The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Combat Tracker Teams (Vietnam) - June 2nd, 2005

Vietnam Magazine | October 2001 | Sue Rodgers

[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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Combat Tracker Teams:
Dodging an Elusive Enemy

Trained by New Zealand's elite Special Air Services, Combat Tracker Teams were intended to give American units a decisive edge over VC in the jungle.

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army was faced with a type of warfare it had not experienced since the Indian wars of the 19th century. "They just melted into the jungle" was the constant refrain of line commanders frustrated by the elusive tactics of the VC guerrillas.

Guerrilla warfare wasn't new to Southeast Asia, of course. In the 1950s the French had vainly pitted some of their finest troops against the Viet Minh. But even the French Foreign Legion had been stumped by the Communist guerrillas. During the same period, Communist forces used identical tactics against the British on the Malay Peninsula, but the results were different. In 1949 the British governor became alarmed when several plantation owners were assassinated by terrorists well stocked with war materiel and supplies left over from the defense of the area against Japan during World War II. With the Allies committed throughout the Pacific, there had not been enough forces left to fight in the smaller Asian states. Thus, the indigenous populations had been armed to defend themselves against the Japanese.


British Jungle Warfare School Class of August, 1967. John Dupla is in the back row forth from the right. (Note: American Instructors in British uniforms and Iban Trackers sitting front right.)

In 1950 the British colonial governor declared a state of emergency and asked the Ministry of Defence in London for assistance, but the peacetime British military had few units that could be spared for Malaya's aid. Several of the renowned Gurkha units were ordered in, but there was little time to train or restaff. As the violence continued, the governor requested more help.

A former Special Air Services (SAS) officer, Major "Mad Mike" Calvert, was dispatched to the area. After assessing the situation, Calvert proposed a two-tier defense. The first element of the plan required relocating the smaller hamlets to areas with a larger village. Small British units would live with the villagers, providing medical and other assistance while protecting them from Communist insurgents. This part of the program was dubbed "Hearts and Minds," and it was so successful that American Special Forces were later taught the techniques at the British Jungle Warfare School (BJWS).


Sp4 F. Merritt and Sambo (5A15) working in II Corps in 1967. They were with CTT 7, 1/9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). The photo is from the National Archives

The second element of the defense strategy involved reconnaissance or hunter-killer teams. Each 10-man team was composed of two identical subteams, made up of a team leader, a visual tracker, a radio operator, a cover man and a dog handler with a trained Labrador retriever. These teams took the war to the enemy wherever he was hiding. They were used to find and eliminate Communist troops who were using hit-and-run tactics against unarmed civilians. The British used this technique with great success against Communist insurgents in Malaya, Borneo and Brunei, as well as in Africa, Cyprus and other parts of the world. The units, also known as Combat Tracker Teams (CTTs), became a reliable tool for stopping the same sort of terrorist and guerrilla tactics that contributed to the defeat of the French in Indochina.

This was precisely the kind of solution General William Westmoreland was seeking for the U.S. Army. American troops had been repeatedly stymied because the enemy had the ability to strike and then disappear almost at will. The general and his staff first met with British representative Robert L. Hughes to discuss the BJWS program. Westmoreland then sent a group to observe the training at Johore Bahru, Malaysia. The British system was the only successful counter being used anywhere in the world at that time to the Communist guerrilla tactics. Simply put, the British had figured out how to outguerrilla the guerrillas. They didn't see the enemy as stronger or stealthier, but as a problem to be eliminated with the resources at hand. The conclusions drawn from the British experience offered new responses to the unorthodox warfare facing the American and allied forces in South Vietnam.


Sp4. Bill Reed and Sambo

The observers sent by Westmoreland were very impressed by the tactics being taught at the school. The BJWS effectively taught soldiers that no enemy was too potent or too elusive. The decision was made to offer American troops similar training -- courses that would push the men to the limits of their endurance and reshape the teams through excellent instruction from the warfare school's cadre of New Zealand SAS soldiers and the combat veterans of British War Dog Training Unit Number 2 (WDTU-2).

WDTU-2 was a part of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. This particular group of instructors consisted of veteran British CTT members, brought to the warfare school to help the Americans develop their own teams. The New Zealand SAS instructors were combat veterans, trained by the British SAS at Hereford, England.


