USO Canteen FReeper Style ~ Military Valentines Day Project Thread 2 ~ January 22 2003

Got any spare warm weather or firewood you can send me?

At sea aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Jan. 19, 2003 -- Aviation Ordnancemen Kevin Nelson and Ron Warfield, both assigned to the "Valions" of Strike Fighter Squadron One Five (VFA-15), transport AIM-7 "Sea Sparrow" missiles to for uploading to attack aircraft before the next launch. The Theodore Roosevelt is conducting training operations in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Sabrina Day.

See You All late tonight.
It's "my Fri" and after work I'll be on one of the 47' Coast Guard Boats doing nightime helo ops training.
The "view" is somehing like this pic, only different helicopter and it will be night time.

At sea aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Jan. 19, 2003 -- A plane director guides an F-14 "Tomcat" assigned to the "Black Lions" of Fighter Squadron Two One Three (VF-213) into launch position on the ship's flight deck. The "Black Lions" are part of Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), embarked aboard Roosevelt, conducting training operations in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd James K. McNeil.

U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit Three (Cairo, Egypt) Jan. 19, 2003 -- Adm. Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), assists U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit Three's (NAMRU-3) Master Chief Joe Diaz with signing his reenlistment contract. Master Chief Diaz, the Command Master Chief of NAMRU-3, will have 42 years' total service upon completion of this reenlistment. The CNO was in Egypt on an official counterpart visit at the invitation of Vice Adm. Tamer Abdel-Alim Mohammed, the Commander in Chief of the Egyptian Navy. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Denny Lester.

Good morning Tonk and troops! This American is happy for all that that you do in defending our great nation! We have a tremendous task before us, and am sure our commander in chief - President Bush will do whatever is necessary to achieve positive results in the end. Godspeed to the troops in the field, and a special thanks to Tonk for his good works in making this page possible daily!

Today's classic warship, USS Topeka (CL-67)

Cleveland class light cruiser
Displacement. 10,000
Lenght. 608' 4"
Beam. 66' 3"
Draft. 25' 0"
Speed. 31.6 k.
Complement. 1,410
Armament. 12 6", 12 5", 28 40mm., 10 20mm

The USS Topeka (CL-67) was laid down on 21 April 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Co. yard located at Quincy, Mass.; launched on 19 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Frank J. Warren, and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 23 December 1944, Capt. Th omas L. Wattles in command.

After shakedown in the West Indies and post-shakedown repairs, Topeka departed Boston on 10 April 1946 for duty with the Pacific Fleet. The following day she joined Oklahoma City (CL-91); and the two ships steamed via Culebra Island a nd Guantanamo Bay to the Panama Canal. They transited the canal on 19 April and reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet on the 20th. The next day, Topeka and her steaming mate headed for Pearl Harbor, where they arrived on 2 May. Following almost three weeks of gunnery exercises in the Hawaiian Islands, the cruiser sailed west from Pearl Harbor as the flagship of Cruiser Division (CruDiv) 18. She entered Ulithi Atoll in the Western Carolines on 1 June and, after three days in the anchorage, put to sea with Bon Homme Richard (CV-31), Oklahoma City, Moale (DD-693), and Ringgold (DD-500) to rendezvous with Task Force (TF) 38.

On her first cruise with the fast carriers, she screened them against enemy air attack while their planes made three raids against targets in the enemy's home islands and the Ryukyus. On 8 June, TF 38 aircraft hit Kanoya on Kyushu-the home of Japanese nav al aviation. The next day, they struck the Ryukyu Islands-specifically Okino Daito, located a little over 200 miles west of Okinawa. The third and final strike of her first combat cruise came on 10 June and provided the cruiser with her initial opportunity to join the fray. While TG 38.1 aircraft bombed and strafed the airfield on Minami Daito, the ships in the screen-Topeka among them- moved in and took the other installations under fire. At the conclusion of that action, Topeka moved off with the rest of TG 38.1 bound for San Pedro Bay, Leyte.

After spending the latter half of June at Leyte for relaxation and replenishment, the light cruiser returned to sea on 1 July with TF 38 for the final six-week carrier sweep of the Japanese home islands. The task force made a fueling rendezvous on the 8th and then began a run-in toward Tokyo which the American planes bombed on 10 July. Next, the ships moved north to Honshu and Hokkaido for a two-day antishipping sweep of the area around Hokadate and Muroran. They retired from the area for another fueling rendezvous on the 16th, but returned to the vicinity of southern Honshu and resumed the aerial blitz of Tokyo on the 17th and 18th. On the night of the latter date, Topeka had another opportunity to strike the enemy directly when she joined Atlanta (CL-104), Duluth (CL-87), Oklahoma City, and the destroyers of DesRon 62 in an antishipping sweep of the entrance to Sagami Nada near the sea approaches to Tokyo. During that sweep, she fired her guns at Japanese installations located on Nojima Zaki, the point of land which marks the eastern terminus of the entrance into Sagami Nada. Completing another replenishment retirement between 19 and 23 July, the task force resumed its air raids on central Japan with two extensive forays against shipping in the Inland Sea on the 24th and the 28th, respectively.

A typhoon at the end of July forced the task force to take evasive action and postpone further air operations until the second week in August. At that time, Topeka steamed north with TF 38 while the carriers moved into position to send sortie after sortie against heavy concentrations of enemy aircraft on northern Honshu. Those raids-launched on 9 and 10 August-proved eminently successful, wiping out what was later learned to be the transportation for 2,000 shock troops being assembled for a one-way, suicide mission to destroy the B-29 bases on Tinian. The carrier planes paid return visits to Tokyo on the 12th and 13th and were taking off to repeat those attacks when a message arrived on the 15th, telling of Japan's capitulation.

