The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Rear Admiral Richard H. O'Kane and the USS Tang (1944) - Nov. 22, 2004

www.fleetsubmarine.com ^

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

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Rear Admiral Richard H. O'Kane (1911-1994) - Nov 22nd, 2004

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Born on 2 February 1911 Durham, New Hampshire, and a member of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1934, Richard O'Kane served in two of the most successful submarines of World War II. As Mush Morton's executive officer in Wahoo, O'Kane worked the periscope while Morton ran the attack. The highly successful team was broken up when Wahoo returned to Mare Island for refit in 1943 and O'Kane was detached for new construction.

Taking command of the new Balao Class boat Tang, O'Kane returned to Pearl Harbor, departing on his first war patrol in Tang on 22 January 1944. His first attack on a small convoy was delayed while Tang was forced deep to avoid one of the escorts. After evading a depth charge attack, O'Kane returned to periscope depth, firing three torpedoes at Gyoten Maru, the first of 24 enemy ships O'Kane would sink.

Commanding Officer, USS Wahoo (SS-238), at right
With his Executive Officer, Lieutenant Richard H. O'Kane, on Wahoo's open bridge, at Pearl Harbor after her very successful third war patrol, circa 7 February 1943.

Five days later, O'Kane made a night surface attack on another convoy, sending two more freighters to the bottom. Over the next three days Tang sank two more ships, bringing her total bag for her first war patrol to five ships for a total of 21,400 tons (JANAC credit, the original wartime estimate was 42,000 tons). Having fired all of his torpedoes, O'Kane returned to Pearl Harbor.

Returning to sea after rearming, Tang took up a lifeguard position off Truk, where she rescued 22 downed American airmen.

On her third and fourth patrols, Tang sank another twelve ships, adding another 50,600 tons to her tally.


RADM W. L. Friedell, Commandant Mare Island Navy Yard, welcomes LCDR Richard O'Kane, Executive Officer, Wahoo (SS-238) back to Mare Island for an overhual on 29 May 1943. O'Kane's family are with him.

At the end of September 1944, Tang set off on her fifth war patrol. She sank two freighters on 10 October. Two weeks later O'Kane found a ten-ship convoy. Going in on the surface again, O'Kane slipped past the escorts, quickly sinking three freighters. A troop transport attempted to ram, but O'Kane evaded, remaining on the surface where he could use his speed to slip away from the escorts before submerging.


Oil painting by Commander Albert K. Murray, USNR, Official U.S. Navy Combat Artist, depicting Commander O'Kane on board the submarine Tang (SS-306) in 1944.

Another convoy was found the next night, and O'Kane again took Tang in on the surface. This time the escorts were more alert, but O'Kane stayed up, firing six torpedoes at three different ships. All six hit, taking out two transports and a tanker.

After firing three more torpedoes, hitting the tanker, and transport, and sinking an attacking destroyer, O'Kane withdrew to reload his tubes with his last two torpedoes.

Returning to finish off the transport, O'Kane fired both torpedoes. The first ran true, but the second made a circular run, hitting Tang aft and sinking her. O'Kane and the eight men on the bridge went into the water. One other officer made it out of the conning tower before the boat went under. Only O'Kane and three others were still alive by morning. Five other men managed to get to the surface alive after Tang went to the bottom. The nine survivors were picked up by the Japanese and imprisoned until the end of the war.


USS Tang (SS-563)
Sponsor and official party at the ship's launching ceremonies, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, 19 June 1951.
Present in the front row are (left to right):
Miss Marsha G. O'Kane, Maid of Honor;
Mrs. Richard H. O'Kane, Sponsor; and
Commander Richard H. O'Kane, USN, former Commanding Officer of the first USS Tang (SS-306).

RADM O'Kane was imprisoned on Formosa. He was later transferred to a secret prison camp near Tokyo, where he was not registered and was therefore listed as "Missing in Action" until the camp's liberation two weeks after V-J Day. Upon his release, RADM O'Kane weighed just 88 pounds. After his recovery, his commands included USS Pelias and USS Sperry, as well as the submarine schools in New London, Submarine Division Thirty-Two, and the Submarine Squadron Seven.

