The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Pusan Perimeter, Korea (1950)- July 24th, 2003

http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/pusan.htm ^ | B. L. Kortegaard

[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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The Pusan Perimeter

On Sunday, 6/25/50, preceded by a long and intensive barrage of artillery and mortar fire, 90,000 Russian -armed North Korean (NK) troops in seven assault infantry divisions smashed headlong into totally unprepared units of the army of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The Inmun Gun were led by over 150 T34/85 tanks, and closely supported by seventeen hundred 122mm howitzers and SU76 self-propelled 76mm guns. Over 200 Russian-supplied YAK ground-attack aircraft gave them total domination of the skies.

The ROKs had eight divisions, but only four deployed along the 38th parallel, and they only partially. Much worse, they had no air force, only 2.36 inch rocket launchers, no recoilless rifles, no heavy mortars, no medium artillery ... and no armor. The T34s, arguably the best tanks developed in WWII, advanced in a line-ahead formation. After scores of ROKs died under their treads, trying desperately to stop them with satchel charges and hand grenades, the tanks began moving through the survivors as though they weren't there. At the same time, their infantry formations attacked in an inverted Y formation, sweeping around ROK opposition with the arms, encircling them, and finally crushing them.



In two days, Seoul was abandoned to the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Korean People's Army (KPA) divisions, and the KPA 6th division was moving swiftly down east of the rugged Taebaek mountains. In the first week, more than 34,000 ROKs, a third of their army, were killed, captured, or missing.

Although the ROKs had fought desperately, inflicting severe losses on the assault troops, this did not slow them down. The high cost of success to the KPA (or NK) wasn't apparent to US observers, an intelligence lack with serious consequences later. By the third week, the NK were brushing aside our own unprepared 24th division.

The North Koreans were pros. A third of them fought in the Chinese civil war, and whipped the rest into fighting shape before they crossed the 38th parallel. They wiped out 5 ROK divisions in as many weeks. Had they not paused to re-group, had they simply continued their violent assault until they either won all or lost all, they would probably have captured Pusan and all of South Korea before America had time to marshal enough force to stop them.

But they did pause, shortly after meeting American troops.


General Walker (left) is greeted on arrival at Taejon by General Dean.

In fact, the NK had easily won most of their initial battles with us. Truman's Secretary of Defense, Louis Johnson, had not only virtually disarmed our ground forces, he had forced a change of mind-set for their training, resulting in an army much more prepared to be friendly garrison troops than to fight for their lives against a fearsome and vicious enemy.

The NK simply crushed 24id's 34th Regiment, overwhelming them with numbers, better equipment, and better fighting ability. When this became generally known, the fighting spirit of other US units was sometimes hard to find.

The most serious example was 25id's unreliable all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment. 24th Infantry coined the term "Bug Out" and illustrated it, as around Sangju where 24th units abandoned their machine guns and mortars without being attacked. Exposing the flanks of adjacent regiments without warning offered the enemy access around our front lines, endangering all Eighth Army. At Muchon-ni, 3/24 ran so far and so fast their battalion commander needed a full day to find them again (4 miles to the rear at Haman). When our disciplined, competent 27th Infantry re-captured positions fled by 2/24, they found the battalion's abandoned crew-served weapons still in place.


Two American soldiers with a North Korean prisoner of war, 5 August 1950

Even more tragically shameful, when some of our best men in other regiments were wounded, they were abandoned by their comrades to the cruelties of the enemy.

I realize these facts are politically incorrect, and many creative attempts are being made today to discount or deny them. Such revisions of history do injustice to those troops who did stand their ground and fight, and may do harm to those who must stand and fight in the future. In the case of the 24th, when it was finally integrated with other infantry units a year later the issue of race began gradually fading into military history ... but the need to always keep our combat troops well armed, physically and psychologically prepared to fight, and to fight as teams, remains a vital lesson for us today, and forever.

Note1: Not all the 24th ran. Pfc William Thompson of 3/24 Heavy Weapons was one of our few who are always prepared to fight. Although his whole battalion had fled, he manned his machine gun alone until he was killed. (As I write these notes, I wish with all my heart I could go back in time with a BAR, a bandolier of magazines, a box of Mark IIs, and stand with him. He got The Medal, posthumously, but I think he'd rather have had some help, right then).

