The FReeper Foxhole Remembers the Battle of Imjin River/Kapyong (4/22/51) - April 22nd, 2003

http://members.tripod.com/~Glosters/Imjin.html ^

[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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Battle of Imjin River/Kapyong

The Korean War lasted for three years. Throughout this time, there was much fighting, killing, and quite a few heroic actions. However, none were more remarkable, heroic, or tragic than the Battles of the Imjin River and Kapyong that took place 52 years ago to the day, between the 22nd and the 25th of April 1951.

The Chinese 63rd Army, composed of the 187th, 188th and 189th Divisions, each about 9000 strong and containing a high percentage of the most experienced and battle-hardened troops available devised a plan which involved a rapid march to the Imjin River commencing on 21st April, the breaking of the Allied front, and an immediate advance on Seoul down the traditional invasion route, the effect being to isolate a major part of I Corps, which would be trapped with its back to the sea.

The Chinese stressed that speed was essential and they expected the leading elements to reach Seoul within 36 hours of crossing their start-lines. These plans fell against the British 29th brigade, which lay directly across the path of the 63rd

The Australians and Canadians were part of a force that was defending the Kapyong Valley, some 56 km north of Seoul, during April 1951. A human sea (of Chinese troops) descended on the UN line which forced the South Korean and American units to retreat past the line partly held by the Australians and Canadians. By 10 pm on April 23rd, the Australian 27th and 29th Brigades and the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were facing the Chinese 118th Division.

Battle of Imjin River/Kapyong
In April 1951 British 29th Infantry Brigade was holding the defensive line along the Imjin River. The main invasion route across the Imjin was held by the Gloucestershire Regiment (750 strong) and the men of C Troop Light (Mortar) Battery, R.A. The U.N. command needed time to reorganise and asked the Glosters to hold for as long as possible. Against them were three Chinese Divisions (approx. 27,000 men).

On Sunday April 22nd the Battle of Imjin River began. The first attempts to cross the River were stopped by No.7 Platoon of 'C' Company under Lieutenant Guy Temple. Four times they stopped the Chinese and only withdrew when ammunition ran low. Temple received the Military Cross. Unknown to the Glosters, the Chinese had used another crossing point (not marked on maps) and over 1000 Chinese crossed to attack from all sides.



"The first frenzied assault fell on A Company. The Battalion's Vickers guns pumped belt after belt of ammunition into the screaming hordes until the cooling jackets of the guns boiled over and they seized up. Bren guns were fired until the barrels became red hot and rifles until they were too hot to hold."

Repeated attacks by over-whelming numbers of Chinese continued through the night. B Company were now also in action. By the morning of the 23rd A Company were still fighting. 2nd Lieut. John Maycock had been killed and his platoon reduced to only 6 unwounded men. Lieutenant Terence Waters was severly wounded in the head. Half of A Company were dead or wounded by now. The Chinese had occupied a height known as Castle Site and were setting up machine guns to spray fire on the Company. Lieutenant Philip Curtis led a counter-attack on Castle Site across open ground. Within the first minute 3 Glosters were dead and 4 more wounded. Curtis ordered the remaining men to cover him and he charged alone. Severely wounded in the arm and side, his men tried to crawl out to drag him in, but shaking them off he charged again - alone. Throwing grenades as he ran he knocked out a machine-gun position but was killed by a burst of fire from another. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

Major Pat Angier reported his Company's desperate position, low on ammunition and mounting losses. He needed reinforcements if his Company was to hold its position. But the only order that Colonel Carne could give was "You will stay where you are at all costs until further notice." Major Angier replied "Don't worry about us, we'll be alright." Within 15 minutes Angier was dead.

"D" Company were now being pressed also. There were no other UN troops for 2 miles and the Glosters flanks were unprotected. But the Glosters orders were to hold the road to Solma-ri and "as long as there was a Gloster still on his feet Fred Carne was determined to do just that."



During the night of the 23rd and dawn of the 24th "B" Company fought off 7 Chinese attacks and the forward sections were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. By the morning ammuntition was almost exhausted and grenades gone. Bayonets fixed, men fought with entrenching tools and even fists against the onrushing Chinese. To stop them being overwhelmed Colonel Carne concentrated the surviving men into one area. "B" Company now consisted of Major Harding, CSM Morton and 15 men. The Battalion front line had been 4 miles and was now down to 600 yards, but nowhere had the Chinese broken that line. By the evening of the 24th the survivors were concentrated on Hill 235 (since renamed 'Gloster Hill'). By now 29th Brigade had been forced to withdraw and the Glosters were totally alone, their orders "Hold on where you are."

In the last report back to Brodie, Colonel Carne replied "I understand the position quite clearly. But I must make it cear to you that my command is no longer an effective fighting force. If it is required we shall stay here, in spite of this, we shall continue to hold."

By now the Glosters were surrounded, low on food, water, and ammuntion. The radio batteries were almost dead. American helicopters tried to evacuate the wounded but could not close because of the intense Chinese fire enveloping Gloster Hill. The 8th Hussars (Tank Regiment), the Belgians, Filipinos, Puerto Rican and American infantry battalions tried desperately to break through to the Glosters, but could not.

On Gloster Hill, the Battalion HQ had virtually ceased to exist. Captain Richard Reeve-Tucker (signals officer) was dead, Assistant-Adjutant Lieutenant Donald Allman (wounded in the shoulder) was commanding the remnants of one platoon, the Intelligence Officer Lieutenant Henry Cabral was commanding another.



Colonel Carne, with rifle and bayonet in hand, led the Regimental Police in an attack on a party of Chinese, reporting to his Adjutant, "Just been shooing away some Chinese."

Adjutant Tony Farrar-Hockley, decided that his appointment as Adjutant was now redundant as the radio was almost dead, his last message was to Lieutenant Temple: "Guy, you will stay where you are until further notice. If your ammunition runs out hurl bloody rocks at 'em." He then joined what was left of A Company.

The last of the ammuntion was handed out on the 25th. Each man had 5 rounds, each bren gun one and half magazines, each sten gun half a magazine. The Chinese were blowing bugles and on that morning, sensing the end was near they reached a crescendo of noise. Farrar-Hockley ordered Drum-Major Buss to fetch a bugle and play every call he knew "Except Retreat !" As he played the Glosters cheered him on.

"I could see his tall, lean figure, topped by a cap comforter" wrote Farrar-Hockley; "he always played a bugle well and that day he was not below form. The sweet notes of our own bugle, which now echoed through the valley below him, died away. For a moment there was silence - the last note had coincided with a lull in the action. Then the noise of battle began again - but with a difference; there was no sound of a Chinese bugle. There are not many Drum-Majors in the British Army who can claim to have silenced the enemy's battle calls with a short bugle recital."

At 0600 on the 25th Brigadier Brodie gave the Glosters the order to attempt to break out. They had held the line for 4 days. In his Log, Brodie wrote the Battalion's epitaph:

"NOBODY BUT THE GLOSTERS COULD HAVE DONE IT."



Colonel Carne gave his last orders. The wounded could not attempt escape. Captain Robert Hickey, the Medical Officer, Chaplin Sam Davies, and Medical Sergeant Brisland, immediately volunteered to stay with the wounded. The remnants of "A", "B", "C" and Support Companies headed south under heavy machine-gun fire. Soon "A" Company led by Farrar-Hockley were surrounded and captured. Captain Pike and his men ran into a force 10 times his own, after firing off 2 of his last 4 bullets he ordered his men to surrender. Major Harding, Lieutenant Temple and CSM Ridlington had covered 10 miles before being captured. Lieutenant Cabral was captured and was to die in a prison camp "after faithfully adopting an 'incorrect attitude' - as the Chinese phrased it - and being a constant thorn in their sides for 12 months." Colonel Carne, RSM Hobbs and CSMI Strong evaded capture for 48 hours.

Captain Mike Harvey, with "D" Company and some machine-gunners (92 men in all) headed north and then west before turning south. After 3 hours they ran into enemy machine guns and lost half the party. Finally the group ran into UN forces. Unfortunatley the American tanks mistook them for Chinese and opened fire, wounding Lieutenant Thomas Conneely and 6 men. Realizing their mistake the Americans covered the group and 5 officers and 41 men reached the UN lines. Captain Harvey was awarded the Military Cross for his leadership.

Private Essex of "B" Company was wounded in the head and both legs, his right leg being broken. When he could no longer walk he had crawled until he collapsed from pain and exhaustion. He was found by the Chinese and interrogated, which involved kicking his legs and hitting him in the face. He gave his name, rank and number. The Chinese walked away and tossed a grenade back at him, fortunately only wounding him in the eye. After they had gone he crawled to a village and was tended by the villagers. Finally he made it back to UN lines and in December 1951 he was chosen to broadcast to the Commonwealth before king George VI gave his Christmas Speech.



"In April I was wounded when the Glosters fought the battle on the Imjin River. I was captured and then escaped. For a few weeks I lived with some Korean villagers and they taught me how to keep alive on grass. Then I was picked up by one of our patrols and afterwards the RAF flew me home. Ever since I have been in Cambridge Hospital at Aldershot and today am going home to my father's farm in Gloucestershire. The chaps still out in Korea won't get much of a Christmas, and first of all I want to say cheerio to them, especially those who are prisoners. All the best mates, and I hope that it soon packs up and you all get home alright..."

