William Edward Gateley, a native of Greenbriar, Arkansas, lived for a time with his uncle in New Mexico where he and his cousin signed up to serve in New Mexico’s 111th Cavalry, the predecessor of the 200th Coast Artillery (Anti-aircraft). He was inducted into the 200th CA(AA) by [then] Captain James H. Hazelwood [1] on December 19, 1940 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gateley's cousin, William Rome Gateley, suffered an appendicitis attack while the Regiment was enroute to the Philippines and was hospitalized in Honolulu. After William Rome was released from hospital, he did not rejoin the Regiment, and would be spared what was yet to come. Twice escaping his Japanese captors following the surrender of Bataan, William Edward fought as a Guerrilla until February 1945.
MY ESCAPE FROM BATAAN
William E. Gateley with wife Mercedes and infant son, William Jr. (circa 1945)
Capt. William C. Schuetz [2] was the last officer to give me an order on the day Bataan fell. Or rather, I should say, that he was the last to give me any suggestions as to what I should do. At the time I was awaiting orders after arriving at the central kitchen near kilometer post #165 between Cabcaben and Mariveles. He said there were no orders that he knew of at the time except to take care of myself and wait around to see if any other officer came along to give me further directions. We knew that the white flag had gone in that morning and we were wondering what was going to happen. Other officers did show up but they merely repeated what Capt. Schuetz had already told me about taking care of myself.
My buddy, whom I had not known very long, and I decided to go down to the beach facing Corregidor and see if we could find some way of getting across. We met up with several other men, and after talking the matter over we decided to split up and look for a boat or raft to take us over. Either part or all of us were to return later to the same place and report our findings. Half of us went one way and half in the opposite direction. After the group had gone as far as we dared in the direction of the Japs, we turned back towards the China Sea end of the peninsula and met our buddies as our part of the mission had already failed.
We traveled the rest of the afternoon until it became too dark to travel safely and then made camp for the night. About ten o’clock the next day, we arrived at a cave which at high tide was about one foot deep in water. One of the boys was sick, so we fixed a place for him in the cave and left our provisions with him. We then went across a small inlet to a point of land to explore some more. After a short time, we found a small navy boat powered with a diesel engine. There was no one around. We had already the day before found five drums of diesel fuel, but no one in the bunch knew how to run a diesel engine.
Two of the boys and myself started to return to the cave, and I got quite ahead of the others. Upon rounding a corner of the road in the woods, I walked right in front of seven Jap soldiers. I immediately stopped and the leader of the Japs asked, "Americano?" Upon my reply in the affirmative he told me to stand on the other side of the road from them. There were five Filipinos with the Japs, but I never did learn if they were prisoners or Pro-Japs. Knowing the other two boys would be coming around the bend soon, I kept gradually moving backwards so I could get in a position to signal to them. Before I could do so, they walked up and were also captured.
At the place where we were captured, the Japs were filling their water canteens and that had been our intentions, which the Japs permitted us to do. The Japs then took us to the top of the hill where their car, a 1938 Plymouth, was parked. It was then around noon and the Jap leader asked us if we had any food. We told him that we did not, so he went to the car and brought out two cans of food for each of us and asked me to open them. There was an assortment of meat, tomato juice and milk. The Jap leader wanted his opened first. Next I opened a can of tomato juice for myself and drank half of it. The Jap then poured half of his can of milk into my can of tomato juice. I did not like the idea, but when I drank it, the taste was not so bad. The Jap dividing his food with me was something I could not understand as there were also two unopened cans of food for me.
The can opening then proceeded with cans for the other Japs, my buddies and then the Filipinos. Before I finished, the Jap began to get in a hurry to leave. All the Japs got into the car and my buddies were told to get on the running boards. I was still opening my cans when the car started off. The Filipinos were told to follow behind the car. They started out traveling slowly and the Jap motioned and yelled, signaling for me to come on down the road behind them. I started out following with the Filipinos lagging behind, but as I had to eat as I walked, my pace was slow. Evidently the Filipinos pace was slower, for upon traveling a short distance, I looked up, then around ... the car and the Filipinos were no where in sight. The thought of escape had never occurred to me before, but as soon as I found myself alone, the thought and the action took place almost at the same time. I went off that road and down into the bushes as fast as my feet could carry me. That was one time I wished that I had been equipped with a tail like a monkey to have enabled me to travel faster as there were plenty of vines to swing from.
