The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The USS Juneau and the Sullivan Brothers - Feb. 5th, 2003

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq72-2.htm ^

[SAMWolf]

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

To list previous Foxhole Threads
or
to add The Foxhole to your sidebar
Click on the Logo

Resource Links For Veterans

Click on the pix

The Loss of USS Juneau

In early November 1942, as the struggle for control of Guadalcanal remained undecided, both the Allies and the Japanese were desperately trying to reinforce the island with troops, food, and ammunition while trying to prevent the other side from doing the same. Although two American convoys arrived safely on 11 and 12 November, they had only partially unloaded their cargoes when Magic (intercepted Japanese messages) intelligence and reconnaissance reports indicated strong Japanese naval forces were approaching the island on a shore bombardment mission. As the American transports steamed eastwards for safety, an American force of five cruisers and eight destroyers, under command of Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan took up station in the strait between Guadalcanal and Florida Island, called "Ironbottom Sound" owing to the many sunken ships littering the sea floor from the naval battles.

After midnight on 13 November, a Japanese formation of two battleships, a light cruiser, and eleven destroyers steamed past Savo Island, heading toward Guadalcanal. At 0124, these warships appeared on American radar and the two forces closed rapidly. Poor radar coordination, however, left the American warships vainly trying to pin down the location of the Japanese warships. The leading destroyers of both forces sighted each other briefly in the darkness and at 0145 USS Juneau received the order, "Stand by to open fire." A few minutes later, just after a Japanese searchlight flicked on, the lead American destroyers opened fire at the Japanese warships at a mere 1,600 yards. The Japanese replied in kind and the two formations quickly mingled together, firing into each other at point-blank range in the glare-lit darkness.

Within minutes, the Japanese destroyer Akatsuki and the American cruiser USS Atlanta lay dead in the water, victims of shell and torpedo hits. Meanwhile, the two Japanese battleships, worried that American torpedo-armed destroyers were too close for comfort, tried to turn away. Still, the four American destroyers in lead fired guns and torpedoes at Hiei, the nearest Japanese battleship, damaging her superstructure with numerous shell hits. Two of the American destroyers USS Cushing and USS Laffey were mortally wounded after a brief fire fight, with Laffey exploding and sinking shortly thereafter.

The engagement turned against the American task force when three Japanese destroyers conducted a torpedo attack from the northern flank. Torpedo hits damaged cruiser USS Portland and sank destroyer USS Barton. Gunfire from these and other Japanese warships turned USS Monssen into a smoking wreck and damaged both cruiser USS San Francisco and destroyer USS Aaron Ward. In return, by the time the fifteen-minute battle ended, destroyer Yudachi was a burning hulk and battleship Hiei was left crippled, steering an erratic course to the northwest. By the following afternoon, owing to scuttling charges or damage, Atlanta, Cushing, and Monssen had all sunk. Two Japanese ships soon joined them when Yudachi exploded under shell fire from Portland, and Hiei went under following bomb and torpedo hits delivered by Navy and Marine aircraft.



The light cruiser Juneau (CL-52), in which the five Sullivan brothers were surviving, suffered a different fate. Just a few minutes into the battle, Juneau was hit by a Japanese torpedo on the port side near the forward fire room. The shock wave from the explosion buckled the deck, shattered the fire control computers, and knocked out power. The cruiser limped away from the battle, down by the bow and struggling to maintain 18 knots. She rejoined the surviving American warships at dawn on 13 November and zig-zagged to the southeast in company with two other cruisers and three destroyers.

About an hour before noon, the task force crossed paths with Japanese submarine I-26. At 1101, the submarine fired a three torpedoes at San Francisco. None hit that cruiser, but one passed beyond and struck Juneau on the port side very near the previous hit. The ensuing magazine explosion blew the light cruiser in half, killing most of the crew. A message from USS Helena to a nearby B-17 search plane reported that Juneau was lost at latitude 10 degrees South and longitude 161 degrees East and that survivors were in the water. The sinking location was subsequently modified to 10 degrees South and 161 degrees East.

Owing to the risk of another submarine attack and because the sections of Juneau sank in only a few minutes, the American task force did not stay to check for survivors. However, approximately 115 of Juneau's crew survived the explosion. But, as Helena's message unfortunately did not reach Noumea and there remained uncertainty about the number of Japanese ships in the area, rescue efforts did not begin for several days. Exposure, exhaustion, and shark attacks whittled down the survivors and only ten men were rescued from the water eight days after the sinking.

The Sullivan Brothers

In the aftermath of Juneau's loss, the Navy notified Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa, that all five of their sons were missing in action. Two of the brothers had served previous four-year enlistments in the Navy and so, when all five brothers enlisted together on 3 January 1942, the Navy was the obvious choice. They had also insisted on serving together on the same ship. Although the accepted Navy policy was to separate family members, the brothers had persisted and their request was approved.

It was later learned, through survivors' accounts, that four of the brothers died in the initial explosion. The fifth, George Thomas, despite being wounded the night before, made it onto a raft where he survived for five days before succumbing either to wounds and exhaustion or a shark attack.



The brothers received the Purple Heart Medal posthumously and were entitled to the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four engagement stars and the World War II Victory Medal. They had also earned the Good Conduct Medal.

They were survived by their parents, Mr. Thomas F. Sullivan and Mrs. Alleta Sullivan, a sister, Genevieve Sullivan, and by Albert Leo Sullivan's wife, Katherine Mary Sullivan. Their son, James Thomas, was twenty-two months old at the time of his father's death.

