The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Navy Blimps (1940-1945)

Fear and respect--

With surface speeds of more than 70 mph and the ability to hover at low altitudes, blimps were well-suited for convoy protection and were capable of traveling great distances, staying in the air for long periods of time (sometimes upwards of 26 hours).

"A short flight was eight to 10 hours," said retired Navy Cmdr. Herb Biedebach, a World War II blimp pilot and president of the Naval Airship Association. "Flights of 17 or more hours could almost be called routine."

Rough weather and night flights were no deterrent for airships, and ship-bound sailors traveling in convoys were as glad to see the watchdogs on the lookout for German U-boats and Japanese submarines.

By 1943, due in no small part to LTA operations, the number of ships lost was reduced dramatically.

"The enemy had great fear and respect for airships. We could just float above the subs and pin them down until we got help or drop depth charges if that was possible," said Mr. Southwood. "The enemy never sank a ship that was escorted by a blimp."

LTA historian Richard Van Treuren can cite more than 25 types of missions and tasks accomplished successfully by blimps in World War II, including minesweeping, coastline patrol, and search and rescue. But lost among these uses, Mr. Van Treuren believes, is the unwritten story the blimp's successes in tracking, hunting, spotting, and sometimes even destroying enemy submarines.

Perhaps the most famous blimp attack on a U-boat during the war was mounted by Lt. Nelson Grills, pilot of the K-74. It is the only combat loss of a blimp acknowledged by the U.S. Navy.

While protecting two ships sailing in an area just off the Florida Keys on July 18, 1943, the K-74 crew spotted a surfaced U-boat. Lt. Grills decided the boats under his protection were in immediate danger and took a steep dive to attack the German U-boat.

The slow-moving K-74 was an easy target for anti-aircraft fire from the U-boat, but the airship returned fire with its guns, and the blimp's momentum carried it directly over the U-boat. Unfortunately, the blimp's bomb-release mechanism failed, and the battered airship crashed into the sea.

As the downed crew waited to be rescued, machinist mate/bombardier AMM2 Isadore Stessel was attacked and killed by a shark.

At first reprimanded for his attack on the U-boat, Lt. Grills would later be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Isadore Stessel's vindication didn't come until 40 years later, when he was posthumously awarded a commendation medal, which was given to his surviving family members.

Forgotten by history--

According to blimp veterans names like "poopie-bag sailors" given to them by others reflect the disrespect and historical disregard experienced by World War II's airship operators.

Although many LTA veterans cite a feeling of safety and security in the bellies of the silver giants, many who served on airships suffered disabilities.

"We were very vulnerable to attack from subs, but for some reason I always felt safe," said John McWade, a radar officer who served in several locations in the Western Hemisphere including Jamaica, Columbia, and Panama.

Mr. McWade, a DAV life member from Cathedral City, Calif., was exposed to harmful radar microwaves while serving in airships. The exposure left his eyes damaged but not his enthusiasm for LTA.

"I loved my service with LTA. The flying, the flight pay, and the chance to take part in those missions was something very special to me," Mr. McWade said.

Unfortunately, the Navy's leadership didn't always share his love of LTA.

"The hierarchy in the Navy had little or no LTA experience for the most part. This led to a lack of understanding for what we did," said John P. Hely IV, a blimp pilot who was involved in an attack on a German U-boat off the coast of Georgia in 1943.

Years later, Mr. Hely actually corresponded with the U-boat captain and found the aging officer, Volker von Simmermacher, still in awe of the defensive prowess of blimps.

"Part of Germany's fear of the blimps came from their belief that we would be as efficient with them as they would have been if they had blimps," Mr. Hely said.

Hangar B, which now houses the Tillamook Air Museum, takes shape in this 1943 photo from the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum. One of the arched trusses, which were prefabricated and then set in place using two cranes, begins to take shape in the foreground

By war's end, LTA squadrons had performed 35,600 operational flights in the Atlantic and 20,300 flights in the Pacific. There was a total of 5.5 million hours in the air, escorting nearly 90,000 ships loaded with cargo, troops, weapons, and supplies.

The 10 blimps of the pre-war days had grown to more than 130 by war's end, but it didn't last.

By 1959, all lighter-than-air activity in the Navy was confined to NAS Lakehurst with only 13 airships in use, and airship training was discontinued.

The role of the airship, particularly sea-based rescue and patrols, was relegated to the newest member of military aviation, the helicopter.

The Navy officially announced the end of its LTA program on June 26, 1961, and the final flight of a Navy airship took place at NAS Lakehurst on Aug. 31, 1962. In March of 1977, NAS Lakehurst ceased operations, and the role of blimps in World War II became a brief footnote in the annals of naval warfare.

"Many of us LTA veterans are coming up on 80 or are already there," said Harold Edwards, the blimp crew chief who caught a glimpse of the Hindenburg on its final flight. "We did the work they asked, finding subs and protecting ships, but my friends always ask where the recognition went, where are the air medals?

"Most people have never heard our stories."

The Forgotten Blimps of World War II

Anyone who has ever seen a group of blimps will, I believe, remember the occasion.

For me it was during World War II when our family went from Leavenworth, Washington, where we lived, to Shelton because my cousin was home on leave from the Coast Guard. He took me to see the blimps at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station at Shelton and told me how they were being used. I don't remember anything he said but I never forgot the sight of those lighter than air airships. The main operating base of squadron ZP-33 was Tillamook, Oregon, but I am sure at least six of the squadron's eight airships were at Shelton that day.

That memory stayed with me and one regret of my Navy career is the fact that I only had a token contact experience with blimps. When I served as Beachmaster at NAS Pensacola, bringing in PBM's that stopped by, my collateral duty was Petty Officer-in-charge of mooring blimps (at the "old" Chevalier Field) that came down from Lakehurst, New Jersey. Recently, blimp pilot, LT C. Donald Lee, USNR (Ret.) gave me access to an NAS Lakehurst information booklet from 1946. This material was invaluable in our effort to revive the lighter than air (LTA) story.

The need for a fleet of airships was recognized before our entry into World War II. Four successive chiefs of the Bureau of Aeronautics had called for such a non-rigid airship program. Their names are remembered but their "requests" were ignored. They were RADM's Moffett, King, Cook and Towers.

Finally, in June 1940 the 76th Congress passed Public Law 635 for a 10,000 plane program which included a provision for 48 non-rigid airships. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor six months later the only airships in service were training airships.

That total included four K-type patrol airships built between 1938-41, three small L-type trainers built in the same time frame, a single G-type trainer built in 1936 and two old TC-type Army trainers built in 1933. Only six (the K and TC types) were large enough for sea service, but the L ship would be used for coastal patrol. The only operational base was at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Even people who lived through those early war years have forgotten the toll taken by enemy submarines. The merchant ships sunk numbered in the thousands with 454 sunk by German U-boats in 1942 in our Atlantic coastal area. Many of these sinkings were within sight of land, sometimes during daylight hours while swimmers on the beach watched in disbelief. By 1943 the number of sinkings was reduced to 65, eight in 1944 and only three in 1945.

The reduction was in direct ratio to the development of LTA operations. No ship escorted by a blimp was ever sunk. We hasten to add that this antisubmarine program was a partnership operation that developed using blimps the small CVE "jeep carriers," PBY Catalina squadrons and other patrol squadrons. The aircraft however, could not be watching over these merchant fleets all the time, as the blimps could. The blimps often could do the job themselves with their limited fire power and depth charges. When needed they could call for aircraft from the CVE assigned the area. The system worked very well.