The next problem on my mind was to get back to the cave where the sick boy had been left. It was now getting dark so we figured that if the wind and tide were to be in our favor we could get over to Corregidor. We still had faith in the "the Rock." Our position was not opposite Corregidor, but several miles out towards the China Sea. As soon as it got fully dark, we made our way to a large barge anchored off shore having a fresh water tank and provisions. Three men were on board: Pvt. Arthur Hagin, Jayton, Tex.; Sgt. Bernice R. Fletcher, Era, Tex.; and a Pvt. Larson from Colorado. They and myself later escaped and lived in the hills during the Jap occupation.
Japanese News Photo of the Attack on Clark Field
Then men on board the barge were tired and wanted to rest so we waited until about 5:00 a.m. the morning of the eleventh to try to reach Corregidor. For a while, we thought our luck was with us as at one time we were about three miles from our destination. A searchlight was played on us for a short time from the island. They must have identified us as Americans as they did not do any shooting, but no boat was sent out to pick us up. By mid morning we had drifted about fifteen miles out to sea. We figured that the next night, with the change of wind and tide, we might have better luck. Sure enough we were carried back towards Corregidor, but the wind and tide changed too soon, and by morning we were farther out to sea than we were on the previous day. That night we made another try, but by morning we were still farther out to sea. After some discussion we decided to give up trying to get to "the Rock" and instead tried to work our way to some of the islands farther south. One of the boys had sore feet and he kept insisting on holding them in the salt water. His feet became badly swollen and on the fourth day out he began to get delirious. It was also this day a Jap ship came along and took us on board and we became prisoners of the Jap Navy, which made the second time in a few days that I became a prisoner of war. The sick boy was taken to the hospital and I never heard what happened to him. The arrival of the Jap ship probably was a good thing as we only had half a canteen of water between us when picked up.
S/Sgt. William E. Gateley
Gateley’s second escape from the Nips came after 35 days during which time he was held at Grande Island and the Olangapo Naval Base in Subic Bay. At the later place, the Jap guards came into possession of a large store of liquor. On pleasure bent, the captors decided their best method of getting rid of their charges was to get them drunk. The Yanks put on such a convincing show of inebriety that the guards began their party. At the height of the carousal, Gateley and 13 other Americans made their escape.
From that date until February of this year (1945), Gateley lived the life of a guerrilla. At first the guerrilla resistance was passive, but as time went by it became more and more active — reaching its climax just before and during the return of General Douglas MacArthur to the Island of Luzon.
Gateley estimates that he had organized about 6,000 Filipinos into guerrillas bands. The Guerrillas infiltrated the entire Island of Luzon and were able to report any movement of Jap troops however small. MacArthur knew full well the worth of their activities and praised the guerrillas for a job well done.
Gateley rose from the rank of private first class, in the Coast Artillery, to a lieutenant colonel in the guerrillas forces. He spent the greater part of his time during the Jap occupation of the Philippines in Northern Bataan. During those years Gateley is sure he walked far enough to have reached the United States if there had been a road. The Province of Bataan is more familiar to him than his home county in Arkansas.
Although Gateley lived in daily peril of his life, his worst experience came in May 1943 when an erstwhile loyal guerrilla — turned Jap collaborationist — attacked him one night as he slept on the ground. The traitor, doubtless out for the price held by the Japs on Gateley’s head, failed to collect although he left a nasty reminder in the form of a three-inch scar and several missing teeth. The collaborationist and his two companions were "disposed of" before they could do further damage.
It was while Gateley was on Bataan that he met and married Mercedes Nicdao — a lovely Filipino girl of Spanish ancestry — in December 1943. [3] Another American who had escaped and was serving with Gateley married Mercedes’ sister. Mrs. Gateley followed her husband in his constant journeying to create havoc among the Jap forces. Not until time for their child to be born did she leave the guerrilla band. The Japanese had permitted the Filipino Red Cross to set up hospitals, and it was to one of these that Mrs. Gateley went. As soon as possible she returned to her husband.
