USO Canteen FReeper Style ~ USS DECATUR DDG 73 ~ November 21 2002

Thank you Johnny

On this day in history

Birthdates which occurred on November 21:
1495 John Bale England, bishop/anti-catholic playwright (Kynge Johan)
1694 Voltaire [Francois-Marie Arouet], France, thinker
1785 William Beaumont surgeon (studied digestion)
1787 Sir Samuel Cunard founder (1st regular Atlantic steamship line)
1817 Richard B Garnett Brig Gen, killed during Pickett's charge
1854 Benedict XV 258th Roman Catholic pope (1914-22)
1863 Arthur Quiller-Couch editor (Oxford Book of English Verse)
1898 Ren‚ Magritte painter (This is Not a Pipe)
19-- Lisa Wilkinson actress (All My Children)
19-- Michael Cavanaugh NYC, actor (George-Starman)
1904 Coleman Hawkins virtually created tenor saxophone for jazz
1907 Charles Korvin Piestany Hungary, actor (Berlin Express, Ship of Fools)
1907 Jim Bishop author (The Day Lincoln was Shot)
1908 Franz Pfnor Germany, slalom (Olympic-gold-1936)
1912 Eleanor Powell Springfield MA, actress/tap dancer (Broadway Melody)
1916 Sid Luckman NFL QB (Chicago Bears)
1920 Ralph Meeker actor (Anderson Tapes, Night Stalker)
1920 Stan Musial outfielder (St Louis Cardinal, 7 times NL bat champ)
1921 Vivian Blaine Newark NJ, actress (Guys & Dolls, Skirts Ahoy)
1927 Joseph Campanella NYC, actor (Dr Steffen-The Nurses, Lou-Mannix)
1932 Jim Ringo NFL center (Green Bay, Philadelphia)
1933 Henry Hartsfield Jr Birmingham AL, astro (STS-4, STS 41-D, STS 61A)
1933 Jean Shepard Pauls Valley OK, country singer (Ozark Jubilee)
1934 Laurence Luckinbill Fort Smith Ark, actor (Delphi Bureau, Ike)
1936 James De Preist Philadelphia PA, conductor (Mitropolos 1964)
1937 Marlo Thomas Detroit MI, actress,[Mrs Phil Donahue](That Girl!, Jenny)
1938 Robert Drivas actor (Our Private World)
1939 Richard Lenz Springfield IL, actor (Hec Ramsey, Scandalous John)
1940 Natalia Maskarova Lenningrad, ballerina (Kirov) defected 1970
1941 Juliet Mills London England, actress (Nanny & the Professor, QB VII)
1943 Larry Mahan Oregon, rodeo champ (1967-70)
1944 Earl "the Pearl" Monroe Philadelphia PA, NGA Guard (NY Knicks, Baltimore Bullets)
1945 Goldie Hawn Takoma Park MD, actress (Laugh-in, Private Benjamin)
1950 Alberto Juantorena Cuba, 400m dash (Olympic-gold-1976)
1950 Livingston Taylor Boston, rocker (I Will be in Love With You)
1952 Deborah Shelton Wash DC, actress (Dallas, Ocean Kill, Body Double)
1952 Lorna Luft Scarsdale NY, singer/actress (Where the Boys Are-1980)
1953 Tina Brown journalist publisher (Tatler)
1956 Mariana Simionescu Tirgu Neamt Romania, 1st wife of Bjorn Borg
1956 Terri Welles Santa Monica Ca, playmate of the year (Dec, 1980)
1957 Jim Brown rocker (UB40-Red Red Wine)
1959 Tim Wilkison Shelby NC, tennis player (WCT Atlanta finals-1986)
1963 Nicollette Sheridan Worthing England, actress (Paige-Knots Landing)
1964 Marjorie Judith Vincent Oak Park IL, Miss America (1991)
1975 Cherie Johnson Pittsburgh PA, actress (Cherie-Punky Brewster)

