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The FReeper Foxhole Profiles General Philip Sheridan - May 17th, 2003
thewildgeese ^ | Joseph E. Gannon

Posted on 05/17/2003 12:00:04 AM PDT by 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 The Foxhole
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

.

.................................................................................................................................

.

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General Philip Henry Sheridan
(1831-1888)

.

The U.S. Army's Little Big Man


Phil Sheridan was born on March 6, 1831 in Albany, the capital of New York, or at least that was one of the dates and places he gave. He, and other people as well, have also given others.


The Photographic history of the Civil War. Francis Trevelyan Miller, editor-in-chief; Robert S. Lanier, managing editor. New York: Review of Reviews Co., 1911. Vol. 4, p. 263


He had first believed he was born in Ohio, but his mother, Mary Meenagh Sheridan, later told him he had been born in Albany; later still she told the Sheridan Monument Association that he had been born at sea during the voyage from their home in County Cavan, Ireland. The other strong possibility is that he was actually born in Co. Cavan before they began the trip over. That is what the people of Cavan believe and it may be true. Being born in Ireland was a liability during the dark days of the anti-Irish Know Nothing Party in the U.S. His mother's numerous changes in the story of his birth would seem unnecessary if he had actually been born here. Irish birth could account for the lack of any record or witnesses of his birth in any United States location, however. But whether he was born on the Ol' Sod or somewhere over here, two things are certain: his ancestry was Irish, and he is considered one of the three greatest Union commanders of the American Civil War, along with Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman.

Sheridan grew up in Somerset, Ohio, a small frontier village where his father, John, had moved the family to work on the National Road. As a youngster, Phil would sometimes use a tin sword while putting his friends through military drills, perhaps dreaming of future glories on the battlefield. Phil grew strong in Somerset, though not very tall -- he would one day top out at 5 feet 5 inches - but there was a big man trapped in that little body. He got into enough altercations around town to earn a reputation as fighter; his later life would do nothing to diminish that early assessment. In March 1848 Sheridan acquired an appointment to West Point when the original appointee flunked the mathematics section of the entrance exam; this was fortuitous for the later fate of the Union.

Sheridan's education had also been weak in the area of mathematics, but he was fortunate to have Henry Slocum, a future Civil War general himself, and a former school teacher, as a roommate that first year.



Slocum's tutoring helped Sheridan get by in math, barely. The most noteworthy incident of Sheridan's West Point career occurred in his third year and it was very nearly the last thing he ever did there. Insulted by the tone of an order by Cadet Sgt. William Terrill, a Virginian, Sheridan broke ranks, yelling, "God damn you, sir, I'll run you through!" and he very nearly did before regaining control. The next day the two came to blows. With Sheridan's only excuse for the entire problem being the improper tone used by Terrill in issuing an order, he was very lucky to escape with a one-year suspension.

If West Point officials expected to see a contrite Phil Sheridan on his return, they were mistaken. He fell only seven demerits shy of being automatically dismissed from the school and finished 34th out of 49. Several other members of that class of '53 would also become well-known during the war, including John Schofield, John Bell Hood, James McPherson (1st in the class), and Joshua Sill.

As was generally the case with low-ranking West Point graduates then, Sheridan ended up in the infantry. His advance was slow, even by pre-war Regular Army standards. After eight years serving with the 4th Infantry in Texas and in the Northwest, he was still a 2nd lieutenant when pre-war officer resignations opened the way for him to rise in the ranks. Like many other Civil War officers, Sheridan's army career would probably have been undistinguished without the war intervening.



Even with the coming of the war there was little in the first few months of Phil Sheridan's war service to make anyone believe he would one day command vast numbers of troops. Promoted to captain, he was Union Army commander Henry Halleck's quartermaster during the campaign for Corinth, Mississippi. Though most thought Sheridan did a fine job in the post, personal problems with Gen. Samuel Curtis led him to ask for a transfer. At the time of the Battle of Shiloh, he was even further from the action of the war, buying horses in the Midwest. To this point, Sheridan's war career resembled his prewar-war career, but his fortunes were about to change.

Intent on asking Halleck for a field command, he hurried back to St. Louis, but Halleck had gone to Pittsburg Landing to confer with Grant. As fate would have it, Halleck's adjutant general was a West Point classmate of Sheridan's, Col. John Kelton, and he issued orders for Phil to report to Halleck at the front. After a brief time undertaking more supply duties, Sheridan came to the attention of Michigan Gov. Austin Blair, who appointed him colonel of the 2nd Michigan Cavalry on May 25, 1862. Sheridan had once told another officer, "If I could get into line duty I believe I could do something." Now was his chance. Could he live up to his prediction?



TOPICS: VetsCoR
KEYWORDS: biography; cavalry; civilwar; freeperfoxhole; michaeldobbs; philsheridan; veterans; warbetweenstates
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When he finally reached the action, Sheridan was as good as his word. His performance and rise in the ranks would be steady and spectacular. He was now on a course that would not end until he one day succeeded Sherman in command of the entire U.S. Army. By mid-September. he would be a brigadier general. That month, at Perryville, he distinguished himself in command of a division. At Murfreesboro, in December, he would be credited with saving Rosecran's army by his troops' stiff resistance. The night before that fight his friend and classmate Joshua Sill, who was commanding a brigade in Sheridan's division, accidentally took Sheridan's tunic after a meeting in his tent. The next day, desperately trying to rally his routing troops, Sill would die wearing Sheridan's tunic.



His performance at Murfreesboro would win Sheridan a second star -- he was promoted to major general in May '63. Later that year he would distinguish himself in command of the XX Corps at Chickamauga in September and at the battle of Chattanooga his troops would defy military logic with their charge up Missionary Ridge, taking the position against all odds. Unlike so many Civil War commanders, Sheridan was not content with merely taking a position, he drove his men onward capturing numerous wagons, artillery and Confederate prisoners before finally being halted by darkness. "Run, boys," he yelled to his men, "Don't wait to form! Don't let them stop!" It was one of the most incredible victories of the war and more importantly for Sheridan, it had happened right in front of their new commander, U.S. Grant.