Albert Leo Sullivan
Francis Henry Sullivan
George Thomas Sullivan
Joseph Eugene Sullivan
Madison Abel Sullivan

[SAMWolf]

Honoring the Sullivan Brothers

News of the deaths of all five brothers became a rallying point for the war effort, with posters and speeches honoring their sacrifice. Extensive newspaper and radio coverage of the incident made the loss of the brothers a national story, producing "a wave of humility and sympathy..." and condolences poured in on the Sullivan family in Waterloo, Iowa. One woman told the Associated Press, "And now I wonder how the sugar and coffee hoarders feel." War bond drives and other patriotic campaigns culminated in the 1944 movie, "The Sullivans."

USS THE SULLIVANS (DD-537)

Their sister Genevieve enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Specialist (Recruiter) Third Class and, with her parents, visited more than two hundred manufacturing plants and shipyards under the auspices of the Industrial Incentive Division, Executive Office of the Secretary, Navy Department. According to a 9 February 1943 Navy Department Press Release, the Sullivans "...visited war production plants urging employees to work harder to produce weapons for the Navy so that the war may come to an end sooner." By January 1944, the three surviving Sullivans had spoken to over a million workers in sixty-five cities and reached millions of others over the radio.

USS The Sullivans (DDG 68)

To honor the five Sullivan brothers, the Navy has named two destroyers, USS The Sullivans. On 10 February 1943, the Navy officially canceled the name Putnam (DD-537) and assigned the name The Sullivans to a destroyer under construction. Sponsored by Mrs. Alleta Sullivan, mother of the five Sullivan brothers, and commissioned 30 September 1943, The Sullivans served the Navy until final decommissioning on 7 January 1965. In 1977, the destroyer was donated to the city of Buffalo, New York, as a memorial in the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Servicemen's Park. The second The Sullivans (DDG-68) was laid down on 14 June 1993 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works Co. and launched on 12 August 1995 sponsored by Kelly Sullivan Loughren, granddaughter of Albert Leo Sullivan. Commissioned on 19 April 1997 at Staten Island, New York under the command of Commander Gerard D. Roncolato, the motto of the ship is "We Stick Together."

[SAMWolf]

The following letter was sent to Mrs. Sullivan by President Roosevelt when he learned that her five sons were listed as missing in action after the USS Juneau was sunk:

"Dear Mrs. Sullivan:

"The knowledge that your five gallant sons are missing in action, against the enemy, inspired me to write you this personal message. I realize full well there is little I can say to assuage your grief.

"As the Commander in Chief of the Army and the Navy, I want you to know that the entire nation shares your sorrow. I offer you the condolence and gratitude of our country. We, who remain to carry on the fight, must maintain the spirit in the knowledge that such sacrifice is not in vain. The Navy Department has in- formed me of the expressed desire of your sons; George Thomas, Francis Henry, Joseph Eugene, Madison Abel, and Albert Leo, to serve on the same ship. I am sure, that we all take pride in the knowledge that they fought side by side. As one of your sons wrote, `We will make a team together that can't be beat.' It is this spirit which in the end must triumph.

"Last March, you, Mrs. Sullivan, were designated to sponsor a ship of the Navy in recognition of your patriotism and that of your sons. I am to understand that you are, now, even more determined to carry on as sponsorer. This evidence of unselfish- ness and courage serves as a real inspiration for me, as I am sure it will for all Americans. Such acts of fate and fortitude in the face of tragedy convince me of the indomitable spirit and will of our people.

"I send you my deepest sympathy in your hour of trial and pray that in Almighty God you will find a comfort and help that only He can bring.

Very sincerely yours,

"/s/ Franklin D. Roosevelt"

[SAMWolf]

'Reference to a "Sullivan Act" in connection with family members serving in the same ship/unit is a popular misconception. The Sullivan Law of 25 May 1911 is a New York City ordinance dealing with firearms. Although proposed after the death of the five Sullivan Brothers, no "Sullivan Act" was ever enacted by Congress related to family members serving together. Similarly, no President has ever issued any executive order forbidding assignment of family members to the same ship/unit.'

-- DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

[SAMWolf]

The State of the Union is Strong!
Support the Commander in Chief
Click Here to Send a Message to the opposition!

[SAMWolf]

Thanks, Doughty!

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Everybody.


Coffee and Donuts
Courtesy of Fiddlstix.

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics

[Soaring Feather]

Good Morning SAM.

Wonderful story!

[SAMWolf]

Two Foxhole openers' in a row. You trying for a record?

Good Morning Feather

[SAMWolf]

Click on the donuts. I had Fiddlstix make them special for you today.

[Soaring Feather]

Two Foxhole openers' in a row. You trying for a record?
#50, SAM??? Great tunes this morning under the smiley!

[Soaring Feather]

BARRY!!! WOW WOW SAM, THANK YOU!!
OH MAN IT'S A GREAT DAY!

[Valin]