The following officers had made it back: Majors Digby Gist, Watkin-Williams, and Mitchell; Captains Harvey, Bartlett, Taylor and Worlock; Lieutenants Martin, and Barker, 2nd Lieuts. Holdsworth and Whatmore. Returning from leave in Japan, Major Wood, Captain Mardell and Lieut. Bergin rejoined the Battalion. The surviving men of the Battalion were now under command of Major Digby Grist, who sent the famous signal:

"We are operational again."

Thanks to Freeper U S Army EOD for suggesting this Thread

[SAMWolf]

THE BATTLE OF KAPYONG

Throughout the winter of 1950 27 Brigade had been involved in fighting as par north as the Yalu river. By the early spring, it had been placed in Corps reserve not far south of Kapyong, for much needed rest and retraining.

On the evening of 22 April 1951 the Chinese spring offensive began. The attack was mounted across a broad front and set against enormous odds the allied positions began to crumble.

The 1st Battalion the Middlesex Regiment and 16 Field Regiment Royal New Zealand Artillery (of the Brigade) were virtually cut off. To relieve these two units the remainder of the Brigade was ordered into a blocking position just north of Kapyong. The forward positions were held by 2nd Battalion The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the 3rd Battalion the Royal Australian Regiment; 1st Battalion the Middlesex Regiment was withdrawn and placed in reserve. Meanwhile the 16 Field Regiment Royal New Zealand Artillery had also redeployed and together with 72 Heavy Tank Battalion United States Army provided 27 Brigade with its close support.

The Brigade's mission was to deny to the enemy the two approaches to Kapyong. It had only hours in which to prepare positions before the continuing Chinese onslaught, now led by the 118th Chinese Peoples Volunteer Division, made contact with the two forward battalions on the evening of 23 April.

The initial Chinese thrust came against the Australian position, where it net dogged resistance; the attack switched to the Canadian front. A fierce contact battle ensued along the whole Brigade front in which the now familiar waves of massed and screaming Chinese, armed with grenades and light machine guns were repulsed by defiant and determined Commonwealth troops. Throughout the night of 23 April repeated attacks were made and repelled; nevertheless, by morning at great cost the Chinese had infiltrated the Brigade position. For 24 hours Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were completely surrounded. During this critical period they were resupplied by air.

The battle raged throughout the 24 April. Ground was tenaciously held and rarely given. The battle developed into one of personal contact in which bayonet charges were a feature; there resulted some of the bloodiest and most ferocious hand to hand fighting of the Korean War. By the evening of 24 April, in spite of conceding some ground it became obvious that the Chinese attack had been blunted; the 27th Commonwealth Brigade in its sector had halted the advance on Seoul. The Australian withdrawal during the Battle of Kapyong is till cited as a military model of a fighting withdrawal.

In this action 10 Canadians were killed and 23 wounded; 31 Australians were killed, with 59 wounded and 3 captured, 2 New Zealanders were killed and 5 wounded - but the Commonwealth Brigade had successfully halted the Chinese advance. They had won a bloody encounter and earned themselves the professional admiration of their allies.

In recognition for their part in the Battle of Kapyong, the 2nd Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment, and 'A' Company of the 72 Heavy Tank Battalion United States Army, received the United States Presidential Citation

[SAMWolf]

The not so 'Glorious Gloucesters'

PETER WORTHINGTON-- Toronto Sun

Whenever historians recall the Korean war, inevitably the story of the "Glorious Gloucesters" is cited -- the supposed fight to the death of Britain's Gloucester Regiment in late April, 1951, when they held off the Chinese hordes and blocked the route to Seoul, enabling UN forces to regroup and eventually triumph.

The regiment sacrificed itself and was awarded two Victoria Crosses -- the world's most prestigious valour award -- one of which went to the commanding officer, Lt.-Col. Joe Carne.

Another heroic page for Britain's army.



That's the official version.

Two weeks ago, I was one of 20 Canadian veterans attending memorial ceremonies in South Korea along with British and New Zealand vets marking the 50th anniversary of the start of that war.

Standing on Gloucester Hill, site of the desperate battle, overlooking the now lush green valley, dotted with thriving settlements and roads this side of the Imjin river a couple of miles north, the British military attache, Brig. John Baker, eulogized the fight. A touching moment was when a Korean "peace" medal was awarded to a tearful Brit whose brother was killed in that fight 49 years ago.

Brig. Baker recounted how for three days the Gloucesters, covering seven to nine miles of front with barely 650 soldiers, fought to the end and gave the 29 Brigade breathing space to regroup. Seoul was saved.

Without belittling the bravery of individual Gloucesters, it didn't exactly happen the way the official version tells it -- as respected British military historian Max Hastings cautiously concedes.

While the Gloucester battle (April 22-25) was unfolding, a dozen miles to the east at the village of Kapyong, the second battalion of the Princess Pats was in the fight of its life blocking another valley route to Seoul which was equally vulnerable.



The Pats were surrounded, cut off from 27 Brigade, and had the same task as the Gloucesters -- hold on at any cost. Commanded by Lt.-Col. Jim Stone, a rough "field" soldier who'd been promoted from the ranks in WWII, the Patricias were the only Canadians fighting in Korea at that time, prior to the arrival of the Van Doos and RCR to comprise 25 Brigade. The Second Pats were a mixture of WWII vets and adventure-seeking youths, most with a wild, in-your-face confidence.

As it turned out, Kapyong was close to what could be called a "perfect" battle -- and certainly Canada's most historic of that war. On the anniversary, at ceremonies at the Kapyong memorial, Canada's military attache, Col. Chip Bowness, recounted the battle.

In attendance was a survivor -- laconic former Corp. Frank Boe, of B Company, on his first visit to Korea since the war. ("Kapyong meant nothing to us at the time -- just a lot of Chinese wanting to get through and we weren't going to let them").

Fortunately, the attacking Chinese had outrun their artillery, and they thought they could sweep over the Canadians and Royal Australian Regiment on the Patricias' flank.



It was not to be. The Aussies withdrew, and later counter-attacked, while the Canadians stayed firm and, when overrun, called down their own artillery on their positions -- three successive times for one platoon. When battalion headquarters was surrounded and attacked, Col. Stone had (as good commanders do) acquired more weaponry than was authorized -- some two dozen heavy and medium machine-guns which cut the Chinese to shreds. Recalled Boe: "All of us felt it was them or us. We weren't going to move and would have fought to the last man."

In his book about the Canadians in Korea, Find the Dragon, Robert Hepenstall, who was there, tells of soldiers changing slit trenches to be with a buddy when they were killed, they were so certain there would be no surrender.

Unlike the Gloucesters, who left it too late to withdraw, the Canadians fought their way out after being resupplied by airdrops of ammunition and food. The Chinese never broke through.

Amazingly, only 10 Patricias were killed and 23 wounded which, considering the thousands of Chinese they killed, testifies to superb and shrewd fighting. From a British viewpoint, there were too few casualties at Kapyong for it to be memorable, even though both the Pats and Gloucesters killed thousands of Chinese.

By comparison, the Gloucesters were largely unprepared for the attack and had 59 killed and 526 taken prisoner. Only 39 Gloucesters escaped to allied lines.



Arguably, the difference was Col. Stone, who had a good eye for ground, knew the enemy was coming, alerted his troops and sited his companies and platoons so they could support one another. Col. Carne ignored warnings (or didn't relay them) and, to put it bluntly, was an inarticulate, mediocre commander who'd been with the regiment all his life and spread his troops so they were isolated and at risk.

At the end, when he couldn't be rescued or withdraw, Col. Carne gave his men the choice of fighting on or surrendering. Most were captured.

Looking back, the Gloucester battle was a debacle. The CO and Brigade command left much to be desired. The shock of losing an historic regiment required one of two things -- either an inquiry into incompetence, or glorify the defeat. Not for the first time in British history, the second option was chosen, hence the myth of the "Glorious Gloucesters" whose rank and file deserved better leadership.

Rag-tag unit

Both the Gloucesters and the Pats were awarded a U.S. Presidential Citation (which irritated Ottawa), and today the official Canadian memorial at Kapyong pays tribute to Canadian "Armed Forces" and doesn't mention the PPCLI. A modest marker paid for by the PPCLI Association, notes the PPCLI involvement.

As well as the Victoria Cross, Col. Carne (who performed stoically and gallantly as a PoW) also got an American Distinguished Service Cross. Stone got a distinguished Service Order, as did most Canadian COs in Korea.



Looked at dispassionately, an argument can be made that Kapyong, defensively, was a battle worthy of comparison with the offensive battle of Vimy Ridge in WWI. The rag-tag unit of volunteers and misfits, led by excellent wartime NCOs and officers, fought brilliantly but anonymously, if one judges by non-Canadian history books.

Even the redoubtable T.R. Fehrenbach in his classic Korean war history, This Kind of War, pays tribute to the "Glosters" for saving Seoul, but omits mention of Patricias at Kapyong -- the power of British propaganda.

No one should be surprised.

History shows many military disasters covered up or disguised by depicting them as heroic lost causes which should have resulted in courts martial.

