The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The First Battle of Monte Cassino (Jan-Feb 1944) - Aug. 5th, 2003

http://www.kwanah.com/txmilmus/36division/archives/141/14135.htm ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

God Bless America
...................................................................................... ...........................................

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Disaster at the River Rapido

On January 1 1944, we were in a rest area near San Angelo d'Alife, Italy. Replacements of officers and men enabled us to be reconstituted at nearly normal strength. An intensive training program was instituted and continued until we were loaded again on trucks and started up Highway No. 6, the historic Via Roma, for relief of the 6th Armored Infantry Regiment on Mount Porchia. This was accomplished on the night of January 12th.

Mount Porchia was relatively small compared to the mountains typical of central Italy. Its importance was derived from its isolated position commanding the low ground lying between the Mount Maggiore-Camino hill mass to the south and Mount Trocchio to the northwest. Highway No. 6 cut across the lower northern slopes, extending to the north across the River Rapido at Cassino.



Orders were received on January 14th for us to attack with the 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Division, on our right, seize Mount Trocchio and the area to the south and west, including La Pieta and the high ground beyond to the River Rapido. Mount Trocchio was located about three miles northwest of Mount Porchia, with its long axis following a northwest-southwest direction. It towered well above Mount Porchia and occupied a commanding position over the surrounding ground, guarding the approaches to the River Rapido and the southern and eastern approaches to Cassino. Its sides were extremely steep and rocky. LaPieta was a medium sized hill south of the southern slopes of the mountain proper. The surrounding area, including the area between Mount Porchia and Mount Trocchio, consisted of low, rolling terrain.

The coordinated attack was launched at 0630 hours, January 15th, with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions abreast and the 1st in reserve. Although determined resistance was put up by the enemy, especially along the southern sector in the vicinity of La. Pieta and south towards Cesa Martina, the attack proceeded satisfactorily and by 0600 hours, January 16th, we had cleared our sector all the way to the river.



Patrols were sent across the river in preparation for a coordinated attack of the river line scheduled for January 10-21st To our north, in the vicinity of Cassino, the 34th Division was to demonstrate, but not attempt, a crossing. To our left, the 143rd Infantry Regiment was to cross the river south of San Angelo. We were to be supported by Corps artillery as well as our normal combat team and divisional guns. Other fires were to be had from our Cannon Company and Company A of the 2nd Chemical Battalion, which had the mission of screening with smoke shells on order.

Our crossing was to be attempted in the vicinity of the "S" bend of the River Rapido, about a mile west of the southern tip of Mount Trocchio and approximately in front of the middle of the sector we were occupying at the time. Companies A, B and C were to cross first by means of rubber assault boats and were to launch the attack at 2000 hours on January 20th. At 2100 hours, the rifle companies of our 3rd Battalion were to begin their crossing by means of foot bridges to be installed in the meantime, north and south of the "S" bend. Supporting weapons and battalion headquarters units of both battalions were scheduled to follow across on the bridges.


The Rapido River viewed from Monte Trocchio. (National Archives)

The Engineers had been directed to install an 8-ton infantry support bridge by 2400 hours on the night of the attack to enable anti-tank guns and vehicular traffic to cross. The Engineers were also charged with the duty of furnishing guides through the mine fields on the approaches to the crossing sites.

Our initial intelligence information indicated that the crossing was a hazardous operation. Both banks of the river were heavily laid with a wide belt of mines and covered by interlocking weapons fire, mortar concentrations and cleverly contrived obstacles with double apron wire fence on the enemy side. Trees had been cut to afford observation and lanes of fire. The stream's swift current swirled along at more than five miles per hour. The channel of water, while not over 45 feet wide, cut through vertical banks which were from three to four feet high,, dropping away from the banks abruptly to a depth of from ten to twelve feet in the center.

The collapsible rubber boats proved inadequate for the crossing. The current was too swift and the boats capsized readily in the swirling water. Small shell fragments punctured the rubber, often rendering the boats useless while being conveyed from final assembly areas to the stream. Five of seven boats used by patrols from Company E on the night of January 17th had been lost.


Cassino: the monastery, the castle, and the town. (National Archives)

During the daylight hours of January 20th, final preparations were completed. Engineering equipment was brought forward. Additional communication lines were laid to wireheads in forward areas. Eight carrier pigeons from the II Corps' loft were brought forward to be used in emergency.