On this Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on February 05:
1589 Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan French playwright/poet
1626 Madame Marie de Sévigné Paris, celebrated letter-writer (Portrait in Letters)
1662 Giuseppi Vignola composer
1711 Joseph Umstatt composer
1723 John Witherspoon clergyman/signed Declaration of Independence
1732 Nathanael Gottfried Gruner composer
1744 John Jeffries colonial physician/meteorologist
1748 Christian Gottlob Neefe German composer/conductor/tutor of Beethoven
1753 Coert L van Beyma thoe Kingma Frisian regent/patriot
1770 Alexandre Brongniart Paris, mineralogist/geologist (Tertiary)
1775 Margaretha J de Neufville author (Small Pligten)
1779 Frans van Campenhout Belgian vocalist/composer (Brabançonne)
1788 Sir Robert "Bobbie" Peel British PM (1834-46), founded Tories
1788 Karoly Kisfaludy Hungarian literary (A Tat rok Magyarorsz gon)
1799 John Lindley English botanist (Elements of Botany)
1804 Johan Ludvig Runeberg Finland, poet
1810 Ole Bull composer
1833 John Watkinson founder of British Chess Magazine (oldest chess magazine)
1837 Dwight Lyman Moody US, evangelist (Student Volunteer Movement)
1840 Hiram Stevens Maxim inventor (automatic single-barrel rifle)
1840 John Boyd Dunlop Scotland, developer (pneumatic rubber tire)
1848 Joris-Karl Huysmans France, writer (Against the Grain)
1848 Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley] US female outlaw (wild west)
1856 Otto Brahm German critic/founder (Neue Deutsche Rundschau)
1860 Jackson Showalter 1st US chess champion (1888-92, 1895-97, 1906-09)
1862 Felipe Villanueva y Gutiérrez Mexico, composer
1863 Armand Parent composer
1864 Carl Tieke composer
1865 Harvey Worthington Loomis composer
1866 Arthur Keith Scottish anthropologist
1866 Henri [Hendrik J] Hall Dutch MP/comic (Put a Lid on it)
1866 Rossetter Gleason Cole composer
1867 Casper A Lingbeek vicar/Dutch MP
1868 Lodewijk Mortelmans composer
1871 Jovan Ducic Serbian poet (Blue Legends)
1878 André-Gustave Citroën France, auto maker
1879 Edward Rigby England, actor (Star Look Down, Young & Innocent)
1881 Frederick Leonard Lonsdale British playwright (Balkan Princess)
1882 Felice Lattuada composer
1887 A P Gütersloh writer
1889 Elias Henry "Patsy" Hendren cricketer (prolific England bat of 20's)
1889 Ernest Tyldesley cricketer (1st Lancastrian to score 100 100's)
1889 Ioan Dumitru Chirescu composer
1891 Elizabeth Ryan Anaheim CA, doubles tennis champion (6 time Wimbledon)
1891 Karl L Schmidt German/Swiss theologist (Urchristentum)
1892 George Saiko writer
1893 Roman Ingarden Polish philosopher (Studia philosophica)
1897 Dirk U Stikker director (Heineken)/Dutch foreign minister/NATO
19-- Jason Bieler rock guitarist (Saigon Kick-New World)
1900 Adlai E Stevenson (Governor-D-IL), presidential candidate (D) (1952, 1956)
1902 Bronislaw Kaper composer
1903 Ivan Galamian Tabriz Persia, violinist
1903 Joan Whitney Payson owner of New York Mets & horse stables
1903 Nathaniel Owings Indianapolis IN, architect (Oak Ridge TN; Sears)
1906 John Carradine Greenwich Village NY, actor (Grapes of Wrath, Howling)
1907 Norton Simon business executive (Simon & Schuster)
1907 Jan Klaasesz Dutch governor Suriname (1949-56)
1907 Pierre E J Pflimlin premier France
1909 Grazyna Bacewicz composer
1910 Martha van Och-Scholl German/Dutch resistance fighter (WWII)
1912 Willard Parker New York NY, actor (Kiss Me Kate, What A Woman)
1912 Zoltan Pongracz composer
1913 Rozelle Claxton pianist/arranger
1914 William S Burroughs St Louis, novelist (Naked Lunch)
1914 Alan Hodgkin British physicist (Nobel 1963)
1915 Robert Hofstadter US atomic physicist
1917 Zsa Zsa Gabor [Zsa Sari], Budapest Hungary, actress (Queen of Outer Space)
1918 Robert Brown Hebrides Islands Scotland, actor (Here Come The Brides, Primus)
1918 Charles John "Tim" Holt Beverly Hills CA, actor (Treasure of Sierra Madre, Stagecoach, Hitler's Children)
1918 Kara Abulfazogli Karayev composer
1919 Melina Mercouri actress (Never on Sunday)
1919 Andrea George Papandreou Greek premier (1981-89, 93- )
1919 Red Buttons [Aaron Chwatt], Bronx New York NY, comedian/actor (Sayonara, Poseidon Adventure)
1921 Sir John Pritchard London England, conductor
1922 Bernard Kalb State Dept spokesman/actor (Dave)
1923 Stephen J Cannell TV producer/writer
1924 Robert Lynn anarchist
1926 Arthur Ochs Sulzberger New York NY, publisher (New York Times)
1927 Val Dufour New Orleans LA, actor (Eugenie Grandet, Another World)
1928 Andrew M Greeley author/reverend
1928 Pananayiotis Taki Vatikiotis middle east scholar
1929 Fred Sinowatz (SPÖ) Neufeld an der Leitha, chancellor of Austria (1983-86)
1933 Jörn Donner Helsinki Finland, director (Anna, Tenderness)
1933 Nick Georgiade New York NY, actor (Untouchables, Run Buddy Run)
1933 Ron Wilson US percussionist (Joy of Cooking)