The account of one German U-boat well illustrates how critical was the need for a rapid development of a large airship program.

German U-123 was commanded by a 28 year old named Reinhard Hardegen. He led a group of five U-boats to the eastern seaboard to begin their attacks 13 January 1942. Each sub carried 15 torpedoes and 180 rounds of artillery for their gun mount. When he returned to occupied France he had sunk nine ships. He began another cruise 10 April 1942 and by the time he returned to France again, he had sunk a total of 19 ships on the two cruises. More than 400 ships were thus sunk in the first six months of 1942.

The initial operation of which U-123 was part was named Operation Drumbeat. Michael Gannon, author of the book "Operation Drumbeat," is extremely critical of the Navy and particularly ADM King. Our purpose here is not to respond to Mr. Gannon in defense of ADM King. However, a message sent to the Secretary of the Navy, 12 February 1940, from RADM Ernest J. King would seem to refute charges that RADM King had no understanding nor appreciation for the threat of submarines.

"The restatement of Naval Policy recommended by the General Board in February 1937 reaffirmed in October 1939 is considered sound, viz: to build and maintain non-rigid airships in numbers and classes adequate for coastal patrol and other essential Naval purposes."

The execution of this recommendation began 12 December 1941 by order of the President. The losses of 1942 were a result of unrealistic down sizing of the military, not poor leadership after the war began.

The Pacific Coast was not immune from the submarine menace. The SS Emidio was the first merchant ship sunk by a Japanese sub on 20 December 1942 off the coast near Eureka, California. A Japanese sub actually shelled oil derricks north of Santa Barbara, California on 23 February 1942. Early in the evening, 15-25 rounds struck the United States.

When the war began there were only 100 LTA pilots, including retired, reserves and students. There were also only 100 qualified enlisted air crewmen. by 1944 this number reached 1,500 pilots and 3,000 air crewmen. The number of administrative support personnel grew from 30 officers and 200 enlist in 1941 to 706 officers and 7,200 enlisted in 1945.

Airship operations first expanded from Lakehurst to Moffett Field, California when ZP-32 was established 31 January 1942, with two TC's and two L's. ZP-12 was established at Lakehurst 2 January 1942, also with four ships. This was the beginning of fleet airship service in defense against submarines.

Fleet Airship Wings were steadily added up and down both coasts with squadrons ultimately stationed in Jamaica, Brazil, Trinidad, then across the Atlantic to Port Lyautey, French Morocco and Gibraltar. These latter two operating bases not only protected the Strait but the entire Mediterranean Sea.

World War II Fleet Airship Wings and Squadrons

Wing	Squadron	NAS Main Base	# Airships
One	ZP-11	South Weymouth, MA	8
"	ZP-12	Lakehurst, NJ	8
"	ZP-24	Weeksville, NC	8
"	ZP-15	Glynco, GA	8
Two	ZP-21	Richmond, FL	15
"	ZP-22	Houma, LA	4
"	ZP-23	Vernam Field, Jamaica, BWI	4
Three	ZP-31	Santa Ana, CA	12
"	ZP-32	Moffett Field, CA	12
"	ZP-33	Tillamook, OR	8
Four	ZP-41	Sao Luiz, Brazil	8
"	ZP-42	Macelo, Brazil	8
Five	ZP-51	Trinidad, BWI	8
	SQD-14	Port Lyautey, French Morocco	6
	Util SQD-1	Headquarters, Key West, FL	8

People who served in LTA rightfully boast of their aircraft's dependability. Airships assigned to fleet units were 87 percent available "on line" at all times. 35,6000 operational flights were made in the Atlantic and 20,300 in the Pacific, for a total of 5550,000 hours in the air escorting 89,000 ships loads with troops, equipment and supplies. Additional hours were flown by utility squadrons using K-ships and G-ships providing photographic calibration and torpedo recovery services.

LTA records reflect only one airship lost through enemy action. This loss was the night of 18 July 1943 when K-74 was advised that no enemy sub was in her assigned patrol area. However, K-74 detected a sub by radar and engaged it on the surface in the Caribbean. A gun duel briefly silenced the German fire, but the airship's bombs failed to release while over the U-boat, where upon she was brought down by the submarine's gunfire. K-74 floated for hours and all the crew but one were picked up the next day.

Perhaps the loss of L-8 should be a part of this "short list." The strange account was once featured on the TV series "Unsolved Mysteries" because the ship returned but not the crew. L-8 was a part of ZP-32. On 16 August 1942, the ship took off from Treasure Island, California with ENS Charles Ellis Adams as pilot and LTJG Ernest Dewitt Cody, a qualified dirigible pilot, making his first flight in a blimp. An aviation mechanic Riley Hill was to make the flight but just prior to takeoff was told he didn't need to go. In retrospect he believes heavy moisture which had saturated the blimp's covering gave cause for concern in having three men aboard.

The flight was to proceed over Treasure Island, go west about 25 miles to Farallon Island, then north to Point Reyes, then to Moffett Field. After one and one half hours into the flight, at 0730, L-8 radioed they had spotted a suspicious oil slick and were going to investigate.

That message was the the last heard from L-8. At about 1120, San Francisco shore patrol called Moffett and reported a blimp had come down near a gold course bounced off a hill losing a depth charge. She then bounced back into the air and came down in downtown Daly City. No one was on board the airship.

The Navy assumed that due to a problem one of the two men had crawled outside and gotten into trouble whereupon the other officer tried to help and both fell to their death. That explanation, however, ignores the last radio transmission that they were investigating a "suspicious" oil slick. It does not explain the microphone that was for the external loud speaker dangling out the open door. The flight of L-8 remain a mystery to this day.

Rescue was another area in which blimps distinguished themselves. Captain F.B. Baldwin, USMCR, an ace with five Japanese aircraft to his credit, was one of the first people to be picked up and lifted directly into an airship car. He had crashed off the coast of California on a training flight. Many a survivor of sunken ships gratefully remembered the rations and medical supplies lowered to them from K-ships which then called for surface craft to pick them up. Since the airships had a galley this often meant hot food, which was welcome in the North Atlantic.

When World War II ended there were 15 blimp squadrons in operation, patrolling about three million square miles of water. Since blimps had played such a significant role, it was appropriate that airships of SP-12 participated in the sinking of the last U-boat destroyed in World War II. The pressure maintained by airships against German U-boats forced the introduction of the Snorkel, which is when some would say the German U-boats became a true submarine.

LTA blimp squadrons continued in the U.S. Navy after World War II at an ever decreasing level until the 1960's when they faded from the scene. The Goodyear blimp at sporting events is the main reminder we have of the glory days of LTA. Current plans by Germany's Zeppelin may revive rigid airships for luxury air transportation. But it appears doubtful non-rigid blimps will make a comeback, unless it would be for the famine relief programs, which appears will be with us for some time to come. No I haven't heard anyone suggest it but I keep hoping there's a good reason to bring back the blimps.

CTC Edward E. Nugent, USN (Ret)

Additional Sources:

www.bluejacket.com
www.history.navy.mil
www.potb.org
www.sfmuseum.org
www.goodyearblimp.com
www.lakehurst.navy.mil

'During World War II Navy Airships escorted over 89,000 merchant ships. Not one of these vessels was sunk or damaged by a German U-boat. Airships flew under all weather conditions. THEY WERE DEPENDABLE AND EFFECTIVE in anti-submarine wartime operations. After the war Navy airships flew air-sea rescue, hunter-killer from aircraft carriers, and early warning missions with great success until June 1962 when the Navy's lighter-than-air activities were terminated.'

