The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Invasion Of Southern France (Aug-1944) - Mar. 27th, 2003

http://www.kwanah.com/txmilmus/36division/archives/caval/invasion.htm ^

[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

.

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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Operation Dragoon(Anvil)

At 0800, August 14, 1944, the chateau-studded Riviera, its pastelled hotels and white-bleached beaches, its oleander and terraces, its coastal drives that drop like cornices over the cliffs, lay invitingly ahead. But if this was the season, it was not the year for an influx of smart Parisian loungers. It was the day for plebeian GI Joe from Tahoka, Texas, and all U. S. points east and west to crash in on an Allied invasion that was to succeed in tactical perfection.

The under-belly blow to Nazi-dominated Europe, long contemplated in the minds of the Allied Command, was first proposed in December, 1943. The plan, a coordinated double jab at both Northern and Southern France during May of 1944, had to be modified when the gruelling Italian campaign lingered. Postponement of the attack in the south became necessary.

DECISION MADE LATE

During the early summer, when an August date for the Riviera invasion was proposed, 36th Division troops were pushing up Italy’s coast nearing the Germans’ Pisa-Rimini defense line. Not until June 24 was the 36th finally nominated for participation in the Southern France project. Withdrawal from the line followed a few days later to allow a rushed-up program of invasion training for the Division on the beaches near Salerno.


Troops of the 45th Division wade ashore near Ste. Maxime.

By late July in Normandy the breakout at St. Lo was developing and the onrushing drive toward Paris would follow. In Southern France, German forces in defense of the coastal areas were being reduced to meet the serious breaches in the north. Our intelligence determined that the German Nineteenth Army, soon to oppose the Allied invasion, had been streamlined from 13 to 9 divisions—still, however, an effective force if it could be concentrated. With the Luftwaffe weakened and the German Navy, never top-notch, practically eliminated, our forces, strong in these departments, entered the operation with confidence.

ANYONE COULD SEE

As Lieutenant General (then Major General) Alexander M. Patch’s Seventh Army and the VI Corps assault team—the veteran 3rd, 36th, and 45th Infantry Divisions—prepared for D-Day, concentrations of Allied might lay daringly in Mediterranean ports, principally Naples. That this was the prelude to an invasion obviously was implied to the Germans. Furthermore, Southern France was a very logical target. But if the enemy sensed what was coming, he did not know at what specific points our troops would strike.


German armor passing through Toulouse.

In the 36th Division sector four beaches were designated: Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. Red Beach was located at the resort town of San Raphael. It was the most important in the entire Seventh Army sector because not only was it necessary for supply but also near it was located an airfield. It was heavily defended by underwater obstacles, by concrete pillboxes and gun emplacements. In addition, immediately in front of the beach was a stone sea wall about five feet high. Inland from the beach and flanking it on the eastern side was the town of San Raphael and just beyond that the old stone city of Frejus. This beach was essential, once the invasion was launched, for the necessary rapid build-up of supply. Enemy casements protected Green Beach, a mere 250-yard rocky strip backed by a sharp incline near Cape Drammont. It was thought to be too small for the landing of a large force, but here a surprise might be possible and a foothold gained Yellow Beach in front of the town of Agay, was a small horse-shoe shaped inlet, protected by submarine mine netting and flanked by extensive fires. Considered more carefully defended than it was worth, planned direct attack on this beach was dropped. Blue, a few miles from Green, could accommodate only two small boats at a time.

The plan finally adopted was to have the 141st Infantry assault Green Beach with two battalions and Blue with one at H-Hour, 0800, to secure these beaches, capture Agay and protect the Division right. The 143rd Infantry was to follow immediately behind the 141st and then drive to the west to seize the heights overlooking San Raphael and Red Beach, thus assisting the 142nd. This regiment was to land six hours later, assault Red Beach, and, together with the 143rd, capture San Raphael, the airfield and Frejus. From the beaches troops were to press inland to a depth of 12 miles, block any enemy attacks from the Cannes area on the right, and push up the Argens River Valley on the left to contact a paratroop force dropped near Le Muy. The capture of Frejus and the small port of San Raphael were "Must" jobs that had to be accomplished immediately.

CONVOY SAILS

The invasion convoy sailed from Naples August 13 at noon, passed through the Sardinia-Corsica Straits and arrived offshore of the Riviera beaches at dawn of the 15th. While landing craft lowered and the first waves of tight-lipped infantrymen edged toward the beaches, huge naval guns and bombers pounded the coastline. At 0800 as a crisp sun melted the haziness of the morning, Colonel John W. Harmony’s 141st began its assault. On Green Beach the 2nd Battalion struck to the right, the 3rd to the left.



Taken by surprise, the Germans did not bring their machineguns into action until the fourth wave had landed and then it was too late. By 1000 hours Drammont and Cape Drammont, surrounding Green Beach, were reported clear. Casualties had been extremely light. Pushing north through Agay, the 2nd Battalion encountered resistance round-about the defenses of Yellow Beach. The 3rd Battalion seized the high ground directly north of Green Beach.

The enemy offered heavier resistance on Blue Beach where several anti-tank guns opened up on incoming landing craft of the 1st Battalion, 141st. This resistance was rapidly overcome and the battalion pushed in to drive the Germans from craggy dominating heights, 1,200 Germans surrendering to the invaders. The 1st Battalion won a Presidential Unit Citation for this action.

Immediately following the 141st, Colonel Paul Adams’ 143rd Infantry landed in a column of battalions on Green Beach; the 1st at 0945, the 2nd at 1000, the 3rd at 1035. "Grand Defend," the high ground to the northwest, was immediately seized by the 1st Battalion. The 143rd then began to drive west, paralleling the shoreline, for San Raphael.

GRAVE DECISION

Meanwhile, at 1100 hours the 142nd Infantry loaded into assault boats and headed for Red Beach which it was to strike at 1400. From early morning enemy defenses here defiantly rebuked all efforts to soften them up. Naval craft nearing the beach for mine-detection were fired upon and sunk, and from San Raphael and the hills beyond Frejus, the beaches remained covered by flanking enemy fires.


Troops and tank destroyers move inland.

Another air and naval bombardment preceded the assault on Red Beach. Then specially-designed robot demolition boats, sent in just prior to the first wave, fouled on the beaches. The Naval Commander, with Green Beach open, ordered the 142nd Infantry turned to Green Beach. Here a delicate situation prevailed: The Division Commander had gone ashore at 1000 and the Assistant Division Commander was on his way in. Communication between the Admiral and the Division Commander was not working. Rear Admiral Spencer Lewis, in command of the Task Force carrying the 36th Division, made the decision to change the point of assault of the 142nd Infantry on his own responsibility. His courageous and timely action probably saved hundreds of men from death.