Note2: True understanding of the concept of "Team" and its vital importance in infantry combat is best gained by study of successful teams in Company or Battalion size. The Marine Brigade and the 27th Infantry Regiment action reports are well worth careful reading between the lines. Although not part of Pusan Perimeter battles, little mentioned at the time but now recognized as a classic example of small unit team coordination in combat is the capture of Maryang San by the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Army.

In addition to isolated individuals, 24id's Task Force Smith, 1/21, had earlier fought well, although heavily outnumbered. First Battalion's gallant delay of two NK assault divisions gave the NK their first inkling that the US was entering the war. Going into Korea on July 1 with 16,000 men, the 24th Infantry Division was down to less than 9000 when they were relieved by the 1st Cavalry Division on July 22. By helping cause the NK to re-group before continuing their onslaught, 24id and their 21st Infantry Regiment bought time to help save South Korea.


A 3.5-inch rocket launcher on a battlefield, 20 July 1950

Astonishingly, the US and UN used that time to act rapidly and resolutely. Driven by the energetic UN Secretary-General, Norwegian Trygve Lee, unopposed in the Security Council because of the absence of a petulant USSR, and supported by the belated awareness of the Truman administration of the true Soviet intentions, the UN authorized international use of force to drive the NK back to their borders. With this authorization, in spite of the government's near-emasculation of our Army and Marine Corps, General MacArthur used the time to assemble powerful infantry and armour forces, and move them into an area around the southern port of Pusan, to form a defensive perimeter. The NK used the time to consolidate their gains and stage to continue the attack.

The NK seriously began an assault on the Pusan perimeter on August 4. For the next 6 weeks, the issue of whether or not we could hold that perimeter, or would be crushed within it, was in doubt.

When they finally crossed the Naktong and began their violent assault along the entire Perimeter, simultaneously, only 98,000 NK were attacking about 180,000 US and ROK troops. We were well equipped, with 600 main battle tanks against only 100 NK T34s, in excellent defensive positions, supported by far superior artillery, and we had overwhelming air superiority. Yet the NK came within a hair of wiping us out.

The fighting during the first two weeks of this Second Battle of the Naktong was some of the most violent during the Korean War, with proportionately heavy casualties. For instance, about August 24, near Masan, 7500 NK with 25 tanks daringly attacked 20,000 US troops with 100 tanks, and almost broke through for what would have been a cataclysmic bloodbath at Pusan.



In part, this early NK success was owing to the Truman administration having reduced our Army from tough professional soldiers to poorly armed civilians in uniform, fit for garrison duty but completely unprepared for the savagery of combat.

In part, it was because the NK were the reverse. Prepared, veteran, resolute and ferocious.

In part, it was because General MacArthur's Intelligence Section grossly underestimated the casualties inflicted on the NK by the ROKs (estimated 31,000 when in reality the NK had taken 58,000 casualties, to about 76,000 ROK casualties) This led to a great over-estimation by Far East Command of NK strength, and a lowered confidence in our front line forces.

The NK continued to menace the perimeter in early September. On September 6, they broke through at Yongchon, forcing ROK headquarters to evacuate Taegu. This time, UN forces bent but they didn't break, and on September 7 General Walton Walker finally proclaimed "Our lines will hold".

When the 5th Marines, a proud regiment of our best fighting men, were withdrawn from his command, General Walker became less confident. The Marines had been consistently effective during the Naktong Bulge fighting. They usually had won their battles with the NK while Army units usually had not, and often about half of Army casualties were MIAs while the Marines usually had none.

But by early September the Army had been able to bring in its better trained infantry units from Hawaii and elsewhere, and was steadily improving in overall combat efficiency.


Medics evacuate wounded of the 5th Regimental Combat Team hit near Masan, 30 August 1950

For example the 35th Infantry Regiment, the 'Rock of the Nam', well deserved the Distinguished Unit Citation it won there. Other units such as our 1st Cavalry Division, our 27th Infantry Regiment, and veteran allies such as the British, were also fighting with determination and effectiveness. Against our larger numbers, superior artillery and armor, and total air supremacy, although the NK were still confident and ferocious they were no longer nearly good enough to seriously threaten Eighth Army.

Note: Most of the units I mention are ones I culled from military records only because I remember them from those times. There were many more that fought gallantly in defense of the Perimeter, particularly small units and individuals. Unit for unit, Eighth Army was badly out-fought by the veteran NK, but any man who has faced fire and steel for his country and stood his ground deserves respect. More, in bravery and sacrifice many of our individual soldiers equalled the best fighting men of any army, anywhere, any time.

