The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington - Mar. 22nd, 2003

AcePilots ^

[SAMWolf]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

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FReepers from the USO Canteen, The Foxhole, and The Poetry Branch
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

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Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington
1912 - 1988

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Undoubtedly the most colorful and well known Marine Corps' ace was Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, commanding officer of VMF-214.

Stories of Pappy Boyington are legion, many founded in fact, including how he led the legendary Black Sheep squadron, and how he served in China as a member of the American Volunteer Group, the famed Flying Tigers. He spent a year and a half as a Japanese POW, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, was recognized as the Marine Corps top ace (more on that below). Always hard-drinking and hard-living, Pappy's post-war life was as turbulent as his wartime experiences.

The best biography of Boyington that I've read is Bruce Gamble's Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, released late in 2000.

Born on Dec. 4, 1912, young Greg had a rough childhood - divorced parents, alcoholic step-father (who Greg believed to be his natural father until he entered the Marine Corps), and lots of moves. He grew up in St. Maries, Idaho, a small logging town. Greg got his first ride in an airplane when he was only six years old. The famous barnstormer, Clyde Pangborn, flew his Jenny into town, and Greg wangled a ride. What a thrill for a little kid!

Greg's family moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1926. In high school, he took up a sport that he would practice for many years - wrestling. Especially when he had had a few too many (which was often), adult Boyington would challenge others to impromptu wrestling bouts, frequently with injurious results. He enrolled at the University of Washington in 1930, where he continued wrestling and participated in ROTC. He met his first wife, Helene there; they were married not long after his graduation in 1934. His first son, Gregory Clark Boyington, was born 10 months later.

Marine Aviator

After a year with Boeing, Greg enlisted in the Marine Corps. On having to supply them with his birth certificate, he only learned of his natural father at that date. He began elimination training in June, 1935, where (in the small world of Marine aviation at that time) he met Richard Mangrum and Bob Galer, both future heroes at Guadalcanal. He passed, and received orders to begin flight training at Pensacola NAS in January, 1936 with class 88-C. Here he flew a floatplane version of the Consolidated NY-2. Like another great ace, Gabby Gabreski, Boyington had a tough time with flight training, and had to undergo a number of rechecks.



Until he arrived in Pensacola, Boyington, had never touched alcohol. But here, with hard-partying fliers, and aware of his wife's "fooling around," he soon discovered his affinity for liquor. Early on, Boyington established his Marine Corps reputation: hard-drinking, brawling, well-liked, and always ready to wrestle at the drop of a hat. But he kept flying, all through 1936, slowly progressing toward earning his wings, flying more powerful planes like the Vought O2U and SU-1 scouting biplanes. At Pensacola, he also met his future nemesis, Joe Smoak, memorialized in Baa Baa Black Sheep as "Colonel Lard." He finally won his coveted wings in March, 1937, becoming Naval Aviator #5160.

Before reporting for his assignment with VMF-1 at Quantico, Virginia, he took advantage of his 30-day to return home, and reconcile with his wife Helene, who became pregnant with their second child. In those days Marine aviators were required to be bachelors; Greg's family was a secret that he kept from the brass, but he brought them with him to Virginia, installing them quietly in nearby Fredericksburg. He flew F4B-4 biplanes during 1937, taking part in routine training, an air show dubbed the "All American Air Maneuvers," and a fleet exercise in Puerto Rico.

In March of 1938, VMF-1 aviators excited took possession of the latest, hottest Grumman fighters, the F3F-2s, the last biplane fighters used by US air forces. Powered by Wright-Cyclone engines of 950 horsepower, the fat-bellied aircraft were fast and rugged. In July, he moved to Philadelphia, to attend the Marine Corps' Basic School for ten months. Apparently not motivated by the "ground-pounder" curriculum, Boyington here evidenced the weaknesses that would haunt him: excessive drinking, borrowing money (and not repaying it), fighting, and poor official performance.



His irresponsibility, his debts, and his difficulties with the Corps continued to mount throughout 1939 and 1940, when he flew with VMF-2, stationed at San Diego. One memorable, drunken night, he tried to swim across San Diego Bay, and wound up naked and exhausted in the Navy's Shore Patrol office. Despite his problems on the ground, it was during these days of 1940, flying with VMF-2, that Boyington first began to be noticed as a top-notch pilot. Whatever his other issues, he could out-dogfight almost anyone. Back at Pensacola in January, 1941, his problems mounted - he decked a superior officer in a fight over a girl (not his wife), and his creditors sought official help from the Marine Corps. Greg's career was a hopeless mess by late 1941.

Flying Tiger

Rescue came from, of all places, China. Anxious to help the Chinese in their war against Japan, the U.S. government arranged to supply fighter planes and pilots to China, under the cover of the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO). CAMCO recruiters visited US military aviation bases looking for volunteers. As Bruce Gamble described it in Black Sheep One:



The pilots were volunteers only in the sense that they willingly quit their peacetime job with the military; otherwise they were handsomely paid through CAMCO. Pilots earned $600 a month, flight leaders $675, plus a fat bonus for each Japanese plane destroyed. This was double or even triple the current military salary for pilots. ... In March, CAMCO representatives began recruiting military pilots for what would become the American Volunteer Group (AVG). ... One recruiter set up an interview room in San Diego's San Carlos Hotel, a popular watering hole for pilots. On the night of August 4, Greg Boyington found himself in the hotel bar simply "looking for an answer." Payday had been just a few days earlier, but already he was broke. His wife and children were gone, he was deeply in debt, and many of his superiors were breathing down his neck.

The money looked very good to Boyington. Assured that the program had government approval and that his spot in the Corps was safe, he signed on the spot, and promptly resigned from the Marine Corps. While the AVG deal for pilots normally did contemplate a return to active U.S. military service, in Greg's case, his superiors took a different view. They were happy to be rid of him, and noted in his file that he should not be reappointed.

He shipped out of San Francisco on September 24, 1941, in the Boschfontein, of the Dutch Java Line. After docking at Rangoon, the AVG fliers arrived at their base at Toungoo on November 13. He flew several missions during the defense of Burma. After Burma fell, he returned to Kunming, and flew from there until the Flying Tigers were incorporated into the USAAF. His autobiography includes many war stories from his experiences with the Flying Tigers, including:

• the voyage across the Pacific, the AVG fliers' cover story of ministers
• the Sultan of Johore's palace and wives
• arrival in Rangoon, Claire Chennault and Harvey Greenlaw
• Kunming and the three AVG squadrons
• first combat in February 1942, back in Burma
• Jim Adams and Bill Tweedy, the two older colonials, living a life of ease, and entertaining the American pilots
• a mechanic offering General Stilwell a can of tomatoes, "Hey bub, you want some of these?"
• the Allied retreat from Rangoon in March 1942 and the Flying Tigers' return to Kunming
• his botched escort of Chiang Kai Chek

He clashed with the leader of the Flying Tigers, the strong-willed Claire Chennault. He quit the AVG in April 1942; Chennault gave him a dishonorable discharge, and Greg went back to the U.S.