SAMBO (5A15) outside of his bunker awaiting the next mission-1967 at LZ 2 Bits. Note that the dogs had bunkers and the men had tents!

The training contract provided for 14 training groups that consisted of two or four five-man teams, each team with a Labrador retriever. The Labs were perfectly suited for the work. They were quiet in the field and even-tempered, and they also proved that they could deal with changes in handlers. In contrast, some of the other canine specialties in the Vietnam War, including sentry and scout dogs, were one-handler dogs.

The American deployment of CTTs was based on four teams per division, each team led by an officer and a senior NCO. The CTTs assigned to a brigade included two complete elements, usually led by a senior NCO and under the administrative control of the headquarters company of the respective division or brigade. The division or brigade operations or intelligence officer exercised operational control over the teams. The original 14 teams were designated CTTs 1 through 14 and were provisionally attached to divisions and brigades.


Members of the 65th. I.P.C.T. attached to the 9th. Infantry Division - 1969. FRONT (left to right): Ron Eitel, Jet, James Tomlinson. BACK (left to right): Georg Hessenius, Morris Huggins, Andy Kiefhaber

The visual element of each team consisted of a team leader, a visual tracker, a radio telephone operator and a cover man. The visual members of the team, including the officer and the senior NCO, were in training for at least 65 days. The dog handler's training was longer, at least 95 days. He was expected to learn how to observe and understand every action and reaction of his Lab before they went into combat together. In the last two weeks of training, the dog and the handler were linked up with the visual trackers.

The warfare school instructors made the Americans' training as difficult and realistic as possible. To simulate combat situations, Gurkhas were used as the enemy, directed by the New Zealand SAS instructors. More than one American trooper could be heard cursing vehemently after the "enemy" popped up in a mock ambush, pointing and laughing at the students, chanting the infuriating refrain, "Ha! Ha! All dead!" At times the frustration of the trainees was intense. But the training credo was "Train hard, fight easy."

[SAMWolf]

The Americans who attended the school went to Malaysia on official government passports. They were told to bring nothing with them from the U.S. Army, to travel in civvies and to use British uniforms and gear while at the school. These highly sensitive procedures had to be accomplished with the greatest discretion. The United Kingdom was officially neutral, even outwardly critical of America's involvement in the Vietnam War. It would not have done for the world to know the British were training American soldiers to fight against the VC.


"Tugging at the leash, a Tracker Dog edges across a log bridge, apparently not realizing it is not that easy for humans. Very few obstacles will hold back the Trackers who have been trained to track through water-soaked land by using the scent in the air." The dog is Prince, who was first handled by Gary Coon of C.T.T. #6. Prince was a British Tracker and came from BJWS.

On the first day of training, a British officer greeted the young Americans. They did not know his rank. In fact, names were seldom used, and all the identifying badges or patches worn by everyone involved were unobtrusive.

The welcoming address included some startling statements. The Americans were told that the problem with the U.S. Army was that it was too much like the Soviet and German armies -- there was more focus on rank than knowledge. The spokesman summed up by saying: "When you entered this school, I already knew everything that you know. When you leave our school, you will know everything that I know." This put the team concept on the table at the very start. It's probably fortunate that the same officer did not tell them about the final exam -- a long one-day trek, during which they would have to fend off Gurkhas and New Zealand SAS members posing as the enemy. If they had been told, most of the trainees would more than likely have headed straight back to Vietnam. By the time of that final exam, however, they did exactly what was required. Had they not been able to do so, they would have been cut from the program long before then.


Jim Tomlinson and Jet take a break while on a mission, 65th. I.P.C.T. - 1969

The primary objective of the training was to equip the Americans to re-establish contact with the enemy. The secondary objective was to train them to determine whether there had been recent enemy activity in a given area. The main skill they would acquire would be jungle craft. In the normal duration of a typical one-year tour in Vietnam, the average American soldier was at a disadvantage because of his total unfamiliarity with his surroundings. Rather than becoming disoriented by the environment of Vietnam, the Combat Tracker graduates would learn to feel at home in the bush. The alien terrain of South Vietnam would become natural to them -- more so, in fact, than to the North Vietnamese.

The instructors went to great lengths to show the men how to thoroughly train even the least-able soldier. In doing so, they ensured there were no weak links in the teams. It was a different approach for all these men, many of whom would drop out before that final exam. The attrition rate was between 35 and 69 percent. Some groups started with 73 men and finished with 23.