For the Inchon invasion, Army Major General Almond tried to substitute the 32nd Infantry, almost half manned by raw ROK recruits with no amphibious training, for the 5th Marines, but would have had to relieve 1stMarDiv commander General O.P. Smith to push through such an astonishing order. Ultimately, it was decided to let the 5th Marine Regiment mount out with other Marine units at sea, to help formation of the 1st Marine Division and X Corps. On September 15, the 5th led the way when our brilliant General Douglas MacArthur, with statregic prescience and unflinching nerve, sent the 1st Marine and 7th Infantry divisions storming ashore at Inchon, 100 miles behind NK lines, and soon there were no lines.

Finally able to fight in the kind of fluid action they were trained for 1st Cavalry division led a breakout, and the Pusan Perimeter battle was soon over.

The Road to the Yalu had opened.

[SAMWolf]

As with all Communist armies, the NK army had political leadership at all command levels. This leadership reflected the policies of the NK government, as well as Communist ideology. The NK government was, and remains today, brutal and ignorant. The war they began was brutal and merciless.



The UN estimates that 26,000 South Koreans were murdered in the first few months of the war by the invading KPA. Mostly on grounds they had opposed North Korea politically. Over 7,000 civilians, ROKs and US troops were tied up and shot in Taejon alone.

Hundreds of US troops were murdered in this way during the war. One example was Hill 303. Twenty-six mortarmen of H Co. 5th Cav had mistaken advancing NK 3rd division troops for ROKs, and were taken without a fight. Their hands were tied behind their backs with communication wire and cord. Two days later, on August 17 when 5th Cav units moved to retake the area, the NK murdered the helpless prisoners with submachine gun fire.



The NK also often tortured and mutilated prisoners. As particularly gruesome examples, the NK 7th Division tied a few captured 25th Infantry Division prisoners, and cut off their feet before murdering them. They castrated and cut the tongues from still others. These atrocities were most frequently discovered in the confused fighting in the rear areas, while retaking ground which the NK had infiltrated.

There is no public record of the total number of civilians, ROKs, and United Nations forces tortured, mutilated and murdered by the KPA by the war's end.

There is no public record that any of the murderers were identified, much less tried and executed.

Civilians suffered heavy casualties during the actual fighting, as well. From both sides.

At the Naktong, for example, the 1st Cavalry division blew up scores of civilians, along with a bridge destroyed to deny the NK access. Today, the media decries a possible tragedy at No Gun Ri. (The division had a major responsibility in holding the perimeter, the desperate refugees wouldn't stop coming, the inexperienced troops were becoming aware of the ferocity of the NK, and a common NK tactic was to wear civilian clothes and mingle with them. Facilis descensus Averno.)

In an earlier instance, on 6/28, the ROKs blew up the last 3-lane bridge across the Han, without warning, killing about 800 soldiers and refugees.

In this way began one of the most vicious and most misunderstood wars the United States has ever fought.

[SAMWolf]

INTER-SERVICE APPRECIATION...a Twenty on the Bar
Early August 1950

During the early days of the Korean War, the holding actions of the 8th Army and Marines had failed to sufficiently slow Red troop advances and, despite the heavy pounding by our fighter planes on all three fronts encircling Taegu, even with a mass saturation raid by B-29s near Waegwan, we could not keep the enemy from crossing the Naktong River.

As the battle lines drew closer... as the noose tightened around Taegu, there were actually fewer Red supplies being intercepted because the Reds were 'holing-up' during daylight hours, and making their long moves at night, when our fighter planes were on the ground. It took them longer, but the supplies were still reaching the front. And, secondly, we were having to expend much more of our aerial resources at the front lines, supporting our troops. We didn't have time to go searching far behind the lines on interdiction missions.

But as the lines closed in on Taegu ...from the west and from the north, our ground forces had to back steadily into an ever-shrinking defensive perimeter; we found it necessary to direct almost all of our mission effort to close tactical support of the frontlines, reducing the sorties we could send north to interdict their supplies. It was a "Catch 22" ... we couldn't afford to slack off on our interdiction attacks because the armor coming onto the line would jeopardize our fragile hold on the perimeter's front lines ... but if we didn't help our troops on the front, there wouldn't be any perimeter left to defend!



