The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, Jr. - Nov. 15th, 2004

"Charles Lockwood, Architect of Attack" | Paul Crozier

[SAMWolf]

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.
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Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, Jr.
(1890-1967)

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On January 19, 1943, a Pan Am Clipper on loan to the U.S. Navy encountered dense fog during its approach to San Francisco and crashed blindly into the surrounding mountains. All aboard were killed, including Admiral Robert English, Commander Submarines Pacific. English left behind a force brooding over internal disputes and poor combat performance. Faced with naming a replacement, Admiral Ernest J. King searched for a candidate possessing specific qualities: an accessible, dynamic personality; a willingness to innovate; an aggressive spirit. He chose an old friend, a contemporary from the primitive early days of the submarine force, who proved to be the perfect man for the job: Rear Admiral Charles Andrews Lockwood, Jr.

Born on May 16, 1890 in Midland, Virginia, Charles Lockwood was raised in Missouri. It was from this state that he was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1912. Short, thin lipped, with large, penetrating eyes, the gregarious Ensign Lockwood soon found himself serving aboard craft almost as new and untried as his commission, submarines. Initially unimpressed with the tiny, temperamental boats, he nicknamed their batteries "Fiery Devil and Green Death" for their propensity to burst into flame and emit toxic gas.

In 1914, Lockwood was given command of A-2, the third submarine to serve in the U.S. Navy. During his qualification trials, the boat gave a lurch upon diving and calls of "Flooding!" and "Chlorine!" rang out among the six man crew. Plunged into darkness, Lockwood coolly brought the boat to the surface. With lights restored, Lockwood found the bilges dry and his men grinning. Angered at what he initially perceived as a foolish prank, he soon realized the Division C.O. and crew had executed a well-rehearsed drill. Having earned their respect, Lockwood quickly grew to love the highly technical, highly spirited environment of the boats.

Lockwood spent World War I in the Philippines where he successively commanded A-2, B-1 and the first Asiatic Submarine Division. Assigned to escort shipping in Manila Bay, their ability to deter an aggressive threat was minimal. Following the armistice, Lockwood served as assistant naval attaché in the U.S. Embassy, Tokyo before returning to the states to command the ex-German submarine UC-97. While testing the capabilities of German design, Lockwood began to see the potential for extended offensive submarine operations. The huge advancement in American technology required to fill that role with "a new all-purpose fleet submarine" also became apparent.


Admiral Charles Lockwood pinning the Bronze Star Medal on Commander David H. McClintock, Commanding Officer of the USS Darter (SS-227), for sinking the Japanese minelayer, IJN Tsugaru, on June 29th, 1944.

Turning down further schooling for continued sea duty, Lockwood successively commanded Seal (G-1), N-5, R-25, S-14 and Bonita (V-3) before taking command of Submarine Division 13 in 1936. While the Division's new P-class boats were a step in the right direction, Lockwood found them lacking in speed, reliability and firepower. His promotion to chair the Submarine Officer's Conference in Washington in the fall of 1937 put him in position to see his ideas on submarine design come to fruition.

Newly installed in the Navy Department as "Mr. Submarine", Lockwood began assembling a coalition of like minded officers to propose a true fleet submarine: the T or Tambor class. It was to be large, 1,500 tons, carry the latest diesel engines, have ten torpedo tubes, a 5-inch gun and a new TDC. Habitability would be increased by the addition of fresh water distillation units and air conditioning. But the Tambor faced opposition from Admiral Thomas Hart, Chairman of the General Board. Hart stubbornly defended the building of small, coastal defense boats (without "luxuries" like air conditioning). Through determination and skilled political maneuvering, Lockwood's design prevailed (though Hart would only consent to a 3-inch gun). The Tambor design, subtly refined in the following Gato and Balao classes, would form the backbone of the wartime submarine fleet.

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor found Lockwood in London, planning the expected participation of U.S. submarines in the Battle of the Atlantic. Longing for operational command, opportunity knocked in May 1942. Orders directed him to Fremantle, Australia to take over as Commander Submarines, Southwest Pacific. Shortly after his arrival he received promotion to Rear Admiral.


Vice Admiral Lockwood aboard USS Balao in 1945

The task before him was daunting. Undersupplied and surrounded by poor morale, his complement of boats was few, successful patrols fewer. A man who thrived on personal interaction, Lockwood began by visiting every boat, poring over their patrol reports. They contained a common refrain: suspect torpedoes. When his command's lone successful skipper, James Coe in Skipjack, experienced his own torpedo troubles, Lockwood pledged to get to the bottom of things.