"He had dysentery and malaria, and the Japs made some Americans dig a hole, and then pushed him in and told the guys to throw dirt on him. He was still trying to push out. One of his buddies had to hit him with a shovel. And he ached over that for the rest of his life."
— Salvador Garcia, 200th CA(AA)
"Beyond Courage"
illus. by Fred Wren, "Life," Feb. 7, 1944
Last February Gateley contacted a reconnaissance group of the 40th (Sunshine) Division. He remained on duty for some time with his own forces before he and his family left for home. With seven decorations pushing his total point score well over 130 points, Gateley has decided to remain in the Army — at least for a while.
NOTES
1. and 2. Major Hazelwood and Captain Schuetz were among five officers and eight enlisted men from the Regiment who did not make the Death March. They rode to Camp O’Donnell on trucks. On arrival, the men were searched and found to have items of Japanese origin, souvenirs, money, etc. On April 14, 1942, the men were executed.
"That afternoon Cain and a corporal were sent for water. ‘On the way back, they showed us twenty or thirty American Army officers and men, dead. In this group I recognized Captain Kemp and Major Hazelwood lying face up in sort of a common grave or pit. I had known Kemp and Hazelwood intimately for fifteen years. Hazelwood was like a younger brother.’"
— Beyond Courage
3. William E. Gateley and Mercedes Baking Nicdao, a native of Dinalupihan, Bataan, were married in the Catholic faith on October 14, 1942. Gateley, after much paperwork, was granted permission by his command (HQ Replacement Command, USAFFE) on March 26, 1945 to re-affirm his marriage to Mercedes.
4. Mercedes B. Gateley and her infant son, William E. Jr., appear on the same list of arrivals, or expected arrivals, at San Francisco of "alien" family members as Romana R. Lucero, the wife of Nano C. Lucero, another member of the 200th Coast Artillery (AA) who escaped to fight as a guerrilla for the duration of the war.
A Brief History of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery
Courtesy of the Bataan Memorial Military Museum and Library.
The 200th Coast Artillery, better known as "The Regiment," was inducted into federal service on 6 January 1941, supposedly for one year of active duty training.
Pre-WW II Coast Artillery Recruiting Poster
For eight months the Regiment underwent hard and rigorous training at Fort Bliss, Texas. Not only did these former "horse soldiers" have to learn new skills and techniques, but they had to absorb into their units hundreds of untrained Selective Service inductees. At one time the Regiment numbered over 2300, more than 400 above war strength figures.
On 17 August 1941, the Regiment was notified that it had been selected for an overseas assignment of great importance and that the choice had been made because of the high satisfactory state of training which had been attained. The reward for all the hard work performed in Federal Service was to have the 200th named officially as the best Anti-Aircraft Regiment, (Regular or otherwise), then available to the United States Armed Forces for use in an area of critical military importance.
By 26 September 1941, the entire Regiment reached the Philippines and then immediately moved to Fort Stotsenberg, some 75 miles north of Manila. On 23 November, all batteries were placed in combat positions for the protection of Fort Stotsenberg. The training program was to provide the greatest possible amount of experience under simulated war conditions.
Coat of Arms - 515th Coast Artillery
During the next ten weeks of settling down the 200th was able to unpack its equipment, get set in position, and had even planned for some target practice; however, no target ammunition could be obtained. As a consequence, the first shots fired by the 200th were aimed at enemy aircraft. They fought the war without ever having had any firing practice.
At 1235 hours, 8 December, Manila time, Japanese bombers, flying at 23,000 feet and accompanied by strafing planes, made their appearance and the war was on. The 200th could not, with powder train fuses effective only to about 20,000 feet, do much damage to the high altitude bombers. The men dished out what ever they could and stood up well under these unfavorable and unequal conditions. When the smoke from the muzzles cleared away, five enemy planes had been shot down and two men of the outfit had lost their lives.
This is a height finder for a 3-inch Anti-Aircraft gun battery. The height finder was coupled to the director , which would send it angles of azimuth and elevation to the target. The height finder would then measure the range to the target and convert it to target altitude. This data was returned to the director, which continuously calculated the azimuth, elevation, and fuze setting for the guns.