Topeka patrolled Japanese waters until mid-September, at which time she entered Tokyo Bay. She remained there until 1 October, the day she began her homeward voyage to the United States. The cruiser stopped briefly at Okinawa on the 4th to embark 529 veterans and resumed her eastern progress on the 5th. On 19 October, she arrived in Portland, Oreg., and disembarked her passengers. Ten days later, she steamed south to San Pedro, Calif., for overhaul. On 3 January 1946, the warship put to sea to return to the Far East. She reached Yokosuka, Japan, on the 24th and began duty supporting American occupation forces in Japan, China, and in the Central Pacific islands. During that tour of duty, which lasted until the following fall, she called at Sasebo, J apan, Tsingtao and Shanghai in China; Manila in the Philippines; and Guam in the Marianas. The cruiser returned to San Pedro, Calif., on 20 November.

Following an overhaul and operations along the west coast, she headed back to the Orient on 22 September 1947. Upon her arrival at Yokosuka, Japan, on 10 October, she became a unit of TF 71. Operating from bases at Shanghai and Tsingtao, the warship patro lled the north China coast while civil war raged on shore between Nationalist and communist factions. She concluded that duty early in March and entered Nagasaki, Japan, on the 8th. Following visits to Sasebo and Kure, Topeka sailed for the United States on 25 April and arrived in Long Beach on 7 May. Later that month, she moved to Pearl Harbor for a four-month overhaul at the completion of which she returned to the west coast. Late in October, the warship resumed local operations out of Long Beach and out of San Diego. She remained so occupied until February 1949. On 25 February, she arrived in San Francisco to prepare for inactivation. Topeka was decommissioned there on 18 June 1949 and berthed with the local group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Early in 1957, Topeka was towed from San Francisco to the New York Naval Shipyard which she entered on 15 April to begin conversion to a guided missile cruiser. On 23 May she was officially redesignated CLG-8. During the almost three years it took to convert her, the cruiser was extensively modified. She retained only half her original gun battery, losing her two after 6-inch triple turrets and her three after 5-inch double mounts. The removal of those guns made room for the installation of her twin Terrier surface-to-air missile launcher and related ancillary equipment.

On 26 March 1960, Topeka was recommissioned, Capt. Frank L. Pinny, Jr., in command. In July, she made the passage from New York to the west coast. From August to October, the refurbished cruiser conducted shakedown training in the southern Californ ia operating area and then reported for duty at her home port, Long Beach. During the ensuing three years, Topeka alternated two peacetime deployments to the western Pacific with repair periods and local operations on the west coast. Her two tours in the Orient were characterized by visits to such places as Hong Kong, the Philippines, Okinawa, and a number of ports in Japan as well as exercises with other ships of the 7th Fleet and of Allied navies. When not deployed to the Far East, she conducted training operations, upkeep, and repairs.

In March 1964, she embarked upon her third deployment to the western Pacific since being recommissioned. That deployment began routinely enough with fleet exercises in May and calls at Japanese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, and Philippine ports. However, in August, North Vietnamese torpedo-boats attacked Maddox (DD-731) on the 2nd and then returned to attack Maddox and Turner Joy (DD-961). This action-known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident-gave the remaining part of Topeka's deployment a more wartime character. Topeka cruised the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin while American involvement in the Vietnam conflict began to gather momentum. It was more than a year, though, before she steamed into war in earnest. Late in October, she started for home and reentered Long Beach near the end of the second week of November. For the next 12 months, she viewed the developing war from afar-operating out of west coast ports, undergoing repairs and modifications, and conducting exercises with the 1st Fleet.

On 29 November 1965, however, she headed back to the western Pacific for the first deployment during which her primary mission was to support the American and South Vietnamese forces fighting the communists. On that tour of duty, she served as the flagship for the Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group, 7th Fleet. In that capacity the ship operated in the South China Sea and in the Gulf of Tonkin providing naval gunfire support for the troops ashore and supporting carrier air operations by conducting search and rescue missions for downed aircrews. She punctuated tours of duty in the combat zone with port visits to Yokosuka, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippine ports of Manila and Subic Bay. Her six-month deployment ended on 28 May 1966 when Topeka reentered Long Beach.

Five months of normal west coast operations-upkeep, training exercises, and the like-followed. On 31 October, the guided missile cruiser entered the naval shipyard for an overhaul during which her weapons systems were updated, and her engineering plant was overhauled. On 13 March 1967, she completed the yard overhaul and began sea trials and, later refresher training. She finished those evolutions early in June and resumed local operations. On 1 August, the warship put to sea from Long Beach for her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. She stopped at Norfolk on 12 and 13 August to embark the Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 12, and his staff and then sailed for Palma de Majorca on the 14th. On the 20th, Topeka joined the 6th Fleet and, on the 22d, relieved Galveston (CLG-3) as flagship for TG 60.2. During her five months with the 6th Fleet, she ranged the length of the "middle sea." In late September and early October, the warship participated in NATO exercise "Eager Beaver," conducted in the eastern end of the Mediterranean. In mid-October, she conducted operations in the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas on her way back to the western end.

