The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Lt. Col. Harold G.(Hal) Moore - Sep. 6th, 2003

Army Magazine ^ | November 2002 | Col. Cole C. Kingseed, U.S. Army retired

[SAMWolf]

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

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

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Lt. Col. Harold G.(Hal) Moore
(1922 - *)

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Beyond the Ia Drang Valley

"The will to win, the will to survive, they endure. They are more important than the events that occasion them." -- Vince Lombardi

In his novel of the Battle of Thermopylae, author Steven Pressfield describes a scene in which Dienekes, a Spartan officer, prepares his men for a battle against a numerically superior army of Persians. Watching Dienekes rally and tend to his men, the narrator identifies the essential role of an officer in combat: to prevent those under his command, at all stages of battle -- before, during and after -- from becoming so overcome by terror or anger that emotion usurps dominion of the mind. "To fire their valor when it flagged and rein in their fury when it threatened to take them out of hand" -- that was Dienekes’ job.


COLONEL MOORE AND ENEMY CASUALTY

Two and a half millennia later, a modern Spartan displayed similar attributes of self-restraint and self-composure when Lt. Col. Harold G. (Hal) Moore led the men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry into the Ia Drang Valley in the Republic of Vietnam in November 1965. Like Dienekes before him, Moore bequeathed a legacy of raw courage and inspirational leadership in war’s darkest crucible. By his own admission, Moore is not a hero, but to his men and to a generation of future officers whom he addressed at the U.S. Military Academy, he is the penultimate battle captain. When actor Mel Gibson and his entourage visited West Point in the spring of 2002 to launch the premier of his movie "We Were Soldiers," the greatest applause was reserved not for Gibson, but for Moore, who quietly slipped away unnoticed during the film’s battle scenes. Not surprisingly, in a recent survey conducted following one of his visits, the majority of cadets identified Moore as the most inspirational officer in their cadet experience.

To a Long Gray Line accustomed to visits by the Army’s most distinguished leaders, why does Moore stand out? The true essence of his popularity within the Corps of Cadets is not limited to his command of American troops in the first pitched battle in the Vietnam War between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese Army. Scores of commanders have conducted similar battles and achieved like success. What differentiates Moore from his fellow warriors is his message concerning preparation for battlefield leadership and his own philosophy on the conduct of a leader in battle.

Hal Moore’s road to his status as a cadet icon began in the hills of Kentucky in a small town called Bardstown. Born on February 13, 1922, Moore matriculated to West Point by a circuitous path. Unable to secure an appointment before his graduation from high school, Moore left home in February 1940 and traveled to Washington, D.C., where he hoped his chances to secure a congressional appointment would be enhanced. He completed high school at night and attended George Washington University in the evenings for two years. When Congress doubled the size of the Corps of Cadets in 1942 to meet wartime commitments, Moore finally obtained his appointment from a Georgia congressman. The entire process reinforced Moore’s belief that the first person you must learn to lead is yourself. Set lofty goals and persist until you achieve them.


Lt. Col. Moore and Sgt-Maj. Plumley

Never the best student in the mathematical sciences, Moore struggled, taking refuge in religious activities that further honed his character. His greatest joy in Beast Barracks was firing Expert on the M-1 rifle with the top score in the company. His academic pursuits proved more difficult. In his own words, his first semester at West Point was "an academic trip from hell." Moments of quiet meditation in the Catholic chapel and long hours of study finally paid dividends. As cited in West Point’s yearbook, Hal Moore graduated in 1945 under the curtailed curriculum "untouched by the machinations of the T.D. [Tactical Department] and Academic Departments."

Not surprising to anyone who knew him well, Moore selected Infantry as his branch and joined the 187th Airborne Regiment in Sendai, Japan. The summer of 1948 found 1st Lt. Moore at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he jump-tested experimental parachutes and other airborne gear. By his own calculation, he made upwards of 150 test jumps over the course of the next three years. On his first test jump, however, the parachute hung on the tail of a C-46 and Moore was dragged behind the plane, at 110 miles per hour, 1,500 feet above the drop zone before he could cut it off and use his reserve. The ability to take a few seconds to think under such hazardous conditions would become a hallmark of Moore’s character for the remainder of his military career. The years at Bragg also marked Moore as a quiet professional unfazed by challenges.