Boyington's Flying Tiger Record



Boyington claimed to have shot down six Japanese fighters, which would have made him one of the first American aces of the war. He maintained until his death in 1988 that he did, in fact, have six kills, and the Marine Corps officially credits him with those kills. From AVG records, which were loosely kept, he was credited (paid) for 2 aerial kills. Why the discrepancy between 2 and 6? I think Bruce Gamble, in Black Sheep One got it right. Gamble notes that in a raid on Chiang Mai, Boyington was one of four pilots who were credited with destroying 15 planes on the ground. As the AVG paid for destroyed Japanes planes, on the ground or in the air, Boyington lobbied for his share of the Chiang Mai planes - 3.75, to be precise. Later, while at Guadalcanal, he characterized his Flying Tiger record as including "six kills." For Greg Boyington, to add 3.75 ground claims to 2 aerial kills, round it off to six kills, and establish himself as one of the first American aces, was a "little white lie" indeed. But once his AVG number of six kills found its way into print, and his USMC victories started piling up, there was no going back. Dan Ford's Flying Tigers web site also has a detailed discussion of Pappy Boyington's claims with the AVG.

(As my site only includes the aces' service with United States' armed forces, Pappy's USMC total is shown as 22, whether he shot down 2, 6, or none while a Flying Tiger for the Chinese government. I have received numerous e-mails on this topic, and while I concur with Bruce Gamble's analysis, both Gamble and I consider Pappy Boyington to be a great American hero, albeit a flawed one, as Pappy himself was quick to admit. - SS)

While with the Flying Tigers, Greg also made the acquaintance of Olga Greenlaw, the XO's beautiful wife, who, in her own words "knew how to get along with a man if I like him." Apparently she and Boyington "got along." She wrote her own book, The Lady and the Tigers, in 1943.

[SAMWolf]

He returned to the States in the spring of 1942, and took up with Lucy Malcolmson; his first marriage having fallen apart. With some finagling, undoubtedly helped by the wartime demand for experienced fighter pilots, he was reappointed to the Marines in November, with the rank of Major. In January, 1943, he embarked on the Lurline, bound for New Caledonia, where he would spend a few months on the staff of Marine Air Group (MAG)-11. Here, he got his first close look at a Corsair, flown by his friend Pat Weiland.



Boyington finally secured assignment to VMF-122 as Executive Officer for a combat tour; as usual, he clashed with his superior, this time Major Elmer Brackett. In the event, Brackett was shortly removed, and Boyington took over, but did not see much action. It was at this time, early 1943, when as the new CO of VMF-122, his claim of six kills with the AVG first made it into print.

Smoak relieved him of his command of VMF-122 in late May, followed by a broken leg and time in the hospital.

In the summer of 1943, as Boyington convalesced, the US naval air forces needed more Corsairs in the fight. Oddly, the key pieces - trained pilots and operational aircraft - were present in the South Pacific, but many of them were dispersed. Who got the idea remains unclear (characteristically Boyington claimed credit), but he was given the assignment to pull together an ad hoc squadron from available men and planes. Originally, they formed the rear echelon of VMF-124.

In August of 1943, these 26 pilots, who would become the famous "Black Sheep" included:

• 8 pilots had flown with Greg in VMF-122: Stan Bailey, Hank Bourgeois, Robert Ewing, Paul "Moon" Mullen, John Begert, Sandy Sims, Bill Case, and Virgil Ray. All but Lt. Ray had already downed at least one Japanese plane.
• Allan McCartney - 4 kills with a couple Marine squadrons
• Bob McClurg - originally with VMF-124
• Chris Magee, Bill Heier, Don Moore - all had flown with the RCAF
• John Bolt, Ed Olander, Rollie Rinabarger, George Ashmun - former 'plowback' instructors in the States
• 8 First Lieutenants with no Corsair experience - Bob Bragdon, Tom Emrich, Don Fisher, Denmark Groover, Walter "Red" Harris, Ed Harper, Jim Hill, and Burney Tucker
• 2nd Lt. Bruce Matheson

In a complex, and common, wartime shuffling of designations, Boyington's team was redesignated VMF-214, while the exhausted pilots of the original VMF-214 (nicknamed the Swashbucklers) were sent home. Again, Bruce Gamble, the authoritative historian of these events, provides detailed answers in his book The Black Sheep ... Marine Fighting Squadron 214 ..., which fully chronicles both squadrons that used the number 214.

Under Boyington as CO and Major Stan Bailey as Exec, they trained hard at Turtle Bay on Espritu Santo, especially the pilots who were new to the Corsair. Two other noted officers rounded out the squadron: Frank Walton, a former Los Angeles cop, became the Air Combat Intelligence Officer (ACIO), and Jim Reames the squadron doctor. (Walton would later author Once They Were Eagles ....) While leading this group of young pilots, most in their early 20's, Boyington - at the advanced age of 30! - picked up the nickname 'Gramps'. (The Black Sheep don't remember calling him 'Pappy'; that was a nickname that the press picked up after he was shot down.)

In early September, 1943, the new VMF-214 moved up to their new forward base in the Russells, staging through Guadalcanal's famed Henderson Field.

The "Black Sheep" fought their way to fame in just 84 days, piling up a record 197 planes destroyed or damaged, troop transports and supply ships sunk, and ground installations destroyed in addition to numerous other victories. They flew their first combat mission on September 14, 1943, escorting Dauntless dive bombers to Ballale, a small island west of Bougainville where the Japanese had a heavily fortified airstrip. They encountered heavy opposition from the enemy Zeros. Two days later, in a similar raid, 'Pappy’ claimed five kills, his best single day total. In October VMF-214 moved up from their orginal base in the Russells to a more advanced location at Munda. From here they were closer to the next big objective -- the Jap bases on Bougainville. On one mission over Bougainville, according to Boyington’s autobiography, the Japanese radioed him in English, asking him to report his position and so forth. Pappy played along, but stayed 5000 feet higher than he had told them, and when the Zeros came along, the Black Sheep blew twelve of them away. (The absolute veracity of Boyington’s autobiography is not certain, but that’s how he told the story.) One night with a quarter moon, he went up to try to deal with "Washing Machine Charlie," but without results.

During the period from September 1943 to early January 1944, Boyington destroyed 22 Japanese aircraft. By late December, it was clear that he was closing in on Eddie Rickenbacker’s record of 26 victories (including his questionable 6 with the AVG), and the strain was starting to tell. On Jan. 3, 1944, Boyington was shot down in a large dogfight in which he claimed three enemy aircraft, and was captured.

The following is an excerpt from Boyington's Baa Baa Black Sheep describing his final combat mission.

It was before dawn on January 3, 1944, on Bougainville. I was having baked beans for breakfast at the edge of the airstrip the Seabees had built, after the Marines had taken a small chunk of land on the beach. As I ate the beans, I glanced over at row after row of white crosses, too far away and too dark to read the names. But I didn't have to, I knew that each cross marked the final resting place of some Marine who had gone as far as he was able in this mortal world of ours. Before taking off everything seemed to be wrong that morning. My plane wasn't ready and I had to switch to another. At last minute the ground crew got my original plane in order and I scampered back into that. I was to lead a fighter sweep over Rabaul, meaning two hundred miles over enemy waters and territory again. We coasted over at about twenty thousand feet to Rabaul. A few hazy cloud banks were hanging around-not much different from a lot of other days. The fellow flying my wing was Captain George Ashmun, New York City. He had told me before the mission: "You go ahead and shoot all you want, Gramps. All I'll do is keep them off your tail."