After all, British history for years has described Vimy Ridge as a British army triumph, so why should anyone be surprised that the "Glorious Gloucesters" and their brave but incompetent colonel get accolades while Lt.-Col. Jim Stone and his Patricias at Kapyong get second billing -- even from our own government, which these days seems more embarrassed than proud of our military's fighting heritage.

Additional Sources:

www.britishembassy.or.kr
www.canoe.ca
www.koreanwar.org
www.national-army-museum.ac.uk
www.tv.cbc.ca
www.glosters.org
www.awm.gov.au
www.vvaa.org.au
bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net
www.army.dnd.ca

[SAMWolf]

On the night of 22 April 1951, Chinese forces launched a major offensive against United Nations forces defending the South Korean capital, Seoul, and positions further east trying to break through the UN lines on the Imjin River and Kapyong Valley during the Korean War.

The 1st Battalion (The Gloucestershire Regiment) held on for 3 nights until eventually overwhelmed and over run. They held the Chinese long enough to break the momentum of the attack and for the UN forces to regroup and establish a new front.

Next morning the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade (including the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment) was ordered to the valley of the Kapyong River about 60 kilometres north-east of Seoul, where South Korean forces were being driven back.

During a night of fierce fighting and throughout the daylight hours of 24 April the Australians and a Canadian battalion, supported by a New Zealand artillery regiment, stalled the Chinese advance before eventually withdrawing after dark. At a cost of 32 men killed, 59 wounded and three missing (taken prisoner), the Australians had helped hold up the Chinese 60th Division and inflicted heavy casulaties which totaled more than 500 killed alone. For their contribution to this action, 3 RAR was awarded a US Presidential Citation.

[SAMWolf]

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[SAMWolf]

[SpookBrat]

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[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on April 22:
1357 Johan I King of Portugal (1383-1433)
1451 Isabella I of Castile, Queen of Spain (1479-1504), patron of Columbus
1515 Antoine of Bourbon duke of Vendôme/king of Navarra
1610 Alexander VIII [Pietro Ottoboni] Italy, lawyer/Pope (1689-91)
1640 Mariana Alcoforado Portugal, nun
1658 Giuseppe Torelli Italy, composer (Concerti Grossi op 8)
1682 Willem I Kerricx the Young Flemish architect/sculptor/painter
1690 John Carteret Earl Granville (C), English chief minister (1722-42)
1707 Henry Fielding England, novelist (Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones)
1724 Immanuel Kant Konigsberg Germany, philosopher (Critique of Pure Reason)
1766 Madame de Stael Swiss-French belle-lettrist (An Extraordinary Woman)
1773 Jean V baron de Rebecque Swiss/Dutch army leader
1775 Georg Hermes German philosopher/theologist (Hermenianen)
1777 Henry Clay the great compromiser
1781 Christian Friedrich Hermann Uber composer
1799 Jean Poiseuille physician/physiologist (blood pressure)
1816 Philip James Bailey English poet (Festus)
1818 Cadwallader Colden Washburn Major General (Union volunteers)
1823 Alfred Gibbs Major General (Union Army), died in 1868
1827 William Hopkins Morris Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1900
1828 Guilherme Antonio Cossoul composer
1831 Alexander McDowell McCook Major General (Union volunteers)
1832 Julius Sterling Morton Adams NY, (Governor-NE), started Arbor Day
1839 August W Eichler German botanist
1853 Alphonse Bertillon France, anthropologist, devised crime ID system
1854 Henri-Marie Lafontaine Belgium, international lawyer (Nobel 1913)
1856 [Marie] Louise Hens Flemish actress (Two Orphans)
1858 Ethel Mary Smyth composer
1863 Cornelis A J van Dishoeck Dutch publisher
1864 Phil May Wortley Yorkshire, cartoonist
1866 Hans von Seeckt German General (Future of the Reich)
1868 Jose Vianna da Motta composer
1870 Nikolai Lenin [Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov] Bolshevik/USSR revolutionist
1873 Ellen Anderson Glasgow US, novelist (Ancient Law, Pulitzer-1942)
1876 O E Rölvaag Norwegian-American novelist (Giants in the Earth)
1876 Robert Bárány Sweden, otologist, vestibular expert (Nobel 1914)
1878 Kitty Gordon Folkestone England, entertainer
1881 Alexander Kerensky Simbirsk, Russian PM (1917)
1884 Armas Emmanuel Launis composer
1884 John van Capel oldest man in Netherlands (Died Sept 3, 1992)
1884 Otto Rank [Rosenfeld] Austria, psychoanalysist (Künstler)
1889 Ludwig Renn writer
1891 Belle Bennett Milcoon Rapids IA, actress (Stella Dallas, Iron Mask)
1891 Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev Sontsovka Ukraine, composer
1892 Nikolai Obouhov composer
1899 Martyn Green London, actor (Gilbert & Sullivan, Iceman Cometh)
1899 Vladimir Nabokov St Petersburg, novelist
19-- Mark Davis rocker (Ugly Kid Joe-Mad Man, Too Bad)
1902 Megan Lloyd George English politician
1904 J[ulius] Robert Oppenheimer New York NY, head of Manhattan (A-bomb) Project
1906 Eric William Fenby composer/president (Delius Society)
1908 Eddie Albert [Heimberger] Rock Island IL, actor (Oliver-Green Acres)
1909 Ralph Byrd Dayton OH, actor (Dick Tracy TV Show)
1910 Eric Scowen physician
1910 R J Ritchie tennis player
1912 Gavalda Miguel Querol composer
1912 Kathleen Mary Ferrier England, contralto (Orfeo Ed Evridice)
1914 Charles Hubert Sisson author/poet (Christopher Homm)
1914 Hans Baumann writer
1914 Jan de Hartog Dutch/English writer (Holland's Glory)
1915 Dick Dudley Tennessee, TV host (Village Barn)
1915 Lord Airedale British Lord (Socialist Democrat)
1916 Yehudi Menuhin New York NY, violinist/conductor (Bartok's Sonata)
1916 Earl of Oxford & Asquith Governor (Seychelles)
1917 Leo Abse biographer/MP
1917 Mile Yvette Chauviré France, ballerina assoluta (Sleeping Beauty)
1917 Sidney Nolan Australia, painter/illustrator (Ned Kelly)
1918 Robert Wadlow Alton IL, world's tallest man (8'11.1")
1919 Donald Cram US, biochemist (Nobel 1987)
1920 Hal March San Francisco CA, actor/TV host ($64,000 Question, Outrage)
1920 Jos de Haes Flemish philological/poet (Misery of the Word)
1922 Charles Mingus Arizona, jazz musician (Pithecanthropus Erectus)
1922 Lou Stein Philadelphia PA, pianist (Tonight! America After Dark)
1922 Richard C Diebenkorn Jr US, painter (Ocean Park Paintings)
1923 Aaron Spelling Dallas TX, TV executive producer (Charlie's Angels, Melrose Place, Dynasty, Love Boat, Starsky and Hutch, Mod Squad)
1923 Betty Page Kingsport TN, playmate (January 1955)/model (Dark Angel)
1923 Hugh Lloyd actor (Punch & Judy Man, Dunroamin' Rising)
1923 Paula Fox US children's books author (Poor George)
1923 Peter Bowring CEO (C T Bowring)
1925 Christopher Ball Oxford, warden (Keble College)
1925 George Cole London England, actor (Minder, Vampire Lovers)
1926 Bob Flannigan Greencastle IN, singer (4 Freshmen)
1926 Charlotte Rae Milwaukee WI, actress (Edna-Facts of Life)
1926 James Stirling Scottish D-day-parachutist/architect/knight
1927 Pascal Bentoiu composer
1928 Margaret Pereira forensic scientist
1929 Geoffrey Marshall Provost (Queen's College, Oxford)
1929 Margaret Pereira forensic scientist
1929 Michael Atiyah educator (Trinity College - Cambridge England)
1929 Robert Wade-Gery diplomat/exec director (Barclays de Zoete Wedd)
1929 Victoria Opoku-Ware Ghanaian queen
1931 Robert Dickson Canada, ice hockey player (1948)
1931 Henk Gortzak Dutch MP (CPN/PSP)
1931 Ronald Hynd British choreographer (English National Ballet)
1931 Siem Vroom Dutch actor (The Lift, Bridge Too Far, Mysteries)
1932 Michael Colgrass Chicago IL, composer (Best Wishes)
1933 John A Llewellyn Cardiff Wales, astronaut
1933 Robin Hutton merchant banker
1934 David Ratford diplomat
1934 John K Barlow English rubberplanter/financier/multi-millionaire
1934 Nico Ladenis British restauranteur (Nico at 90)/=
1934 Viscount Portman British landowner/multi-millionaire
1935 Christopher Ball linguist/warden (Keble College-Oxford)
1936 Glen Campbell Delight AR, actor/singer (Rhinestone Cowboy, By the Time I get to Phoenix, Galveston, Wichita Lineman)
1937 Jack Nicholson Neptune NJ, actor (As Good As It Gets, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Shining)
1937 Bobbi Fiedler (Representative-Republican-CA, 1981- )
1937 David Summerscale head master (Westminster School England)
1937 Jack Nitzsche composer/songwriter (An Officer & a Gentleman)
1937 Ken[neth] Palmer cricketer (1-190 in only Test for England, now Test umpire)
1938 Alan Bond tycoon/yachtsman
1939 Jason Miller Scranton PA, actor/writer (Exorcist, Light of Day)
1939 John Chilcot civil servant
1939 John Foley Major-General
1940 Peter Goldstein joint founder (Superdrug)
1943 Mel Carter singer (Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me)
1943 Steve Dunne cricketer (New Zealand Test umpire on international panel)
1944 Joshua Rifkin composer
1945 Alan Dukes Irish President (Fine Gael
1945 Donald Graham US businessman(?)
1945 Gielijn Escher Dutch postage stamp artist
1945 Robert Key MP/British undersecretary for National Heritage
1946 Dectuplets Bacacay Brazil, 8 males & 2 females
1946 Archy Kirkwood MP (L-D)
1947 Barry Guy composer
1948 Carole Drinkwater actress (Father, All Creatures Great & Small)
1949 Spencer Haywood Silver City MS, NBA star (Seattle Supersonics, New York Knicks, Olympics-gold-1968)
1950 Jancis Robinson wine writer/broadcaster
1950 Lewis Biggs curator (Tate Gallery-North Liverpool)
1950 Peter Frampton Kent England, guitarist/vocalist (Frampton Comes Alive)
1952 Steve Bond Haifa Israel, actor (Jimmy Lee Holt-General Hospital, To Die For)
1954 Joseph Bottoms Santa Barbara CA, actor (Surfacing, Blind Date)
1955 Arthur Baker rock producer (Afrika Banbaataa-Planet Rock)
1957 Alan Campbell Homestead FL, actor (EZ-3's a Crowd)
1957 Ethel White WBL guard (New York Stars)
1958 Ashraf Ali cricket wicket-keeper (Pakistani mid-80s)
1958 Ken Olandt actor (April Fool's Day, Imposter, Leprechaun)
1959 Catherine Mary Stewart Edmonton Alberta Canada, actress (Passion & Paradise, Riding the Edge)
1959 Nicky Le Roux South Africa, LPGA golfer (1994 Atlanta champion-15th)
1959 Ranjan Madugalle cricketer (pioneer of Sri Lanka's Test teams)
1959 Ryan Stiles Seattle WA, actor (Lewis-Drew Carey Show)
196- Brooke McCarter Philadelphia PA, actor (Paul-The Lost Boys)
1960 Lloyd Honeyghan English welterweight boxing champion (1986)
1961 Byron Allen Los Angeles CA, comedian (Real People, Byron Allen Show)
1961 Jeff Hostetler NFL quarterback (New York Giants, Raiders, Redskins/1990 Superbowl)
1961 Jimmy Key Huntsville AL, pitcher (Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Orioles)
1962 David Wettlaufer Kitchener Ontario Canada, golfer (Ontario Beefeater-1986, 87)
1962 Denise Baldwin Atlanta GA, LPGA golfer (1991 Futures Salisbury)
1964 Bob McCann NBA forward (Washington Bullets)
1964 Chris Makepeace Toronto Ontario Canada, actor (Vamp, My Bodyguard, Meatballs, Oasis)
1966 Glenn Parker NFL offensive tackle (Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs)
1966 Serge Poudrier hockey defenseman (Team France 1998)
1967 Bart Bowen Albuquerque NM, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1967 Harvey Williams NFL running back (Oakland Raiders)
1967 Mike Buck NFL quarterback (Arizona Cardinals)
1967 Sheryl Lee Boulder CO, actress (Twin Peaks, Love Lies & Murder)
1968 Bimbo Coles NBA guard (Golden State Warriors)
1968 Carlos Costa Spain, tennis star
1968 Jo Angel cricketer (big Western Australia right-arm fast bowler, Australia 1993-)
1968 Vernell Coles basketball player (Olympics-bronze-1988)
1968 Zarley Zalapski Edmonton, NHL defenseman (Calgary Flames)
1969 Craig Logan Scotland, rock bassist (Brothers Front, Bon Jovi-New Jersey)
1969 Bobby Olive NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts)
1969 George Williams Lacrosse WI, catcher (Oakland A's)
1969 Roger Jones NFL center (Cincinnati Bengals)
1970 Claus Biedermann WLAF linebacker (Rhein Fire)
1970 Coleman Bell NFL tight end (Washington Redskins)
1971 Ingo Rademacher German Federal Republic, actor (Jasper Jacks-General Hospital)
1971 James Burton NFL cornerback (Chicago Bears)
1971 Milos Holan Bilovec Czechoslovakia, NHL defenseman (Anaheim Mighty Ducks)
1971 Nicklas Kulti Sweden, tennis star
1972 Anna Falchi Tampera Finland, actress (La Dolce Vita '90)
1972 Sabine Appelmans Aalst Belgium, tennis star (Strasbourg doubles final)
1973 Christopher Sanders tight end (Washington Redskins)
1973 Scott Fields NFL linebacker (Atlanta Falcons)
1974 Scott Nemes actor (Ricky Halsenbach-The Wonder Years, Grant Schumacker-It's Garry Shandling)
1974 Adam Parfitt Victoria British Columbia Canada, rower (Olympics-96)
1974 Georgia Goettmann model (Cosmopolitan-May 1995)
1975 Brian Manning wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)
1975 Stijn Haeldermans Belgian soccer player (MVV)
1976 Milena Mayorga Miss El Salvador-Universe (1996)
1980 Aaron Metchnik Santa Barbara CA, actor (Stephen-Torkelsons)
1980 Monica Flammer Gainesville FL, gymnast (alternate-Olympics-96)
1985 Lauri Hendler Fort Belvoir VA, actress (Julie-Gimme a Break)

