The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Gen. Anthony McAuliffe at Bastogne - March 27th, 2004

http://www.thedropzone.org/europe/Bulge/kinnard.html ^

[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 FReeper Foxhole Revisits

"NUTS!" Revisited

An Interview with Lt. General Harry W. O. Kinnard

On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched their largest offensive of the war on the Western Front. The primary goals of the offensive were to capture the Belgian port of Antwerp and to drive a wedge between the British and American armies. This offensive is often referred to as the "Battle of the Bulge." It's failure was due largely to American resistance around St. Vith, on the northern shoulder of the Bulge, and by American forces holding Bastogne on the southern shoulder of the Bulge.



The town of Bastogne is strategically located at the center of the road network of the Ardennes. The Germans referred to it as a "road octopus" since the majority of roads in that region of the Ardennes pass through the town. The town's strategic location made it vitally important to the outcome of the offensive. The Allies realized its importance and General Eisenhower dispatched the 101st Airborne Division to hold the town at all costs. This victory resulted in the first full Army Division Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation.

This interview focuses on the story surrounding the German's request for the American forces at Bastogne to surrender and the American General's response as witnessed by Lt. General Harry Kinnard, at the time of the siege of Bastogne, a Lt. Col. and Division G-3. These are some of his personal recollections.



We got into Bastogne late on the night of 18 December, 1944. We were not well equipped, having just gotten out of combat in Holland. We were particularly short of winter clothing and footwear. On the 21st of December we became completely surrounded by Germans and our field hospital was overrun by a German attack. We had put the hospital in what would normally have been a safe place, but no place is safe when you are completely surrounded. At this time, we were not able to receive air resupply because the weather was absolutely frightful. It was very, very cold and snowy. Visibility was often measured in yards. Our lack of winter gear was partially offset by the citizens of Bastogne who gave us blankets and white linens that we used for camouflage.



While we were still surrounded, on the morning of December 22, a German surrender party, consisting of two officers and two NCOs, and carrying a white flag, approached our perimeter in the area of our Glider Regiment, the 327th. The party was taken to a nearby platoon command post. While the enlisted men were detained the officers were blind folded and taken to the command post of the 327th where they presented their surrender ultimatum. The ultimatum in essence said the 101st's position was hopeless and that if we elected not to surrender a lot of bad things would happen.



The message was brought in to the Division Headquarters by Major Alvin Jones, the S-3, and Colonel Harper, the Regimental Commander. They brought the message to me, the G-3 and Paul Danahy, the G-2. My first reaction was that this was a German ruse, designed to get our men out of their fox holes. But be that as it might, we agreed that we needed to take the message up the line. We took it first to the acting Chief of Staff of the Division, Lt. Col. Ned Moore. With him, we took the message to the acting Division Commander General Tony McAuliffe. Moore told General McAuliffe that we had a German surrender ultimatum. The General's first reaction was that the Germans wanted to surrender to us. Col. Moore quickly disabused him of that notion and explained that the German's demanded our surrender. When McAuliffe heard that he laughed and said: "Us surrender? Aw, nuts!" the date was December 22nd, 1944


To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours' term.

All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.

The German Commander.



But then McAuliffe realized that some sort of reply was in order. He pondered for a few minutes and then told the staff, "Well I don't know what to tell them." He then asked the staff what they thought, and I spoke up, saying, "That first remark of yours would be hard to beat." McAuliffe said, "What do you mean?" I answered, "Sir, you said 'Nuts'." All members of the staff enthusiastically agreed, and McAuliffe decided to send that one word, "Nuts!" back to the Germans. McAuliffe then wrote down:

"To the German Commander,

"Nuts!"

The American Commander."

McAuliffe then asked Col. Harper to deliver the message to the Germans. Harper took the typed message back to the company command post where the two German officers were detained. Harper then told the Germans that he had the American commanders reply. The German captain then asked, "Is it written or verbal?" Harper responded that it was written and added, "I will place it in your hand."

The German major then asked, "Is the reply negative or affirmative? If it is the latter I will negotiate further."



