The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Douglas Munro, Medal of Honor Recipient (9/27/1942) - Mar 10th, 2004

www.uscg.mil ^ | Dr. Robert M. Browning Jr.

[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.
.

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

...................................................................................... ...........................................

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Douglas Munro At Guadalcanal

The Coast Guard's first major participation in the Pacific war was at Guadalcanal. Here the service played a large part in the landings on the islands. So critical was their task that they were later involved in every major amphibious campaign during World War II. During the war, the Coast Guard manned over 350 ships and hundreds more amphibious type assault craft. It was in these ships and craft that the Coast Guard fulfilled one of its most important but least glamorous roles during the war--that is getting the men to the beaches. The initial landings were made on Guadalcanal in August 1942, and this hard-fought campaign lasted for nearly six months. Seven weeks after the initial landings, during a small engagement near the Matanikau River, Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro, died while rescuing a group of marines near the Matanikau River. Posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor, he lived up to the Coast Guard's motto--"Semper Paratus."

Douglas Munro grew up in the small town of Cle Elum, Washington. Enlisting in September 1939, Munro volunteered for duty on board the USCG cutter Spencer where he served until 1941. While on board he earned his Signalman 3rd Class rating. In June, President Roosevelt directed the Coast Guard to man four large transports and serve in mixed crews on board twenty-two naval ships. When word arrived that these ships needed signalmen, Munro, after much pleading with Spencer's executive officer, was given permission to transfer to the Hunter Liggett (APA-14). This 535 foot, 13,712 ton ship, was one of the largest transports in the Pacific. She carried nearly 700 officers and men and thirty-five landing boats including two LCTs. In April 1942, the "Lucky Liggett" sailed to Wellington, New Zealand, to prepare for a major campaign in the south pacific.

On 7 August 1942, the United States embarked on its first major amphibious assault of the Pacific War. After the successes at Coral Sea and Midway the United States decided to counter Japanese advances in the Solomon Islands. These islands form two parallel lines that run southeast approximately 600 miles east of New Guinea. Tulagi and Guadalcanal, both at the end of the chain were picked for an assault. Guadalcanal was strategically important because the Japanese were building an airfield, and if finished would interfere with the campaign.


Douglas Munro and his sister in Elum

Eighteen of the twenty-two naval troop carrying ships attached to the campaign's task force carried Coast Guard personnel. These men were assigned an integral part in the landings--the operation of the landing craft. Many of the Coast Guard coxswains had come from Life-Saving stations and their experience with small boats made them the most seasoned small boat handlers in government service.

The Coast Guard manned transports played a prominent role in the initial landings at Guadalcanal, Tulagi and other nearby islands. As the task force gathered, Munro, now a signalman first-class, was assigned to temporary duty on the staff of Commander, Transport Division Seventeen. During the preparations for the invasion, Munro was transferred from ship to ship, as his talents were needed. The task force rendezvoused at sea near the end of July and on 7 August the Liggett led the other transports to their anchorage off Guadalcanal. Hunter Liggett served as the amphibious force command post until the Marines secured the beaches.


LCPL - Landing Craft, Personnel, Large

At he time of the invasion, Munro was attached to the staff of Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner on board McCawley (APA-4). Munro made the landing on Tulagi Island where fierce fighting lasted for several days. About two weeks later Munro was sent twenty miles across the channel to Guadalcanal where the Marines had landed and had driven inland. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ensued. The Americans quickly seized the airfield on the island but for six months both the U.S. and the Japanese poured troops onto Guadalcanal in an attempt to gain control and force the other off.

After the initial landings at Guadalcanal, Munro and twenty-four other Coast Guard and Navy personnel were assigned to Lunga Point Base. The base was commanded by Commander Dwight H. Dexter, USCG, who was in charge of all the small boat operations on Guadalcanal. The base, situated on the Lever Brothers coconut plantation consisted of a small house with a newly constructed coconut tree signal tower. Munro was assigned here because of his signalman rate. The base served as the staging area for troop movements along the coast. To facilitate this movement, a pool of landing craft from the numerous transports lay there to expedite the transportation of supplies and men.