Shown is Gary Morris. The photo was taken in 1969 when Gary was with the 77th IPCT. They were attached to the 82nd Airborne Division and later to the 5th Infantry Division. Gary also served with the 65th IPCT attached to the 9th Infantry Division.

The instructors themselves had used every technique they taught to their students, and most had seen combat in various parts of the world. The New Zealand SAS soldiers and the members of WDTU-2 had been handpicked to ensure the highest level of proficiency in the instruction. The instructors also did everything the students went through. This meant they routinely carried packs heavier than 100 pounds, as well as slept and ate with the trainees.

At the end of the first day's training, the Americans looked around and realized that they had survived. But more surprises were coming. At the end of the second training day, the visual trainees spent their first night in the jungle, where they were introduced to the "basha," a cross between a hammock and a cocoon. But before getting "bashad-up" for the night, they still had to have their evening meal. It was then that improvisational culinary skills came to the fore. The Gurkhas, who were part of the training team when not playing the role of the enemy, really liked the Yanks. In an effort to bridge the cultural gap, the Gurkhas presented the trainees with various delicacies of the jungle, which might include fish caught with "thunder flashes," frogs, lizards, bugs, monkeys, bats or snakes. As one trainee put it, "If it walked, crawled, flew or swam, we ate it." If they were unlucky in catching their dinner on an evening, they always had the British rations to fall back on. These consisted of tea, sweet biscuits and a "meat bar" that none of the Americans could figure out how to eat.


Above are members of the 61st IPCT attached to the 1st Infantry Division. The Team is being briefed prior to a mission near Lai Kha in October 1969. (From L to R) Tom Auer, Jerry Robinson, Lou Caputo-Dog Handler with Bruce 6B62, O'Dell Wilson, Lt. Scott, and Roy Burchfield.

Trainee Dick Burke thought the Kiwi instructors had stacked the deck. He firmly believed that instead of having to set up the night bashas, the New Zealand SAS veterans already had their bashas stashed in position, making it much easier for them at the end of the day. Others were equally convinced that the instructors were going through the exercises just the same as the trainees.

The Americans had to learn to develop a sixth sense. In the jungle, that extra bit of perception could mean life or death. Things most people would never catch a glimpse of became signs as big as outdoor billboards to the trainees. The "jungle telegraph" was one of the first lessons taught at school. As one American CTT vet said: "No matter how steep the embankment, you could not touch any trees to prevent you from falling or to pull yourself up. The top of the trees' motion was the tip-off to the Kiwi troops." Another of the new rules was, "Always basha-up in a place difficult to get to at dusk, and impossible to sneak into at night." That made for some interesting sleeping accommodations.


Bob and friend Bryn 6B47

The days were filled with hard and realistic training. Flashers (light explosive charges) were placed in specific areas to teach the trainees what to avoid. The Kiwi SAS instructors were so determined to make the training realistic that they sometimes went overboard. One of them decided to place a cluster of flashers around a large tree adjacent to the trail that the Americans would pass during an exercise. In his determination to "teach the lads well," he overdid the explosives a bit. When the trainees came to the spot, he command-detonated the charges, knocking down the tree with him in it. Fortunately, he suffered little more than a bruised ego.

One of the most important skills the trainees had to master was speed. You were not going to catch the elusive enemy if you could not move like the wind. The daily physical training was geared so that it would become second nature for the trainees to feel comfortable in the jungle. The trick was to become so at ease in the environment that you could move fast enough to overtake the enemy, yet remain so quiet that he didn't know you were coming. The tactics completely shifted the men's attitude toward the jungle.


Team on Highway 19 after "lighting up Charlie!"

The trainees were fitted out like proper British recruits. Tracker officer Captain Don Hendricks recalled: "We were issued British PT boots, which looked like green high-top basketball shoes, and all too small for large American feet. They lasted for about five days of PT and jungle training, and would then rot off the trainees' feet."

[SAMWolf]

However much the Americans scorned the boots, they loved the scarf, the slouch hat and the British machete. The scarf was made from what appeared to be camouflaged mesh mosquito netting. With the scarf worn over the head, the wearer seemed to disappear in the bush. The slouch hats also became standard with the American trackers, as did the machetes.