---

Deaths which occurred on April 22:
0536 Agapitus I Italian Pope (535-36), dies
1253 Elias van Cortona Italian General (1232-39), dies at about 53
1355 Eleonora Plantagenet daughter of King Edward II, dies at 36
1462 Gilbert of Lannoy master of Villerval/Tronchiennes/Santes, dies
1521 Juan de Padilla Spanish nobleman/communero-rebel, beheaded
1592 Bartolommeo Ammanati Italian sculptor/architect, dies at 80
1648 Catharina Belgian van Nassau daughter of Willem, dies at 69
1662 John Tradescant traveller/gardener, dies
1672 Georg Stiernhielm Swedish scholar/author/poet (Hercules), dies at 73
1677 Wenzel E Fürst von Lobkowitz Austria chancellor (16..-74), dies at 68
1699 Hans A baron von Abschatz Silesian poet, dies at 53
1722 Pieter Erberfeld German/Thais merchant on Java, dies
1776 Johann Adolph Scheibe German music theroist/composer, dies at 67
1778 James Hargreaves inventor (spinning jenny), dies
1782 Josef Ferdinand Norbert Seger composer, dies at 66
1788 Zacharias H Alewijn Dutch poet, dies 46
1821 John Crome [Old Crome] English landscape painter/etcher, dies at 52
1827 Thomas Rowlandson caricaturist, dies
1830 Knud L Rahbek Danish literary/historian, dies at 69
1833 Richard Trevithick inventor (steam locomotive), dies at 62
1844 Henri-Montan Berton composer, dies at 76
1864 Joseph Gilbert Totten US Union General-Major, dies at 76
1865 Francis Washburn US Union Colonel/General Major, dies of injuries
1883 Octave Fouque composer, dies at 38
1892 Edouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo composer, dies at 69
1899 E J [Ned] Gregory cricketer (one Test for Australia), dies
1901 William Stubbs historian/bishop, dies
1908 Henry Campbell-Bannerman British premier (1905-08), dies
1929 Odon Peter Jozsef de Mihalovich composer, dies at 86
1930 Jeppe Aakjær Danish journalist/author/poet (Rugens sange), dies at 63
1933 Frederick Henry Royce motorcar pioneer, dies
1941 Arthur Briscoe cricketer (South African batsman in 2 Tests), dies
1944 Mezio Agostini composer, dies at 68
1945 Käthe Kollwitz German graphic artist, dies at 77
1946 Harlan Fiske Stone Chief Justice Supreme Court (1941-46), dies at 73
1946 Lionel Atwill actor (Captain Blood, Great Waltz), dies at 61
1950 Charles H Houston architect of NAACP legal campaign, dies at 54
1951 Stanley Ridges actor (possessed, Sergeant York, Mr Ace), dies at 59
1953 Top Naeff [Anthonetta van Rhijn-N] Dutch writer, dies at 75
1957 Ignatius Roy D Campbell British poet (Garcia Lorca), dies at 54
1961 Maria Radulphus [Adrian Hermus] Curaçao school inspector, dies at 91
1962 Solomon Pimsleur composer, dies at 61
1962 Vera Reynolds actress (Dragnet Patrol, Lawless Woman), dies at 62
1967 Tom Conway actor (Mark Saber, Betty Hutton Show), dies at 62
1975 Mary Philips actress (Farewell to Arms), dies at 75
1976 Frutuoso de Lima Viana composer, dies at 79
1977 Charles Sanford orchestra leader (Your Show of Shows), dies at 71
1978 Will Geer actor (Grandpa-The Waltons), dies at 75
1980 Jane Froman singer (Jane Froman's USA Canteen), dies at 72
1981 Brailsford Reese Brazeal dean (Morehouse College), dies at 76
1982 Melville Bell Grosvenor president (National Geographic Society), dies at 80
1983 Earl "Fatha" Hines US, jazz pianist/conductor, dies
1983 Walter Slezak actor (Bedtime For Bonzo), commits suicide in New York at 80
1984 Ansel Adams US photographer, dies at 82
1986 Mircea Eliade writer, dies
1988 Irene Rich US actress (Beau Brumell, Champ), dies at 96
1989 Huey Newton US, Black Panther leader, shot dead at 47
1990 Bertil Unger actor (Devil & Max Devlin), dies
1992 Billy Wayne White murderer, executed in Texas at 34
1992 Joop [Joseph] van Santen Dutch 1st Chamber member (CPN), dies
1992 Youcca Troubatzkoy actress (Flower of the Night), dies
1993 Andries Treurnicht founder South Africa Conservative Party, dies at 72
1993 Cesar Chavez US farm worker (United Farm Workers), dies at 66
1993 Mark Koenig baseball shortstop (New York Yankees), dies at 88
1994 D Nauta theologist/church historian/lawyer, dies at 96
1994 Denis Pitts journalist, dies at 64
1994 Jack Alexander Bently trombonist, dies at 80
1994 Richard Milhous Nixon 37th US President (1969-75), dies of stroke at 81
1994 Schmidt Hans Burkhardt artist, dies at 89
1995 Don Pullen pianist/composer, dies at 53
1995 Maggie Kuhn activist (Gray Panthers), dies at 89
1996 David Shipman film historian, dies at 63
1996 Erma Bombeck humorist (Grass is Greener over the Septic Tank), dies at 69
1996 Hiteshwar Saikia PM of Indian state of Assam (1991-96), dies