Two weeks after the war began the Japanese started to make landings on Luzon and their air effort over Clark Field and the Manila area was intensified. Soon the main Japanese landing was made and a decision was reached to withdraw the forces into Bataan. The parent 200th assumed the mission of covering the retreat of the Northern Luzon Force into Bataan while the newly formed 515th assumed a similar mission for the South Luzon Force.
Fire from the Regiment defense held back Japanese air attempts to destroy the bridges. As a result, the North and South Luzon Forces found a clear passage into Bataan. Thus the 200th and the 515th completed their tasks of bringing the divisions safely to the peninsula.
The next three months saw the war situation deteriorate from bad to worse. While the enemy air actions were sporadic in nature, the menace of malaria and dysentery was everywhere. Food became scarce and the combination of hunger and fever reduced the units on Bataan to a state of apathy.
The guns' targeting system consisted of a director (above) and a height-finder. Men would point the tracking scopes of the director at the target. Angles of azimuth and elevation would then be sent to the height finder so that it could also be pointed at the target. The height finder determined the range to the target, which was converted to its altitude. This data was returned to the director, which would then predict the target's location at the projectile's time of arrival.
On 3 April 1942, the Japanese received sufficient reinforcements with which to begin their drive down the peninsula. An intense concentration of Japanese air and artillery fire was placed on the front and rear areas. After two days and nights of continuous shelling, the Japanese infantry and tank attacks commenced. On 7 April, the combined enemy effort broke through allied lines.
The battle for Bataan was ended on 9 April, the fighting was over. The men who survived the ordeal could feel justly proud of their accomplishments. Total enemy aircraft shot down by the 200th and 515th was 86 confirmed. For four months they had held off the Japanese, only to be overwhelmed finally by disease and starvation. The story of the Regiment and the other defenders reached its tragic climax with the horrors and atrocities of the 65 mile "Death March" from Mariveles to San Fernando. This infamous march was followed by forty months in Prisoner of War Camps.
Of the eighteen hundred men in the Regiment, less than nine hundred made it back home and within one year a third of them died from various complications.
In December of 1945, General Wainwright, in paying tribute to the Regiment, said:
"On December 8, 1941, when the Japanese unexpectedly attacked the Philippine Islands, the first point bombed was Ft. Stotsenberg. The 200th Coast Artillery, assigned to defend the Fort, was the first unit, under The General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, to go into action defending our flag in the Pacific. First to fire, and last to lay down their arms! A fitting epitaph for a valiant Brigade which fought standing firmly in its appointed place and facing forward to the enemy."
The 200th and 515th — The New Mexico Brigade — brought home four Presidential Unit Citations and the Philippine Presidential Citation. They earned their place in American History.
Mobile anti-aircraft gun
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur wrote about the battles for the Philippines, " ...had it not held out, Australia would have fallen with incalculable results."
Of 33,021 Americans captured, approximately 1,000 died on the Death March. Of 45,000 Filipinos captured, an estimated 9,000 died on the march. By the end of the war in the Pacific, there were 14,000 American POW deaths; Filipino deaths more than doubled that number. In contrast, of 96,614 American POWs captured by the Germans, only 1,121 died in captivity.