Wolf on a Slick anticipating insertion

There were sharp differences in dog handler and visual tracker training. While the handlers had a longer time to make the transition, the visual tracking group was given a complete course in jungle survival in a month's less time.

According to Don Hendricks: "We started our first day of physical training with our New Zealand SAS instructor commanding us, 'Lightly on your toes, right wheel, go!' As we all stared at one another, we were thinking that an English-to-English dictionary might be in order. Couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. It became apparent when he directed us with sign language. He was telling us to 'double-time, column right, march.' We had no clue that he had been speaking English!"


Sp4 John P. Heslin and Wolf at Ft. Benning. Wolf was a scout dog trained to work off lead. Some I.P.C.T.s combined scout dogs with trackers and John and Wolf were assigned to the 66th CTT (66th. I.P.C.T.), 25th Infantry Division.

During the week, after the training day ended, the young Americans could swim and relax at the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institute -- the equivalent of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service) with 'alf and 'alfs. These peculiar British concoctions used beer as a base and included fruit juices or a mixture of stout and light beers. The New Zealand SAS instructors were heard going on about buying "aw case aw piss" (a case of beer). The staff and students often became friends, and some bonds forged at the BJWS would become lifelong.

The extreme emotional and physical demands on the trainees created some interesting situations. For example, two jump-qualified trainees were telling one of their instructors how tough and highly qualified you had to be to be in the airborne. The combat veteran instructor replied that he felt members of the airborne were stubborn and stupid. The trainees insisted that airborne soldiers always executed their orders precisely. The British sergeant said that he could respect that and promptly ordered the more outspoken of the two Americans to run headfirst into a nearby tree.


Sabre pretending to be an Australian 'roo-and as such in the wrong country and wanting to be discharged and sent "down under"!

Looking puzzled at first, the American trainee realized that he had stepped in it, and he had to obey the order. He got up and ran straight into the tree, ending up on the ground, bleeding and dazed. The Kiwi sergeant just shook his head. The other airborne trooper, not to be outdone, also ran headfirst into the tree. This was the last straw for the instructor, who rolled on the ground in gales of laughter, sputtering something about the "stupid, bloody, f -- ing Yanks!"

Oddly enough, some of the visual tracker trainees initially had no idea there would be another man and a Labrador retriever on the team. The standard comment on the first day when the members were merged into a team was, "What the hell's that dog doing here?" The groups were told that the dog definitely would get their egos back into perspective.


Bob Keen and his dog, Joe

The dog actually taught his master how to track. The handler and dog generally moved out at a faster pace than the visual trackers. The Lab would catch a scent and be gone, and the handler had to be ready to go with him. The handler also had to know how to take care of the Lab and read the dog's actions, and how to give the dog medical assistance.

WDTU-2 had a different approach to the training. On the first day of one cycle, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps trainer took his new students out of their camp and across the road to a ridge. As they all sat together, still in civilian clothes, their new boss stood and pointed at a visual tracking group running below, obviously being pushed to their limits by the Kiwi instructors. The war dog trainer waved his hand in such a way as to gather the visual group along with their trainers.

Then the trainer thoroughly confused his new charges by announcing to them, "They are nothing! We do not train that way. Today we will walk a distance, tomorrow a bit more, and so on. You must think of it as steps within steps and goals within goals. When you are finished here and go on to the marry-up between visual and dog handler, you will be able to run them into the ground. They are nothing!"


Bob and friend Bryn resting

One immediate need was for more trained Labs. There were some veteran dogs from the Malay and Borneo campaigns, but with at least 14 teams coming to the school, many more dogs had to be trained. Some of the first trainees who went through the school between October 1966 and February 1967 had to learn their own combat skills plus train the green dogs. To this day, however, no one is sure whether the British instructors were allowing their Labs to train the Yanks or the trainees to school the young dogs.



David Layne, a veteran handler who was a part of the process, said years later: "Chances are when a guy said, 'This dog or that dog wasn't any good,' it was really a comment about the first handler who had the dog. Nobody else could be blamed if a dog didn't work properly. The fifth and sixth months were tough. Up and down the damned hills every single day except in the very beginning. River crossings, ants, hornets and the heat -- it went on and on. Pups and teenagers trying to do something that was as foreign and distant as the unexplored planets.