Landing of the 142nd began on Green Beach at 1530 in accordance with an alternate plan which had been previously prepared. Colonel G. E. Lynch’s regiment swung in an arc north and west over the mountains between the 143rd and the 141st to attack Frejus from the rear. The 143rd was ordered to clear Red Beach from the rear after it had seized San Raphael.

There was no let-up during the night as plodding infantrymen strained inland to broaden the beachhead and win, assigned objectives. Both Frejus and San Raphael were cleared in a flurry of fighting in the early morning by the 142nd and the 143rd. Red Beach was secured. On the right in the more frequented resort country of the Riviera the 141st surprised Germans six miles inland driving with glaring headlights along the Cannes-Frejus highway and placed blocks on all roads to Cannes near La Napoule. The only serious setback was the sinking of an ammunition and artillery-laden LST by a single low-flying plane in the channel off Green Beach at dusk of D-Day.

PARATROOPERS CONTACTED

On the night of the 16th the 142nd broke the last German block before Le Muy in the Argens valley. Next day the paratroopers, who had jumped nearby, were contacted and Draguignan was entered. In the town the Commanding General of the German 62nd Corps, completely befuddled by the sharpness of the Allied attack, was nabbed along with his entire staff.



With landings consolidated along the entire Seventh Army front, the 36th began a blitzkrieg that nullified German plans for defense or even an orderly withdrawal. Early on the morning of the 18th a specially created Task Force, consisting of Lt. Col. Charles Denholm’s 2nd Battalion, 143rd Infantry, elements of the 636th TD Battalion, 753rd Tank Battalion, and 111th Medical Battalion, along with engineer, ordnance, and reconnaissance units, and commanded by Brigadier General Frederick Butler, at that time Deputy Corps Commander, speeded northward into the Alpine country. On August 20th a force consisting of the remainder of the 143rd RCT, 636th TD’s, 36th Cavalry Recon Troop, under Brigadier General Robert I. Stack, Assistant Division Commander, followed Task Force Butler contacting it that night at Sisteron.

100 MILES IN ONE DAY

The 36th extended its lines 100 miles in a single day while racing to outrun the German Nineteenth Army still in the Marseilles-Toulon area. Grenoble, famed French mountain resort 200 miles from the beaches, fell to the 143rd on August 22, one week after the landing. French Forces of the Interior, well-organized patriots harassing the enemy from the rear and controlling vast stretches of territory, greatly contributed to the success of the Allied in vasion of Southern France.


KO'd Sherman tank after German night attack on 1st Bn. 7th Inf. CP in Vagney, France.

After the operation Allied Headquarters boasted of the Riviera Invasion: "A model of effective organization, cooperation of all services, and vigor of action—one of the best coordinated efforts in all military history." Its beachhead was the largest to be created in three days during the war.

The entire 36th, less one battalion, had landed on one narrow beach. Its casualties had been exceedingly light and the aggressive assault had completely disrupted the enemy’s defenses and communications.

After his weak defense had been shattered, the enemy was never given an opportunity to recover. The drive north to Grenoble paralleling the Rhone Valley succeeded magnificently. Forced to fall back, the Germans were also prevented from making any thrust over the mountain passes from Italy.

Not in any preceding operation had the mobility of an infantry division been so tested and utilized.

[SAMWolf]

An Interview with Charles Doyle

I was a radio operator in "A" Company that acted as Battalion Radio. Prior to the drop in southern France we sat under the wings of the planes waiting to take off. One thing about the 509 Parachute Infantry Battalion was that every man knew what they were supposed to do, we were well briefed. The captain came around and said we’ll see you on the ground and all that kind of stuff. I don’t remember hearing a pep talk. They treated us all like professionals. For some of us this was our fourth combat jump, except for the replacements of course. For this jump we were all tickled pink that we were going to have some backup. This was the first time we’d have backup. By that I mean we’ll have the 551, 550th Glider Infantry, an Anti-Tank Company of the 442nd and 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion. We had plenty of backup for a change; in the past we jumped alone. As it happened we were split up on the jump. Two companies and half the field artillery landed in San Tropez.

Our objective was supposed to be outside the town of Le Muy. We weren’t supposed to take the town, just block a bridge, a few roads, and dominate a hill that overlooked the town. The 551 Parachute Infantry Battalion and 6th British Parachute Regiment were supposed to take the town. But this didn’t happen. We had to go in and take it and that was fine by us.

Our moral was good even though most of us had just come from Anzio that was a horrible experience. For this operation we were happy to be going in as paratroopers. I don’t recall anyone making disparaging remarks. We were more or less looking forward to it this may seem strange but this is how these guys were.

We finally boarded the planes and the trip over to France turned out to be very uneventful. Most guys were either sleeping or smoking as the plane headed for France. There was quite a bit of fog but we had a full moon so we did have some visibility. Because of the fog we didn’t know if we were over water or land. This become an issue, and some guys even started to unstrap their chest packs to get out of their chutes so they could survive if we hit the water. Suddenly, we broke through the fog and saw land. We landed right on the button, even though our pathfinder teams landed about five miles from our intended DZ. I landed on a side of a hill like a ton of bricks. I always landed like that but fortunately never broke anything. We didn’t encounter any resistance.

We assembled and quickly moved to our objective a crossroads outside Le Muy and set up a defense. We waited for our heavy weapons company that had our 50 caliber machine guns, mortars, and demolition equipment. We started to provide support fire on the town. We were knocking the clay tiles off the roofs to keep the Germans suppressed.

Since the 6th Parachute hadn’t begun their attack as scheduled, Col. Yarborough, Battalion Commander approached the 6th Parachute Commander and tried to get him to move into the town. We wouldn’t move; he wanted to wait. So up came General Frederick (editor’s note: Doyle was in a position to witness this since he was the battalion radio operator) to see what was going on. He decided right then and there to take the town. So we went in. Meanwhile, the 551 was also moving into the town from the other side. I went into the town with A Company we got in several firefights. There were some that were pretty hot. Finally, we cleared the town of Germans we then pulled back out of the town.

[SAMWolf]

Glider Pilot
by Harold M. Goldbrandsen

It was a sunny day in Italy August 15, 1944, and I was sitting in the pilots seat of a Waco CG-4A combat glider about to take part in the invasion of Southern France, D-day on the Riviera was about to Begin. At 21 years of age I was one of the younger pilots and a long way from Logan, Utah. In just two years with the Army Air Corps I had trained at airbases all over the United States, picked up a wife and had a three and one half month old son.