1934 Hank Aaron baseball player (record 755 home runs, 1957 NL MVP)
1935 Alex Harvey rocker (Just Visiting This Planet)
1935 John J "Jannie" Geldenhuys supreme commander South Africa army 1980- )
1937 Gaston Roelants Belgium, world cross-country champion
1937 Stuart Damon Brooklyn NY, actor (Alan Quartermaine-General Hospital)
1937 Cocky van Oost [Kommertje van Vliet], Dutch dancer (Sylphides)
1938 Dick van Niehoff Dutch vocalist (Fouryo)
1938 John Guare US writer (6º of Separation, Atlantic City, Taking Off)
1939 Brian Luckhurst cricketer (England opener of 60's & early 70's)
1939 Jane Bryant Quinn newscaster/financial writer (Everyone's Money Book)
1940 H R Giger artist, special effects designer, (Alien)
1941 Barrett Strong Detroit MI, singer (Money, That's What I Want)
1941 David Selby Morgantown WV, actor (Falcon Crest, Flamingo Road)
1941 Stephen J Cannell producer (Rockford Files)
1941 Rick Laird jazz musician (Gerry Niewood & Timepiece)
1942 Roger Staubach NFL quarterback (Dallas Cowboys)
1942 Cory Wells Buffalo NY, rock vocalist (3 Dog Night-Joy to the World)
1942 Susan Hill English playwright (Magic Apple Tree)
1943 Craig Morton Flint MI, NFL quarterback (Dallas, Denver)
1943 Charles Winfield Pennsylvania, rocker (Blood Sweat & Tears-Spinning Wheel)
1943 Ivan Alexandrovich Tcherepnin composer
1943 Larry Tamblyn rock guitarist (Standells-Dirty Water)
1943 Michael Mann Chicago IL, actor/director (Sexpot, Close Friends)
1943 Nolan Bushnell founder (Atari)/creator (Pong)
1943 Sven Johnson rocker (Tangerine Dream
1944 Al Kooper rock keyboards/vocalist (Blood Sweat & Tears-When I Die)
1944 J R Cobb Birmingham AL, rocker (Atlanta Rhythm Section, Classic IV)
1946 Charlotte Rampling England, actress (Zardoz, Night Porter, Verdict)
1947 Claude King singer
1947 David Ladd Los Angeles CA, actor (Raymie, Catlow, Misty, Deathline)
1947 Mary Louise Cleave Southampton NY, PhD/astronaut (STS 61-B, STS 30)
1948 David Denny rock guitarist (Steve Miller Band-Abracadabra)
1948 Barbara Hershey [Herzstein], Atlanta GA, (Stuntman, Shy People, A World Apart)
1948 Christopher Guest New York NY, actor (Saturday Night Live, Heartbeeps, This is Spinal Tap, Princess Bride)
1948 Elco [LC] Brinkman Dutch minister WVC (CDA)
1948 Nigel Tufnel rocker (Spinal Tap)
1949 David Sullivan English softporno/newspaper publisher (Sunday Sport)
1949 Maidarjabyn Ganzorig Mongolia, cosmonaut (Soyuz 39 backup)
1949 Nigel Olsson rock guitarist/drummer (Elton John Band)
1950 Ann Sexton US vocalist (You're Gone too Long)
1951 Elizabeth Swados Buffalo NY, composer/playwright (1972 TONY)
1954 Roseanne Katan Jamacia, playmate (September 1978)
1955 Debra Jo Fondren Los Angeles CA, playmate of year (September, 1977)
1957 Craig Wilson Beeville TX, US water polo goalie (Olympics-silver-84, 88)
1958 Jennifer Jason Leigh [Morrow], Los Angeles CA, actress (Single White Female)
1959 Glenn Dubis Lincoln NB, US 3x40 rifle (Olympics-1984, 88, 96)
1960 Jane Geddes Huntington NY, LPGA golfer (1987 Women's Kemper Open)
1960 William John Readings literary theorist
1962 Tommy Skeoch rock vocalist (Tesla-Five Man Acoustical Jam)
1964 Duff [Michael] "Rose" McKagan rocker (Guns & Roses-Sweet Child of Mine)
1964 Jim Pugh Burbank CA, tennis star
1965 Ben Lee Rangoon Burma, US badminton player (Olympics-92)
1965 James David McGovern Teaneck NJ, PGA golfer (1993 Shell Houston Open)
1965 Tarik Benhabiles Algeria, tennis star
1966 Jose Maria Olazabal golfer
1968 Chris Barron rocker (Spin Doctors)
1968 Regina Rajchitova Czechoslovakia, tennis star
1968 Roberto Alomar Salinas Puerto Rico, infielder (Baltimore Orioles)
1968 Will Furrer NFL quarterback (Houston Oilers, St Louis Rams)
1969 Bobby Brown Roxbury MA, singer (Ghostbusters, Don't Be Cruel)
1970 Darren Lehmann cricketer (South Africa & Victoria LHB Australian ODI 1996)
1970 Forey Duckett NFL/WLAF cornerback/safety (Saints, Scot Claymores)
1971 Marcus Redman actor (Raymond-Doogie Howser)
1971 Dennis Hall Milwaukee WI, 125½ lbs greco-roman wrestler (Olympics-silver-92, 96)
1971 Dianne Norman Sault Ste Marie Ontario, basketball forward (Olympics-96)
1971 Peter "Chip" Cipollone Ardmore PA, rower (Olympics-1996)
1972 Chris Bailey ice hockey defenseman (USA, Olympics-98)
1972 Erin Phillips Mexico MO, Miss Missouri-America (1995)
1972 Tony Johnson tight end (New Orleans Saints)
1973 Diego Serrano Quito Ecuador, actor (Tomas Rivera-Another World)
1973 Israel Raybon defensive end (Carolina Panthers)
1973 Laura Espinoza-Watson Torrance CA, female infielder (Silver Bullets)
1973 Richard Matvichuk Ft Saskatchewan Canada, NHL defenseman (Dallas Stars)
1974 Adrienne Johnson WNBA guard (Cleveland Rockers)
1975 Giovanni van Bronckhorst Dutch soccer player (Feyenoord)
1975 Jan l'Ami Dutch soccer player (Willem II)
1976 Nancy Feber Antwerp Belgium, tennis star (1995 Puerto Rico)
1978 Kristina Cherina Miss Croatia-Universe (1997)

