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Posted on 09/10/2005 7:55:11 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 FULL SIZE VIEW The Navy's Greatest Navigational Tragedy The Navy's greatest navigational tragedy took place in September 1923 at an isolated California coastal headland locally known as Honda Point. Officially called Point Pedernales, Honda is a few miles from the northern entrance of the heavily-traveled Santa Barbara Channel. Completely exposed to wind and wave, and often obscured by fog, this rocky shore has claimed many vessels, but never more at one stroke than at about 9 PM on the dark evening of 8 September 1923, when seven nearly new U.S. Navy destroyers and twenty-three lives were lost there.  FULL SIZE VIEW Just over twelve hours earlier Destroyer Squadron ELEVEN left San Francisco Bay and formed up for a morning of combat maneuvers. In an important test of engineering efficiency, this was followed by a twenty-knot run south, including a night passage through the Santa Barbara Channel. In late afternoon the fourteen destroyers fell into column formation, led by their flagship, USS Delphy. Poor visibility ensured that squadron commander Captain Edward H. Watson and two other experienced navigators on board Delphy had to work largely by the time-honored, if imprecise, technique of dead reckoning. Soundings could not be taken at twenty knots, but they checked their chartwork against bearings obtained from the radio direction finding (RDF) station at Point Arguello, a few miles south of Honda. At the time they expected to turn into the Channel, the Point Arguello station reported they were still to the northward. However, RDF was still new and not completely trusted, so this information was discounted, and DesRon 11 was ordered to turn eastward, with each ship following Delphy.  FULL SIZE VIEW However, the Squadron was actually several miles north, and further east, than Delphy's navigators believed. It was very dark, and almost immediately the ships entered a dense fog. About five minutes after making her turn, Delphy slammed into the Honda shore and stuck fast. A few hundred yards astern, USS S.P. Lee saw the flagship's sudden stop and turned sharply to port, but quickly struck the hidden coast to the north of Delphy. Following her, USS Young had no time to turn before she ripped her hull open on submerged rocks, came to a stop just south of Delphy and rapidly turned over on her starboard side. The next two destroyers in line, Woodbury and Nicholas, turned right and left respectively, but also hit the rocks. Steaming behind them, USS Farragut backed away with relatively minor damage, USS Fuller piled up near Woodbury, USS Percival and Somers both narrowly evaded the catastrophe, but USS Chauncey tried to rescue the men clinging to the capsized Young and herself went aground nearby. The last four destroyers, Kennedy, Paul Hamilton, Stoddert and Thompson successfully turned clear of the coast and were unharmed. In the darkness and fog enveloping the seven stranded ships, several hundred crewmen were suddenly thrown into a battle for survival against crashing waves and a hostile shore.  FULL SIZE VIEW For more images related to the September 1923 Honda Point Disaster, see:      |
Have yourself a great day.
We're getting ready for OU-Tulsa today at 11:30 AM on Fox Sports Net. May the best team win?
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A mother cheetah brought a live gazelle fawn to her 5-month-old cubs and released it. After the cubs made several unsuccessful attacks, the mama cheetah intervened and showed them how to "catch dinner."
I observed a similar technique used by a life insurance salesman. After he told me about the benefits of a particular policy, he shared how much coverage he had for his own family. His words took on new meaning because he demonstrated by his own example how to insure a family adequately.
If we want to teach others the art of knowing God and serving Him, we can't overemphasize the importance and the power of example. That's how Christ and His apostles communicated the same message. Their obedience to God was seen in flesh-and-blood terms that were easily understood.
Leadership by example is contagious. When Paul mentioned the Thessalonians, who had become "followers of us and of the Lord," he said that they also "became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia" (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7).
Leadership is more than something that automatically goes with an official title like Dad, Mom, Pastor, or Teacher. Those who want to lead and help others must first of all be good examples. —Mart De Haan
You cannot teach what you do not know, nor lead where you do not go.
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on September 10:
1487 Julius III Counter-Reformation pope (1550-55)
1736 Carter Braxton signed Decl of Ind
1810 Albert Gallatin Blanchard Brig General (Confederate Army)
1815 Eleazer Arthur Paine Brig General (Union volunteers)
1832 Randall Lee Gibson Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1892
1836 Joseph Wheeler Maj Gen/Cavalry Commander, Army of Tennessee
1839 Isaac Kauffman Funk US, publisher (Funk & Wagnalls)
1892 Arthur Compton, physicist, born Wooster, Ohio
1893 Al "Fuzzy" St John Santa Ana Calif, actor (Lash of the West)
1907 Fay Wray Alberta Canada, actress-King Kong's main squeeze
1914 Robert Wise movie director (Day the Earth Stood Still)
1915 Edmond O'Brien NYC, actor (Sam Benedict, Johnny Midnight)
1925 Roy James Brown New Orleans, boxer/soul singer (Good Rockin' Tonight)
1927 Yma Sumac [Emperatriz Chavarri], Ichocan Peru, 5 octave soprano
1929 Arnold Palmer golfer (PGA Golfer of the Year 1960, 1962)
1933 Yevgeny V Khrunov USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 5)
1934 Charles Kuralt Wilmington NC, newscaster (On the Road)
1934 Roger Maris Yankee, HR champ (61 in 1961, AL MVP 1960, 1961)
1945 Richard M Mullane Tx, USAF/astro (STS 41-D, STS-27, STS-36)
1948 Margaret Trudeau Vancouver BC, former Canadian 1st lady/loonytoon
1950 Joe Perry Boston, rocker (Aerosmith-Walking the Dog)
1953 Amy Irving Palo Alto, Cal, actress (Yentl, Carrie, Crossing Delancy)
1965 Allison Daughtry actress (Guilding Light)
Seems like an odd choice for the human resources types to adore.
Wow, compared to later battleships, she was tiny.
But she had graceful lines.
free dixie,sw
Morning!
snicker
Mornin' Snippy.
Hoping "away from the computer" means business is going to be booming.
Morning all!
Captain Edward H. Watson. I'm thinking his career hit a bit of a snag.
If I'm not mistaken the navy takes a dim view of captains who run their ships into continents.
Hi there. Thanks for the post, I hadn't been able to find the "Foxhole". 8) Had we talked before? How do you find this? Search for Foxhole? Still very new. 8)
Great pic! I didn't know the Oregon was the first ship through the canal. Cool. My grandfather worked with the Army Corps of Engineers making the Panama Canal so I've always enjoyed history about it.
I had never heard about that accident with those destroyers. That's horrible. Unbelievable pictures. As sad as it is, I like being able to read things like that. Thansk. 8)
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