He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his exemplary service on the Tang on March 27, 1947. RADM O'Kane's other military decorations include the Navy Cross with two Gold Stars, the Legion of Merit with the Combat "V," the Purple Heart, the Commendation Ribbon, and the Prisoner of War Medal. He also wrote two books based on his experiences in WWII, Clear the Bridge and Wahoo.


USS Tang (SS-306)
The submarine's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Richard H. O'Kane (center), poses with the twenty-two aircrewmen that Tang rescued off Truk during the carrier air raids there on 29 April-1 May 1944. The photograph was taken upon Tang's return to Pearl Harbor from her second war patrol, in May 1944.

He retired in 1957 as a rear admiral, and passed away in Petaluma, California on 16 February 1994. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

[SAMWolf]

USS TANG (SS 306)
October 24, 1944 - 78 Men Lost

TANG under Cmdr. R.H. O’Kane set out from Pearl Harbor on September 24, 1944, to begin her fifth war patrol. On 27 September she topped off with fuel at Midway and left there the same day, heading for an area between the northwest coast of Formosa, and the China Coast.


On 29th and 30th April 1944, while surfaced close to jagged reefs, and Japanese shore guns, the USS Tang rescued 22 downed flyers from Task Force 58's strikes against enemy positions on the islands - This was the largest rescue of airmen by a submarine in the war.

In order to reach her area, TANG had to pass through narrow waters known to be heavily patrolled by the enemy. A large area stretching northeast from Formosa was known to be mined by the enemy, and O’Kane was given the choice of making the passage north of Formosa alone, or joining a coordinated attack group (SILVERSIDES, TRIGGER, SALMON, under Cmdr. Coye in SILVERSIDES) which was to patrol off northeast Formosa, and making the passage with them. TANG chose to make the passage alone and these vessels never heard from TANG, nor did any base, after she left Midway.

The story of TANG’s sinking comes from the report of her surviving Commanding Officer. A night surface attack was launched on October 24, 1944 against a transport which had previously been stopped in an earlier attack. The first torpedo was fired, and when it was observed to be running true, the second and last was loosed. It curved sharply to the left, broached, porpoised and circled. Emergency speed was called for and the rudder was thrown over. These measures resulted only in the torpedo striking the stern of TANG, rather than amidships.

The explosion was violent, and people as far forward as the control room received broken limbs. The ship went down by the stern with the after three compartments flooded. Of the nine officers and men on the bridge, three were able to swim through the night until picked up eight hours later. One officer escaped from the flooded conning tower, and was rescued with the others.

The submarine came to rest on the bottom at 180 ft. and the men in her crowded forward as the after compartments flooded. Publications were burned, and all assembled to the forward room to escape. The escape was delayed by a Japanese patrol, which dropped charges, and started an electrical fire in the forward battery. Thirteen men escaped from the forward room, and by the time the last made his exit, the heat from the fire was so intense that the paint on the bulkhead was scorching, melting, and running down. Of the 13 men who escaped, only eight reached the surface, and of these but five were able to swim until rescued.

Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplane, from USS North Carolina (BB-55)
Off Truk with nine aviators on board, awaiting rescue by USS Tang (SS-306), 1 May 1944. The plane had landed inside Truk lagoon to recover downed airmen. Unable to take off with such a load, it then taxiied out to Tang, which was serving as lifeguard submarine during the 29 April-1 May carrier strikes on Truk.

When the nine survivors were picked up by a destroyer escort, there were victims of TANG’s previous sinkings on board, and they inflicted tortures on the men from TANG. With great humanity, O’Kane states, “When we realized that our clubbing and kickings were being administered by the burned, mutilated survivors of our handiwork, we found we could take it with less prejudice.”

The nine captives were retained by the Japanese in prison camps until the end of the war, and were treated by them in typical fashion. The loss of TANG by her own torpedo, the last one fired on the most successful patrol ever made by a U.S. submarine, was a stroke of singular misfortune. She is credited with having sunk 13 vessels for 107,324 tons of enemy shipping on this patrol, and her Commanding Officer has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

USS Tang (SS-306)
Takes aboard aircrewmen of downed aircraft and of a USS North Carolina (BB-55) OS2U floatplane that had landed to rescue them, off Truk on 1 May 1944. Tang was serving as lifeguard submarine during the 29 April-1 May carrier strikes on Truk.