Site of Douglas Munro's battle today

A month into the campaign, the Marines on the island were reinforced and decided to push beyond their defensive perimeter. They planned to advance west across the Matanikau River to prevent smaller Japanese units from combining and striking American positions in overwhelming numbers. For several days near the end of September, the Marines tried to cross the river from the east and each time met tremendous resistance. On Sunday, 27 September, Marine Lieutenant Colonel Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller embarked three companies of his 7th Marines in landing craft. They planned to land west of the river, drive out the Japanese, and establish a patrol base on the west side of the Matanikau.

The landing craft were dispatched from Lunga Base. Douglas Munro, just two weeks short of his twenty-third birthday, took charge of ten LCPs and LCTs (tank lighters) to transport Puller's men from Lunga Point to a small cove west of Point Cruz. The Marines landed with the support of the destroyer U.S.S. Monssen which laid down a covering barrage with her five inch batteries shortly after twelve o'clock. Major Ortho L. Rodgers, commanding the landing party reached the beach in two waves at 1:00. The 500 unopposed Marines pushed inland and reorganized on a ridge about 500 yards from the beach. At about 1:50, approximately the same time they reached the ridge, their gunfire support was disrupted by a Japanese bombing raid. Monssen had to withdraw to avoid seventeen high level Japanese bombers. Unfortunately, this occurred at the same time that the Marines were struck by an overwhelming Japanese force west of the river. This situation deteriorated when Major Rodgers was killed and one of the company commanders was wounded.



After the Marines landed, Munro and the boats returned to Lunga Point Base. A single LCP remained behind to take off the immediate wounded. Coast Guard petty officer Ray Evans and Navy Coxswain Samuel B. Roberts manned the craft. They kept the craft extremely close to the beach to take off the wounded as quickly as possible. The Japanese, meanwhile had worked behind the Marines and without warning a machine gun burst hit the LCP parting the rudder cable and damaging the boat's controls. After jury rigging the rudder, Roberts was struck by enemy fire and Evans managed to jam the controls to full ahead and sped back to Lunga Point Base. Unable to stop, the LCP ran onto the beach at 20 mph. Roberts later died but won the Navy Cross posthumously.

As Evans arrived at the Lunga Point base, word arrived that the Marines were in trouble and were being driven back toward the beach. Their immediate plight had not been known. The bombing raid had driven Monssen out of range to visually communicate with shore. Furthermore, the three companies of Marines had failed to take a radio and were unable to convey their predicament. Using under-shirts they spelled out the word "HELP" on a ridge not far from the beach. Second Lieutenant Dale Leslie in a Douglas SBD spotted the message and passed it by radio to another Marine unit. At 4 P.M. Lt. Colonel Puller, realizing that his men were isolated, embarked on Monssen to direct personally the covering fire for the marines who were desperately trying to reach the beach.


1st Battalion, 7th marines withdraws from its expossed position West of Point Cruz under artillery and Naval gunfire support
On this beach Companies A,B and D of the 1st Battalion / 7th Marines landed on 27 September 1942.They moved 500 yards inland to the top of Hill 84 (where the King Solomon is now) , where they were trapped by the Japanese.
Supported by naval gunfire they withdrew to the beach area between the tennis club and the Mendana Hotel (now the site of the National Gallery and Prime Ministers offices)

The landing craft had meanwhile been readied at Lunga Point Base. Again, virtually the same boats that had put the Marines on the beach were assembled to extract them. Douglas Munro, who had taken charge of the original landing, volunteered to lead the boats back to the beach. None of these boats were heavily armed or well protected. For instance, Munro's Higgin's boat had a plywood hull, it was slow, vulnerable to small arms fire, and was armed only with two air-cooled .30 caliber Lewis machine guns.

As Munro led the boats ashore the Japanese fired on the small craft from Point Cruz, the ridges abandoned by the Marines, and from positions east of the beach. This intense fire from three strong interlocking positions disrupted the landing and caused a number of casualties among the virtually defenseless crews in the boats. Despite the intense fire Munro led the boats ashore. Reaching the shore in waves, Munro led them to the beach two or three at a time to pick up the Marines. Munro and Petty Officer Raymond Evans provided covering fire from an exposed position on the beach.