Everyone suspected that the Mark 14 torpedoes were running much deeper than set. But both Admiral English at Pearl and the Bureau of Ordinance blamed poor maintenance and marksmanship for the continued waste of war shots. To settle the matter, Lockwood ordered a fishing net strung across an end of Albany Bay and had Skipjack fire three torpedoes at it. Each cut the net eleven feet deeper than set. Lockwood immediately forwarded his proof to BuOrd.

They decried the tests as "unscientific". Righteously indignant, Lockwood had the test run again. The results were the same. In the face of Lockwood's evidence, English reported that his commanders also suspected their torpedoes of running deep. With Nimitz adding his weight to the protests, Newport reluctantly ran their own depth tests (the first conducted on the design). The Mark 14's did indeed run, on average, ten feet deeper than set. BuOrd issued compensating instructions for the Mark 14. The faulty torpedoes had been in combat use for nine months. Lockwood had corrected the problem in nine weeks.


Admiral Charles Lockwood decorates Signalman Second Class William M Gail with the Navy Commendation w/bronze V for valor

Slowly, SoWesPac patrols began to improve. Lockwood sent his boats to interdict shipping lanes, rather than set up station off enemy harbors. Skippers who did not prove their aggressiveness were relieved. Morale began to rise. Yet even with its growing importance to the war effort, it was not the main submarine command.

Then the tragic news of January 1943 was announced. When the shock of English's death subsided, Lockwood inquired about his replacement. In a studied bit of reverse psychology, Lockwood wrote Admiral Edwards, "I hope no one will think of sending me to Pearl Harbor. By all means, let someone else have Pearl Harbor." Following King's appointment of Lockwood as ComSubPac, Edwards wrote back, "You were selected on the platform that the officer best qualified to determine submarine policy throughout the Pacific should be at Pearl Harbor."

The year 1943 proved to be a long and challenging one for Lockwood. Though standouts such as Morton, Dornin and Whitaker emerged, commanders who lacked aggressiveness were relieved. Torpedo failures continued to plague the force, both prematures and duds. In frustration, Lockwood said, "If the Bureau of Ordinance can't provide us with torpedoes that will hit and explode…then get the Bureau of Ships to design a boat hook with which we can rip the plates off a target's sides." Bucking bureaucratic hesitancy yet again, Lockwood ordered torpedoes tested against submerged cliffs off Kahoolawe. The tin fish failed to explode. Upon examination, the design of the contact exploder was found to be defective. Lockwood's men created a new, lighter firing pin of aluminum to solve the problem. Faced with overwhelming patrol evidence of its failure to function properly, the magnetic feature of the Mark 6 exploder was ordered deactivated as well.



Armed at last with reliable torpedoes, Lockwood instigated important changes in tactics. New patrol areas were opened up and patrol assignments were rotated allowing boats shared access to productive hunting grounds. Intelligence was cultivated and put to immediate use. Ultra dispatches, using information gleaned through deciphered Japanese messages, vectored boats to favorable attack positions.

When Admiral Charles Pownall inquired about the possibility of submarines performing lifeguard duty during the upcoming Gilbert Island air strikes, Lockwood immediately put his Operations Officer, Commander Richard Voge, to work on the problem. Embracing this unconventional opportunity, countless lives of downed airmen were spared through rescue by submarine. In recognition of his tenacious, innovative work, Lockwood was promoted to Vice Admiral, the youngest man to hold that rank.

While victories began to rise in 1943, the following year saw sinkings reach a precipitous peak. Throughout 1944, patrol reports recorded the daringly successful actions of commanders such as O'Kane, Cutter and Fluckey. As the Japanese merchant fleet suffered staggering losses, her ships fled to ever shallower water. Lockwood's boats pursued them until their hulls scraped bottom. As confirmed sinkings grew, Lockwood's interest in more efficient ways to achieve them never faded. He personally nurtured, shepherded, and begged for such new technologies as electric torpedoes, homing torpedoes, a 5-inch deck gun, evasion countermeasures and improved periscopes, radar and mine detecting FM sonar.

Lockwood cared deeply about FM sonar because he felt it would increase the safety of his men as they probed the heavily mined shores of the Japanese home islands. And nobody cared more for the men who rode the boats than Lockwood. Wherever submariners were stationed, recreation and comfort were high priorities. He felt the loss of his boats personally as well. Lockwood closed the Sea of Japan as a patrol area following Wahoo's disappearance in October 1943. It wasn't that targets couldn't be found there. For Lockwood the high probability of further sub losses outweighed the value of their sinking. Throughout the war Lockwood continuously met his boats as they returned from patrol, sat down in their wardrooms, and talked to his men. Most importantly, he listened to them.


Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, Commander, Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet (seated, center) poses with some of his officers at the newly extablished Yokosuka Submarine Base, 2 September 1945, while celebrating Japan's formal surrender earlier that day.

By the summer of 1945, the Japanese naval and merchant fleets had been swept from the seas. Sub sinkings slowed from the simple fact there were no more targets left. By war's end more than 5.6 million tons of enemy shipping had been sunk. Under Lockwood's command, the U.S. submarine force's casualty rate was the lowest of any combatant submarine service on either side.

Following the cessation of hostilities, Lockwood proposed the creation of the office of Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Submarines with himself as its first holder. Instead, he received the office of Inspector General, a posting he detested. A man who thrived on personal relationships, Lockwood couldn't stomach the role of watchdog and retired in 1947. He spent the remaining years of his life in Los Gatos, California, writing well-received books on submarines, advising Hollywood on submarine movies, and encouraging former submariners to write their memoirs. Lockwood died in June 1967 and was interred at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California. His former boss, and fellow submariner, Chester Nimitz, lies nearby.

The names of fish, Tautog, Wahoo, Tang, Barb, Flasher, are no longer given to today's fast attack submarines. Yet with the recent naming of SSN-23 as Jimmy Carter, perhaps it is a good time to name another boat after a man: a fighting leader whose ability to get things done, and the spirit of his command, was the embodiment of the words fast and attack - a man affectionately called "Uncle Charlie" by his troops - Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, Jr.

[SAMWolf]

The Thinning Ranks of Lockwood's Iron Men

Do you remember them? The old rascals with the red hash marks and rate chevrons? Five or six rows of damn meaningful ribbons… Dolphins and a Combat Patrol pin?

Back in the days when those forged in combat, case-hardened bastards roamed the piers of submarine bases and butt-buffed barstools in establishments throughout the world no self-respecting devil would be caught dead in… We called them simply… the World War II guys.

They had not only 'seen the elephant', they saddle broke him and rode him all the way to Tokyo.

If you melted down all the gold hash marks and rates in their submarine service, you wouldn't have had enough material to have hammered out a Birmingham bus token.



Gold geedunk and good conduct medals were not a big defining area of consideration in the world of these red blooded American giants… Men, who had gone to sea in iron sharks and chewed the heart out of the Japanese naval war machine, didn't require any additional credentials to reinforce their personal reputations.

The rollicking bastards had written their saga in a trail of rusting hulks and busted bar furniture from Hell to Hokaido… And had sent an endless stream of oriental miscreants off to Buddha amid fire and the smell of burning Torpex. In 1945, they were the unquestioned hairy- chested jungle kings of the Pacific…'Uncle Charlie's, get the hell out of my way' card-carrying rascals… Admiral Charles Lockwood's iron men.


Gato Class Submarine

In my day, they were the men who held the senior leadership positions… The proven and seasoned leadership of the submarine service. They were the 'old men of the sea' to us. And all we wanted… All we aspired to be, was to be like them and worthy of their acceptance.

As we grew old… They grew even older. I am not sure they mellowed, just grew long in the tooth and spent more and more time burying each other and cussing hearing loss and the pros and cons of Polygrip, Viagra and Metamucil.



Every year, some idiot jaybird would show up on their TV tube and tell about this wonderful World War II Memorial, that was to be built in their nations capital. Then, mister TV man would disappear until next Groundhog Day.

There was the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the World War II Memorial. The 'eternal patrol' sailing list grew longer and longer and no national recognition for the greatest generation. We built monuments to honor the participants of lesser 'wars', conflicts… Conflicts that never really ended… Ones we lost… But we just never got around to honoring the quiet generation that fought and won a world-wide hellraiser and handed this nation its last two fully Unconditional Surrenders against two of the most insidious regimes Satin ever gave birth to.

Old Gringo, Capt. Ned Beach,Capt. George Street are numbered among those who got their final orders and couldn't wait. They are numbered among those who will never see the Memorial built to honor them… Every day the list of eligible and deserving wearers of the combat pin, shrinks.

Balao Class Submarine

Of the sins of man, indifference and ingratitude are the most difficult to survive. Bureaucratic indifference compounds the shameful nature of our national failure to extend to these very non-demanding warrior giants a long overdue national handshake. Shame on us… Shame on us all.

What we do or not do, will not change the record they wrote in valorous deeds and sublime self-sacrifice so many years ago. They will always be the men who went to sea and struck their blows for freedom, liberty and our American way of life from beneath the sea. Men who shared bad air, depleted rations, and the deafening sounds of enemy depth charges, together. Men who wore sweat-soaked dungaree shirts and repeatedly pinned the tail on Hirohito's donkey.