Grant liked what he saw of Sheridan, and when he went to Washington to take over the war in the East, he wanted the fiery Irishman with him. Their experiences in the war had been similar in many ways, taking a while to get going but once in motion each became an irresistible force, headed steadily upward to the top of their profession. In March '64 Grant appointed Sheridan to command of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. When a staff officer complained that the diminutive Sheridan might be too small for such a big job, Grant replied, "You will find him big enough for the purpose before we get through with him."


"Sheridan's Ride," by Thure de Thulstrup, depicts Sheridan's famous arrival at the battlefield of Cedar Creek in 1864.


In the last part of 1863, particularly after the June 9, 1863, battle of Brandy Station, Federal cavalrymen had begun to shed their inferiority complex. Sheridan pitched into his new job with his usual energy and completed that job. By the time Grant's famed Overland campaign of 1864 began, Sheridan's cavalry, like his troopers' new commander, was ready for a fight. In May, Sheridan led them on a major raid toward Richmond and on the 10th, at Yellow Tavern, the cavalrymen of the Federal Army finally eliminated their nemesis, mortally wounding Jeb Stuart. Sheridan's success with his cavalry command earned him an independent command; Grant made him commander of the Army of the Shenandoah after Confederate Maj. Gen. Jubal Early's raid toward Washington.

In the Shenandoah Valley, Sheridan would have his most famous moment of the war. On Oct. 19, his army was surprised by Early and was nearly routed. Sheridan was away from the army in Winchester, having just returned from Washington, when he heard the sound of the battle. Spurring on his horse, Rienzi, he rode quickly to the front, arriving just in time to rally his army. "Men, by God, we'll whip them yet," he cried out as he reached the Federal line,"we'll sleep in our old camps tonight." A private who saw Sheridan ride into sight remembered thinking, "No more doubt or chance for doubt existed; we were safe, and every man knew it." As usual, Sheridan's prediction came true -- they slept in the old camps that night. Returning to Grant's army for the Spring campaign of 1865, Sheridan told members of Grant's staff that he was "ready to strike out tomorrow and go to smashing things" and once again he backed up his boast. Sheridan was instrumental in the victory at Five Forks, which sealed the fate of Richmond, the Confederacy's capital. He later drove his men hard to cut off Lee's retreat at Appomattox, which sealed the fate of Lee's army, and effectively ended the existence of the Confederacy.


This print depicts General Sheridan’s victory at the Battle of Winchester in 1864. Sheridan was originally from Ohio and was a graduate from West Point in 1853. He fought in many early battles of the Civil War in Kentucky and Tennessee. Sheridan’s troops were in Winchester as part of a Union campaign to destroy the agricultural and livestock resources in the Shenandoah Valley that the Confederacy relied upon. Sheridan’s victory there in 1864 prevented the Confederacy from using the Shenandoah Valley to threaten Washington for the remainder of the war.


Sheridan's Civil War assignments included:


1 posted on 05/17/2003 12:00:05 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: AntiJen; snippy_about_it; Victoria Delsoul; SassyMom; bentfeather; MistyCA; GatorGirl; radu; ...
Sheridan's post-war career was highly successful, if not always completely admirable. While commanding the military district of Louisiana and Texas he helped bring about the end of the French adventure in Mexico. However, Sheridan's administration of the former rebels in his district was considered oppressive by many. Andrew Johnson removed him from the post after only six months. He may have been in some trouble had Johnson been in office longer, but the election of Sheridan's good friend Grant in 1868 assured him of a bright future.



Grant promoted Sheridan to lieutenant general and got him away from politics and back into a area in which he was more proficient: combat. Much of the rest of Sheridan's life revolved around the struggle against the Plains Indians. Sheridan had little sympathy for those Indians, and many have criticized his actions since, with some justification. He has taken much abuse over his often misquoted comment "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." His actual quote, though less than sympathetic, is not nearly as full a condemnation of all Indians. What he actually said was , "the only good Indians I ever saw were dead." Given the fact that most of the Indians he had contact with until then were actively fighting the U.S. government, this quote is much less racist.

Whatever else one says about these Indian fighting years, Sheridan remained a good, and also aggressive, soldier. He did the job his country sent him out to do to best of his ability, which was considerable. In the midst of those struggles Sheridan found some solace in his personal life. On June 3, 1875, he married Irene Rucker; she was the daughter of a long time army officer, and at 22, was half his age. She would bear him three daughters and a son, Philip Jr.


Irene Rucker Sheridan


In 1884, the scrappy little Irishman reached the pinnacle of his profession. When Sherman retired, Sheridan, promoted to full general, became commanding general of the U.S. Army. Unfortunately, "Little" Phil would not have long to enjoy his achievement. He developed heart disease and on June 1, 1888, he died in Nonquitt, Massachusetts. Sheridan's body was returned to Washington and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, very close to the former home of Robert E. Lee.

Sheridan was a complex man, but his life story is one to make any Irishman swell with pride. John and Mary Meenagh Sheridan had once been dirt-poor tenant farmers on the Cherrymount estate in County Cavan. When they left that land, where their people had not known freedom in hundreds of years, like so many before and since, they hoped for a new life in the country the Irish often referred to as simply "the land of the free." Fifty three years later their son rose to command the army of that land.


The Sheridan Gravesite In About 1900 Michael Robert Patterson Collection


Sheridan was not forgotten by his family nor comrades after his death. His young wife outlived him by 50 years, but never remarried, once saying, "I would rather be the widow of Phil Sheridan than the wife of any man living." Sheridan's famous horse Rienzi, renamed Winchester after it carried Sheridan on his desperate ride from there to Cedar Creek, was later stuffed and displayed at the Army museum on Governors Island in New York Harbor. In 1922, the museum was damaged by fire and it was decided that Winchester should be sent to the Smithsonian. The few remaining veterans of the city did not let Sheridan's war-horse leave without a fitting goodbye. The grandson of one of the veterans read Thomas Buchanan Read's poem "Sheridan's Ride," and then, with the 22nd Infantry Band playing martial airs and the veterans shouting "Hurrah for Sheridan, hurrah, hurrah, for horse and man!" the wagon pulled away. Perhaps there were one or two of those old men, looking through tear-filled eyes, who could remember another day, in another place, when the sight of that little big man, on that same large horse, had assured them that "we were safe, and every man knew it."