---

Deaths which occurred on February 05:
0045 -BC- Cato Roman patriot & philosopher, commits suicide
1578 Giovanni B Moroni Italian portrait painter, dies
1591 Gerard de Jode Flemish publisher, dies
1658 Maria Margaretha van Angels Dutch prioress at Oirschot, dies at 52
1679 Joost van den Vondel Dutch poet (Gysbreght van Aemstel), dies at 91
1705 Jean Gilles composer, dies at 37
1721 James Stanhope 1st earl of Stanhope English General, dies at 47
1738 Georg Reidel composer, dies at 61
1745 Coelestin Praelisauer composer, dies at 49
1754 Nicolaas S Cruquius hydraulic engineer, (Haarlemmermeer), dies at 75
1758 Bernhard Christian Weber composer, dies at 45
1807 Pasquale Paoli Corsican freedom fighter, dies at 80
1812 Franz Schneider composer, dies at 74
1822 Ali Pasha of Janina (Napoleon, Lord Byron), dies at about 77
1825 Pierre Gaveaux composer, dies at 64
1831 John CJ van Speijk commits suicide at 29
1838 Philippe Libon composer, dies at 62
1867 Salomon Munk published Arabic edition of Maimounides, dies
1881 Thomas Carlyle historian/essayist, dies in London at 85
1888 Anton Mauve Dutch painter/cousin of Vincent Van Gogh, dies at 49
1897 Hoss Radbourn pitcher won 60 games in 1884, dies at 42
1907 Ludwig Thuille composer, dies at 45
1911 Petrus A Cronjé Transvaal Boer General, dies
1917 Paul Rubens composer, dies at 41
1919 Vasili V Rozanov Russian philosopher/writer, dies at 62
1922 Christiaan R de Wet South African Boer General, dies at 67
1922 James William Tate composer, dies at 46
1924 Alexis Hollander composer, dies at 83
1926 Andre Gedalge composer, dies at 69
1929 Siegfried Ochs composer, dies at 70
1937 Lou [Andreas-]Salomé Russian/German author (Eroticism), dies at 75
1943 Wim Gertenbach Dutch resistance fighter (Slogan), shot by Nazis
1944 Robert E Park sociologist (human ecology, marginal man), dies at 79
1946 George Arliss actor/writer (Dr Syn, Voltaire), dies at 77
1947 Ganzefles Dutch Nazi spy/Jew hunter, executed
1947 Hans Fallada writer, dies at 53
1948 Johann Blaskowitz German General (surrendered at Wageningen), dies at 64
1949 Juozas Tallat-Kelpsa composer, dies at 50
1952 Reginald Allen cricketer (uncle of Gubby, Test Australia vs England 1887), dies
1954 Vittorio Gnecchi composer, dies at 77
1956 Savilly Tartakower Austrian/Polish/French chess player, dies at 74
1958 Henry M Tomlinson British writer (Under red ensign), dies at 84
1959 Gwili Andre actress (No Other Woman, Roar of the Dragon), dies
1960 Louis Stricker cricketer (South Africa open bat in 13 Tests 1909-12), dies
1960 Rudolf Nelson composer, dies at 81
1961 Anthony G de Rothschild British philanthropist, dies at 73
1962 Jacques Ibert French composer (Escales), dies at 71
1965 Irving Bacon actor (Fort Ti, Petticoat Fever), dies at 71
1966 Ludwig Binswanger Swiss psychiatrist (Über Ideenflucht), dies at 84
1967 Herman Teirlinck Belgian writer (Jokaste against God), dies at 87
1968 Luckey Roberts composer, dies at 80
1971 Mátyás Rákosi Hungarian premier (1952-56), dies at 78
1972 Marianne Moore US poetess (Pulitzer 1951), dies at 84
1973 George Morrison dies at 82
1973 L C William Nolde last US soldier killed in Vietnam, funeral
1976 Roger Livesey actor (Drum, Vice Versa, Colonel Blimp), dies at 69
1977 Izaak Boleslavski Russian chess player, dies at 67
1978 Annie [Anna HM] Romein-Verschoor Dutch historian (Omzien), dies at 83
1978 Frans van Immerseel Belgian graphic artist, dies at 68
1979 Eddie Paynter cricketer (20 Tests for England, average 59.23), dies
1981 Kuda Bux Indian mystic (I'd Like to See), dies at 75
1981 Barend Barendse Dutch sportscaster, dies at 73
1982 Dolores Moran actress (Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies at 56
1982 Neil Aggett South African worker's union leader, commits suicide
1982 Wies [Aloisius CA] Moens Flemish writer/Nazi, dies at 84
1983 Derk Roemers Dutch union leader/politician (Social Democrat), dies at 67
1989 Joe Raposa composer/songwriter (Sesame Street), dies at 51
1991 Dean Jagger US actor (Mr Novak, Rawhide, Oscar), dies at about 87
1991 Pedro Arrupe Spanish priest/Jesuit, dies at 83
1992 Donald Zimmerman editor, dies
1992 Laura Liddell actress (Shakespeare Wallah), dies at 83
1993 Jack Young cricketer (8 Tests for England 1947-49, 17 wickets), dies
1993 Joseph L Mankiewicz US writer/director (All about Eve), dies at 83
1993 Tip Tipping [Tim], stuntman, dies in sky-diving accident at 34
1994 Fred de Bruyne Flemish cyclist/gang leader (Paris-Nice), dies at 63
1994 Hermann Abs German banker to Hitler & Adenauer, dies at 92
1994 Kenneth "Buddy" Scott blues guitarist/Singer, dies at 59
1995 Courtenay E Benson broadcaster, dies at 79
1995 Doug Mcclure US rodeo rider/actor (Trampas-Virginian), dies at 59
1995 Frans Köhler Dutch painter, dies at 59
1995 Frederick Craig Riddle violinist, dies at 82
1995 Judith Fluks Amsterdam's activist, dies
1995 Kimberley Leston journalist, dies at 35
1996 Antonio Ruiz Soler Spanish dancer, dies at 74
1996 Gianandrea Gavazzeni conductor, dies at 86
1996 Peter Pooley broadcaster, dies at 84
1996 W R Lee language teacher, dies at 84
1997 John Richard Patterson businessman, dies at 51
1997 Pamela Harriman US Ambassador (to France), dies of stroke at 76
1998 Tim Kelly guitarist, dies at 34

