVANS CLEVELAND JR.---HOT SPRINGS AR.
1968 HEITMAN STEVEN W.---INDIANAPOLIS IN.
1968 WATSON JIMMY L.---LUCAMO NC.
1968 WESTBROOK DONALD E.---SHERMAN TX.
1971 CREED BARTON S.---PEEKSKILL NY.
[MAY HAVE BEEN CAPTURED]

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

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On this day...
0483 St Felix III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0607 12th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1519 Cortez lands in México
1569 Battle of Jarnac, Count of Anjou defeats Huguenots
1591 Battle at Tondibi: Moroccans army under Judar beats sultan Askia Ishaq II of Songhai
1639 Cambridge College renamed Harvard for clergyman John Harvard
1656 Jews are denied the right to build a synagogue in New Amsterdam
1677 Massachusetts gains title to Maine for $6,000
1735 1st US Moravian bishop, David Nitschmann, consecrated in Germany
1852 Uncle Sam cartoon figure made its debut in the New York Lantern weekly
1861 Jefferson Davis signs bill authorizing use of slaves as soldiers
1868 Senate begins President Andrew Johnson impeachment trial
1869 Arkansas legislature passes anti-Klan law
1884 Siege of Khartoum Sudan begins
1884 US adopts Standard Time
1887 Chester Greenwood of Maine patents earmuffs
1894 J L Johnstone of England invents horse racing starting gate
1904 Bronze statue of Christ on Argentine-Chilian border dedicated
1913 Kansas legislature approves censorship of motion pictures
1918 1st NHL Championship: Montréal Canadiens beat Toronto Arenas, outscoring them 10-7 in a 2 game set
1921 Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares independence from China
1923 Lee de Forest demonstrates his sound-on-film moving pictures (New York NY)
1925 Tennessee makes it unlawful to teach evolution
1928 450 die in St Franciso Valley Dam burst (California)
1930 Clyde Tombaugh announces discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory
1933 Josef Göbbels becomes German minister of Information & Propaganda
1935 Driving tests introduced in Great Britain(Graded on the curve)
1943 Failed assassin attempt on Hitler during Smolensk-Rastenburg flight
1947 19th Academy Awards: "Best Years of Our Lives", Frederic March, Olivia de Havilland win
1950 General Motors reports net earnings of $656,434,232 (record)
1954 Braves' Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron
1954 Viet Minh General Giap opens assault on That Bien Phu
1961 Elizabeth Gurley Finn (70) becomes president of US Communist Party
1961 Floyd Patterson KOs Ingemar Johansson in 6 to retain heavyweight boxing title
1961 JFK sets up the Alliance for Progress
1961 Pablo Picasso (79) marries his model Jacqueline Rocque (37)
1963 2 Russian reconnaissance flights over Alaska
1965 Jeff Beck replaces Eric Clapton of the Yardbirds
1969 Apollo 9 returns to Earth
1970 Digital Equipment Corp introduces PDP-11 minicomputer
1970 San Francisco city employees begin 4-day strike
1971 Live at Fillmore East recorded
1979 Gairy dictatorship in Grenada overthrown by New Jewel Movement
1981 Attempt on Pope John Paul II by Mehemet Ali Agca
1987 John Gotti is acquitted of racketeering
1992 Martina Navratilova & Judy Nelson settle their galamony suit
1995 Istanbul police shoot dead 16 Alawitische demonstrators

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

Cuba : Attack on the Presidential Palace
Liberia : Decoration Day
US : Good Samaritan Involvement Day
Memphis TN : Cotton Carnival (held for 5 days) (Tuesday)
New Mexico : Arbor Day (Friday)
US : Aardvark Week Ends
USA] Federal Employees Recognition Week Ends
Gardening, Nature and Ecology Books Month

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Religious Observances
Christian : Commemoration of St Ansovinus

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Religious History
1687 Father Eusebio Kino, 42, an Italian-born Jesuit in the service of Spain, began missionary labors in the American Southwest. In all, Kino established 25 Indian missions in the area now divided between northern Mexico and Arizona.
1804 Birth of James W. Alexander, American Presbyterian clergyman and hymn writer. It was Alexander who, in 1830, rendered the English text of Paul Gerhardt's immortal German hymn, "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded."
1868 Birth of Charles E. Cowman, American missionary pioneer. In 1901 he sailed to Japan with his wife Lettie (who later authored "Streams in the Desert"), where in 1910 they founded the Oriental Missionary Society.
1904 "The Christ of the Andes", a bronze statue of Christ located on the Argentina-Chile border, was formally dedicated.
1925 Tennessee Governor Austin Peay signed legislation prohibiting the teaching of evolution within the state's public school system. (A celebrated violation of this law led to the famous July Scopes Monkey Trial.)

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

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Thought for the day :
"He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet."

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Word of the day...
snorfing (snôrf'ing)
1. (n.) The little game waitresses love to play of waiting until your mouth is full before sneaking up and asking, "Is everything okay?"

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New State Slogans...
Indiana: 2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free

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Amazing fact #377...
Of all the words in the English language, the word "set" has the most definitions.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[snippy_about_it]

1764 Charles Earl Grey (Whig), British Prime Minister (1830-34)

Good tea. ;-)

Howick: Earl Grey Tea

Earl Grey of Howick Hall, near Craster, was one of Britain’s most popular Prime Ministers. His 1832 Reform Act completely changed the democratic system in Britain to the system we have today of parliamentary constituencies of (roughly) equal size and a one man, one vote electoral system.

As Prime Minister, he also once sent a diplomatic mission to China and by chance the envoy saved the life of a Chinese Madarin. In gratitude, the Mandarin sent the Earl a delightfully scented tea, with its recipe. The special ingredient with which it was flavoured was oil of Bergamot. Earl Grey was delighted and in future always asked his tea merchant – the Tyneside company, Twinings, for that blend. His drawing room soon became famous for its tea and in due course the family gave permission for the blend to be sold to the public.

Today, Earl Grey is the world’s most popular blend and is sold in more than 90 countries.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Snippy.

Pork Chop Hill is a prtty good movie.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.

Any idea what that "extra extended" piece of canvas is atop the wing tips?

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C.

[snippy_about_it]

It's getting to the point where I think I'm going to have to lock myself in a room and watch movies non-stop for three weeks just to see half of the ones you all always mention in the Foxhole.

[Professional Engineer]

Howdy ma'am

[Samwise]

In retrospect' it is difficult to understand why the Chinese didn't fire at us or attempt to capture us from their positions on "Old Baldy."

Perhaps it just wasn't his their day to die. What an incredible story.