This boy was another who wanted me to beat that record, and was offering to stick his neck way out in the bargain. I spotted a few planes coming through the loosely scattered clouds and signaled to the pilots in back of me: "Go down and get to work." George and I dove first. I poured a long burst into the first enemy plane that approached, and a fraction of a second later saw the Nip pilot catapult out and the plane itself break out into fire. George screamed out over the radio: "Gramps, you got a flamer!"

Then he and I went down lower into the fight after the rest of the enemy planes. We figured that the whole pack of our planes was going to follow us down, but the clouds must have obscured their view. Anyway, George and I were not paying too much attention, just figuring that the rest of the boys would be with us in a few seconds, as was usually the case. Finding approximately ten enemy planes, George and I commenced firing. What we saw coming from above we thought were our own planes-but they were not. We were being jumped by about twenty planes.

George and I scissored in the conventional Thach weave way, protecting each others blank spots, the rear ends of our fighters. In doing this I saw George shoot a burst into a plane and it turned away from us plunging downward, all on fire. A second later I did the same thing to another plane. But it was then that I saw George's plane start to throw smoke, and down he went in a half glide. I sensed something was horribly wrong with him. I screamed at him: "For God's sake, George, dive!"

Our planes could dive away from practically anything the Nips had out there at the time, except perhaps a Tony. But apparently George had never heard me or could do nothing about it if he had. He just kept going down in a half glide. Time and time again I screamed at him: "For God's sake, George, dive strait down!" But he didn't even flutter an aileron in answer to me.

I climbed in behind the Nip planes that were plugging at him on the way down to the water. There were so many of them I wasn't even bothering to use my electric gun sight consciously, but continued to seesaw back and forth on my rudder pedals, trying to spray them all in general, trying to get them off George to give him a chance to bail out or dive - or do something at least. But the same thing that was happening to him was now happening to me. I could feel the impact of enemy fire against my armor plate, behind my back, like hail on a tin roof. I could see the enemy shots progressing along my wing tips, making patterns.

George's plane burst into flames and a moment later crashed into the water. At that point there was nothing left for me to do. I had done everything I could. I decided to get the hell away from the Nips. I threw everything in the cockpit all the way forward - this means full speed ahead - and nosed my plane over to pick up extra speed until I was forced by water to level off. I had gone practically a half a mile at a speed of about four hundred knots, when all of a sudden my main gas tank went up in flames in front of my very eyes. The sensation was much the same as opening the door of a furnace and sticking one's head into the thing.

Though I was about a hundred feet off the water, I didn't have a chance of trying to gain altitude. I was fully aware that if I tried to gain altitude for a bail-out I would be fried in a few more seconds.

[SAMWolf]

Prisoner of War

He landed in the water, badly injured. After being strafed by the Jap fighters, he struggled onto his raft until captured by a Jap submarine several hours later. They took him first to Rabaul, where he was brutally interogated. Even the general commanding Japanese forces at Rabaul interviewed him. Pappy related in Baa Baa Black Sheep, that the general asked him who had started the war. After Pappy replied that of course the Japanese had started the war by attacking Pearl Harbor, the general then told him this short fable:



"Once upon there was a little of old lady and she traded with five merchants. She always paid her bills, and got along fine. Finally the five merchants got together, and they jacked up their prices so high the little old lady couldn't afford to live any longer. That's the end of the story." The general left the room, leaving Boyington to ponder that there had to be two sides to everything.

After about six weeks, the Japanese flew him to Truk. As he landed there, he experienced one of the early carrier strikes against Truk in February, 1944. Along with six other captured Americans, he was confined in a small, but sturdy wooden cell - which might have been designed for one inmate. The only opening was a six-inch hole in the floor, for relieving themselves. With six men in a tiny cell, this was unpleasant enough. But when the Japs actually overfed them with rice balls and pickles, diarrhea resulted, and then the situation became really messy.

He eventually moved to a prison camp at Ofuna, outside of Yokohama. His autobiography relates the frequent beatings, interrogations, and near starvation that he endured for the next 18 months. The guards, whose only qualification seemed to be passing "a minus-one-hundred I.Q. test," beat the prisoners severely, for any infraction, real or imagined.



He lost about 80 pounds, and described how he once entirely consumed a "soup bone the size of my fist" in just two days, a feat which previously he would not have believed a dog could achieve. During the middle period of his captivity, he had the good fortune to be assigned kitchen duty, Here, a Japanese grandmother who worked in the kitchen befriended him and helped him filch food. Before long, he returned to his pre-captivity weight. He even got drunk on New Year's Eve, begging a little sake from each of the officers. From Camp Ofuna, he witnessed the first B-29 raids, striking the nearby naval base at Yokohama.

When he was repatriated, he found he had been awarded the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. He also added to his claims for aerial victories after his return. Several other pilots had seen him down one Zero, which raised his total to 20 with the Black Sheep, and 26 if his claims for 6 with the Flying Tigers were included. 26 was Eddie Rickenbacker's WWI record, and also the number shot down by Joe Foss, the top-scoring Marine pilot of all time. Back in the States, in September of 1945, he claimed to have shot down two more planes in that final battle. Frank Walton, the ACIO, prepared the combat report, and Boyington signed it. As Bruce Gamble put it in Black Sheep One, "With a stroke of his own pen, Boyington was credited with twenty-eight victories, making him the high scoring ace in the Marine Corps." At the time, Boyington was being feted in a national War Bond Tour, patriotic feelings were running high, and he was a national hero. No one challenged the two additional claims. In all, Gamble makes a convincing case that Boyington's claims should be 22: 20 with the USMC and 2 with the AVG.

Postwar Hero?

Pappy lived until 1988, but it was a hard life, marked by financial instability, divorces and marriages, and battles with alcoholism. (I must say that, whatever his problems, Pappy never seemed to lack for attractive female companionship.) Things started downhill on his War Bond tour, when he was frequently drunk, and on one infamous occasion embarrassed himself, the Corps, and the audience with a rambling drunken speech. After a brief attempt at collaboration, had a falling out with Frank Walton. His tangled affair with Lucy Malcolmson (still married to Stewart Malcolmson) broke up, quite publicly, when he took up with Frances Baker, who became his second wife. Now a PR liability, the Marine Corps placed Boyington on the retired list in 1947, allegedly for medical reasons.



He moved from job to job, never able to stay with any one thing. He frequently refereed at wrestling matches. After a continued decline into alcoholism, he went on the wagon in 1956, and even joined AA. Things picked up for him in 1958 with the success of his memoirs, Baa Baa Black Sheep. He met Dee Tatum the next year, soon divorced Frances, and married Dee (his third). The 1960's were a real low period for Pappy, including estrangement from his own children.

Of course, Pappy's greatest fame came in the mid Seventies, when the television show "Baa Baa Black Sheep" appeared. Based very loosely on Boyington's memoirs, the show had a three-year run, and achieved a consistent popularity in re-runs. Pappy was a consultant to the show, and got on well with its star, Robert Conrad. But the show's description of the Black Sheep pilots as a bunch of misfits and drunks, which Pappy happily went along with, destroyed Pappy's friendship with many of his squadron veterans, especially Frank Walton. The show made Pappy a real celebrity, and along with his fourth (!) wife Jo, he made a good career out of being an entertainer - appearing at air shows, on TV programs, etc.