Additional Sources: www.angelfire.com/nm/bcmfofnm
members.aol.com/bcmfofnm
www.skylighters.org
www.jmpratt.com
www.army.mil
mchunter1.tripod.com
www.capeelizabeth.com
www.whoa.org/publications/stories
www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar
www.proviso.k12.il.us
147.71.210.27
www.battlingbastardsbataan.com
On This Day In history
Birthdates which occurred on May 26:
1478 Clement VII [Giulio de' Medici], Italy, Pope (1523-34)
1566 Mohammed III sultan of Turkey (1595-1603)
1667 Abraham De Moivre French mathematician (De Moivre's theorem)
1700 Nikolaus L earl von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf German evangelist
1759 Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin writer/mother of Mary Shelley
1799 Alexander S Pushkin Russia, writer (Eugene Onegin)
1806 Henry Knox Thatcher Commander (Union Navy), died in 1880
1835 Edward Porter Alexander Brigadier General of artillery (Confederate Army)
1856 George Templeton Strong composer
1876 Jack Root boxing's 1st light heavyweight champion
1877 Isadora Duncan San Fransisco CA, free form/interpretative dancer
1877 Sadao Araki Japanese general/minister of War (1931-34)
1886 Al Jolson [Asa Yoelson] jazz singer/film actor (Mamie, Swanee)
1895 Dorothea Lange US documentary photographer
1895 Paul Lukas Budapest Hungary, actor (Watch on the Rhine, Sphynx)
1899 Pieter Menten Dutch war criminal
1903 Estes Kefauver (Senator-D-TN)
1907 John "Duke" Wayne [Marion Michael Morrison] Winterset IA, actor (True Grit)
1908 Robert Morley Semley Wiltshire England, actor (High Road to China, African Queen)
1910 Laurence S Rockefeller New York NY, CEO (Chase Manhattan Bank)
1911 Ben Alexander Goldfield NV, actor (Dragnet, Outer Gate, Mr Doodles Kicks Off)
1912 János Kádár premier Hungary (1956-58)
1913 Peter Cushing Kenley Surrey England, actor (Hound of the Baskervilles, Dracula, Star Wars, Dr Who)
1919 Jay Silverheels actor (Tonto-Lone Ranger)
1920 Peggy Lee [Norma Egstrom] Jamestown ND, singer (Fever, Why Don't You Do Right)
1923 James Arness Minneapolis MN, actor (Matt Dillon-Gunsmoke, Thing)
1939 Brent Musburger sportscaster (CBS-TV)
1948 Stevie [Stephanie Lynn] Nicks Phoenix AZ, rocker (Fleetwood Mac-Bella Donna)
1949 Hank Williams Jr Shreveport LA, country singer (All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin' Over Tonight, There's A Tear In My Beer)
1949 Pam Grier Winston-Salem NC, actress (Big Bird Cage, Tough Enough)
1949 Philip Michael Thomas Columbus OH, actor (Miami Vice)
1950 ? 1st whooping crane hatched in captivity
1951 Muhammed Ahmad Faris Syria, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-3)
1951 Sally Kristen Ride Los Angeles CA, 1st US woman astronaut (STS-7, STS 41G)
1956 Joe Penny actor (Jake & the Fatman)
1957 Candace L Collins Dupo IL, playmate (December 1979)
1962 Bob[cat] Goldthwait Syracuse NY, comedian (Police Academy, Scrooged)
1964 Lenny Kravitz singer/guitar (911 is a Joke, Are You Gonna Go My Way?)
Deaths which occurred on May 26:
0604 605? Augustinus van Canterbury bishop/apostle of England, dies
0735 Beda Venerabilis English speaking church historian, dies at about 62
1421 Mohammed I sultan of Turkey (1413-21), dies
1512 Bajezid II Governor of Amasja/8th Sultan of Turkey, dies
1703 Samuel Pepys English marine expert (Diary)/composer, dies at 70
1831 Georg Hermes German philosopher/theologist (Hermenianen), dies
1868 Michael Barrett Irish nationalist, last British public execution
1883 Abd el-Kader Algerian sultan/religious ruler, dies at about 74
1905 Alphonse de Rothschild French banker, dies
1933 Jimmie Rodgers country singer, dies at 35
1939 Charles H Mayo US surgeon/co-founder (Mayo Clinic), dies at 74
1939 Cornelis J Cutters supreme commander of Navy (1910-18), dies
1943 Edsel Ford owner (Ford Motor Company), dies at 49
1951 Lincoln Ellsworth Arctic explorer, dies at 71
1956 Al Simmons Outfielder (A's)/lifetime batting average of .334, dies at 54
1959 Joe Kelly TV host (Quiz Kids), dies at 57
1963 Sharon Lynn actress (Way Out West, Big Broadcast), dies at 53
1968 William E "Little Willie" John US R&B-singer (Fever), dies at 30)
1976 Martin Heidegger German philosopher (Holzweg), dies at 86
1979 George Brent actor (Baby Face, Dark Victory, 42nd St), dies at 75
1991 Tom Cassidy anchor (CNN), dies of AIDs at 41
1994 Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock US free-jazz Guitarist, dies at 53
1995 Isadore "Friz" Freling cartoon director (Sylvester), dies at 88
1997 Manfred Von Ardenne German scientific pioneer, dies at 90
Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1966 GLANDON GARY A.---POWELL TN.
1966 GRIFFEY TERRANCE H.---FORT DODGE IA.
1967 MECLEARY READ BLAINE---OLD GREENWICH CT.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.
On this day...
0961 German King Otto II crowned
1328 William of Ockham forced to flee from Avignon by Pope John XXII
1521 Edict of Worms outlaws Martin Luther & his followers
1538 Genève throws out Calvijn
1637 1st battle of Pequot at New Haven CT kills 500 Indians
1647 Massachusetts disallows priest access to colony
1736 Battle of Ackia (Louisiana), British & Chickasaw Indians defeat the French
1781 Bank of North America incorporated in Philadelphia
1788 Mary Clark of England gives birth to a baby without a brain
1790 Territory South of River Ohio created by Congress
1798 British kill about 500 Irish insurgents at the Battle of Tara
1805 Lewis & Clark 1st see Rocky Mountains
1805 Napoleon is crowned king of Italy
1824 Brazil is recognized by US (Say, Aren't you Brazil? I thought so)
1834 Portuguese Civil war ends, Dom Miguel capitulates
1860 Garibaldi occupies Palermo Italy
1861 Postmaster General Blair announces end of postal connection with South
1861 Union blockades New Orleans LA & Mobile AL
1864 Skirmish along the Totopotomoy Creek VA
1864 Territory of Montana is formed
1865 Battle of Galveston TX, surrender of Edmund Kirby Smith
1868 President Andrew Johnson avoids impeachment by 1 vote
1876 HMS Challenger returns from 128,000-km oceanographic exploration
1887 Racetrack betting becomes legal in New York state
1894 Emanuel Lasker (26) becomes World Champion chess player
1896 1st American intercollegiate bicycle race, Manhattan Beach NY
1896 Dow Jones begins an index of 12 industrial stocks (closing is 40.94)
1896 Last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II, crowned
1900 British troops under Ian Hamilton attack the Vaal in South Africa
1903 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of the 3 Gables" (BG)
1905 A pogrom against Jews in Minsk Belorussia
1906 Archaeological Institute of America forms
1909 Frederick Barrett runs world record marathon (2:42:31)
1913 Actors' Equity Association forms (NYC)
1915 H H Asquith forms a coalition government in England
1917 Walt Cruise hit 1st homerun out of Braves Field
1918 Georgian Social Democratic Republic declares independence from Russia
1922 Lenin suffers a stroke
1923 1st Le Mans Grand Prix d'Endurance was run
1923 Socialist Workers Youth International forms in Hamburg
1924 President Coolidge signs Immigration Law (restricting immigration)
1925 Tigers' Ty Cobb is 1st to collect 1,000 extra-base hits (ends 1,139)
1927 Ford Motor Company manufactures its 15 millionth Model T automobile
1930 Supreme Court rules buying liquor does not violate the Constitution
1932 Admiral Makoto Saito forms parliament in Tokyo
1934 Century of Progress Exposition reopens in Chicago
1937 San Francisco Bay's Golden Gate Bridge opens
1938 House Committee on Un-American Activities begins work
1940 Operation Dynamo begins evacuating defeated Allied troops from Dunkirk
1941 American Flag House (Betsy Ross' Home) given to city of Philadelphia
1941 Ark Royal airplane sights German battleship Bismarck
1942 Anglo-Soviet Treaty signed in London
1942 Belgian Jews are required by Nazis to wear a Jewish star
1942 Tank battle at Bir Hakeim: African corps vs British army
1943 1st president of a black country to visit US (Edwin Barclay, Liberia)
1943 Jews riot against Germany in Amsterdam
1945 US drop fire bombs on Tokyo
1946 2-for-42 & hitting .048 for 1946, Mel Ott stops playing baseball
1946 Patent filed in US for H-Bomb
1948 Entire Hagana-arm forces sworn-in as Israeli soldiers
1948 South Africa elects a nationalist government with apartheid policy
1956 Aircraft carrier "Bennington" burns off Rhode Island, killing 103
1959 Harvey Haddix pitches 12 perfect innings, loses in 13th
1961 Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee establishes in Atlanta
1961 USAF bomber flies the Atlantic in a record of just over 3 hours
1965 Revised international Convention on Safety of Life at Sea takes effect
1966 Buddhist sets self on fire at US consulate in Hué South-Vietnam
1966 Guyana (formerly British Guiana) declares independence from UK