-- Commander John A. Fahey, USN (Ret.),
"Wasn't I the Lucky One"

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On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on May 01:
1238 Magnus VI Lagabuter King of Norway (1263-80)
1245 Philippe III Poissy Yvelines France, King of France (1270-85)
1493 Phillippus Paracelsus Switzerland, physician/alchemist
1545 Franciscus Junius [François du Jon], French/Netherlands calvinist theologist
1567 Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt Dutch royal painter
1577 François van Kinschot Dutch treasurer
1582 Marco da Gagliano Italian opera composer
1592 Johann A Schall von Bell German missionaries/astronomer
1633 Sébastien le Prestre de Vauban French fortress architect
1672 Joseph Addison England, essayist (Spectator)
1735 John H van Kinsbergen Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral/founder of Dutch Marines Corps
1759 Jacob Albright [Albrecht], German/US predictor
1764 Benjamin Henry Latrobe engineer/architect (built Capitol)
1764 Gottfried Rieger composer
1769 Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington, British PM (C) (1828-30)
1771 George Guest composer
1775 Jacob-Joseph-Balthasar Martinn composer
1800 Ret Thomas Aloysius Dornin Commander (Union Navy), died in 1874
1807 John Bankhead "Prince John" Magruder Major General (Confederate Army)
1818 José Amador de los Ríos Spanish historian/poet
1819 William Steele Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1885
1825 George Inness US landscape painter ("Delaware Water Gap")
1829 José M de Alencar Brazilian writer/minister of Justice
1830 Mary Harris Jones [Mother Jones], hell-raiser
1835 Alfred Napoleon Alexander "Natti" Duffie Brigadier General (Union volunteers)
1839 Chardonnet inventor (rayon)
1851 Eberhard Nestle German oriëntalist/biblical scholar
1852 Calamity [Martha] Jane [Burke] frontier adventurer/Indian fighter
1858 Anthony Johnson Showalter composer
1859 Bohuslav Jeremias composer
1859 Willem J Leyds Dutch/South Africa lawyer/politician/diplomat
1862 Anthony G Kröller entrepreneur/government advisor/husband of Helene Müller
1862 Marcel Prévost French publisher/writer (Les demis-vierges)
1872 Hugo Alfvén Stockholm Sweden, composer (Midsommarvaka)
1880 Conrad Weiss German writer/poet (Tantum dic verbo)
1881 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin France, philosopher/paleontologist
1884 Felipe Boero composer
1887 Alan Gordon Cunningham Irish/British general/director of Palestine (1945-48)
1892 Howard Barlow Plain City OH, conductor (Voice of Firestone)
1895 Leo Sowerby Grand Rapids MI, composer (Pulitzer 1946)
1898 Eugene R Black US, President of World Bank (1953-62)
1899 Jón Leifs Iceland, composer/conductor
19-- Sharon Spelman Los Angeles CA, actress (Joyce-Angie)
1900 Ignazio Silone Italy, novelist/politician (Bread and Wine)
1905 Leila Hyams New York NY, actress (Big House, Ruggles of Red Gap)
1905 Nikolai Tikhonov Soviet PM (1980-85)
1907 Jan Pauw CEO (Aruban Theater Group)
1907 Kate Smith Greenville AL, singer (God Bless America)/Philadelphia Flyer luck charm
1908 Giovanni Guareschi Italian writer (Don Camillo, Peppone)
1909 Ethel Jane Cain original UK Speaking Clock voice
1909 George Melachrino composer
1909 Yannis Ritsos Greek poet
1910 Cliff Battles Akron OH, NFL hall of famer (Braves, Redskins)
1912 Anna Pollak mezzo-soprano
1912 Felipe Padilla de Leon composer
1913 Walter Susskind Praha (Prague) Czechoslovakia, conductor
1916 Glenn Ford Québec Canada, actor (Cade's County, Big Heat, Midway)
1916 Jack Parr Canton OH, TV host (Jack Paar Show)
1916 Jane Jacobs Scranton PA, urbanologist
1917 Danielle Darrieux France, actress (Alexander the Great, Mayerling)
1917 John Beradino Los Angeles CA, actor (Steve Hardy-General Hospital)
1917 Louis G "Lo" van Hensbergen actor/author (Amsterdam Affair)
1919 Alwyn Farquharson Scottish clan-captain/large landowner
1919 Dan O'Herlihy Ireland, actor (Fail Safe, Last Starfighter, Robocop)
1921 12th Lord Middleton English large landowner/multi-millionaire
1921 Paul Daels president (Flemish Iron Pilgrimage committee)
1922 Louis Nye Hartford CT, comedian (Steve Allen, Happy Days)
1923 Joseph Heller Brooklyn NY, novelist (Catch-22, 1963 Arts & Letters Award)
1924 Art Fleming Bronx NY, TV host (Jeopardy)
1924 Earl George composer
1924 Enrico Josif composer
1924 Patricia Roberts Harris 1st US black woman cabinet member
1924 Terry Southern writer
1925 Chuck Bednarik Pennsylvania, NFL hall of fame center/linebacker (Philadelphia)
1925 Malcolm Scott Carpenter Boulder CO, astronaut (Mercury 7-Aurora 7)
1927 Greta Andersen Denmark, 100 meter freestyle swimmer (Olympics-gold-1948)
1927 Harry [Harold George Jr] Belafonte New York NY, calypso singer (The Banana Boat Song)
1927 Israr Ali cricket pace bowler (Pakistan in 4 Tests 1952-59)
1927 Lord Bathurst English earl/large landowner/multi-millionaire
1927 Roland Verhavert Flemish screen writer (Sea Gulls Die in the Harbor)
1927 William Mitchell Byers musician
1928 Raoul Servais Belgian cartoonist/president (l'ASIFA)
1929 Sonny James [James Loden] Hackelburg AL, rocker (Young Love)
1929 Sonny Ramadhin cricket spin bowler (great West Indies spin bowler)
1930 Little Walter [Marion Walter Jacobs] rocker
1930 Ollie Matson NFL halfback (Cardinals, Rams, Lions, Eagles)
1933 Joan Hackett East Harlem New York NY, actress (Defenders, Another Day)