After a long battle with cancer, Pappy died in 1988.

ACE PILOTS

Click on the link for more details about Boyington, The Black Sheep and Other Ace Fighter PilotsAdditional Sources:

www.arlingtoncemetery.com
www.voughtaircraft.com
perso.wanadoo.fr
www2.semo.edu
www.brooksart.com
www.milartgl.com

[SAMWolf]

'Just name a hero, and I'll prove he's a bum.'

-- Pappy's self-assessment

[SAMWolf]

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[SAMWolf]

Thanks, Doughty!

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Everybody.

Chow time!
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Standing Operating Procedures state:
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[Soaring Feather]

Good Morning Sam

[Soaring Feather]

A Pilot's Prayer

Our Father in Heaven
we come before thee
in prayer for our nation's pilots.

Lord grant them the keen eye of an eagle
the steady hand of confidence...
the swiftness of flight...
the wisdom and patience of a Job...

We hold our nation's Pilot's of the Skies
of the United States of America
before the throne of God.

Amen

bentfeather

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Forest Rose (Tinclad #9)

Forest Rose class sternwheel gunboat
Displacement 260 t.
Lenght. 155'
Beam. 32'3"
Draft. 5'
Speed. 6 k.
Armament. 2 30-pdr. r., 4 24-pdr. how.

USS Forest Rose, a stern wheel steamer, was built in 1862 in Pittsburgh, Pa.; purchased 15 November 1862; and commissioned 3 December 1862, Acting Master G. W. Brown in command.

Assigned to patrol duty in the Mississippi Squadron, Forest Rose sailed in active cooperation with the Army of the Mississippi throughout her war-time career. She convoyed transports, carried messages, fired on Confederate shore positions and troop detachments, and captured or destroyed a number of small steamers. Her first operations, from 4 to 11 January 1863, were against Fort Hindman in the Arkansas River, and the next month she sailed in the Yazoo Pass Expedition, destroying storehouses and a shipyard at Yazoo City. From 1 June she cruised above Vicksburg, aiding in communications with General U. S. Grant during the last month of the siege on the city, which fell 4 July. From that time, her operations were between Vicksburg and Natchez on the Mississippi, and in the many rivers which flow into it.

From 5 to 15 May 1864 Forest Rose took part in the Red River Expedition, and during the remaining months of the war, several times fired on small parties of Confederates ashore. Following the war, she carried ordnance and surplus stores from New Orleans to Jefferson, Mo., until decommissioned at Mound City, Ill., 7 August 1865. She was sold 17 August 1865.

[Soaring Feather]