It is not possible to adequately describe the intense feeling of gratification we pilots felt when we could hit the Reds attacking our front-line troops. By August there were enough radio jeeps operating on our frequencies, and airborne T-6 Mosquito spotter planes, that we could work with reasonable safety within just a few hundred yards of our own troops. When the verbal orders of the man on the ground were insufficient to tell us precisely where to strike, we'd ask the spotter to fire a smoke rocket, or the ground artillery to place a white phosphorus shell onto the target.

With positive target identification like that, we could work over the Red's dug-in positions with a venegence. It was doubly gratifying because we were not only taking the enemy pressure off of our troops, but our men would often stand right up in plain sight to cheer us on.

We knew that our close-support efforts were deeply appreciated, so we would inevitably press our attacks a little harder ... a little closer, or a little lower than was prudent for the safety of our own hides. But we knew too, that when we finally ran out of ammunition and had to head back over the hill to our base at Taegu, those poor characters below had to stay in their foxholes all night to protect our position and our lives.

Too often they didn't make it through the night, for that was when the Reds liked to attack ...at night, when our planes weren't around to break up their thrusts.



But as the battle fronts closed in around our Taegu base, we soon had a steady flow of casualties passing through for medical air evacuation to hospitals in Japan, and for the first time we pilots had a chance to talk face-to-face with some of the Army and Marine people we'd been supporting during those close ground support missions along the front lines.

They had nothing but praise for the job we had been doing, and told us of the hundreds of 'kills' which we had been unable to see because we were moving too fast.

Little did they realize that it wasn't really our display of 'bravery' when we'd fly into those heavy concentrations of ground fire ...it was just plain ignorance on our part!

We just couldn't see all the scores of enemy troops who were so busily shooting at us.

As the front lines neared Taegu airstrip, the stream of casualties increased proportionately. Seeing the maimed bodies of those youngsters quickly dispelled any remaining thoughts we might possibly have had about the war being a "game...a test of skills" among pilots.



I was especially touched one evening, after we'd been experiencing some especially rough close support missions just a short distance from Taegu, resulting in several severely damaged Mustangs and a couple of wounded pilots.

A young Army Captain hobbled into the little tent which we used for an 'Officer's Club'... he was bandaged from head to waist, had one arm in a sling and one bandaged foot, but he was managing. He made his way slowly and silently, with the aid of a makeshift cane, over to our packing-crate 'Bar', as the few of us patrons moved aside to make room for him.

But instead of ordering a drink, he looked to both sides, laid a twenty-dollar bill on the bar, then said: "Thanks, men", 'turned around and hobbled out without another word.

My morale went up a thousand points upon hearing his appreciation for our risks.

Duane E. 'Bud' Biteman,
Lt. Col, USAF, Ret

Additional Sources:

www.history.navy.mil
www.nsa.gov
www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures
www.koreanwar.org

[SAMWolf]

'Request immediate assignment Marine Regimental Combat Team and supporting Air Group for duty this command. . .'

-- General Douglas MacArthur
request for Marines to augment U.S. forces in Korea. July 2, 1950

'. . . these Marines have the swagger, confidence, and hardness that must have been in Stonewall Jackson's Army of the Shenandoah. They remind me of the Coldstreams at Dunkerque.'

-- A British military officer,
visiting U.S. Marines in Korea included the above statement in his daily report to the British command in Tokyo August 16, 1950.

'Our tactical air arm should spend a few months with the Marines. I don't know what causes the difference, but it is there. The Marine pilots give us the impression that they are breaking their hearts to help us out.'

-- By an Army captain in Korea

[SAMWolf]

[snippy_about_it]

.......FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!

.......Good Thursday Morning Everyone!


If you would like added or removed from our ping list let me know.

[E.G.C.]

Good morningSnippy, how's it going?

[E.G.C.]

A Freeper's Observation: A Non-Recommendation for Education

[snippy_about_it]

Morning EGC. My graphics link is temporarily down so you can't see the wolf this morning, other than that, the sun is out and it's a cool morning for Ohio.

Thanks for the link about the University.

[manna]

Present!