On here last patrol TANG fired twenty-four torpedoes in four attacks. Twenty-two torpedoes found their mark in enemy ships, sinking 13 of them; one missed, and the last torpedo, fired after a careful check over, sank TANG. This vessel was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation twice during her career. Commander O’Kane has been called the Submarine Force’s most outstanding officer; he served as Executive Officer of the very successful WAHOO before taking command of TANG.


"Escape from the Tang (SS-306). Sunk by her own and last torpedo-final shot in an epic convoy battle-the ill fated submarine lies deep in Formosa Strait. As depth charges rain down, submariners open escape hatches. Strongest goes first with knife to cut away obstacles."

In her five patrols, TANG is credited with sinking 31 ships, totaling 227,800 tons and damaging two for 4,100 tons. This record is unexcelled among American submarines. In her first patrol, spending February 1944 west of Truk and Saipan, she sank three freighters, a large tanker and a submarine tender. TANG’s second patrol was in the area west of Palau, east of Davao and at Truk. She made no ship contacts worthy of attack, but at the latter island she rescued twenty- two Navy airmen during a carrier-based strike at Truk on April 30 through May 1, 1944. This vessel’s third patrol was in the East China and Yellow Seas. Here she sank six freighters, a tanker, and a large aircraft transport. She covered the waters along the southern coast of Honshu in August 1944. She sank a freighter, a large transport, a tanker and two patrol craft, while she damaged another freighter and small craft.

USS TANG (SS 306) Sailors Lost 10-24-1944

Tang (SS-306) returning to Pearl Harbor after her 2nd War Patrol, Circa May 1944. In a little less than 5 months Tang would be sunk by its own torpedo and most of her men would be K.I.A.

Accardy, J. G. SM3
Adams, R. F. STM2
Allen, D. D. MOMM2
Anderson, P. E. TM3
Andriolo, C. RM2
Anthony, H. F1
Ballinger, W. F. CTM
Bauer, E. C. Y3
Beaumont, E. H. LT
Bergman, E. F. RM1
Bisogno, F. N. TM3
Boucher, W. J. TM3
Bresette, B. V. QM3
Bush, J. EM2
Chiavetta, B. S1
Clark, W. J. QM3
Coffin, R. J. EM3
Culp, J. H. CEM
Darienzo, A. J. EM2
DeLapp, M. V. CMOMMA
Dorsey, W. E. MOMM1
Enos, F. M., Jr. LTJG
Eriksen, L. H. F1
Fellicetty, D. C. Y3
Finckbone, B. H. EM2
Fluker, J. W. TM1
Foster, J. M. TM1
Galloway, W. C. TM2
Gentle, T. E. F1
Gorab, G. J., Jr. EM3
Gregg, O. D. COX
Hainline, H. W. QM3
Harms, F. G. MOMM2
Haws, G. O. F1
Henry, J. F. F1
v Heubeck, J. H. LTJG
Hudson, A. L. CMOMMA
Ijames, H. W., Jr. RCM3
Imwold, S. S. MOMM2
Jenkins, D. M. Y3
Jones, S. W. CQM
Kaiser, L. C. MOMM3
Kanagy, J. T. EM1
Kassube, J. T. COX
Key, J. A. SC3
Knapp, R. B. FC3
Kroth, R. J. LTJG
Lane, L. R. EM1
Larson, P. I. CPHMA
Lee, R. P. RM3
Llewellyn, L. H. RM2
London, C. W. F1
Loveless, C. MOMM1
Lytton, E. MOMM1
McMorrow, R. V. MOMM1
McNabb, J. J. F1
Parker, J. J. CCSA
Pearce, B. C., Jr. ENS
Raiford, R. M. CK3
Reabuck, F. J. F1
Rector, D. D. GM3
Reinhardt, E. F1
Roberts, J. L. SC3
Robertson, G. L. MOMM2
Smith, S. G., Jr. QM3
Springer, F. H. LT
Stepien, E. F. S1
Sunday, F. L. EM3
Vaughn, P. B., Jr. COX
Wadsworth, C. W. TM3
Walker, H. M. ST3
Weekley, L. S. CTMA
Welch, R. E. QM2
White, J. M. GM1
Williams, W. H. Y2
Wines, P. T. LTJG
Wukovich, G. MOMM1
Zofcin, G. MOMM1