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 22:
1459 Maximilian I of Habsburg German Emperor/archduke of Austria
1599 Sir Anthony Van Dyck Flemish painter (Charles I of England)
1609 John II Casimir Vasa cardinal/king of Poland (1648-68)
1700 Giuseppe Sellitto composer
1728 Anton Raphael Mengs German writer/neo-classic painter
1728 Giacomo Insanguine composer
1752 Johann Georg Joseph Spangler composer
1767 Cornelis T Elout Dutch minister of Finance
1771 Heinrich D Zschokke Swiss author (Das Goldmacherdorf)
1785 Adam Sedgwick Dent Yorkshire England, British geologist
1797 Kaiser Wilhelm I German emperor (1871-88)
1799 F W A Argelander Memel E Prussia, cataloguer of 324,188 stars
1803 Anthonie Waldrop Dutch painter/lithographer
1813 Gabriel Rene Paul Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1886
1814 Thomas Crawford US sculptor (Babes in the Wood)
1817 Braxton Bragg General (Confederate Army), died in 1876
1819 William Wirt Adams Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1888
1822 Ahmed Djevdet Pasha Turkish minister of Education/Justice
1822 Isaac D Fransen van de Putte Dutch premier (1866)
1822 Seth Williams Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1866
1824 William Henry Chase Whiting Major General (Confederate Army)
1834 Francis Asbury Shoup Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1896
1842 Carl A N Rosa German violinist/composer
1842 Mykola Vytal'yevich Lysenko composer
1846 Randolph Caldecott England, illustrator (Caldecott Medal namesake)
1852 Theodor Birt [Beatus Rhenanus], German classical/writer
1857 Arnold Sauwen Flemish poet (Along the Meuse)
1857 Paul Doumer Governor-General of Indo-China/13th President of France (1931-32)
1865 Theophile Ysaye composer
1867 Meijer Linnewiel [Professor Kokadorus], Amsterdam's pitchman
1868 Hamish MacCunn composer
1868 Henry W Methorst lawyer/director (Dutch Cent Bureau of Statistics)
1868 Robert A Millikan US physicist (photoelectric effect; Nobel 1923)
1874 Ellen Glasgow novelist
1885 Adriano Lualdi composer
1885 Jakabs Medins composer
1887 Chico [Leonard] Marx New York NY, comedian (Marx Brothers)
1895 Joseph Schildkraut Vienna Austria, actor (Flame of Barbary Coast, Joseph Schildkraut Presents)
1896 Giulia D De Albertis writer
19-- Veleka Gray New Orleans LA, actress (Young & Restless)
1902 Ellin Berlin [MacKay] Mrs Irving Berlin, writer (Lace Curtain)
1903 James S Russell US pilot/Admiral (WWII Pacific Ocean)
1903 Jochen Klepper writer
1905 Carlo Alberto Pizzini composer
1905 Grigorij M Kosinzev Russian director
1905 Phyllis McGinley poet
1905 Ruth Page US choreographer/ballet leader (Diaghilev, Pygmalion)
1907 James Gavin US, 82nd Airborne Division General (Sicily/Normandy)
1907 Paul J Steenbergen Netherlands, actor (Ciske Rat)/founder (Hague's Comedy)
1908 Albrecht Goes writer
1908 Louis D L'Amour Jamestown ND, author (Hondo, Jubal Sackett)
1908 Maurice H Stans Shakope MN, US Secretary of Commerce (1969-72)
1909 Gabrielle Roy French-Canadian novelist (Tin Flute)
1909 Jack Popplewell composer/playwright
1910 Nicholas Monsarret England, writer (Cruel Sea)
1912 Henri Rousselot Admiral
1912 Lord Alport
1912 Wilfrid Brambell Dublin Ireland, actor (Hard Day's Night)
1913 James Westerfield Nashville TN, actor (Jungle Heat, Lucky Johnny)
1913 Karl Malden Chicago IL, actor (Mike-Streets of San Francisco, American Express)
1913 Martha Mödl German singer/soprano (Wagner)
1914 Cec Burke cricketer (New Zealand leg-spinner vs Australia 1946, 1 & 3, 2-30)
1914 Lord Stokes
1914 Masao Maruyama social scientist
1915 Forest Sagendorf cartoonist
1915 George Cresswell cricketer (3 Tests for New Zealand aged 35)
1916 George Wyle New York NY, orchestra leader (Jerry Lewis Show, Flip Wilson Show)
1916 Josephine van Gasteren Dutch actress/director (Bluejackets)
1917 C S Pick publisher
1917 Paul Rogers Plympton Devon England, actor (Looking Glass War, Billy Budd)
1917 Virginia Grey Los Angeles CA, actress (Another Thin Man, Idiot's Delight, Idaho)
1918 Cheddi B Jagan dentist/founder PPP/Guyanese Premier (1953, 1957-64)
1918 Harry Kay vice-chancellor (Exeter University)
1918 Tauno Kullerve Pylkkanen composer
1920 Fanny Waterman concert pianist & teacher
1920 James Brown Desdemona TX, actor (Targets)
1920 Ross Martin Grodek Poland, actor (Mr Lucky, Wild Wild West)
1921 Wilhelmus Norbert Schmelzer Netherlands, foreign minister (KVP)
1922 Mujib ur-Rahman Pakistan, sheik/premier
1922 Stewart Stern screenwriter (Rebel Without A Cause)
1923 Bryan Clieve Roberts lawyer/civil servant
1923 Cor N van Dis Jr Dutch MP (SGP, 1971-94)
1923 Marcel Marceau Strasbourg France, mime (Barbarella, Silent Movie)
1924 Al Neuharth newspaper founder (USA Today)
1924 Bill Wendell New York NY, TV announcer (Late Night With David Letterman)
1925 Colin Spedding CEO (Council of Science & Technology Institutes)
1925 Wolfgang Bächler writer
1926 Julius Marmur biochemist/geneticist
1926 Lawrence Jackson Provost Emeritus (Blackburn)
1927 George Thoms cricketer (1 Test Australia against West Indies 1952, scored 16 & 28)
1927 Viscount Bolingbroke
1928 Betty Callaway figure skating trainer
1928 Bill Archer (Representative-Republican-TX, 1971- )
1928 DC Ingman CEO (British Waterways Board)
1928 Dmitri Antonovitch Volkogonov soldier/historian
1928 Ed Macauley NBA'er (Boston Celtics)
1930 Derek Bok college president (Harvard)
1930 Lynden O Pindling Prime Minister of Bahamas (1967-92)
1930 Pat Robertson televangelist (700 club, Presidential candidate-Republican-1989)
1930 Stephen Sondheim New York NY, lyricist/composer (Sweeney Todd, Into The Woods, West Side Story, A Little Night Music)
1931 Igor Hajek translator/writer
1931 Leslie Thomas author
1931 William Shatner Montréal Canada, actor (Star Trek, T J Hooker)
1932 Richard Thomas Admiral
1933 Buddy MacKay (Representative-Democrat-FL, 1983- )
1933 Chris Duckworth cricketer (South African batsman vs England 1956-57)
1934 Leslie Turnberg President (Royal College of Physicians)
1934 Orrin G Hatch (Senator-Republican-UT, 1977- )
1934 Sheila Cameron QC, Vicar-General (Province of Canterbury)
1935 M[ichael] Emmet Walsh Ogdensburg NY, actor (Wildcats, War Party)
1936 Alan Bleasdale author/playwright (Are You Lonesome Tonight)
1936 May Britt [Maybritt Wilkens] Lidinga Sweden, actress (Young Lions)/wife of Sammy Davis Jr
1936 Philip Ely President (British Law Society)
1936 Roger Whittaker Nairobi Kenya, country singer (Durham Town)
1936 Ron Carey union president (Teamsters)
1937 Jon Hassell composer
1938 Vivian Pulliam horse trainer
1940 William Ritchie vice-chancellor (Lancaster University)
1941 Bruno Ganz Zurich Switzerland, actor (Strapless, Wings of Desire)
1941 Gary Lewis horse trainer
1942 Barbara Parkins Vancouver British Columbia, actress (Peyton Place, Asylum)
1942 Jon Arthur English composer
1943 George Benson Pittsburgh PA, singer/guitarist (Greatest Love of All)
1943 Joseph Schwantner composer
1943 Keith Relf Richmond London England, rocker (Yardbirds-For Your Love, Renaissance)
1944 Jeremy Clyde Buckinghamshire England, rocker (Chad & Jeremy-Yesterday's Gone)
1944 R P Mardling headmaster (Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield)
1944 T S "Tony" McPhee rocker (Sad Go Round)
1945 Alan Opie baritone (Boughton Bethlehem, Britten 5 Canticles)
1945 Charles "Chuck" Jackson US singer (Playboy, Independents)
1945 Paul Schockemöhle showjumper
1946 Don Chaney NBA player (Houston Rockets)/coach (Detroit Pistons)
1946 Laraine Ashton fashion models' agent (London)
1946 Rudy/Rudolf [von Bittner] Rucker US, sci-fi author (Wetware)
1946 Serge [Ruud Schaap] Dutch singer/guitarist (Saskia & Serge)
1947 Harry Vanda [Vandenberg] Hague Netherlands, rock guitarist (Easybeats)
1947 Patrick Olive percussionist (Hot Chocolate-You Sexy Thing)
1947 Priscilla Yates director (Royal Academy of Dancing)
1948 Andrew Lloyd Webber London England, composer (Evita, Starlight Express, Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar)
1948 Randy Hobbs rocker (Johnny Winter Band, McCoys)
1949 Brian Hanrahan British TV newsman (BBC)
1949 D Watson director (Brighton University)
1949 Fanny Ardant Monte Carlo, actress (Australia, Confidentially Yours)
1950 Mary Tamm Dewsbury Yorkshire England, actress (Odessa File, Doctor Who)
1951 Howard Reitzes Southgate CA, rocker (Iron Butterfly)
1951 Musa Khiramanovich Manarov USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-4, TM-11)
1952 Bob Costas Queens NY, sportscaster/talk show host (Later)
1953 Peter McEvoy Australia, actor (Against the Innocent)
1953 Thomas H Andrews (Representative-Democrat-ME)
1956 Lena Olin Stockholm Sweden, actress (Enemies A Love Story)
1956 Lyndsay Stephen Donnybrook WA, Australasia golfer
1957 Stephanie Mills singer/actress (Wiz)
1958 Joyce Lester Australian softball catcher (Olympics-bronze-96)
1958 Pete Wylie Liverpool England, rocker (Sinful)
1959 Matthew Modine Loma Linda CA, actor (Full Metal Jacket, Pacific Heights)
1960 Laurie Sargent rock vocalist (Face To Face)
1962 Diane Pavich Melbourne Australia, golfer (1993 T50 Alpine Australia Ladies)
1962 Juan Aguilera Spain, tennis star
1962 Tim Elliott Perth WA, Australasia golfer
1963 Hannu Virta Turku Finland, hockey defenseman (Team Finland)
1963 Rich Monteleone Tampa FL, pitcher (California Angels)
1963 Suzanne Sulley Sheffield South Yorkshire, rocker (Human Leauge-Human)
1964 Jeffrey Wagner Sydney New South Wales Australia, Australasia golfer
1966 Brad Edwards NFL safety (Atlanta Falcons)
1966 Brian Shaw NBA guard (Orlando Magic, San Francisco Warriors)
1966 Sean Berry Santa Monica CA, infielder (Houston Astros)
1966 Todd Ewen Saskatoon, NHL right wing (Anaheim Mighty Ducks)
1966 Yahya Ayyash militant
1968 Ramon Martinez Santo Domingo Dominican Republic, pitcher (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1969 Russell Maryland NFL defensive tackle (Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders)
1970 Jason Rouser Tucson AZ, 200 meter/400 meter runner
1970 Reggie White NFL nose tackle (New England Patriots)
1970 Travis Richards Crystal MN, US hockey defenseman (Olympics-1994)
1971 Richard Castillo jockey
1972 Elvis Stojko Richmond Hill Ontario, (Olympics-silver-94)
1972 John Farquhar tight end (New Orleans Saints)
1972 Mikhail Sloutsky WLAF LB (Scotland Claymores)
1972 Pieter Christiaan Prince of Netherlands
1972 Shawn Bradley NBA center (Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets, Space Jams)
1973 Joe Nedney kicker (Arizona Cardinals)
1973 Luther Elliss NFL defensive end (Detroit Lions)
1974 Kim Yun-Jung Miss Korea-Universe (1996)
1974 Marcus Camby NBA forward (Toronto Raptors)
1974 Tuomas Gronman NHL defenseman (Team Finland Olympics-Bronze-1998, Pittsburgh Steelers)
1975 Chris Bayne safety (Atlanta Falcons)
1975 Dax Griffin Atlanta GA, actor (Tim Truman-Sunset Beach)
1975 Jiri Novak Czechoslovakia, tennis star
1976 Kellie Shanygne Williams Washington DC, actress (Laura-Family Matters)
1979 Mariah Leanne Bergmann Miss Kansas Teen-USA (1997)