DOUGLAS A. MUNRO COVERS THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE 7th MARINES AT GUADALCANAL
by Bernard DAndrea

As the Marines reembarked, the Japanese pressed toward the beach making the withdrawal more dangerous with each second. The Monssen and Leslie's Douglas "Dauntless" dive bomber provided additional cover for the withdrawing Marines. The Marines arrived on the beach to embark on the landing craft while the Japanese kept up a murderous fire from the ridges about 500 yards from the beach. Munro, seeing the dangerous situation, maneuvered his boat between the enemy and those withdrawing to protect the remnants of the battalion. Successfully providing cover, all the Marines including twenty-five wounded managed to escape.

With all the Marines safely in the small craft, Munro and Evans steered their LCP off shore. As they passed towards Point Cruz they noticed an LCT full of Marines grounded on the beach. Munro steered his craft and directed another tank lighter to pull it off. Twenty minutes later, the craft was free and heading to sea. Before they could get far from shore, the Japanese set up a machine gun and began firing at the boats. Evans saw the fire and shouted a warning to Munro. The roar of the boat's engine, however, prevented Munro from hearing and a single bullet hit him in the base of the skull. Petty Officer Munro died before reaching the operating base, but due to his extraordinary heroism, outstanding leadership and gallantry, Munro posthumously received the Medal of Honor.


Reverse of Douglas Munro’s Medal of Honor

The Coast Guard continued to provide valuable service in all theaters of the war. The Coast Guard's motto "Semper Paratus" provided inspiration and guided other men to perform heroic acts demonstrating that they were indeed "Always Ready."

[SAMWolf]

Commander Raymond Evans, USCG (Ret.) remembers Douglas Munro and the action at Guadalcanal that earned Munro the Medal of Honor, the only such award earned by someone in the Coast Guard.

BACKGROUND HISTORY

Douglas Albert Munro -- Cle Elum, Washington
Raymond Joseph Evans, Jr. -- Seattle, Washington

Portrait of Douglas Munro. Munro is the Coast Guard's only Medal of Honor recipient.

On 17 September, 1939 these two young men walked into the U.S. Coast Guard Recruiting Station in the Federal Building, Seattle and enlisted as Apprentice Seamen. Doug Munro came from the small mountain town of Cle Elum where his father was manager of the Milwaukee Railroad Electric Sub-Station. Ray came from Seattle. His father was a long time Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company employee in the Long Lines Division and had, back in 1925, been in charge of the telephone office in Cle Elum.


Douglas Munro - High School graduation

Since there was no training station in the Coast Guard in 1939, Ray was put in charge of a group of about 12 enlistees, including Munro, and placed on a bus to the Coast Guard Air Station at Port Angeles. Arriving there as raw boots they were put to mowing lawns, cleaning up and servicing aircraft. Seven days into this routine and announcement was made asking for volunteers to fill seven vacancies aboard USCGC Spencer, then enroute on permanent change of station orders from Valdez, Alaska to Staten Island CG Base, New York. The Spencer was just three years old and a smart ship. Doug and Ray volunteered and served aboard Spencer until early 1941 earning the Signalman 3rd Class rating during this time.

WAR HISTORY

The Coast Guard in 1941 was ordered to man three attack transports: the Hunter Liggett, American Legion, and Joseph T. Dickman which had been U.S. Army Transports. The word came out that signalmen were needed on the Hunter Liggett. Doug and I, Ray Evans, after many days of pleading convinced CDR Harold S. Berdine, the Executive Officer, USCGC Spencer to let us go. On arrival aboard Liggett at the Brooklyn Army Base we found we were actually attached to the staff of Commander Transport Division 7, Commodore G.B. Ashe. The officers of the staff were Navy except for CDR Dwight Dexter, Personnel Officer who was Coast Guard. The Navy apparently felt that the Coast Guard did not have officers trained in handling vessels in convoy or in multiple ship groups so the Division Commander was Navy. All other personnel on the vessels, both officers and men, were Coast Guard.

Raymond Joseph Evans, Jr

When I learned that CDR Dexter had received orders to command the Naval Operating Base on Guadalcanal I volunteered for duty building and manning a beach signal station and landed on the island on 7 August, 1942 with the Marine invasion force. Landing was relatively unopposed as the Japanese forces drew back into the hills behind what became known as Henderson Field, and let the landing occur with little interference until later when the fighting became fierce.