Survivors

Caverly, F. M. RT1
DaSilva, J. B. MOMM2
Decker, C. O. MOMM3
Flanagan, H. J. LTJG
Liebold, W. R. CBMA
Narrowanski, P. TM3
O'Kane, R. H. CDR
Savadkin, L. LT
Trukke, H. O. TM2

Additional Sources:

www.csp.navy.mil
www.arlingtoncemetery.net
www.history.navy.mil
www.navsource.org

[SAMWolf]

Commander Richard H. O'Kane, USN
Is congratulated by President Harry S. Truman, after he had been presented with the Medal of Honor in ceremonies on the White House lawn, Washington, D.C., 27 March 1946.
Commander O'Kane, USN, received the award for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" as Commanding Officer of USS Tang (SS-306) in combat on 23-24 October 1944.

O'KANE, RICHARD HETHERINGTON

Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy, commanding U.S.S. Tang.
Place and date: Vicinity Philippine Islands, 23 and 24 October 1944.
Entered service at: New Hampshire.
Born: 2 February 1911, Dover, New Hampshire.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Tang operating against 2 enemy Japanese convoys on 23 and 24 October 1944, during her fifth and last war patrol. Boldly maneuvering on the surface into the midst of a heavily escorted convoy, Comdr. O'Kane stood in the fusillade of bullets and shells from all directions to launch smashing hits on 3 tankers, coolly swung his ship to fire at a freighter and, in a split-second decision, shot out of the path of an onrushing transport, missing it by inches. Boxed in by blazing tankers, a freighter, transport, and several destroyers, he blasted 2 of the targets with his remaining torpedoes and, with pyrotechnics bursting on all sides, cleared the area. Twenty-four hours later, he again made contact with a heavily escorted convoy steaming to support the Leyte campaign with reinforcements and supplies and with crated planes piled high on each unit. In defiance of the enemy's relentless fire, he closed the concentration of ship and in quick succession sent 2 torpedoes each into the first and second transports and an adjacent tanker, finding his mark with each torpedo in a series of violent explosions at less than l,000-yard range. With ships bearing down from all sides, he charged the enemy at high speed, exploding the tanker in a burst of flame, smashing the transport dead in the water, and blasting the destroyer with a mighty roar which rocked the Tang from stem to stern. Expending his last 2 torpedoes into the remnants of a once powerful convoy before his own ship went down, Comdr. O'Kane, aided by his gallant command, achieved an illustrious record of heroism in combat, enhancing the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

[wildcatf4f3]

BFL

[snippy_about_it]

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 StayAt HomeMother

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Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

Thanks to quietolong for providing this link.

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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

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[snippy_about_it]

"FALL IN" to the FReeper Foxhole!



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[alfa6]

Sam's Bulging Biceps Bump for the Silent Service on the Freeper Foxhole.

Hi manna

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Iris7]

I am not much for the Japanese custom of Seppuku, the formal suicide for dishonor.

However, if I had been responsible for the topedoes our people took to war, the only course of action would be to do all possible to fix things, and then Seppuku.

Such dishonor can not be borne.

Needless to say, there are those without any honor whatever in public life these days. A fair and honest trial, followed by the needle.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[soldierette]

What an amazing and inspiring story SAMWolf.

Thank you!

[The Mayor]

November 22, 2004

Closet Christians

Read: Matthew 5:13-16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. —Matthew 5:16

Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 18-19; James 4

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A businessman gave his heart to Jesus as a result of a Billy Graham evangelistic event. When he told his co-workers, his Christian business partner was elated. But the new believer hadn't known about his faith, and said, "You know, you're one reason I resisted becoming a Christian for several years. I figured that if someone like you could live a good life and not be a Christian, there was no need for me to become one."

A friend of mine and I were doing business in a local bank. He needed to change a $100 bill. By mistake the teller counted out six $20 bills. When my friend discovered the error, he walked back into the bank and quietly told her what had happened. The teller said, "I can't thank you enough. I would have had to make up the difference. Obviously, you are an honest man." He replied, "The reason I am honest is that I'm a committed follower of Jesus Christ. Giving you back the money is something He would want me to do."

Christians should lead exemplary lives. But it's important that we reveal the Source of strength and life who enables us to be different. As Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). —Haddon Robinson

Like a brightly shining light
In the darkness of the night,
We will stand for truth and right—
Let the whole world know! —Peterson
© 1968 Singspiration Music, Inc.