"Sometimes I get down because I remember those pups," Layne continued. "Sometimes they just wanted to play and be a puppy. But that couldn't be, they were needed for the war, just as we were. I think that most of us who were in that particular phase will always regard the two segments of dogs and men as equals, as partners. Those 18 original dogs, those pups, they didn't DEROS -- they were there for the duration. They were trained in Asia, and they grew old in Asia."



The teams were complete when they had merged to the point of being able to think in unison. They could tell what one another was thinking as they moved in absolute silence in the jungle. Even the Lab could run like the wind and not make a sound that the NVA or VC would suspect.

The attrition rate for trainees not making the grade was high, but those who did graduate were some of the most highly trained American troops of the war. One of the early teams was attached to the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles."



The Screaming Eagles normally did not let any new recruit or group go into the field until they had gone through their own "finishing school." But when Tracker Team 9, which was attached in October 1967, began the process, the cadre stopped the training on the first day. The verdict from the 101st was, "You don't need to go through this test course -- you already know more than we could teach you."

During the course the trainees were pushed to the limit on a daily basis. They were trained to operate with a much higher level of autonomy and initiative than they would ever be granted in Vietnam. They wanted to use their skills to make a difference in a war they could now understand. But the average soldier -- and unfortunately, many line officers -- had no comprehension of what the tracker teams' capabilities were.



Those who did excel at the training became a breed apart. There was no special ceremony when they graduated, no article in the hometown papers. However, the men themselves were well aware of what it took to become a CTT member. The U.S. Army later established its own CTT school in Fort Gordon, Ga., under an advisory panel of four SAS soldiers and a veterinarian from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. The school used veteran U.S. Army trackers as instructors and duplicated the original training as much as possible. But the Fort Gordon school closed in 1970, after which the CTT program was phased out.

The CTT members served honorably, but they came home to a generally disdainful public and the disbelief of their own fellow vets. There had been so little documentation of the program that some former trackers had problems for years applying for benefits. In 1998 a new Web site -- www.combattrackerteam.org -- was established to document and record their story. In June 2000, the first International Combat Tracker reunion took place in New Orleans.

Additional Sources:

www.combattrackerteam.org

[SAMWolf]

The COMBAT TRACKER TEAMS of the Viet Nam War, were small, highly-trained units usually consisting of five men and a Labrador Retriever. They were a composite group and cross-trained, enabling all members to complete the mission. The purpose of CTT was to: reestablish contact with the "elusive enemy"; reconnaissance of an area for possible enemy activities; and locate lost or missing friendly personnel.

The methods used in completing the missions were Visual and Canine Tactical Tracking. The unit was usually supported by a platoon or larger force and worked well ahead of them to maintain noise discipline and the element of surprise.



Thanks to www.combattrackerteam.org for the use of their pictures



For more info and pictures on Combat Tracker Teams , visit www.combattrackerteam.org

[SAMWolf]

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

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We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

I realized that our Veterans have no "official" seal, so we created one as part of that recognition. To see what it looks like and the Star that we have dedicated to you, the Veteran, please check out our site.

Veterans Wall of Honor

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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[snippy_about_it]

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Good Thursday Morning Everyone.

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[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for bringing this story to us Sam. Who doesn't love dogs? Man's best friend for sure. God Bless these men and their pups!

[AZamericonnie]

Supporting our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen at more than 1,000 places across the U. S. and around the world.

Brad Fletcher~To All Our Mothers Children

[U S Army EOD]

Thanks for the article, I have always felt the Kiwi's were some of the best soldiers in the world man for man. I had the pleasure of meeting several of the WWII LRDG and SAS members. What a neat bunch of people.

[Iris7]

Excellent post.

I had no idea that the Combat Tracker Teams existed. We could have won the war if those lads had been used correctly. Would have been impossible with the Army of that era, I am afraid.

The photos show some hard boys, no two ways about it.

The fellow who started this kind of training, Michael Calvert, had very extensive experience behind Japanese lines in Burma. He was trained by Orde Wingate. Calvert was in Burma until the Japanese were driven out, and there from the very beginning, the retreat to Imphal - Kohima. His books are a great treat.

He was Mad Mike because he would operate in the jungle by himself at night, for recon, and for chasing deserters, work so dangerous he was called "Mad". He knew what he was doing.