Munro, on the other hand, made the landing on Tulagi Island, 20 miles across the channel from Guadalcanal, which was a very bloody action wiping out 80% of the Marine first wave, and taking several days of fierce fighting before the island could be declared secured. When that action was completed in about two weeks he was transferred back to Guadalcanal and the two 'Gold Dust Twins,' as they became known on the Spencer, were reunited.

During mid-September the Marines had been ineffectively trying to drive west across the Matinikau River but with little or no success. As I understand it now they had directed a force across the river high up on the mountains and on 23 September launched an attack by water to land at Point Cruz, charge inland and link up with the land force and encircle the Japanese. Our part in this came when CDR Dexter called Munro and I to him and directed us to take charge of a number of LCVP and LCT vessels to transport a battalion of Marines from the Base at Lunga Point to Point Cruz an land them in a small cove on the eastern side of the Point.


Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe and Douglas Munro’s mother, Edith, were on hand to commission the MUNRO. The ship’s original compliment included 17 officers and 143 enlisted men, under the command of the ship’s first Commanding Officer, Captain John T. Rouse

The boats loaded, Munro and Evans were in separate LCVP's, each with an air cooled Lewis, .30 caliber machine gun and ammunition. The flotilla proceeded to a point about 1 mile offshore of Point Cruz and rendezvoused with the destroyer USS Ballard, which laid down a covering barrage and then gave us the go ahead to land. The landing was marred by shallow water preventing the landing from occurring where planned. The Battalion Major was informed that as soon as they landed he should direct his troops to the left to compensate for the landing site but as it turned out he was killed instantly by a Japanese mortar round and did not so direct his troops. They charged through the narrow fringe of trees and jungle at the beach and emerged into a field rising steeply up to a ridge. They started up only to find a Japanese in single man pits with camouflaged lids behind them. They had charged right up the hill past these defensive positions and were then placed under a murderous field of fire and were forced into fighting their way back to the beach losing about twenty five casualties in the process.


USCGC MUNRO (WHEC 724)

Meanwhile the Battalion Major had requested that when the boats returned to Base, one LCVP remained offshore for a short time to receive immediate wounded. I volunteered to do this while Munro led the other boats back to Base. The Coxswain, whom I believe was named Roberts, from Portland, Oregon and I lay to off the beach waiting. Due to our inexperience we did not anticipate fire from the beach and allowed our boat to lay too close in. A sudden burst from a Japanese machine gun hit the Coxswain and I slammed the combined shift and throttle lever into full ahead and raced the four miles back to the Lunga Point Base. Roberts was placed on an airevac plane to Espiritu Santos, New Hebrides but I understand he died while enroute. I should add that the Japanese gunner had punctured all three hydraulic control lines on the LCVP so that arriving at the Base at full throttle, probably about 20 mph, I could not get the engine out of gear and ran full throttle up on the gently sloping sand beach. Scratch one LCVP.


Edith Munro, Douglas' mother joined the SPARS

As soon as I arrived back at the Base, Munro and I were told that the Marines were in trouble and had to be evacuated from the same beach we had landed them on. So with approximately the same LCVP's and three or four LCT's we headed back to get them off. On arrival Munro and I elected to stay in an empty LCVP with our two Lewis machine guns and furnish some sort of covering fire for the Marines on the beach as they boarded. As the LCVP we were in would be filled we transferred to a waiting empty boat, until at last, all the Marines had been loaded, including about twenty five walking wounded, and the last boat, an LCT and our LCVP turned and headed to sea. As we passed the end of the point we saw another LCT loaded with Marines stranded on the beach and unable to back off. Munro directed the LCT with us to go in, pass a tow line and get them off, which it did. During this procedure, which took about twenty minutes, there was no gunfire from the Japanese on the beach nor did we see any movement on the beach. When both LCT's were headed out to sea we fell in after them and were at full power when I saw a line of water spouts coming across the water from where the LCT had been grounded and realized it was machine gun fire. I don't think Munro saw the line of bullets since he was facing forward and did not at first react to my yelling over the engine noise. When he did he turned far enough to receive a round through the neck at the base of the skull. He was dead on arrival back at the Naval Operating Base.