Additional Sources:

www.civilwarhome.com
www.nps.gov
www.library.wisc.edu
www.cohums.ohio-state.edu
www.rockingham.k12.va.us
www.arlingtoncemetery.com
www.gmu.edu
www.army.mil
www.chronicleoftheoldwest.com
a1944.g.akamai.net

2 posted on 05/17/2003 12:01:10 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: All
'If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell.'

-- General Phil Sheridan

'Face the other way boys, we are going back.'

-- General Phil Sheridan
Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864


'The American soldier's Temple of Fame,
There, with the glorious general's name,
Be it said, in letters both bold and bright,
"Here is the steed that saved the day,
By carrying Sheridan into the fight,
From Winchester, twenty miles away!"'

-- From "Sheridan's Ride" by Thomas Buchanan Read


3 posted on 05/17/2003 12:01:35 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: All
The State of the Union is Strong!
Support the Commander in Chief

Click Here to Send a Message to the opposition!


4 posted on 05/17/2003 12:01:55 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: All

5 posted on 05/17/2003 12:02:36 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: Reaganwuzthebest; weldgophardline; Mon; AZ Flyboy; feinswinesuksass; Michael121; cherry_bomb88; ...

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

6 posted on 05/17/2003 12:04:43 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: SAMWolf
BTTT!!!!!!
7 posted on 05/17/2003 3:07:26 AM PDT by E.G.C.
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To: SAMWolf

"RALLIES FOR AMERICA" (Click Here for Info.)

"SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" RALLIES (Click Here for Info.)


May 2003: "May Is National Military Appreciation Month"

May 1, 2003: NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

May 1, 2003: LOYALTY DAY

May 11, 2003: MOTHERS DAY

May 11-17, 2003: NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

May 15, 2003: PEACE OFFICERS' MEMORIAL DAY

May 17, 2003: ARMED FORCES DAY

May 26, 2003: MEMORIAL DAY (Observed)