---

Deaths which occurred on March 22:
0337 Constantine Emperor of Rome, dies at 47
1471 George van Podiebrad king of Bohemia (1458-71), dies
1589 Lodovico Guicciardini Ital historian, dies at 67
1627 Cornelis van Aerssen Flemish Clerk of the House, dies at about 81
1639 Thomas Carew English poet/diplomat (The Rapture), dies
1661 Hendrick Uylenburgh art dealer, buried at about 73
1743 Jean-Baptiste Lully Ital/Fr composer (Forced Marriage), dies at 77
1758 Jonathan Edwards theologian/philosopher (Original Sin), dies at 54
1771 Gottlieb W Rabener German author (Bremer Beiträge), dies at 56
1777 John Bartram father of American botany, dies at 77
1796 Gaspare Gabellone composer, dies at 68
1798 Justin Morgan composer, dies at 51
1820 Stephen Decatur killed in a duel with Com James Barron, at 41
1824 Johann Melchior Dreyer composer, dies at 76
1832 J W Goethe writer, dies at 82
1838 Hendrik Fagel Dutch/English baron, dies at 73
1845 Franz Joseph Volkert composer, dies at 67
1867 Ferdinando Giorgetti composer, dies at 70
1871 Johnny Cuzens cricketer (Australian aboriginal tourist 1868), dies
1890 Désiré de Haerne Belgian priest/Congressional leader, dies at 85
1906 Martin Wegelius Finnish musicologist/composer, dies at 59
1909 Gyula Erkel composer, dies at 66
1922 Louis A Ranvier French anatomist/historian, dies at 86
1923 Theophile Delcassé French statesman, dies at 71
1924 R G Nivelle French General (Verdun), dies at 67
1929 Anton Beer-Walbrun composer, dies at 64
1931 Ban Johnson founder of baseball's American League, dies at 67
1944 ... Pucheu French Internal minister to Vichy, executed
1945 J Postuma Dutch resistance fighter, dies
1946 Clemens A von Galen bishop of Munster/anti fascist, dies at 68
1951 J Willem Mengelberg Dutch conductor (Matthäus Passion), dies at 79
1953 James Anderson II (Jo-Northern Exposure), dies
1956 George A L Sarton Belgian/US historian, dies at 71
1958 Michael Todd producer (Around the World in 80 Days), dies at 56
1962 Aura Abranches Port actress (Lisboa, O Primo Basilio), dies at 65
1964 Addison Richards actor (Colonel-Pentagon), dies at 76
1969 Ernst Deutsch [Dorian], Czechoslovakian actor (3rd Man, Golem), dies at 78
1971 Martin Bodmer writer, dies
1974 Peter Revson US race car driver (Indianapolis 500), dies at 35
1975 Asa Smith Bushnell Jr Secretary of US Olympics (1945-65), dies at 75
1975 Cass Daley actress (Red Garters), dies at 59
1975 Paul Verhoeven German director, dies at 73
1978 Karl Wallenda falls to death walking high-wire in Puerto Rico, at 73
1979 Ben Lyon actor (I Cover the Waterfront, Indiscreet), dies at 78
1986 Charles Starrett actor (Silver Streak, Jungle Bride), dies
1987 Joan Shawlee actress (Abbott & Costello Show), dies at 58
1991 Gloria Holden actress (Dracula's Daughter, Test Pilot), dies at 73
1993 Cec Pepper cricketer (New South Wales & Commonwealth XI leggie), dies
1993 Gret Palucca German dancer/choreographer (Entartet), dies at 91
1993 Phia [Sophia R] Berghout Dutch harpist, dies at 83
1993 Steve Olin pitcher (Cleveland Indians), drowns at 27
1993 Tim Crews pitcher (Cleveland Indians), drowns at 31
1994 Dan Hartman US singer/songwriter (Love Sensations), dies at 42
1994 Igor Aleinikov Russian director (tractors, air crash), dies at 32
1994 Luther Diamond radio Personality, dies at 89
1994 Walter Lantz US cartoonist (Woody Woodpecker), dies at 93
1995 Peter Woods newsreader, dies at 64
1996 Claude Mauriac writer, dies at 81
1996 Robert Franklin Overmyer astronaut (STS 5, STS 51-B), dies at 59
1996 Robert Mellors gay activist, dies at 47
1996 Ronald George Hayward political manager, dies at 78