At this time the Germans were acting in an arrogant and patronizing manner and Harper, who was starting to lose his temper, responded, "The reply is decidedly not affirmative." He then added that, "If you continue your foolish attack your losses will be tremendous."

Harper then put the German officers in a jeep and took them back to where the German enlisted men were detained. He then said to the German captain, "If you don't know what 'Nuts' means, in plain English it is the same as 'Go to Hell'. And I'll tell you something else, if you continue to attack we will kill every goddam German that tries to break into this city."

The German major and captain saluted very stiffly. The captain said, "We will kill many Americans. This is war." Harper then responded, "On your way Bud," he then said, "and good luck to you." Harper later told me he always regretted wishing them good luck.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

Anthony Clement McAuliffe



Anthony Clement McAuliffe was Born in Washington, DC on July 2, 1898. He graduated from West Point in November, 1918. He was Commander of Division Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division when he parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and when he entered Holland by glider, 1944. In December, 1944, due to the absence of General Maxwell D. Taylor, he was acting Commander of the 101st Airborne Division and other attached troops during the siege of Bastogne, Belgium. It was when they became surrounded and the Germans demanded their surrender that he sent back his now-famous one-word reply "NUTS." For his actions at Bastogne he received the Distinguished Service Medal.

Anthony McAuliffe became Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army in Europe in 1955, when he was promoted to General. He retired from the Army in 1956 and died on August 11, 1975

In honour of Anthony McAuliffe, the main square in Bastogne is named the McAuliffe Square and the monuments below stands there.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

www.thedropzone.org

[snippy_about_it]

The first steps to save Bastogne were taken on 18 December, when Middleton dispatched the recently arrived Combat Command B to the northeast, east, and southeast of the town with orders to hold their positions at all cost. Such action indicated to the Germans that Bastogne would not be surrendered. In the week that followed, the Germans squeezed the perimeter around Bastogne tighter and tighter, but it did not break.

Throughout the defensive sector, McAuliffe organized the 101st and its attachments into regimental task forces. Each had its proportional share of artillery, tanks, antitank, and antiair forces. Thus, light infantry received supplemental firepower in their defense. With the exception of artillery, the Germans were similarly organized. Their artillery was kept primarily in general support.



On 19 December, small German infantry-armor forces, both with and without artillery support, infiltrated under cover of bad weather. German action also included night fighting with tanks. The Americans resisted strongly in all sectors, defending outlying villages and road intersections. By nightfall, XLVII Corps had been contained along the line Noville-Bizory-Neffe. The inadequate road network; old, brokendown and overloaded German vehicles; and the American artillery around Bastogne were slowing the German advance. With pressure from Heeresgruppe to push beyond Bastogne, Fifth Panzer Army and XLVII Corps decided that the Panzer Lehr Division should take Bastogne on the twentieth while the other forces continued their westward advance.



On 20 and 21 December, the same pattern of small-unit infiltration continued, with some gains accruing to the Germans. The villages of Noville and Bizory were finally taken, but an attack against Marvie was repulsed. Bastogne continued to be a matter of concern to XLVII Corps. But it was believed on the twentieth that, with advances continuing north and south of the town, Bastogne would soon be encircled and that the 26th Volksgrenadier Division following the panzer divisions could capture it. Indeed, the town was surrounded on the twenty-first, but the 26th Volksgrenadier Division was not strong enough to take it. Though surrounded, the 101st was not cut off. The division still maintained communication with VIII Corps and knew an American relief column was pushing toward them as German advances along the entire Western Front were diminishing. The Fifth Panzer Army refused to authorize sufficient additional forces to take Bastogne and to keep the faltering offensive alive. But the 26th Volksgrenadier Division still had the mission, with some help from the Panzer Lehr Division. On the evening of 21 December, Manteuffel and Luettwitz composed the now famous surrender note that, after being delivered to the 101st on 22 December, received McAuliffe's more famous reply: "Nuts."

In addition to the note on 22 December, there were continuous probes along the entire perimeter. Only two German attacks of any significance occurred, however, and both were no larger than company size. On 23 December, probes continued to the west and southeast, but the weather had cleared and American airpower was beginning to take its toll of German forces and equipment. Aerial resupply also began that day, bringing the 101st badly needed supplies and sending American morale soaring.