It's the life behind the words that makes your testimony effective.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on November 22:
1511 Erasmus Reinhold Germany, mathematician (calculated planetary table)
1710 Wilhelm Friedemann Bach composer, son of JS Bach (Sinfonias 64)
1805 Benjamin Hugur Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1877
1819 George Eliot England, novelist (Silas Marner)
1808 Thomas Cook founder Cook travel bureau
1818 Samuel Gibbs French Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1910
1835 Frank C Armstrong Brig Gen (Cavalry Commander under Forrest)
1856 Heber J Grant Salt Lake City, 7th President of Mormon church
1857 George Gissing English writer (Thyrza, Crown of Life)
1868 John Nance Garner (D) 32nd VP (1933-41)
1888 Tarzan of the Apes, according to Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel
1890 Charles de Gaulle Lille France, President of France (1958-69)
1898 Wiley Post Grand Plain TX, aviator/parachutist (crashed in Alaska)
1899 Hoagy Carmichael Bloomington IN, actor/songwriter (Stardust)
1904 Roland Winters Boston MA, actor (Mama, Smothers Brothers)
1905 James Burnham philosopher (Coming Defeat of Communism)
1912 Doris Duke NYC, multi-millionaire (American Tobacco heiress)
1913 Benjamin Britten Lowestoft Suffolk England, composer (Beggar's Opera)
1918 Claiborne Pell (Sen-D-RI)
1921 Rodney Dangerfield Babylon NY, comedian (Caddyshack, Back to School)
1922 Fikret Dzhamil Amirov Kirovabad Russia, Azerbaijani composer (Shur)
1924 Geraldine Page Kirksville Mo (Interiors, Trip to Bountiful)
1925 Gunther Schuller NYC, hornist/composer (Visitation)
1928 Juno Stover-Irwin US, diver (Olympic-silver-1956)
1928 Pat Smythe England, equestrian jumper (Olympic-bronze-1956)
1930 Owen K Garriott Enid, Oklahoma, astronaut (Skylab 3, STS-9)
1932 Robert Vaughn NYC, actor (Napoleon Solo-Man from UNCLE, Battle Beyond the Stars)
1935 Ludmila Belousova Protopopov USSR, pairs skater (Oly-gold-1964, 68)
1940 Terry Gilliam Minneapolis, comedy writer-animator (Monty Python)
1942 Guion S Bluford Jr Philadelphia PA, Col USAF/astr (STS 8, STS 61A, STS 39)
1943 Billie Jean King Cal, tennis pro (Wimbledon 1968, 72, 73, 75)
1949 "Miami" Steve Van Zandt rocker
1950 Greg Luzinski baseball player (Phillies, White Sox)
1958 Jamie Lee Curtis Los Angeles CA, actress (Halloween, True Lies)
1961 Mariel Hemingway Ketchum Id, actress (Manhattan, Personal Best)
1966 Brian Robbins Brooklyn NY, actor (Eric-Head of the Class)
1966 Nicholas Rowe London England, actor (Young Sherlock Holmes)
1973 USAF_SSgt Assembled out of old F-4, C-123, and P-38 parts! Mother reported to have said to father "This is ALL your fault, never touch me again!"
(A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip!)

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Deaths which occurred on November 22:
0950 Lotharius, King of Italy (947-50), dies
1594 Martin Frobisher, English vice-admiral/explorer, dies
1718 Edward "Blackbeard" Teach English pirate, dies off Virginia coast
1825 Ann Bailey pioneer, dies
1871 Oscar J Dunn (Lt Gov-La), dies suddenly, charges he was poisoned
1896 George Washington Gale Ferris inventor (Ferris wheel), dies
1902 Friedrich A Krupp cannon manufacturer, commits suicide
1900 Arthur S Sullivan England, composer (Mikado, Ivanhoe), dies at 58
1943 Lorenz Hart lyricist, dies in NY
1944 Arthur S Eddington dies
1963 Aldous Huxley English novelist. ("Brave New World" )
1963 C.S.Lewis English novelist/essayist. ("The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.", "Mere Christianity")
1963 John F Kennedy 35th U.S. President, shot dead in Dallas, Texas (by Lee Harvey Oswald)
1980 Mae West dies at her Hollywood residence at 87
1982 Burton Turkus lawyer/author/TV host (Mr Arsenic), dies at 80
1983 Michael Conrad actor (Hill Street Blues), dies of cancer at 58
1992 Sterling Holloway, US actor (Golddiggers of 1933, Batman), dies at 87