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on July 24:
1380 Giovanni da Capistrano Italian monk who liberated Belgrade from the heathen Turks. Later cannonized a saint as San Juan de Capistrano
1759 - Victor Emmanuel I King of Sardinia (1802-21)
1783: Simon Bolivar, freed 6 Latin American republics from Spanish rule
1796 John Middleton Clayton Delaware, (Sen-Del)/US Sec of State (1849-50)
1802 Alexandre Dumas PŠre France, author (3 Musketeers)
1802 Ira Aldridge famous African
1803 Alexander Jackson Davis US, architect (gothic revivalist)
1842 Ambrose Bierce Ohio, writer (Nuggets & Dust)
1857 Henrik Pontoppidan Denmark, realist writer (Nobel 1971)
1870 Fred Law Olmsted Jr architect/landscaper
1878 Lord Edward Dunsany Ireland, dramatist/poet (Mirage Water)
1880 Ernest Bloch Geneva, Switzerland, composer (MacBeth)
1895 Robert Graves England, poet/historical novelist (I, Claudius)
1898 Amelia Earhart into the wild blue yonder
1900 Zelda Fitzgerald 1st wife of F Scott
1902 Nora Swinburne England, actress (Quo Vardis, Dinner at Ritz, River)
1904 James R Killian Jr MIT pres (1948-59)
1913 Johnny McAfee Dallas Tx, singer (Sammy Kaye Show)
1914 Frank Silvera Kingston Jamaica, actor (High Chaparral)
1914 Kenneth B Clark Canal Zone, civil rights activist (Dark Ghetto)
1916 Bob Eberly Mechanicsville NY, singer (Jimmy Dorsey Band)
1916 John D MacDonald novelist (Deep Blue Goodbye)
1917 Simon Slattvik Norway, cross country ski jumper (Olympic-gold-1952)
1918 Ruggiero Ricci SF Calif, violinist (Paganini)
1920 Alexander H Cohen NYC, Broadway producer (Beyond the Fringe)
1920 Bella Abzug (Rep-D-NY)
1926 Hans-Gnther Winkler Germany, equestrian jumper (Olympic-gold-1956)
1930 Jacqueline Brookes Montclair NJ, actress (Nora-Jack & Mike)
1932 William D Ruckelshaus headed Environmental Protection Agency
1934 Willie Davis NFL defensive end (Cleveland Browns, Green Bay)
1935 Adnan Khashnoggi Saudi businessman/financier
1936 Mark Goddard Lowell Mass, actor (Don West-Lost in Space)
1936 Ruth Buzzi Westerly RI, comedienne (Laugh-In, Margie-That Girl)
1939 Bob Lilly NFL defensive tackle (Dallas Cowboys)
1942 Chris Sarandon US, actor (Child's Play, Dog Day Afternoon, Lipstick)
1947 Peter Serkin NYC, pianist (Tashi)
1947 Robert Hays Bethesda Md, actor (Airplane!, Starman, Scandalous)
1950 Sam Behrens actor (General Hospital, LA Law)
1951 Lynda Carter Phoenix Az, Miss USA/actress (Wonder Woman, Billie Jo)
1953 Steve Grogan NFL QB (New England Patriots)
1955 Lubov Odinokova USSR, team handball (Olympic-gold-1976, 80)
1963 Kadeem Hardison actor (Dwayne-Different World)
1963 Paul Geary Boston Mass, heavy metal drummer (Extreme-More Than Words)
1968 John P Navin Jr Phila, actor (Joey Elliot-Jennifer Slept Here)
1990 Evan James Springsteen LA Calif, rocker Bruce Springsteen's son

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Deaths which occurred on July 24:
1862 Martin Van Buren 8th pres, dies in Kinderhook NY
1954 Mary Church Terrell educator/civil rights leader, dies at 90
1966 Montgomery Clift actor, dies at 45
1972 Bobby Ramirez drummer (White Trash), killed at 23 in bar brawl
1974 Chris Chubbock newscaster shoots self on air
1979 Archie Duncan actor (Sherlock Holmes), dies at 65
1980 Peter Sellers dies at 54
1991 Isaac Bashevis Singer Nobel prize winning author, dies at 87

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 FOBAIR ROSCOE H. OXNARD CA.
[TOLD DEAD BY VIETNAMESE]
1965 KEIRN RICHARD P. LORAIN OH.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, RIP 05/25/00]
1968 BUSH JOHN R. FORT WALTON BEACH FL.
1968 GREILING DAVID S. HILLSDALE MI.
1968 HACKETT HARLEY B. FLORENCE SC.
1970 BLOODWORTH DONALD B. SAN DIEGO CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED ID 02/04/98]
1970 REED JAMES W. CAMBRIDGE OH.
1971 ANTUNANO GREGORY A. SAN FRANCISCO CA.
1971 DALTON RANDALL D. COLLINSVILLE IL.