Glider Landing in Southern France" by Tom

Ground crews had begun early in the morning attaching C47 towplanes to over 332 Waco gliders carrying a complete glider infantry battalion plus guns and support troops, a total of 2,250 men with large amounts of materiel. Secured in my glider was a caterpillar that, if all went well, would exit through the hinged nose of the glider and construct a runway for a small aircraft carried in a companion glider.

We had been briefed to anticipate arrival over the landing zone in "standard spacing", a normal landing procedure, discharge of cargo and rendezvous at the airborne command post. A chateau called Valbourges had been designated as the airborne command post and I wasn’t looking forward to a long hike to get there. For weeks I had been suffering a bad case of athletes foot that almost kept me off the flight list. As usual a fellow pilot a few years my senior named John Foster was enjoying himself at my expense; "snap-shit junior, your not getting out of this thing that easy".

Takeoff finally began around 3:00 P.M. with the towplanes and tethered gliders staggered on either side of the runway as far as you could see. Towplanes and gliders moved one after the other to the center of the runway accelerating for takeoff. Thick dust and rough air kicked up by so many propellers added to the already difficult task of controlling the glider with its heavy cargo. As we gained speed the wings arched and groaned in their struggle to lift the overloaded glider; I wondered if we would even get off the ground in one piece.



Finally the long towplane-glider train formed and flew north along the Italian coast, crossed over Elba and the northern tip of Corsica, heading for landfall just north of Saint Tropez. Over Corsica the lead Waco developed a serious vibration in its tail, and the towplane turned away from the formation. As they had been trained, the front group followed their leader back toward Italy. Eventually the glider cut off and ditched in the Mediterranean, after which the group realized its error, turned around and took up new positions in the middle of the formation.

As we flew over the rolling hills parallel to the Argens River valley the fields were a combination of green pastures and brown vineyards. All was going well except for the altitude we had gained to avoid those in front of us while those behind us were climbing even higher. The unexpected turn by the front group had ended the carefully planned time interval between formations.

By the time we reached the landing zone aircraft was stacked from 1,000 to 2,500 feet with C-47s, gliders on tow and gliders in free flight. So much for "standard spacing". With gliders plunging from all directions and altitudes you had to drop through a mass of Wacos, select a landing site and keep a sharp eye out for other gliders. Any idea of holding the Waco’s standard seventy mile per hour glide speed was gone as dozens of pilots plunged and jockeyed toward suitable fields at the same time.



From higher altitudes the fields appeared ideal but as we got lower things weren’t so friendly. Many of the fields were filled with "Rommel's asparagus" antiglider poles up to six inches in diameter, set in long rows fifteen to forty feet apart and supposedly tied together by wires triggering land mines.

I spotted a short clearing just wide enough for one glider and free of polls. It looked perfect, I couldn’t believe my good fortune. Avoiding gliders on both sides I came in nice and easy. It was looking great until at 200 feet my copilot shouted, "Jesus Christ, look at that bastard." Another pilot had picked the same spot and was approaching from the other direction, we were on course for a nose-on collision; someone had to move.

We still had good airspeed and I could feel pressure on the stick so I banked right toward a tree topped hill hoping there was clear space on the other side. The glider jerked onto a collision course with the entire treeline as one tree embedded itself in the right wing and broke off. Instantly we were wrenched back on a course to a clear downslope as a piece of the left wing disappeared into the trees. With full spoilers and the wheels finally on the ground I put the glider up on the skids, the cockpit filled with dirt, dust obliterated our view and the glider shuddered to a stop.

We were on the ground, buried in dirt up to our knees and less than 100 yards in front of us stood the lovely Chateau Valbourges with its spacious terrace and delicate windows. If we hadn’t hit the trees we would have hit the Chateau. So much for the long hike.



Gliders continued to plow through the vineyards as we dug ourselves out and checked on our passenger and cargo. With the front of the Waco full of dirt no one was sure if the nose would open or the caterpillar would just crush its way out. The operator engaged the transmission and promptly exited to the outside as we watched the nose hinge up in a cascade of falling dirt.

Clear of the Waco the operator climbed aboard the moving caterpillar anxious to complete his task before the arrival of any opposition. Similarly the passenger-pilot in our companion glider, which landed near by, assembled his aircraft and took off. We watched as he circled and spotted target areas for dive bombers delivering their ordinance.

It was 7:30 before the last glider came to a crunching halt in the vineyards around the Chateau. By the time they had been unloaded it was dusk. Foxholes were dug in the lawn and some of the guys lined them with parachutes; others dragged the inflatable rubber dinghies from the gliders to serve as beds.

During the night the sounds of ripping cloth could be heard from the surrounding fields. At dawn we could see paratroopers and glider infantrymen cutting the Army Air Force insignia from the glider fuselages and wings to spread on their jeep hoods for the benefit of friendly aircraft.



On one side of the Chateau beds of hay had been laid for the wounded. There I found John Foster with a broken leg. We joked that he was going to get a free ride home while I would have to march German prisoners back to the beach on sore feet and eventually wind up in the South Pacific theater if the war continued.

As the fog burned off they lined up several hundred German soldiers to be marched to the division POW enclosure. Fortunately I was able to wangle a jeep ride back to the coast past the advancing infantry. They didn’t think much of cocky young pilots in silk scarves. They thought even less of assurances we had secured the area and they may as well go back.

Within days I caught a ship to Corsica and a flight back to the airfield in Italy. Some of the guys took advantage of the situation to tour southern France and Italy. For the next month MPs were rounding up cocky young glider pilots claiming to have become hopelessly lost on their way back to the coast.

[SAMWolf]

Operation Dragoon attained its objectives in two weeks, half the time originally anticipated. Eisenhower declared Operation Dragoon an unqualified success stating that “there was no development of that period which added more decisively to our advantage or aided us more in accomplishing the final and complete defeat of German forces than did this attack.”

[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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[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

[Soaring Feather]

Good Morning SAMWolf, everyone!

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Jen

[SAMWolf]

Morning Feather.

[Jen]

Hey Sam! I'm up early this morning, but not by choice! Had to take my daughter to the airport and I have a doctor's appointment. Yawn! I need more coffee!!!

Great thread today, as usual!

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Bainbridge (DD-1)

Bainbridge class destroyer
Displacement. 420 t.
Lenght. 250'
Beam. 23'7"
Draft. 9'6"
Speed. 29 k.
Complement. 75
Armament. 2 3"; 5 6-pdr; 2 18" tt.