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 DOUGLAS THOMAS E.---WARREN OH.
1965 MILLER RICHARD A.---NEW YORK NY.
1965 PIRKER VICTOR J.---TROUT CREEK MT.
1965 WINKLER JOHN ANTHONY---ALEXANDRIA VA.
1966 CRECCA JOSEPH---BLOOMFIELD NJ.
[02/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1966 VISCONTI FRANCIS E.----SYRACUSE NY.
1966 WILSON GORDON S.---HOBART IN.
[SUBJ SEEN IN PARA, REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86]
1969 BEDINGER HENRY J.---HATBORO PA.
[03/27/73 RELEASED BY PL, ALIVE IN 98]
1969 COLLINS RICHARD F.---HUNTINGTON PARK CA.
1969 DEUTER RICHARD C.---CHICAGO IL.
1969 QUINN MICHAEL E.---MADELIA MN.

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

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On this day...
0365 [Felix II] ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0498 St Symmachus begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1221 Frederik II Hohenstaufen crowned Roman-German Emperor
1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounds Cape of Good Hope
1675 English king Charles II adjourns parliament
1809 Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore patents a steel pen
1831 The opera "Robert Le Diable" is produced (Paris)
1842 Mount St Helens in Washington, erupts
1851 The opera "La Perle Du Br‚sil" is produced (Paris)
1861 Battle of Ft McRee, FL
1864 Battle at Griswoldville, Georgia, ends after 650 casualties
1864 Union General O Howard orders plunderers shot to death
1884 T Thomas Fortune starts NY Freeman (NY Age) newspaper
1886 Victoria Street Cable Tram route begins in Melbourne, Australia
1898 The opera "Iris" is produced (Rome)
1906 International Radio Telecommunications Com adopts "SOS" as new call for help
1910 Arthur Knight patents steel shaft golf clubs
1915 The Anglo-Indian army, led by British General Sir Charles Townshend, attacks a larger Turkish force under General Nur-ud-Din at Ctesiphon, Iraq, but is repulsed.
1917 National Hockey Association disbands
1917 NHL founded with Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Maroons, TorontArenas, Ottawa Senators & Quebec Bulldogs
1917 Marshal J Pilsudski becomes 1st president of Poland
1922 Library Ave in the Bronx named
1923 Coolidge pardons WW I German spy Lothar Witzke, sentenced to death
1924 England orders Egyptians out of Sudan
1925 Red Grange signs with Chicago Bears directly out of college
1927 1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason (Sayner, Wisc)
1928 "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel, 1st performed publicly, in Paris
1930 1st US football game broadcast to England (Harvard 13, Yale 0)
1932 Pump patented that computes quantity & price delivered
1934 "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" 1st heard on Eddie Cantor's show
1935 China Clipper (flying boat) took off from Alameda, CA, carrying 100,000 pieces of mail on 1st trans-Pacific airmail flight
1942 Soviet troops complete the encirclement of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad.
1942 Gen-major Rodins 26th Pantser corp recaptures Ostrov
1942 Hitler orders Rommels African corps to fight to last man
1945 Jim Benton, Cleveland end, gains 303 yards (NFL record)
1950 79 die in a train crash in Richmond Hills NY
1950 Lowest NBA score, Ft Wayne Pistons (19), Minneapolis Lakers (18)
1956 16th modern Olympic games opens in Melbourne
1956 Bill Sharman (Boston) begins NBA free throw streak of 55 games
1957 Mickey Mantle beats Ted Williams by 1 vote for MVP
1959 Boston Patriots enter the AFL
1959 NY Titans (AFL) 1st draft choice (George Izo, QB, Notre Dame)
1963 Beatles release their 2nd album "With the Beatles" in the UK
1967 BBC unofficially bans "I am the Walrus" by the Beatles
1967 Silver hits record $2.17 an ounce in New York
1967 UN Sec council passes resolution 242-Israel must give back occupied land
1968 Beatles release "The Beatles," (White Album)in UK, their only double album
1972 Flyers start Islanders on 15 game winless streak
1972 Pittsburgh Penguins set NHL record for scoring fastest 5 goals (2m7s)
1974 UN General Assembly recognizes Palestine right to sovereignty
1975 Juan Carlos proclaimed king of Spain
1977 Regular Concorde passenger service between NY & Europe begins
1980 Georgia tanker at Pilottown La, spills 1.3 million gallons of oil after an anchor chain caused a ship to leak
1981 San Diego Charger Dan Fouts passes for 6 touchdowns vs Oakland (55-21)
1982 Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB, Texas
1985 Columbia moves to the Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61-C
1986 Mike Tyson KOs Trevor Berbick to win WBC heavyweight title
1986 Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton, became 13th NHLer to score 500 goals
1987 Patriots shutout Indianapolis 24-0
1989 Conjunction of Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn & the Moon
1989 Kirby Pucket signs record $3,000,000 per year Minnesota Twins contract
1989 US 63rd manned space mission STS 33 (Discovery 9) launches into orbit
1989 Eastern Airlines pilots & flight attendants end their strike, but most are not rehired
1990 George Bush visits US troops in Saudi Arabia during Thanksgiving
1990 Margaret Thatcher announces her resignation as British Prime Minister
1993 Mexico's Senate approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
1996 OJ Simpson takes stand as hostile witness in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him, saying it is "absolutely not true"
2000 While the nation waited to see who would be the next president, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that hand count of the state's presidential ballots could continue. The Republicans had sought to block the recount, brought on by ballot questions in some counties.