In June 1952, Moore, now a husband and father of two children, deployed to Korea. Over the course of the next 14 months, he commanded a rifle company and heavy mortar company in the 17th Infantry, 7th Infantry Division, seeing action in the battles of attrition on Pork Chop Hill, T-Bone, Alligator Jaws and Charlie Outpost. By now Moore was a battle-tested commander. When the armistice was signed in July 1953, he reported to the U.S. Military Academy to teach infantry tactics to aspiring officers. The post-Korean War army also brought Moore to the Pentagon, where he served with distinction in the Air Mobility Division in the office of the Chief of Research and Development, in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans.



Following graduation from the Naval War College in June 1964, Lt. Col. Moore received a by-name request from Brig. Gen. Harry W. O. Kinnard, commanding general, 11th Air Assault Division (Test), to serve as a battalion commander. Redesignated the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in July 1965, the division deployed to South Vietnam’s Central Highlands in response to Lyndon Johnson’s escalation of the war. It was in that capacity that Moore’s 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry fought the first major pitched battle with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965.

Moore’s conduct of the battle is well chronicled in his and Joe Galloway’s We Were Soldiers Once. . . and Young and needs little elaboration here. Suffice it to say that the success of Moore’s soldiers in repelling the attack of a well-disciplined enemy force five times their own size was the result of Moore’s battlefield leadership and the indomitable spirit of his men. Moore was first off the lead helicopter and the last soldier to leave the battlefield three days later. Putting everything he had learned at West Point and 20 years of leadership in battle into the action, Moore inflicted over 600 dead on the enemy at a cost of 79 killed and 121 wounded. True to his word, he brought out every one of his troopers. In fact throughout his 32-year career, Hal Moore never abandoned an American soldier on the battlefield.

Following the Ia Drang Battle, Moore was promoted to command the 1st Cavalry Division’s 3rd Brigade that saw action on the Bong Son Plain in January 1966. Subsequent tours of duty included service with the International Security Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Defense; commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division in Korea, and then commanding general of Fort Ord, Calif. Moore ended his career as deputy chief of staff for personnel. When he retired in 1977, he became an executive vice president of the company that developed the ski area at Crested Butte, Colo. Four years later he formed a computer software company. Now in retirement, Moore spends his time with his wife Julie and their family in their homes in Crested Butte, Colo., and Auburn, Ala.


INFANTRY ADVANCING AT LZ X-RAY

Moore’s achievements in a career spanning three decades are legendary. First in his West Point class to be promoted to one, two and three stars, Moore received accelerated promotions on six occasions. Recipient of the Purple Heart and seven awards for battlefield valor, including the Distinguished Service Cross, Moore never lost a man as prisoner or missing in action, which brings us back to West Point and why the Corps of Cadets holds Moore in such high esteem.

[SAMWolf]

On the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, Gen. Moore returned to his alma mater at the invitation of the Department of History to address the Corps of Cadets on battlefield leadership during the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. Following a brief narration of the battle, Moore got to the main purpose of his visit: the preparation of American soldiers for combat. Cadet time is carefully regimented, but 200 of the 1,000 cadets remained one hour beyond the scheduled lecture to hear the old warrior’s remarks. For an additional hour, Moore captivated his audience, dividing his comments between a leader’s preparations for battlefield leadership and his own philosophy on the conduct of a leader in battle.



In preparing America’s sons and daughters for combat, Gen. Moore directed the cadets to read military history, particularly small unit actions. The personality of a big battle is often formed by a small unit action. During the Ia Drang Battle, for example, much of Moore’s efforts were directed at rescuing an isolated platoon of one of his companies. In addition to Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire, Moore cited Stephen E. Ambrose’s Band of Brothers and Ian Knight’s books on the defense of Rorke’s Drift during the Zulu Wars of 1879. Both books have appeared on the Army Chief of Staff’s recommended reading list.