[snippy_about_it]

The artillery barrage started during the afternoon and it seemed as if the entire world was being shaken to its very foundations. Over 31,000 rounds were poured into the enemy positions across the river — over one round for every six square yards of the target area. A bombing mission was flown at 1520 hours on the western side of the river north of San Angelo.

By 1800 hours, January 20th, the assault elements of the 1st Battalion began to move into final assembly areas for their boats and guides.


The monastery at Monte Cassino

Misfortune seemed to dog the weary footsteps, of our veteran troops almost from the very start. Confusion became rampant. Enemy shells had destroyed several of the boats during the afternoon and many boat reassignments and readjustments had to be made. While proceeding from the boat dump to the crossing site, the Engineer guides with Company B lost their way and led the company several hundred yards past the proper place. While the column was being turned around, an enemy concentration landed in the area, killing the Company Commander and seriously wounding the second in command. The Engineer guides lost their, way as the white tape marking cleared lanes was broken and destroyed -by exploding shells, and Company A was led into a mine field and stranded. The Commander was seriously wounded and the second in command took over the confused company and attempted to contact battalion. His efforts were unsuccessful. When elements of the 3rd Battalion began to pass, the second in command attached the company to them and awaited installation of the footbridge.

Following the earlier disorganization of Company B, two officers went to find a path through the mine fields to the river. They were unable to find an opening, and at 0230 hours, January 21st, the Battalion Commander led the company through to the vicinity of the "S" bend. Here the men attempted to launch assault boats. All efforts proved unavailing. The steep banks and the swift current made it impossible to get the boats into the river upright and prevent them from capsizing. Shell fragments destroyed two of the boats and the men were ordered to disperse in the area and await the footbridges.

The enemy's well coordinated defensive fires fell constantly. Mortar and artillery concentrations of great volume. were directed into the site proposed, for the crossing.

Reports from the 143rd Infantry Regiment on our left indicated they were experiencing similar difficulties. One company had succeeded in crossing in boats by 2.243 hours, January 20th, but all attempts to install foot bridges had failed, and they were then attempting to improvise wooden bridges.

Our plans for the 3rd Battalion's footbridges were also beset by unfortunate incidents. Of the four bridges to be installed, one was defective and never taken from the dump. Another was destroyed in a, mine field enroute to the river. The third was destroyed by enemy artillery concentrations in the vicinity of the crossing site. There was left only one serviceable bridge which was finally installed under enemy fire. Companies A and B, followed by a few men from Company C, were rushed across the bridge before the incoming fire became so intense that it was necessary to abandon the bridge.

None of the 3rd Battalion elements had been able to carry out their schedule for crossing on the night of January 20-21st. Attempts to install the eight-ton infantry support bridge resulted in failure. At 0515 hours, January 21st, orders were received that all elements still on the near side of the stream were to be withdrawn to assembly areas before daylight, and the men who had succeeded in crossing were to be instructed to dig in at their present positions and hold. The Commander of our 3rd Battalion and his Operations Officer were seriously wounded at the site of the bridge crossing and had to be evacuated before withdrawal could be accomplished.

All contact with Companies A and B across the stream was lost by the morning of January 21st, and their whereabouts was never accurately determined. All attempts to establish communication proved ineffectual. The sound of friendly small arms fire heard during the day, however, indicated that the men had moved substantially inland from the river line. Bits of information received from several wounded men who had managed to work their way back during the daylight indicated that the units across the river had suffered great casualties. Constant shelling and accurate machine gun fire directed at all movement in their exposed position prevented effectual reorganization or further progress towards their objectives. All communication was hopelessly beyond repair.

The crossing was again attempted at 2100 hours, January 21st, by the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, with similar missions, equipment and plans. The 143rd Infantry Regiment was also going to attempt another crossing. Similar difficulties, due to mechanical failures and enemy fire, were encountered as had been experienced, the night before. The assault boats were again inadequate. Numerous boats were lost in the swift current and many others rendered useless by mortar and artillery fire. The majority of men who made the crossing did so on improvised foot bridges, and by 0530 hours, January 22nd, foot elements of all units were across. Enemy mortar and artillery fire did not prove to be quite as intense or as concentrated as it had been on the previous night, but it became increasingly heavy toward morning.