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1961 BALLENGER ORVILLE ROGER COLUMBUS OH.
08/17/62 RELEASED

1961 BIBER GERALD MACK BENKELMAN NE.
PROB KIA IN AMBUSH AFT OVRUN SFG CO B 7TH SFG (ABN) 1SF

1961 BISCHOFF JOHN MALCOM MOUNTAIN REST SC.
PROB KIA IN AMBUSH AFT OVRUN

1961 MOON WALTER H. RUDY AR.
07/22/61 KIA IN ESCAPE

1966 BOYD CHARLES G. ROCKWELL CITY IA.
02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98

1966 BRUNSTROM ALAN L. MIAMI FL.
02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98

1966 NICKERSON WILLIAM B. STAMFORD CT.

1966 WEIMORTS ROBERT F. EIGHT MILE AL.

1968 COOLEY DAVID L. WARWICK VA.
RADIO CONTACT LOST

1968 CHOMYK WILLIAM HICKSVILLE NY.

1968 PALMGREN EDWIN D. WINSTON-SALEM NC.

1968 RIGGINS ROBERT P. CHAMPAIGN IL.

1969 SCOTT VINCENT CALVIN JR RICHMOND VA.

1969 VAN CLEAVE WALTER SHELBY DALLAS TX.

1970 ADACHI THOMAS Y. LOS ANGELES CA.
GROUP BURIAL 11/08/95

1970 BROOKS WILLIAM L. TOLAR TX.
GROUP BURIAL 11/08/95

1970 DAVIS CHARLIE B. DAYSBORO KY.
REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95

1970 FISHER DONALD G. HAZLETON PA.
GROUP BURIAL 11/08/95

1970 GOLZ JOHN B. ROCK ISLAND IL.

1970 HARRIS STEPHEN W. SPRINGFIELD MO.
REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL

1970 HENSLEY RONNIE L. RICHWOOD WV.
REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL

1970 IRELAND ROBERT N. SAN BERNARDINO CA.
REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL

1970 LINT DONALD M. DES MOINES IA.
REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL

1970 ROWLEY CHARLES S. RIVERTON CT.
REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL ID DISPUTED

1970 TOWLE JOHN C. HARRISBURG IL. REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95

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

---

On this day...
0687 -BC- Chinese record a meteor shower in Lyra
0296 St Gaius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0536 St Agapitus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1056 Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye
1073 Pope Alexander II buried/Ildebrando chosen as Pope Gregory VII
1145 19th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1164 Raynald of Dassel names Guido di Crema as anti-pope Paschalis III
1370 Bastille begins being built in Paris France
1500 Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil & claims it for Portugal
1509 Henry VIII ascended to throne of England
1521 French king François I declares war on Spain
1526 1st slave revolt occurs in South Carolina
1529 Treaty of Saragosa Spain & Portugal divide eastern hemisphere
1648 English army claims king Charles I responsible for bloodshed
1659 Lord protector Cromwell disbands English parliament
1662 Royal Society incorporates
1671 King Charles II sits in on English parliament
1674 Netherlands & Münster sign peace treaty
1676 Battle of Etna - Netherlands/Spain vs France, M de Ruyter fatally wounded
1677 Battle at Catania between French & Dutch fleet
1692 Edward Bishop is jailed for proposong flogging as cure for witchcraft
1722 19 VOC "komplotteurs" in Batavia executed
1728 Pierre de Marivaux' "Le Triomphe de Plutus", premieres in Paris France
1769 Madame du Barry becomes King Louis XV's "official" mistress
1793 President George Washington attends opening of Rickett's, 1st circus in US
1796 Napoleon defeats Piedmontese at Battle of Mondovi
1804 Gioacchino Rossini (12) performs in Imola
1809 Battle at Eckmühl - Napoleon beats Austria arch duke Karl
1817 Curaçao prohibits use of white paint due to fierce sunlight
1823 Baltic Club (Exchange) forms in London
1823 R J Tyers patents roller skates
1838 English steamship "Sirius" docks in NYC after Atlantic crossing
1861 Robert E Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces
1864 US mints 2¢ coin (1st appearance of "In God We Trust")
1876 1st National League game, Boston Braves beat Philadelphia Athletics 6-5; Philadelphia Athletics Wes Fisler scores baseball's 1st run
1876 Tchaikovsky completes his "Swan Lake" ballet
1884 Thomas Stevens starts 1st bicycle trip around the world (2 years 9 months)
1884 US recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
1889 Oklahoma land rush officially starts; as many as nine out of ten of these settlers had jumped the gun, earning themselves the name "Sooners"
1893 Francis Dhanis army occupies Kasongo
1893 Paul Kruger elected President of Transvaal for 3rd time
1897 NYC Jewish newspaper "Forward" begins publishing (stiil active)
1898 1st Spanish-American War action USS Nashville, takes enemy ship
1898 Baltimore Oriole James Hughes no-hits Boston Braves 8-0
1898 Cincinnati Red Theodore Breitenstein no-hits Pirates 11-0
1898 Congress passes Volunteer Army Act calling for a Volunteer Cavalry
1898 US President William McKinley orders blockade of Cuban harbors
1903 American Power Boat Association forms
1903 New York Highlanders (Yankees) 1st game, Senators win 3-1 before 11,950
1905 Operations begin uniting conservatory of Nature Monument in Amsterdam
1906 Olympic games held in Athens are not accepted by the IOC
1906 New rule puts umpire in sole charge of all game balls
1908 Queensland beat New South Wales by 171 runs for their 1st cricket win at Gabba
1913 Montenegro troops march into Skoetari, North-Albania
1914 Babe Ruth's 1st professional game (as a pitcher) is a 6-hit 6-0 win
1914 México ends diplomatic relations with US
1915 1st military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany) in WWI
1915 2nd Battle of Ypres begins
1915 New York Yankees don pinstripes & hat-in-the-ring logo for 1st time
1916 France battles at Fort Douaumont
1922 South Ossetian Autonomous Region is established in Georgian SSR
1924 Hague Chambers of Commerce forms, Netherlands
1926 Persia, Turkey & Afghánistán sign treaties of security
1927 1st performance of Roger Sessions' Symphony in E
1930 US, Britain & Japan sign London Naval Treaty to reduce naval forces
1931 Egypt & Iraq sign peace treaty
1933 Dutch government forbids leftwing radio address
1937 NYC college students stage 4th annual peace strike
1940 Rear Admiral Joseph Taussig testifies before US Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable (He was right)
1943 German counter attack in North-Tunisia
1943 RAF shoots down 14 German transport planes over Mediterranean Sea
1944 Allies land near Hollandia, New-Guinea
1944 Hitler & Mussolini meet at Salzburg
1945 Concentration Camp at Sachsenhausen liberated
1945 Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 3
1946 SED, Sozialistic Einheitspartei Deutschlands, party forms
1947 1st NBA Championship Philadelphia Warriors beat Chicago Stags, 4 games to 2
1948 WTVR TV channel 6 in Richmond VA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1951 Ticker-tape parade for General MacArthur in NYC
1952 1st atomic explosion on network news, Nob NV
1952 Eugène Ionesco's "Les Chaises", premieres in NYC
1954 NBA adopts the 24-second shot clock & 6 team-foul rule
1954 Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings began
1954 Achiel van Acker forms Belgian government
1954 USSR joins UNESCO
1955 Congress orders all US coins bear motto "In God We Trust"
1955 Kansas City Athletic's 1st game, beat Tigers 6-2
1956 Patty Berg wins LPGA Dallas Golf Open
1957 All National League teams intergates, John Irwin Kennedy is 1st black on Phillies
1959 Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City Athletics 20-6, in 1 inning Sox score 11 runs on 1 hit, 10 walks, & 3 errors
1959 New York Yankee Whitey Ford strikes-out 15, beating Washington Senators, 1-0 in 14 innings
1961 Uprising of French parachutist of General Salan/Challe in Algeria
1962 Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Sunshine Golf Open
1962 New York Mets tie a National League record by losing 9 straight to start season
1962 Pittsburgh Pirates tie then record of 10 straight wins to start season
1962 Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 2
1964 World's Fair (Flushing Meadow, Corona Park, New York) opens
1966 Atlanta Braves win their 1st game, beating New York Mets 8-4
1966 USSR performs underground nuclear test
1967 Martial Law goes into effect in Greece
1969 1st human eye transplant performed
1969 Joe Frazier KOs Dave Zyglewick in 1:36 for heavyweight boxing title
1969 Robin Knox-Johnston ends 312 day non-stop sailing
1970 1st Earth Day held internationally to conserve natural resources
1970 New York Mets' Jerry Grote sets record of 20 put outs by a catcher
1970 New York Mets' Tom Seaver consecutively strikes out 10 San Diego Padres, for a total of 19
1970 Washington Senators beat New York Yankees 2-1 in 18 innings
1970 "Park" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 5 performances
1970 Flat Earth celebrated
1971 Soyuz 10 launched
1972 Apollo astronauts John Young & Charles Duke ride on the Moon
1974 Barbara Walters becomes news co-anchor of the Today Show
1975 Pittsburgh Penguins 2-New York Islanders 4-Quarterfinals-Penguins hold 3-2 lead
1976 Director Ingmar Bergman leaves Sweden due to taxation
1977 Simon Peres becomes premier of Israel
1978 Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Earl Anthony
1978 'The Blues Brothers' (Dan Akroyd and John Belushi) make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live
1979 Keith Richards and The New Barbarians give a concert to benefit the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Ottawa Canada
1979 Jane Blalock wins LPGA Florida Lady Citrus Golf Tournament
1981 10,000 copper workers in Chile strike
1981 Almost 1 million West German metal workers on strike
1981 Dodgers rookie Fernando Valenzuela tosses his 3rd shutout in 4 starts
1981 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1982 Atlanta Braves lose after winning 1st 13 games of season
1982 Launch of STS-3-Lousma & Fullerton
1983 New York Rangers 2-New York Islanders 5-Patrick Division Finals-Islanders win series 4-2
1983 Soyuz T-8 returns to Earth
1983 Stern magazine announces major historical find-discovery of 60 volume personal diaries written by Adolf Hitler (turned out to be a hoax)
1983 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1983 Start of 1st Sri Lanka-Australia Test Cricket match (at Kandy)
1984 Vicki Fergon wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic
1986 Consumer Price Index drops .04% for 2nd month in a row
1986 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1987 Sri Lanka Air Force bomb Tamil, 100s killed
1988 Women are allowed to compete in the Little 500 bicycle race in Bloomington IN, for the 1st time
1988 New Jersey Devil Patrik Sundstrom ties NHL playoff record of 8 points in a playoff game (hat trick & 5 assists) in 10-4 rout over the Capitals
1989 Nolan Ryan strikes out his 5,000th batter (Rickey Henderson)
1989 "Welcome to the Club" closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 12 performances
1990 "Truly Blessed" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 33 performances
1990 Lebanon releases US hostage Robert Polhill after 39 months
1991 Intel releases the 486SX chip
1991 Johnny Carson announces he will retire next year from Tonight Show
1991 Shalom America (Jewish cable network) is launched in Brooklyn & Queens
1991 Earthquake strikes Costa Rica & Panamá, kills 95
1991 Frank Thomas is 1st Chicago White Sox to homer at new Comiskey Park
1992 "High Rollers Social & Pleasure Club" closes at Helen Hayes NYC 14 performances
1992 6.0 earthquake in California
1992 Gas explodes in sewer, kills 200 in Guadalajara México
1992 Plane crash at Perris Valley Airport, California, kills 16 parachutists
1993 "Who's Tommy" opens at St James Theater NYC for 899 performances
1993 Candid Camera creator Allen Funt suffers a stroke at 78
1993 Holocaust Memorial Museum dedicated in Washington DC
1993 Seattle Mariner Chris Basio no-hits Boston Red Sox
1993 Tennis star Björn Börg divorces Loredana Berte
1994 7,000 Tutsi's slaughtered in stadium of Kibuye Rwanda
1994 Børge Ousland reaches North pole
1994 Ice skater Tonya Harding sues ex-husband Jeff Gillooly for $42,500
1994 In Denmark the largest lollipop, weighing 3,011 pounds is made
1994 Michael Moorer beats Evander Holyfield in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
1994 Schelto Patijn appointed mayor of Amsterdam
1995 General Tire World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Mike Aulby
1995 George Foreman beats Axel Schulz in 12 for heavyweight boxing title