The USS Bainbridge (Destroyer No. 1) was launched 27 August 1901 by Neafie and Levy, Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; sponsored by Mrs. Bertram Greene, great-granddaughter of Commodore Bainbridge; placed in reserve commission at Philadelphia 24 November 1902 Lieutenant G. W. Williams in command, towed to Norfolk; and placed in full commission 12 February 1903.

Bainbridge departed Key West, Fla., 23 December 1903 and sailed via the Suez Canal to the Philippine Islands, arriving at Cavite 14 April 1904. Between 1904 and 1917 she served with the 1st Torpedo Flotilla, Asiatic Fleet, except for two brief periods (17 January 1907-24 April 1908 and 24 April 1912 -April 1913) when she was out of commission.

On 1 August 1917 she departed Cavite for Port Said, Egypt, where she Joined Squadron 2, U. S. Patrol Force, 25 September 1917. Bainbridge served on patrol and convoy duty until 15 July 1918 when she departed for the United States. She arrived at Charleston, S. C., 3 August 1918 and participated with the fleet in activities along the Atlantic coast until 3 July 1919 when she was decommissioned at Philadelphia. She was sold for scrap on 3 January 1920.

USS Bainbridge was the first ship classified as a destroyer by the U.S. Navy, and named in honor of Commodore William Bainbridge (1774-1833), one of the leading figures of the early 19th Century U.S. Navy.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 27:
1416 Antonio Squarcialupi composer
1554 Everhardus van Bronchorst Dutch lawyer
1665 Benjamin Neukirch German poet (Herrn von Hofmannswaldau)
1702 Johann Ernst Eberlin composer
1710 Joseph Marie Clement dall' Abaco composer
1746 Augustin Ullinger composer
1746 Carlo Bonaparte Corsican attorney/father of emperor Napoleon
1757 Richard John Samuel Stevens composer
1760 Ishmail Spicer composer
1760 MJ Auguste Vestrius French ballet dancers
1765 Franz Xaver von Baader German philosopher/theologist
1772 Giovanni Liverati composer
1780 August L Crelle German inventor/mathematician (1st Prussian Railway)
1785 Louis XVII pretender to the throne during the French Revolution (1793-95)
1797 Alfred V Comte de Vigny French musketeer/writer (Moïse, Chatterton)
1809 Georges Eugene Haussmann Paris France, architect
1810 A Glabbrenner writer
1813 Nathaniel Currier lithographer (Currier & Ives)
1816 George Elvey composer
1818 Jakob Axel Josephson composer
1823 Samuel Kosciusko Zook Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
1844 Adolphus Washington Greely US, Arctic explorer, US Army General Greely was a Medal of Honor recipient, decorated by Great Britain and France to acknowledge his numerous contributions to telecommunications; General Greely was an outstanding soldier/communicator to whom Greely Hall, Fort Huachuca, Arizona was rededicated in a bicentennial year observance on 21 June 1976; His nineteen year service as Chief Signal Officer (1887-1906) represents the longest continuous period an incumbent has occupied
1845 Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Germany, discovered X-rays (Nobel 1901)
1847 Otto Wallach Germany, chemist (Nobel 1910)
1851 Paul-Marie-Theodore-Vincent d'Indy Paris France, composer (Symphonie Cévenole)
1851 Ruperto Chapi y Lorente composer
1851 Vincent d'Indy Paris France, dandy composer (Symphonie Cévenole)
1854 Edgar Tinel Flemish composer (Le Chant Grégorien)
1857 Karl Pearson London England, mathematician
1858 Peter Christian Lutkin composer
1859 George Giffen cricketer (one of Australia's greatest all-rounders)
1863 Sir Henry Royce automobile founder (Rolls-Royce)
1867 Edyth Walker US singer
1868 Patty Smith Hill author/songwriter (Happy Birthday To You)
1871 Heinrich Mann Germany, novelist/essayist (Blue Angel); brother of Thomas
1871 Petrus J M Aalberse Dutch minister of Labor (1918-25)
1879 Edward Steichen pioneered American photography
1883 Jan Kunc composer
1886 Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe German/US architect (Bauhaus)
1889 Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu Turkish writer/diplomat
1891 Lajos Zilahy Hungarian/US author (Ararát/Süd a nap)
1892 Ferde (Ferdinand Rudolf von) Grofé New York NY, composer
1892 Thorne Smith author (Topper, Rain in the Doorway, Stray Lamb)
1893 Dragoljub "Draza" Mihailovic Yugoslavian General/Nazi collaborator
1893 Karl Mannheim Hung/German/British sociologist (Ideology & Utopia)
1893 William Harrigan New York NY, actor (Affair of Three Nations, Cabaret)
1897 Carlo Mierendorff German politician/anti-fascist
1897 Douglas Rayner Hartree mathematician
1899 Gloria Swanson Chicago IL, actress (Sadie Thomson, Queen Kelly)
19-- Brian Tarantina New York NY, actor (Uncle Buck, Lucky-One Life to Live)
19-- Michael Palance Long Island NY, actor (Dan-One Life to Live, Robert-Ryan's Hope)
1901 Albert Henneberg composer
1901 Erich Ollenhauer German politician (SPD)
1901 Sato Eisaku (Liberal) Japanese Prime Minister (1964-72) (Nobel 1974)
1902 Mary Armour artist
1903 Walt Kiesling NFL guard/coach (Hall of Fame)
1905 László Kalmár Edde Hungary, mathematician/promoted the development of computer science in Hungary
1907 Mary Treen St Louis MO, actress (Emily-Willy)
1908 Jacques [Izaäk] den Haan Dutch writer (Dangerous Book)
1909 Ben[jamin F] Webster US tenor saxophonist
1909 Golo Mann [Gottfried], German/US historian (Antisemitism)
1910 Rudi Ball Germany, Jewish ice hockey star (Olympics-bronze-1932)
1912 James Callaghan (L) British Prime Minister (1976-79)
1912 Reuel Lahmer composer
1912 Robert Watson Hughes composer
1913 Godfrey Turner composer
1914 Budd Schulberg New York NY, novelist (On the Waterfront)
1914 Richard Denning Poughkeepsie NY, actor (Steve-Karen, Hawaii Five-0)
1914 Snooky Lanson Memphis TN, singer (Your Hit Parade, 5 Star Jubilee)
1915 Richard Sharp civil servant
1917 Cyrus R Vance US Secretary of State (1977-80)
1917 Harry West Unionist party leader (Unionist)
1919 Julian Amery conservative minister
1919 Simon van Collem Dutch journalist/TV host (Amsterdamned)
1920 Richard Hayman bandleader/conductor/pianist (Theme of 3 Penny Opera)
1921 Tom Bevill (Representative-Democrat-AL, 1967- )