The Germans were becoming desperate. The XLVII Corps was informed that the 9th Panzer Division and 15th Panzergrenadier Division would come under corps control on 24 December, and the 3d Panzergrenadier Division would arrive later. Heeresgruppe still insisted on Bastogne being taken in conjunction with the advance to the Meuse, but with Fifth Panzer Army now on the defensive almost everywhere and the possibility of advancing to the Meuse River becoming slimmer each day, Army Chief of Staff General Wagener felt "the initiative seemed to have passed to the enemy."



The situation on 24 and 25 December revived Luettwitz' hope that his corps could take Bastogne. Reinforcements now promised by Fifth Panzer Army were essential for this success. During the night of 24 December, German combined arms and infantry attacks by pessimistic commanders and uninspired soldiers were uncoordinated and failed. On the twenty-fifth, the ring around Bastogne was tightened as a result of regimental-size attacks, but again, they were uncoordinated. The American advantage of interior lines clearly served to complicate German attempts to coordinate their efforts. That evening, XLVII Corps, apprehensive about the American relief column pushing through, requested reinforcements and wanted to call off the attacks. The German Fifth Army, appreciating the situation but powerless to act, could only offer sympathy and a promise to look for more reinforcements.

On 26 December, German forces again attacked with battalion-size infantry and armor teams. Striking American combined arms teams arrayed in depth, the Germans were again unsuccessful. Other units, forming for attack in assembly areas, were attacked by American artillery and dispersed. At 1600 that afternoon, American tanks broke through the 2d Panzer and 26th Volksgrenadier Divisions and linked up with the 101st. All hope for German success had died. The XLVII Corps had no forces available to eliminate this penetration, and the Fifth Panzer Army's offer of the Führer Begleit Brigade was too little and too late. Light German probing attacks continued on the 27th and 28th, but the XLVII Panzer Corps' defensive inclinations were more predominant. The 101st had held Bastogne and seriously retarded the German Ardennes offensive. In action from 18 through 27 December, the 101st and its attachments had suffered 115 officer and 1,933 enlisted casualties. They had killed 7,000 Germans, captured 697 prisoners, and destroyed approximately 200 armored vehicles.

[snippy_about_it]

'Men who had come from far away,
foreigners who spoke another language
lost their lives to liberate us...
They did so to save the basic values of humanity:
Freedom and Peace'

--Inscription on a plaque in Bizory, Belgium

[snippy_about_it]

A NEW FEATURE ~ 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 Gen. Anthony McAuliffe at Bastogne - Dec. 22nd, 2002

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[snippy_about_it]

Late on the night of December 23rd, Sergeant John Banister of the 14th Cavalry Group found himself meandering through the village of Provedroux, southwest of Vielsalm. He'd been separated from his unit during the wild retreat of the first days and joined up with Task Force Jones, defending the southern side of the Fortified Goose Egg. Now they were in retreat again. The Germans were closing in on the village from three sides. American vehicles were pulling out, and Banister was once again separated from his new unit, with no ride out.

A tank destroyer rolled by; somebody waved him aboard and Banister eagerly climbed on. They roared out of the burning town. Somebody told Banister that he was riding with Lieutenant Bill Rogers. "Who's he?" Banister wanted to know. "Will Rogers' son," came the answer. It was a hell of a way to meet a celebrity.

An hour later they reached the main highway running west from Vielsalm. There they found a lone soldier digging a foxhole. Armed with bazooka and rifle, unshaven and filthy, he went about his business with a stoic nonchalance. They pulled up to him and stopped. He didn't seem to care about the refugees. "If yer lookin for a safe place," he said, "just pull that vehicle behind me. I'm the 82nd Airborne. This is as far as the bastards are going." The men on the tank destroyer hesitated. After the constant retreats of the last week, they didn't have much fight left in them. But the paratrooper's determination was infectious. "You heard the man," declared Rogers. "Let's set up for business!" Twenty minutes later, two truckloads of GIs joined their little roadblock. All through the night, men trickled in, and their defenses grew stronger. Around that single paratrooper was formed the nucleus of a major strongpoint.