---

On this day...
1752 Pope Stephen II elected to succeed Zacharias, died 2 days later
1349 Townspeople of Fulda Germany massacre Jews (blamed for black death)
1457 Gutenberg Bible became the 1st printed book
1556 Cardinal Reginald Pole becomes archbishop of Canterbury
1594 French King Henri IV festival in Paris France
1621 Hugo de Grote escapes in bookcase from Loevenstein castle, Netherlands
1621 Massasoit & Pilgrims agree on league of friendship (Plymouth)
1622 1st Indian (Powhattan) massacre of whites, Jamestown VA; 347 slain
1630 1st colonial legislation prohibiting gambling enacted (Boston)
1638 Religious dissident Anne Hutchinson expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony
1680 Parliament of Breisach accept French sovereignty over Elzas
1692 Emperor Leopold I names duke Earnest August of Braunschweig, king
1733 Joseph Priestly invents carbonated water (seltzer)
1765 Stamp Act passed: 1st direct British tax on colonists
1775 Edmund Burke presents his 13 articles to the English parliament
1778 Captain Cook sights Cape Flattery, in Washington state
1790 Thomas Jefferson becomes the 1st US Secretary of State
1794 Congress bans US vessels from supplying slaves to other countries
1822 Gioacchino Rossini marries Isabella Colbran in Bologna
1822 New York Horticultural Society founded
1841 Cornstarch patented (Orlando Jones)
1861 1st US nursing school chartered
1862 San Marino & Italy conclude treaty of friendship & cooperation
1865 Raid at Wilson's: Chickaswas AL to Macon GA
1871 William Holden of North Carolina is 1st governor removed from office by impeachment
1872 Illinois becomes 1st state to require sexual equality in employment
1873 Slavery is abolished in Puerto Rico
1874 Young Men's Hebrew Association is founded in New York NY
1882 Edmunds Act adopted by US to suppress polygamy in the territories
1888 English Football League established
1894 Stanley Cup: Montréal AAA beat Ottawa Generals, 3-1 (1st Cup game ever)
1895 Auguste & Louis Lumiere show their 1st movie to an invited audience
1896 Charilaos Vasilakos wins 1st marathon (3:18)
1903 New York Highlanders (Yankees) tickets 1st go on sale
1903 Niagera Falls runs out of water because of a drought
1914 World's 1st airline, St Petersburg Tampa Airboat Line, begins
1922 British court sentences Mahatma Gandhi to 6 years in prison
1927 Federico García Lorca's "El Maleficio" premieres in Madrid
1928 Noël Coward's musical "This Year of Grace" premieres in London
1929 66 horses run in Irish Grand National Sweepstakes
1929 KIT-AM in Yakima WA begins radio transmissions
1929 USCG vessel sank Canadian schooner suspected of carrying liquor
1933 FDR makes wine & beer with up to 3.2% alcohol legal
1934 1st Masters golf championship began in Augusta GA
1934 Fire destroys Hakodate Japan (kills 1,500, injures 1,000)
1935 Blood tests authorized as evidence in court cases (New York)
1939 Lithuania state, forced to give Memel territory to Germany
1941 Grand Coulee Dam in Washington goes into operation
1942 Heavy German assault on Malta
1943 Dutch work week extended to 54 hour
1943 Obligatory work for woman ends in Belgium
1943 SS police chief Rauter threatens to kill half Jewish children
1944 600+ 8th Air Force bombers attack Berlin
1945 Arab League forms with adoption of a charter in Cairo Egypt
1945 US 3rd Army crosses Rhine at Nierstein
1946 1st US rocket to leave the Earth's atmosphere (50 miles up)
1946 Britain signs treaty granting independence to Jordan
1947 President Truman signs executive order calling for loyalty
1952 Dutch DC-6 crashes near Frankfurt, killing 44
1953 Antonín Zápotocky chosen as president of Czechoslovakia
1953 Louise Suggs wins LPGA Betsy Rawls Golf Open
1954 1st shopping mall opened in Southfield MI
1956 Death penalty against KPrime Minister-director Léon Jungschlaeger
1956 Musical "Mr Wonderful" with Sammy Davis Jr premieres at Broadway Theater NYC for 383 performances
1957 Earthquake gives San Francisco shakes
1957 Republic of India adopts Saka calendar along with Gregorian
1958 20th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Seattle 84-72
1958 Faisal succeeds Saudi as king of Saudi-Arabia
1958 Liz Taylor's 3rd divorce (Mike Todd)
1958 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1959 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Nehi Golf Tournament
1960 1st patent for lasers, granted to Arthur Schawlow & Charles Townes
1962 "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" opens at Shubert NYC for 300 performances
1963 Beatles release 1st album, "Please Please Me"
1963 British Minister of War John Profumo denies having sex with Christine Keeler
1963 Oregon State's Terry Baker becomes 1st & only Heisman Trophy winner
1964 Barbra Streisand appears on the cover of New York Times Magazine section
1964 Carol Mann wins LPGA Women's Western Golf Open Invitational
1965 D Senanayake wins general elections in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
1965 US confirms its troops used chemical warfare against the Vietcong
1967 Muhammad Ali [Cassius Clay] KOs Zora Folley in 7 for heavyweight boxing title in 1st Madison Square Garden fight
1968 Jarmila Novotna resigns presidency of Czechoslovakia
1968 Lynda Johnson ordered off San Francisco cable car for eating an ice cream cone
1968 Student riot in Nanterre near Paris France
1969 "Billy" opens & closes at Billy Rose Theater NYC after 1 performance
1969 "Come Summer" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 7 performances
1969 31st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Purdue 92-72 UCLA wins its 5th national championship in 6 years
1970 "Blood Red Roses" opens & closes at John Golden Theater NYC
1970 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Orange Blossom Golf Classic
1971 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1972 "Selling of the President" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 5 performances
1972 Congress approves Equal Rights Amendment (never ratified)
1972 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar named NBA MVP
1972 Nick Mileti purchases Cleveland Indians for $9 million
1972 Yankees trade Danny Cater to the Red Sox for Sparky Lyle
1975 "Dr Jazz" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 5 performances
1975 "Letter for Queen Victoria" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 18 performances
1975 Delta State beats Immaculata for the women's AIAW championship
1975 Teach-In wins Eurovision Song Festival with "Dinge-Dong"
1975 Walt Disney World Shopping Village opens
1977 Dutch Den Uyl government falls
1977 Indira Gandhi resigns as Prime Minister of India
1977 Uyl government falls
1978 France performs nuclear test
1978 Robert Frost Plaza, Drumm & Market, San Francisco CA, dedicated
1978 Rutle's "All You Need is Cash" is shown on NBC-TV
1979 Israeli parliament approves peace treaty with Egypt
1979 NHL votes to accept 4 WHA teams (Oilers, Jets, Nordiques & Whalers)
1981 1st class postage raised to 18¢ from 15¢
1981 Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA Desert Inn Pro-Am Golf Tournament
1981 Soyuz 39 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Mongolian) to Salyut 6
1981 Toshihiko Seko runs world record 25k (1:13:55.8)/30k (1:29:18.8)
1982 3rd Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 3 launched
1982 Iran offensive against Iraq
1983 Chaim Herzog elected Israeli president
1984 Islander Bryan Trottier ties NHL rec scores 5 seconds into game
1985 NASA launches Intelsat VA
1986 Andrea Ehrig skates ladies world record 5 km (7 :0.99)
1986 HBO launches boxing's heavyweight-title-unification-tournament
1986 Heart's "These Dreams" single goes #1
1986 Karin Kania skates ladies world record 1500 meter (1 :9.30)
1986 Kurt Browning (Canada) becomes 1st skater to land a quadruple jump
1986 Trevor Berbick beats Pinklon Thomas in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1986 World Ice Dance Championship in Geneva won by Natalia Bestemianova & Andrei Bukin (USSR)
1986 World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Geneva won by Gordeeva & Grinkov (USSR)
1986 World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Geneva won by Debi Thomas (USA)
1986 World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Geneva won by Brian Boitano (USA)
1987 Betsy King wins LPGA Circle K Tucson Golf Open
1988 Congress overrides Reagan's veto of sweeping civil rights bill
1988 Western Australia beat Queensland by 5 wickets to win the Sheffield Shield Final
1989 NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announces retirement as NFL commissioner after 29 years
1989 US Supreme Court upholds 1 person 1 vote rule of New York NY Board of Estimate
1990 "Grapes of Wrath" opens at Cort Theater NYC for 188 performances
1990 "Les Miserables" opens at Shunert Theatre, Boston MA
1990 Anchorage jury finds Captain Hazelwood innocent of Valdez oil spill
1990 The Major League umpires announce that they will boycott exhibition games
1991 Law enforcement officers raid fraternities at University of Virginia seizing drugs
1991 New York Daily News begins using motto "Forward with New York"
1991 Pamela Smart (HS teacher) found guilty in New Hampshire of manipulating her student-lover to kill her husband
1992 "Private Lives" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 37 performances
1992 Danielle Ammaccapane wins Standard Register Ping Golf Championship
1992 England beat South Africa in rain-ruined cricket World Cup semi final
1992 Joseph A Molloy elected New York Yankee general partner
1992 Record producer Lou Adler weds Paige Hannah (Daryl's sister)
1992 US Air New York to Cleveland crashes on take off at La Guardia, 27 die
1993 Intel introduces Pentium-processor (80586) 64 bits-60 MHz-100+ MIPS
1994 Dutch Ambassador to US christens a new tulip (the Hillary Clinton)
1994 Mark Foster swims world record 50 meter butterfly (23.68 seconds)
1994 South African Government/ANC take power in Ciskei homeland
1994 Soyuz TM-21 lands
1995 Deputy Governor of Bank of England, Rupert Pennant-Rea, resigns following revelations of his affair with a freelance journalist
1996 Cheryl Depew, of Florida, crowned 13th Miss Hawaiian Tropic International
1996 STS 76 (Atlantis 16), launches into orbit
1997 "Sunset Boulevard" closes at Minskoff NYC after 977 performances
1997 Comet Hale-Bopp Closest Approach to Earth (1.315 AU)
1998 18th Golden Raspberry Awards: The Postman wins
1998 Liselotte Neumann wins Standard Register PING Golf Tournament