Deaths which occurred on November 21:
1555 Georgius Agricola mineralogist, dies in Germany at 61
1624 Jakob Bohme German philosophical mystic, dies
1817 Richard B Garnett killed during Pickett's Charge, Brig Gen
1899 Garret Augustus Hobart 24th VP, died
1916 Franz Josef of Austria, dies
1941 Juanita Spellini first woman executed in California
1958 Mel Ott NY Giant baseball star (1926-1947), dies at 49
1959 Max Baer US, heavyweight boxing champ (1934), dies at 49
1973 Allan Sherman singer, dies at 48 (Goodbye Muddah, Goodbye Faddah)
1981 Harry Von Zell TV announcer (Burns & Allen), dies at 75
1982 Lee Patrick actress (Henrietta-Topper, Maltese Falcon), dies at 75
1987 James E Folsom (Alabama-Gov, 1947-51, 1955-59), dies at 79
1991 David "Sonny" Werblin AFL owner (NY Jets), dies at 81

On this day...
235 St Anterus begins his reign as Catholic Pope
496 St Gelasius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1654 Richard Johnson, a free black, granted 550 acres in Virginia
1783 Pilstre de Rozier & Marquis d'Arlandes make 1st free balloon flight
1787 Andrew Jackson admitted to the bar
1789 North Carolina ratifies constitution, becomes 12th US state
1794 Honolulu Harbor discovered
1818 Russia's Czar Alexander I petitions for a Jewish state in Palestine
1824 1st Jewish Reform congregation established, Charleston, SC
1837 Thomas Morris of Australia skips rope 22,806 times
1847 Steamer "Phoenix" is lost on Lake Michigan, kills 200
1848 Cincinatti Turngemeinde founded
1871 Moses Gale patents a cigar lighter
1877 Tom Edison announces his "talking machine" invention
1895 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Bruce Partington Plans" (BG)
1902 1st night football game, Philadelphia Athletics beats Kanaweola AC, 39-0
1914 Billy Mallett of Hamilton Tigers kicks 9 singles in a game
1925 Red Grange plays final Univ of Illinois game, signs with Chicago Bears
1933 1st US ambassador to USSR, W.C. Bullitt, begins service
1934 Yanks buy Joe DiMaggio from San Francisco Seals
1935 1st commercial crossing of Pacific by plane (China Clipper)
1945 General Motors workers go on strike
1946 Harry Truman becomes 1st US President to travel in a submerged sub
1952 1st US postage stamp in 2 colors (rotary process) introduced
1953 "Pitdown Man," discovered in 1912 proved to be a hoax
1959 Jack Benny (violin) & Richard Nixon (piano) play their famed duet
1964 World's longest suspension bridge "Verrazano Narrows" opens (NYC)
1967 Phillip & Jay Kunz fly a kite a record 28,000 feet
1968 Supremes & Temptations release "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"
1968 Yoko Ono suffers a miscarriage
1970 NY Knicks 1st game against Cleveland Cavalier, Knicks win 102-94 at MSG
1971 NY Rangers scores a NHL record 8 goals in 1 period
1975 Linda McCartney drug charges in US are dropped
1977 1st flight of the Concorde (London to New York)
1980 Dallas' "Who Shot JR?" episode (Kristen) gets a 53.3 rating
1980 Fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas kills 84
1980 Gene Michaels replaces Dick Howser as Yankee's 25th manager
1980 John & Yoko pose nude for photographer Allan Tannenbaum
1981 Olivia Newton-John's "Physical," single goes #1 & stays for 10 weeks
1990 Michael Milken is sentenced to 10 years for security law violations
1990 Signing of Declaration of "End of Cold war" in Paris

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

North Carolina : Ratification Day (1789)
US : National Children's Book Week Begins - - - - - ( Monday )

Religious Observances
Orthodox : Feast of St Michael the Archangel (11/8 OS)
RC : Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Religious History
1638 A General Assembly at Glasgow abolished the episcopal form of church government, adopted the presbyterian form in its place, and gave final constitution to the Church of Scotland.
1852 Union Institute was chartered by the Methodists in Randolph County, NC. Renamed Trinity College in 1859, the campus moved to Durham in 1892. Tobacco magnate James B. Duke endowed the school with $40 million in 1924, upon which its name was changed to Duke University.
1907 Birth of Jim Bishop, American journalist. He gave new life to great historical moments through his "day" books, including his 1957 chronicle of "The Day Christ Died."
1943 German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter: 'A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes...and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.'
1948 The Sunday morning religious program "Lamp Unto My Feet" first aired over CBS television. It became one of TV's longest_running network shows, and aired through January 1979.

Thought for the day :
" The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our change. "

Thank you for this wonderful information, it's very interesting.