1933 Uwe Greßmann writer
1934 Alette Beaujon Curaçaos poet (Gedichten on the Bay & Elsewhere)
1937 Bo Nilsson Swedish composer (Doppelspiel)
1939 Judy Collins Seattle WA, singer (Send in the Clowns, Both Sides Now, Clouds)
1939 Max Robinson Richmond VA, black news anchor (ABC Evening News)
1939 Ray Aranha Miami FL, actor (Nick-Married People)
1941 Barbara Barendrecht [BHM Wurfbain], actress (Dirty Picture)
1941 Juraj Hatrick composer
1942 Stephen Macht Philadelphia PA, actor (Joe-Knots Landing, Cagney & Lacey)
1943 Joy Harmon St Louis MO, actress (Cool Hand Luke)
1944 Rita Coolidge Nashville TN, singer (Higher & Higher, We're All Alone)
1946 Bruce Robinson actor (Story of Adele H)
1946 Jerry Weiss New York NY, rocker (Blood Sweat & Tears)
1946 Joanna Lumley Kashmir India, actress (Ab Fab, On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
1946 Nick Fortune [Nicholas Fortuna], rock bassist (Buckinghams Chicago)
1946 Tony Ashton rocker
1946 Valentin Muratov USSR, floor exercise gymnast (Olympics-gold-1956)
1947 Carlos Ward rocker (B T Express)
1947 Ghulam Abbas cricketer (scored 12 & 0 in only Test for Pakistan 1967)
1948 James Wise US soul singer (Archie Bell & the Drells)
1949 Douglas Barr Cedar Rapids IA, actor (Howie-The Fall Guy)
1949 Margo Miller San Fransisco CA, fencer-epee (Olympics-96)
1950 Marina Stepanova Russian hurdler (world record 1986)
1951 Gordon Greenidge cricketer (great West Indian opener 1974-91)
1953 Elquemedo Willett cricketer (West Indies lefty spinner early 70's)
1953 Felix Hanemann rocker (Zebra)
1953 Mindy Moore LPGA golfer
1954 Michael Scott reporter (Entertainment Tonight)
1954 Ray Parker Jr Detroit MI, rock guitarist/vocalist (Ghostbusters-Who You Gonna Call?)
1954 Taslim Arif cricketer (Pakistan keeper/batsman, 210 vs Australia 1980)
1955 Julien Wiener cricketer (Australian opening batsman 1979-80)
1956 Byron Stewart Baxter Springs KS, actor (Warren Coolidge-St Elsewhere)
1957 Dick Swett (Representative-D-NH)
1957 Paul D Ronney Los Angeles CA, ScD/astronaut (STS 83 alternate)
1957 Rick Darling cricketer (accident-prone/dashing Aussie opener 1978-79)
1957 Steve Farris rock guitarist (Mr Mister)
1958 John Diehl Cincinnati OH, actor (Detective Zito-Miami Vice)
1959 Eddie Johnson NBA guard/forward (Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers)
1959 Paul Smith rock saxophonist (Haircut 100)
1960 Albert McDonald Dartmouth Nova Scotia, US canoe (alternate-Olympics-96)
1961 Charlie O'Brien Tulsa OK, catcher (Brewers, Mets, Braves, Blue Jays)
1961 Steven Cauthen jockey (1978 Kentucky Derby-Affirmed)
1962 Gary Clark NFL wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)
1962 Paula Weishoff Hollywood CA, volleyballer (Olympics-silver-84, bronze-92, 96)
1962 Reggie Pleasant CFL cornerback (Edmonton Eskimos)
1963 Robert Seguso Minneapolis MN, tennis star
1964 Bruno Ravel Paris France, rocker (Danger Danger-Screw It)
1964 Carlos Aalbers Dutch soccer player (NEC)
1964 Ruth Picardie journalist
1964 Sarah FE Armstrong-Jones daughter of princess Margaret & Lord Snowdon
1965 Jon Warren Akron OH, 1.5k runner
1966 Armando Reynoso San Luis Potosi México, pitcher (Colorado Rockies)
1966 Charlie Schlatter New York NY, actor (18 Again, Heartbreak Hotel)
1966 Johnny Colt Cherry Point NC, rock bassist (Black Crowes-Shake Your Money Maker)
1966 Mark Coogan Manhaset NY, marathoner (Olympics-96)
1967 Bill Schultz NFL/WLAF offensive tackle (Denver Broncos, Scot Claymores)
1967 Marvcus Patton NFL linebacker (Washington Redskins)
1967 Scott Coffey Hawaii, actor (Satisfaction, Shout)
1967 Tawni Cable Salem OR, playmate (June 1989)
1967 Yael Arad Israel, Women's half middleweight judoka (Olympics-1996)
1968 Anton Scheutjens soccer player (Roda JC)
1968 Lisa Campbell Victoria Australia, badminton player (Olympics-96)
1968 Mark Scott Paramus NJ, rock drummer (Trixter-Give It To Me Good)
1969 Billy Owens NBA forward/guard (Sacramento Kings)
1969 Bryan Marchment Scarborough, NHL defenseman (Edmonton Oilers)
1969 Carrie Stevens Buffalo NY, playmate (June 1997)
1969 Roy Rosello singer (Menudo-Cannonball)
1970 Alex Van Pelt NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills)
1970 Allen DeGraffenreid WLAF wide receiver (Scotland Claymores)
1970 Alundis Brice NFL cornerback (Dallas Cowboys)
1970 Damon Diletti Australian field hockey goal keeper (Olympics-silver-92, 96)
1971 Ethan Albright NFL tackle (Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills)
1971 Jamie Marie Swenson Miss USA-South Dakota (1997)
1971 Renee Poetschka Australian 200 meter/400 meter (Olympics-92, 96)
1971 Stuart Appleby Cohuna Australia, Nike golfer (1994 Victorian PGA)
1972 Bobby Chouinard Manilla Phillipines, pitcher (Oakland A's)
1973 Curtis Martin NFL running back (New England Patriots)
1973 Frank Beede NFL center (Seattle Seahawks)
1974 Keri Phebus Laguna Beach CA, tennis star
1974 Matthew Hatchette NFL wide receiver (Minnesota Vikings)
1974 Vladimir Zavyalov hockey forward (Team Kazakhstan Olympics-1998)
1975 Austin Croshere NBA forward (Indiana Pacers)
1976 Darius McCrary Walnut CA, actor (Edward Winslow-Family Matters)
1977 Anna Louise Wilson Dunedin New Zealand, 100 meter breast stroke (Olympics-96)
1979 Jennifer Botterill ice hockey forward (Canada, Olympics-98)
1979 Kimberly Grigsby Miss Virginia Teen USA (1997)