In January 1968, she concluded her first tour of duty in the Mediterranean with another NATO exercise-this one an amphibious operation. On the 12th, she was relieved by Columbus (CG-12) at Rota, Spain. The cruiser then headed back to the United States. After stops at Puerto Rico and in the Canal Zone, Topeka reentered Long Beach on 29 January.

On 2 February, the warship began a five-week availability at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. The guided missile cruiser departed Long Beach again on 15 March, bound for her new home port, Mayport, Fla. After arriving at her destination on 21 March, Topeka remained in port for upkeep until 6 May when she returned to sea for refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Returning to Mayport on the 26th, the ship began preparations for another deployment to the Mediterranean-the last deployment of her career.

Topeka departed Mayport on 29 June and, after gunnery exercises at Culebra Island near Puerto Rico, she headed across the Atlantic. On 9 July, she relieved Columbus at Malaga, Spain, and began 6th Fleet operations. The warship's final deploy ment proved to be routine in nature. She visited ports all along the Mediterranean littoral and conducted operations in all portions of the middle sea from the Aegean and Ionian Seas in the east to the Riviera ports in the west. Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and France-as well as the islands of Malta, Crete, and Majorca-provided her with interesting ports of call. Topeka concluded her assignment with the 6th Fleet on 9 December at Rota when she was relieved once again by Columbus. That same day, she headed for Mayport, arriving 10 days later.

On 30 January 1969, Topeka steamed out of Mayport and proceeded north for inactivation. After a stop at Yorktown, Va., to off-load her ordnance, she arrived in Boston on 5 February. There, she completed inactivation preparations; and, on 5 June, Topeka was placed out of commission. The warship was towed to Philadelphia and was berthed with the reserve fleet group there. On 1 December 1973, her name was struck from the Navy list, and, on 20 March 1975, she was sold to the Southern Scrap Material Co., Ltd., for scrapping.

Topeka was awarded two battle stars for her World War II service and three battle stars for her Vietnam service.

Big guns in action?

This is more like it!

At sea aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Jan. 18, 2003 -- An F/A-18C assigned to the "Mighty Shrikes" of Strike Fighter Squadron Nine Four (VFA-94) prepares to land on the ship's flight deck. Nimitz is currently undergoing a Composite Unit Training Exercise (COMPTUEX) off the coast of San Diego, Calif. A COMPTUEX is an exercise designed to forge a battle group into a cohesive fighting force. When successfully completed, the COMPTUEX qualifies the carrier battle group for open ocean operations. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Shannon Renfroe.

At sea aboard USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Jan. 17, 2003 -- Quartermaster 3rd Class Eleazar Valdivia from McMinnville, Ore., takes bearings of terrestrial objects to determine the ship's exact position as she steams through the San Diego, Calif., harbor. Bonhomme Richard is deployed with six other amphibious warships, collectively referred to as Amphibious Task Force West (ATF-W), in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Apprentice Christian Hansen.

Good morning everyone (-:

Thanks for the ping...

Anyone interested in sending a gift to soldiers here at Camp Doha, Kuwait can send them to:

The Chaplain
CFLCC - Chaplain
APO AE 09304

Thanks to all of you for this effort

At sea aboard USS Milius (DDG 69) Jan. 17, 2003 -- Rear Adm. Barry Black, Chief of Naval Chaplains, speaks to Sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer. Rear Adm. Black is accompanying Admiral Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) (far right), and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott (not pictured) on a visit with Sailors, Marines and the joint coalition leadership community in the Persian Gulf region. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera.

