The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Polish Submarine ORP Orzel (1939 - 1940) - Nov 17th, 2004

www.thehistorynet.com ^ | Wilfred P. Deac

[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.
.

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

...................................................................................... ...........................................

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ORP Orzel

The Polish submarine Orzel escaped from internment and went on to fight the Germans against long odds.

It was close to 3 a.m. when two shadowy figures overpowered the guard atop the conning tower of the moored submarine. In the control room below, a second guard found himself staring into the muzzle of a revolver. Soon both were bound and gagged.

An ax-wielding seaman meanwhile severed the electrical cable of the nearest searchlight and the telephone wires. Next came the mooring cables, which already had been surreptitiously sawed half through. Her dual electric motors humming, the submarine moved away from the dock. The high-bowed, nearly 1,500-ton vessel slipped stealthily toward the outer harbor -- and ran aground on a mudbank.

Lieutenant Commander Jan Grudzinski ordered one set of air tanks flooded and another blown, then requested full motor power. Grudzinski had no sooner called for power to be switched to the twin-shaft Sulzer diesels than sirens screamed, searchlights stabbed through the darkness and gunfire erupted.



The dramatic escape of the Polish submarine Orzel (Eagle) came 17 days after Adolf Hitler triggered World War II by invading Poland on September 1, 1939, and barely 20 months after her own launching. Built by public subscription, Orzel was one of two submersibles ordered from Dutch shipyards by Poland as part of an effort to create a navy strong enough to defend the nation's 90-mile northern coastline.

On September 8, Orzel left the Gulf of Danzig for the open Baltic. So far, the submarine's luck had held. Bombs and depth charges had been evaded. Orzel had narrowly escaped a German trap by running through a minefield without hitting anything more dangerous than two mine mooring cables. Now a blanket of bad luck seemed to enshroud the boat. The captain, Commander Kloczkowski, fell seriously ill; typhus was suspected. Grudzinski, his executive officer, took over. Four days later, on the 12th, the Nazi advance forced the evacuation of Gdynia, on the Gulf of Danzig, and its naval base. Next, mechanical problems befell the submarine. Finally, repair needs and the captain's worsening condition forced Orzel to seek a neutral port. Her prow turned northeastward toward the Gulf of Finland.



The castle-and-tower-dominated medieval skyline of Tallinn, capital of Estonia, hove into view on September 15. Overtly friendly, the Estonians escorted Orzel into the port's naval facilities. Kloczkowski was taken away in an ambulance. Repairs on the submarine began.

More influenced by pressure from the then-allied Nazis and Soviets than by international law, the Estonians informed Grudzinski that his command was to be interned. While the Polish officers objected and argued, soldiers boarded the submarine to disarm her.

The appearance of the British Embassy's naval attaché boosted morale. Although guards prevented him from boarding Orzel, the official managed to slip his calling card to a Polish sailor. On the reverse side was written "Good luck, God bless you." Another arrival was more ominous -- a truckload of workers sent to extract the torpedoes. Some accounts say 15 or 16 torpedoes already had been disarmed and transferred to the truck when Grudzinski engineered a breakdown of the hoisting machinery. Other reports, probably more accurate, indicate that, with 14 torpedoes removed, six remained in the stern tubes on September 17.



Tense with anticipation, the sailors made preparations for their breakout. Midnight, the time selected, came. But so did an Estonian officer on an unexpected visit. Any suspicions he may have harbored were allayed. Nearly three hours late, Grudzinski gave the nod to overpower the two onboard guards, and Orzel fled. She lay on the seabed throughout the 18th, and that evening Grudzinski decided it was safe to set a southwesterly course for the Swedish island of Gotland. There the overpowered guards could be released before the boat went on toward the Polish coast.

Orzel returned to a war that had worsened for Poland. The Soviet Union had followed Germany's invasion with one of its own. Grudzinski, relying on improvised navigational aids, pursued a lonely mission in the northern sea even after Poland's last major army units collapsed on October 3. Influenced by a radio report that the Polish submarine Wilk had been welcomed by the British, and determined to avoid internment, the crewmen all agreed to go on fighting Germany at Britain's side.



Once back in fighting trim, Orzel was assigned to the Royal Navy's 2nd Submarine Flotilla in time to contest Germany's invasion of Norway. On April 3, 1940, the first ships of Weserübung ("Weser Exercise," the invasion of Denmark and Norway) left their German ports.

Weserübung called for unescorted merchant ships disguised as normal shipping to sail ahead of the faster warships so as to be in position when the invasion of Norwegian harbors came early on the 9th. One of those merchantmen was the tall-funneled, black-hulled Rio de Janeiro, originally a liner carrying passengers traveling between Europe and Latin America.