Doug reported to the Spencer in Seattle. Cap says SPENCER

Admiral William F. Halsey, USN, on recommendation I'm sure from CDR Dexter, now RADM Dexter (Ret.), recommended Douglas Munro for the Congressional Medal of Honor, the only such medal awarded to a Coastguardsman to this day. It was subsequently delivered to his mother, Edith Munro, in an appropriate ceremony at which I was not present being still in the South Pacific. Edith Munro afterward joined the SPARs as a reserve officer and served as such until the war's end. Both she and Doug's father are now deceased.



ADM Halsey promoted me to Chief Signalman on his flagship in Noumea, New Caledonia after I was relieved at Guadalcanal. I subsequently served as Signalman aboard the President Polk making a supply run to Guadalcanal but the malaria I had been plagued with returned and I was transferred back to San Francisco on the Polk, a civilian transport under government contract. Shortly after returning from leave with my bride, Dorothy, I was awarded the Navy Cross in ceremonies at the Coast Guard Training Station, Alameda, California.


LCPL - Landing Craft, Personnel, Large

Doug was a vital, outgoing young man who liked everybody he met with a few exceptions. He was fun to be around and we had some great liberty times together. He was a hard worker and we studied together to become proficient as Coast Guard signalmen. We didn't want the Navy battleship signalmen to think we couldn't compete because we could, and did, all through the war. . . [Douglas Munro's Medal of Honor] was deserved and no was more pleased than I to have a high endurance cutter, USCGC Munro, named after him. I hope there is always a 'Munro' in the Coast Guard fleet.

Commander Ray Evans, USCG (Ret.)

[SAMWolf]

New training facility named for legend

CHESAPEAKE — Douglas A. Munro would likely be both proud and pleased were he alive to see the dedication of a new non-lethal and civil disturbance training facility in his honor here. Named the sole Coast Guardsman posthumously presented the Medal of Honor for his harrowing rescue of Marines at Guadalcanal, “Munro Village” will be used primarily by antiterrorism forces of Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, the Coast Guard and Navy.


Douglas Munro and his sister

Munro Village, a small urban facility, offers Marines more realistic training right in their own backyard. “Northwest” is the top training ground for Norfolk’s 1st Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company and Yorktown’s 2nd FAST Company. It’s also where the two companies’ Marines receive their entry-level antiterrorism training, which includes crowd control and civil disturbance training

“Before we’d just simulate a gate and buildings, but now we can train with the real thing,” said Staff Sgt. Rojelio Garza, an instructor with MCSFBn’s training company. “Now role players can jump into buildings. It adds a large element of realism for the Marines training.”



Fourth Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Antiterrorism) Commanding General, Brig. Gen. Douglas O’Dell said Munro Village will mutually benefit both serv-ices for a long time.

“Right now the Coast Guard and the Marine Corps are working more closely on maritime security than anytime since World War II,” said O’Dell, adding that it’s likely the facility will be used for at least a generation.The dedication included a live demonstration of riot control maneuvers by MCSFBn Marines. It also included a demonstration of a nonlethal shotgun that fired beanbag rounds. O’Dell, wearing one of the Marine Corps’ more dressy uniforms (service alphas) tested the range himself and even advanced while engaging the targets.


USS DOUGLAS A. MUNRO DE 422

Munro personally saved numerous Marines from certain death at Guadalcanal Sept. 27, 1942. Munro volunteered to lead five Higgins boats under heavy fire to evacuate 500 Marines. Before being mortally wounded by enemy fire, he drew fire away from other boats loaded with Marines by placing his craft with its two small guns as a shield between the Marines and the Japanese.


Memorial Service at the grave of Douglas Munro 1990

“As he was dying he asked, ‘Did the Marines get off,’” said Director, U. S. Navy Command Center and Counter Drug Division, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Jeffrey J. Hathaway, the guest speaker at the dedication.