Second, Moore urged cadets to visit historic battlefields with maps, books and narratives from actual participants to understand the intricacies of battles and campaigns. The staff ride concept was pioneered by Capt. Arthur L. Wagner at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., at the turn of the 20th century and emerged as a vital component of officer professional development for more than a hundred years. Today most commanders incorporate some aspect of the staff ride in their training to enhance unit morale and to determine how and why key leaders made their decisions under hazardous conditions. Moore himself recently returned from the Normandy battlefields where he contemplated the decisions by the senior Allied commanders.

Next Moore stressed the necessity of installing the will to win in one’s command. He was adamant that commanders should not place any second place trophies in the unit. "Focus on winning, being first," and the soldiers will respond more rapidly. His remarks were reminiscent of former Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi who demanded a commitment to excellence and victory above all else. To Lombardi the greatest joy in life was to give one’s last ounce of strength and to lie exhausted in victory.

Fourth, Moore concentrated on building unit discipline and teamwork. When he commanded Fort Ord in 1971, Moore instituted bayonet and pugil stick training, hand-to-hand combat training, confidence and close combat courses, field marches and rappelling to improve morale and prepare his soldiers for combat. Such combat-enhancing courses resulted in a "family of warriors," much the same as his 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang Valley. Only by installing "layer after layer after layer of personal discipline on one’s troops" will units "stand tall, hang in, and stay alive when the going gets tough."

Fifth, Moore urged the cadets to prepare their commands for their own death and that of their subordinate leaders. Squad leaders must be ready to assume command of a platoon and a company.

To illustrate his point, Moore remembered on the first day of the Ia Drang fight, one of Bravo Company’s platoons lost every officer and noncommissioned officer save one. Faced with overwhelming pressure from the North Vietnamese Army, Sgt. Ernie Savage, the fourth man to inherit Lt. Henry Herrick’s Lost Platoon, called indirect fire upon his own position. His action saved the remainder of the platoon, which had suffered nine dead and 13 wounded in the first 90 minutes of combat.

Not only must platoon leaders train squad and fire team leaders to adjust artillery and mortar fire, but leaders at all levels must prepare for wounded men yelling for "Medic" or "Mom." In battle, leaders must divorce themselves from the sounds of combat and concentrate on making clear, logical decisions.

Gen. Moore concluded his comments on preparation for battlefield leadership by reminding the cadets that mission accomplishment comes first, then care of their soldiers. The easiest part is responding to the soldiers’ personal needs -- food, water, mail and information on what is going on. The more important steps are developing stressful realistic training, rigorous physical conditioning and "stern, fair and square discipline."

With respect to his own battalion, Moore’s pre-combat training inculcated the Spartan qualities of self-denial, discipline and sacrifice into the troopers who deployed to Vietnam in 1965.

So important was the work of Crandall and his helicopter crews that Hal Moore (then a Lt. Col. and now a retired Lt. General) wrote a personal letter thanking Crandall for his heroism during Ia Drang. "We on that field would have gone down" without the "extraordinarily heroic effort" of Crandall and his men.

Treated right, Moore said, the least PFC is capable of acts of valor and sacrifice that are breathtaking. One only has to return to the Ia Drang to confirm Moore’s theory. Two cavalry troopers, Russell Adams and Bill Beck, manned an M-60 machine gun and with another crew, they protected Alpha Company’s left flank during the opening stages of the battle. When Adams suffered a debilitating wound, it fell to assistant gunner Beck to maintain a withering fire on the enemy, now within 30 yards of his position. Moore later recalled that when Spc. 4 Beck’s company and his country needed him most, Beck rose to the occasion and answered the call.

Gen. Moore summarized his remarks on battlefield preparation by reminding the cadets to "live each of your troop duty days to the fullest." No one ever wrote a book about the joy and delights of being a staff officer, stated Moore, so "spend time with your soldiers. Talk with them. Never ever abuse them by act of omission. They are the secret to successful command on or off the battlefield." Again his words are reminiscent of the Spartan warrior who described his king Leonidas as a monarch "who did not command his men’s loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold, rather he earned their respect by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endured for their sake."