Balao Class, forward torpedo room

No, they created their own memorial… The one signed by the little grinning buck-toothed monkeys on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor… A harbor totally absent of Nip war vessels that missed the terminal festivities because of U.S. submarine prearranged dates with Pacific Ocean floor oxidation.

Many of the still remaining World War II boat sailors will miss the ceremonies and hoopla attending what effetist artists and fawning politicians have created as a national thank you. Again… Shame on us.

Your true 'thank you' will rest with history's accounting of what you did, why you did it and the magnificent legacy you passed to the downline members of the United States Submarine Service, and the appreciation of the yet unborn, who will mature in free air without the weight of the despot's heel on their necks.

You were iron men who took iron ships to sea and left an unparalleled record of courage and duty, faithfully performed. A record that should serve to inspire every lad who enters his country's Navy in search of adventure in a service with an extremely proud heritage.

What you did makes what came before and since pale to bullshit by comparison. Somebody needed to say that… Somebody who wore Dolphins and simply wanted to drink beer in your company, listen to your history, ride your boats and feel your handshake of acceptance… You were, are and ever will be, heroes in every sense of the term, to that lad. Your self-sacrifice was unparalleled in the annals of naval history.

So thanks from an old gray haired sonuvabitch who danced with the Goddess of The Main Induction, long after you left her to us. She had holes in her stockings, strands of white hair and sagging tits, but she could still do that North Atlantic saltwater fandango and bounce around like a twenty-year-old fan dancer.

God bless anyone who slammed hatches on the iron monsters that went to periscope depth and sent the saltwater valentines that kept me from ending up eating fish heads and rice, listening to Tokyo Rose bring me the news and saying the pledge of allegiance to that goofy-looking meatball flag.

Bob 'Dex' Armstrong

[SAMWolf]

TORPEDO TROUBLES

Torpedo problems plagued the fleet submarine  throughout much of the war, but the early years proved to be the most trying time for sub skippers regarding the ordnance they carried. Malfunctioning torpedoes were reported by boat captains from the onset of hostilities and the response from BuOrd was always the same: The weapons were fine, it was the crew's inabilities that were to blame. History has proven otherwise.


Torpedo Exterior

US fleet submarines went into battle armed with the MK XIV steam torpedoes which were equipped with the MK VI influence exploder. The design behind the exploder was to allow the torpedo to detonate within the magnetic field under the keel of the target boat, effectively breaking the ship's back. This "top secret" device was highly regarded by the Navy which believed they possessed a device that would revolutionize submarine warfare. In fact, they so tightly guarded the information about the MK VI that they conducted few actual tests. I addition, training in its' use was restricted for fear that the secret about this lethal miracle might leak out. During the same time the US was tenaciously safeguarding the MK VI, both Britain and Germany abandoned their use of a similar devices they had developed due to the equipment's unreliability. Skippers complained that, after developing an ideal attack setup, their torpedoes would detonate prematurely, miss completely or not explode at all.


Torpedo Interior

In December of 1941, after having fired in excess of 70 torpedoes at 28 targets only one hit was recorded. Theories as to the cause were widespread. The most popular being that the weapons were running deeper then they were set. Report after report of potentially faulty torpedoes came down the pike, only to be officially attributed as "crew error". Resolution to the problem took its first step forward when in June of 1942 RADM Charles Lockwood, a submarine veteran, was assigned the command of the Asiatic Fleet. His first order of business was to test the MK XIV for running depth. His findings were consistent with the reports from the submarine commanders: the MK XIV ran deeper then their settings. The skippers were advised to adjust the running depth accordingly in the hopes of correcting the defect. Unfortunately, the number of sinkings and total tonnage scores remained disturbingly lower then expected. Continuing on the belief that the poor showing was due to ineffective skippers, many were relieved of their commands, replaced by younger, more aggressive officers.


Warhead

If the possibility of conducting a war patrol armed with faulty torpedoes was not a huge enough problem, the shortage of their supply, defective or otherwise, was. Political arms limitation agreements prior to the war restricted the ability of countries to produce certain weapons. Even with the advent of antisubmarine technology, submarines themselves were considered to be an extremely deadly weapon of war, and there was a worldwide effort to restrict their production. Rules of engagement even set boundaries as to how a submarine could be employed. The United States entered WW II with an inadequate supply of torpedoes and too few facilities to produce the numbers required. The resulting shortage severely handcuffed skippers during a patrol. By November of 1942, Pearl Harbor's supply had dwindled down to zero. The Navy issued guidelines detailing the number or torpedoes that could be expended on any one target. As a result, many potential targets escaped.