On the morning of April 8, the paths of Orzel and Rio de Janeiro converged in the Skagerrak just off Norway's southern town of Lillesand. Grudzinski ordered the submarine, which had been cruising at periscope depth, to the surface to challenge the merchant ship. Instead of heaving to as the Polish captain instructed, the German transport increased speed and turned shoreward in a futile attempt to reach neutral water. Grudzinski was watching the suspiciously slow approach of a boat lowered by the now-stopped ship when he learned that the merchantman was sending out messages. But when a demand flashed from Orzel to abandon ship, no visible reaction came from Rio de Janeiro.

Five minutes after noon, Grudzinski ordered a torpedo fired. It missed. With the second, Orzel became the first Polish warship to make a successful torpedo attack in the war. The transport's decks came alive with Wehrmacht soldiers as steam and smoke rose to form a shroud above the vessel. The submarine submerged to circle the listing Rio de Janeiro. When the steamer showed no sign of sinking, Grudzinski let loose a third torpedo. It exploded against the transport's side, broke her back and sent her to the bottom.



German high command fears that Weserübung had been compromised were needless. News of the incident had to be bucked up Norway's bureaucratic ladder to officials in the capital of Oslo before it was taken seriously, too late to do much more than trigger a last-minute limited alert.

When Hitler's forces invaded the Low Countries and France on May 10, 1940, all Allied undersea craft in Norwegian waters, except Orzel, one French and two British boats, were shifted southward in case the Germans decided to support their latest ground offensive with naval units. Sometime during the first week of June, the Polish submarine simply disappeared. Although the cause never was determined, it is believed that Commander Grudzinski and his five officers and 49 crewmen fell victim to a mine in the Skagerrak.

Orzel and her crew were among the first during the conflict to show -- in a most graphic way and against overwhelming odds -- that while the Nazis could conquer a country, they could not conquer the spirit and determination of its people.

[SAMWolf]

JAN GRUDZINSKI (1907-1940)

Kapitan Mar. Jan Grudzinski was born on 3 December 1907 in the Russian city of Kiev. He studied at "I Korpus Kadetow" in Lvov in 1925. On 15 August 1928 he was promoted to ppor. mar., and in 1936 to Kpt. mar. (Lieutenant Commander). During the early 1930s he served on the Polish minesweepers ORP Smok and Kujawiak. He was later transferred to the submarine Sep as executive officer for the voyage from her builders in Holland, to Poland in 1939.

Kapitan Mar. Jan Grudzinski

On 1 June 1939 he replaced Jozef Chodakowski as executive officer of the submarine Orzel. Grudzinski was short in height, but very well built. He was modest, quiet and shy and that is why the crew called him "Panienka". Grudzinski had a strong character, and maintained high personal standards. He demanded similar high standards from his crew. He was considered to be a talented officer, and many talked about him with admiration and respect. Although he had been in the Polish navy for a number of years, he was not very experienced in submarines, and had been in Orzel for only three months when war broke out. Because of his relative inexperience in submarines, Kloczkowski and the crew were wary of him, and did not regard him as a reliable officer. This could well be the reason that Kloczkowski, who was never confident of Grudzinski during peacetime, did not have faith in him when the war broke out. It is difficult to say why "Klocz" had such a cold relationship with Grudzinski. During the first patrol, Kloczkowski made many strange decisions, and Grudzinski was not confident that the submarine was in competent hands under this Commander.

A prime example was the incident with the German ship which "Klocz" passed off as the Norwegian Bergen without checking the ship as Grudzinski wanted to do. The small Norwegian passenger steamer Bergen (465 grt) was not in the Baltic Sea at that time, and neither was the German ship Bremen. The ship that Grudzinski and Kloczkowski saw was probably the German training ship Bremse.

In Tallinn, Grudzinski took over command of the submarine, and did not hesitate to plan the escape from internment. With great spirit displayed by all the crew, Orzel escaped dramatically from Tallinn and continued, under Grudzinski's command, to fight against the Germans. Grudzinski was a patriot and very diligent in carrying out his duties. He had great confidence in himself, and despite his lack of experience, and with a crew whose confidence and trust he had yet to gain, he managed to lead the Orzel successfully from the Baltic Sea to Great Britain, without maps or navigational equipment.