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

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On this day...
1505 On their way to India, a group of Portuguese explorers sack the city-state of Kilwa.
1534 Jacques Cartier lands in Canada claims it for France
1554 Queen Mary of England marries Philip II, king of Spain
1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, is imprisoned and forced to abdicate her throne to her 1-year-old son James VI.
1651 Anthony Johnson, a free black, receives grant of 250 acres in Va
1673 Edmund Halley enters Queen's College, Oxford, as an undergraduate
1679 New Hampshire became a royal colony of the British crown
1683 1st settlers from Germany to US, leave aboard the Concord
1701 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac establishes Fort Ponchartrain for France at present-day Detroit, Michigan.
1704 Admiral George Rooke takes Gibraltar from the Spanish.
1758 George Washington admitted to Virginia House of Burgess
1783 Georgia becomes a protectorate of tsarist Russia
1799 William Clark (of Lewis & Clark) is willed the slave York
1791 Robespierre expels all Jacobins opposed to the principles of the French Revolution.
1824 Harrisburg Pennsylvanian newspaper publishes results of 1st public opinion poll. Clear lead for Andrew Jackson
1847 Brigham Young & his Mormon followers arrive at Salt Lake City, UT
1847 Rotary-type printing press patented by Richard March Hoe, NYC
1866 Tennessee becomes 1st Confederate state readmitted to Union
1870 1st trans-US rail service begins
1877 1st time federal troops are used to combat strikers
1897 African-American soldiers of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps arrive in St. Louis, Mo., after completing a 40-day bike ride from Missoula, Montana.
1900 Race riot in New Orleans, 2 white policemen killed
1915 Excursion ship Eastland capsizes in Lake Michigan, 852 die
1919 Race Riot in Washington DC (6 killed, 100 wounded)
1923 Allied Powers & Turkey sign peace treaty, Lausanne
1925 Scopes guilty of teaching evolution in a Tn HS, fined $100 & costs
1929 NY to SF footrace ends (2« months) winner was 60 year old Monteverde
1929 Pres Hoover proclaims Kellogg-Briand Pact which renounces war (Yeah that worked out real good)
1933 K Reinmuth discovers asteroids #1645 Waterfield, #1668 Hanna, #1726 Hoffmeister, #2136 Jugta & #2158
1934 1st ptarmigan hatched & reared in captivity, Ithaca, NY
1936 118ø F (48ø C), Minden, Nebraska (state record)
1936 121ø F (49ø C), near Alton, Kansas (state record)
1937 Alabama drops charges against 5 blacks accused of rape in Scottsboro
1941 Nazi massacre entire Jewish population of Grodz Lithuania
1943 RAF bombs Hamburg (20,000 dead)
1944 Soviet forces liberate concentration camp Majdanek
1948 Soviets blockades Berlin from the west
1950 V-2/WAC Corporal rocket launch; 1st launch from Cape Canaveral
1950 The U.S. Fifth Air Force relocates from Japan to Korea.
1952 112ø F (44ø C), Louisville, Georgia (state record)
1952 Pres Truman settles 53-day steel strike
1959 VP Nixon argued with Khrushchev, known as "Kitchen Debate"
1961 Roger Maris hits 4 home runs in a doubleheader
1961 Beginning of a trend, a US commercial plane is hijacked to Cuba
1961 Edwin Newman becomes news anchor of the Today Show
1963 124 Unification church couples wed in Korea
1963 Sonny Liston KOs Floyd Patterson to retain heavyweight championship
1965 Bob Dylan release "Like a Rolling Stone"
1965 Casey Stengel resigns as manager of the NY Mets
1967 Beatles sign a petition in The Times to legalize marijuana
1967 Charles de Gaulle says 'Vive le Qu‚bec libre! Long live free Quebec!'
1967 Race riot in Cambridge Maryland
1969 Apollo 11 returns to Earth
1969 Hoyt Wilhelm pitches in a record 907th major league game
1969 Muhammad Ali is convicted for refusing induction in US Army on appeal
1972 Jigme Singye Wangchuk becomes king of Bhutan at 16
1973 NL beats AL 7-1 in 44th All Star Game (Royals Stadium, KC)
1973 Sue Berning wins US golf open for 3rd time
1974 Supreme Court unanimously rules Nixon must turn over Watergate tapes
1975 Apollo 18 returns to Earth
1978 "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" premeirs in NYC
1978 Billy Martin resigns as Yankee manager after "the one is a born liar the other a convicted one" comment about Steinbrenner & Jackson
1979 Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski hits his 400th HR
1982 E Bowell discovers asteroid #2763 Jeans
1983 Pine Tar Game, Brett's HR disallowed against Yanks (overturned)
1984 Seve Ballesteros wins the British Open
1985 Gandhi signs peace contract with Sikh leader Harchand Singh Longowai
1986 SF Federal jury convicts navy radioman Jerry Whitworth of espionage
1987 IBM-PC DOS Version 3.3 (updated) released
1988 US & Jamacia play scoreless tie, in 2nd round of 1990 world soccer cup
1990 Ms. Magazine hits the newstands again after an 8 month haitus
1991 U of Manchester scientist announce finding a planet outside of the solar system
1995 A suicide bomber set off an explosion in a crowded commuter bus in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing six people.
1996 Two bombs blamed on Tamil separatists ripped through a commuter train near Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 64 civilians and wounding more than 400.
1998 A gunman burst into the U.S. Capitol, opening fire and killing two police officers before being shot and captured. Russell Weston Jr., diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, was found incompetent to stand trial.
2000 President Clinton continued to mediate the Camp David Mideast summit, meeting with Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. negotiators.
2001 A Chinese court sentenced two U.S. residents to 10 years in prison on charges of spying for Taiwan. (China released Gao Zhan and Qin Guangguang two days later.)