[SAMWolf]

Turning his attention to conduct in battle, Moore next outlined four basic principles to govern ground combat. First, "Three strikes and you are not out!" A commander has two alternatives in battle. He can either contaminate his environment and his unit with his attitude and actions, or inspire confidence. To inspire confidence a leader must be visible on the battlefield and must be in the battle. Moore cautioned cadets to possess and display the will to win by one’s actions, one’s words, one’s tone of voice on the radio, and face to face.


Lt Col Hal Moore at the Battalion command post in LZ Xray on 15 Nov 65.

Moreover, a commander must display quiet confidence and display no fear, ignoring "the noise, dust, smoke, thirst, explosions, screams of wounded, the yells, the dead lying around him." Such chaos is normal in battle, not the exception. Battle by its nature is chaotic. Good commanders strive to make battle organized chaos, rather than disorganized carnage. In Ia Drang, Moore’s lead helicopter pilot, Maj. Bruce Crandall, remembered Moore as "always making the right decision, always fully aware of the situation."

Second, "There’s always one more thing you can do to influence any situation in your favor -- and after that one more thing -- and after that one more thing." Taking a few seconds to separate one’s self mentally from the battle, Moore repeatedly asked himself, "What am I doing that I should not be doing? And what am I not doing that I should be doing to influence the situation in my favor?" These quiet seconds of reflection allowed Moore to enter a "zone" in which opportunities rapidly crystallized. By refusing to surrender the tactical initiative to the enemy, Moore dictated the course of the battle to the best of his ability, directing arriving units to the most dangerous portions of the battlefield, often minutes before the enemy attacked.



The third principle is "When there’s nothing wrong, there is nothing wrong except there’s nothing wrong!" That was exactly when a leader must be most alert. On the morning of the battle’s second day, Moore noticed that things were too quiet, not even the birds were singing. Something in his gut told him that something was wrong, so he directed each company to send out patrols. Within minutes these patrols intercepted the enemy as the NVA moved into position to assault Moore’s beleaguered troopers. The Americans repelled the attack, inflicting massive casualties on the enemy.

Last, Moore urged the cadets to trust their instincts. In a rapidly developing battle, one’s instincts amount to an instant estimate of the situation. There is no time to conduct a detailed commander’s estimate by the book and to make a matrix of alternative courses of action. An officer’s instincts are the product of education, training, reading, personality and experience according to Moore. Leaders must act fast and impart confidence. Don’t second guess decisions. Face up to the facts, deal with them and move on to the next situation. In the Ia Drang’s opening minutes, Moore’s instincts told him that the enemy commander was likely to strike on his left flank, heading for the clearing that marked the landing zone. As soon as Moore’s Charlie Company arrived on the landing zone, he directed them to take position on Alpha Company’s left, taking the risk of leaving his own rear unguarded from the north and east. They arrived just as the NVA launched an attack.


PFC Ira Rolston uses the bugle captured during the Battle of the Ia Drang to signal Co. B, 1st Plt., to move toward a valley objective, Feb. 1966.

Moore concluded his remarks by stressing the bond that exists between a commander and his soldiers. When one cadet inquired about the feeling of comrades in arm, Moore’s eyes welled with tears and he said, "When your men die and you don’t, you feel guilty. That’s all I can say about it." Today 37 years after the Battle in the Ia Drang Valley, Moore makes annual pilgrimages to the cemetery at Fort Benning, Ga., where several of his troopers are interred, and to the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Washington, D.C. In the wake of the tragedy of September 11, the old commander, now in his 80th year, paid his respects to Rick Rescorla, a former lieutenant who died in the destruction of the World Trade Center.

How was Moore received by West Point’s Corps of Cadets? A random sample of unedited comments tells the story. "The most important part of Gen. Moore’s lecture was the advice on how people should lead," noted one cadet. Another said, "The single most noteworthy accomplishment was being able to keep his cool and composure while on the verge of being overrun. ... He inspired me to always remain optimistic, even when things look bad." Yet another remarked, "I was hanging on every word. It was the best lecture I have ever heard at West Point. ... I would have stayed and listened to him all night if that were possible."