That was a great achievement, which gained him the respect and admiration of the British, who regarded Grudzinski as a highly competent commander. On 16 November 1939 the famous Polish General Sikorski decorated him with the Polish Medal Srebrny Krzyz Virtuti Militari. On 10 December 1939 he was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order, (DSO) by the British. During his time in Great Britain, Grudzinski met, and had a personal discussion with, King George VI, who had shown a great interest in Polish submarines generally, and Orzel in particular. During all his patrols, Grudzinski was careful to consider the safety of his crew, as was proved in the Baltic Sea operations. It was always risky to stop and examine merchant ships before attacking them, but Grudzinski and the others never neglected this duty, required under international law.

On 20 May 1940 he wrote a letter, which would be his last, to the Polish Command, to correct a mistaken belief that the hand-drawn maps had been made by Pierzchlewski, when in fact it had been Mokrski who had drawn the maps used for the escape from the Baltic. Three days later, he and his crew left for a patrol from which they would never return.

The loss of Orzel provoked a great deal of speculation as to how she met her end, and many theories were suggested to account for her sinking. One of Grudzinski's friends, a merchant navy officer named Laskiewicz, offered a palatable hypothesis that the submarine had been seriously damaged by a German aircraft, and could not continue. He further theorized that a Swedish ship had found the disabled Orzel, and that Grudzinski had ordered the crew to go on board the neutral ship. Laskiewicz continued to conjecture that Grudzinski himself had stayed on Orzel, which was sinking slowly, and said "Zegnajcie chlopcy!" (So long boys!). "Niech Zyje Polska!" (Long Live Poland!). He had then entered Orzel, which sank under the water with her brave commander still aboard. According to Laskiewicz's imaginative version, the Swedish ship was later torpedoed by a U-boat or surface ship and the Orzel's crew was killed or taken to Gdynia. Laskiewicz, of course, was not a witness to Orzel's loss, and there is no record of any Swedish ship being sunk by a U-boat or surface ship anywhere in the North Sea or the Baltic Sea between May 23, (when Orzel set out from Rosyth), and the end of 1940). This story is reminiscent of the last moments of Captain Roland Morillot of the French submarine Monge in 1915. He was of similar character to Grudzinski, and perhaps Laskiewicz was aware of the story of that French captain, and loyally thought that his friend would have acted similarly.

After the loss of Orzel, Grudzinski was posthumously awarded four more war medals, Krzyz Walecznych, Medal Morski, Udzial Polakow w Kampanii Norweskiej and with Zloty Krzyz Virtuti Militari. He was the only Polish naval commander to be awarded two Virtuti Militari Orders.

Grudzinski died as Kpt. Mar, but it had been planned to promote him to Komandor Podporucznik on 3 May 1940. This had been approved on 15 March 1941, but he died before leaning of this promotion.

Grudzinski was the only submarine commander to be decorated with six war medals. In less than 9 months service he had carried out eight patrols and had spent 100 days at sea. In the first patrol in the Baltic Sea, he did not start as commander, but as an executive officer. In that patrol was decorated with two high war decorations, again a unique achievement for a relatively inexperienced submarine officer who took control the submarine under very difficult conditions. Never had an inexperienced officer, who was not trusted by the crew at the beginning of war, achieved so much. That was the profile of the most famous Polish submarine commander.

[SAMWolf]

ORZEL FACTS

In 1942 the improvised maps of navigator Mokrski were shown to officers of the Allied naval forces. Most of them were navigators. It was like a small exhibition for the amazed officers and Stanislaw Pierzchlewski was responsible for showing the maps.



In the summer of 1993, the wreck of a submarine was discovered west of Egersund, in a depth of 180 metres. The Oid Directorate of Norway immediately started to investigate, and at an early stage, realised that the wreckage could be either the Polish Orzel or the Dutch O-22, as these submarines were of similar construction! After analysis of videotapes and further research on the seabed, it was found that it was the wreck of O-22, which was probably sunk on 8 November 1940 by the German minesweeper M-144 and anti-submarine vessel UJ-177.

On May 17,1992,in the town park of Lillesand an unpretentious monument in memory of Orzel and the sinking of Rio De Janeiro was unveiled. May 17 is also retired Norwegian Navy officers took the National Day of Norway and the initiative to erect the memorial stone. The text on the memorial plaque on the stone is in the Norwegian language and says: -Til minne om besetningen pa den polske ubat Orzel som 8 April 1940 senker det tyske troppetransportskipet Rio De Janeiro utenfor Lillesand. Reist 17 Mai 1992. In English translation it says: -In memory of the crew on the Polish submarine Orzel which on 8 April 1940 sank the German troopcarrier Rio De Janeiro off Lillesand. Erected 17 May 1992

A monument in memory of Orzel was unveiled in Tallinn, but unfortunately I have no information about its inscription. For a submarine to be honoured with a monument, even in its own country, is very rare. Orzel is probably the only submarine to have been honoured by monuments erected in two foreign countries.