The Flagship - March 13, 2003

Additional Sources:

www.flagshipnews.com
www.homeofheroes.com
www.pcez.com
www.wshs.org
www.desausa.org
www.guadalcanal.homestead.com
www.ussrankin.org

[SAMWolf]

The actual medal was given to Douglas Munro's parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Munro of South Cle Elum, Washington, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, May 27, 1943. The citation reads:



The President of the United States
in the name of The Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the

Medal of Honor

Awarded posthumously to

DOUGLAS ALBERT MUNRO, SIGNALMAN FIRST CLASS, U.S. COAST GUARD

Rank and organization: Signalman First Class, U.S. Coast Guard Born: 11 October 1919, Vancouver, British Columbia. Accredited to Washington.

Citation:

For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as Office-in-Charge of a group of Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a Battalion of Marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on September 27, 1942.

After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered Marines, Munro, under constant risk of his life, daringly led five of his small craft toward the shore.

As he closed the beach, he signalled [sic] the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy's fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its two small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese.

When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was killed by enemy fire, but his crew, two of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach. By his outstanding leadership, expert planning, and dauntless devotion to duty, he and his courageous comrades undoubtedly saved the lives of many who otherwise would have perished. He gallantly gave up his life in defense of his country.

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

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Iraq Homecoming Tips

~ Thanks to our Veterans still serving, at home and abroad. ~ Freepmail to Ragtime Cowgirl | 2/09/04 | FRiend in the USAF

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The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Wednesday Morning Everyone

If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

Berliner triplane helicopter - 1923

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Aeronaut. I'm beginning to understand that the fascination with the idea of flight spawned a wealth of wild ideas!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC. We are only at 23 degrees this morning. A rude awakening indeed! When does OK start warming up?

[E.G.C.]

well, springtime has already arrived, Snippy.(LOL)We're forecast to reach near 70 today. Some showers tonight and maybe some snow up in NW Oklahoma on Sunday.

But it's warming up here in SW Oklahoma, that's for sure.:-D

[GailA]

Good Morning

[GailA]

[The Mayor]

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! —Psalm 34:8

Safety is not found in the absence of danger but in the presence of God.

[CholeraJoe]

Very stirring story, SAM.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 10:
1452 Ferdinand II the Catholic, King of Aragon/Sicily (expelled Jews)
1503 Ferdinand I German emperor (1558-64)
1538 Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk; executed by Queen Elizabeth (1572)
1628 Constantine Huygens Jr Dutch poet/painter/cartoonist
1748 John Playfair Scotland, clergyman/geologist/mathematician
1809 William David Porter Commander (Union Navy), died in 1864
1810 John McCloskey US, president of St John's College (Fordham University)
1818 George Wythe Randolph Secretary of War (Confederacy), died in 1867
1824 Major General Thomas J Churchill Confederate Army/Fought at Wilson's Creek, Red River
1832 William Henry Penrose Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1903
1845 Alexander III [Romanov] Russian tsar (1881-94)
1888 Barry Fitzgerald Dublin Ireland, actor (Academy Award-Going My Way)
1891 Sam Jaffe New York NY, actor (Gunga Din, Ben Casey)
1903 Bix Beiderbecke jazz cornet player (In a Mist)
1908 Carl Albert US speaker of house (1971-77)
1916 James Herriot Scotland, writer (All Creatures Great & Small)
1923 [Kenneth C] "Jethro" Burns Conasauga TN, mandolinist/country singer (Homer & Jethro)
1923 Ara Parseghian football coach (Northwestern, Notre Dame)
1928 James Earl Ray assassin (Martin Luther King Jr)
1940 Chuck [Carlos Ray] Norris Ryan OK, martial arts actor (Walker Texas Ranger, Missing in Action)
1940 Dean Torrence Los Angeles CA, surf music singer (Jan & Dean-Little Old Lady from Pasadena)
1947 Avril "Kim" Campbell Canada's 1st female Prime Minister/19th Prime Minister (June 25,1993-November 4, 1993)
1947 Tom Scholz rock guitarist/keyboardist (Boston-More Than a Feeling)
1958 Sharon Stone Meadville PA, actress (Basic Instinct, Sliver, Casino)
1965 Rod Woodson NFL cornerback/kick returner (Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers)