---

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

Brazil : Discovery Day (1500)
Nebraska : Arbor Day, where they created it (1872)
Oklahoma : Oklahoma Day (1889)
Spain, US : Queen Isabella Day
USSR : Lenin's Birthday (1870)

---

Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Soter, pope (166-75), martyr
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Caius, pope (283-96), martyr
Jewish : Passover/Pesach (Feast of Deliverance) (Nisan 15, 5757 AM)

---

Religious History
1776 Pioneer American Methodist bishop Francis Asbury wrote in his journal: 'I found Christ in me the hope of glory; but felt a pleasing, painful sensation of spiritual hunger and thirst for more of God.'
1864 The motto "In God We Trust" first appeared on U.S. coinage, being struck on a bronze two-cent piece, issued during the American Civil War.
1897 In New York City, the world's largest Jewish daily newspaper, "The Forward," was first published. Abraham Cahan, 43, one of its founders, became editor of the paper in 1903, remaining until his death in 1951.
1933 American Bible teacher and author Kenneth E. Hagin traces his conversion to a saving Christian faith back to this date, at age 16.
1960 At a constitutional convention in Minneapolis, three major Lutheran bodies in the U.S. merged to form the American Lutheran Church, with a combined membership of about two million.

---

Thought for the day :
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

[SAMWolf]

1987 Sri Lanka Air Force bomb Tamil, 100s killed

I didn't even know Sri Lanka had an Air Force!

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Savannah (CL-42)

Brooklyn class light cruiser
Displacement: 9,475 t.
Length: 608”
Beam: 69’
Draft: 19’2”
Speed: 32 k.
Complement: 868
Armament: 15 6”; 8 5”; 4 aircraft

USS SAVANNAH (CL-42) was laid down on 31 May 1934 by the New York Shipbuilding Association, Camden N.J.; launched on 8 May 1937; sponsored by Miss Jayne Maye Bowden, niece of Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr., of Georgia; and commissioned in the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 10 March 1938, Capt. Robert C. Griffin in command.

Following a shakedown cruise to Cuba and Haiti in the spring, SAVANNAH returned to Philadelphia on 3 June for alterations followed by final trials off Rockland, Maine. The cruiser, prepared to protect American nationals should war break out in Europe, sailed from Philadelphia for England on 26 September and reached Portsmouth on 4 October. However, the Munich agreement had postponed war, so SAVANNAH returned to Norfolk on 18 October. Following winter maneuvers in the Caribbean, the light cruiser visited her namesake city, Savannah, Ga., from 12 to 20 April 1939. She got underway from Norfolk on 26 May; transited the Panama Canal on 1 June; arrived at San Diego on the 17th; and soon shifted to Long Beach.

SAVANNAH arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 May 1940 and conducted battle readiness and training operations in Hawaiian waters until 8 November. The light cruiser returned to Long Beach on 14 November and soon thereafter was overhauled in the Mare Island Navy Yard. She steamed back into Pearl Harbor on 27 January 1941 and remained on the Hawaiian Sea Frontier until 19 May, when she set course for the Panama Canal and reached Boston via Cuba on 17 June.

As the flagship of Cruiser Division 8, SAVANNAH conducted Neutrality Patrol in waters ranging south to Cuba and back up the seaboard to the Virginia Capes. On 25 August, she got underway from Norfolk to patrol in the South Atlantic as far as Trinidad and the Martin Vaz Islands in the screen of aircraft carrier WASP (CV-7). The task group then swept north from Bermuda to Argentia, Newfoundland, where SAVANNAH arrived on 23 September. During the next eight weeks, the cruiser helped cover British merchantmen and Allied convoys to within a few hundred miles of the British Isles, replenishing at Casco Bay, Me., or at New York.

SAVANNAH was in New York Harbor when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. She sailed that day for Casco Bay, and thence proceeded via Bermuda to Brazil, arriving at Recife on 12 January 1942. She joined the screen of aircraft carrier RANGER (CV-4) in patrolling north of Bermuda. That island became the cruiser's base as she watched over Vichy French warships based at Martinique and at Guadaloupe in the French West Indies. She departed Shelly Bay, Bermuda, on 7 June and entered the Boston Navy Yard two days later for an overhaul, completed by 15 August. SAVANNAH then sailed for readiness exercises in the Chesapeake Bay that would prepare her for the invasion of North Africa.