After the collapse of Soviet Union, it was discovered that the Soviet submarine Szcz 303 had deliberately attacked two Soviet freighters in late September 1939. During the Communist era, the Poles avoided writing about that, or if anyone did write, it was always claimed that a U-boat had attacked the Soviet ships. Of course that may also have been due to erroneous information that the Soviets provided to Polish authors, that the ships were attacked off Tallinn on 19 September, but that Soviet warships did not reach the Tallinn area until later that night. It is also believed by the Poles that Szcz 303 had orders to torpedo neutral ships (Swedish, Finnish etc.) to provide an excuse to accuse Orzel, at loose in the Baltic Sea.

There are many myths and tales about the loss of Orzel. After the loss, many Polish people could not believe that Orzel was lost, so rumours were said that Orzel went to the Baltic Sea to fight the Germans and was lost there from unknown causes or was captured. The most commonly-believed myth or story, was that Orzel had been captured by the Germans in the North Sea, and that the Germans had executed the whole of Orzel's crew at sea, or later on land, and destroyed the submarine, since if the Germans were to use it, it would bring them bad luck. For the Germans Orzel was destined to fight only them and no one else, so they scuttled the Orzel. It has also been said that a German who was captured in the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, claimed to have been aboard the Rio De Janeiro, and that Orzel's crew were being held as POWs in Gdynia. That information was not confirmed by anyone else, or by German documents. Also the Red Cross very recently informed the family of one of Orzel's crew, that Orzel had been lost in the Pacific Ocean in 1942! So that meant that Orzel was fighting against the Japanese!



The sailors that did not join Orzel's last patrol were:

ppor. mar. Stanislaw Pierzchlewski

bosmat Wladyslaw Oczkowski
bosmat Czeslaw Olesinski
mat Alojzy Grewka
st.mar Antony Szymczak
bosmat Marek Oldakowski
mat Feliks Przadak
and Eryk Sopocko.

Only Feliks Przadak returned to Poland after the war. During the war he served in other Polish submarines. Feliks wrote many articles in Polish magazines and newspapers. The best known was "The truth is more fascinating than fantasy!". He also wrote a book, which has never been published.

Eryk Sopocko, a talented writer born in 1919, joined Orzel for one patrol. He was the first journalist to take a trip in a submarine in the war, and in 1942 he wrote about his adventures and the story of Orzel in general, in the book "Orzel's Patrol - The story of the Polish submarine". Sopocko and Pierzchleswki were both lost in October 1943 when the Polish destroyer Orkan was torpedoed by U-378. That was the biggest Polish naval tragedy of the war, since about 200 men lost their lives.



When Orzel escaped from Tallinn, the Swedes stepped up their security in guarding the three Polish submarines interned in Sweden. These submarines had been fairly interned this time, according to international law, since Sep, Rys and Zbik all had serious damage and could not be repaired in less than 24 hours. The Swedes did everything possible to prevent any attempt by the Poles at escape. It is worth mentioning that the crews of both Orzel and Wilk expected Germany to invade Sweden, and when that happened, they would join in the battle to fight the Germans.

Unlike in Orzel at the beginning, Jan Grudzinski was respected by Kmdr ppor Wladyslaw Salamon, the Commander of Sep, and of course by Sep's crew. When Sep was nearing completion in Holland, the Poles were afraid that the Germans would try to delay the transfer of Sep from Holland to Poland, so the Polish Government ordered Salamon to take the submarine and proceed to Poland. During Sep's sea trials, Salamon and Grudzinski followed their orders and Sep never returned to the Dutch harbour, but went instead, directly to Poland. Two Dutch mechanics who were in Sep during the "escape" were, of course, set free later. That escape was rather like Orzel's escape, and Grudzinski took part on both occasions, - in one as executive officer, and in the other as Commander! Never has anything similar been achieved by a submariner or any other naval officer in history!

On 12th September, Orzel missed a great chance to check a ship because of Kloczkowski's decision not to attack it. Neither Bremen nor Bergen were in the Baltic Sea that day. Bergen was a small passenger steamer (465grt), old and sailing only on routes around the Norwegian coast. Bremen was far away from the Baltic Sea at that time. Very probably Orzel found the German training ship Bremse.