AIR POWER
KC-10A 'Extender'

The United States Air Force/McDonnell Douglas KC-10A advanced tanker/cargo aircraft is a version of the intercontinental-range DC-10 Series 30CF (convertible freighter), modified to provide increased mobility for U.S. forces in contingency operations by: refueling fighters and simultaneously carrying the fighters' support equipment and support people on overseas deployments: refueling strategic airlifters (such as the USAF C-5 and C-l4l) during overseas deployments and resupply missions; and augmenting the U.S. airlift capability.

In most instances, the KC-10A performs these missions without dependence on overseas bases and without depleting critical fuel supplies in the theater of operations. Equipped with its own refueling receptacle, the KC-10A can support deployment of fighters, fighter support aircraft and airlifters from U.S. bases to any area in the world, with considerable savings in both cost and fuel compared to pre-KC-l0A capabilities.

The aerial refueling capability of the KC-10A nearly doubles the nonstop range of a fully-loaded C-5 strategic transport. In addition, its cargo capability enables the U.S. to deploy some fighter squadrons and their unit support people and equipment with a single airplane type, instead of requiring both tanker and cargo aircraft. The Air Force is calling the KC-10A the "Extender" because of its ability to carry out aerial refueling and cargo mission without forward basing, thus extending the mobility of U.S. forces.

Although the KC-10A's primary mission is aerial refueling, it can combine the tasks of tanker and cargo aircraft by refueling fighters while carrying the fighters' support people and equipment during overseas deployments. The KC-10A can transport up to 75 people and about 170,000 pounds (76,560 kilograms) of cargo a distance of about 4,400 miles (7,040 kilometers). Without cargo, the KC-10A's unrefueled range is more than 11,500 miles.

Primary Function: Aerial refueling/transport.
Contractor: Douglas Aircraft Co.
Power Plant: Three General Electric CF-6-50C2 turbofans
Thrust: 52,500 pounds (23,625 kilograms), each engine
Length: 181 feet, 7 inches (54.4 meters)
Height: 58 feet, 1 inch (17.4 meters)
Wingspan: 165 feet, 4 1/2 inches (50 meters)
Speed: 619 mph (Mach 0.825)
Ceiling: 42,000 feet (12,727 meters)

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 590,000 pounds (265,500 kilograms)
Maximum Useable Fuel: 342,000 Pounds
All fuel is usable or transferable via either boom or probe and drogue refueling
Fifteen aircraft are modified with two wing-mounted air refueling pods which allow for simultaneous operations with probe equipped aircraft.
Range: 4,400 miles (3,800 nautical miles) with cargo;
11,500 miles (10,000 nautical miles) without cargo
Unit Cost: $86.3 million (1992 dollars)
Crew: Four (aircraft commander, pilot, flight engineer and boom operator)

____________________________________________________________

P.S.

One more photo.. because I thought it was AWESOME!

See you all tonight.
It's my Coast Guard duty day.
I'll be working in the Operations Office today.

1620 - Mayflower Compact signed by Pilgrims in Cape Cod

In ye name of God Amen· We whose names are vnderwriten,
the loyall subjects of our dread soueraigne Lord King James
by ye grace of God, of great Britaine, franc, & Ireland king,
defender of ye faith, &c
Haueing vndertaken, for ye glorie of God, and aduancemente
of ye christian ^faith and honour of our king & countrie, a voyage to
plant ye first colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginia· doe
by these presents solemnly & mutualy in ye presence of God, and
one of another, couenant, & combine our selues togeather into a
ciuill body politick; for ye our better ordering, & preseruation & fur=
therance of ye ends aforesaid; and by vertue hearof, to enacte,
constitute, and frame shuch just & equall lawes, ordinances,
Acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought
most meete & conuenient for ye generall good of ye colonie: vnto
which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witnes
wherof we haue herevnder subscribed our names at Cap=
Codd ye ·11· of Nouember, in ye year of ye raigne of our soueraigne
Lord king James of England, france, & Ireland ye eighteenth
and of Scotland ye fiftie fourth. Ano: Dom ·1620·|

Translation
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, convenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscibed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620.