At sea aboard USS Constellation (CV 64) Jan. 17, 2003 -- Admiral Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), speaks to Sailors and Marines during an all hands call inside the Constellation's hangar bay. The CNO is traveling with Rear Adm. Barry Black, Chief of Naval Chaplains, and Master Chief Petty Officer Terry Scott, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON). The three Navy leaders are in the Persian Gulf region visiting with Sailors and Marines as well as the joint coalition leadership community. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on January 22:
1440 Ivan III the Great, Russian czar (1462-1505)/conquered Lithuania
1561 Francis Bacon England, statesman/essayist (Novum Organum)
1571 Robert Bruce Cotton English antiquary, politician
1592 Pierre Gassendi Champtercier Provence, scientist/philosopher
1649 Pascal Collasse composer
1655 Geleyn Evertsen Lieutenant-Admiral (Zealand)
1707 Carl Hockh composer
1709 Joseph Reipel composer
1727 Claude-Benigne Balbastre composer
1729 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Germany, critic/dramatist
1729 Giuseppe Luigi Tibaldi composer
1748 Lewis Edson composer
1753 Peter Fuchs composer
1756 Vincenzo Righini composer
1766 Antoine-Vincent Arnault French writer (Les Vénitiens)
1779 Stefano Pavesi composer
1781 François-Antoine Habeneck composer
1788 Lord [George Gordon Noel] Byron England, romantic poet (Don Juan)
1802 Richard Upjohn US, gothic architect (Trinity Chapel, New York)
1815 Ferdinand Christian Wilhelm Praeger composer
1820 Hermann von Lingg German playwright/poet
1820 Johan Hendrik Koelman portrait painter (Jahresringe)
1824 Josef Leopold Zvonar composer
1826 [Merriwether] Jeff Thompson Partisan (Confederate Army), died in 1876
1842 Charles Henri Marechal composer
1845 Jacob Verdam Dutch philologist
1845 Paul Vidal de la Blanche France, geographer
1848 Samuel Muller Dutch historian/archivist (Middle Ages)
1849 August Strindberg Sweden, dramatist/novelist (Apologia)
1855 Ernst Kullak composer
1858 Betrice Potter Webb England, economist
1858 Frederick Lugard British captain/baron (Congo)
1861 Karel Stecker composer
1865 Friedrich Paschen German physicist
1870 Charles Arnold Tournemire composer
1871 Leon Jessel composer
1874 Wincenty Witoz Galicia, PM of Poland (1920-21, 1923, 1926)
1875 Bonifacius C de Jonge Governor (Dutch East Indies)
1875 D[avid] W Griffith movie producer/director (Birth of a Nation)
1875 Thomas W Ross actor (Without Limit, Kings Row, 17, Mortal Storm)
1877 Hjalmar Schacht president of German Reichsbank/minister of Economics
1878 Constance Collier Windsor England, actress/writer (Kitty, Whirlpool)
1878 Francis Picabia French painter/illustrator
1886 John Joseph Becker composer
1890 Fred M Vinson Kentucky, 13th Chief Justice of US Supreme Court (1946-53)
1891 Franz Alexander Hungarian/US psycho analytical
1891 Moise Kisling Polish/French painter (La Souris Boiteuse)
1892 Marcel Dassault [Bloch], French airplane builder
1893 Conrad Veidt Potsdam Germany, actor (Cabinet of Dr Caligari)
1894 Charles Morgan England, writer (Fountain)
1894 Matt McHugh PA, actor (Taxi, Freaks, Barbary Coast, Innocent Affair)
1897 Josef Stanislav composer
1897 Rosa Ponselle opera diva (Casta Diva, La Forza del Destino)
1898 Ross R Barnett lawyer/(Gov-D-MS)
1898 Alexander Abramsky composer
1898 Ben van Eysselsteijn Dutch writer (Arid Earth)
1898 Gustaf Paulson composer
1898 Hans van Werveke Flemish historian (Diocese Terwaan)
1899 Guido Kisch Czech/German/US historian (Jews in medieval Germany)
1899 Martti Haavio [P Mastapää], Finnish linguist/poet
19-- Dawn Smith Jackson TN, actress (Jolene-Joe Forrester)
19-- Steve Riley rock drummer (LA Guns-It's Over Now)
1900 Franz Salmhofer composer
1901 Hans-Erich Apostel Austrian composer (Sonata Ritmica)
1903 Robin Humphrey Milford composer
1904 George Balanchine composer/choreographer
1906 Robert E[rvin] Howard US, sci-fi author (Conan the Conqueror)
1906 Willa B Brown (Coffey) US black air pioneer (NAAA)
1907 Marie Dressler actress (Anna Christie, Dinner at 8)
1909 Ann Sothern [Harriette Lake], North Dakota, actress (Lady in a Cage, My Mother the Car)
1909 Lev D Landau Russian physicist (Nobel 1962)
1909 [Sithu] U Thant Burma, 3rd UN Secretary-General (1962-72)
1911 Bruno Kreisky Austria, bandleader/chancellor (1970-83)
1911 Roberto Garcia Morillo composer
1913 Verdina Shlonsky composer
1914 Dimitri Dragatakis composer
1914 Suzanne Danco Belgian singer
1915 Tom Burtt cricketer (slow left-armer took 33 wickets for New Zealand)
1916 Henri Dutilleux Angers France, composer
1917 Albert "Pud" Brown clarinetist/saxophonist
1917 Herwig Hensen [Flor Mielants], Flemish poet/playwright
1918 Richard Eastham Opelousas LA, actor (Wonder Woman, Falcon Crest)
1920 William Warfield singer (Show Boat)
1920 George Breakston Paris France, actor/director (Jungle Stampede)
1920 Piet Van Lishout Flemish writer (Eva & I)
1921 Andre Hodeir composer
1921 Andy Ganteaume cricketer (West Indies batsman, 112 in only Test innings 1948)
1922 Howard Moss poet/editor (New Yorker)
1923 Diana Douglas Devonshire Bermuda, actress (The Cowboys)
1923 Friedrich Zehm composer