[snippy_about_it]

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Burgess-Dunne B-D (1916)

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

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[radu]

Good morning to all at the Foxhole!

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

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Octopus (SS-9)

Octopus class submarine
Displacement. 238 t.
Lenght. 105'4"
Beam. 13'11"
Draft. 10'
Speed. 10 k.
Complement. 15
Armament. 2 18' tt.

USS Octopus, first of a class of five 238-ton submarines, was built at Quincy, Massachusetts. She was commissioned in June 1908, following extensive trials, and served along the U.S. East coast on experimental, training and operational duties for the next five years. During a general renaming of U.S. submarines, in November 1911 Octopus became USS C-1. From May to December 1913 she was based at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and after that served in the waters near the Panama Canal. USS C-1 was decommissioned at Coco Solo, Canal Zone, in August 1919 and was sold in April 1920.

[U S Army EOD]

When my father along with us were stationed in Germany and France during 1949 to 1952, he took us to Bastogne. I don't think there was a building or a large rock in the area that didn't have the word "NUTS" painted on it somewhere.

He was in the 6th Armored division that make initial contact with the Germans from Third Army. They made the initial penetration into the German lines and were bypassed by the 4th Armored Division who got all the glory. He was the XO of the 15th Tank Bn. To give you an idea how intense the fighting was, they had one company of the 69th ? Tank Bn loose 17 out of 18 of their tanks in only one day. Somewhere stored away I also have a picture of me when 6 years old sitting in "COL" (at that time) Abrams' lap.

I will try and get you some information on the 6th Armored Division for a treadhead day.

[Samwise]

Around that single paratrooper was formed the nucleus of a major strongpoint.

Excellent story!

[Samwise]

they had one company of the 69th ? Tank Bn loose 17 out of 18 of their tanks in only one day.

Woah. We owe so much to the greatest generation.

[Professional Engineer]

Howdy moving ma'am. Cool thread today.

[Professional Engineer]

Sergeant John Banister

I had to do a double take. I read that as John Banner the first time.

[U S Army EOD]

The CSA Hunley still holds the record for the longest time surmerged. I think it is 140 years or so.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 27:
1746 Carlo Bonaparte Corsican attorney/father of emperor Napoleon
1757 Richard John Samuel Stevens composer
1765 Franz Xaver von Baader German philosopher/theologist
1785 Louis XVII pretender to the throne during the French Revolution (1793-95)
1797 Alfred V Comte de Vigny French musketeer/writer (Moïse, Chatterton)
1813 Nathaniel Currier lithographer (Currier & Ives)
1823 Samuel Kosciusko Zook Brevet Major General (Union volunteers)
1844 Adolphus Washington Greely US, Arctic explorer, US Army General Greely was a Medal of Honor recipient, decorated by Great Britain and France to acknowledge his numerous contributions to telecommunications; General Greely was an outstanding soldier/communicator to whom Greely Hall, Fort Huachuca, Arizona was rededicated in a bicentennial year observance on 21 June 1976; His nineteen year service as Chief Signal Officer (1887-1906) represents the longest continuous period an incumbent has occupied
1845 Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Germany, discovered X-rays (Nobel 1901)
1847 Otto Wallach Germany, chemist (Nobel 1910)
1851 Vincent d'Indy Paris France, composer (Symphonie Cévenole)
1863 Sir Henry Royce automobile founder (Rolls-Royce)
1868 Patty Smith Hill author/songwriter (Happy Birthday To You)
1871 Heinrich Mann Germany, novelist/essayist (Blue Angel); brother of Thomas
1879 Edward Steichen pioneered American photography
1883 Jan Kunc composer
1886 Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe German/US architect (Bauhaus)
1893 Dragoljub "Draza" Mihailovic Yugoslavian General/Nazi collaborator
1893 Karl Mannheim Hung/German/British sociologist (Ideology & Utopia)
1899 Gloria Swanson Chicago IL, actress (Sadie Thomson, Queen Kelly)
1905 László Kalmár Edde Hungary, mathematician/promoted the development of computer science in Hungary
1912 James Callaghan (L) British Prime Minister (1976-79)
1914 Snooky Lanson Memphis TN, singer (Your Hit Parade, 5 Star Jubilee)
1917 Cyrus R Vance US Secretary of State (1977-80)