Exploder

By 1943, with the submarine fleet still unable to prove their overall effectiveness, boat captains were once again casting the blame for their troubles on faulty ordnance. Patrols returned to base with tales of torpedoes which would explode about half of the time. Finally convinced that the MK VI influence exploder was the culprit, Lockwood ordered them to be disconnected. But the saga of defective weapons continued. As numerous patrol reports continued to describe perfect setups followed by torpedoes striking the targets but failing to explode, (one account detailed an attack where 13 out of 15 hits did not detonate) Lockwood ordered new tests to be conducted. Firing torpedoes at a vertical cliff face, the duds were closely examined. It was determined the when a torpedo struck at a 90º degree angle (which was considered ideal) the firing pin would often become distorted before it could contact the explosive cap. The results confirmed what many had feared, that submarines went into battle armed with defective weapons. Installing a stronger firing pin resolved the issue of malfunctioning torpedoes virtually overnight. The resulting dramatic increase in tonnage scores removed any doubt as to the cause of the problem that bedeviled the submarine fleet during the first few years of WW II.

Additional Sources:

www.olgoat.com
www.battlebelow.com
www.infomagic.net
www.militarymuseum.org
www.history.navy.mil
www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2364
thesaltysailor.com
www.submarinesailor.com
www.dutchsubmarines.com
www.bowfin.org
www.skyrocket.de
www.fleetsubmarine.com
www.cr.nps.gov

[SAMWolf]

Unofficial tests are being conducted by Rear Admiral Lockwood, commander of Task Force 51, about the problems with the MK 14 torpedo. Here is part of a memo sent to BuOrd about the findings:

" Captain Fife and Commander (Lt.) Don Black in the U.S.S. Skipjack have conducted testing of the MK 14 torpedo in Frenchman’s Bay, Australia. Results show that the torpedoes actually ran an average of 11 feet deeper than depth setting. Skippers are instructed to subtract 11 feet from their MK 14 depth calculations so that the torpedoes will actually now run 5 feet under the keel of the target. Thus torpedo depth setting should be draft minus 6 feet."

Using the shallower settings, the MK IV exploder will now function according to design.

-- Rear Admiral Charles Lockwood
Commander Submarine Force
Fremantle, Australia

[SAMWolf]

Here are the recommended holiday mailing dates for military mail this year:

For military mail addressed TO APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Parcel Post - November 13
• Space Available - November 27
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - Mailing date is December 11 to all locations
  • EXCEPT for locations starting with ZIP 093. For all locations starting with ZIP 093 the mailing date is December 6.
• Express Mail - December 20 to locations where Express Mail service is available. Check with your local post office to determine which APO/FPO addresses can receive Express Mail. Note: This service is not available to ships.

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For military mail FROM APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Space Available - November 20
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - December 11
• Express Mail - December 18 from APO/FPO addresses where Express Mail can be accepted. Check with your local military post office to determine if they can accept Express Mail. Note: This service is not available from ships.

Thanks for the information StayAtHomeMother

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

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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[snippy_about_it]

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Good Monday Morning Everyone.


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[Shellback Chuck]

Nice post, I sailed onboard the USS Lockwood FF-1064 for a couple years in the eighties. I always thought they should name a sub after him instead of an ASW frigate.

http://www.destroyersonline.com/usndd/ff1064/f1064pho.htm

[Iris7]

The "Bob 'Dex' Armstrong" piece rings a bell. Man, that is a Swab talking! Well, a Swab with Ladies present!

The Submarine Service lost one fourth of all crew on combat patrols. That little Combat Patrol pin has a high price.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[ken5050]

Morning troops..very nice job, as always..glad to see my suggestion bore fruit...

One point..there is a very famous pic ( if you, or someone, can find it)taken at the Japanese surrender ceremonies in Tokyo bay, where the entire US fleet was assembled.. It shows, as I recall..several dozen US fleet subs arrayed on both sides of sub tenders..That One pic really encapsulates much of the submarine warfare history of WW II

Re Charlie Lockwood..a main key to his success was his total lack of desire for personal recognition..In a war where Americans knew the names and faces of most of the senior US commanders, 99% of the homefront had NO idea who he was, nor what he did..that, and his brutal command decisions in sacking boat commanders who didn't press the attack. Until he assumed command, it was an unspokenunderstanding in ComSubPac that ONLY USNA grads would get a command..Lockwood cashiered a bunch of them, and installed USNR XOs as boat commanders...results followed..