Saiva Ziogaite and Miltiades Varvounis

Additional Sources:

crolick.website.pl
www.dutchsubmarines.com

[SAMWolf]

Class	Orzel
Boat	Orzel	Sep
Pennant #	85 A	B-11, P-11, 291
Yard #		196
Type	Ocean-going patrol submarine
Contract	29 Jan 1936
Laid down	17 or 14 Aug 1936	Nov 1936
Launched	15 Jan 1938	17 Oct 1938
Completed	26 Jan 1939	1939 Poland
Commissioned to Polish Navy	2 Feb 1939	16 Apr 1939 Uncompleted
Arrival in Poland	7 Feb 1939	18 Apr 1939
Decommissioned	8 June 1940. Lost in North Sea, hit by a mine between 23 May and 8 June	15 Sep 1969
Design	Nederlandsche Verenigde Scheepsbouw Bureaux in 's-Gravenhage in cooperation with a team of experts from the Polish Navy.
Shipyard	De Schelde, Vlissingen	R.D.M., Rotterdam
Le x Be x Dr	84 m x 6.7 m x 4.17 m
Displacement	1100 t / 1473.5 t, 1650 t (full load)
Engines	Two Sulzer 6QD42 6 cylinder diesel engines, 4740 bhp
Motor	Two Brown-Boveri electric motors, 1100 shp.
Batteries	100 cells
Fuel	67.5 t normal, 123.5 t maximum
Shafts	2
Speed surf/subm	20 kts / 9 kts
Diving time	50 seconds
Range	7000 nm at 10 kts surfaced 100 nm at 5 kts submerged Approximately 3 months
Diving depth	100 m, 80 m contracted
Complement	6 officers, 54 enlisted
Torpedo tubes	4 x 21.7" bow, 4 x 21.7" stern, 4 x 21.7" amidships external in a French-type rotating mount in the upper casing. Tubes fitted with liners to take 21" torpedoes.
Torpedo type	French 1924V 21.7" or 21" Whitehead AB. In September 1939 both boats were equipped with the 21" Whitehead AB.
Mines !?	In many books it is written these boats were mine laying submarines, but they were not.
Armament	20 torpedoes, incl 8 reloads.
Guns	105 mm / 41 Bofors main deck gun in a trainable turret. 1x2 40 mm / 43 wz.37 Bofors A.A. gun, retractable in a vertical watertight well in the after part of the conning tower. The often reported 1x2 13.2 mm Hotchkiss in one twin mount was only planned in the original designs but was replaced in the design phase by the1x2 40 mm. The 40 mm gun of the Sep is displayed at the Museum Marynarki Wojennej in Gdynia (Poland).
Periscopes	Zeiss
Notes	Welded double hull. Pressure hull divided into five watertight compartments, frames on the outside of the pressure hull allowing for more space inside. All hatches, ballast tank vents, steering, diving planes, periscopes, etc. operated hydraulically (a novelty before the war). Polish submariners had a very good opinion of the two subs, the quality of workmanship was very good, unlike the French-built Wilk class.

[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.

------

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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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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[investigateworld]

Thanks SAMWolf, may we always remember brave men.

[alfa6]

Nite shift Polski Freeper Foxhole bump

dang nab it missed the # 1 spot :-)

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[snippy_about_it]

"FALL IN" to the FReeper Foxhole!



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[snippy_about_it]

Orzel and her crew were among the first during the conflict to show -- in a most graphic way and against overwhelming odds -- that while the Nazis could conquer a country, they could not conquer the spirit and determination of its people.

This is something the Polish people have proved many times.

[Diver Dave]

Great narrative, SAM.

The Poles are I'm sure very proud of their Submarine Navy.

[SAMWolf]

Evening investigateworld.

Orzel and her crew were among the first during the conflict to show -- in a most graphic way and against overwhelming odds -- that while the Nazis could conquer a country, they could not conquer the spirit and determination of its people.

IMHO, this sums it up pretty nicely.

[SAMWolf]

Morning alfa6.

The early bird...... and all that. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Morning DD.

As of 2000

The Polish Navy

The Polish Navy is an independent branch of the Armed Forces, which is intended to operate on waters within the scope of the interests of the Polish State. Its main task is the defence of Poland's marine border, the protection of shipping and economic interests in Polish maritime zone, as well as the defence of the Polish coast in co-operation with other branches of Armed Forces. The naval forces enforce the observance of Polish law in internal waters, territorial waters and in its economic zone. On the operational level, the Polish Navy closely co-operates with the Air and Air Defence Forces, the Land Forces , the Border Guards and the marine authorities. The commander of Polish Navy is admiral Ryszard £ukasik

The servicemen of the naval service

The Polish Navy totals 17,080 Officers, Warrant Officers, N.C.O's and seamen on contract-based, post-term and basic military term of service. The professional corps is about 6400 soldiers strong. Among of the career cadre 41.3 percent are Officers, nearly 30 percent are Warrant Officers and 29.5 percent are professional N.C.O's. 250 Officer cadets study in the Naval Academy in Gdynia. The Naval Warrant Officers School has 60 students, whereas 30 cadets attend the Career Noncommissioned Officers School in Ustka. One thousand hundered seamen are in postterm service. One thousand three hundred seamen are in postterm sevice, and nearly 200 on contract-based service.