The Names of the Subscribers of the Mayflower Compact
As given by Nathaniel Morton (1669) and Thomas Prince (1736)

John Carver, Edward Tilly, Digery Priest,
William Bradford, John Tilly, Thomas Williams,
Edward Winslow, Francis Cooke, Gilbert Winslow,
William Brewster, Thomas Rogers, Edmund Margeson,
Isaac Allerton, Thomas Tinker, Peter Brown,
Miles Standish, John Ridgdale, Richard Britteridge,
John Alden, Edward Fuller, George Soule,
Samuel Fuller, John Turner, Richard Clarke,
Christopher Martin, Francis Eaton, Richard Gardiner,
William Mullins, James Chilton, John Allerton,
William White, John Crackstone, Thomas English,
Richard Warren, John Billington, Edward Doten,
John Howland, Moses Fletcher, Edward Leister,
Stephen Hopkins, John Goodman

History behind the Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was signed on 11 November 1620 on board the Mayflower which was at anchor in Provincetown Harbor. The Mayflower Compact was drawn up after the London and Leyden contingents started factionalizing, and there were worries of a possible mutiny by some of the passengers.

The primary argument was over the fact the Pilgrims were supposed to have settled in Northern Virginia, near present-day Long Island, New York. Northern Virginia was governed by the English. But if the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth, there would be no government in place there. The Mayflower Compact established that government, by creating a "civil body politic". In a way, this was the first American Constitution, though the Compact in practical terms had little influence on subsequent American documents. John Quincy Adams, a descendant of Mayflower passenger John Alden, does call the Mayflower Compact the foundation of the U.S. Constitution in a speech given in 1802, but he meant in principle more than in substance. In reality, the Mayflower Compact was superseded in authority by the 1621 Peirce Patent, which not only gave the Pilgrims the right to self-government at Plymouth, but had the significant advantage of being authorized by the King of England.

The Mayflower Compact was first published in 1622 in Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. William Bradford wrote a copy of the Mayflower Compact down in his History Of Plymouth Plantation which he wrote from 1630-1654, and that is the version given above. Neither version gave the names of the signers. Nathaniel Morton in his New England's Memorial, published in 1669, was the first to record and publish the names of the signers, and Thomas Prince in his Chronological History of New England in the form of Annals (1736) recorded the signers names as well, as did Thomas Hutchinson in 1767. It is unknown whether the later two authors had access to the original document, or whether they were simply copying Nathaniel Morton's list of signers.

The original Mayflower Compact has never been found, and is assumed destroyed. Thomas Prince may have had access to the original in 1736, and possibly Thomas Hutchinson did in 1767. William Bradford's History, Letter-book, Register, and possibly the Mayflower Compact may have all fallen victim to Revolutionary War looting. Bradford's History was found in 1854 in London, England; his Letter-book in 1796 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Register and Mayflower Compact have never been located.

The term "Mayflower Compact" was not assigned to this document until 1793, when for the first time it is called the Compact in Alden Bradford's A Topographical Description of Duxborough, in the County of Plymouth. Previously it had been called "an association and agreement" (William Bradford), "combination" (Plymouth Colony Records), "solemn contract" (Thomas Prince, 1738), and "the covenant" (Rev. Charles Turner, 1774).

SOURCES:

1. William Bradford. Of Plymouth Plantation, written between 1630 and 1654.

2. Edward Winslow and William Bradford. Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, first published in 1622.

3. Nathaniel Morton. New England's Memorial. Cambridge, 1669.

4. Arthur Lord, "The Mayflower Compact", Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, Volume 30, Part 2 (October 20, 1920), pp. 278-294.

God Bless Our Strong and Brave U.S. Military!

We are always grateful for your service to our country!!!

And Thanks Tonkin for your service to Our Great Country.

Yesterday was the USS FOGG photo,
the following is a poem I wrote for the man on that ship:

To Uncle Fran

Was my man...
held my hand
When I was little...
Took pictures of me
with you on the
USS Fogg, a Navy Destroyer,
World War II...

Your shipmates
believed, I was your daughter,
you didn't tell them different...

n 1944, as I learned
to print, I printed you
a letter...
that letter was destroyed
when the Fogg was torpedoed
and is buried at sea...
I have the V mail you sent
to Aunt Lydia, asking me
for more letters...

After the war ended,
you came home and started
to rebuild your life on land again.
You and your girlfriend, (Aunt Lydia
you always called her your girlfriend,
years didn't matter)....

You and she bought the house I now own,

C'mon Nonie,
let's get an ice cream cone,
let's get your hair cut,
...you took me to a Barber Shop
Let's buy you a Sailor Suit
Navy Blue
Let's go smelt fishing, lake trout fishing,
Let's get a bike,
Let's teach you piano
and fractions
and poetry...
Robert Louis Stevenson...