1924 Sarah L Vaughan Newark NJ, jazz singer (Broken Hearted Melody)

1927 Anthony Lewis newspaper columnist (New York Times)/author (Gideon's Trumpet)
1930 David Janssen [Meyer] Naponee NE, actor (Fugitive, Harry O)
1932 Junior Parker blues musician (Driving Wheel, Outside Man)
1932 Wes Covington baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies)
1936 Jerry Lacy Sioux City IA, actor (Play it Again Sam, Reverend Trask-Dark Shadows)
1937 Johnny "Clyde" Copeland US blues guitarist/singer (Lion's Den)
1939 Judy Carne comedienne (Laugh-In, Love on a Rooftop)
1940 Cale Yarborough auto racer (Won Daytona 500 4 times-1968, 77, 83, 84)
1942 Michael York Fulmer Buckinghamshire England, actor (Cabaret, Logan's Run, 3 Musketeers)
1950 Tony Banks East Heathly Sussex England, rock keyboardist (Genesis-Invisible Touch, Misunderstanding)
1953 Pamela Roylance Seattle WA, actress (Sarah-Little House on Prairie)
1958 Susan Molinari (Representative-Republican-NY)
1963 Quentin Tarantino director/screenwriter (Pulp Fiction)
1963 Randall Cunningham NFL QB (Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings)
1970 Mariah Carey New York NY, singer (Vision of Love, Love Takes Time, Hero)
1974 Rosanna Gimenez Miss Paraguay-Universe (1997)
1976 Roberta Alma Anastase Miss Romania-Universe (1996)
1986 Melissa Stern aka "Baby M" aka Sara Whitehead, surrogate baby, awarded to her dad William Stern

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Deaths which occurred on March 27:
0922 Al-Hallaj al-Mughith-al-Hsayn Mansur Persian mystic, beheaded at 64
0965 Arnulf I the Elder/the Great, count of Flanders (918-65), dies
1211 Sancho I King of Portugal (1185-1211), dies at 56
1378 Gregory XI [Pierre R the Beaufort], last French Pope (1370-78), dies
1625 James I Stuart king of Scotland (1567)/England (1603-25), dies at 58
1770 Giovanni B Tiepolo Italian painter (Banquet of Cleopatra), dies at 73
1850 Wilhelm Bear German banker/astronomer (Moon Map), dies at 53
1898 Sajjid Ahmad Chan co founder (Pakistan), dies at 80
1925 Carl G Neumann German mathematician/physicist, dies at 92
1943 Grigori Yakovlevich Bakhchivangi test pilot (BI-1), killed in crash

1968 Yuri Gagarin 1st man to orbit Earth, dies in plane crash at 34

1991 Aldo Ray western actor (Battle Cry, We're No Angels), dies of cancer at 64
1992 Easley Blackwood expert bridge player, dies at 89
1992 James E Webb head of NASA (1961-68), dies at 84
1993 Clifford Jordan tenor saxophonist, dies of cancer at 61

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 PALENSCAR ALEXANDER J. III---NEW YORK NY.
1968 BADLEY JAMES LINDSDAY---HERMISTON OR.
1968 CALHOUN JOHNNY C.---NEWMAN GA.
1968 WHITTEKER RICHARD LEE---EASTON PA.
1969 CZERWIEC RAYMOND G.---CHICAGO IL.
1969 KERNS GAIL M.
[03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED, ALIVE IN 98]
1972 CROW RAYMOND J. JR.---SALT LAKE CITY UT.
1972 DREHER RICHARD E.---ORRVILLE OH.
1972 MANOR JAMES ---PANAMA CITY FL.
1972 PANNABECKER DAVID E.---WOLMELSDORF PA.
1972 WONG EDWARD PUCK KOW---OAKLAND CA.
1972 WAGNER RAYMOND A.---EVANSVILLE IN.