COMPANY B SWEEPING FORWARD OF THE BATTALION PERIMETER

Perhaps the most touching comment came from a first class cadet who said Moore’s presentation was the "best, most down-to-earth lecture I have ever experienced. It made me feel proud becoming an officer and entering into the Army as a profession. His words are inspirational and his experiences are a model of admiration. I wish I would have gone Infantry."

How many other cadets Moore inspired to select Infantry as a branch is speculative, but the general consensus that April evening was that listening to Hal Moore made these cadets better future commanders. Listening to Moore could make one a better officer and possibly a better person.

One final observation. In the audience the night Moore addressed the Corps was New York Times reporter John Kifver, who asked Moore if his comments were on the record. "All my comments are for the record," Moore replied, "Feel free to publish anything you desire." In the subsequent column that graced the front page of the Times, Kifver described Moore as a "courtly old warrior."



In the final analysis, Moore typifies the finest attributes of the U.S. Army’s officer corps and West Point’s motto of "Duty, Honor, Country."

His mantra for years has been and continues to be "hate war, love the American warrior." As heroic and inspirational as his battlefield leadership was in countless battles in two foreign wars, however, Moore’s greatest legacy remains the preparation of future officers to lead America’s finest soldiers into battle. That is why he is cherished by officers and soldiers alike.

Additional Sources:

www.cav57.org
www.jbs.org
www.army.mil
www.cantho-rvn.org
www.lzxray.com
www.vva.org
www.heritagestudio.com

[SAMWolf]

'American soldiers in battle don’t fight for what some president says on T.V., they don’t fight for mom, apple pie, the American flag…they fight for one another.'

-- Lt. Col. Hal Moore

'If you’re going to go to war against a major enemy, go; knock the hell out of him fast, and go in there to kill him and get it over with.'

-- Retired Lieutenant General Harold Moore

Lt. Col. Hal Moore’s simple rules governing media visits to his unit, the 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry in Vietnam in 1965.

To the press: Don’t get in the way, and don’t give out information that would help the enemy.

To his troops: Tell the Truth, and speak from your pay-grade. Don’t try to answer questions that would better be directed to the battalion commander or Gen. William Westmoreland or President Lyndon Johnson. If you are a squad leader, answer questions about what you know and do.

[SAMWolf]

[Victoria Delsoul]

In the final analysis, Moore typifies the finest attributes of the U.S. Army’s officer corps and West Point’s motto of "Duty, Honor, Country."