1922 Margaret Stacey sociologist
1923 Louis Simpson Jamaican/US poet (Good News of Death)
1923 Shusaku Endo writer
1923 Victor Hochhauser British impresario (Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra)
1924 Harold Nicholas US actor (Tap, 5 Heartbeats, Stormy Weather)
1924 Sarah L Vaughan Newark NJ, jazz scat singer (Broken Hearted Melody)
1925 Lord Plumb MEP
1925 Robert P Cohan artistic director/choreographer (Contemporary Dance Trust)
1926 Louis Blom-Cooper QC press arbiter
1927 Anthony Lewis newspaper columnist (New York Times)/author (Gideon's Trumpet)
1927 Cecil Bödker writer
1927 Lord Fanshawe of Richmond MP
1927 Mstislav Leopold Rostropovich Baku USSR, cellist/conductor/teacher (Moscow Conservatory)
1928 Douglas Applegate (Representative-Democrat-OH, 1977- )
1930 Bob den Uyl Dutch journalist/writer (Bird Watching)
1930 David Janssen [Meyer] Naponee NE, actor (Fugitive, Harry O)
1930 Richard Hayman Cambridge MA, orchestra leader (Vaughn Monroe Show)
1931 Burt Collins trumpeter
1931 R P Bauman CEO (British Aerospace)
1931 Yoriaki Matsudaira composer
1932 Junior Parker blues musician (Driving Wheel, Outside Man)
1932 Wes Covington baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies)
1933 DRG Andrews CEO (Land Rover-Leyland)
1933 Frank Taylor Chief Constable (Durham)
1933 J Geoffrey Parker high master (Manchester Grammar School)
1934 Arthur Mitchell choreographer (Dance Theater of Harlem)
1934 David Hancock secretary (British Department of Education & Science)
1935 Earl of Suffolk & Berkshire
1935 Julian Glover London England, actor (QED, Heat & Dust, Mandela)
1936 Jerry Lacy Sioux City IA, actor (Play it Again Sam, Reverend Trask-Dark Shadows)
1936 Malcolm Goldstein composer
1937 Johnny "Clyde" Copeland US blues guitarist/singer (Lion's Den)
1938 A J Bellingham president (Royal College of Pathologists)
1938 Jock Slater Admiral
1938 P Daubeny CEO (Electricity Association)
1939 Jay C Kim (Representative-Republican-CA)
1939 Judy Carne comedienne (Laugh-In, Love on a Rooftop)
1939 Lord Lyell
1939 Ruth Ashton general secretary (Royal College of Midwives)
1940 Austin Pendleton Warren OH, actor (Short Circuit, Simon, Hello Again)
1940 Cale Yarborough auto racer (Won Daytona 500 4 times-1968, 77, 83, 84)
1940 June Wilkinson Eastbourne England, actress (Absolutely Glamorous, Pajama Tops)
1941 Charles Pashayan Jr (Representative-Republican-CA, 1979- )
1941 Liese Prokop Austria, pentathlete (Olympics-silver-1968)
1942 Michael York Fulmer Buckinghamshire England, actor (Cabaret, Logan's Run, 3 Musketeers)
1942 Raymond J McGrath (Representative-Republican-NY, 1981- )
1943 M Robert Carr (Representative-Democrat-MI, 1975-81, 83- )
1945 Briton Selby NHLer
1946 Bill Sudakis baseball player
1946 Carl Weintraub actor (Harry-Executive Suite)
1947 Daphne Todd president (Royal Society of Portrait Painters)
1947 Dough Wilkerson football
1947 Tom Sullivan Boston MA, blind actor (If You Could See What I Hear)
1949 Patrick Deuchar CEO (Albert Hall)
1950 Maria Ewing opera singer
1950 Tony Banks East Heathly Sussex England, rock keyboardist (Genesis-Invisible Touch, Misunderstanding)
1950 Vic Harris baseball
1951 Bobby Lalonde NHLer (Boston Bruins)
1952 Chick Vennera Herkimer NY, actor (High Risk, Milagro Beanfield War)
1952 Maria Schneider Paris France, actress (Last Tango in Paris, Crime of Honor)
1952 Rocky Maffit rocker (Champaign)
1953 Annemarie Moser-Pröll Austria, downhill skier (Olympics-gold-1980)
1953 Pamela Roylance Seattle WA, actress (Sarah-Little House on Prairie)
1955 Kim Brassey racehorse trainer
1955 Patrick McCabe novelist
1956 Brian Kelly CFL wide receiver (Edmonton Eskimos)
1956 Thomas Wassberg Sweden, 15K/50K cross country skier (Olympics-gold-1980)
1957 Billy MacKenzie rock vocalist (The Associates-Affectionate Punch)
1957 Duncan Goodhew England, 100 meter breast stroke swimmer (Olympics-Gold-1980)
1957 Nicholas Hawkins MP
1958 Bart Connor gymnast/sportscaster (Olympics-gold-1984)
1958 Michael O'Leary St Paul MN, actor (Guiding Light, Fatal Games)
1958 Shaun Cassidy rocker/actor (Hardy Boys, Texas Guns)
1958 Susan Molinari (Representative-Republican-NY)
1960 Clare Lucy Madeleine Evans historian
1960 Jennifer Grey actress (Dirty Dancing); Joel Grey's daughter
1960 Steve Jarvin Australian soling yachter (Olympics-96)
1961 Ellery Hanley rugby league player
1963 Dave Koz saxophonist
1963 Ed Pinckney NBA forward (Philadelphia 76ers)
1963 Quentin Tarantino director/screenwriter (Pulp Fiction)
1963 Randall Cunningham NFL QB (Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings)
1963 Todd Graves Laurel MS, skeet (Olympics-1992, 96)
1963 Xuxa [Maria da Graca Meneghel] Brazil, actress (Xuxa Park)
1964 Clark Datchler vocalist (Johnny Hates Jazz-Shattered Dreams)
1966 Kate Donahoo Las Vegas NV, US judoka (Olympics-92)
1967 Jaime Navarro Bayamon PR, pitcher (Chicago Cubs)
1967 Talisa Soto [Miriam], Brooklyn NY, actress (License to Kill)
1967 Tom Hammonds NBA forward (Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets)
1968 Irina Belova Russian pentathlete (world record 1992)
1969 Tom Beer NFL running back (Detroit Lions)
1970 Anthony Prior NFL cornerback/safety (New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings)
1970 Corey Page actor (Richard Wilkins-Loving/City)
1970 Ed Philion NFL nose tackle (Buffalo Bills)
1970 Mariah Carey New York NY, singer (Vision of Love, Love Takes Time, Hero)
1972 Kirby Dar Dar wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)
1973 Serge Tremblay La Malbaie Québec Canada, weightlifter (Olympics-96)
1974 Rosanna Gimenez Miss Paraguay-Universe (1997)
1975 B J Gallis CFL linebacker (British Columbia Lions)
1975 Gregory DuBois hockey defenseman (Team France 1998)
1976 Danny Fortson NBA forward (Denver Nuggets)
1976 Roberta Alma Anastase Miss Romania-Universe (1996)
1977 Tom van der Leegte Dutch soccer player (PSV)
1984 Emily Ann Lloyd actress (Sarah Kramer-Something So Right)
1984 J P Steur actor (Grace Under Fire)
1986 Melissa Stern aka "Baby M" aka Sara Whitehead, surrogate baby, awarded to her dad William Stern
1988 Kerri Ann Darling actress (Alli Fowler-Another World)