---

On this day...
0816 Frankish emperor Louis grants archbishop Salzburg immunity
1428 King Alfonso V, orders Sicily's Jews to attend conversion sermons
1488 Roman catholic German emperor Maximilian I caught in Belgium
1512 French troops under Gaston de Foix rescues Bologna
1556 Kings Henri I & Philip II sign Treaty of Vaucelles
1572 Beggars assault Oisterwijk Netherlands, drive nuns out
1576 Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours
1631 Rhode Island, founder, Roger Williams arrives in Boston from England
1644 1st US livestock branding law passed, by Connecticut
1649 Prince of Wales becomes king Charles II
1663 Earthquake in Canada
1679 German emperor Leopold I signs peace with France
1736 Methodists John & Charles Wesley arrive in Savannah GA
1777 Georgia becomes 1st US state to abolish both entail & primogeniture
1778 Articles of Confederation ratified by 1st state, South Carolina
1782 Spanish take Minorca (western Mediterranean) from the English
1783 Sweden recognizes US independence
1783 Earthquakes ravage Calabria, killing 30,000
1795 Zealand Netherlands surrenders to French General Michaud
1816 Rossini's Opera "Barber of Seville" premieres in Rome
1817 1st US gas company incorporated, Baltimore (coal gas for street lights)
1825 Hannah Lord Montague of New York creates 1st detachable shirt collar
1831 Jan van Speijk blows up his gunboat in Antwerp, killing about 30
1846 "Oregon Spectator" is 1st newspaper to be published on the West Coast
1850 Adding machine employing depressible keys patented, New Paltz NY
1855 British government of Palmerston forms
1861 Kinematoscope patented by Coleman Sellers, Philadelphia PA
1861 Louisiana delegation except Mr Bouligny withdraws from Congress
1861 1st moving picture peep show machine is patented by Samuel Goodale of Cincinnati
1864 Federals occupy Jackson MS
1865 Battle of Hatcher's Run, VA (Armstrong's Mill, Dabney's Mill)
1870 1st motion picture shown to a theater audience, Philadelphia
1879 Joseph Swan demonstrates light bulb using carbon glow
1881 Phoenix AZ incorporates
1885 News of fall of Khartoum reaches London
1887 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Otello" premieres at La Scala in Italy
1887 Snow falls on San Francisco
1893 Alfred Naess skates world record 500 meter (49.4 seconds)
1894 Female suffrage organization in Amsterdam forms
1897 Marcel Proust meets Jean Lorrain in a pistol duel
1900 British troops under General Buller occupy Vaal Krantz, Natal
1901 Loop-the-loop centrifugal RR (roller coaster) patented by Ed Prescot
1901 Pierpont Morgan forms US Steel Corp
1904 American occupation of Cuba ends
1907 Arnold Schönberg's 1st string quartet premieres in Vienna
1911 Society of Dutch Composers forms in Amsterdam
1916 Enrico Caruso recorded "O Sole Mio" for the Victor Talking Machine Company
1917 Congress overrides Wilson's veto, curtailing Asian immigration
1917 Present Mexican constitution adopted
1917 Morosco Theater opens at 217 W 45th St NYC (demolished 1982)
1918 1st US pilot to down an enemy airplane, Stephen W Thompson
1918 Separation of church & state begins in USSR
1919 NL president John Heydler dismisses charges that Hal Chase bet against his team & threw games in collusion with gamblers
1921 Yankees purchase 20 acres in the Bronx for Yankee Stadium
1922 Reader's Digest magazine 1st published
1923 General mine strike against wage cuts in Saar
1923 Mass arrests of socialists & communists in Italy
1927 Buster Keaton's movie "The General" released & bombed
1929 Jimmy Hatlo's "They'll Do It Every Time" cartoon debuts in San Francisco
1930 5th Aliyah to Israel begins
1931 Maxine Dunlap becomes 1st US women to earn a glider pilot license
1933 Marinus van der Lubbe passes Dutch/German boundary
1936 National Wildlife Federation forms
1937 FDR proposes enlarging Supreme Court, "court packing" plan failed
1937 1st Charlie Chaplin talkie, "Modern Times", is released
1938 Hans Engnestangen skates world record 500 meter (41.8 seconds)
1940 Glenn Miller & his Orchestra record "Tuxedo Junction"
1940 General Winckelman replaces General Reijnders as Dutch supreme commander
1941 Dutch Premier De Geer returns from Lisbon to Netherlands
1942 "Woman of the Year", starring Hepburn & Tracy, opens at Radio City
1942 Braves get Tommy Holmes from Yanks for Buddy Hassett & Gene Moore
1943 Clandestine Radio Atlantiksender, Germany, 1st transmission
1943 Amsterdam resistance group CS-6 shoots Nazi General Seyffardt
1944 358 RAF-bombers attack Stettin
1945 Big Racket becomes fastest race horse at 69.6 kph (440 yards/20.8 seconds)
1945 British premier Churchill arrives in Yalta, the Krim
1945 US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manilla
1947 Bolewet Beirut becomes President of Poland
1948 "The Nature of Things" science show premieres on NBC prime time
1948 Dick Button becomes 1st US figure skating Olympics champion
1948 Gretchen Fraser becomes 1st US woman Olympics slalom champion
1949 Huaso sets official world equestrian high-jump record, 2.47 m, Chicago
1953 "Peter Pan" by Walt Disney opens at Roxy Theater, NYC
1953 5th Emmy Awards I Love Lucy, Thomas Mitchell & Helen Hayes win
1954 WCDC TV channel 19 in Adams MA (ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 7th Winter Olympics games close at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
1956 Louise Suggs win LPGA Havana Golf Open
1956 New York Mayor Robert Wagner & Brooklyn Boro President Frank Cashmore sponsor a bill to create a $30 million Brooklyn Sports Center Authority to build
1957 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 2nd Piano Concert
1958 Clifton R Wharton confirmed as 1st US black foreign minister (Romania)
1958 Gamel Abdel Nasser nominated 1st President of United Arab Republic
1958 Vanguard TV-3 back-up launches into Earth orbit; reaches 6 km