His mantra for years has been and continues to be "hate war, love the American warrior." As heroic and inspirational as his battlefield leadership was in countless battles in two foreign wars, however, Moore’s greatest legacy remains the preparation of future officers to lead America’s finest soldiers into battle. That is why he is cherished by officers and soldiers alike.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on September 06:
1711 Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg founder of US Lutheran church
1757 Marie Joseph du Motier, Marquis de LaFayette, French soldier and statesman who aided George Washington during the American Revolution.
1766 John Dalton chemist, developed atomic theory of matter
1805 Horatio Greenough US, neoclassical sculptor/writer
1811 James Melville Gilliss founded Naval Observatory in Washington
1814 Sir George Cartier (C) Canadian co-PM (1858-62)
1817 Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt a Canadian founding father
1860 Jane Addams US, pacifist/social worker/feminist (Nobel 1931)
1881 Leo Carrillo LA Calif, actor (Pancho-Cisco Kid)
1883 Lord Birkett England, judge (Nremburg Trials)
1885 Otto Kruger Toledo Ohio, actor (Lux Video Theater, High Noon)
1888 Joseph P Kennedy financier/diplomat, father of JFK, RFK & Teddy
1899 Billy Rose theatrical producer (Diamond Horse Show)
1902 Morgan Beatty Little Rock Ark, news anchor (Du Mont Evening News)
1904 Maxie Rosenbloom light heavyweight boxing champ (1930-34)
1908 Paul Lavalle Beacon NY, bandleader (Cities Service Band of America)
1912 Vincent DiMaggio baseball player (Giants, Phils, Reds, Braves)
1915 Franz Josef Strauss Germany, minister of defense (1956-62)
1923 William Kraft Chicago, Ill, composer/percussionist
1925 Jimmy Reed Mississippi, blues singer (Soulin', Big Boss Man)
1928 Evgeny Svetlanov Moscow Russia, conductor (Siberian Fantasy)
1928 Rudolph Plukfelder USSR, light heavyweight (Olympic-gold-1964)
1934 Jody McCrea LA Calif, actor (Ben Matheson-Wichita Town)
1937 Jo Anne Worley Lowell Indiana, comedienne (Laugh-in)
1938 Joan Tower New Rochelle NY, composer (Breakfast Rhythms)
1939 David Allan Coe country musician (Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy)
1944 Linda Kaye Henning Cal, actress (Betty Joe-Petticoat Junction)
1944 Swoosie Kurtz Omaha Nebraska, actress (Slap Shot, Garp)
1946 Bryan D O'Connor Orange Cal, Col USMC/astronaut (STS 61B, STS 40)
1947 Jane Curtin Cambridge Mass, actress (SNL, Allie Lowell-Kate & Allie)
1947 Roger Waters singer (Pink Floyd)
1953 Katherine Cannon Hartford Ct, actress (Father Murphy, The Survivors)
1954 Jon Erikson US, 1st to triple cross English Channel (1981)
1955 Anne Henning US, 500m speed skater (Olympic-gold-1972)
1958 Jeff Foxworthy (comedian: You Know You're a Redneck, The Jeff Foxworthy Show; author: No Shirt, No Shoes ... No Problem)
1960 Michael Winslow actor/comedian (Police Academy)
1961 Peggy MacIntaggart Midland Ontario, playmate (January, 1990)
1967 Amy Lynn Baxter model (Penthouse Pet 1990)
1974 Justin Whalin LA, actor (Charles in Charge)

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Deaths which occurred on September 06:
972 John XIII Crescentii, pope (965-72), dies
1635 Adrian A Metius, mathematician/fort architect, dies at 63
1701 James II king of England (1685-88), dies at 68
1901 Pres William McKinley assassinated by Leon Czologosz in Buffalo, NY
1939 Arthur Rackham, artist/illustrator (Grimm's Fairy Tales), dies at 71
1959 Kay Kendall British actress, dies at 32
1960 Jimmy Savo comedian (Through the Crystal Ball), dies at 65
1963 Margarita Sierra actress, dies at 26 after heart surgery
1966 Dr Verwoerd South African PM, assassinated in assembly
1966 Margaret Sanger, US feminist/birth control pioneer/racist, dies at 86
1974 Otto Kruger actor (Lux Video Theater), dies on 89th birthday
1984 E.J. Andre actor (Eugene Bullock-Dallas), dies at 74
1984 Ernest Tubb singer (Grand Ole Opry), dies at 70
1985 Jane Frazee singer/actress (Alice-Beulah), dies at 67 of pneumonia
1985 Johnny Desmond singer (Your Hit Parade), dies of cancer at 65

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 BUNDY NORMAN L. MIAMI FL.
1968 COSKEY KENNETH L. DETROIT MI.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 DEICHELMANN SAMUEL M. MONTGOMERY AL.
1972 LINDLAND DONALD F. EUGENE OR.
[REMAINS RETURNED 06/03/83]
1972 LERSETH ROGER G. SPOKANE WA.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV INJURED, ALIVE AND WELL 98]