The monastery at Monte Cassino

All attempts to install a support bridge were unsuccessful. Efforts to install the original bridge were stopped at 2300 hours, January 21st, and the Engineers were ordered to bring up and install a Bailey bridge instead. Material for the bridge was in position by 0430 hours, January 22nd. Intense, enemy fire met each attempt to install the bridge, and although work on the bridge continued, it was never completed.

Before the arrival of daylight, over 300 smoke pots were placed along the river and ignited. During the day, additional pots were brought in to maintain the screen.

The 2nd and 3rd Battalions, once across, pressed forward toward their objectives. Beginning about daybreak, enemy fire of all types began to increase in intensity from the German defensive installations inland. Nevertheless, the men were able to penetrate the first organized German lines of resistance and to break through the barbed wire aprons strung through the open ground. These penetrations varied from 200 to 700 yards beyond the river. Beyond this distance, further advance was impossible, and the troops were forced to dig in on position. Well organized enemy fire swept the area constantly.

[snippy_about_it]

Throughout the day, advantage was taken of lulls in enemy firing to effect reorganization, which was difficult because of the lack of communication. At 16oo hours, January 22nd, the enemy began a series of counterattacks aimed towards annihilation of our forces on the far bank. The only information available on these attacks came from individual survivors, most of them wounded —one of them swimming, the river after one foot had been completely blown off. Units, shattered and. broken by the unbearable intensity of the fire, and greatly outnumbered, began to lose all signs of organization. By 1700 hours, the Commander and second in command of both the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, together with all. the company commanders had either been killed or wounded.



The smoke haze laid down to screen reorganization activities and protect our men obscured observation and aided the enemy. The initial attacks of the Germans seemed to be made by about two companies, and were followed by a complete enemy encirclement of our beleaguered forces. Hard, bitter fighting repulsed these assaults as well as several additional attempts to overrun our positions. The enemy was able, however, to gain a well defined concept of our relatively confined area, and saturated our positions with repeated concentrations of artillery, mortar and automatic weapons fire. At 2240 hours, January 22nd, the Engineers, were finally directed to abandon their fruitless efforts to construct a bridge.

American small arms fire was heard as late as 2300 hours that night. The greater portion of our veteran fighting team had disappeared into the blazing muzzles of death. The supreme effort of 48 hours, hours filled with shot and shell, violence and death, had been costly. Few blood soaked pieces of earth have exacted so high a price in the inflated economy of war. "You will stay there until you die." (Reported to be one of the last orders transmitted to the troops across the river.) They did.

Almost a thousand never came back.

Surviving elements of the regiment, supplemented by a few who had been able to return, effected what reorganization they could on the east bank of the river. During the afternoon of January 22, 1944, one of our aid men had returned to the command post with a note purportedly from the enemy commander, asking for a cessation of supporting fires for several hours to enable them to evacuate German and "English" wounded. Our man had been captured the morning of January 21st and had been attending wounded in a room of a farm house within the enemy lines. He stated that large numbers of fresh replacements had arrived to support the enemy during the day. Because of the informal nature of the note, it was interpreted as an attempt to secure relief from our artillery fire and was disregarded.



Efforts to send patrols across the stream on the night of January 22nd were unavailing due to the enemy control of the banks and the approaches to the east. Although patrols were sent out on the nights of the 23rd and 24th, no contact with friendly forces was made.

On the morning of January 25th, our aid men, carrying large Red Cross flags, crossed the Rapido in full view of the enemy. They were met by German officers and enemy aid men who asked for a truce in order to remove the dead. Artillery was instructed not to fire and by 1700 hours three of our wounded and 50 of our dead had been evacuated. Hostile action was then resumed.

The Germans who came out into the area maintained a helpful attitude, although they refused to allow our men to go beyond the barbed wire aprons strung about 500 yards inland. The information our men gathered of the well constructed and strongly manned enemy positions corroborated previous information received from patrols. The Germans didn't seem to understand why our bridgehead had continued to hold out so desperately. "Your men fought with great determination and courage," they told us.