1958 Test Cricket debut of Lance Gibbs, West Indies vs Pakistan, Port-of-Spain
1959 "Redhead" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 455 performances
1959 Australia regain the Ashes with a 10 wicket victory at Adelaide
1962 French President de Gaulle calls for Algeria's independence
1962 Suit to bar Englewood NJ from "racial segregated" schools is filed
1962 Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn within 16º
1963 Maarten Schmidt discovers enormous red shifts in quasars
1963 Soviet lunar probe failure
1965 Beursschouwburg opens in Brussels
1966 BBC opens a relay radio station on Ascension Island
1967 "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" premieres on CBS (later ABC, NBC)
1967 Anastasio Somoza elected President of Nicaragua
1967 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Robert Penn Warren
1968 KDTV TV channel 39 in Dallas-Fort Worth TX (IND) begins broadcasting
1968 Skater Kees Verkerk win Olympics gold in the 1500m
1969 US population reaches 200 million
1969 Vince Lombardi, becomes part owner, vice president, general manager & head coach of Redskins
1969 "Turn-On", debuts & is cancelled by ABC after flopping so badly
1970 1st Test Cricket ton of Barry Richards, 126, 164 balls, 20 fours 1 six
1970 Test Cricket debut of John Traicos, South Africa vs Australia, Durban
1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 WSCV TV channel 51 in Ft Lauderdale FL (IND) suspends broadcasting
1971 Apollo 14, 3rd US manned Moon expedition, lands near Fra Mauro; Alan Shepard & Edward Mitchell (Apollo 14) walk on Moon for 4 hours
1972 US airlines begin mandatory inspection of passengers & baggage
1972 "Another Puff" by Jerry Reed peaks at #65
1972 Bob Douglas is 1st black elected to Basketball Hall of Fame
1973 Funeral for LC William Nolde, last US soldier killed in Vietnam War
1973 Juan Corona sentenced to 25 consecutive life terms for 25 murders
1973 Comic strip "Hagar The Horrible" debuts
1974 Mats Wermelin, Sweden, scores all points in 272-0 basketball win
1974 US Mariner 10 returns 1st close-up photos of Venus' cloud structure
1974 British mine strike
1974 Maximum speed on Autobahn reduced to 100 kph
1976 Australia complete 5-1 series drubbing of West Indies
1976 Last day of Test Cricket for Lance Gibbs & Ian Redpath
1977 Sugar Ray Leonard beats Luis Vega in 6 rounds in his 1st pro fight
1977 "CB Savage" by Rod Hart peaks at #67
1977 "Dis-Gorilla (part 1)" by Rick Dees peaks at #56
1977 "In The Mood" by Henhouse 5 Plus Too (Ray Stevens) peaks at #40
1977 "Turn Loose On My Leg" by Jim Stafford peaks at #98
1977 "Up Your Nose" by Gabriel Kaplan peaks at #91
1977 General Mills Adventure Theater premieres on CBS radio
1977 US female Figure Skating championship won by Linda Fratianne
1977 US male Figure Skating championship won by Charles Tickner
1978 Fred Newman makes 88 consecutive basketball free throws blindfolded
1979 Costliest single periodical ad, $3.2 million, Gulf + Western in Time
1979 Sears Radio Theater premieres on CBS
1980 32nd NHL All-Star Game Wales beat Campbell 6-3 at Detroit
1980 Egyptian parliament votes to end boycott of Israel
1981 Military jury in North Carolina convicts Robert Garwood of collaborating with enemy
1981 "Piaf" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 165 performances
1981 Largest Jell-O made (9,246 gallons of watermelon-flavor) in Brisbane
1982 DEA announces seizure of 3,192 tons of marijuana, 495 people
1982 Laker Airways collapse owing £270 million ($351 million)
1982 Suriname President Chin A Sen resigns & flees to Netherlands
1983 Former Nazi Gestapo official Klaus Barbie brought to trial
1984 New Zealand beat England (82 & 93) by an innings in 3 days
1984 Patty Sheehan win LPGA Elizabeth Arden Golf Classic
1986 Corazon Aquino & Ferdinand Marcos appear on "Nightline"
1987 Dow Jones average closes above 2,200 for 1st time
1987 Soyuz TM-2 launches
1988 1st prime-time wrestling match in 30 years-Andre beats Hulk Hogan
1988 Panamanian General Manuel Noriega indicted by US grand jury for drugs
1988 Arizona House of Representatives vote to impeach Republican Governor Evan Mecham
1989 Kareem Abdul-Jabar becomes 1st NBA player to score 38,000 points
1990 Notre Dame becomes 1st team to sell its game to a major network (NBC)
1991 A Michigan court bars Dr Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides
1991 All American Bowl ends after 14 years
1991 Big East Football conference forms
1991 Howard Stern kisses New York Giant Leonard Marshall's ass over bet, Stern lost claiming the Giants would lose the Superbowl
1991 Joni Mitchel inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame
1991 Los Angeles King Dave Taylor becomes 29th NHLer to score 1000 points
1992 Jury selection begins in the Los Angeles cops beating Rodney King case
1992 Last day of Test Cricket cricket for Dilip Vengsarkar
1992 Mike Whitney career-best 7-27 at WACA in Test Cricket win vs India
1993 Grenade explodes in Sarajevo, killing 63 & injuring 160
1993 R James Woolsey, becomes 16th director of CIA
1994 "Where On Earth Is Carmen San Diego" debuts on Fox TV
1994 Medgar Evers' murderer Byron De La Beckwith sentenced to life, in Jackson MS, 30 years after the crime
1995 Japan's Shinshinto Party win local elections
1995 NFL Pro Bowl AFC beats NFC 41-13
1995 Sandra Völker swims female European record 50 meter backstroke 27.77
1997 3 Swiss banks create $70 million Holocaust fund
1997 Brook Lee, Hawaii, crowned 46th Miss USA (en route to Miss Universe)
1998 Alberto Acciarito convicted of harassing his ex-wife Ingrid Rossellini
1998 Author Tom Clancy confirms he signed agreement to purchase Minnesota Vikings for slightly more than $200 million, an NFL franchise record
1998 Nancy Kerrigan & Tonya Harding talk on FOX (Taped Dec 22nd)