When Malaya got going Calvert became the honcho and developed the modern SAS. (The WWII SAS was very different from today's outfit.) Only a high sort of man could endure the training with the right attitude, and after their Malaya time these SAS troopers continued development of tactics, training, and doctrine.

They still do combat tracking these days, but only on the QT, often in "friendly" countries, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, and Pakistan. I'll bet they are operating in the 'stans in the old USSR.

They say that SAS training is the best in the world. Don't know for myself. They say that the New Zealand SAS is the best, but I don't know, Australian and British commands are different, not better or worse.

United States Special Operations use SAS training technique and cross train with the SAS.

US Army, US Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and nowadays, the US Air Force train SAS style and likewise cross train with them.

Air Force SAS types were very recently killed in Iraq in a helicopter crash. Never liked riding in helicopters. Never, ever, enough good men.

[Iris7]

Michael Calvert, "Fighting Mad":
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/185310762X/qid=1117698434/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-1661864-7155831?v=glance&s=books

Biography:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0850525438/qid=1117698707/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_10_8/202-4916739-4441467

"Prisoners of Hope" about the Chindit operations.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/085052492X/qid=1117698707/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10_10/202-4916739-4441467

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0330241036/qid=1117698965/sr=1-13/ref=sr_1_0_13/202-4916739-4441467

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345097882/qid=1117699029/sr=1-28/ref=sr_1_0_28/202-4916739-4441467

Autobiography:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0850521726/qid=1117699071/sr=1-40/ref=sr_1_0_40/202-4916739-4441467

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[alfa6]

Good morning bump to the loyal readers of the Freeper Foxhole.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[GailA]

Good morning ALL.

[The Mayor]

June 2, 2005

Five-Finger Prayers

Read:
James 5:13-18

Pray for one another. -James 5:16

Bible In One Year: Proverbs 4-7

Prayer is a conversation with God, not a formula. Yet sometimes we might need to use a "method" to freshen up our prayer time. We can pray the Psalms or other Scriptures (such as The Lord's Prayer), or use the ACTS method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). I recently came across this "Five-Finger Prayer" to use as a guide when praying for others:

• When you fold your hands, the thumb is nearest you. So begin by praying for those closest to you-your loved ones (Philippians 1:3-5).

• The index finger is the pointer. Pray for those who teach-Bible teachers and preachers, and those who teach children (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

• The next finger is the tallest. It reminds you to pray for those in authority over you-national and local leaders, and your supervisor at work (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

• The fourth finger is usually the weakest. Pray for those who are in trouble or who are suffering (James 5:13-16).

• Then comes your little finger. It reminds you of your smallness in relation to God's greatness. Ask Him to supply your needs (Philippians 4:6,19).

Whatever method you use, just talk with your Father. He wants to hear what's on your heart. -Anne Cetas

Our prayers ascend to heaven's throne
Regardless of the form we use;
Our Father always hears His own
Regardless of the words we choose. -D. De Haan

It's not the words we pray that matter, it's the condition of our heart.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Jesus' Blueprint For Prayer

[manna]

Present.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on June 02:
1491 Henry VIII King of England (1509-47)
1740 Marquis de Sade 1st known sadist, writer (Justine)
1821 Ion Bratianu (Lib), premier of Romania (1876-88)
1835 St Pius X 257th Roman Catholic pope (1903-14)
1840 Thomas Hardy England, poet/novelist (Mayor of Casterbridge)
1857 Edward Elgar Broadheath, England, composer (Pomp & Circumstance)
1890 Hedda Hopper gossip columnist (From Under My Hat)
1901 Michael Todd producer (Around the World in 80 Days)
1904 John Weissmuller actor (Tarzan)/100m swimmer (Olympic-gold-1924, 28)
1930 Charles Pete Conrad Jr Phila, USN/astro (Gem 5 11, Ap 12, Skylab 2)
1936 Sally Kellerman Long Beach Cal, actress (M*A*S*H, Back to School)
1940 Constantine II deposed king of Greece (-1967)
1941 Charlie Watts drummer (Rolling Stones-Brown Sugar)
1941 Stacy Keach Savannah Ga, actor (Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer)
1943 Charles Haid SF Ca, actor (Andy Renko-Hill St Blues, Altered States)
1944 Garo Yepremian NFL place kicker (Miami Dolphins)
1944 Marvin Hamlisch US, composer/pianist (The Sting, Chorus Line)
1948 Jerry Mathers Sioux City Iowa, actor (Beaver-Leave It To Beaver)
1955 Dana Carvey comedian (Sat Night Live-Church Lady/George Bush)
1955 Garry Grimes SF, actor (Summer of '42, Class of '44)