Deaths which occurred on May 01:
1171 Dermot MacMurrough last Irish king of Leinster, dies
1277 Stefanus IV Uros I de Great King of Serbia (1243-76), dies
1308 Albrecht I van Habsburg German King (1298-1308), murdered
1447 Louis VII Duke of Baveria (1413-43), dies
1456 Hugues de Lannoy Flemish viceroy of Holland/Zealand, dies
1471 Thomas a Kempis spiritual writer (Navolging of Christ), dies at 91
1555 Marcellus II [Marcello Cervini] Italian Pope (1555), dies at 53
1572 Pius V [Antonio Ghislieri] great-inquisiteur/Pope (1566-72), dies
1679 Esaias Reusner composer, dies at 43
1700 John Dryden English poet/playwright (Rival Ladies), dies
1703 Kiva Yoshinaka Japanese monarch, murdered
1733 Nicolas Coustou French sculptor (Saôn), dies at 75
1772 Gottfried Achenwall German lawyer/statistics/economist, dies at 52
1831 Antonius van Alphen apostle vicar of De Bosch, dies at 82
1863 Edward Dorr Tracy US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 29
1869 ? colt reported killed by a meteorite near New Concord OH
1870 Francisco Solano López fieldmarshal/President of Paraguay
1872 Amalia princess of Weimar/wife of prince Hendrik the Navigator, dies
1873 David Livingstone British physician/explorer (Africa), dies at 60
1874 Vilem Blodek composer, dies at 39
1886 Conrad Busken Huet writer (Country of Rubens)
1886 Heinrich Franz Daniel Stiehl composer, dies at 56
1892 Willem A Scholten manufacturer (potatoes), dies at 89
1896 Naser ed-Din shah of Persia (1848-96), murdered at 65
1898 Alphonse Wauters Belgian historian, dies at 81
1900 Mihály von Munkácsy [Michael von Lieb], German painter, dies at 56
1902 John Glover English chemist (production sulfuric acid), dies at 85
1903 Arthur Haygarth cricketer (compiler of "Scores & Biographies"), dies
1903 Luigi Arditi violist/composer, dies at 80
1904 Antonín Dvorak Czechoslovakia, composer (Slavic Dancing), dies at 62
1917 José E Rodo Uruguayan writer (Motivos de proteo), dies
1921 Louis Campbell-Tipton composer, dies at 43
1924 August Cuppens Flemish author (Limburgs Driemanschap), dies at 62
1926 Nicolaus Adriani translator (Middle-Celebes Language), dies at 60
1932 Paul Doumer President of France (1931-32), assassinated by Russia's Paul Gargalov
1934 Alexander Alexandrovich Davidenko composer, dies at 35
1937 Snitz Edwards actor (Phantom of the Opera, College), dies at 75
1939 Wilhelm Normann German chemist (harden van oliën), dies
1941 John R Locksmith de Brown vicar/CHU-politician, dies at 71
1945 Desider Antalffy-Zsiross Hungarian organist/composer, dies at 59
1945 Paul Josef Goebbels Nazi minister on propoganda, commits suicide
1946 Edward Cuthbert Bairstow composer, dies at 71
1946 Percy William Whitlock composer, dies at 42
1947 Sanner leader of Norger blood bath, executed
1948 Christos Ladas Greek minister of Justice, murdered
1952 William Fox [Fried] US film pioneer (Nickelodeon), dies at 73
1954 Tom Tyler actor (Lost Ranch, Coyote Trails), dies at 50
1957 Grant Mitchell actor (Great Lie, Laura, Cairo, Conflict), dies at 82
1959 Oscar Torp Norwegian premier, dies
1965 Leo Spies composer, dies at 65
1965 Spike Jones composer (Spike Jones Show), dies at 53
1968 Harold G Nicolson English author (English sense of humor), dies at 71
1969 Ella Logan actress (52nd Street, Woman Chases Man), dies at 56
1969 George Parker cricketer (2 Tests for South Africa 1924), dies
1971 Edith Day actress (Romance of Air), dies at 75
1971 Glenda Farrell actress (Grand Slam, Exposed), dies at 66
1972 Fernand Ansseau Belgian operator (Orfeo), dies at 82
1976 Rex O'Malley actor (Camille, Zara, Midnight, Thief), dies at 75
1978 Aram Katchaturian Russian composer (The Earth), dies at 74
1979 Berkeley Bertram McGarrell Gaskin cricketer (2 Tests for West Indies), dies
1981 Dr Clarence A Bacote historian & political scientist, dies at 75
1981 Peter Huchel writer, dies at 78
1982 Gene Sheldon actor (Bernardo-Zorro), dies at 72
1983 V N Swamy Indian cricket pace bowler (without distinction), dies
1984 Gordon Jenkins orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at 73
1988 Carroll Righter astrologer, dies at 88 of postate cancer
1988 Paolo Stoppa actor (Garibaldi, Visit, Freedom Fighters), dies
1989 David Webster South African white anti-apartheids activist, murdered
1989 Douglass Watson actor (Mac Cory-Another World), dies at 68
1989 Marion Mack actress (General), dies
1990 Sunset Carson cowboy actor (El Paso Kid, Oregon Trail), dies at 62
1991 Richard Thorpe director (Jailhouse Rock, Night Must Fall), dies
1993 Hans [Henri EA] Tuynman provo (Full-time Provo), dies at 50
1993 Pierre Bérégovoy PM of France (1992-93), commits suicide at 67
1993 Ranasinghe Premadasa President (Sri Lanka, 1989-93), assassinated at 68
1994 Ayrton Senna Brazilian Grand prix driver, dies in crash at 34
1994 Imre Gyöngyössy Hungarian director, dies at 64
1996 Asher Wallfish journalist, dies at 67
1996 Ivo Rudolph Jarosy film scholar/exhibitor, dies at 74
1996 William Mitchell Byers musician, dies on 79th birthday
1997 Bebe AKA Flipper, dolphin, dies at 40