Structure and dislocation

The main forces of the Polish Navy are organised into 4 tactical units, which are directly subordinated to the Commander of the Navy:

the 3rd Flotilla in Gdynia-Oksywie
the 8thCoastal Defence Flotilla in Œwinoujœcie
the 9thCoastal Defence Flotilla on the Hel Peninsula
Hydrographic Division (based at Oksywie harbour)
the Naval Air Wing in Gdynia-Babie Do³y.

The assault ships are grouped in 3rd Flotilla in Gdynia, whereas the ships and coastal defence units are grouped in 8th and 9thCoastal Defence Flotillas. Each of three Flottilas also has combat support units and support vessels. The aircraft and helicopters are part of the Naval Air Wing. The remaining groups of ships as well as shore based units and institutions (combat, training, support, technical and materiel) are subordinated through the appropriate command departments or the units within the organisational structure of the Command of the Polish Navy.

[investigateworld]

Evening SAMWolf,
You may recall the FReepmail I sent you about the Polish destroyer man who I spent a lot of time talking to in London?
He was "concerned" for 10 nanosec that once Poland was forced to surrender, they would be classed as illegal combatants.
He forced himself to memorize everything and speak like he was Australian. But there was no question he would fight on. Roosevelt shafted that poor country.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[GailA]

Good morning ALL...my computer problems are fixed and I'm back online.

[The Mayor]

November 17, 2004

Pain Is Not Pointless

Read: Isaiah 28:23-29

This also comes from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. —Isaiah 28:29

Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 5-7; Hebrews 12

---

During times of hardship, I often feel like whining, "Who needs this pain? I certainly don't!" But Isaiah 28 and my own experience tell me this is a shortsighted reaction. Not that we need hardship just for its own sake, but we do need to be changed and to mature. In God's hand, hardship can be an effective tool to bring about our much-needed growth.

In verses 23-28, we read the prophet's "poetic parable," written to help the people of Israel understand how God works and what He intended to accomplish in their lives through tough times. A farmer is portrayed skillfully plowing the ground, planting his crops, and threshing the harvest. If the soil could talk, it might have whined, "Who needs this painful plowing?" But the pain is not pointless. Isaiah said that the farmer is taught by God to work in measured and well-timed ways, handling delicate crops with care and others more vigorously, but always with a sure harvest in view.

Our reassurance during tough times is that the farmer's God is our God, "who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance" (v.29). His dealings with us are always thoughtful and purposeful, producing in us "the peaceable fruit of righteousness" (Hebrews 12:11). —Joanie Yoder

God has a purpose in our heartaches—
The Savior always knows what's best;
We learn so many precious lessons
In every sorrow, trial, and test. —Jarvis

When you trust in God, pain is an opportunity for progress.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[Valin]

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on November 17:
0331 Flavius Claudius Julianus, [Julian the Apostate], emperor
1503 Il Bronzino Florentine painter (Eleanor de Toledo & her Son)
1587 Joost van den Vondel Cologne Germany, Dutch poet/dramatist (Jephtha)
1755 Louis XVIII 1st post-revolutionary king of France (1814-24)
1790 August Ferdinand Mobius mathematician, inventor (Mobius strip) (A one sided person)
1799 Titian Ramsey Peale US, artist/naturalist (American Ornithology)
1814 Joseph Finegan Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1885
1826 John McArthur Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1906
1834 Stephen Hinsdale Weed Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1863
1878 Grace Abbott Grand Island NB, social worker (US Children Bureau)
1887 Bernard L Montgomery British general (WW II-African campaign)
1890 Jack Cusack pro football pioneer (Canton Bulldogs)
1897 Sara Haden Galveston TX, actress (A Family Affair)
1900 Marcel Dalio Paris, actor (Casablanca)
1901 Lee Strasberg director/instructs actors (Somewhere in the Night)
1904 Isamu Noguchi sculptor (1963 Fine Arts Medal)
1914 Archie Campbell Bullsgap TN, comedian (Hee Haw)
1919 Hershy Kay Philadelphia PA, composer/arranger (Olympic Hymn)
1925 Rock Hudson Winnetka IL, actor (Pillow Talk, A Farewell to Arms)
1925 Sir Charles Mackerras Schenectady NY, Australian conductor
1929 Edgar White US, yachtsman (Olympic-gold-1952)
1929 Sumner White US, yachtsman (Olympic-gold-1952)
1930 Bob Mathias Tulare CA, decathalete (Olympic-gold-1948, 52)
1930 David Amram Philadelphia PA, composer (Splendor in the Grass)
1935 Anton Sailer Austria, skier (Olympic-3 golds-1956)
1937 Peter Cook Torquay England, actor/comedian (Bedazzled)
1938 Gordon Lightfoot Ontario Canada, folksinger (Sundown)
1942 Martin Scorsese Queens, dir (Mean Streets, Last Temptation of Christ)
1943 Lauren Hutton Charleston SC, model (American Gigolo, Lassiter)
1944 Danny De Vito Neptune NJ, actor (Taxi, Ruthless People, Twins)
1944 Tom Seaver pitcher (NY Met, 300 game winner, Cy Young '69 '73 '75)
1945 Elvin Hayes NBA star (San Diego, Houston, Baltimore)
1951 Dean Paul Martin Santa Monica CA, actor (Billy-Misfits of Science)
1952 Roman Codreanu Romania, wrestler (Olympic-1980)
1955 Bill McCreary Ontario, NHL referee
1958 Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Oak Park IL, actress (Color of Money)
1962 Traci Lords fictious birth date to do porn movies (actual 5/7/68)
1963 Pedro Luis Estrada Brooklyn NY, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)
1964 Daisy Fuentes Havana Cuba, VJ (MTV International)
1964 Marina Tcherkasova US, pairs figure skater (Olympic-silver-1980)
1974 Brandon Call actor (Baywatch, Blind Fury, Step by Step)