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Deaths which occurred on June 02:
1882 Guiseppi Garibaldi Italian rebel leader, dies at 74
1941 Lou Gehrig Yankee great, dies at 37 of ALS in Riverdale NY
1943 Leslie Howard actor killed, when Nazis shot down his plane
1961 George S Kaufman playwright/dir/pulitzer prize winner, dies at 72
1977 Forrest Lewis actor (Great Gildersleeve, Ichabod & Me), dies at 77
1979 Jim Hutton actor (Ellery Queen), dies at 45
1987 Andr‚s Segovia Spanish guitarist, dies at 94
1987 Sammy Kaye orch leader, dies at 77
1990 Frederick Mellinger founder of Fredericks of Hollywood, dies at 76
1990 Rex Harrison actor (My Fair Lady), dies at 82 of cancer
1990 Robert Noyce co-inventor (semi-conductor)/founded Intel, dies
2001 Imogene Coca (b.1908), co-star with Sid Caesar of the 1950s "Your Show of Shows" TV program, died at age 92

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GWOT Casualties

Iraq
02-Jun-2004 1 | US: 1 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Corporal Bumrok Lee Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire


Afghanistan
A Good Day

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White

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On this day...
455 Gaiseric & the Vandals sack Rome
575 Benedict I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
657 St Eugene I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1797 1st ascent of "Great Mountain" (4,622') in Adirondack NY (C Broadhead)
1835 P.T. Barnum & his circus begin 1st tour of US
1851 1st US alcohol prohibition law enacted (Maine)
1857 James Gibbs, Va., patents chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine
1858 Donati Comet 1st seen named after it's discoverer
1864 Battle of Cold Harbour, Day 2
1865 At Galveston, Kirby-Smith surrenders the Trans-Mississippi Dept
1866 Renegade Irish Fenians surrender to US forces
1873 Ground broken on Clay St (SF) for world's 1st cable railroad
1883 1st night baseball under lights, Ft Wayne Indiana
1883 Chicago's "El" opens to traffic
1886 Grover Cleveland is 1st to wed during presidency (Frances Folsom)
1899 Black Americans observed day of fasting to protest lynchings
1902 2nd statewide initiative & referendum law adopted, in Oregon
1903 Pirates win a triple header from the Dodgers
1910 1st roundtrip flight over the English Channel (C.S. Rolls, England)
1910 Pygmies discovered in Dutch New Guinea
1913 1st strike settlement mediated by US Dep't of Labor-RR clerks
1922 Suffy McInnis (1st base) ends an errorless string of 1,700 chances
1924 US citizenship granted to all American Indians
1925 NY Yankee Lou Gehrig begins his 2,130 consecutive game streak
1930 1st baby born on a vessel passing through Panama Canal
1930 Sarah Dickson becomes 1st woman Presbyterian elder in US, Cincinnati
1933 WNJ-AM in Newark NJ goes off the air
1936 Gen Anastasio Somoza takes over as dictator of Nicaragua
1942 American aircraft carriers Enterprise, Hornet and Yorktown move into battle positions for the Battle of Midway
1943 99th Pursuit Squadron flies 1st combat mission (over Italy)
1946 Italian plebiscite chooses republic over monarchy (National Day)
1949 Transjordan renamed Jordan
1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey
1959 Allen Ginsberg writes his poem "Lysergic Acid," SF
1964 Rolling Stones 1st US concert tour debuts in Lynn, Mass
1965 2nd of 2 cyclones in less than a month kills 35,000 (Ganges R India)
1966 US Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum; 1st lunar soft-landing
1967 Race riots in Roxbury section of Boston
1969 Australian aircraft carrier "Melbourne" slices US destroyer "Frank E Evans" in half, killing 74. (South Vietnam)
1972 Dion & the Belmonts reunion concert at Madison Square Garden
1975 James A Healy, 1st black Roman Catholic bishop, consecrated (Maine)
1977 NJ allows casino gambling in Atlantic City