Uncle Fran, never once did you say,
I Love You,
you showed me...

Your loving niece, Nonie

Re #19....Thank you for posting that Johnny Gage

hope you have a nice day....

Good morning....

A fight for honor
MIKE HARDEN
Columbus Dispatch of Ohio

Last month, Ray Albert traveled from Ohio to a cemetery in Chattanooga, Tenn. to make a promise at the graves of two men 140 years dead.
"I told them that I wouldn't forget them and that I would get the medal for them," he recalled.

The men, Civil War soldiers from Ohio regiments, were part of a group known as Andrews Raiders. In 1862, they embarked on a secret mission to capture a Confederate train in Georgia and take it north, destroying rebel supply lines behind them as they fled.
Although the plot, known as the Great Locomotive Chase, was foiled, 19 of the 22 Ohio soldiers who attempted to pull it off were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The remaining three - George Wilson, Philip Shadrach and Samuel Llewellyn were not.

No one seems to know why.

All of the raiders were captured by Confederate soldiers. Some, including Llewellyn, later escaped. Wilson and Shadrach were not as fortunate. They were court-martialed and hanged in Atlanta in June, 1862.
Following the war, their bodies were removed to the national cemetery at Chattanooga.

Albert has appealed to Congress to have the oversight corrected.
"All my life I've been interested in the Civil War and in history," said Albert, a 75-year-old tree farmer.
Several years ago, that interest led him to join the Medal of Honor Historical Society.
"It's made up of 100 people scattered across the country," he said of the Society. "We are a group dedicated to honoring the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor."

Albert's efforts often involve locating the graves of Medal of Honor winners to make sure their final resting places make note of their great distinction in service to their nation.
Often the grave markers are barren of any such acknowledgment.
Albert found that to be true of Ohio Civil War hero Robert Wood.
Wood, a coxswain in the Union navy was serving aboard the USS Mt. Washington when the ship came under heavy fire on the Nansemond River, in Virginia.
"The Mt. Washington got hit and the boiler blew up," Albert said. The escaping steam drove all hands from the ship, though Wood returned to his battle station and, despite a severe head wound, returned fire for six hours.
For his valor, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. At war's end, he returned to his Ohio home. Because of the head wound, Albert said of Wood, "He drifted in and out of sanity."
Ultimately he was committed to an insane asylum.

After much tracking, Albert located Wood's grave in a small field near the institution. He was buried among the unclaimed dead of the asylum as well as prisoners who had been executed at the Ohio Penitentiary.
Albert launched a fight - ultimately successful - to disinter the remains.
"My brother, myself and my son excavated the body," he said. "I cried because here was a grave of a Medal of Honor recipient buried among derelicts, people from the institution and convicts."
Wood's remains now rest in Hanoverton beside the grave of his wife and beneath a Medal of Honor headstone.

Obtaining Medals of Honor for the three undecorated soldiers who participated in Andrews Raid, presents a much tougher challenge than Albert fought for Wood.
Congress has requested 300 pages of documentation on the raid from the National Archives to help make a decision on the matter.

Albert noted that when Wilson stood on the scaffold in Atlanta, he asked to address the crowd present to watch him hanged.
He told them he wished them no ill and that he didn't mind dying, for that was a soldier's duty. He said he only regretted that Southerners had been deceived by their secessionist leaders, and that one day the flag of a restored Union would fly above the gallows where he was about to be hanged.
"This was just a simple man talking," Albert said. "A simple soldier. I've been asked, 'Why spend all time to correct something that happened 140 years ago,' but I think it has to be corrected."

"The bravery and dedication of these gallant men should never disappear from our minds. Their heroism is a part of the living history of our nation, a history whose strength is in a large measure due to their indomitable deeds of valor. They gave the last full measure of devotion."

Contact Mike Harden at mharden@dispatch.com.

© Copyright 2002 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Since next Thursday is Thanksgiving, I think it's time for the THANKSGIVING JOKES!