[alfa6]

Silent Service bump for the Foxhole

The Store is looking really good kids, here is hoping it is a resounding success.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

I have been following a new blog written by a former Marine officer called...

http://www.adventuresofchester.blogspot.com/

He has offered some rather interesting insights on the fight for Fallujah. He has a link up on yesterdays postings to a picture from Fallujah that is rahter telling, go here...

http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=51739842

I thought you might find the pic of interest.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Soaring Feather]

Good Monday morning everyone.

[The Mayor]

November 15, 2004

What God Has Done

Read: Acts 26:6-23

King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19

Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 1-2; Hebrews 11:1-19

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In a debate at Boston College, Christian scholar William Craig Lane convincingly set forth the historical arguments for believing in Jesus' resurrection, much as the apostle Paul did in Acts 26. Then Lane told the story of his conversion.

As a child he never went to church, but in his teens he began to be plagued by questions about death and the meaning of life. He started going to church, but the sermons didn't answer his questions. What he saw in his church-going classmates led him to conclude that most Christians were phonies. He became an angry loner. One day a girl who always seemed to be happy told him that her joy came from having Jesus in her life, and she assured him that Jesus wanted to live in him too.

Lane spent the next 6 months soul-searching and reading the New Testament. "I came to the end of my rope and cried out to God," he said. "I cried out all the bitterness and anger that was within me. And I felt this tremendous infusion of joy, and God became at that moment a living reality in my life—a reality that has never left me."

We tell others our logic for believing in Jesus, which is based on God's Word. But it's also important to tell them what He has done for us personally. —Herb Vander Lugt

You may be tempted to debate
To change another's view,
But nothing speaks with greater power
Than what Christ does for you. —Sper

When telling others what Jesus can do for them, tell them what He has done for you.

[The Mayor]

Mornin Feather!

[soldierette]

"During his qualification trials, the boat gave a lurch upon diving and calls of "Flooding!" and "Chlorine!" rang out among the six man crew. Plunged into darkness, Lockwood coolly brought the boat to the surface. With lights restored, Lockwood found the bilges dry and his men grinning. Angered at what he initially perceived as a foolish prank, he soon realized the Division C.O. and crew had executed a well-rehearsed drill."

One hundred years later, and this kind of "drill" is still S.O.P. It can be great fun if you're on the right side of the drill and in the know, and enough to give you a heart attack if you're not.

Thanks for the history lesson.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on November 15:
1397 Nicholas V pope (1447-55); ended schism, founded Vatican Library
1708 William Pitt the Elder (Whig) UK PM (1756-61, 66-68) `Great Commoner'
1738 Sir William Herschel astronomer (discovered Uranus)
1814 Pleasant Adam Hackleman Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
1815 John Banvard NYC, painted worlds largest painting (3 mile canvas)
1816 Joseph Bennett Plummer Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
1836 Pierce Manning Butler Young Mjr Gen (Confederate Army), died in 1896
1881 Franklin P Adams Chicago IL, columnist (Information Please)
1882 Felix Frankfurter Vienna Austria, US supreme court justice (1939-62)
1886 Pedro Sanjuan San Sebastian, Spain, composer (Castilla)
1887 Georgia O'Keeffe Sun Prairie WI, painter (Cow's Skull)
1887 Marianne Moore St Louis, poet (Pulitzer-1951-Collected Poems)
1891 Erwin Rommel German field marshall (WW II-African campaign)
1891 W Averell Harriman US, (Gov-D-NY)/ambassador to USSR (1943-46)
1907 Count Claus Schenck von Stauffenberg, German anti fascist colonel
1914 Jorge Bolet Havana Cuba, pianist (C'eurties Instituka)
1919 Carol Bruce Great Neck NY, actress (Lillian Carlson-WKRP)
1919 Joseph Albert Wapner La, judge (People's Court)
1922 Francesco Rosi Naples Italy, director (Lucky Luciano)
1925 Howard Baker (Sen-R-TN), presidential chief of staff
1929 Edward Asner Kansas City KS, actor, mindless moron (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant)
1930 Whitman Mayo NYC, actor (Grady-Sanford & Son)
1932 Petula Clark England, singer (Downtown, My Love)
1933 Jack Burns Boston MA, comedian (Burns & Schreiber)
1937 Yaphet Kotto NYC, actor (Brubaker, Alien, Raid on Entebbe)
1939 Thalmus Rasulala [Jack Crowder], Miami FL, actor (Blacula, Roots)
1940 Sam Waterston Cambridge MA, actor (Law & Order, Capricorn One, Heaven's Gate)
1945 Anni-Frid Lyngsdtad [Fryeda Anderson] Sweden, rocker (ABBA)
1946 Janet Lennon Culver City CA, singer (Lennon Sisters)
1952 "Macho Man" Randy Savage Sarasota FL, [Poffo], wrestler (WWF/SMW/ICW)
1953 Yuri Viktorovich Prikhodko Russian cosmonaut
1968 Brenda Alyce Bassett Kokomo Indiana, Miss Indiana-America (1991)
1968 James Brady Brooklyn NY, columnist (NY Post)
1977 Peter Mark Andrew Phillips 9th in sucession to British throne