1923 Leslie Bassett composer
1924 J J Johnson composer/jazz trombonist
1924 Margaret Whiting big band singer
1925 Leslie Silver English paint manufacturer/multi-millionaire
1926 Lord Erskine of Rerrick peer
1926 Tom Blackburn writer
1927 Joe Perry NFL Hall-of-Famer
1927 Lou Creekmur Baseball Hall-of-Famer
1928 Birch Bayh (Senator-D-IN)
1929 Rita Gillespie TV director
1930 Roy Cooper London England, actor (Amistad, Julian Po, Trevor-Beacon Hill)
1931 Rauno Makinen Finland, Greco-Roman featherweight (Olympics-gold-1956)
1931 Sam Cooke Clarksdale MS, gospel & blues singer (You Send Me, Another Saturday Night, Twisting The Night Away)
1931 Galina Zybina USSR, discus thrower (15 world records between 1952-58)
1932 Piper Laurie [Rosetta Jacobs], Detroit MI, actress (Twin Peaks)
1934 Bill Bixby San Francisco CA, actor (Incredible Hulk, My Favorite Martian)
1934 Graham Kerr chef (Galloping Gourmet)
1935 Pierre S Du Pont IV (Governor-DE)
1935 Seymour Cassel Detroit MI, actor (Faces, Plain Clothes, Valentino)
1937 Eden Pastora Gomez Nicaraguan contra leader
1937 Joseph Wambaugh East Pittsburgh PA, police writer (Onion Fields)
1940 Addie "Micki" Harris Passaic NJ, singer (Shirelles-Soldier Boy)
1940 John Hurt England, actor (Elephant Man, Alien, Midnight Express)
1940 Tilo Medek German composer
1943 H James "Jim" Saxton (Representative-R-NJ, 1984- )
1945 Michael Cristofer actor/writer (Little Drummer Girl)
1945 Oliver rocker
1946 Andrew Rubin New Bedford MA, actor (Hometown, Joe Bash)
1949 James P Pennington rocker (Exile)
1949 Rein P Hummel Dutch MP (PvdA)
1949 Steve Perry Hanford CA, vocalist (Journey-Open Arms, Oh Sherry)
1952 Karen Moe [Thornton] US swimmer (Olympics-gold-1972)
1952 Teddy Gentry Fort Payne AL, country music star (Alabama-Mountain Music, Take Me Down)
1953 Myung-Whun Chung Seoul South Korea, pianist/conductor
1954 Chris Lemmon Los Angeles CA, actor (Brothers & Sisters, Duet)
1955 Thomas David Jones Baltimore MD, PhD/Astronaut (STS 59, 68, 80, sk 98)
1956 Becky Pearson LPGA golfer
1956 John Wesley Shipp actor (The Flash, Dawson's Creek, Kelly-Guiding Light)
1957 Mike Bossy NHL forward (New York Islanders)
1959 Linda Blair St Louis MO, actress (Exorcist, Chained Heat, Savage St)
1960 Michael Hutchence Australia, rock vocalist/actor (INXS-Need You Tonight, Dogs in Space)
1961 Barb Thomas Whitehead Sibley IA, LPGA golfer (1995 Hawaiian Open)
1962 Robert Mailhouse New Haven CT, actor (Brian-Days of our Life)
1963 Diane Lane New York City NY, actress (Cotton Club, 6 Pack, Big Town)
1963 Jeff Treadway US baseball infielder (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1964 Ann Rowe Auburn Maine, Miss Maine-America (1990)
1964 Maria Ellingsen Reykjavik Iceland, actress (Katrina-Santa Barbara)
1964 Stojko Vrankovic NBA center (Los Angeles Clippers)
1964 Wayne Kirby Williamsburg VA, outfielder (Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers)
1965 Jazzy Jeff Townes rapper (Parents Just Don't Understand)
1965 Ray Mayhew rocker (Sigue Sigue Sputnik-Love Missile F-111)
1965 Steven Adler Cleveland OH, drummer (Guns & Roses-Sweet Child)
1965 Tim Prukop WLAF linebacker-secondary coach (Amsterdam Admirals)
1966 Carlton Haselrig NFL guard (New York Jets)
1966 Nishantha Ranatunga cricket (brother of Arjuna Sri Lankan ODI allrounder)
1967 Manabu Nakanishi wrestler (NJPW)
1967 Nicholas Gillingham British swimmer (world record 200m freestyle)
1967 Olivia d'Abo London England, actress (Wonder Years, Single Guy)
1968 Andrey Sokolov hockey defenseman (Team Kazakhstan Olympics-1998)
1968 Brian Jones NFL linebacker (New Orleans Saints)
1969 Christina Marie Leardini St Petersburg FL, playmate (April 1991)
1969 Keith Gordon US baseball outfielder (Cincinnati Reds)
1969 Ousmane Bary WLAF cornerback (Barcelona Dragons)
1969 Shelley Sandie Australian basketball guard (Olympics-88, 96)
1969 Vinnie Clark NFL cornerback (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1970 Brian Gaskill actor (David Michaels-Models Inc, Bob-All My Children)
1970 Keith Wagner NFL/WLAF tackle (New York Giants, Redskins, Scot Claymores)
1971 Bucky Brooks wide receiver (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1971 Jennifer Christine Joseph Wendover NV, Miss Nevada-America (1995)
1972 Steve Scifres guard/tackle (Dallas Cowboys)
1972 Toddrick McIntosh NFL defensive end (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1973 Deon Minor Paris Texas, 400m runner
1973 George Noga CFL linebacker (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1973 Reggie Barlow wide receiver (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1973 Said Larossi soccer player (Emmen/Vitesse)
1973 Vincent Bradford linebacker (San Francisco 49ers)
1974 Pavel Mikhalevitch soccer player (NEC)
1974 Stephanie Rottier St Niklaas Belgium, tennis star (1995 semi Prague)
1975 Lee Maxwell Francis Vertongen Palmerston North New Zealand, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1976 Balthazar Getty actor (Young Guns 2, Lord of the Flies)
1979 Melanie Winiger Miss Switzerland-Universe (1997)
1982 Kevin Sheridan actor (Soul Man)
2179 Hikaru Walter Sulu San Francisco CA, (character on Star Trek)