The period January 25th to February 6th was spent in improving the defense position manned on the near bank of the river. By progressive relief of all units of the regiment we patrolled laterally and across the river. On February 6th, all battalions had closed into a new assembly area between San Vittore and Cervarro east of Highway No. 6. Plans made for another crossing of the River Rapido were contingent upon success of the 34th Division in its efforts to take Cassino.

In preparation for the proposed crossing, the command post was moved to La Pasternelle on February 7th. This small village was two and a quarter miles southwest of Cassino.

On February 8, 1944, we were notified that plans for crossing the Rapido had been abandoned.

Ours was the bitterness that characterized the winter fighting in Italy. An attempt to accomplish too much had been attempted with too little. Assistance had not arrived too late — it had not arrived at all. Our men had illuminated with heroic sacrifice the traditional honor of their arms.

Additional Sources:

www.army.mil
www.homeofheroes.com
www.multied.com
www.brooksart.com
www.army.mod.uk
www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil
www.museum-security.org
www.ngb.army.mil

[snippy_about_it]

'When the 36th Division sought valiantly and vainly to establish itself across the icy Rapido River, it suffered losses that look heavy to American military history. It was the boys of the 36th who stumbled through night-screened, minefields, with assault boats on their shoulders and down to the Rapido--suffering immensely en route. It was the boys of the 36th who crawled across a thickly-iced rail-less bridge over a bloody little stream and fell under a hail of gun, mortar and automatic fire in the gallant but vain attempt to establish a bridgehead.

They call the 36th a 'hard luck' division because it has never had an easy assignment. This writer saw one of its battalions when what was left of it clambered back across the Rapido. They were tired but they remained, in essence, fresh-faced boys from Texas. Their eyes mirrored no peace.'

-- C. L. Sulzberger
New York Times correspondent

[snippy_about_it]

[snippy_about_it]

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

.......Good Tuesday Morning Everyone!


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

[snippy_about_it]

SAM and family are still out camping this morning so I've posted his thread for him today.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy. How's everything going?

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC. Things are going good and I'm headed out the door. :)

[Soaring Feather]

Good Morning Everyone!

[Soaring Feather]

Sam, hope you and the family are having a grand time!

[snippy_about_it]

Morning feather.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on August 05:
1540 Joseph Justice Scaliger proposed Julian dating
1604 John Eliot "Apostle to Indians," Bible translator
1624 William Jamestown Va, 1st black child born in English America
1749 Thomas Lynch signed Declaration of Independence
1811 Ambroise Thomas Metz France, composer (Mignon)
1850 Guy de Maupassant France, author (Boule de Suif)
1860 Joseph Carey Merrick "Elephant Man"
1876 Mary R Beard Indianapolis, historian (Woman as a Force in History)
1890 Erich Kleiber Vienna Austria, conductor (NBC Symphony 1945-46)
1899 Conrad Aiken US, poet/short story writer/critic (Selected Poems)
1906 John Huston Nevada Mo, director/writer (African Queen, Chinatown)
1908 Harold Holt PM of Australia (1966-67); supported US in Vietnam
1911 Robert Taylor Filley Neb, actor (Death Valley Days)
1914 Anita Colby Wash DC, model/actress (Pepsi Cola Playhouse)
1914 David Brian NYC, actor (Accussed of Murder, Dawn at Sorocco)
1920 Selma Diamond London Ontario, comedienne (Selma-Night Court)
1923 Richard Kleindienst attorney general (1972)
1930 Neil Armstrong Ohio, X-15 pilot, 1st Moonwalker (Gemini 8, Apollo 11)
1933 Joan Weldon SF, actress (So This is Love, Them)
1935 John Saxon Bkln, actor (Bees, Nightmare on Elm St, Electric Horseman)
1936 John Dancy Jackson Tx, newscaster (Prime Time Sunday)
1938 Ja'net Dubois Phila, actress (Willona-Good Times)
1941 Leonid D Kizim cosmonaut (Soyuz T-3, T-10, T-15)
1942 Rick Huxley guitarist (Dave Clark 5-Glad All Over)
1943 Rodney Pattisson England, yachtsman (Olympic-gold-1968)
1943 Sammi Smith singer
1944 Loni Anderson St Paul Minn, actress (Jennifer-WKRP in Cincinnati)
1946 Erika Slezak Hollywood, Calif, actress (Viki-One Life to Live)
1947 Rick Derringer rocker (I am the Real American (Hulk Hogan's theme)
1950 Holly Palance LA Calif, actress (Thorn Birds, Ripley's Believe It)
1950 Rose Mittermaier German FR, slalom/downhill (Olympic-gold-1976)
1953 Samantha Sang singer (Emotion)
1954 Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda Bx, (Twisted Sister-We're Not Gonna Take It)
1959 Pete Burns rocker (Dead or Alive-Spin Me Round)
1960 Mike Nocito rocker (Johnny Hates Jazz-Turn Back the Clock)
1961 Tawny Kitaen (Coverdale) actress (Bachelor Party, Witchboard)
1962 Patrick EwingKingston Jamacia, NBA center (NY Knicks), 1992 Summer Olympics
1966 Jonathan Silverman LA Calif, actor (Brighton Beach Memoirs)
1968 John Garrett Olerud Seattle WA, Baseball player, Blue Jays, Mets. American League Batting Crown 1993
1975 Ami Foster actress (Margaux-Punky Brewster)