1979 John Paul II becomes 1st pope to visit a communist country (Poland)

1981 Barbara Walters asks Katharine Hepburn what kind of tree she would be
1984 Flight readiness firing of Discovery's main engines
1986 NYC transit system issues a new brass with steel bullseye token
1986 Regular TV coverage of US Senate sessions begins
1987 President Reagan announces he is nominating economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
1989 14 year old Scott Isaacs spells spoliator to win 1989 Spelling Bee

1989 10,000 Chinese soldiers are blocked by 100,000 citizens protecting students demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square, Beijing

1991 Mount Unzen erupts in Japan. Worst eruption in Japanese history
1992 Joan Lunden ordered to pay her ex-husband $18,000 a month support
1992 Danish voters rejected the Maastricht union treaty
1995 U.S. Air Force pilot, Capt. Scott F. O'Grady, is shot down by Bosnian Serbs while on a NATO air patrol in his F-16C over Northern Bosnia

1996 A list of the countries that are considered the most corrupt by international business people had the following top ten: Nigeria, Pakistan, Kenya, Bangladesh, China, Camaroon, Venezuela, Russia, India and Indonesia. The top ten least corrupt were New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Australia. The US was judged 15th least corrupt, worse than Israel but better than Austria.


1997 Timothy McVeigh is convicted of murder and conspiracy in the Oklahoma City bombing (sentenced to death)
2003 North Korea said it has nuclear arms (Thank you Bill Clinton)
2004 Saudi security forces killed two suspected militants (TERRORISTS) linked to a weekend shooting and hostage-taking.

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

Bhutan : Coronation Day
Iceland : Seaman's Day
Italy-1946, West Germany : Republic (Constitution) Day
Tunisia : Youth Day
Massachusetts : Teachers' Day (Sunday)
Ireland : Bank Day (Monday)
Bahamas : Labour Day (Friday)
New Zealand : Queen's Birthday (Monday)
Western Australia : Foundation Day (1838) (Monday)
National Frozen Yogurt Week (Day 3)
National National Rocky Road Day
National Accordion Awareness Month

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Religious Observances
Ang : Commemoration of the martyrs of Lyons
RC : Commemoration of St Erasmus (Elmo), martyr, patron of sailors
RC : Memorial of St Peter, martyrs (opt)
RC : Memorial of St Marcellinus, martyrs (opt)
Ang, RC : Ember Day

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Religious History
0553 The Second Council of Constantinople closed. Led by Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople, the council condemned the Nestorian writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyprus and Ibas of Edessa.
0597 Augustine, missionary to England and first archbishop of Canterbury, baptized Saxon king Ethelbert. Afterward, the Christian faith spread rapidly among the Angles and Saxons.
1738 Writing of his contemporary, English revivalist George Whitefield penned in his journal: 'The good which John Wesley has done in America, under God, is inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people; and he has laid such a foundation that I hope neither man nor devils will ever be able to shake.'
1875 James A. Healy was consecrated bishop over the Diocese of Maine, making him the first African- American bishop in the history of American Catholicism.

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

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Finger Pointing Over Memorial Typos

Jun 1, 2005 9:13 am US/Central
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) Some mistakes really do get carved in stone. A 7-foot granite slab that for 16 years honored Pitt County’s veterans also carried unnoticed errors in the Latin creeds engraved in the stone’s burnished surface.

The monument features emblems of the five United States military services—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

But the Latin motto for the Marines, “Semper Fidelis,” or “always faithful,” appears as “Semper Fider” on the monument. The Coast Guard’s “Semper Paratus,” which translates to “Always Ready,” is inscribed as “Semper Haratus.”

The monument placed on Greenville’s Town Common was commissioned by the Pitt County Veterans Council and dedicated on Memorial Day 1989. Retired Army lieutenant colonel Gus Keyes, president of the veterans council, said he had never noticed the misspellings.

The council’s records show Clifton & Clifton Monuments of Elizabeth City was hired to inscribe the monolith. Company vice president Kim Elliott said inscriptions are proofread four times during the engraving process.

Fault for the faulty inscriptions lies with “the people whoever gave us the information,” she said. “There’s just no doubt.”

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Thought for the day :
"A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings."

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Snippy.

Ready to go do our "presentation" and wow all those older ladies?

[SAMWolf]

Morning AZamericonnie