Deaths which occurred on January 22:
1336 Louis III last Earl of Loon, dies
1531 Andrea del Sarto Italian artist, dies at 43
1552 Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, beheaded for treason
1581 Joost de Damhoudere Flemish lawyer, dies
1581 Seerp Galama Dutch nobleman/military/politician, dies at 52
1599 Cristofano Malvezzi composer, dies at 51
1640 Erasmus Quellinus I Flemish wood carver, dies at about 55
1700 Jacob Balthasar Schutz composer, dies at 39
1781 Johann Siebenkas composer, dies at 66
1796 Bernhard Hupfeld composer, dies at 78
1798 Lewis Morris US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 71
1798 Matija A Reljkovic Croatian writer (Satire of Wild Man), dies at 66
1799 Horace B de Saussure Swiss physicist/geologist/alpinist, dies at 58
1847 Georges-Julien Sieber composer, dies at 71
1850 Vincenzo Pallotti Italian saint, dies at 54
1852 George Rodwell composer, dies at 51
1868 Moritz Ganz composer, dies at 61
1879 Anthony Durnford British Colonel, dies in battle
1879 George Shepstone British political affiliate, dies in battle
1893 Vincenz Lachner composer, dies at 81
1895 Edward Solomon composer, dies at 39
1901 Victoria [Alexandrine], Britain's Queen (1837-1901), dies at 81
1909 Richard A C E Erlenmeyer German chemist, dies at 83
1913 Ferdinand van der Haeghen Flemish librarian/bibliographer, dies at 82
1914 Frederik Rung composer, dies at 60
1916 Iwan Knorr composer, dies at 63
1922 Benedictus XV [Giacomo Markies D Chiesa], pope (1914-22), dies at 67
1923 Max Nordau [Südfeld], German physician/zionists leader, dies at 73
1924 Maurice du Plessys French poet (Le Feu Sacré), dies at 59
1936 Louis Glass composer, dies at 71
1942 Reimond Tollenaere leader Flemish National Front, dies at 81
1942 Walter Richard Sickert British painter (Free House!), dies at 81
1945 A Wolfenstein writer, dies at 61
1945 Carlo Felice Boghen composer, dies a day before 76th birthday
1945 Else Lasker-Schüler writer, dies at 48
1945 Johan Eykman theologist (World Church), dies at 52
1950 Alan Hale Sr actor (The Seahawk, Yellowstone), dies at 57
1951 Eastwood Lane composer, dies at 71
1952 Roger Vitrac French poet/dramatist (Mysteries of Love), dies at 52
1956 P A M Speet Dutch broadcast CEO (KRO), dies
1959 A J Else Mauhs German/Dutch actress (Hamlet, Nora), dies at 73
1964 Marc Blitzstein US composer (Cradle Will Rock), dies at 58
1966 Herbert Marshall actor (Dark Angel, Duel in the Sun), dies at 75
1967 Jobyna Ralston actress (Wings, Girl Shy, Freshman), dies at 66
1968 Duke Kahanamoku Hawaii, 100m swimmer (Olympics-gold-1912, 20, 24), dies at 77
1969 Judy Garland singer/actress (Wizard of Oz), dies at 48 of an overdose
1973 Lyndon B Johnson President (1963-69), dies at his Texas ranch at 64
1974 Leon Lontoc actor (Henry-Burke's Law), dies at 64
1975 Klaas Voskuil Dutch journalist, dies at 79
1978 Herbert Sutcliffe cricketer (54 Tests for England 4555 runs), dies
1979 Ali Hassan Salameh [Abu Hassan], killed by car bomb; believed to have helped mastermind massacre of 1972 Munich Olympics athletes
1980 Iris Meredith actress (Lawless Land, Gambling Terror), dies at 64
1981 Fannie Thomas US, dies at 113
1982 Eduardo Frei Montalva President of Chile (1964-70), dies at 71
1983 Fred Bakewell cricketer (dashing England bat of 30s, 6 Tests), dies
1987 R Budd Dwyer Pennsylvania State Treasurer, facing prison for conspiracy & perjury, shot himself to death at a televised news conference
1988 Georgi M Malenkov Russian premier (1953-55), dies at 86
1988 Parker Fennelly actor (Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm), dies at 96
1992 A J Antoon director (That Championship Season), dies at 47
1992 Ali Amini PM of Iran (1961-62), dies
1993 Alexander Bodon Hung-Dutch architect (RAI, Dollywood), dies at 86
1993 Charlie Gehringer baseball player, dies at 89
1993 Kobo Abe Japanese writer (Wife in the Sand), dies at 68
1993 Maria Vlamynck Flemish author, dies at 75
1994 Frances Gifford dies of emphysema, at 71
1994 Irving B Kahn inventor (teleprompter), dies at 76
1994 Jean-Louis Barrault French actor (La Ronde), dies at 83
1994 Telly Savalas actor (Kojak), dies of prostate cancer at 70
1995 Christopher Francis Palmer orchestrater/author, dies at 48
1995 Mahmoud Sayed Selim Egyptian Muslim leader, shot to death at 29
1995 Margaret Barbara Lambert British historian (Saar), dies at 88
1995 Nico Adriaans founder of Rotterdam Junkiebond, dies of AIDS at 37
1995 Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy mother of President John F Kennedy, dies at 104
1996 Edward Thomas historian/intelligence expert, dies at 77
1996 Efua Theodore Sutherland writer, dies at 71
1996 Mabel Leigh potter, dies at 80
1996 Yisrael Eldad extremist politician, dies at 85
1997 Ian Arthur Hoyle Munro medical journalist, dies at 73
1997 Irwin Levine composer (Tie a Yellow Ribbon), dies at 58
1997 Mollie Panter-Downes writer , dies at 90
1997 Wally Whyton musician/broadcaster, dies at 66