The cruiser became a unit of Admiral H. Kent Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force which would land some 35,000 Army troops and 250 tanks at three different points on the Atlantic coast of French Morocco. As part of the Northern Attack Group, commanded by Rear Admiral Monroe Kelly, SAVANNAH departed Norfolk on 24 October and rendezvoused with the Western Naval Task Force four days later at a point about 450 miles south southeast of Cape Race. The Task Force, including the outer screen, covered an area approximately 20 by 30 miles, making it the greatest war fleet sent out by the United States up to that time. Shortly before midnight on the night of 7-8 November, three separate task groups closed on three different points on the Moroccan coast to begin Operation "Torch."

SAVANNAH's Northern Attack Group was to land Brigadier General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr.'s 9,099 officers and men, including 65 light tanks, on five widely separated beaches on either side of Mehedia. Their objectives were the Port Lyautey city and all-weather airfield, the Wadi Sebou, and the Sale airfield.

On the morning of the 8th, SAVANNAH commenced firing against Vichy french guns near the Kasba, which had been firing on the landing boats. She also temporarily silenced a battery which had opened up on ROE (DD-418), enabling the destroyer to avoid disaster. By the next morning, SAVANNAH's six-inch guns had scored a direct hit on one of the two 138mm guns in fortress Kasba and had silenced the other.

During that same day, SAVANNAH's scout planes set a new style in warfare by successfully bombing french tank columns with depth charges, whose fuses had been altered to detonate on impact. The scout planes, maintaining eight hours of flying time daily, struck at other french targets, and also kept up antisubmarine patrol. SAVANNAH's planes located an enemy battery which had been firing on the destroyer DALLAS (DD-199), and eliminated it with two well-placed depth charges.

This action aided DALLAS in winning the Presidential Unit Citation for safely landing a U.S. Army Raider Battalion up the obstacle-strewn Wadi Sebou, just off the airport near Port Lyautey.

SAVANNAH's scout planes again bombed and strafed french tanks on the Rabat Road on the morning of 10 November. Throughout the day, her gunfire aided the Army advance. Hostilities fittingly ended on Armistice Day, 11 November. Four days later, the light cruiser headed home and reached Norfolk on the last day of November. After brief voyage repairs at New York, she sailed on 25 December to join the South Atlantic Patrol, arriving at Recife, Brazil, on 7 January 1943.

SAVANNAH's primary concern was the destruction of Nazi blockade runners in the South Atlantic. Teaming with escort carrier SANTEE (CVE-29) and a destroyer screen, she put to sea on 12 January on an arduous patrol that brought no results. She put back into Recife on 15 February and again steamed out to search for blockade runners on the 21st. On 11 March, she departed the formation with destroyer EBERLE (DD-430), to investigate a ship which had been sighted by an aircraft from SANTEE.

The German blockade runner, KOTA KJANDI, a former Dutch ship called KARIN by her crew, was brought to by shots fired across her bow by the two American warships. As a boarding party from EBERLE arrived alongside, powerful time bombs, planted just before the KARIN’s lifeboats got underway, exploded. Eleven of the boarding party were killed, but a SAVANNAH boat rescued three from the water. SAVANNAH also received 72 German survivors on board, quartering them below decks as prisoners of war. She returned to New York on 28 March and was overhauled to prepare her for a Mediterranean assignment.

SAVANNAH departed Norfolk on 10 May 1943 to protect troop transports en route to Oran, Algeria. She arrived there on 23 May and began preparing for Operation "Husky:" landings on the coast of Sicily at Gela. The cliffy coast there was topped by heavy coastal defense batteries, and no landing place could be found short of a 5,000-yard stretch of shore about a mile east of the mouth of the Gela River. Poised on the plateau above was the Hermann Goering Panzer Division, ready to strike with other combat troops.

SAVANNAH provided fire support to the 1st Infantry "Rangers" before dawn on 10 July. As soon as the first light appeared, the cruiser launched several scout planes. Swift German Messerschmitts intercepted with tragic results. Senior aviator Lt. C. A. Anderson was killed in flight, although his radioman, Edward J. True, was able to land the riddled plane on the sea and get picked up shortly after the plane went under. Three of SAVANNAH’s four spotter planes were shot down that day.

On the morning of 11 July, the ship was the first to respond to a call for naval gunfire at two points on a road leading into Gela. She knocked out several tanks before shifting her fire to the Butera road to aid advancing American infantry. Soon, friend and foe became so enmeshed in the battle, that naval gunfire could no longer intervene. The cruiser destroyed more tanks later in the afternoon, however, and she finished out the remaining hours of daylight by helping the "Rangers" repel an Italian infantry attack.

The next morning, SAVANNAH supported them with more than 500 rounds of 6-inch projectiles as they advanced toward Butera. That day, she gave medical attention to 41 wounded infantrymen, hit enemy troop concentrations far inland, and shelled their batteries high in the hills. On 13 July, SAVANNAH had but one call for naval gunfire; she answered by hurling several salvos on the hill town of Butera. Before the 1st Division pressed on into the interior, it thanked SAVANNAH for "crushing three infantry attacks and silencing four artillery batteries" as well as for demoralizing the Italian troops by the effect of her fire. The next day, SAVANNAH sailed for Algiers.

SAVANNAH returned to Sicily on 19 July 1943 to support the 7th Army's advance along the coast. On 30 July, carrying the pennant of Rear Admiral Lyal A. Davidson, the fighting ship arrived at Palermo Harbor to provide daily fire support. Her guns helped to repel enemy aircraft raiding the harbor on 1 and 4 August. On the 8th, her task force supported the landing of the 30th Regimental Combat Team, including artillery and tanks, on a beach nine miles east of Monte Fratello.

SAVANNAH returned to Algiers on 10 August to train with Army units for the invasion landings to be made at Salerno. Leaving Mers-el-Kebir Harbor on 5 September, her Southern Attack Force entered Salerno Bay a few hours before midnight of the 8th.

SAVANNAH was the first United States ship to open fire against the German shore defenses in Salerno Bay. She silenced a railway battery with 57 rounds, forced the retirement of enemy tanks, and completed eight more fire support missions that day. She continued her valuable support until the morning of 11 September when she was put out of action.

A radio-controlled glide-bomb had been released at a safe distance by a high flying German plane and exploded on sister cruiser PHILADELPHIA (CL-41). SAVANNAH increased her speed to 20 knots as a twin-engined Dornier (Do-217) bomber came in out of the sun. United States P-38 fighter aircraft and SAVANNAH's gunners, tracking the plane at 18,700 feet, failed to stop the smoke-trailed bomb. It pierced through the armored turret roof of the Number 3 Gun Turret, passed through three decks into the lower handling room where it exploded a gaping hole in the bottom, and tore open a seam in the ship's port side. For a half hour, secondary explosions in the gun room hampered firefighting efforts.

Working quickly, the crew sealed off flooded and burned compartments, and corrected her list. With some assistance from ocean-going tugs HOPI (AT-71) and MORENO (AT-87), she got underway on her own power by 1757, bound for Malta.

SAVANNAH lost 197 men in this action. Fifteen others were seriously wounded, while four were sealed in a watertight compartment for 60 hours. These four were not rescued until SAVANNAH had already arrived at Grand Harbor, Valletta, Malta, on 12 September.

After completing emergency repairs, SAVANNAH departed on 7 December for Philadelphia by way of Tunisia, Algiers, and Bermuda. She arrived on 23 December and remained there for the next eight months. While her battle damage was being repaired, an additional secondary battery and a new antiaircraft battery were installed.

SAVANNAH's navy yard overhaul was completed on 4 September 1944; she was underway the next day, and reported to the Commander, Fleet Operational Training Command on 10 September for shakedown and refresher training. She returned to Norfolk on 12 October for readiness training with Cruiser Division 8 and sailed on 21 January 1945 to rendezvous with cruiser QUINCY (CA-39), carrying President Roosevelt to the Mediterranean, en route to the Crimea, for a conference with Churchill and Stalin.

SAVANNAH entered Grand Harbor, Valletta, Malta, on 2 February. There, the President and his party debarked and continued on to Yalta by air. A memorial service was held at the graves of SAVANNAH's men killed in action off Salerno, before she departed Valleta on 9 February and steamed to Alexandria, Egypt, to await the President who returned to QUINCY on the 12th. The Presidential convoy departed the Nile delta on the 15th and returned to Hampton Roads on 27 February. SAVANNAH got underway the next day and reached her new base, Newport, R.I., on 8 March. Until 24 May, she operated as a schoolship for nucleus crews of ships not yet commissioned.

After a visit to New York and installation of radar guided fire control equipment for her 40 millimeter antiaircraft guns, SAVANNAH became flagship of a midshipman training squadron under Rear Admiral Frank E. Beatty. She departed Annapolis on 7 June for training at sea with over 400 midshipmen embarked. After two such cruises to Cuba, SAVANNAH debarked the midshipmen at Annapolis on 30 September, took on others, and sailed on 1 October for Pensacola, Fla. She spent the Navy Day celebrations from 25 to 30 October 1945 in her namesake city. She returned to Norfolk on 1 November to prepare for service in the "Magic Carpet" fleet returning veterans home from overseas.