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Deaths which occurred on March 10:
0037 Tiberius Claudius Nero Roman emperor (14-37), dies at 78
0483 Simplicius Italian Pope (468-83), dies
1735 Dirk T van Cloon Dutch lawyer/Governor-General of E Indies, dies at about 46
1865 William Henry "Little Billy" Chase Whiting Confederate General-Major, dies at 48
1910 Karl Lueger Austrian anti-semite/mayor of Vienna, dies at 65
1913 Harriet Tubman abolitionist, conductor on Underground RR, dies in New York
1953 Charles Gordon Curtis inventor of (Curtis-steam turbine), dies at 92
1973 Sir Richard Sharples Governor of Bermuda, is assassinated
1980 Herman Tarnower doctor (Scarsdale Diet), killed by Jean Harris
1985 Konstantin Chernenko party leader/President of USSR (1984-85), dies at 73
1986 Ray Milland actor (Lost Weekend-Academy Award 1945), dies at 81
1988 Andy Gibb singer, dies in Oxford England of an inflammatory heart virus at 30
1993 David Gunn abortion doctor, killed by Michael Griffin at 47
1996 Lucius E Burch Jr US civil rights leader, dies at 84

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 TAYLOR JAMES L.---NITRO WV.
1966 XAVIER AUGUSTO MARIA---SAN JOSE CA.
1967 LUNA JOSE D.---ORANGE CA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE 1999]
1969 LUNA CARTER P.---HAZELHURST MS.
1971 SMOOT CURTIS R.---VARNADO LA.

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

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On this day...
0241 -BC- Battle of Aegusa: Roman fleet sinks 50 Carthagean ships
0418 Jews are excluded from public office in the Roman Empire
0483 St Simplicius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1526 Emperor Charles V marries princess Isabella of Portugal
1535 Bishop Tomás de Berlanga discovers Galápagos Islands
1578 Queen Elizabeth I gives Johan Casimir £20,000 to aid Dutch rebellion
1624 England declares war on Spain
1629 King Charles I dissolved Parliament; he called it back 11 years later
1681 English Quaker William Penn receives charter from Charles II, making him sole proprietor of colonial American territory Pennsylvania
1734 Spanish army under Don Carlos (III) draws into Naples
1791 John Stone, Concord MA, patents a pile driver
1791 Pope condemns France's Civil Constitution's treatment of the clergy
1849 Abraham Lincoln applies for a patent; only US President to do so
1862 US issues 1st paper money ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 & $1000)
1864 Red River campaign Louisiana
1865 Battle of Monroe's Crossroads, North Carolina
1874 Purdue University (Indiana) admits its 1st student
1876 1st telephone call made (Alexander Graham Bell to Thomas Watson)
1880 General Wolseley opens new legislative council in Pretoria
1880 Salvation Army of England sets up US welfare & religious activity
1888 Heavyweight Boxing champion John L Sullivan draws Charlie Mitchell in 30 rounds
1893 Ivory Coast becomes a French colony
1893 New Mexico State University cancels its 1st graduation ceremony, its only graduate Sam Steele was robbed & killed the night before
1896 After Bob Fitzsimmons KOs much larger Jim Corbett to win world HW championship he says, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall"
1902 Earthquake destroys Turkish city of Tochangri
1903 Harry Gammeter, Cleveland, patents multigraph duplicating machine
1906 Coal dust explosion kills 1,060 at Courrieres France
1910 China ends slavery
1910 Pittsburgh Courier, begins publishing
1913 William Knox, becomes 1st in American Bowling Congress to bowl 300
1914 Suffragettes in London damages painter Rokeby's Venus of Velasquez
1922 State of siege proclaimed during mine strike Johannesburg South Africa
1927 Albania mobilize by threat of Serbian, Croatian & Slovenes
1927 Bavaria lifts ban on Hitler's speeches
1931 British Labour party removes fascist sir Oswald Mosley
1933 Major earthquake in Long Beach CA
1933 Nevada becomes 1st US state to regulate narcotics
1941 Larry MacPhail, Dodger GM predicts all players will wear batting helmets
1945 Germany blows-up Wessel Bridge on Rhine
1945 Japan declares Vietnam Independence
1945 Patton's 3rd Army makes contact with Hodge's 1st Army
1945 Tokyo in fire after night time B-29 bombing
1945 US troops lands on Mindanao
1948 1st civilian to exceed speed of sound-Herb H Hoover, Edwards AFB California
1952 Military coup by General Fulgencio Batista in Cuba
1956 General strike in Cyprus protesting exile of archbishop Makarios
1956 Peter Twiss sets new world air record 1,132 mph (1,823 kph)
1957 Thousands of soccer fans riot in Italy
1959 Dorothy Comiskey Rigney, sells 54% of White Sox to Bill Veeck
1959 Uprising against Chinese occupation force in Lhasa Tibet
1960 USSR agrees to stop nuclear testing
1962 Due to it's no black policy, Phillies leave Jack Tar Harrison Hotel & move to Rocky Point Motel, 20 miles outside Clearwater FL
1963 Pete Rose debuts with hits in his two 1st at bats in spring training
1964 US reconnaissance plane shot down over East Germany
1966 5 time Horse of the Year, Kelso, retires
1966 North Vietnamese capture US Green Beret Camp at Ashau Valley
1969 James Earl Ray pleads guilty in murder of Martin Luther King Jr
1972 1st black US political convention opens (Gary IN)
1972 General Lon Nol becomes President & prince Sirik Matak premier of Cambodia
1972 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1975 "Rocky Horror Picture Show" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 45 performances
1975 Dog spectacles patented in England
1977 Rings of Uranus discovered during occultation of SAO
1980 Willard Scott becomes the weather forecaster on the Today Show
1982 President Reagan proclaims economic sanctions against Libya
1982 Sygyzy: all 9 planets aligned on same side of Sun
1982 Travis Jackson & Happy Chandler elected to Hall of Fame
1983 Walter Alston, Dodgers manager, elected to Hall of Fame
1985 French socialists lose election (National Front 9%)
1985 World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Tokyo won by Katarina Witt (German Democratic Republic)
1985 World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Tokyo won by Alexandr Fadeev (USSR)
1987 Vatican formal opposition to test-tube fertilization & embryo transfer
1991 Eddie Sutton is 1st NCAA coach to lead 4 schools into playoffs
1994 1 million Greeks attend Melina Mercouri's funeral
1995 Car bomb explodes in Karachi at shiite mosque, 17+ killed