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

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On this day...
1513 Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León sights Florida
1599 Robert Devereux becomes Lieutenant-General of Ireland
1625 Charles I, King Of England, Scotland & Ireland, ascends to throne
1668 English King Charles II gives Bombay to East India Company
1708 English pretender to the throne James III flees to Dunkerk
1713 Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar
1758 Battle at Emmerich: British army floats around France the Rhine
1790 The shoelace invented
1794 Congress authorizes the President "to provide a naval armament" (US Navy)
1802 Treaty of Amiens-French Revolutionary War ends
1808 Joseph Haydns oratorio "Die Schöpfung" premieres in Vienna
1814 Battle at Horseshoe Bend: General Andrew Jackson beats Creek-Indians
1836 1st Mormon temple dedicated (Kirtland OH)
1841 1st US steam fire engine tested, New York NY
1848 John Parker Paynard originates medicated adhesive plaster
1849 Joseph Couch patents steam-powered percussion rock drill
1855 Abraham Gesner patents kerosene
1860 M L Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew)
1861 Black demonstrators in Charleston staged ride-ins on street cars
1863 President Davis calls for this to be a day of fasting & prayer
1865 Siege of Spanish Fort AL: captured by Federals
1866 Andrew Rankin patents the urinal
1866 President Johnson vetoes civil rights bill; it later becomes 14th Amendment
1879 Longest championship fight (136 rounds)
1884 1st long-distance telephone call, Boston-New York
1912 1st Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in Washington DC
1914 1st successful blood transfusion (in Brussels)
1917 Seattle Metropolitans, 1st US team to win Stanley Cup beat Canadiens
1920 Film stars Mary Pickford & Douglas Fairbanks wed
1924 Canada recognizes USSR (Hey! I know you)
1930 1st US radio broadcast from a ship at sea
1931 Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor
1931 John McGraw says night baseball will not catch on
1933 Japan leaves League of Nations
1933 Polythene discovered by Reginald Gibson & Eric William Fawcett
1940 Himmler orders building of Auschwitz concentration camp, at Katowice
1941 Britain leases defense bases in Trinidad to US for 99 years
1941 Hitler signs Directive 27 (assault on Yugoslavia)
1941 Yugoslavian coup gets rid of pro-German Prince Paul
1942 Allies raid German submarine base in St Nazaire
1942 Japan forces Java to use "Tokyo time" 1½ hour forward
1942 Joe Louis KOs Abe Simon in 6 to retain heavyweight boxing title (New York NY)
1943 Assassination attempt on Van de Peat at Amsterdams census bureau
1943 Blue Ribbon Town (with Groucho Marx) 1st heard on CBS Radio
1943 US begins assault on Fondouk-pass, Tunisia
1944 1,000 Jews leave Drancy France for Auschwitz Concentration Camp
1944 2,000 Jews are murdered in Kaunas Lithuania
1944 40 Jewish policemen in Riga Latvia ghetto are shot by the gestapo
1944 Children's Aktion-Nazis collect all the Jewish children of Lovno
1945 Ella Fitzgerald & Delta Rhythm Boys record "It's Only a Paper Moon"
1945 Iwo Jima occupied, after 22,000 Japanese & 6,000 US killed (Semper Fi!)
1950 Jazz pianist, Erroll Garner's solo concert (Cleveland OH)
1952 Failed assassination attempt of German Chancellor Adenauer
1952 Sun Records of Memphis begins releasing records
1955 Steve McQueen makes his network TV debut (Goodyear Playhouse)
1955 WPRI TV channel 12 in Providence RI (ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 US seizes US communist newspaper "Daily Worker"
1958 CBS Labs announce new stereophonic records
1958 Havana Hilton opens
1958 Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet premier & 1st Secretary of Communist Party
1961 Failed assassination attempt on King Saif al-Islam Achmad of Yemen
1962 Archbishop Rummel ends race segregation in New Orlean Catholic school
1962 Jacques Plante ties record winning 6th NHL Vezina trophy
1964 Earthquake strikes Anchorage AK, 9.2 on Richter scale, 131 die from earthquake and resulting tsunami; this is the most violent eathquake in US history
1964 Great Train Robbers sentenced to a total of 307 years behind bars
1964 UN troops arrive on Cyprus
1966 Anti Vietnam war demonstrations in US, Europe & Australia
1968 Suharto succeeds Sukarno as President of Indonesia
1969 Launch of Mariner 7, flies 2,190 miles above southern Mars
1970 Ringo releases his 1st solo album "Sentimental Journey"
1970 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1972 Adolph Rupp retires after 42 years of coaching University of Kentucky
1973 Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) stopped for speeding & LSD possession (SHOCK)
1977 583 die in aviation's worst disaster KLM-Pan Am 747 crash, Tenerife
1978 Rutles "All You Need is Cash" is shown on British TV
1979 Supreme Court rules, 8-1, cops can't randomly stop cars
1980 Mount St Helens becomes active after 123 years
1984 Andrew Lloyd Webber/Richard Stilgoe's "Starlight Express" premieres
1988 Wrestlemania IV at Trump Plaza, "Macho Man" Savage pins Ted Dibiase
1991 NCAA bans University of Minnesota football team from postseason play in 1992
1991 New Kids on the Block's Donnie Wahlberg arrested on arson charges in Kentucky
1991 Scotty Bowman & Neil Armstrong elected to NHL Hall of Fame
1994 Radio personality Rush Limbaugh weds (the lovely and gracious) Marta Fitzgerald (Congratulations)
1997 39 cult memebers in California commit mass suicide (Hale-Bopp)
1997 Martin Luther King's son meets with James Earl Ray
2134 32nd recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