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Deaths which occurred on March 27:
0922 Al-Hallaj al-Mughith-al-Hsayn Mansur Persian mystic, beheaded at 64
0965 Arnulf I the Elder/the Great, count of Flanders (918-65), dies
1211 Sancho I King of Portugal (1185-1211), dies at 56
1378 Gregory XI [Pierre R the Beaufort], last French Pope (1370-78), dies
1472 Janus Pannonius Hungarian poet/translator, dies at 37
1482 Maria duchess of Burgundy/countess of Holland, dies at 25
1625 James I Stuart king of Scotland (1567)/England (1603-25), dies at 58
1668 Clemens Thieme composer, dies at 36
1679 Abraham Mignon Dutch still life painter, dies at 38
1701 Anne Hilarion de Cotentin count of Tourville/French Admiral, dies at 58
1714 Anton Ulrich German duke of Brunswick/poet, dies at 80
1757 Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz composer, dies at 39
1761 Johann Ludwig Steiner composer, dies at 72
1769 Josef Antonin Gurecky composer, dies at 60
1770 Giovanni B Tiepolo Italian painter (Banquet of Cleopatra), dies at 73
1809 Joseph M Vien French (court)painter/etcher, dies at 92
1826 Jakob Haibel composer, dies at 63
1850 Wilhelm Bear German banker/astronomer (Moon Map), dies at 53
1875 Edgar Quinet French writer/historian (Ahasvérus), dies at 72
1878 Dobri Voynikov composer, dies at 44
1878 George Gilbert Scott architect, dies
1889 Moritz Furstenau composer, dies at 64
1894 Verney L Cameron English explorer (Tanganyika), dies at 49
1898 Sajjid Ahmad Chan co founder (Pakistan), dies at 80
1900 Pieter J Joubert [Smart Piet] South African General, dies at 69
1910 Alexander E Agassiz US businessman/biologist/geologist, dies at 74
1910 David Duffle Wood composer, dies at 72
1920 Johan G Danser Dutch poet (Meetings), dies at 26
1922 Nikolay Alexandrovich Sokolov composer, dies at 63
1924 Walter Parratt composer, dies at 83
1925 Carl G Neumann German mathematician/physicist, dies at 92
1928 Leslie Stuart composer, dies at 64
1929 ... Shatunovsky mathematician, dies
1931 Arnold Bennett novelist, dies
1933 Lionel Palairet cricketer (49 runs in 2 Tests for England 1902), dies
1938 Louis William Stern German/US philosopher/psychologist, dies at 66
1939 Constance Lindsay Skinner author (Rivers of America), dies at 57
1943 Grigori Yakovlevich Bakhchivangi test pilot (BI-1), killed in crash
1945 Jørgen Nielsen Danish writer (romance), dies at 42
1946 Gabriela Preissová writer, dies
1947 Charles Smith cricketer (batted for South Africa in 1902-03), dies
1948 Karel Candael Flemish composer, dies at 64
1953 Narciso Garay composer, dies at 76
1956 Frans Beelaerts van Blokland minister of Foreign affairs, dies at 84
1959 Grant Withers actor (Oklahoma Annie), suicide with sleeping pills at 54
1960 Ian Whyte composer, dies at 58
1961 Jack Kane orchestra leader (Steve & Eydie, Andy Williams Show), dies at 37
1966 Mien Labberton Dutch poet, dies at 82
1967 Gerardus H de Vet the Bold, bishop of Breda (1962-67), dies at 49
1968 Yuri Gagarin 1st man to orbit Earth, & Seryogin, dies in plane crash at 34
1972 Maurits C Escher Dutch lithograph carver (Praedestinatie), dies at 73
1973 Boyan Georgiev Ikonomov composer, dies at 72
1975 Arthur Bliss English composer/conductor (Checkmate), dies at 83
1975 Gertrude Niesen actress (Start Cheering), dies at 63
1977 Diana Hyland actress (Peyton Place, 8 is Enough), dies at 41
1977 Eve Meyer [Turner] Playboy Playmate/actress (Immoral Mr Teas), dies in a plane crash at 46
1977 Lodewijk de Vocht composer, dies at 89
1978 Wilfred Pickles actor (Billy Liar, Gay Dog), dies at 73
1979 Ronald Adam actor (Phantom Shot), dies at 82
1982 Joris Noë Flemish literary, dies at 68
1983 James Hayter actor (Pickwick Papers, Trio, Great Game), dies at 75
1983 Janis Ivanovs composer, dies at 76
1986 Cass Canfield US publisher, dies at 88
1987 Lloyd Goodrich American Arts Museum director, dies at 90
1988 Jan van den Weghe Flemish writer, dies at about 67
1989 May Allison actress (Youth for Salem Men of Steel), dies
1991 Aldo Ray western actor (Battle Cry), dies of cancer at 64
1991 Elinor Remick Warren composer, dies at 91
1991 Leueen McGrath actress (Edward My Son, Saint's Vacation), dies at 77
1991 Ralph Bates British actor (Persecution, Graveyard), dies at 50
1992 Anita Colby US model/actress/author (Pepsi Coke), dies at 77
1992 Easley Blackwood expert bridge player, dies at 89
1992 Gerry Duggan dies at 82
1992 James E Webb head of NASA (1961-68), dies at 84
1992 Martin Engelman Dutch cartoonist/painter/graphic artist, dies
1993 Carlos Gimenez director (Theater Festival of Caracas), dies at 47
1993 Clifford Jordan tenor saxophonist, dies of cancer at 61
1993 Kate Reid British actress (Lil-Dallas), dies of cancer at 62
1993 Katherine Hynes De Groot dies of stroke at 88
1993 Wilhelmus M J Russell Dutch MP (KVP, CDA), dies at 74
1994 Dennis Hartas flier, dies at 69
1995 Albert Drach writer, dies
1995 Bernard Cornfeld Romanian/US financier (Fund of Funds), dies at 67
1995 Chet Gierlach music publisher/composer, dies at 75
1995 Rene Allio film Director, dies at 70