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

Dominica, St Lucia : Independence Day (1967)
Laos : Teachers' Day
Swaziland : Commonwealth Day
World : World Culture Day (leap years)
Memphis TN : Cotton Carnival (held for 5 days) (Tuesday)
New Mexico : Arbor Day (Friday)
US : Aardvark Week (Day 4)
National Furniture Refinishing Month

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Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of the 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste, Armenia
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St John Ogilvie, Scottish Jesuit

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Religious History
1528 Martyrdom of Balthaser Hubmaier, 48, German reformer and chief writer for the Anabaptist movement. Arrested in Moravia, Hubmaier was later condemned at Vienna and burned at the stake.
1681 English Quaker William Penn, 26, received a charter from Charles II, making him sole proprietor of the colonial American territory known today as the state of Pennsylvania.
1748 [O.S.] Slave-ship Captain John Newton, 22, was converted to a saving Christian faith. Newton later became an Anglican clergyman, and (as the author of "Amazing Grace") a greatly respected hymnwriter as well.
1937 English historian Arnold J. Toynbee wrote: 'In this really very brief period of less than 2,000 years Christianity has, in fact, produced greater spiritual effects in the world than have been produced in a comparable space of time by any other spiritual movement that we know of in history.'
1987 The Vatican declared its formal opposition to test-tube fertilization, embryo transfer and most other forms of scientific interference in human procreation.

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

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Thought for the day :
"Most people wish to serve God - but only in an advisory capacity."

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Rules For Diet...
Cooky pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage.

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New State Slogans...
Ohio: At Least We're Not Michigan

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Amazing Fact #23,899...
It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Sam. I just finished reading the thread. Thanks for bringing us this great story. We don't often hear of Coast Guard MOH's and this shed a lot of light on what they did during the war. Mr. Munro was very courageous.

[snippy_about_it]

That's a pretty graphic and thanks for the biscuits and gravy. mmmmmm!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning feather. I had a little trouble getting an internet connection this morning from work, but I finally made it!