1969 Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth
1969 John & Yoko begin their 2nd bed-in (Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montréal)
1971 Soviet Union's Concorde, TU-144, makes its 1st appearance
1972 Joe Frazier TKOs Ron Stander in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
1972 Nixon & Brezhnev signs SALT accord
1973 Bahrain adopts it's constitution
1973 Beatles' "The Beatles 1967-1970" album goes #1
1974 During a David Cassidy concert in London a 14 year old is trampled
1977 George Willig climbs NYC World Trade Center
1977 Movie "Star Wars" debuts
1978 1st legal gambling casino opens in Atlantic City
1979 "Dancin' Fool" by Frank Zappa hits #45
1980 Soyuz 36 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Hungarian) to Salyut 6
1981 Marine jet crashes on flight deck of USS Nimitz, killing 14
1982 British ship Atlantic Conveyor & Coventry were hit in Falkland war
1984 Frisbee is kept aloft for 1,672 seconds in Philadelphia
1987 Cecilia Bolocco, 22, of Chile, crowned 36th Miss Universe
1987 Great offensive against Tamil-rebellion in Jaffra Sri Lanka
1987 Supreme Court ruled dangerous defendants could be held without bail
1987 William H Webster replaces Robert M Gates as 14th director of CIA
1989 At 7:42 AM, radio has a 30 second silence, honoring radio
1989 Danish parliament allows legal marriage among homosexuals
1990 Philadelphia Phillies retire Mike Schmidt's uniform #20
1993 Long fly ball by Indians' Carlos Martinez bounces off Jose Canseco's head & goes over fence for a homerun
1994 Michael Jackson (35) weds Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley (26) The couple divorced less than two years later.
(Michael retains custody of the chimpanzee)
1997 Sammy Sosa (Cubs) & Tony Womack (Pirates) hit inside the park homeruns
1998 Date for Paula Jones sex harassment trial vs President Clinton
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Guyana : Independence Day (1966)
US : Memorial Day/Decoration Day, a legal holiday (1868)(Monday)
Virginia : Confederate Memorial Day (1868)(Monday)
Poppy Week (Day 4)
Human Fly Day
Mystic, Conn : Lobster Festival
Scottsboro Alabama : Catfish Festival
US : All You Can Eat Day
REACT CB-Radio Month
Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Eleutherius, pope [175-178], martyr
Roman Catholic, Anglican : Memorial of Augustine, English Apostle, 1st abp of Canterbury (optional)
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Philip Neri, priest
Jewish : Shavuot (celebration of 10 commandments)(Sivan 6, 5753 AM)
Anglican, Roman Catholic : Ember Day
Religious History
1232 Pope Gregory IX sent the first Inquisition team to Aragon in Spain, after turning its details over to the Dominicans the previous year.
1811 Birth of William Hunter, American Methodist clergyman. The author of three collections of hymns, published during his lifetime, Hunter is best remembered today for the hymn entitled, "The Great Physician Now is Near."
1858 In Pittsburgh, the Associate Presbyterian and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian churches merged to form the United Presbyterian Church in North America.
1899 Future President William McKinley, 56, wrote in his notebook: 'My belief embraces the Divinity of Christ and a recognition of Christianity as the mightiest factor in the world's civilization.' (McKinley had been "born again," at age 10, during a revival meeting, and later joined a Methodist church.)
1957 The religious program "The Fourth R" aired for the last time over NBC television. Produced by several different religious organizations, this short-lived series aired on Sunday mornings.
Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Thought for the day :
"If reality wants to get in touch with me, it knows where I am."
Actual Newspaper Headlines...
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
Why did the Chicken cross the Road...
Karl Marx:
It was a historical inevitability.
Dumb Laws...
Aspen Colorado:
Catapults may not be fired at buildings.
What an employee Really Means
"I'M HIGHLY MOTIVATED TO SUCCEED:"
The minute I find a better job.