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On this day...
1513 Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León sights Florida
1599 Robert Devereux becomes Lieutenant-General of Ireland
1625 Charles I, King Of England, Scotland & Ireland, ascends to throne
1668 English King Charles II gives Bombay to East India Company
1708 English pretender to the throne James III flees to Dunkerk
1709 Dike at Hardinxveld breaks (Alblasserwaard flooded)
1713 Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar
1721 France & Spain sign Treaty of Madrid
1758 Battle at Emmerich: British army floats around France the Rhine
1790 The shoelace invented
1794 Congress authorizes the President "to provide a naval armament" (US Navy)
1802 Treaty of Amiens-French Revolutionary War ends
1808 Joseph Haydns oratorio "Die Schöpfung" premieres in Vienna
1814 Battle at Horseshoe Bend: General Andrew Jackson beats Creek-Indians
1836 1st Mormon temple dedicated (Kirtland OH)
1841 1st US steam fire engine tested, New York NY
1848 John Parker Paynard originates medicated adhesive plaster
1849 Joseph Couch patents steam-powered percussion rock drill
1855 Abraham Gesner patents kerosene
1860 M L Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew)
1861 Black demonstrators in Charleston staged ride-ins on street cars
1863 President Davis calls for this to be a day of fasting & prayer
1865 Siege of Spanish Fort AL: captured by Federals
1866 Andrew Rankin patents the urinal
1866 President Johnson vetoes civil rights bill; it later becomes 14th Amendment
1871 1st international rugby game-Scotland 1, England 0
1879 Longest championship fight (136 rounds)
1884 1st long-distance telephone call, Boston-New York
1912 1st Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in Washington DC
1914 1st successful blood transfusion (in Brussels)
1917 Seattle Metropolitans, 1st US team to win Stanley Cup beat Canadiens
1920 Film stars Mary Pickford & Douglas Fairbanks wed
1920 Hermann Müller becomes German chancellor (SPD)
1924 Canada recognizes USSR
1924 New French government of Poincaré begins
1928 KGB-AM in San Diego CA begins radio transmissions
1928 US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Maribel Vinson
1928 US Men's Figure Skating Championship won by Roger Turner
1930 1st US radio broadcast from a ship at sea
1931 Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor
1931 John McGraw says night baseball will not catch on
1932 De Bataven soccer team forms in Gendt
1933 Farm Credit Administration (US) authorized
1933 Japan leaves League of Nations
1933 Polythene discovered by Reginald Gibson & Eric William Fawcett
1936 WOS-AM in Jefferson City MO goes off the air
1937 Feyenoord-stadium official opens in Rotterdam
1939 1st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: University of Oregon beats Ohio State 46-33
1940 Himmler orders building of Auschwitz concentration camp, at Katowice
1941 Britain leases defense bases in Trinidad to US for 99 years
1941 Hitler signs Directive 27 (assault on Yugoslavia)
1941 Yugoslavian coup gets rid of pro-German Prince Paul
1942 Allies raid German submarine base in St Nazaire
1942 Japan forces Java to use "Tokyo time" 1½ hour forward
1942 Joe Louis KOs Abe Simon in 6 to retain heavyweight boxing title (New York NY)
1943 Assassination attempt on Van de Peat at Amsterdams census bureau
1943 Blue Ribbon Town (with Groucho Marx) 1st heard on CBS Radio
1943 US begins assault on Fondouk-pass, Tunisia
1944 1,000 Jews leave Drancy France for Auschwitz Concentration Camp
1944 2,000 Jews are murdered in Kaunas Lithuania
1944 40 Jewish policemen in Riga Latvia ghetto are shot by the gestapo
1944 Children's Aktion-Nazis collect all the Jewish children of Lovno
1945 7th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Oklahoma State beats NYU 49-44
1945 British premier Churchill sails to eastern banks of Rhine
1945 DePaul beats Bowling Green for NIT title
1945 Ella Fitzgerald & Delta Rhythm Boys record "It's Only a Paper Moon"
1945 General Eisenhower declares German defenses on Western Front broken
1945 Iwo Jima occupied, after 22,000 Japanese & 6,000 US killed
1945 US 20th Army corps captures Wiesbaden
1950 Jazz pianist, Erroll Garner's solo concert (Cleveland OH)
1950 Netherlands recognizes People's Republic of China
1950 WHAS TV channel 11 in Louisville KY (CBS) begins broadcasting
1951 13th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Kansas 68-58
1951 Frank Sinatra recorded "I'm a Fool to Want You"
1952 Failed assassination attempt of German Chancellor Adenauer
1952 Sun Records of Memphis begins releasing records
1953 21 die in a train crash in Conneaut OH
1955 9th Tony Awards: Desperate Hours & Pajama Game win
1955 Steve McQueen makes his network TV debut (Goodyear Playhouse)
1955 WPRI TV channel 12 in Providence RI (ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 French commandos land in Algeria
1956 US seizes US communist newspaper "Daily Worker"
1957 29th Academy Awards: "Around World in 80 Days", Yul Brynner & Ingrid Bergman win
1958 CBS Labs announce new stereophonic records
1958 Havana Hilton opens
1958 Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet premier & 1st Secretary of Communist Party
1960 Wiffi Smith wins LPGA Royal Crown Golf Open
1961 Belgian government of Eyskens resigns
1961 Failed assassination attempt on King Saif al-Islam Achmad of Yemen
1962 Ann Jellicoe's "Knack" premieres in London
1962 Archbishop Rummel ends race segregation in New Orlean Catholic school
1962 Jacques Plante ties record winning 6th NHL Vezina trophy
1964 Earthquake strikes Anchorage AK, 9.2 on Richter scale, 131 die from earthquake and resulting tsunami; this is the most violent eathquake in US history
1964 Great Train Robbers sentenced to a total of 307 years behind bars
1964 UN troops arrive on Cyprus
1966 Anti Vietnam war demonstrations in US, Europe & Australia
1966 Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Louise Suggs Delray Beach Golf Invitational
1968 Japanese Trade & Cultural Center (Japan Center) dedicated in San Francisco
1968 Suharto succeeds Sukarno as President of Indonesia
1969 Black Academy of Arts & Letters forms in Boston
1969 Launch of Mariner 7, flies 2,190 miles above southern Mars
1970 Ringo releases his 1st solo album "Sentimental Journey"
1970 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1971 33rd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Villanova 68-62; this is UCLA's 5th consecutive NCAA basketball title
1972 Adolph Rupp retires after 42 years of coaching University of Kentucky
1972 Venera 8 launched to Venus
1973 45th Academy Awards: "Godfather", Marlon Brando & Liza Minnelli win Marlon Brando turns down Oscar for best actor in support of Indians
1973 Dennis Amiss out for 99 vs Pakistan, 3rd 99 in Test Cricket
1973 Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) stopped for speeding & LSD possession
1976 Delta States beat Immaculata, 69-64, for AIWA basketball title
1976 Washington DC underground Metro opens
1977 583 die in aviation's worst disaster KLM-Pan Am 747 crash, Tenerife
1977 Sandra Palmer wins LPGA Kathryn Crosby/Honda Civic Golf Classic
1978 40th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Duke 94-88
1978 Bob Fosse's "Dancin'" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 1,774 performances
1978 Rutles "All You Need is Cash" is shown on British TV
1979 Supreme Court rules, 8-1, cops can't randomly stop cars
1980 "Happy New Year" opens at Morosco Theater NYC for 17 performances
1980 "Reggae" opens at Biltmore Theater NYC for 21 performances
1980 Elevator in Vaal Reef South Africa gold mine crash 1900 meter down (23 die)
1980 Mount St Helens becomes active after 123 years
1981 John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" is released in UK
1982 "Best Little Whorehouse..." closes at 46th St NYC after 1577 performances
1982 Imran takes 14-116 for cricket match vs Sri Lanka at Lahore
1982 Randy Holt sets Washington Capital record of 34 penalty minutes
1983 13th Easter Seal Telethon
1983 Larry Holmes beats Lucien Rodriguez in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
1983 Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" premieres in NYC
1984 Andrew Lloyd Webber/Richard Stilgoe's "Starlight Express" premieres
1985 Billy Dee Williams receives a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
1986 Disney-MGM Studio Tour ground breaking
1987 President Habré's troops reconquer Faya Largeau Chad
1988 Ok-Hee Ku wins Standard Register Turquoise Classic Golf Tournament
1988 World Ice Dance Championship in Budapest won by Bestemianova & Bukin (USSR)
1988 World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Budapest won by E Valova & O Vasiliev (USSR)
1988 World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Budapest won by Katarina Witt (German Democratic Republic)
1988 World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Budapest won by Brian Boitano (USA)
1988 Wrestlemania IV at Trump Plaza, "Macho Man" Savage pins Ted Dibiase
1989 1st half-black soap opera, "Generations" premieres on NBC-TV
1989 Delhi beat Bengal by innings & 210 to win Cricket's Ranji Trophy
1990 Bus accidentally touches high voltage wire in Karagpur India; 21 die
1990 New South Wales beat Queensland by 345 runs to win Sheffield Shield Final
1991 NCAA bans University of Minnesota football team from postseason play in 1992
1991 New Kids on the Block's Donnie Wahlberg arrested on arson charges in Kentucky
1991 Scotty Bowman & Neil Armstrong elected to NHL Hall of Fame
1992 Bruce Springsteen releases "Human Touch" & "Lucky Town"
1994 23rd Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Donna Andrews
1994 Church in Piedmont AL collapses in tornado, 19 killed
1994 Radio personality Rush Limbaugh weds wife #3, Marta Fitzgerald
1994 World Ice Dance Championship in Chiba Japan won by Gritschuk & Platov (Russia)
1994 World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Chiba won by Shishkova/Vadim Naumov (Russia)
1994 World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Chiba won by Yuka Sato (Japan)
1994 World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Chiba won by Elvis Stojko (Canada)
1995 67th Academy Awards: "Forest Gump", Tom Hanks & Jessica Lange win
1996 "State Fair" opens at Music Box Theater NYC for 118 performances
1997 "Young Man From Atlanta" opens at Longacre NYC for 85 performances
1997 39 cult memebers in California commit mass suicide (Hale-Bopp)
1997 Martin Luther King's son meets with James Earl Ray
1998 Soul Train Awards
2134 32nd recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