May 30, 2003: MEMORIAL DAY


Flag graphic courtesy of Wilson Web Design

8 posted on 05/17/2003 3:26:41 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: SAMWolf; snippy_about_it; All
Good morning SAM, everyone.
9 posted on 05/17/2003 4:00:30 AM PDT by Soaring Feather
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To: SAMWolf
On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on May 17:
1444 Sandro Botticelli Italian painter (Birth of Venus)
1451 Engelbert II earl of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz/viceroy of Luxembourg
1490 Albrecht von Hohenzollern 1st duke of Prussia
1551 Martinus A del Rio Spanish/South Netherlands lawyer/historian/theologist
1568 Christoph Thomas Walliser composer
1576 Ferdinand van Apshoven the Older, Flemish painter, baptized
1673 Jozef LD von Königsegg Austria, military minister of Austrian Netherlands
1691 Antoine Court French reformed theologist
1732 Francesco Pasquale Ricci composer
1741 John Penn US attorney (signed Declaration of Independence)
1749 Edward Jenner England, physician, discovered vaccination
1768 Caroline Brunswick, Queen Consort of King George IV
1794 Anna Brownell Jameson Dublin, writer
1796 Martinus J Niewindt bishop of Curaçao (christen slaves)
1800 Carl Friedrich Zollner composer
1803 Robert Smith Surtees novelist
1804 Ottho G Heldring Dutch vicar/reformer (Heldring Institutions)
1808 Charles-Louis-Adolphe Vogel composer
1812 Joseph Warren Revere Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1880
1819 Johann Nepomuk Kafka composer
1823 Charlotte Helen Sainton-Dolby contralto/composer
1836 Joseph Norman Lockyer discovered Helium/founded Nature magazine
1846 Edmund Bishop English secretary of Thomas Carlyle
1850 Antonio Scontrino composer
1866 Erik Alfred Satie Honfleur France, composer (Mémoirs d'un Ambésique)
1867 Gerrit Mannoury Dutch mathematician/philosopher
1871 Henricus P Bremmer art historian (Modern Kunstwerken)
1873 Dorothy Miller Richardson Abingdon Berkshire, novelist
1873 Henri Barbusse Asnieres France, novelist (Le Feu)
1876 Alban Collignon Belgian sport journalist
1878 Conway Tearle US actor (Klondike Annie, Should Ladies Behave?)
1886 Alfonso XIII Borbón King of Spain (1902-31)
1888 A P "Tich" Freeman cricket leg-spinner (legend for Kent & England)
1889 Alfonso Reyes Mexican poet/historian/diplomat (Higenia Cruel)
1889 Marcel Moyse Saint-Amour, France, flutist (20 Exercises et études)
1890 Philip James composer
1896 Brazilio da Cunha Luz Itibere composer
1896 Hannah Tillich writer
1899 Ralf Harolde Pittsburgh PA, actor (Framed, Smart Money, Tip-off)
19-- Audie Desbrow rocker (Great White-Twice Shy)
1900 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Iran's spiritual leader (1979-89)
1900 Nicolai Berezowsky composer
1901 Werner Egk Auchsesheim Germany, composer (Die Zaubergeige)
1902 John Vincent composer
1903 Douglas Packard British Lieutenant General
1904 Jean Gabin [Alexis Moncorgé] actor (Stormy Waters, French Can Can)
1905 John Patrick screenwriter
1906 Eric Mensforth president (Westland Aircraft)
1907 Charles Cawley British chief scientist/minister of power
1907 Horace McMahon South Norwalk CT, actor (Martin Kane Private Eye)
1907 Ilona Schacherer Elek Budapest Hungary, fencer (Olympics-gold-1936, 48)
1908 Sigismund Toduta composer
1908 Zinka Milanov Zagreb Yugoslavia, soprano (Ljublama Opera 1927)
1909 Edward Playfair British senior civil servant
1909 Magda Schneider actress (Eva, Going Gay, Be Mine Tonight)
1911 Knut Anders Haukfield SOE Operative
1911 Maureen O'Sullivan Boyle Ireland, actress (Tarzan, Pride & Prejudice)
1912 Archibald Cox 1st Watergate special prosecutor
1912 Clarence "Ace" Parker NFL QB (Brooklyn, Boston Yanks)
1912 Sandor Vegh violinist teacher conductor
1913 Alec Ogilvie CEO (Powell Duffryn)
1913 Lord Hirshfield chartered accountant
1914 Guido Masanetz composer
1915 Joseph D Craggs electrical engineer
1916 Cornelis A Eman Aruban politician
1916 John Hinde photographer/circus promoter
1918 Birgit Nilsson Karup Sweden, operatic soprano (Elektra, Salome)
1920 Harriet Van Horne Syracuse NY, columnist/panelist (Leave it to Girls)
1920 Lydia Wideman Finland, 10K cross country skier (Olympics-gold-1952)
1921 Dennis Brain London England, french-hornist (Serenade)
1921 John Garlick British senior civil servant
1923 Michael Beetham Marshal (RAF)
1923 Miles Wingate deputy master (Trinity House)
1923 Peter Mennin[i] Erie PA, composer (Moby Dick)
1924 Frantisek Kovaricek composer
1924 Lord Tombs CEO (Rolls Royce)
1924 Thomas Baird Vice-Admiral
1926 Cicely Berry voice director (Royal Shakespeare Company)
1926 David Young Lieutenant-General/CEO (Cairn Tech)
1926 Earl of Airlie KT
1926 Geoffrey Caston vice chancellor (U of South Pacific)
1926 Lord Chamberlain Earl of Airilet
1926 Tenniel Evans rev/actor (10 Rillington Place, My Brother's Keeper)
1927 Ronald Halstead deputy CEO (British Steel)
1928 Donald Cameron Watt historian
1928 Ian Griggs bishop (Ludlow)
1928 Vivian Moses biotechnologist
1929 Raymond Hide geophysicist
1931 Dewey Redman jazz musician
1932 Arthur Jones principal (Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester)
1932 Colin Hope CEO (T/N)
1932 Peter Burge cricketer (dashing Australian batsman of 50's & 60's)
1932 Rodric Braithwaite British ambassador to USSR
1934 Earl Morrall NFL QB (Lions, Giants, Colts)
1935 Dennis Christopher George Potter playwright (Karaoke, Midnight Movie)
1935 Ivan Slone world-famous watchmaker
1936 Dennis Hopper Dodge City KS, actor (True Grit, Blue Velvet, Easy Rider)
1936 Lars Gustafsson writer
1936 Philippe Boesmans composer
1938 Don Dolan Staten Island NY, actor (Guy Lewis- General Hospital)
1938 Jason Bernard actor (Judge-Liar Liar)
1938 Pervis Jackson rocker (Spinners)
1938 Trinus Riemersma Dutch-Frisian writer (Conquest of Leeuwarden)
1939 Hugh Dykes MP
1939 Wim de Bie CEO (Simplistic Covenant)
1941 David Howell Cope composer
1941 Malcom Hale trumpeter
1941 Miriam Margolyes actress (Will Be)
1942 Caroline Charles fashion designer
1942 Taj Mahal New York NY, singer/songwriter (The Real Thing)
1944 Arif Butt cricketer (pace bowler for Pakistan in three Tests 1964-65)
1944 Canon P B Price General Secretary, USPG
1944 Jesse Winchester Shreveport LA, singer/songwriter (Learn to Love it)
1944 Paul Crossley concert pianist
1945 D A S Pennefather Major-General/Commandant (General Royal Marines)
1945 George Miller (Representative-D-CA, 1975- )
1946 Sinaida Turchina USSR, team handball (Olympics-gold-1976)
1947 John Traicos cricketer (in Egypt South Africa 1970, Zimbabwe 1992-93)
1948 Bill Bruford Sevenoaks Kent England, drummer (Yes, King Crimson, Genesis)
1949 Timothy Cordy British director (Town/Country Planning Association)
1950 A A Johnson MP
1950 Christian Lacroix French couturier (Chic Frills)
1950 Keith Bradley MP
1951 I R Evans CEO (Hyder, Welsh Water)
1951 Simon Hughes MP
1952 Jody Pijper Dutch (background) singer
1953 George Johnson Los Angeles CA, rocker (Brothers Johnson)
1953 Kathleen Sullivan Pasadena CA, newscaster (ABC-TV, CBS Morning Show)
1953 Nicholas Bacon premier baronet of England
1953 Yoko Shimada Kumamota Japan, author (Kir Royal)/actress (Shogun)
1954 John Iles dolby supervisor (Elephant Man, Richard III)
1954 Michael Roberts jockey
1955 Bill Paxton actor (Brain Dead, Next of Kin, Indian Summer, True Lies)
1956 "Sugar" Ray [Charles] Leonard Palmer Park MD, welter/middle/light-heavyweight boxing champion (Olympics-gold-76)
1956 Bob Saget Philadelphia PA, comedian/actor (Danny-Full House, America's Funniest Home Videos)
1956 Sue Carpenter TV presenter/journalist
1958 Vincent Henar Surinam, bassist (Fra Fra Sound)
1959 Paul Di'Anno Chingford London, rocker (Iron Maiden-Run To The Hills)
1960 Fiona Hutchison Miami FL, actress (One Life to Live, Guiding Light)
1961 Enya [Eithne Ní Bhraonáin] Gweedore Ireland, vocalist (Watermark)
1962 Scott Case NFL safety (Dallas Cowboys)
1962 Tracey Bryn rocker (Voice of the Beehive-Let it Bee)
1963 Brigitte Nielsen actress (Red Sonja, Rocky IV, Domino)
1963 Jon Koncak NBA center (Orlando Magic)
1965 Paige Turco Springfield MA, actress (Dinah-Guiding Light)
1965 Trent Reznor musician (9 Inch Nails)
1966 Danny Manning NBA forward/center (Phoenix Suns)
1966 Mark Kratzmann Australia, tennis star
1966 Mark Schmocker Interlaken Switzerland, US team handball goalie (Olympics-96)
1967 Cameron Bancroft actor (Beverly Hills 90210)
1967 Debbie Dutch Titusville NJ, actress (Hell's Paradox)
1968 Tim Grunhard NFL center (Kansas City Chiefs)
1969 Aaron Ruffin CFL defensive back (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
1969 Craig Erickson NFL quarterback (Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins)
1969 Ujesh Ranchod cricketer (Zimbabwe off-spinner 1993)
1970 Alan Wetmore CFL fullback (Montréal Alouettes)
1970 Derrick Deese NFL guard (San Fransisco 49ers)
1970 Hubert Davis NBA guard (Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks)
1970 Jim Cummins Dearborn, NHL right wing (Chicago Blackhawks)
1970 Jodie Rogers Melbourne Victoria Australia, diver (Olympics-96)
1970 John Karelse soccer player (NAC)
1970 Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight Worcester MA, rocker (New Kids on the Block-Hangin' Tough)
1970 Renzo Furlan Italy, tennis star
1970 Stefania Croce Bergamo Italy, golfer (95 State Farm Rail Classic-11)
1970 Todd Mundt NBA center (Atlanta Hawks)
1971 Bill Lindsay Big Fork, NHL left wing (Florida Panthers)
1971 Mark Williams NFL linebacker (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1972 Elena Wagner Sofia Bulgaria, tennis star (1996 ITF/Redbridge-Great Britain)
1972 John Burrough NFL defensive tackle (Atlanta Falcons)
1973 Jay Riemersma tight end (Buffalo Bills)
1974 Marcia Turner Cambridge MA, Miss America (Massachusetts-Top 10-1996)
1976 Anna Windsor Sydney New South Wales Australia, swimmer (Olympics-96)
1976 Daniel Komen Nyaru Kenya, 5k runner
1976 Peter Devine New York NY, fencer-foil (Olympics-96)
1977 Jere Michael Aspen CO, figure skater (1994 National Jr champion)







Deaths which occurred on May 17:
1050 Guido van Arezzo Italian music theorist, dies
1510 Sandro Botticelli [Alessandro di Mariano del Filpepi] painter (Birth of Venus), dies at about 65
1575 Matthew Parker archbishop of Canterbury (1559-75), dies at 68
1591 Jost/Jobst/Jodocus Amman Swiss cartoonist/graphic artist, dies at 51
1606 Forges Dimitri czar of Russia (1605-06), murdered
1695 Cornelis de Heem painter, dies
1727 Catherine I Empress of Russia (1725-27), dies
1729 Samuel Clarke theologian, dies
1796 Jacob Wilhelm Lustig composer, dies at 89
1809 Leopold Auenbrugger von Auenbrugg physician, dies
1838 Charles-Maurice duke of Talleyrand-Périgord French bishop, dies at 84
1840 Niccolo Paganini composer, dies at 57
1851 Jean E "Adrian" van Bevervoorde journalist (Treason), dies at 31
1864 N Hawthorne writer, dies at 59
1866 Adolf Bernhard Marx composer, dies at 70
1872 Fryderyk Edward Sobolewski composer, dies at 63
1883 Lydia Estes Pinklham patent-medicine manufacturer, dies
1884 Louis Brassin composer, dies at 43
1889 William Roxby Beverly artist, dies
1892 György Klapka Hungarian general/parliament leader, dies at 72
1914 Peter Leyten bishop of Breda (1885-1914), dies at 79
1916 Gervais Bernard Gaston Salvayre composer, dies at 68
1919 Bohumil Pazdirek composer, dies at 80
1920 Maitland Hathorn cricketer (325 runs in 12 Tests South Africa 1901-11), dies
1926 Lucien Herr French leader (Correspondance entre Schiller), dies
1930 Herbert David Croly US founder (New Republic), dies at 61
1931 Johan [Eliza J] de Master art critic/writer, dies
1931 Timothy Cole wood engraver, dies
1935 Paul A Dukas French composer/tutor of Messiaen (Velléda), dies at 69
1943 Montagu Love actor (Wind), dies at 65
1945 Jan van Geenen resistance fighter, dies
1945 Sasaki Shigetsu Sokei-an founder 1st Zen Institute of America, dies
1950 Eduardo Fabini composer, dies at 67
1951 Karl Heinrich David composer, dies at 66
1953 Eric De Lamarter composer, dies at 73
1955 Alan Fairfax cricketer (10 Tests for Australia 1928-31), dies
1955 Francesco Balilla Pratella composer, dies at 75
1955 Leslie Hylton cricketer (West Indies quickie 1939), hung for murder
1957 Shalva Azmayparashvili composer, dies at 54
1961 French of Cauwelaert Flemish minister/mayor of Antwerp, dies at 81
1961 Henri Gagnon composer, dies at 74
1964 Otto V Kuusinen President of Karelo-Finnish Soviet Republic (1940-56), dies 82
1967 John Wesley Work composer, dies at 65
1969 Joseph Beran Czechoslovakia, archbishop of Prague/cardinal, dies at 80
1970 Nigel Martin Balchin English author (My Executioner), dies at 61
1973 Alexander J Kropholler Dutch architect/writer, dies at 91
1974 Charles Braswell actor (Only Game in Town), dies at 49
1978 John Selwyn Brooke Selwyn Lloyd speaker of house of commons, dies
1980 Joseph M "Joop" Lücker Dutch editor-in-chief (Volkskrant), dies at 65
1981 Hugo Freidhofer composer, dies at 80
1981 Jeannette Ridlon Piccard 1st US woman free balloon pilot, dies
1985 Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) killed off on Dallas
1985 Hugh Burden actor (The House in Nightmare Park), dies at 72
1987 Gunnar Myrdal Sweden, economist (Nobel 1974), dies at 88
1989 Robert Webber actor (Nuts, Assassin, 10), dies at 74
1992 George Hurrell Hollywood photographer, dies of cancer at 87
1992 Lawrence Welk conductor/accordionist (Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 89
1992 Leonardo del Ferro [Keyser] US epic tenor, dies
1992 Warren Neal Boxer dies of AIDS at 34
1993 Harry Elstrøm Danish/Belgian sculptor, dies at 86
1994 Alain Cuny [René X Marie] French actor (La Dolce Vita), dies at 85
1994 Andrew Brown film Producer, dies at 55
1994 Donald Keith Falkner singer, dies at 94
1994 Willian Noel Moffat architect, dies at 82
1995 Nathan "Dambuza" Mdledle singer, dies at 72
1996 Rusi Modi cricketer (736 runs 10 post-war Tests for India), dies
1996 Scott Evans Brayton racing car driver, dies at 37
1996 Willi Daume Olympic organiser, dies at 82
1996 Willis Conover broadcaster, dies at 75






Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 DEERE DONALD T. SNYDER TX.
1967 DODGE RONALD WAYNE SAN DIEGO CA.
PHOTO SEEN IN PARIS PAPER REMAINS RETURNED 07/08/81
1967 LEWIS CHARLIE G. FAYETTEVILLE NC.
1968 YOUNG CHARLES L. NEW YORK NY.
1969 STEWART VIRGIL G. BATON ROUGE LA.
1970 WESTWOOD NORMAN P. JR. WEST HARTFORD CT.
1971 PEARCE DALE A. MENTOR OH.
1971 SOYLANDAVID P. RAPID CITY SD.



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






On this day...
0218 7th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
0352 Liberius begins his reign as Catholic Pope replacing Julius I
0884 St Adrian III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1525 Battle at Zabern: duke of Lutherans beats rebels
1527 Pánfilo de Narvaéz departs to explore Florida
1536 Anne Boleyn's 4 "lovers" executed
1544 Scottish Earl Matthew van Lennox signs secret treaty with Henry VIII
1579 Artois/Henegouwen/French-Flanders sign Treaty/Peace of Parma recognizing Spanish duke van Parma as land guardian
1620 1st merry-go-round seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey)
1630 Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi, 1st to see 2 belts on Jupiter surface
1631 Earl Johann Tilly attacks Maagdenburg
1648 Emperor Ferdinand III defeats Maximilian I of Bavaria
1672 Frontenac becomes Governor of New France (Canada)
1673 Louis Joliet & Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi
1678 King Charles II & Louis XIV sign secret treaty
1712 Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria honored as "sovereign of Netherlands"
1733 England passes Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum & molasses imported to the colonies from a country other than British possessions
1742 Frederick great (Emperor of Prussia) beats Austrians
1744 French army takes Austrian Netherlands
1750 Tax revolt in Gorinchem
1756 Britain declares war on France (7 Years' or French & Indian War)
1787 English slave ship Sisters, from Africa to Cuba, capsizes
1792 24 merchants form New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street
1794 Hard frost in southern New England
1803 John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine
1804 Lewis & Clark begin exploration of the Louisiana Purchase
1809 Papal States annexed by France
1814 Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden (National Day)
1814 Norwegian constitution passed by constituent assembly at Eidsvoll
1837 Royal Decides installs the Weapon of Belgium firm(ly)
1845 Rubber band patents
1846 Saxophone is patents by Antoine Joseph Sax
1848 Premier Earl Schimmelpenninck resigns
1849 Fire destroy Centrum in St Louis MO
1853 Thorbeckes liberals win 2nd-Parliamentary election
1862 Battle of Princeton WV, ends, about 128 casualities
1863 Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
1864 Battle of Adairsville GA, Union forces Confederates to retreat
1871 Indians fighter General Sherman escapes in ambulance vs Comanches
1872 Bohemian Club incorporated
1875 1st Kentucky Derby: Oliver Lewis aboard Aristides wins in 2:37.75
1876 7th US Cavalry under Custer leaves Fort Lincoln
1877 Edwin T Holmes installs 1st telephone switchboard burglar alarm
1881 7th Kentucky Derby: Jim McLaughlin aboard Hindoo wins in 2:40
1881 Frederick Douglass appointed recorder of deeds for Washington DC
1881 Revised version of New Testament
1883 Buffalo Bill Cody's 1st wild west show premieres in Omaha
1884 Alaska becomes a US territory
1890 Clyde Fitch's "Beau Brummel" premieres in NYC
1890 Comic Cuts, 1st weekly comic paper, published in London
1890 Pietro Costanzi's opera "Rustic Chivalry" premieres in Rome
1894 19th Preakness: Fred Taral aboard Assignee wins in 1:49¼
1895 W G Grace completes his 100th 100 vs Somerset at Bristol
1899 Victoria & Albert Museum foundation laid England
1900 British troops relieve Mafeking (Cape Colony)
1903 Cleveland Indians beat New York Highlanders 9-2 in Columbus OH
1904 Maurice Ravel's "Shéhérazade" premieres in Paris France
1905 Waseda University of Tokyo defeats Los Angeles High School 5-3 in baseball
1909 White firemen on Georgia RR strike to protest hiring blacks
1910 Canada sets the designs for the 1¢-50¢ coins
1911 36th Preakness: Eddie Dugan aboard Watervale wins in 1:51
1915 40th Preakness: Douglas Hoffman aboard Rhine Maiden wins in 1:58
1915 Cubs George "Zip" Zabel relieves with 2 outs in 1st & winds up with 4-3 19-inning win over Brooklyn in longest relief job ever
1915 Last liberal British Government of Asquith falls
1915 National Baptist Convention chartered
1916 British Summer Time (Daylight Savings), 1st introduced
1920 1st De Havilland double-decker flight (London) lands in Schiphol
1920 1st flight by Dutch airlines KLM (Koninklijke-Luchtvaart-Maatschappij)
1921 Belgian-Luxembourg sign customs union
1921 President Harding opens (via telephone) 1st Valencia Orange Show
1923 Fire during closing day ceremonies at Grover Cleveland School (South Carolina)
1924 50th Kentucky Derby: John Mooney aboard Black Gold wins in 2:05.2
1925 Cleveland Indian Tris Speaker gets his 3,000th hit
1926 Chiang Kai-shek is made supreme war lord in Canton
1926 German Government of Marx takes power
1927 Chicago Cubs beat Boston Braves, 4-3, in 22 innings
1928 9th modern Olympic games open in Amsterdam
1930 56th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:07.6
1932 Congress changes the name "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico"
1937 Juan Negrin succeeds Largo Caballero as Spain's premier
1938 Congress approves Vinson Naval Act, which funds a two-ocean navy
1938 Radio quiz show "Information Please!" debuts on NBC Blue Network
1939 1st sports telecast-Columbia vs Princeton-college baseball
1940 Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium & begins invasion of France
1940 Nazis bombs Middelburg/B IJzerdrat begins illegal defiance
1941 Pennsylvania declares legal holiday to honor A's manager Connie Mack
1942 Dutch SS vows loyalty to Hitler
1944 Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java
1944 Chinese/US arm forces take Myitkyina Airport, Burma
1944 General Eisenhower sets D-Day for June 5th
1944 Operation Straightline: Allies land in Netherlands New-Guinea