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

Burma : Resistance Day
Alaska : Seward Day (1867) (Monday)
US Virgin Island : Transfer Day (1917) (Monday)
US : Chocolate Week Ends :-(
US : National Badmitton Day
US : National Joe Day
National Furniture Refinishing Month

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Religious Observances
old Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St John Damascene, confessor/dr (now 12/4)
Anglican : Feast of Charles H Brent, Bp of Philippines, & of Western New York

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Religious History
1536 Swiss Protestants in Strassbourg and Constance signed the First Helvetic Confession. It became the first major document setting forth the common faith of the Swiss Protestant churches.
1840 Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'No person can be a child of God without living in secret prayer; and no community of Christians can be in a lively condition without unity in prayer.'
1921 The first Southern Baptist church to be constituted in the state of Arizona was organized in Phoenix formed principally of churchmen who protested the doctrinal views held by leaders of the Northern Baptist Convention.
1946 Members of Baptist congregations in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks met at Anchorage to form the Alaska Southern Baptist Convention.
1962 In Louisiana, Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel ordered all Roman Catholic schools in the New Orleans diocese to end segregation.

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

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Thought for the day :
"He cannot rule the great who cannot rule the small."

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Newspaper Headlines in the Year 2035...
Microsoft announces it has perfected its newest version of Windows so it crashes BEFORE installation is completed.

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New State Slogans...
Iowa: We Do Amazing Things With Corn

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Female Language Patterns...
Do you like this recipe? REALLY MEANS
It's easy to fix, so you'd better get used to it.

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Male Language Patterns...
"This relationship is getting too serious," REALLY MEANS,
"I like you as much as I like my truck."

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***** IMPORTANT INFORMATION/DISCLAIMER *****
This document should be read only by those persons to whom it is addressed. If you have received this message it was obviously addressed to you and therefore you can read it, even it we didnt mean to send it to you. However, if the contents of this email make no sense whatsoever then you probably were not the intended recipient, or, you are a mindless cretin; either way, you should immediately delete yourself & destroy your computer! Once you have taken this action please contact us.. no you idiot, you cant use your computer, you just destroyed it, and by the way, you are also deleted, but we digress

[Valin]

"If yer lookin for a safe place," he said, "just pull that vehicle behind me. I'm the 82nd Airborne. This is as far as the bastards are going."

LOL I love it!

[The Mayor]

Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together. —John 20:3-4

The victim of Good Friday became the victor of Easter