Why can't you take a turkey to church?
Because they use such FOWL language

What are the feathers on a turkey's wings called?
Turkey feathers

What's the best dance to do on Thanksgiving?
The turkey trot

Can a turkey jump higher than the Empire State Building?
Yes - a building can't jump at all

What do you get when you cross a turkey with an octopus?
Enough drumsticks for Thanksgiving

How can you make a turkey float?
You need 2 scoops of ice cream, some root beer, and a turkey

What are the feathers on a turkey's wings called?
Turkey feathers

1 2 3 GROAN!

Mornin', everybody !!

Have a cup while you FReep !

For those who prefer hot chocolate.....

Excellent news on the Dad front ! We saw his hand doctor this morning and they re-scheduled his skin graft for tomorrow ! Quick turnaround, huh?

This is not about Thanksgiving, however, it's a good read, funny, too.

Kid Stuff

Little Hannah watched, fascinated, as her mother smoothed cold cream on
her face.

"Why do you do that, mommy?" she asked.

"To make myself beautiful," said her mother, who then began removing the
cream with a tissue.

"What's the matter?" asked Little Hannah. "Giving up?"

USS Decatur was named in honor of Commodore Stephen Decatur (1779-1820), one of the United States Navy's greatest heros and leaders of the first two decades of the 19th Century.

Born in Sinepuxent, Maryland
January 5, 1779

Died March 22, 1820.

Born in Maryland and raised in Philadelphia, Decatur showed evidence of the bold and courageous man he would become: he was known to dive from the tips of jib booms and, at the age of 14, defended his mother against a drunken ruffian. Commissioned a midshipman in 1798, within a year he was promoted to acting Lieutenant of the UNITED STATES.

Praised for a decisive style of leadership during the encounter with the PHILADELPHIA, Decatur became the most striking figure of the Tripolitan Wars. He subsequently received the commission of Captain, commanding the CONSTITUTION and later the CONGRESS. Responsibility for the gunboat flotilla in the Chesapeake, management of the Norfolk Navy Yard, and command of all U.S. Naval forces on the Southeast coast followed. He also presided over various courts of inquiry for naval affairs.

During the War of 1812, Decatur fought and defeated the MACEDONIAN, the second of his three famous frigate encounters. Other notable encounters include the battle between the PRESIDENT and a British blockade of New York harbor, where Decatur was able to destroy the enemy frigate ENDYMION. The PRESIDENT was later captured and Decatur wounded, but the victory over ENDYMION earned him high praise.

In 1815, Decatur commanded a nine-ship squadron headed for Algiers to settle conflicts which had persisted since 1812. Decatur's abilities as a negotiator were recognized after he secured a treaty with the Algerians and extracted compensation from the Tripolitans. During celebration of the truce with the North African States, Decatur declared his famous line: "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country right or wrong."

From November 1815 until his death, Decatur served on the Board of Navy Commissioners. Successful Naval leaders of Decatur's time were rewarded financially for their exploits; Decatur invested his ample prize money in the Washington, D.C. area, building Decatur House which still stands today in Lafayette Square.

Decatur's death was predictably both heroic and tragic. As Navy Commissioner, he opposed the reinstatement of Captain John Barron whom he had suspended from service much earlier while serving on an inquiry board. Barron responded with a challenge to duel with the much younger Decatur. Ever the honorable warrior, Decatur allowed only a short distance of eight paces out of respect for Barron's faulty eyesight and claimed he would not fire to kill. At the first exchange, Barron was shot in the thigh, Decatur received a fatal shot. All of Washington turned out to mourn the hero who remains today a prominent figure in U.S. Naval history.

Related Resource
http://www.history.navy.mil/cannons/cannons32.html

For the funny bone, do turkeys have one of these?

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.

2) There is always a lot to be thankful for, if you take the time to
look. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is that
wrinkles don't hurt.

3) One reason to smile is that every seven minutes of every day,
someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring.

4) Car sickness is the feeling you get when the monthly car payment is due.

5) The best way to keep kids at home is to make a pleasant
atmosphere - and let the air out of their tires.

6) Families are like fudge . . . mostly sweet, with a few nuts.

7) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

8) Laughing helps. It's like jogging on the inside.

9) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the
toy.

10) My mind not only wanders; sometimes it leaves completely.

11) If you can remain calm, you just don't have all the facts.

My personal favorite is the turkey float! LOL!

For the funny bone...

Your funny bone is located in the Prefrontal cortex, which is toward the back of the frontal lobes of your brain. It's where you appreciate jokes because it fosters flexible thinking, necessary for the surprise that humor requires.

NOW YOU KNOW!!