1945 2 US P-47 Thunderbolts bomb Kiushu
1946 KVP Labor/Communists win 1st post-WW2 Dutch parliamentary elections
1946 President Truman seizes control of nation's railroads to delay a strike
1947 "Street Scene" closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 148 performances
1948 Israel liberates Acre, Nebi Yusha & Telel-Kadi
1948 Soviet Union recognized Israel
1949 British government recognizes Republic of Ireland
1952 78th Preakness: Conn McCreary aboard Blue Man wins in 1:57.4
1953 Patty Berg wins LPGA Reno Golf Open
1953 Yanks & Browns use record 41 players in a game
1954 Supreme Court unanimously rules on Brown v Topeka Board of Education reversed 1896 "separate but equal" Plessy Vs Ferguson decision
1955 Dutch Government of Drees resigns
1957 Prayer Pilgrimage, biggest civil rights demonstration to date (District of Columbia)
1958 84th Preakness: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Tim Tam wins in 1:57.2
1958 Emergency crisis proclaimed in Algeria
1959 Sam Snead sets PGA record for 36 holes at 122
1960 1st atomic reactor system to be patented, JW Flora, Canoga Park CA
1961 Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers
1962 Marin County withdraws from BART district
1963 Bruno Sammartino beats Buddy Rogers in New York, to become WWF champion
1963 Houston Colt .45's Don Notterbart no-hits Phillies, 4-1
1963 US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
1964 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Muskogee Civitan Golf Open Invitational
1964 Phillies triple play Houston Colt .45s
1966 KFDO (now KVIJ) TV channel 8 in Sayre OK (ABC) begins broadcasting
1967 Dylan's 1965 UK Tour is released as the film "Don't Look Back"
1968 European Space Research Organization launches 1st satellite
1968 Frank Howard belts record 8th homerun in 5th straight game
1968 US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
1969 "My Wife, My Dog, My Cat" by Maskman & The Agents hits #92
1969 95th Preakness: Bill Hartack aboard Majestic Prince wins in 1:55.6
1969 Baltimore, Cleveland & Pittsburgh agree to go from NFC to the AFC in the NFL
1969 Russian probe Venera 6 landed on Venus
1970 Hank Aaron becomes 9th player to get 3,000 hits
1970 Shirley Englehorn wins LPGA Johnny Londoff Chevrolet Golf Tournament
1970 Thor Heyerdahl crosses the Atlantic on reed raft Ra
1971 Stephen Schwartz' musical "Godspell" premieres off-Broadway
1971 Washington State bans sex discrimination
1972 Netherlands & China People's Republic exchange ambassadors
1972 Tottenham Hotspur wins 1st UEFA Cup in London
1973 "Nash at Nine" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 21 performances
1973 Angels outfielder Bobby Valentine breaks his leg trying to scale wall to prevent a Dick Green homerun during a 5-4 loss to the A's
1973 Joe Ferguson, hits the 6,000th Dodger homerun
1973 Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings
1973 Stevie Wonder releases "You are the Sunshine of my Life"
1973 US performs 3 nuclear tests at Rifle CO
1974 Bayern München wins 20th Europe Cup 1 at Brussels
1974 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 15th String quartet
1975 "Funky Gibbon" by The Goodies hits #79
1975 101st Preakness: Darrel McHargue aboard Master Derby wins in 1:56.4
1975 10cc releases "I'm Not in Love"
1975 Mick Jagger punches a restaurant window, gets 20 stitches
1975 NBC paid $5 million for rights to show "Gone with the Wind" one time
1976 28th Emmy Awards: Mary Tyler Moore Show, Jack Albertson & Michael Learned win
1976 Earthquake in Uzbekistan: 1000's killed
1977 Menahem Begins Likoed-party wins election in Israel
1978 Lee Lacy hits record 3rd consecutive pinch-hit homerun
1979 -12ºF (-11ºC), on top of Mauna Kea HI (state record)
1979 Emmy 6th Daytime Award presentation
1979 Phillies beat Cubs, 23-22, on 50 hits with 11 homeruns
1980 (Vivekananda Selva) Kumar Anandan sets record of balancing on 1 foot for 33 hours
1980 106th Preakness: Angel Cordero Jr aboard Codex wins in 1:54.2
1980 Major race riot in Miami FL - 16 killed, 300 injured
1980 Paul & Linda McCartney appear on Saturday Night Live
1981 "Inacent Black" closes at Biltmore Theater NYC after 14 performances
1981 Islanders score 5 power play goals against Flyers in a playoff
1981 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Coca-Cola Golf Classic
1983 Israel & Lebanon sign a peace treaty
1983 Stanley Cup: New York Islanders sweep Edmonton Oilers in 4 games
1984 Cincinnati Reds Mario Soto throws 4 strikeouts in one inning
1984 Mai Shanley, 21, (New Mexico), crowned 33rd Miss USA
1985 Les Anderson, catches record 97 lb 4 oz Chinook Salmon, off Alaska
1986 "Chicken Song" by Spitting Image hit #1 on the UK pop chart
1986 112th Preakness: Alex Solis aboard Snow Chief wins in 1:54.8
1987 "Stardust" closes at Biltmore Theater NYC after 102 performances
1987 Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Golf Classic
1987 USS Stark hit by Iraqi missiles, 37 sailors die
1989 Longest Cab Ride Ever: 14,000 miles cost $16,000!
1989 Napoli wins 18th UEFA Cup in Stuttgart
1989 Nelson Mandela receives a BA degree from University of South Africa
1989 Vincent Van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr Gachet" auctioned for $825 million
1990 Cheers' star Kelsey Grammer sentenced to jail for 30 days for DWI
1990 Dow Jones average hits a record 2,831.71
1990 European court rules pension rights for both men & women
1990 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Patty Ann
1991 Lupita Jones, 23, of México, crowned 40th Miss Universe
1992 38th Mazda LPGA Championship won by Betsy King
1992 Expos Gary Carter is 3rd to catch 2,000 games (joins Boone & Fisk)
1993 Intel's new Pentium processor is unveiled
1994 Bakili Muluzi's UDF wins Malawi presidents/parliamentary election
1996 Alicia Machado, 18, of Venezuela crowned 45th Miss Universe
1996 Habib & Whitaker make 320 for 5th Cricket wicket, Leicestershire vs Worcestershire
1997 123rd Preakness: Gary Stevens aboard Silver Charm wins in 1:54
1997 Sylvester Stallone weds Jennifer Flavin in London
1997 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Sandra Jo Shiery-Odom
1998 44th McDonald's LPGA Championship