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

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On this day...
394 Theodosius becomes sole ruler of Italy after defeating Eugenius at the Battle of the River Frigidus.
1422 Sultan Murat II ends a vain siege of Constantinople.
1492 Columbus' fleet sails from Gomera, Canary islands
1522 Magellen with Vittoria returns to Spain, after 1st round world trip
1620 Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth England to the New World
1628 Puritans land at Salem, from Mass Bay Colony, witches soon to settle
1839 Great fire in NY
1848 National Black Convention meets (Cleveland)
1853 Women's Rights Convention met (NYC)
1861 General Grant occupies Paducah Kentucky
1862 Stonewall Jackson occupies Fredrick, Maryland
1863 After 59 day siege, confederates evacuate Ft Wagner, SC
1869 1st westbound train arrives in SF
1869 Mine fire kills 179 at Avondale Pennsylvania
1873 Regular Cable Car service begins on Clay Street
1876 Race riot in Charleston SC
1876 Southern Pacific line from LA to SF completed
1883 Cub's Burns (extra bases), Williamson & Pfeiffer get 3 hits in 1 inn
1899 Carnation processes its 1st can of evaporated milk
1901 Pres William McKinley, shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at Pan American Exposition in Buffalo NY, died eight days later -- and vice president Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency.
1903 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of The Creeping Man" (BG)
1905 Atlanta Life Insurance Company established
1905 Chic White Sox Frank Smith no-hits Detroit Tigers, 15-0
1909 Word received, Adm Peary discovers North Pole 5 months earlier
1910 Saskatchewan (then Regina) Roughriders football club formed
1912 NY Giant Jeff Tesreau no-hits Phila, 3-0
1913 1st aircraft to loop the loop (Adolphe P‚goud-France)
1914 Battle of the Marne; Germans prevented from occupying Paris
1920 1st radio broadcast of a prizefight
1924 Charles Paddock captures 100 & 200 yd AAU national senior outdoor track & field championships
1930 Brooklyn Dodgers beat Phillies 22-8
1941 All Jews over age 6 in German territories ordered to wear a star
1941 Jews of Vilna Poland are confined to a ghetto
1943 "Congressional Limited" train derails near Frankfort Pa, kills 79
1946 All-American Football Conference plays 1st game (Clev 44, Miami 0)
1948 Juliana becomes queen of the Netherlands
1949 Howard Unruh kills 13 neighbors in 12 minutes
1953 The last American and Korean prisoners are exchanged in Operation Big Switch, the last official act of the Korean War.
1954 Yankees use a record 10 pinch hitters
1963 Church bombed in Birmingham AL, kills 4 black girls
1963 Major league baseballs 100,000th game
1966 "Star Trek" premiers on NBC TV
1966 Race riot in Atlanta Georgia
1968 Swaziland gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1970 Palestinian guerrillas seized control of three jetliners which were later blown up on the ground in Jordan after the passengers and crews were evacuated.
1972 Summer Olympics massacre in Munich Germany when Palestinian terrorists attacked the Israeli compound, kidnapping nine team members.
1972 John & Yoko appear on Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon
1973 NY Times reports almost all Superfectas run at Yonkers, Roosevelt & Monticello from Jan-Mar of 1973 were fixed
1975 6.8 quake along Anatolian Fault kills over 2,000 in Lice Turkey
1976 Russian pilot defects to Japan in a Mig 25 jet
1978 Begin & Sadat meet at Camp David to discuss peace
1980 Chantal Langlace sets women's record for fastest 100K run (7h27m22s)
1980 College football longest losing streak of 50 games ends for Macalaster U of St Paul, Minn beating Mount Senario 17-14
1981 Bob Lemon named Yankee manager
1982 Paul McCartney releases "Tug of War"
1982 Polish dissidents seize the Polish Embassy in Bern, Switzerland
1983 USSR admits to shooting down KAL 007 on 9/2
1984 Today Show begins live remote telecasts from Moscow
1986 Barbra Streisand's 1st live concert in 20 years
1986 USSR charges correspondent Nicholas Daniloff with spying
1986 Attack on synagogue in Istanbul, 23 killed
1987 Saskatchewan's Dave Ridgway kicks a CFL-record 60-yard field goal
1988 Lee Roy Young becomes the first African-American Texas Ranger in the force's 165-year history.
1988 Crippled soviet Soyuz TM-5 lands safely with 2 cosmonauts aboard
1989 Amateur Atheletic Fed strips Ben Johnson of all track records
1989 Police computer accuses 41,000 Parisians of murder/prostitution
1991 USSR recognizes independence of the 3 baltic republics
2000 The Millennium Summit, the largest gathering of world leaders in history, convened at the United Nations.
2000 Thousands of pro-Indonesian militiamen and supporters stormed a U.N. office in West Timor, killing three foreign staffers
2001 The Justice Department reversed an earlier decision and said it would no longer seek to split the Microsoft Corp. into more than one company or pursue the claim that the company had illegally tied its network browser to its operating system.

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

Pakistan : Defense Day
Swaziland : Somhlolo Day/Independence Day (1968)
Namibia, South Africa : Settlers' Day ( Monday )
US, Canada, Guam, Virgin Islands : Labor Day (1894) (Monday)
Co-Ed College Day
National Oral Hygiene Week (Day 6)
Mental Health Workers Week Ends
Library Card Sign-Up Month

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Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Zachariah
RC, Ang : Feast of the Transfiguration

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Religious History
1812 Colonial American missionary Adoniram Judson, 24, en route to the mission field, converted from Congregationalism to become a Baptist. He later translated the Bible into Burmese and authored a Burmese dictionary (1849).
1907 Pius X issued the encyclical "Pascendi dominici gregis," in which he condemned the "modernist" movement within the various branches of Christendom. The document also established councils to combat these "modern errors."
1938 The movie "Boys Town" was first released by MGM studios. Starring Spencer Tracy, the award-winning film depicted the founding of the famous vocational institution in Nebraska in 1917 by parish priest Father Edward J. Flanagan, 31.
1940 The National Christian Council of Japan organized its churches into a single body, with complete autonomy from Western church control. The single Protestant structure thus formed was named the United Church of Christ in Japan.
1974 American Presbyterian missionary Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'Only the one who has been hurt can bring healing. The other person cannot. It is the one who has been hurt who has to be willing to be hurt again to show love, if there is to be hope that healing will come.'

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

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Thought for the day :
"Ours is a world where people don`t know what they want and are willing to go through hell to get it."

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You might be from Iowa if...
You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, beer, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows

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Murphys Law of the day...(Finagle's Fourth Law)
Once a job is fooled up, anything done to improve it will only make it worse.

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Cliff Clavin says, It's a little known fact that...
Among other well-known names, a group of fish can also be called a draught.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning Sam, Snippy, everyone.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Victoria.

Col. Moore was one of those outstanding Officers that America seems to keep producing when she needs them the most.

[SpookBrat]

Good morning Victoria. You're up early. I was trying to read the thread and Tim wants to know what I'm doing. In other words, get off the computer.

I'll be back later.

[SAMWolf]

1972 Summer Olympics massacre in Munich Germany when Palestinian terrorists attacked the Israeli compound, kidnapping nine team members.

Slain athletes of the Munich massacre, (clockwise from top left): Yossef Gutfreud, Moshe Weinberg, Yossef Romano, David Berger, Mark Slavin, Jacov Springer, Andre Spitzer, Kehat Shorr, Elizer Halfin, Amitzur Shapira, Zeev Friedman.

[SAMWolf]

Good morning Feather.

[SAMWolf]

Hi Spooky!

Don't you just hate having to share the computer? Seems everytime you're in the middle of something someone else needs to do something "right now"

[CholeraJoe]

Great thread SAM. I'm pinging ALOHA RONNIE. He was with LtCol Moore at LZ Xray. Maybe he will have additional comments.

[snippy_about_it]

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

.......Good Saturday Morning Everyone!


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

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for the graphic and information on todays thread.

[snippy_about_it]

Morning feather.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks CholeraJoe,

You beat me to it. I planned on pinging Ronnie too! I appreciate it.

[E.G.C.]

Good afternoon, Snippy and everyone here at the Freeper Foxhole.

The weather is nice and sunny with highs in the 80's hopefully it's nice where you are:-D

[armymarinemom]

SAMWolf what a great post. Hal Moore represents what each of us should aspire to achieve.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi Sam,

Col. Moore was one of those outstanding Officers that America seems to keep producing when she needs them the most.

I gathered that. Thanks so much for the info.