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Deaths which occurred on August 05:
1792 Frederick 7th baron Lord North, English premier -- presided over Britain's loss of its American colonies (1770-82), dies at 60
1900 James Augustine Healy black Roman Catholic bishop, dies at 80
1959 Edgar Guest newspaperman, dies at 77
1961 Sir Sidney Holland PM of New Zealand (1949-57), dies at 67
1962 Marilyn Monroe found dead of apparent self-inflicted drug overdose
1972 Frederic Tozere actor (Mr Phillips-Stanley), dies at 71
1978 Queenie Smith actress/dancer (Funny Side), dies at 79
1983 Judy Canova singer/comedienne/actress, dies at 66 of cancer
1984 Howard Culver actor (Howie-Gunsmoke), dies at 66
1984 Richard Burton actor (Cleopatra), dies at 58 of cerebral hemorrhage
1985 Theodore Sturgeon, sci-fi author (Hugo, It, Caviar), dies at 67
1991 Paul Brown NFL founder (Cleveland Browns, Cin Bengals), dies at 82
1991 Soichiro Hondo CEO & founder (Honda), dies of liver cancer at 84

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1964 ALVAREZ EVERETT SANTA CLARA CA.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1964 SATHER RICHARD C. POMONA CA.
[CRASH NO PARA/BEEPER, REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85]