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

Cuba : Agrarian Reform/Peasant Day
Norway : Independence Day/Constitution Day (1814)
US : Armed Forces Day - - - - - ( Saturday )






Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Dunstan, archbp of Canterbury, patron of jewelers
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Paschal Baylon, lay brother






Religious History
352 Liberius was elected 36th pope of the Early Church. During this time the dispute between Arius and Athanasius was at its height, and after vacillating earlier, Liberius vindicated himself as a champion of Nicene orthodoxy.
1291 Scottish medieval Franciscan philosopher John Duns Scotus, 25, was ordained. He believed in "divine will" rather than "divine intellect," and founded a scholastic system called Scotism. In the Catholic Church he is known as "the Subtle Doctor."
1844 Birth of Julius Wellhausen, the German biblical scholar who, in his 1878 "History of Israel," first advanced the JEDP Hypothesis, claiming that the Pentateuch (i.e., the first five O.T. books) was a compilation of four earlier, literary sources.
1881 The Revised Version (EV or ERV) of the New Testament was first published in England. The Old Testament was completed in 1885. In 1905 the American Standard Version (ASV) ÀÀ based on the textual foundation of the ERV ÀÀ was published in the U.S.
1947 The Conservative Baptist Association of America (CBAA) was formally established at Atlantic City, NJ, as a breakaway movement from within the American Baptist Convention.






Thought for the day :
"The reason people blame things on previous generations? There's only one other choice!"
10 posted on 05/17/2003 4:52:56 AM PDT by Valin (Age and deceit beat youth and skill)
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To: SAMWolf
*Sheridan grew up in Somerset, Ohio*

Clic on Sheridan's statue for views of Somerset Ohio today


11 posted on 05/17/2003 5:05:46 AM PDT by snippy_about_it (Pray for our Troops)
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To: bentfeather
Good morning ms. feather, for a night person you are up early today!
12 posted on 05/17/2003 5:07:49 AM PDT by snippy_about_it (Pray for our Troops)
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To: snippy_about_it
Early night Snippy!!! LOL
13 posted on 05/17/2003 5:14:30 AM PDT by Soaring Feather
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To: SAMWolf
I will be handing out Poppy's later this morning in front of our local Krogers for the Ladies Aux of the AM Legion. We will also be handing out Yellow Ribbons at the same time.

This Memorial Poppy of the American Legion Auxiliary is made by hospitalized veterans. It is distributed to the public near Memorial Day and all donations received are used only to benefit America's veterans.


14 posted on 05/17/2003 6:35:24 AM PDT by GailA (Millington Rally for America after action http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/872519/posts)
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To: All
ARMED FORCES DAY HONORS SACRIFICE THEN AND NOW

DEAR ABBY:
I think it would be a good idea to reprint the "freedom poem" that appeared in your column several years ago. Because of the recent war in Iraq (news - web sites), it couldn't be more timely.
Thanks, Abby. --
MRS. INEZ M. BARROW, WATERFORD, MICH.

DEAR MRS. BARROW:
Because today is Armed Forces Day, I agree that the poem is timely. It was written in 1988 by a high school ROTC cadet major named Kelly Strong.
Read on:

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom is not free.

I heard the sound of "Taps" one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times
That "Taps" had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom is not free.

CADET MAJOR KELLY STRONG, AIR FORCE JUNIOR ROTC, HOMESTEAD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, HOMESTEAD, FLA., 1988

15 posted on 05/17/2003 6:53:44 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: Cindy
Thanks for all the great links to the special days in May.

We apperciate you putting them together and sharing them with us.
16 posted on 05/17/2003 6:55:59 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: bentfeather
Good Morning Feather.
17 posted on 05/17/2003 6:56:16 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: Valin
1987 USS Stark hit by Iraqi missiles, 37 sailors die


18 posted on 05/17/2003 7:02:26 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: snippy_about_it
Morning Snippy.

Thanks for the virtual tour of Somerset.
19 posted on 05/17/2003 7:03:36 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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To: GailA
Thank you GailA for all you do to support our Veterans and servicemen and women.
20 posted on 05/17/2003 7:04:38 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Morfy's law; Enythink thit ken go rong willl.)
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