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

Denmark : Midsummer Day
Ecuador, Venezuala : Bolivar Day (1783)
Idaho, Utah : Pioneer Day (1847)
Spain : Valencia Fair Day-Battle of the Flowers
Virgin Islands : Hurricane Supplication Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Instant Coffee Day; just add water to enjoy!
Women Aviators Day

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Religious Observances
RC : Commemoration of St Christina, virgin/martyr
Ang : Commemoration of Thomas … Kempis, priest

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Religious History
1216 Cencio Savelli was consecrated Pope Honorius III. During his 11-year pontificate,he confirmed two well-known religious orders: the Dominicans in 1216 and the Franciscansin 1223.
1550 French-born Swiss reformer John Calvin wrote in a letter: 'If you make a constantstudy of the word of the Lord, you will be quite able to guide your life to the highestexcellence.'
1725 Birth of John Newton, an English slave ship's captain. He was converted at age22, and entered the Anglican ministry. Newton is remembered today as author of severalenduring hymns, including 'Amazing Grace' and 'Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken.'
1819 Birth of Josiah G. Holland, American writer who in 1874 authored the Christmashymn, 'There's a Song in the Air.'
1918 On Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem, the cornerstone for Hebrew University was laid by Dr.Chaim Weizmann. (Weizmann was later elected first president of the modern state of Israel.)

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."

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Today's 'You Might Be A Redneck If' Joke...
"You've ever stolen clothes from a scarecrow."

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Murphy's Law of the Day...
"Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view."

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Cliff Clavin says..It's a liitle know fact but did you know...
The honeybee kills more people world-wide than all the poisonous snakes combined.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning manna.

[snippy_about_it]

"Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view."

Isn't that the way it always seems? lol. Good morning Valin.

[GailA]

Good morning

[GailA]

Interesting site Home of Heroes

[Valin]

In my life at least it seems to work out that way.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning and thank you Gail.

Good graphic and good link. I've bookmarked it.

[Darksheare]

Didn't the 27th Brigade (New York Division) lose their colors to enemy action sometime around this timeframe?
I seem to recall hearing this mentioned within my unit, as we were attached to them. (previously, we were attached to 10th Mountain, but my unit was shuffled over to 27th Brigade)
I'll see if I can scare up a patch gif somewhere.

[Darksheare]

Morning, I'm in.
How about some coffee?
Coffeemate helps tame it down some.
But you have to use less sugar to balance it out.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Good morning, all!

Another great effort this morning. It's a wonder some days how I get any work done :)

[Darksheare]

Patch link:
http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/arng/27bde/27patch2.gif

Page link:
http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/arng/27bde/27bde.html

My old unit is 1/156 FA, B/Btry.
Word of mouth to me is that they are now SP howitzers instead of light towed, and tehy are no longer in the Newburgh armory.
I have not verified that myself yet.
I don't have the heart to go do so.

Oddly enough, the history page doesn't mention the 27th as losing it's colors. But I only skimmed the page.