On this day...
0871 Battle at Basing Danish invasion army beats Ethelred of Wessex
1371 King Robert II Stuart of Scotland crowned
1510 Jews are expelled from Colmar Germany
1517 Turks conquer Cairo
1528 England & France declare war on Emperor Charles V
1575 English queen Elizabeth I grants Thomas Tallis & William Byrd music press monopoly
1584 Parts of Switzerland adopt Gregorian calendar (& parts in 1812)
1588 Pope Sixtus V decrees "Immense aeterni" (Reformed curia)
1673 Postal service between New York & Boston inaugurated
1689 Lord Halifax becomes Speaker of English House of Lords
1689 Prince Willem III calls English parliament together
1690 Iroquois tribes renew allegiance to British against French
1758 Russian troops occupy Königsberg, East Prussia
1760 Battle at Wandewash India British troops beat French
1771 Spain cedes the Falkland Islands to Britain
1775 Marshal Oscar von Lubomirski expels Jews from Warsaw Poland
1798 Coup of Midderigh
1813 Americans capture Frenchtown, Canada
1814 1st Knights Templar grand encampment in US held, New York City NY
1816 Lord Byron completes "Parisina" & "The Siege of Corinth"
1817 English freighter Diana sinks off Malaysia
1831 Charles Darwin takes his Bachelor of Arts exam
1837 Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands
1850 Alta California becomes a daily paper, 1st such in California
1857 National Association of Baseball Players founded, NY
1859 Brahms' 1st piano concerto (in D minor) premieres, Hanover
1862 Confederate government raises premium for volunteers from $10 to $20
1863 Union General Burnside's "Mud March"
1873 Britains SS Northfleet sinks at Dungeness England, 300 die
1879 James Shields (D) elected US senator from Missouri after previously serving as US senator from Illinois & Minnesota
1879 Zulus attack British Army camp in Isandhlwana South Africa
1881 Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" erected in Central Park
1883 England complete 1st innings victory in Tests vs Australia MCG
1890 José Marti forms La Liga (Union of Cuban exiles) in New York City NY
1895 National Association of Manufacturers organized in Cincinnati OH
1901 After 63 years England stops sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series & begins King Edward VII series
1905 "Bloody Sunday"; Russian demonstrators fired on by tsarist troops
1909 Vassily Kandinsky forms Künstlerverein in Munich
1910 The opera "Germania" is 1st performed in New York City NY
1914 Paul Claudel's "L'échange" premieres in Paris
1918 Ukraine proclaimed a free republic (German puppet)
1924 KGO-AM in San Francisco CA begins radio transmissions
1924 Baldwin government resigns in England
1924 Dutch Blast Furnace & Steel Factory opens
1925 Albania Republic proclaimed under President Achmed Zogu
1926 Belgian chief of staff General Maglinse quits
1930 -35ºF (-37ºC), Mount Carroll IL (state record)
1931 French government of Steeg falls
1931 VARA begins experimental TV broadcast in Diamantbeurs Amsterdam
1932 British Anglicans & Old-Catholic church merge
1934 Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady MacBeth" premieres in Leningrad
1936 French Laval government falls
1938 "Our Town", Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winner of small-town life in Grover's Corners NH, performed publicly for 1st time (New Jersey)
1939 Aquatic Park, near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco CA, is dedicated
1939 Uranium atom 1st split, Columbia University
1940 1st radio broadcast of "Road to Happiness" on CBS
1941 1st mass killing of Jews in Romania
1941 British/Australian troops capture Tobruk from Italians
1942 Japanese air raid on Rabaul, New Britain
1942 Sietze de Groot wins 8th Dutch 11 city skate (8 44 06)
1943 66.3 cm precipitation at Hoegees Camp CA (state record)
1943 Joint Chiefs of Staff determine invasion in Sicily for July 10th
1943 Temperature rises 49ºF (9ºC) in 2 minutes in Spearfish SD
1944 Battle of Anzio (Italy); Allies stopped on the beach
1945 Burma highway reopens
1945 Heavy US air raid on Okinawa
1946 US President sets up CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
1947 KTLA TV channel 5 in Los Angeles CA (IND) begins broadcasting (1st commercial TV station west of Mississippi)
1948 Jim Laker takes 7-103 in his 1st Test Cricket innings vs West Indies Barbados
1949 Chinatown telephone exchange closed
1949 "All for Love" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater New York City NY for 121 performances
1950 Polly Riley wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
1951 Fidel Castro ejected from a Winter League game after beaning batter
1951 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Johncrowe Ransom
1953 Arthur Miller's "Crucible" premieres in New York City NY
1955 Norwegian government of Einar Gerhardsen forms
1956 30 die in a train crash in Los Angeles
1956 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
1956 Canadian Football Council forms
1957 Israeli forces withdraw from the Sinai Penisula
1957 Mad Bomber (George P Metesky) accused of 30 explosions, arrested
1958 KRSD (now KEVN) TV channel 7 in Rapid City SD (ABC) 1st broadcast
1959 USAF concludes less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects
1960 10th NBA All-Star Game East beats West 125-115 at Philadelphia
1960 Coal mine of Johnburg caves-in, 417 die
1960 French President De Gaulle escapes attempt by General Massu
1960 Paul Pender beats Sugar Ray Robinson for middleweight boxing title
1963 Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Naples Professional Golf Tournament
1964 World's largest cheese (15,723 kg) manufactured, Wisconsin
1964 Kenneth Kaunda becomes premier of North-Rhodesia (Zambia)
1965 US launches TIROS 9 weather satellite
1967 NFL Pro Bowl East beats West 20-10
1968 "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premieres on NBC
1968 Apollo 5 launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made
1968 NBA announces it will expand to Milwaukee & Phoenix
1969 Billy Preston becomes the 5th Beatle
1969 Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit
1969 "Celebration" opens at Ambassador Theater New York City NY for 110 performances
1969 Roy Campanella & Stan Musial elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1970 1st commercial Boeing 747 flight (Pan Am), New York to London in 6½ hours
1970 Test debut of Barry Richards, South Africa vs Australia, Cape Town
1971 John & Yoko record "Power to the People"
1972 "Emergency" with Robert Fuller premieres on NBC TV
1972 22nd NBA All-Star Game West beats East 112-110 at Los Angeles
1973 George Foreman TKOs Joe Frazier in 2 for heavyweight boxing title
1973 Roe vs Wade US Supreme Court legalizes some abortions
1973 US, North & South Vietnam & Vietcong sign boundary accord
1975 Landsat 2, an Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched
1976 Bank robbery in Beirut nets $20-50 million (record)
1980 PGA begins a senior golf tour
1980 Dissidents Andrei Sacharov & Jelena Bonner banished to Gorki
1980 West Indies beat England 2-0 to win 1st World Series Cup
1981 40th Islander shut-out opponent-3-0 vs Red Wings-Billy Smith 15th
1981 O A "Bum" Phillips becomes head coach of the New Orleans Saints
1982 75% of North America is covered by snow
1983 2nd flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 22 seconds
1983 Houston is 1st NBA team to be held scoreless in an overtime Portland Trail Blazers out score them 17-0 & win 113-96
1984 Annette Kennedy of SUNY sets women's basketball record with 70 points
1984 Hilbert van de Thumb becomes European all-round skates
1984 Super Bowl XVIII Los Angeles Raiders beat Washington Redskins, 38-9 in Tampa; Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen, Los Angeles Raiders, Running Back
1985 -30ºF (-34ºC), Mountain Lake Bio Station, Virginia (state record)
1985 Cold wave damages 90% of Florida's citrus crop
1985 Zak Starkey (Ringo's son) marries Sarah Menikides
1985 Kelly Hu, 16, of Hawaii, crowned 3rd Miss Teen USA
1986 Ghorbanifar 1st suggests diversion of cash to contras, says North
1987 Blizzard in New Jersey, as 334 attend the Devils-Flame NHL game, New Jersey wins 7-5
1988 1st-class cricket debut of Brian Lara, Trinidad & Tobago vs Leeward Island
1988 1st-class cricket debut of Hansie Cronje, OFS vs Transvaal
1988 Mike Tyson TKOs Larry Holmes in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
1989 Super Bowl XXIII San Francisco 49ers beat Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16 in Miami; Super Bowl MVP Jerry Rice, San Francisco, Wide Receiver
1989 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakstan/Semipalatinsk USSR
1990 Will Clark, NL's MVP signs a $15M 4-year contract with San Francisco Giants
1990 17th American Music Award Milli Vanilli
1990 Wasim Akram scores Test century (123) at Adelaide
1992 Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) launches into space
1992 Princess Sarah Ferguson wears paper bag over her head on airline ride
1993 Johan Koss skates world record 5 km in 6 38.77
1994 45th NHL All-Star Game East beat West 9-8 at New York Rangers
1994 5.5 earthquake strikes Sumatra
1994 51st Golden Globes Schlinder's List, Steven Spielberg
1995 Palestinian bomb attack in Beit Lid Israel, 21-22 killed
1995 Pat Bradley wins LPGA HealthSouth Inaugural Golf Tournament
1997 Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns to Earth, Successful
1998 NHL's Minnesota franchise selects the nickname Wild
1998 Rickey Henderson, rejoins Oakland A's for 4th time
1998 STS 89 (Endeavour 12) launches into orbit
1998 World League of American Football becomes NFL East