---

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

Jordan, Lebanon : Arab League Day (1945)
Puerto Rico : Emancipation Day (1873)

---

Religious Observances
Christian : Earliest possible Easter (eg, 1818, 2285)
old Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Isidore the Farm-Laborer, confessor
Lutheran : Commemoration of Jonathan Edwards, teacher/missionary
Anglican : Commemoration of James De Koven, priest

---

Religious History
1621 In colonial Massachusetts, the Plymouth Colony made a treaty with the neighboring Indians which both sides kept for fifty years.
1819 Birth of Joseph P. Webster, American sacred music writer. During his lifetime, Webster composed over 1,000 pieces of music, including the still_popular hymn tune SWEET BY AND BY ("There's a Land That is Fairer Than Day").
1836 Birth of Edgar P. Stites, American Methodist frontier preacher and missionary. Stites is remembered today as author of the hymns "Beulah Land" and "Trusting Jesus."
1874 The first meeting of the newly established Young Men's Hebrew Association was held in New York City. Other early "Y's" were founded in Philadelphia (1875), St. Louis (1880) and San Francisco (1885). (The YMHA became the forerunner of the modern Jewish Community Center.)
1930 Birthday of Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson, religious broadcaster, politician and founder in 1963 of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).

---

Thought for the day :
" The picture of health requires a happy frame of mind. "

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Feather

[SAMWolf]

"Tinclad" doesn't make it sound real encouraging does it?

[SAMWolf]

1994 Walter Lantz US cartoonist (Woody Woodpecker), dies at 93

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Good ole Pappy Boyington. I love that show "Blacksheep Squadron". They've been showing reruns of it on the History Channel. It's cool how they have short interview clips of the real Blacksheep guys before and after the commercial breaks.

Robert Conrad said that playing Greg Boyington on the show was the greatest acting role of his life and he was really honored to do it.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Essex Sailors, Marines Honor Uncommon Valor of Iwo Jima Warriors

Story Number: NNS030321-07
Release Date: 3/21/2003 11:58:00 PM

By Chief Journalist (SW/AW) Roger L. Dutcher, USS Essex Public Affairs

ABOARD USS ESSEX, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Essex (LHD 2) Sailors, along with Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), held a ceremony March 12 in the ship’s hanger bay in honor of the 58th Commemoration of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Operating off the coast of Iwo Jima, at approximately the same time veterans of the battle were attending a ceremony being held on the island, Essex crew members held a solemn ceremony in remembrance of the men who fought and died there.

There were no enemies burrowed in the volcanic rock, no explosions ripping through the black sand, and no danger awaiting the Sailors and Marines that went ashore to participate in the ceremony on the island. The 880 ships of World War II that delivered the 110,000 Marines gave way to the Essex Amphibious Ready Group that was now steaming off the coast in quiet reverence.

Mt. Suribachi, the historic site where Marines and Sailors raised the American Flag during the battle, loomed in the distance. Seen from the ship’s hangar bay, it set the stage for the ceremony attended by hundreds of Sailors and Marines.

The keynote speaker, Marine Corps Capt. Charles Smith of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Battalion Landing Team, reminded the audience of the inspiring view of Olde Glory on Iwo Jima after the battle had already taken so many lives in just the first five days.

“Seeing the American flag flying over the highest ground on the island boosted the Marines’ morale, and the attack continued,” Smith said. “Despite the horrific conditions that existed, it was the indomitable fighting spirit of our forefathers here on Iwo Jima that added to an already illustrious reputation as being the most feared combat team history has ever known.”

During the ceremony, a file of 10 Sailors and Marines passed the flag to one another, while Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) (SW) Vick Smith read “Olde Glory,” a poem as told by the flag, about the wars it has endured and the places it has flown, including “a small hill on Iwo Jima.”

Marine Sgt. Justin Robinson was among the spectators at the ceremony on Essex and said it provided a clear perspective of the sacrifices made on Iwo Jima.

"I’m able to serve because of what they did on this island,” Robinson said. “They put so much on the line; (this ceremony is) a tribute to them for what they’ve done for us.”

The ceremony closed with the haunting melody of “Taps” echoing through the hangar bay, memorializing the era when eight square miles, 36 days and 80,000 men made history.

Essex Commanding Officer Capt. Ronald Evans delivered the closing remarks, reminding those in attendance of their obligation to hold true to the undying spirit of the World War II warriors.

“These patriots fought for the same principles to which we commit ourselves today,” Evans said. “It is our duty as American fighting men and women to honor them by encompassing in all that we do, the same courage and spirit of determination they exhibited 58 years ago.”

The Essex is forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, as an asset of Amphibious Forces 7th Fleet.

030312-N-0401E-001 Iwo Jima, Japan -- Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) line the beach below Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima in a static display for the 58th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima Commemoration, March 12. Mt. Suribachi is the historic site where four Marines and one Sailor raised the American Flag during the WWII battle. The AAVs are embarked aboard ships of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group, consisting of USS Essex (LHD 2), USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), and USS Juneau (LPD 10). Iwo Jima was the largest sustained aerial offensive of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The U.S. sent over 110,000 Marines in 880 ships in what also became the largest invasion force of the Pacific Campaign. It took 36 days of fighting and more than 25,000 U.S. casualties to break through and bring the island under American control. Today's forward deployed Sailors from the Essex ARG and embarked Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable, continue to sail throughout the Pacific to help promote peace and stability in the region. Official U.S. Navy photograph by Journalist 2nd Class Wes Eplen. (RELEASED)

[Jen]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!

To be removed from this list, please send me a blank private reply with "REMOVE" in the subject line! Thanks! Jen

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the article, Excuse_My_Bellicosity

[SAMWolf]

Morning Jen

[Samwise]

May God continue to bless America and our troops!