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

Guinea : Portugese Aggression Anniversary
Lebanon : Independence Day (1943)
Bern Switzerland : Onion Market Day-autumn festival (Monday )
US : National Children's Book Week Begins
US : Thanksgiving (Thursday)
US : Start Your Own Country Day (Valonia. I LIKE the sound of that)
US : Moms and Dads Day
Arab : Id ai-Adha
Norse Winter Festival.
National Epilepsy Awareness Month

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Religious Observances
Christian : Memorial of St Cecilia, virgin/martyr/music patron

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Religious History
1220 Pope Honorius III (pope from 1216) crowned Holy Roman Emperor Frederick in St. Peter's, on the promise that Frederick would uphold the rights of the Church, and promote a crusade.
1633 Irish Catholic Cecil Calvert, 27, sent two ships (the Ark and the Dove) from Ireland to establish a colony in America as a refuge for fellow Catholics. His work later earned Lord Calvert the nickname, "Colonizer of Maryland."
1849 Austin College was chartered in Texas at Huntsville under Presbyterian sponsorship. In 1876 the school campus was moved to Sherman, TX.
1873 American lawyer Horatio G. Spafford's four daughters drowned when their passenger ship, while crossing the Atlantic, collided with another and sank. The following month, as his own ship passed over the spot of the earlier tragedy, Spafford penned the words to the enduring hymn, "It is Well With My Soul."
1963 Death of C.S. Lewis, 65, Anglican scholar, novelist and Christian apologist. Well_known for his children's classic, "The Chronicles of Narnia" (1950_56), Lewis also penned other Christian classics, including "The Screwtape Letters" (1943) and "The Great Divorce" (1946).

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

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Thought for the day :
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies."
C. S. Lewis

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Excuses for Being Late for Work...
My proctologist got stuck

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Things I learned from children...
VCR's do not eject PB&J sandwiches even though TV
commercials show they do.

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Dictionary of the Absurd...
impregnable
see inconceivable

inconceivable
sterile or barren

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Man's Answers to Every Question a Woman ever asks
WHY ARE MEN SUCH JERKS?

It's a testosterone thing. Much similar to your PMS thing, we men suffer from testosterone poisoning. Why do you think the average life span of a male is typically 10 years shorter (and it's not just from all the b*tching and nagging we have to endure)? Hormone modifies behaviour. We're just misunderstood.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone!

[Soaring Feather]

Thanks much for today's Flag-o-gram. Nice one.

[SAMWolf]

Morning alfa6.

Sam's sore Bulging Biceps :-)

[SAMWolf]

Morning wildcatf4f3

[SAMWolf]

Morning Iris7.

Bureaucrats, they're gonna be the death of this Country.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.