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

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On this day...
1391 Castilian sailors in Barcelona, Spain set fire to a Jewish ghetto, killing 100 people and setting off four days of violence against Jews.
1583 Gilbert claims Newfoundland (1st English colony in North America)
1772 1st partition of Poland, between Austria, Prussia & Russia
1775 1st Spanish ship, San Carlos, enters SF Bay
1815 A peace treaty with Tripoli--which follows treaties with Algeria and Tunis--brings an end to the Barbary Wars.
1837 1st ascent of Mt Marcy (5,344') highest in Adirondack, NY
1846 Oregon country divided between US & Britain at 49th parallel
1858 Cyrus W Field completes 1st transatlantic telegraph cable
1861 President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the first federal income tax. As a wartime measure, all incomes over $800 were to be taxed at the rate of three percent. It was rescinded in 1872.
1861 US Army abolishes flogging
1861 US levies its 1st Income Tax (3% of incomes over $800)
1864 Spectrum of a comet observed for 1st time, by Giovanni Donati
1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala; Adm David Farragut orders "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"
1884 Cornerstone for Statue of Liberty laid on Bedloe's Island (NYC)
1901 Peter O'Connor of Ireland, sets then long jump record at 24' 11 3/4"
1914 1st traffic light installed (Euclid Ave. & E. 105th St, Cleveland)
1914 US, Nicaragua sign treaty granting canal rights to US
1921 1st radio baseball broadcast Pirates-8, Phillies-0 (KDKA, Pitts)
1921 Mustapha Kemal is appointed virtual ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
1923 1st American to swim the English Channel (Henry Sullivan)
1924 Comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," by Harold Gray, debuts
1926 Houdini stays in a coffin under water for 1« hrs
1927 Phillies Cy Williams hits for the cycle in just 4 at bats
1936 At Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens wins his 3rd Olympic medal
1937 Ranger (US) beats Endeavour II (England) in 17th America's Cup
1940 St Louis Brown John Whitehead no-hits Detroit Tigers, 4-0 in 6 innings
1945 Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Aug 6th in Japan)
1953 Operation "Big Switch" Korean War prisoner exchanged at Panmunjom
1954 Boxing Hall of Fame's 1st election selects 24 modern & 15 pioneers
1957 "American Bandstand," goes on network TV (ABC)
1957 WJZ-TV in Baltimore MD begins radio transmissions
1959 Chic Cardinals (NFL) beat Toronto Argonauts (CFL) 55-26 in Toronto
1960 Detroit trades mgr Jimmy Dykes for Cleve's mgr Joe Gordon
1960 Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) gains independence from France
1961 118ø F (48ø C), Ice Harbor Dam, Washington (state record)
1961 Chic Bears (NFL) beat Mont Alouettes (CFL) 34-16 in Montreal
1962 1st quasar located by radio
1962 Nelson Mandela arrested for incitement & illeagally leaving S Afr
1963 Britain, US & USSR sign nuclear test ban treaty
1963 Craig Breedlove sets world auto speed record at 407.45 MPH
1964 Actress Anne Bancroft & comedian Mel Brooks wed
1964 Beatles record "Leave My Kitten Alone"
1964 US begins bombing North Vietnam
1966 Martin Luther King Jr stoned during Chicago march
1966 Beatles release "Revolver" album in US
1966 Beatles release "Yellow Submarine" & "Eleanor Rigby" in UK
1967 1st time an AFL team beats an NFL team, Broncos beats Detroit 13-7
1967 Bobby Gentry releases her only hit "Ode to Billy Joe"
1967 Pirate Radio Station 333 (Radio Britain) & Radio London close down
1969 Mariner 7 flies past Mars
1972 Moody Blues release "Nights in White Satin"
1973 Atlanta Braves Phil Niekro no-hits SD Padres, 9-0
1973 USSR launches Mars 6
1974 Joan Jett forms her rock group the Runaways
1975 Phillies 1st 8 batters get hits for a major league record, win 13-5
1978 New Orleans Saints beat Phil Eagles 14-7 in Mexico City (NFL expo)
1980 NY Met Doug Flynn ties record of 3 triples in a game
1981 Federal govt began firing striking air traffic controllers
1981 Pres Regan fires 11,500 air traffic controllers who struck 2 days ago
1984 Joan Benoit (US) wins 1st Olympic marathon for women (2h24m52s)
1984 Lou Pinella day at Yankee Stadium
1984 Toronto Blue Jay Cliff Johnson sets record with 19 pinch hit HRs
1985 Baseball players go on strike for 2 days
1985 Chic White Sox Tom Seaver wins #300 over Yanks at Yankee Stadium
1985 Flexible-wing glider altitude record (214,250') set by Larry Tudor
1986 Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway sets the 5k woman's record (14:37.33)
1986 It's revealed Andrew Wyeth had, secretly created 240 drawings & paintings of his neighbor Helga Testorf, in Chadds Ford, Pa
1988 Mario Biaggi (Rep-D-NY) convicted of racketeering resigns seat
1990 The United States sent a Marine company into Monrovia, Liberia's capital, to evacuate U.S. citizens because of a rebel threat to arrest Americans to order to provoke foreign intervention in the civil war.
1991 Sergei Bubka of USSR sets pole vault record (20¬") in Malm” Sweden
1991 The Democrats ordered inquiries into allegations that Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign team delayed the release of the American hostages in Iran until after the election.

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

Iran : Constitution Day
Upper Volta : Independence Day/Burkina Faso (1960)
World : Test Ban Day (Int'l Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War)
Arizona, Michigan : American Family Day - - - - - ( Sunday )
Italy : Joust of the Quintana (1st Sunday) - - - - - ( Sunday )
Bahamas, Barbados, Turks & Caicos Island : Emancipation Day (1838) - - - - - ( Monday )
British Commonwealth : Bank Holiday - - - - - ( Monday )
Canada : Civic Holiday (1st Monday) - - - - - ( Monday )
Colorado : Colorado Day (1876) - - - - - ( Monday )
Jamaica : Independence Day (1962) - - - - - ( Monday )
St Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla : August Monday - - - - - ( Monday )
US : National Smile Week begins - - - - - ( Monday )
Grasmere England : Rush-Bearing Day - - - - - ( Saturday )
Ancient Rome : Nonae Sextilis
National Failure Day

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Religious Observances
Christian-England : St Oswald Day
Old RC : Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows, Rome
RC : Mem of Dedication of St Mary Major Basilica, Rome (opt)

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Religious History
1570 Spanish Jesuits led by Fray Batista Segura arrived in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia, for the purpose of converting the American Indians to Christianity. (Unfortunately, six months later, the entire group was massacred by the very Indians they had come to evangelize.)
1604 Baptism of John Eliot, American "apostle to the Indians." His evangelistic zeal led in 1649 to establishing the (missionary) Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England.
1656 Eight Quakers from England arrived in Boston and were immediately imprisoned by the local Puritan authorities. (The church-and-state amalgam of Puritanism looked upon non-ritual Quakerism with suspicion, regarding it as theologically apostate and politically subversive).
1869 Birth of Grant C. Tullar, American Methodist evangelist and music publisher. He is remembered today for composing the tune to the hymn, "Face to Face with Christ My Savior."
1961 The South American country of Bolivia adopted a new constitution that separated the powers of church and state.

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

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Thought for the day :
"If vegetarian eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?"

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You might be from New Jersey if...
you know how to properly negotiate a Circle.

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Murphy's law of the day...
The time a teacher takes in explaining is inversely proportional to the information retained by students

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Cliff Clavin says, it's a little known fact that...
The shortest war, between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896, lasted just 38 minutes.

[Valin]

Oh sure he gets to go camping and I gave to go to work sigh Life is soooo unfair. There HAS to be a lawsuit in here somewhere.

[snippy_about_it]

Oh sure he gets to go camping...

LOL, but the poor man has no rest otherwise, always working at the Foxhole in his 'free' time.

I'll give him his two nights, three days in the wilderness, but no more! ;)

[manna]

Present!

[snippy_about_it]

Good Morning manna.

[snippy_about_it]

"You will stay there until you die." (Reported to be one of the last orders transmitted to the troops across the river.) They did.

Almost a thousand never came back.

The Germans didn't seem to understand why our bridgehead had continued to hold out so desperately. "Your men fought with great determination and courage," they told us.

Assistance had not arrived too late — it had not arrived at all. Our men had illuminated with heroic sacrifice the traditional honor of their arms.

Thanks for this piece of history SAM.

Our men fought valiently and didn't give up, and the engineers carried on trying to build a way over through all the fighting.

Another bit of tears and still more pride.

[Valin]

Well...I ...suppose so.



But I'm still looking for a lawyer. There HAS to be a lawsuit in here somewhere!

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
North American A-36A "APACHE"

The A-36A dive bomber was the first AAF version of the "Mustang" developed for Britain in 1940. The A-36 fist flew in Oct. 1942; production of 500 A-36As was completed by March 1943.

Unofficially named "Invaders," A-36As were assigned to the 27th and 86th Bombardment Groups (Dive), later redesignated as Fighter-Bomber Groups. In June 1943, the plane went into action from North Africa. During the Italian campaign, A-36A pilots flew bomber escort and strafing missions as well as ground support bombing attacks. A-36As also served with the 311th Fighter Bomber Group in India. Dive brakes in the wings gave greater stability in a dive, but they were sometimes wired closed due to malfunctions. In 1944, AAF A-36As were replaced by P-51s and P-47s when experience showed that these high-altitude fighters, equipped with bomb racks, were more suitable for low-level missions than the A-36As

Specifications:
Manufacturer: North American
Primary Function: Attack Bomber
Powerplant: 1 Allison V1710-87 rated at 1325 HP
Cost: $49,000

Dimensions:
Wing Span: 37 ft.
Length: 32 ft. 3 in.
Height: 12 ft. 2 in.
Weight: 10,000 lbs. loaded

Performance :
Maximum speed: 365 mph.
Cruising speed: 250 mph.
Range: 550 miles
Service Ceiling: 25,100 ft.

Armaments:
Six .50-cal. machine guns;
1,000 lbs of bombs externally

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Morning Glory Kids~

Thanks for the great read . . . good for Sam! It's important to "unplug" and smell the roses . . . just make sure a bee is not in the rose!