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 BAILEY JOHN HOWARD DOCENA AL.

1967 CORFIELD STAN L. GALLUP NM.

1967 GAUGHAN ROGER CONRAD BELCHERTOWN MA.

1967 GUAJARDO HILARIO H. SAN ANTONIO TX.

1967 SMITH CARL ARTHUR ATTICA NY.

1967 SOULIER DUWAYNE MILWAUKEE WI.

1968 GERVAIS DONALD P. CLARKSVILLE TN.

1968 MARTIN RICHARD D. HONOLULU HI.

1968 WHITMIRE WARREN T. JR. FAIRFAX VA.

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

On this day...
0305 Emperor Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Jovius of Rome resigns
1006 Supernova observed by Chinese & Egyptians in constellation Lupus
1048 Bishop Bernold flees St Pieterskerk for Utrecht Netherlands
1394 Ekiho, exorcised the Zen temple & it's surroundings from an old badger
1523 Danish king Christian III arrives in Veere
1528 Pánfilo the Narvaéz begins exploration to with 350 men to Florida
1544 Turkish troops occupy Hungary
1551 Council of Trente resumes
1598 Jacob van Necks merchant fleet departs for Java
1625 Portuguese & Spanish expedition recaptures Salvador (Bahia)
1625 Prince Frederik Henry appointed viceroy of Holland
1628 Meiboom in Quincy MA degenerates into orgy with Indian women
1682 Louis XIV & his court inaugurate Paris Observatory
1703 Battle at Rultusk: Swedish army beats Russians
1704 Boston Newsletter publishes 1st newspaper ad
1707 England, Wales & Scotland form UK of Great Britain
1711 Arch duke Karel of Austria/Hungarian rebellion sign Peace of Szatmar
1715 Prussia declares war on Sweden
1725 Spain & Austria sign trade treaty
1751 1st American cricket match is played
1757 Austria & France divide Prussia
1759 British fleet occupies Guadeloupe, West-Indies, on France
1776 Adam Weishaupt founds the secret society of Illuminati
1777 RB Sheridans "School for Scandal" premieres in London
1781 Emperor Jozef II decrees protection of population
1786 Mozart's opera "Marriage of Figaro" premieres in Wien (Vienna)
1822 John Phillips becomes 1st mayor of Boston
1834 Belgian parliament accept railway laws
1840 1st adhesive postage stamps ("Penny Blacks" from England) issued
1841 1st emigrant wagon train leaves Independence MO for California
1844 Samuel Morse sends 1st telegraphic message
1844 Whig convention nominates Henry Clay as presidential candidate
1846 Ida Pfeiffer (48) begins trip around world
1850 John Geary becomes 1st San Fransisco mayor
1851 Great Exhibition opens in London's Hyde Park, at Crystal Palace
1853 Argentina adopts it's constitution
1854 Amsterdam begins transferring drinking water out of the dunes
1857 William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, surrenders to US Navy
1861 Lee orders Confederate troops under T J Jackson to Harper's Ferry
1862 Union captain David Farragut conquers New Orleans
1863 Battle of Chancellorsville VA (29,000 injured or died)
1863 Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi
1863 Confederate "National Flag" replaces "Stars & Bars"
1863 Confederate congress passed resolution to kill black soldiers
1864 Atlanta campaign, Georgia
1864 Battle at Alexandria LA (Red River Campaign)
1864 Wilderness campaign
1866 American Equal Rights Association forms
1867 Howard University chartered
1867 Reconstruction of South begins, black voter registration
1869 "Folies-Bergère" opens in Paris France
1869 A colt is reported killed by a meteorite near New Concord OH
1873 1st US postal card issued
1873 Emperor Franz Jozef opens 5th World's Fair in Wien (Vienna)
1875 238 members of "Whiskey Ring" accused of anti-US activities
1883 "Buffalo Bill" Cody put on his 1st Wild West Show
1883 Amsterdam World's Fair opens
1883 Baseball returns to Philadelphia, 1st National League game since 1876
1883 New York Athletic Club hires Bob Rogers as 1st American pro sports trainer
1884 Construction begins on Chicago's 1st skyscraper (10 stories)
1884 Moses Walker became 1st black player in the major league
1885 Maria "Goeie Mie" Swanenburg sentence to life for killing 27 in Netherlands
1886 US general strike for 8 hour day, begins
1889 1st International Workers Day, according to the 2nd International
1889 Bayer introduces aspirin in powder form (Germany)
1891 Cy Young pitches 1st game played in Cleveland's League Park Cleveland Spiders 12, Cincinnati Redlegs 3
1892 US Quarantine Station opens on Angel Island, San Fransisco Bay
1893 World Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago
1898 George Dewey commands, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley" as US route Spanish fleet at Manila
1900 Premature blast collapses mine tunnel killing 200 at Scofield UT
1900 Roermond soccer team forms in Roermond
1901 Detroit Tigers commit 12 errors against Chicago White Sox
1901 Herb McFarland hit 1st grand slam in the American League
1901 Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo
1906 Phillie's John Lush no-hits Brooklyn Dodgers, 6-0
1907 Belgian Government of De Trooz forms
1907 Indian Mine Laws passes (concessions from Netherlands-Indies)
1908 World's most intense rain shower (2.47" in 3 minutes) at Portobelo Panamá
1909 Netherlands begins unity with Belgium
1912 Amsterdam-North soccer team DWV forms
1912 Beverly Hills Hotel opens
1913 Longacre Theater opens at 220 W 48th St New York NY
1914 China's 1st president Yuan Shikai wins dictatorial qualification
1915 British Lusitania leaves New York, for Liverpool
1915 German submarine sinks US ship Gulflight
1919 Mount Kelud (Indonesia) erupts, boiling crater lake which broke through crater wall killing 5,000 people in 104 small villages
1920 Babe Ruth's 1st Yankee homerun & 50th of career, out of Polo Grounds
1920 Belgian-Luxembourg toll tunnel opens
1920 Brooklyn Dodgers tie Boston Braves, 1-1, in 26 innings
1921 Drusian sultan Pasja al-Atrasj elected Governor of Suwayda
1922 Charlie Robertson of Chicago pitches a perfect no-hit, no-run game
1923 49th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Zev wins in 2:05.4
1924 Admiral Paul Koundouriótis becomes President of Greece
1925 A's Jimmie Foxx, 17, 1st game; he pinch-hits a single
1925 Cyprus becomes a British Crown Colony
1926 British coal-miners go on strike
1926 Satchel Paige makes pitching debut in Negro Southern League
1927 1st British airliner to serve cooked meals (Imperial Airways)
1927 Netherlands beats Belgium 3-2 in soccer match in Amsterdam
1927 Panningen soccer team forms in Panningen
1928 6 children die & 10 injured by hailstones in Klausenburg, Romania
1928 Drunken fascist Erich Wichman attacks VARA-radio transmitter
1928 Lei Day begun (a Hawaiian celebration)
1928 Pitcairn Airlines (later Eastern) begins service
1928 Rotterdam soccer team Black White '28 forms
1929 Brooklyn's Johnny Finn sets 100 yard sack race in 14.4 seconds
1929 Farm workers strike begins in East-Groningen
1929 Police kill 19 Mayday demonstrators in Berlin
1930 Bradman scores 236 Australia vs Worcestershire, his 1st f-class innings in England
1931 Empire State Building opens in New York NY
1931 Norway claims Peter I Island
1931 Singer Kate Smith begins her long-running radio program on CBS
1932 1st Suriname union congress at Paramaribo
1934 Austria signs pact with Vatican
1934 Philippine legislature accepts US proposal for independence
1934 Water state kingdom dismisses NSB-leader Anton Mussert
1935 Boulder Dam completed
1935 Canada's 1st silver dollar is circulated
1936 Emperor Haile Selassie leaves Ethiopia as Italian invades
1936 FBI's J Edgar Hoover arrests Alvin Karpis
1937 FDR signs act of neutrality
1939 Batman Comics hit the street
1939 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling)
1940 140 Palestinian Jews die as German planes bomb their ship
1940 The 1940 Olympics are cancelled
1941 "Citizen Kane", directed by & starring Orson Welles, premieres in New York
1941 General Mills introduces Cheerios
1941 German assault on Tobruk
1942 Radio Orange calls to defy order to wear "Jewish star"
1943 1st edition of illegal "The Free Artist" appears in Amsterdam
1943 69th Kentucky Derby: Johnny Longden aboard Count Fleet wins in 2:04
1943 Food rationing begins in US
1943 German plane sinks boat loaded with Palestinian Jews bound for Malta
1943 German Wehrmacht deployed in order to break Dutch strikes
1943 Rauter signs unofficial death sentence
1944 Messerschmitt Me-262 Sturmvogel, first operational jet aircraft (twin-jet fighter), makes 1st flight
1944 Pulitzer prize awarded to Martin Flavin (Journey in the Dark)
1944 Surprise attack on Weteringschans Amsterdam, fails
1945 900 occupiers of Demmin Vorpommeren commit suicide
1945 Admiral Karl Doenitz forms German government
1945 Australian & Dutch troops lands on Tarakan
1945 General Belgian Labor Union (ABVV) party forms
1945 Radio Budapest, Hungary re-enters shortwave broadcasting after WWII
1945 Seys-Inquart flees to Flensburg
1945 Soviet army reach Rostock
1946 Fieldmarshal Montgomery appointed British supreme commander
1946 Mrs Emma Clarissa Clement named "American Mother of the Year"
1947 Cleveland Indians abandon League Park to play all games at Municipal Stadium
1947 Lieutenant General Hoyt S Vandenberg, USA, ends term as 2nd head of CIA
1947 Radar for commercial & private planes 1st demonstrated
1947 Rear Admiral Roscoe H Hillenkoetter, USN, becomes 3th director of the CIA
1948 74th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro aboard Citation wins in 2:05.4; this is Arcaro's 4th win