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Deaths which occurred on November 17:
0474 Leo II, Byzantine Emperor (474), dies
1558 Mary I Tudor, "Bloody Mary", queen of England (1553-58), dies at 42
1558 Reginald Pole, English cardinal/scholar/"heretic", dies at 58
1796 Catharine II ("the Great"), empress of Russia (1762-96), dies at 67
1917 Auguste Rodin sculptor, dies in Meudon, France
1962 Arthur Vining Davis CEO (Alcoa-1910-57), dies at 92 in Miami
1978 Claude Dauphin actor (Paris Precinct), dies at 75
1978 James J "Gene" Tunney, heavyweight boxing champ (1926-8), dies at 80
1979 John Grascock of Jethro Tull, dies at 27 following heart surgery
1981 Bob Eberly singer (Jimmy Dorsey Band), dies at 65
1982 Bill Baldwin announcer (Mayor of Hollywood), dies at 69
1982 Duk Koo Kim S Korean boxer was legally declared dead
1982 Ruth Donnelly comedienne, dies at 86 in NYC
1985 Jimmy Ritz of Ritz brothers, dies of heart failure at 81
1986 Alan Hewitt actor (Det Brennan-My Favorite Martian), dies at 71
1987 Irene Wicker singer/actress (Singing Lady), dies at 81

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 BOWLING ROY H.---SAN BERNARDINO CA.
1965 HIEMER JERRY A.---MEMPHIS TN.
1965 TAYLOR JESSE JR.---LOS ALAMITOS CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 12/21/75]
1967 CAPPELLI CHARLES R.---PROVIDENCE RI.
[GOOD CHUTE REMAINS RETURNED 04/89]
1967 EMRICH ROGER GENE---MIAMI FL.
[POSS DEAD, REM RET ID 02/25/97]
1967 KEY WILSON D.---HAYES NC.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1967 MC GRATH WILLIAM DARRELL---COLTON CA.
[POSS DEAD, REMAINS RECOVERED 12/04/85]
1968 DERBY PAUL D.---MENOMONIE WI.