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Deaths which occurred on November 15:
0565 Justitianus I, [Petrus Sabbatius], Byzantine emperor (527-65), dies
1280 Albertus Magnus German scholar, dies at 87
1630 Johann Kepler German astronomer, dies at 58
1902 Leopold II King of Belgium assassinated by Italian anarchist
1954 Lionel Barrymore [Blythe], actor (Dr Kildare, Key Largo), dies at 76
1958 Tyrone Power actor, dies of a heart attack at 44
1963 Fritz Reiner conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), dies at 74
1978 Margaret Mead anthropologist, dies in NY at 76
1983 John LeMesurier actor, dies at 71
1984 Baby Fae who received a baboon's heart, dies at California medical center
1985 Spencer W Kimball US head of mormon chuch, dies at 90
1996 Alger Hiss, former State Department official, spy, died in New York just four days after his 92nd birthday
1998 Kwame Ture, the civil rights activist formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, died in Guinea at age 57.

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 KEIPER JOHN C.---RENOVO PA.
1966 RAVENNA HARRY M. III---SAN ANTONIO TX.
1966 TIMMONS BRUCE ALLAN FORT LAUDERDALE FL.
[CRAFT OVERTURNED SUBJ DROWNED]
1968 BIRCHIM JAMES D.---INDEPENDENCE CA.
1969 GRAF JOHN G.---GLENDALE CA
[DIED ESCAPING 02/15/70]
1969 SUBER RANDOLPH B.---BALLWIN MO.
1969 WHITE ROBERT T.---ST CHARLES IL.
[04/01/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]