1948 Glenn Taylor, Idaho Senator, arrested in Birmingham AL for trying to enter a meeting through a door marked "for Negroes"
1948 North Korea proclaims itself People's Democratic Republic of Korea
1948 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Auspicia quaedam
1949 A's Elmer Valo is 1st American League'er to hit 2 bases-loaded triples in a game
1949 Gerard Kuiper discovers Nereid, (2nd satellite of Neptune)
1950 Gwendolyn Brooks, is 1st Black awarded a Pulitzer Prize (poetry)
1950 Mayor of Brussels reluctantly bans May Day parade
1950 New marriage laws enforced in People's Republic China
1950 Pulitzer prize awarded to Rodgers & Hammerstein (South Pacific)
1950 WJIM (now WLNS) TV channel 6 in Lansing MI (CBS) begins broadcasting
1951 600,000 march for peace & freedom in Germany
1951 Dutch Reformed Church introduces new church choir
1951 Mickey Mantle's 1st homerun
1951 Minnie Minoso becomes the 1st black to play for the White Sox
1952 Marines take part in an atomic explosion training in Nevada
1952 Mr Potato Head, introduced
1952 TWA introduces tourist class
1954 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York aboard Determine wins in 2:03
1954 Bishops publish Mandement (member socialist organization forbidden)
1954 HSA-UWC Established (Unification Church) (The Moonies)
1954 WAPA TV channel 4 in San Juan Puerto Rico (NBC/SFN) begins broadcasting
1955 Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Peach Blossom Golf Tournament
1955 Bobby Feller's 15th 1-hit or less game (12 1-hitters, 3 no-hitters)
1957 Flevo Boys soccer team forms in Emmeloord
1957 Larry King's 1st radio broadcast
1957 US give Poland credit of $95 million
1957 Vanguard TV-1 booster test reaches 195 km
1958 Ambonese rebellion bombed Ambon/conquer Morotai
1958 Arturo Frondizi sworn in as President of Argentina
1959 Floyd Patterson KOs Brian London in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1959 West Germany introduces 5 day work week
1959 White Sox Early Wynn beats Red Sox 1-0 on his own homerun
1960 India's Bombay state split into Gujarat & Maharashtra states
1960 Pancho Gonzalez retires from tennis
1960 Russia shoots down Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane over Sverdlovsk
1961 1st US airplane hijacked to Cuba
1961 Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba
1961 Pulitzer prize awarded to Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
1961 Tanganyika granted full internal self-government by Britain
1962 1st French underground nuclear experiment in the Sahara
1962 Bo Belinsky pitches a no-hitter, in his 4th start
1962 France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria
1962 JFK authorizes Area Redevelopment Act (ARA)
1963 1st American (James Whittaker) conquers Mount Everest
1963 Indonesia takes control of Irian Jaya (west New Guinea) from Netherlands
1964 1st BASIC program runs on a computer (Dartmouth)
1965 91st Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker on Lucky Debonair wins in 2:01.2
1965 Stanley Cup: Montréal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 3
1965 USSR launches Luna 5; later impacts on Moon
1966 Last British concert by the Beatles (Empire Pool in Wembley)
1966 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Shreveport Kiwanis Club Golf Invitational
1966 Radio RSA, South Africa begins shortwave transmitting
1966 US troops shooting targets in Cambodia
1967 Anastasio Somoza Debayle becomes President of Nicaragua
1967 Elvis Presley & Pricilla Beaulieu wed in Las Vegas
1967 Jelle Zijlstra becomes president of Netherlands Bank
1967 Pulitzer prize awarded to Bernard Malamud (The Fixer)
1968 "Ben Franklin in Paris" closes at Lunt Fontanne NYC after 215 performances
1968 Phillies J Boozer is ejected for throwing spitballs during his warmup
1969 43 Unification church couples wed in NYC
1969 Houston Don Wilson 2nd no-hitter beats Cincinnati Reds, 4-0
1969 Leonard Tose buys NFL Philadelphia Eagles for $16,155,000
1969 Pirate Radio Station 259 (England/France) begins transmitting
1971 97th Kentucky Derby: Gustavo Avila on Canonero II wins in 2:03.2
1971 Amtrak railroad begins operation
1971 Rolling Stones release "Brown Sugar"
1972 "Different Times" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 24 performances
1972 North Vietnamese troops occupy Quang Tri Activities Committee
1972 Pulitzer prize awarded to Wallace Stegner (Angle of Repose)
1972 Radio's Mutual Black Network premieres
1973 San Fransisco Giants score 7 runs with 2 outs in 9th to beat Pirates, 8-7
1975 Islanders Parise & Potvin score within 14 seconds in playoffs Flyers 5-Isles 4-semifinals-Flyers hold 2-0 lead
1976 102nd Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr on Bold Forbes wins in 2:01.6
1976 Jos Hermens, Netherlands sets record for 20,000 meter, 57:24.2
1977 Chantal Langlace runs female world record marathon (2:35:15.4)
1977 Debbie Austin wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic
1977 Empress Lilly dedicated
1978 1st black mayor of New Orleans (Ernest Morial) inaugurated
1978 MVV soccer team forms in Maastricht
1978 Naomi Uemura became 1st to reach North Pole overland alone
1979 Elton John becomes 1st pop star to perform in Israel
1979 Home rule introduced to Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)
1979 Marshall Islands (in the Pacific) become self-governing
1980 "Day in Hollywood, Night in Ukraine" opens at John Golden NYC for 588 performances
1980 15th Academy of Country Music Awards: Barbara Mandrell wins
1980 American Book Award: William Styron (Sophie Choice)/T Wolfe (Right Stuff)
1980 Sabres & Islanders play to 1:20 of 5th period in a playoff
1981 Billie Jean King admits to a lesbian affair with Marilyn Barnett
1981 Harrison Williams (Senator-D-NJ) convicted on FBI Abscam charges
1981 Radio Shack releases Model III TRSDOS 1.3
1982 108th Kentucky Derby: Ed Delahoussaye on Gato Del Sol wins in 2:02.4
1982 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville TN opens
1982 Nordiques 4-Isles 5 (OT)-semifinals-Isles hold 3-0 lead
1983 "My One & Only" opens at St James Theater NYC for 767 performances
1983 Hollis Stacy wins LPGA CPC International Golf Tournament
1983 Nolan Ryan surpasses Walter Johnson for most strikeouts (3,508)
1984 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1984 Mick Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac) files for bankruptcy
1985 "Communist" bomb attack kills 2 firemen in Brussels
1985 US President Reagan ends embargo against Nicaragua
1985 William Hoffman's "As Is" premieres in NYC
1986 Bill Elliott sets stock car speed record of 212.229 mph
1986 Tass reports Chernobyl nuclear power plant mishap
1986 Will Stegers expedition reaches North Pole
1987 46 homeruns hit in 13 baseball games
1987 Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish born nun
1988 "Romance/Romance" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 297 performances
1988 IRA attack in Roermond, kills 3
1988 Patti Rizzo wins LPGA Sara Lee Golf Classic
1989 135 acre Disney's MGM studio officially opens to the public
1989 Jockey Chris Antley ends record of 64 consecutive winning days
1989 US Supreme Court rules employees have legal burden to prove non-discriminatory reasons for not hiring or promoting
1990 "Prelude to a Kiss" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC
1991 "Will Rogers Follies" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 983 performances
1991 Actor Robert Duvall weds Sharon Brophy
1991 Angola's civil war ends
1991 A's Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brocks record with his 939th steal (vs Yankees)
1991 Last day of Test cricket for Gordon Greenidge
1991 Milwaukee Brewers beat Chicago Cubs, 10-9, in 19 innings
1991 Rickey Henderson steals an all time record 939th base
1991 Skin-Spit-Skin featuring lesbian, homosexual & heterosexual nude couples caressing, is seen by 5,000 in NYC
1991 Texas Ranger Nolan Ryan pitches record 7th no hitter (beats Toronto 3-0)
1992 Eric Houston kills 4 in a California HS where he failed history 4 years prior
1992 Los Angeles Dodgers postpone 3 games due to racial riots due to Rodney King
1992 New York Rangers win their 1st ever 7th game of a playoff (vs New Jersey Devils)
1992 Rickey Henderson steals his 1,000th base
1993 119th Kentucky Derby: Jerry Bailey aboard Sea Hero wins in 2:02.4
1993 Bomb attack on Sri Lankan President (26 die)
1994 "My Fair Lady" closes at Virginia Theater NYC after 165 performances
1994 "Rise & Fall of Little Voice" opens at Neil Simon NYC for 9 performances
1994 Charles Kuralt retires as CBS newsman (On the Road)
1994 Sandra Palmer wins LPGA Sprint Senior Challenge Golf Tournament
1994 Sherri Steinhauer wins LPGA Sprint Golf Championship
1994 Tornado & hail storms hit Jiangxi China, 95 killed
1995 "On the Waterfront" opens at Atkinson Theater NYC for 8 performances
1995 Steve Waugh scores 200 for Australia vs West Indies at Sabina Park
1996 "Ideal Husband" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 308 performances
1996 Gerald Williams is 1st New York Yankee since 1934 to get 6 hits in a game
1997 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in San Diego CA on KIOZ 105.3 FM
1997 Toni Blair elected PM of UK
1999 125th Kentucky Derby: Chris Antley aboard Charismatic wins in 2:03.2