---

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

Finland : Runeberg Day (1804)
Japan : Japanese Martyrs Day (26 martyrs-1597)
México : Constitution Day (1857 & 1917)
Roman calendar : Nonae Februarius
San Marino : Liberation Day
Tanzania : Birth of the Afro Shirazi Party
Switzerland : Homstrom-celebrates end of winter - - - - - ( Sunday )
World : Boy Scouts Day (1910) - - - - - ( Sunday )

---

Religious Observances
Baptist : Roger Williams Day
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Agatha, virgin/martyr
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Jeanne de Valois, French foundress
Anglican, Lutheran : Commemoration of 26 martyrs of Japan killed by Tagosama
old Roman Catholic : Feast of St Philip of Jesus, 1st Christian martyr in Japan
Moslem : Night of Power (Ramadân 27, 1417 AH)

---

Religious History
1631 English clergyman Roger Williams first arrived in America. He soon began questioning Massachusetts' religious policies which fused church and state matters. Williams was banished to Rhode Island five years later, where at Providence he established the first Baptist church in America.
1736 The English Wesley brothers, John (32) and Charles (28) first arrived in America at Savannah, GA. They had been invited by Georgia governor James Oglethorpe as missionaries to the American Indians.
1812 American missionary Adoniram Judson, 23, married schoolteacher Ann Hasseltine, 22. Two weeks later the couple set sail for India under sponsorship of the American [Congregational] Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
1887 The Chicago Evangelization Society was organized by evangelist D. L. Moody, 50. Two years later, the Society established the Bible Institute for Home and Foreign Missions. Moody died in 1899, and in 1900 the school was renamed Moody Bible Institute.
1944 German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'Much that worries us beforehand can afterwards, quite unexpectedly, have a happy and simple solution... Things really are in a better hand than ours.'

---

Thought for the day :
" People will buy anything that`s one to a customer. "

[Pippin]

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY!

[Valin]

I choose to reserve judgement at this time.

[Pippin]

Every day you wake up is a good morning :^)

[Valin]

1918 1st US pilot to down an enemy airplane, Stephen W Thompson

Lt. Stephen W. Thompson
The first man in the history of the U.S. military service to shoot down an enemy airplane was Lt. Stephen W. Thompson of Dayton, Ohio. Since his U.S. squadron had not yet started flying missions, Thompson visited a nearby French bombing squadron on February 5, 1918 to observe preparations for a combat flight. A French observer became ill and Thompson was invited to replace him. Once inside German territory, Thompson's Breguet bomber was attacked and while defending it, Thompson shot down an Albatross fighter over Saarbrucken. Because of the unique status of Thompson on this mission, he was not granted credit for his victory during the war. However, with the assistance of the Air Force Museum, he was finally granted official recognition for the victory in 1967.

His most memorable mission occurred on July 28, 1918. While serving as an observer with the 12th Aero Squadron, his Salmson airplane was attacked by German fighters. Thompson shot down two enemy planes before his own plane was shot down by the famous ace Erich Lowenhart. Thompson's pilot, Lt. John C. Miller, was able to land the Salmson inside Allied lines before he died of an explosive bullet in his stomach. Thompson was wounded by a bullet in the leg and because of the lack of immediate first aid in the front-line area, he had to dig the bullet from his leg with a pocket knife.

[Valin]

Well actually I'm doing pretty good ....so far. I haven't felt like grabbing a rifle and heading for the nearest tall building, so I'm going to TRY and build on that.

[SAMWolf]

1919 Red Buttons [Aaron Chwatt], Bronx New York NY, comedian/actor (Sayonara, Poseidon Adventure)

I'll always remember him hanging from that Bell tower in "The Longest Day" and in "Imitation General"

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning, Pippin.

[facedown]

Hi guys!

An earlier pic of the Juneau.

An undoubtedly dumb question. Why would one camo a ship? I mean you're not exactly going to hide it in the bushes.