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

Burma : Resistance Day
Alaska : Seward Day (1867) - - - - - ( Monday )
US Virgin Island : Transfer Day (1917) - - - - - ( Monday )

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Religious Observances
old Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St John Damascene, confessor/dr (now 12/4)
Anglican : Feast of Charles H Brent, Bp of Philippines, & of Western New York
Christian : Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday)

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Religious History
1536 Swiss Protestants in Strassbourg and Constance signed the First Helvetic Confession. It became the first major document setting forth the common faith of the Swiss Protestant churches.
1840 Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'No person can be a child of God without living in secret prayer; and no community of Christians can be in a lively condition without unity in prayer.'
1921 The first Southern Baptist church to be constituted in the state of Arizona was organized in Phoenix formed principally of churchmen who protested the doctrinal views held by leaders of the Northern Baptist Convention.
1946 Members of Baptist congregations in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks met at Anchorage to form the Alaska Southern Baptist Convention.
1962 In Louisiana, Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel ordered all Roman Catholic schools in the New Orleans diocese to end segregation.

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Thought for the day :
"He cannot rule the great who cannot rule the small."

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[HiJinx]

Good Morning, AntiJen!!! Do we need to send this gentleman to see you?

[Valin]

Thanks for posting this. I must admit I never knew very much about the landing in southern France. Except Audie Murphy took part.

[SAMWolf]

Good morning, aomagrat

[SAMWolf]

1966 Anti Vietnam war demonstrations in US, Europe & Australia

The more things change, the more they stay the same

[cherry_bomb88]

Thanks for the ping!!! I have to tell you a "funny" story....last Sat. while I was at the rally, a couple of "quiet protestors" (is that an oxymoron?) were standing by me and my friends and I started talking to them, they were both french ....new to our country and I asked them how they could be so against us when after all we had liberated them from the Germans, do you know what the guy said to me???? "no, that was Russia"....no wonder the French hate us, their textbooks are full of lies!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SCDogPapa]

Mornin' Y'all!