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

66 nations : Labor Day
Finland : Vappu Day
Hawaii : Lei Day
ndia : Maharashtra Day (1960) - - - - - ( )
Massachusetts : Senior Citizens' Day (1963)
US : Child Health Day
US : Dewey Day (Battle of Manila Bay) (1898)
Zambia : Labour Day - - - - - ( Monday )
New Orleans : McDonogh Day (1850) - - - - - ( Friday )
Turkey : Commemoration of Yunus Emre

Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Joseph the Workman, stepfather of Jesus (optional)
Anglican, Lutheran : Feast of SS Philip & James, apostles

Religious History
1501 In his encyclical "Ad ea quae circa decorem," Pope Alexander VI sanctioned the Minim Friars, a religious order founded by Francis of Paola (1416-1507) in 1435.
1740 English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in his journal: 'Lord, show that Thou dost love me, by humbling and keeping me humble as long as I live. The means I leave to Thee.'
1845 At a convention in Louisville, KY, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South was organized as a new denomination, separate from its parent, the Methodist Episcopal Church.
1933 The first issue of "The Catholic Worker" was published. Founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, the monthly newspaper promoted social reconstruction through shared farming and housing for the urban poor.
1939 "Back to the Bible Broadcast" was launched by founder Theodore Epp, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Today, over 600 radio stations nationwide carry the program.

Thought for the day :
"Do not clog intellect`s sluices with knowledge of questionable uses."

1944 Messerschmitt Me-262 Sturmvogel, first operational jet aircraft (twin-jet fighter), makes 1st flight

It felt as if I were being pushed by angels - Adolf Galland

Good morning SAM, everyone!

Good Morning Feather

Current Military News
Our Warriors Return

Squadron Cmdr. Scott D. Pollpeter, right, hugs his wife, Sandi, as his daughter, Ashley, left, waits her turn after the support and maintenance crews for the squadron, VAQ-139, returned on Wednesday, April 30, 2003, at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash. The squadron, nicknamed the Cougars, returned after a 9 1/2-month deployment on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. (AP Photo/Jim Bryant)

LT. Cmdr. Mark Lucas, center, carries his son, Max, while walking to the hanger with his wife, Margie, after members of the squadron, VAQ-139, returned on Wednesday, April 30, 2003, at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.

Capt. Joseph Aucoin of Fayetteville, N.C., second from left, gets a welcome home kiss from his wife, Casandra, accompanied by their son, Joey, left, and daughter, Cristina, as Carrier Air Wing FIVE returns to the Naval Air Facility in Atsugi, northwest of Tokyo, Thursday, May 1, 2003. About 70 aircraft from Carrier Air Wing FIVE aboard the USS Kitty Hawk that had departed Yokosuka, west of Tokyo, in January, returned to Atsugi prior to the aircraft carrier's arrival after participating in Operation Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

Carrier Air Wing Five aircraft commander Jeff Rocha kisses his daughter Delanie during a reunion with his family at U.S. Naval Air Facility in Atsugi near Tokyo May 1, 2003. About 70 aircrafts returned to the U.S. naval air base from aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. REUTERS/Toshiyuki Aizawa

Carrier Air Wing Five deputy commander captain Joseph Aucoin kisses his son as he reunites with his family at U.S. Naval Air Facility in Atsugi near Tokyo May 1, 2003.

Carrier Air Wing Five aircraft's Brady Bartosh Sato reunites with his family at U.S. Naval Air Facility in Atsugi near Tokyo May 1, 2003.

GOOD MORNING SAM!

LOL!

Good Morning Sam.

"Most people have never heard our stories."

Wow. Really interesting. Thanks for the education. :)

Wonderful joyful pictues SAM, thank you.

Makes my heart happy to see their joy!

Good Morning Pippin

Good Morning Snippy.

G'day Sam

Met Jack Erickson the owner of the Tillamook Air museum during a visit.

Outside in the Sun....this beautifull PBY-5A Catalina colored then just as the photo.

Tillamook has static non fly..and the flyables....

In my mind...it must be just awesome...just awesome to restore...maintain..and fly aircraft like this glowing while PBY.

Wrong!!!!

I am walking around..as several men work on the PBY..chatting with them...therEs fluids spilling out of engine nacels...guys shaking their head when looking at things.

A Lady is talking to her husband...its Jack Ericsksons wife...[Jack is repairing the plexiglass bubble on the Catalina fuselage]

I made a small comment about how beautifull the Catalina was too Jacks Wife ,,,her reply caught me off guard.

"No honey...this planes the Devil"..!!

Jack Looks at me while she tells how they nearly lost the PBY at a stop over,turns out they put down on a lake,taking off,the PBY was taking in water..eventually PBY became to heavy to lift off..and sank below the lake...requiring cranes to come lift it out...

Recently "Feet dry" Catalina...me...2 frustrated owners...and some film. : )

I've been to the Tillamook museum. They have a pretty good collection. I don't envy them the money it takes to keep thiose planes flying.

Current Military News
Fathers and Daughters

Cristina Aucoin, age one, waves flags as Carrier Air Wing FIVE returns to the Naval Air Facility in Atsugi , northwest of Tokyo, Thursday, May 1, 2003. The Carrier Air Wing FIVE had participated in Operation Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

Lt. Cmdr. Chip Graber hugs his four-year-old daughter Madison after the EA-6B Prowler squadron, VAQ-139, returned on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash. The Electronic Attack Squardron returned after a nine and a half month deployment onboard the U.S. Abraham Lincoln. (AP Photo/Jim Bryant)

Wed Apr 30, 8:50 PM ET Lt. Dan-O McShane hugs his daughter, Samantha McShane, 3, and wife, Larissa McShane, Wednesday afternoon, April 30, 2003, as the Black Eagles of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 113 arrive home to Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, Calif. The squadron was returning from deployment on the carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East. (AP Photo/The Ventura County Star, Matt McClain)

Navy Chief Jeremy Johnson walks with his wife Julie Johnson and daughters Taylor, 9, left, and Devin, 11, right, after arriving at North Island Naval Station in Coronado, Calif., Wednesday, April 30, 2003, on a C-2 Greyhound from the aircraft carrier the USS Abraham LIncoln. The Linclon and her crews have been deployed in the Persian Gulf for more than nine months. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy) AP