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

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On this day...
1315 Swiss soldiers ambush and slaughter invading Austrians in the battle of Morgarten.
1348 Rudolph of Oron claims Jews have confessed to poisoning wells
1492 Christopher Columbus notes 1st recorded reference to tobacco
1492 In Spain, 6 Jews & 5 Conversos are accused of using black magic
1533 The "explorer" Francisco Pizarro enters Cuzco, Peru
1626 The Pilgrim Fathers, who have settled in New Plymouth, buy out their London investors
1660 1st kosher butcher (Asser Levy) licensed in NYC (New Amsterdam)
1715 Barrier Treaty, Austria cedes area to the Netherlands
1763 Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon begin surveying Mason-Dixon Line between Pennsylvania & Maryland
1777 The Articles of Confederation, instituting perpetual union of the United States of America, are adopted by Congress
1791 1st Catholic college in US, Georgetown, opens
1806 1st US college magazine, Yale Literary Cabinet, publishes 1st issue
1806 Explorer Zebulon Pike sights Pikes Peak
1824 Series of fires kills 10 (Edinburgh Scotland)
1845 The opera "Maritana" is produced (London)
1849 1st US poultry show opens in Boston
1864 1st US mines school opens in basement of Columbia University, NY
1864 Sherman burns Atlanta
1869 Free postal delivery formally inaugurated
1881 American Federation of Labor (AFL) founded (Pittsburgh)
1884 Colonization of Africa organized at international conference in Berlin
1889 Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, deposed; republic proclaimed
1899 Morning Post reporter Winston Churchill & wife captured in Natal
1919 Senate 1st invokes cloture to end a filibuster (Versailles Treaty)
1920 Free City of Danzig established under League of Nations protection
1920 League of Nations holds 1st meeting, in Geneva
1921 KYW-AM in Philadelphia PA begins radio transmissions
1926 NBC on-air debut with a radio network of 24 stations
1932 Walt Disney Art School created
1935 Commonwealth of Phillipines inaugurated
1937 1st congressional session in air-conditioned chambers
1938 1st telecast of an unscheduled event (fire), W2XBT, NY
1939 Nazis begin mass murder of Warsaw Jews
1939 Social Security Administration approves 1st unemployment check
1940 1st 75,000 men called to armed forces duty during peacetime
1941 Cow Palace opens in San Francisco
1948 William Lyon Mackenzie King retires as PM of Canada
1950 1st Negro player in organized hockey-Arthur Dorrington signed
1954 1st regularly scheduled commercial flights over North Pole begins
1957 US sentences Soviet spy Rudolf Ivanovich Abel to 30 years & $3,000
1959 Richard Hickock & Perry Smith kill Clutters ("In Cold Blood")
1960 Elgin Baylor of NBA Los Angeles Lakers scores 71 points vs NY Knicks
1960 The first submarine with nuclear missiles, USS George Washington, takes to sea from Charleston, South Carolina.
1964 Mickey Wright shoots a 62, lowest golf score for a woman pro
1965 In the second day of combat, regiments of the 1st Cavalry Division battle on Landing Zones X-Ray against North Vietnamese forces in the Ia drang Valley
1965 Craig Breedlove sets land speed record (600.601 mph-966.57 kph)
1966 Gemini XII returns to Earth
1967 Michael Adams in X-15 reaches 80 km
1969 250,000 peacefully demonstrate in Wash DC against the Vietnam War
1969 Janis Joplin, accused of vulgar & indecent language in Tampa, FL
1972 Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 48 launched to study gamma rays
1976 A Syrian "peace force" takes control of Beirut, Lebanon
1977 President Jimmy Carter welcomes Shah of Iran
1979 ABC-TV announces it would broadcast nightly specials on Iran hostage
1979 British government identifies Sir Anthony Blunt as 4th man in Soviet spy ring
1980 Pope John Paul II began 5 day visit to West Germany,
1982 Funeral services held in Moscow's Red Square for Leonid I Brezhnev
1983 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus proclaimed
1987 28 of 82 aboard Continental Airlines DC-9 die in crash at Denver
1988 91 m radio telescope dish at Green Bank, WV collapses
1988 PLO proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizes Israeli existence
1988 Soviet space shuttle makes unmanned maiden flight (2 orbits)
1989 "Batman" is released on video tape
1989 Walter Davis (Denver) begins NBA free throw streak of 53 games
1990 President Bush signs the Clear Air Act of 1990
1990 Producers confirm that Milli Vanilli didn't sing on their album
1990 US 68th manned space mission STS 38 (Atlantis 7) launches into orbit
1990 The "Keating Five"--Sens. Alan Cranston, D-Calif.; Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.; John Glenn, D-Ohio; John McCain, R-Ariz.; and Donald Riegle, D-Mich.--maintained their innocence at the opening of Senate hearings into charges of influence peddling on behalf of S&L kingpin Charles Keating.
1991 A federal appeals panel threw out former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter's felony convictions in the Iran-Contra affair, saying his immunized testimony to Congress was improperly used against him.
1991 Ricky Pierce (Seattle) begins NBA free throw streak of 75 games
2000 Al Gore made a surprise proposal for a statewide hand recount of Florida's 6 million ballots - an idea immediately rejected by George W. Bush. Earlier, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris had rejected requests from the counties to update presidential vote totals with the results of hand recounts under way at Gore's urging.

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

Belgium : King's Day
Brazil : Republic Day (1889)
Japan : 7-5-3 Festival Day (parents give thanks for girls 7 and 3 and boys 5 and 3)
West Germany : Repentance Day (Wednesday)
US : American Enterprise Day
US : Doublespeak Day (otherwise known as John Kerry Day)
US : Holidays Are Pickle Days (thru 12-31)
One Nation Under God Month

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Religious Observances
Christian : St Leopold
RC : Mem of St Albert the Great, bishop, confessor, doctor (opt)

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Religious History
1626 The original Mayflower "pilgrims" (Separatists), having lived in their American colony for six years, bought out their London investors for 1,800 pounds.
1760 Anglican hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'Our love to Him is the proof and measure of what we know of His love to us.'
1804 Anglican missionary to Persia, Henry Martyn wrote in his journal: 'Corruption always begins the day, but morning prayer never fails to set my mind in a right frame.'
1839 Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'I know well that when Christ is nearest, Satan also is busiest.'
1957 Patriarch Ignatius Yacoub III officially established the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in the U.S. and Canada. At the same time, Archbishop Mar Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, former Syrian Orthodox metropolitan of Jerusalem, was appointed primate of the new archdiocese, and soon after took up residence in Hackensack, New Jersey.

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

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Thought for the day :
"Life can't be all bad when for ten dollars you can buy all the Beethoven sonatas and listen to them for ten years."

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Office Inspirational Sayings...
TEAMWORK...means never having to take all the blame yourself.

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Things I learned from children...
If you use a waterbed as home plate while wearing baseball
shoes it does not leak - it explodes.

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Dictionary of the Absurd...
berate
Grading honey producers

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Historical Spam Subject Lines...
Order Your British Redcoats Playing Cards!

[manna]

Present!

[Valin]

For more words of wisdom

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