SAVANNAH departed Norfolk on 13 November and reached Le Havre on the 20th. The following day, she put to sea with 1,370 men and 67 officer passengers bringing them to New York Harbor on 28 November. She returned from a similar voyage on 17 December.

The light cruiser was shifted to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 December 1945 for inactivation overhaul. She was placed in commission in reserve on 22 April 1946 and finally decommissioned on 3 February 1947. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 March 1959, and she was sold for scrapping on 25 January 1966 to the Bethlehem Steel Co.

SAVANNAH received three battle stars for World War II service.

SAVANNAH's scout planes set a new style in warfare by successfully bombing french tank columns with depth charges, whose fuses had been altered to detonate on impact.

I like it!

[SAMWolf]

SAVANNAH's scout planes set a new style in warfare by successfully bombing french tank columns with depth charges, whose fuses had been altered to detonate on impact.

I do too, good ole American ingenuity!

Sounds like half our Navy got in it's licks on the french.

Talk about being at the right time to take a picture! Just as a missle hit. Good Shot.

[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]

Good Morning Jen.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
Grumman F9F Panther

Monday morning, July 3, 1950 dawned bright and warm on the Yellow Sea, 180 miles (290 km) southwest of Inchon, South Korea. The Korean War was just 10 days old as the US Navy Carrier Valley Forge steamed north at high speed toward the 38th parallel. At 0935 hours she began launching aircraft. Jet engines began winding up from a high-pitched scream to a thunderous roar and one by one the catapult shot them forward and off the deck, clawing for altitude. The third aircraft away was flown by Lt. (jg.) Leonard Plog. The fourth was his wingman Ensign E. W. Brown. Two hours twenty minutes later the pair were over Pyongyang, North Korea in their Grumman "Panthers", riding shotgun for various Allied piston engine craft which were sent to wreak havoc on the enemy airfield located there. Spying a pair of Russian built YAK-9 piston engine craft taking off, Plog and Brown nosed over to challenge them. Plog arrived behind one YAK only to discover tracers flying past him from another enemy at "six". Pulling back hard on the stick, he was relieved to see the tracers falling away from him as Brown slid neatly astern the antagonist and put a stream of 20 mm cannon shells across the YAK from the top of the fuselage, just behind the canopy to about midway out on the left wing. There was a mighty explosion and the YAK disintegrated. It was the very first kill by a Navy jet, the Grumman Panther.

The Grumman XF9F-1 Panther began life in 1946 as design G-79, the company's first serious attempt to build a jet powered aircraft. It was a rather cluttered looking craft with 4 Westinghouse J-30 jet engines poking through the wings. Multiple engines were necessary due to the fact each engine developed only 1500 lbs. (6.67 kN) static thrust. In fact, there were so many engines there wasn’t room for fuel to run them.

As the British were a few years ahead of the US in jet engine development, the Grumman design team decided to import a single Rolls-Royce "Nene" for installation in the XF9F-2 prototype. At the same time, Pratt & Whitney was licensed by Rolls-Royce to manufacture the Nene which was a turbojet of 5,700 lbs (22.24 kN) maximum thrust. As a back-up in case the Nene project failed, Allison developed the J-33-A-8 which developed 4,600 lbs. (20.45 kN) thrust. This engine was installed in 54 F9F-3s. The Allison installation was purposely made identical to the Nene so that all Panthers could be easily switched to whichever power plant proved the most successful.

The first Nene powered XF9F-2 flew on Thanksgiving Day, 1947. It was a very sleek looking craft with elevators sitting high on a tail that jutted out past the tail pipe of the J-42 Nene. Air was scooped to the engine through triangular openings at the wing roots. It could reach 20,000 ft. (6,096 m) in just over two and a half minutes and zip along at 573 mph (922.16 kph) at that altitude. Top speed was just under 600 mph (965.61 kph) at sea level.

The Nene engine proved to be such a success, that all 54 production F9F-3s were eventually converted to dash 2s with the installation of the P&W J-42-P-6 (Nene). A total of 101 F9F-2s were thus produced. By odd coincidence, Russia was also licensed to build the same engine and they used it in their famous MIG-15 which would shortly be the Panthers adversary.

The first license built Nene powered F9F-2 Panther flew on November 24, 1948. Permanently mounted wing tip fuel tanks were added to this production model to increase the range and all production Panthers retained this feature. Four 20 mm cannons were mounted in the nose, giving the Panther awesome firepower.

It has been said the military views a new weapon as a Christmas tree. They just keep hanging things on it. They managed to hang enough ornaments on the dash 2 to increase its empty weight from 7,101 lbs. (3,221 kg) to 9,303 lbs. (4,219.84 kg) with a corresponding reduction in speed from 594 mph (955.95 kph) to 575 mph (925.37 kph) and climb rate from 7,700 ft/min (39.12 m/s) to 6,000 ft/min (30.48 m/s). On the plus side, the addition of wingman fuel tanks increased the range from 1,100 miles (1,770.27 kilometers) to 1,353 miles (2,177.44 kilometers). Every minute of combat in a Panther reduced its range by six miles and the extra tankage represented an extra 40 minutes in the combat area. By the end of August, 1951, over six hundred F9F-2 and -2Ps (photo reconnaissance version) Panthers had been produced by The Grumman Iron Works, including the dash 3s which were converted to -2 specifications.

The F9F-4 again started out with an Allison engine; the J-33-A-16 of some 6,900 lbs (30.68 kN) thrust. And again a Pratt & Whitney (the J-48-P-2, based on the Rolls-Royce "Tay") replaced it. The F9F-4 had its fuselage lengthened by 19 inches (48.26 centimeters) to enhance lateral stability. With the additional "ornaments" required by the Navy, the empty weight edged up to 10,045 pounds (4,556.41 kilos). However, this time the additional thrust of the P&W engine boosted top speed to 593 mph (954.34 kph), though not without the penalty of a small reduction in range. Full production of the dash 4 began late in 1951 and a total of 109 were built.

The F9F-5 proved to be the last and most numerous of the Panthers. Built concurrently with the dash 4, a total of 615 dash 5s and forty dash 5Ps were produced by December 1952 when production ended. It boasted a top speed of 604 mph (972.05 kph). The dash 5 was a formidable ground attack weapon with a capacity of 2,000 lbs (907.20 kg) of bombs and six 5" (12.7 cm) rockets, in addition to four 20 mm cannons mounted in the nose with 200 rounds each.

F9F Panther Specifications:

Primary Function: Naval Fighter
Contractor: Grumman
Crew: One
Powerplant: One Pratt & Whitney J-48-P-6 turbojet at 7,000 lbs (31.13 kN) max thrust.

Dimensions
Length: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
Height: 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m)

Weights:
Empty: 10,147 lbs (4,602 kg)
Maximum Takeoff: 18,721 lbs (8,491 kg)

Performance:
Speed: 604 mph (972 km/hr) at sea level
Ceiling: 42,800 ft (13,045 m)
Range: 1,300 mi (2,092 km) -- average
Armament: Four 20 mm M3 cannons w/ 200 rounds each. 2,000 lbs (907.20 kg) bombs. Six 5 inch rockets.

The F9F was one of the most potent fighting arms during the Korean War.


The illustration "First Light" above is by aviation artist Ed Markham

[Jen]

Hi Sam! I'll be back later to read your terrific thread. It's still too early for me...

[Jen]

Hi there!!!!!!

[Valin]

Might as well join the fun.
It's Earth Day. Find out how evil you are.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/897879/posts

[Camel Joe]

Remove

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Johnny. Love that last picture.

The Panther fits right into the Topic of the day too.

[SAMWolf]

Our Military Today

A US soldier stands near leopards in a private zoo in Baghdad's main presidential palace(AFP/File/Ramzi Haidar)


Havelock animal control officer Terri Morgan gets a kiss from Lupey, right, as she sits atop of Morgan's animal control truck at the home of Trina Sage in Havelock, N.C., Monday, April 14, 2003. Sage serves as a foster mother to Lupey, whose owner a Marine corporal from nearby Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station was deployed overseas. Morgan started 'Operation Semper Fido.' (AP Photo/Randy Davey)


Trina Sage, left, a foster parent to Lupey, center, and Terri Morgan, a police animal control officer, sit together in Sage's front yard in Havelock, N.C., Monday, April 14, 2003. Morgan started a foster parents for animals program called 'Operation Semper Fido' to find homes for pets when the troops started leaving for the war in Iraq (news - web sites). (AP Photo/Randy Davey)


U.S. Army Maj. Thomas Kinton, from Iowa, pets a sick bear in its cage in Baghdad's zoo, Saturday April 19, 2003. As the war in Iraq winds down, attention is turning to one group of forgotten victims: the animals at Baghdad's zoo. Weakened before the war by lack of food and medicine blamed on years of U.N. sanctions, the animals' lives were endangered during the conflict by the placement of an Iraqi gun battery on the zoo's grounds, opening it to destruction by U.S. military attack. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis


A U.S army soldier pets a camel inside the gates of the Iraqi Presidental Palace in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday April 15, 2003. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)


A shepherd rides his donkey past US soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division patrolling an area in northern Iraq, Monday April 21, 2003. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)