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

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On this day...
1278 680 Jews arrested (293 hanged) in England for counterfeiting coins
1558 Elizabeth I ascends English throne upon death of Queen Mary
1734 John Zenger, arrested for libel against NY col gov; later acquitted
1796 Battle of Arcole-Napoleon I's French forces beat Austrians in Italy
1800 Congress held 1st session in Washington DC
1800 John Adams is 1st president to move into the White House
1842 Fugitive slave George Latimer, captured in Boston
1862 Union General Ambrose Burnside marches north out of Washington, D.C., to begin the Fredericksburg campaign
1862 Confederate Secretary of War George B Randolph resigns
1863 -Dec 4th) Battle of Knoxville, TN
1866 The opera "Mignon" is produced (Paris)
1869 Suez Canal opens (Egypt)
1875 Amer Theosophical Society founded by Mme Blavatsky & Col Olcott
1884 Cops arrest John L Sullivan in 2nd round for being "cruel"
1889 Union Pacific begins daily through service, Chicago-Portland & San Francisco
1894 Daily Racing Form founded
1913 1st US dental hygienists course established, Bridgeport, Ct
1913 Panama Canal opens
1917 Lenin defends "temporary" removal of freedom of the press
1926 NHL's Chicago Black Hawks play their 1st game, beat Toronto St Pats 4-1
1927 Tornado hit Washington DC
1934 Lyndon B Johnson marries Claudia Alta Taylor
1937 Britain's Lord Halifax visits Germany, beginning of appeasement
1938 Italy passes their own version of the anti-Jewish Nuremberg laws
1940 Green Bay Packers become 1st NFL team to travel by plane
1945 New world air speed record 606 mph (975 kph) set by HJ Wilson of RAF
1948 Britain's House of Commons votes to nationalize steel industry
1956 Fullback Jim Brown, Syracuse, scores 43 pts (NCAA rec) vs Colgate
1959 De Beers firm of South Africa announces synthetic diamond
1962 President Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport outside Wash DC
1965 The NVA ambushes American troops of the 7th Cavalry at Landing Zone Albany in the Ia Drang Valley, almost wiping them out
1966 Leonids meteor shower peaks (150,000+ per hour)
1967 Beatles Ltd & Apple Music Ltd swap names
1967 Surveyor 6 becomes 1st man-made object to lift off the Moon
1968 Heidi bowl-NBC misses Oakland's rally to beat Jets, 43-32
1970 Russia lands Lunokhod 1 unmanned remote-controlled vehicle on Moon
1973 Teri Garr plays the role of a stripper on "The Nurse"
1973 President Nixon told AP "...people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook"
1977 Egyptian President Sadat formally accepts invitation to visit Israel
1977 Miss World Contest - Miss UK wears $9,500 platinum bikini
1980 John Lennon releases "Double Fantasy" album in UK
1981 NBA NY Knick Bill Cartwright, ties record of 19 of 19 free throws
1988 Benzir Bhutto wins election in Pakistan
1989 Bret Saberhagen signs record $2,966,667 per year Kansas City Royal contract
1989 Riot police in Prague, Czechoslovakia, stormed into a crowd of more than 20-thousand pro-democracy demonstrators...beating people with truncheons and firing tear gas.
1991 Detroit Lion Mike Utley is paralyzed in a game vs Los Angeles Rams
1992 Dateline NBC airs a demonstration show General Motors trucks, blowing up on impact, later revealed NBC rigged test
1993 Nigeria Defense Minister Gen. Sani Abacha announced he had dissolved the government and declared himself the nation's ruler.
1993 US Congress votes for NAFTA
1994 Irish Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds resigns
1997 60 people were killed when six Islamic militants opened fire on a group of tourists at Luxor, Egypt. A three hour gun battle claimed 10 more lives, including those of the gunmen
2001 An Atlanta man, Michael Lasseter, created the first major test of America's increased airport security put into place after the Sept. 11 attacks when he violated the new rules, resulting in his arrest and the closing down of Hartsfield International Airport, one of the world's busiest, for four hours

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

Zaire : Army Day
US : National Geography Awareness Week (Day 2)
US : Homemade Bread Day
West Germany : Repentance Day
TV Sweeps Month

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Religious Observances
Ang : Commemoration of St Anianus' Day (bishop/martyr)
RC : Comm of St Gregory the Wonderworker, bishop/confessor
Ang : Commemoration of Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln
RC, Luth : Mem of Elizabeth of Hungary, princess/widow

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Religious History
0003 (BC) According to early Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (ca.155_ca.220 AD), Jesus Christ was born on this date.
1758 English churchman Philip Embury, 30, married Margaret Switzer. Afterward immigrating to America, Embury was later encouraged by his cousin Barbara Heck to found a Methodist society in New York City in 1768. Embury thus became the first Methodist preacher in North America.
1775 Anglican hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'Rational assent may be the act of our natural reason; faith is the effect of immediate almighty power.'
1876 English_born Rodney ("Gipsy") Smith, 16, was converted to a living faith. Smith later became an English Wesleyan singing evangelist whose preaching emphasized the love of God.
1906 In Toronto, Ellen Hebden experienced a Pentecostal baptism, followed soon after by her husband James. Their East End Mission afterward became a source and focal point for establishing Pentecostal holiness throughout Canada.

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

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Thought for the day :
"Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the 'ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome.' You must be willing to fire."

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Office Inspirational Sayings...
Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

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Things I learned from children...
Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a
four-year-old.

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Dictionary of the Absurd...
dichotomy
Where twin babies sleep

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Historical Spam Subject Lines...
Discount maile-order leeches delivered by plaine browne buggy to your home -- without a barber's prescription!