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

Ukraine : Ukrainian Day (1918)
China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Monkey (2004/4702)

Religious Observances
Roman Catholic, Anglican : Memorial of St Vincent, martyr/patron of wine growers
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Anastasius, martyr
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Vincent Pallotti, Italian priest, founder

Religious History
1522 German Reformer Martin Luther wrote in a letter: 'Love cares for the problems of others as if they were one's own.'
1843 Birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Blass, German biblical philologist. His 1896 "Grammar of New Testament Greek" became a foundational work in New Testament studies, and is still in print.
1855 Birth of Carrie Ellis Breck, American Presbyterian poet. Several of her verses later became hymns, including "Help Somebody Today" and "Face to Face with Christ My Savior."
1882 The Fifth Street Presbyterian Church of Troy, New York, became the first church in America to be illuminated by electric lighting.
1963 Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth wrote in a letter: 'In Jesus Christ, God and man...are already at peace Ä not as enemies but as true companions. In Him salvation is already present and at work.'

Thought for the day :
" Early to rise and ditto to bed, make a man healthy, but socially dead. "

...................ok, I'm done...........

Mornin', everybody !! Happy Hump Day !

Oh, and I've got JURY DUTY tomorrow !
They must love me downtown Dallas, I get called so frequently...

Have a cup while you FReep !

For those who prefer hot chocolate.....

1930 -35ºF (-37ºC), Mount Carroll IL (state record)

More proof of global warming.

GOOD MORNING TROOPS!

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY!