This Date in Military History:

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5 June

1637 – The English and their Mohegan allies slaughtered as many as 600 Pequot Indians [in the area of Connecticut]. The survivors were parceled out to other tribes. Those given to the Mohegans eventually became the Mashantucket Pequots. American settlers in New England massacred a Pequot Indian village.

1794 – Congress passed the Neutrality Act, which prohibited Americans from enlisting in the service of a foreign power.

1794 – The Third Congress authorized an additional 10 revenue cutters and gave the Treasury Department the responsibility for lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and piers.

1794 – First officers of the U.S. Navy under the Constitution are appointed. The first 6 captains appointed to superintend the construction of new ships were John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale, and Thomas Truxtun.

1837 – Houston is incorporated by the Republic of Texas.

1848 – Army officer John C. Fremont submitted his “Geographical Memoir” to the US Senate where the SF Bay entrance was called Chrysopylae (Golden Gate). He had in mind the Chrysoceras (Golden Horn) of Constantinople, and suggested that the SF Bay would be advantageous for commerce.

1851 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.

1856 – U.S. Army troops in the Four creeks region of California, headed back to quarters, officially ending the Tule River War. Fighting, however, continued for a few more years.

1861 – Federal marshals seized arms and gunpowder at Du Pont works in Delaware.

1861 – Revenue Cutter Harriett Lane, Captain Faunce, USRM, engaged Confederate battery at Pig Point, Hampton Roads.

1862 – Union forces arrive at Fort Pillow, a key stronghold on the Mississippi River, to find that the Confederates had already evacuated the day before.

1863 – Battle of Franklin’s Crossing, VA (Deep Run).

1864 – Union forces under General David Hunter rout a Confederate force led by General William “Grumble” Jones, giving the North their first real success in the 1864 Shenandoah campaign. As part of his attempt to knock out the Confederates in Virginia, Union General Ulysses S. Grant sent Franz Sigel to neutralize Rebel forces in the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia. But Sigel did little to assist Grant, instead presiding over a Union defeat at New Market on May 15. Hunter, who replaced Sigel, quickly moved toward the rail center at Staunton with some 11,000 soldiers and another 5,000 cavalry troopers. Resisting him were about 5,600 troops under the command of Jones and John D. Imboden, cobbled together from various Confederate units scattered about western Virginia.

As the Union force marched south to Staunton, Imboden moved his part of the army to block the Yankees. They met north of Piedmont, where Hunter attacked on the morning of June 5 and forced Imboden to retreat. After being reinforced by Jones at Piedmont, the Confederates spread out to stop the Federals but left a small gap in their lines that later proved fatal. The Union troops pressed through the gap, and Jones was killed while leading an attempt to drive the Yankees back. The Confederate line was broken, and the Southerners retreated. Six hundred soldiers were killed or wounded, and another 1,000 were captured; the Yankees lost 800. Rebel opposition evaporated, and Hunter entered Staunton the next day. The victory cleared the way for Union occupation of the upper Shenandoah Valley.

1884 – Civil War hero General William T. Sherman refused the Republican presidential nomination, saying, “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.”

1912 – US Marines invaded Cuba (3rd time).

1912 – Senator Charles E. Townsent of Michigan introduced a bill to consolidate Life-Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service to form Coast Guard. The bill became law on 28 January 1915.

1917 – About 10 million American men began registering for the draft in World War I.

1917 – First military unit sent to France, First Naval Aeronautical Detachment, reaches France on board USS Jupiter.

1933 – The U.S. Congress abrogates the United States’ use of the gold standard by enacting a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.

1940 – The Battle of France began during World War II. The German army began its offensive on Southern France.

1941 – The US Army Bill for 1942 is introduced into Congress. It calls for appropriations amounting to $10,400,000,000.

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1943 – The L.A. Zoot Suit Riot continues with attacks on all “pachuco”-looking males. A group of musicians leaving the Aztec Recording Company on Third and Main Streets are attacked. Attorney Manuel Ruíz and other Mexican American professionals meet with city officials. Carey McWilliams calls California Attorney General Robert Kenny to encourage Governor Earl Warren to appoint an investigatory commission.

1944 – Allied airborne troops embark for Normandy just before midnight. The convoys carrying the Allied Expeditionary Force are nearing France.

1944 – The BBC broadcasts a second message, intended for the French Resistance, warning of the imminent invasion. Again, the significance of the message is noted by German authorities but the 7th Army in Normandy is not alerted.

1944 – Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a note to be issued in case the D-Day invasion turned out to be a failure: “Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold, and I have withdrawn the troops.” The note was [apparently misdated] dated July 5th.

1944 – More than 1,000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries placed at the Normandy assault area, while 3,000 Allied ships cross the English Channel in preparation for the invasion of Normandy-D-Day. The day of the invasion of occupied France had been postponed repeatedly since May, mostly because of bad weather and the enormous tactical obstacles involved. Finally, despite less than ideal weather conditions-or perhaps because of them-General Eisenhower decided on June 5 to set the next day as D-Day, the launch of the largest amphibious operation in history. Ike knew that the Germans would be expecting postponements beyond the sixth, precisely because weather conditions were still poor. Among those Germans confident that an Allied invasion could not be pulled off on the sixth was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who was still debating tactics with Field Marshal Karl Rundstedt. Rundstedt was convinced that the Allies would come in at the narrowest point of the Channel, between Calais and Dieppe; Rommel, following Hitler’s intuition, believed it would be Normandy.

Rommel’s greatest fear was that German air inferiority would prevent an adequate defense on the ground; it was his plan to meet the Allies on the coast-before the Allies had a chance to come ashore. Rommel began constructing underwater obstacles and minefields, and set off for Germany to demand from Hitler personally more panzer divisions in the area. Bad weather and an order to conserve fuel grounded much of the German air force on June 5th; consequently, its reconnaissance flights were spotty.

That night, more than 1,000 British bombers unleashed a massive assault on German gun batteries on the coast. At the same time, an Allied armada headed for the Normandy beaches in Operation Neptune, an attempt to capture the port at Cherbourg. But that was not all. In order to deceive the Germans, phony operations were run; dummy parachutists and radar-jamming devices were dropped into strategically key areas so as to make German radar screens believe there was an Allied convoy already on the move. One dummy parachute drop succeeded in drawing an entire German infantry regiment away from its position just six miles from the actual Normandy landing beaches. All this effort was to scatter the German defenses and make way for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy.

1944 – The US 5th Army enters Rome in force and continues to advance in pursuit of the retreating German forces. Traffic congestion on the limited road network hinders the advance, as does the German rearguards.

1944 – On Biak, elements of the US 41st Division continue to advance, reducing pockets of Japanese resistance. On the mainland, near Aitape, American forces evacuate one of their beachheads because of continuing Japanese attacks. The Japanese forces are sustaining heavy losses.

1944 – The first B-29 bombing raid struck the Japanese rail line in Bangkok, Thailand.

1945 – On Okinawa, Japanese forces on the Oroku peninsula strongly resist the US 6th Marine Division which nonetheless captures most of the airfield. In the south the forces of the US 24th Corps near the last Japanese defensive line, running from Yuza in the west to Guschichan on the east coast and based on the three hills, Yaeju, Yuza and Mezado. At sea, a sudden typhoon damages 4 battleships, 8 aircraft carriers, 7 cruisers, 14 destroyers, 2 tankers, and and ammunition transport ship, of the US 3rd Fleet. A Japanese Kamikaze attack cripples the battleship USS Mississippi and the heavy cruiser USS Louisville.

1945 – The Allied Control Commission meets for the first time in Berlin. The country is to be divided into four occupation zones and Berlin is to be divided into four occupation sectors. Eisenhower, Montgomery, Zhukov and de Lattre de Tassigny meet in a riverside club which is the Soviet delegation headquarters. They sign a document, containing 15 articles, in which the four powers reaffirm the complete defeat of Germany and assume authority over all aspects of life in the country. The frontiers of Germany are identified as those which existed on December 31, 1937.

1945 – On Luzon, the US 37th Division (US 1st Corps) occupy Aritao and advance northward from the town.

1945 – A total of 473 US B-29 Superfortress bombers strike Kobe with 3000 tons of incendiary bombs.

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1947 – In one of the most significant speeches of the Cold War, Secretary of State George C. Marshall calls on the United States to assist in the economic recovery of postwar Europe. His speech provided the impetus for the so-called Marshall Plan, under which the United States sent billions of dollars to Western Europe to rebuild the war-torn countries. In 1946 and into 1947, economic disaster loomed for Western Europe. World War II had done immense damage, and the crippled economies of Great Britain and France could not reinvigorate the region’s economic activity. Germany, once the industrial dynamo of Western Europe, lay in ruins. Unemployment, homelessness, and even starvation were commonplace. For the United States, the situation was of special concern on two counts. First, the economic chaos of Western Europe was providing a prime breeding ground for the growth of communism. Second, the U.S. economy, which was quickly returning to a civilian state after several years of war, needed the markets of Western Europe in order to sustain itself.

On June 5, 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall, speaking at Harvard University, outlined the dire situation in Western Europe and pleaded for U.S. assistance to the nations of that region. “The truth of the matter,” the secretary claimed, “is that Europe’s requirements for the next three or four years of foreign food and other essential products–principally from America–are so much greater than her present ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help or face economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.” Marshall declared, “Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.” In a thinly veiled reference to the communist threat, he promised “governments, political parties, or groups which seek to perpetuate human misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter the opposition of the United States.”

In March 1948, the United States Congress passed the Economic Cooperation Act (more popularly known as the Marshall Plan), which set aside $4 billion in aid for Western Europe. By the time the program ended nearly four years later, the United States had provided over $12 billion for European economic recovery. British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin likened the Marshall Plan to a “lifeline to sinking men.”

1953 – U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Vermont Garrison, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, became the 32nd ace of the Korean War and, at age 37, the oldest.

1963 – Movement of 15 Khordad: Protests against the arrest of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini by the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In several cities, masses of angry demonstrators are confronted by tanks and paratroopers.

1964 – DSV Alvin is commissioned. Alvin (DSV-2) is a manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vehicle was built by General Mills’ Electronics Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Named to honor the prime mover and creative inspiration for the vehicle, Allyn Vine. The submersible is launched from the deep submergence support vessel RV Atlantis (AGOR-25), which is also owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by WHOI. The submersible has made over 4,400 dives, carrying two scientists and a pilot, to observe the lifeforms that must cope with super-pressures and move about in total darkness, as well as exploring the wreck of Titanic. Research conducted by Alvin has been featured in nearly 2,000 scientific papers.

1965 – The State Department confirms that US troops, assigned to guard US installations in Vietnam, are in fact, engaging in some combat against Communist forces.

1968 – Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions, Kennedy was shot several times by the 22-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He died a day later. The summer of 1968 was a tempestuous time in American history. Both the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement were peaking. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated in the spring, igniting riots across the country. In the face of this unrest, President Lyndon B. Johnson decided not to seek a second term in the upcoming presidential election. Robert Kennedy, John’s younger brother and former U.S. Attorney General, stepped into this breach and experienced a groundswell of support. Kennedy was perceived by many to be the only person in American politics capable of uniting the people. He was beloved by the minority community for his integrity and devotion to the civil rights cause.

After winning California’s primary, Kennedy was in the position to receive the Democratic nomination and face off against Richard Nixon in the general election. As star athletes Rafer Johnson and Roosevelt Grier accompanied Kennedy out a rear exit of the Ambassador Hotel, Sirhan Sirhan stepped forward with a rolled up campaign poster, hiding his .22 revolver. He was only a foot away when he fired several shots at Kennedy. Grier and Johnson wrestled Sirhan to the ground, but not before five bystanders were wounded. Grier was distraught afterward and blamed himself for allowing Kennedy to be shot. Sirhan confessed to the crime at his trial and received a death sentence on April 24, 1969. However, since the Supreme Court invalidated all death penalty sentences in 1972, Sirhan has spent the rest of his life in prison. He has never provided a clear explanation for why he targeted Bobby Kennedy. Hubert Humphrey ended up running for the Democrats in 1968, but lost by a small margin to Nixon.

1969 – There was a race riot in Hartford, Connecticut.

1972 – Testifying before a joint Congressional Appropriations Committee, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird says the increase in U.S. military activity in Vietnam could add up to $5 billion to the 1973 fiscal budget, doubling the annual cost of the war. This increased American activity was in response to the North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive, also called the Easter Offensive, which had been launched on March 31. This offensive was a massive invasion by North Vietnamese forces designed to strike the blow that would win them the war.

The attacking force included 14 infantry divisions and 26 separate regiments, with more than 120,000 troops and approximately 1,200 tanks and other armored vehicles. The main North Vietnamese objectives were Quang Tri in the north, Kontum in the Central Highlands, and An Loc farther to the south. In response, President Richard Nixon had ordered massive support for the South Vietnamese defenders and their U.S. advisers. The number of U.S. Air Force fighter-bombers in Southeast Asia was tripled, and B-52s were quadrupled. Nixon ordered additional ships to join the 7th Fleet, sending the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk from the Philippines to join the carriers already off the coast of Vietnam in providing air support.

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1986 – A federal jury in Baltimore convicted Ronald W. Pelton of selling secrets to the Soviet Union. (Pelton was sentenced to three life prison terms plus 10 years.)

1989 – Chinese soldiers slaughtered pro-democracy students at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. In one of the most remembered images of China’s crushed pro-democracy movement, a lone man stood defiantly in front of a line of tanks in Beijing until friends pulled him out of the way. In 2001 “The Tiananmen Papers,” a book based on classified documents smuggled out of China, was published. Zhang Liang was the pseudonym of the compiler.

1991 – The space shuttle “Columbia” blasted off with seven astronauts on a nine-day mission.

1993 – In Somalia, militiamen loyal to Mohamed Farrah Aidid killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

1993 – 2 US soldiers (trucker and engineer) are wounded in the bloodiest day in 3 months during running battles across Mogadishu. An 85 man company from 1/22 Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, is air assaulted in to repel further attacks.

1997 – Harold J. Nicholson, the highest-ranking CIA officer ever caught spying against his own country, was sentenced to 23 1/2 years in prison for selling defense secrets to Russia after the Cold War.

1999 – NATO commanders spelled out the withdrawal terms to Yugoslav military officers in a 5-hour meeting near the Macedonian border. More talks were scheduled.

2002 – It was reported that US intelligence believed that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed of Kuwait, a key bin Laden lieutenant, was the mastermind of the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.

2002 – The space shuttle Endeavour launched from Cape Canaveral carrying 7 new residents for the International Space Station ( ISS ).

2003 – Speaking to U.S. soldiers in Qatar, President Bush argued the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was justified and pledged that “we’ll reveal the truth” on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

2003 – The United States agreed to pull its ground troops away from the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.

2004 – Ronald Reagan (born 1911), US president (1981-1989), died in California after a long twilight struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

2007 – I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Jr., former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, is sentenced to 30 months in prison after being convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak grand jury investigation.

2008 – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others are arraigned at Guantanamo Bay detention camp under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and charged with crimes related to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

2014 – A AV-8B Harrier jet crashes in the U.S. city of Imperial, California, resulting in the destruction of three homes.


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Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

AVERY, WILLIAM B.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 1st New York Marine Artillery. Place and date: At Tranters Creek, N.C., 5 June 1862. Entered service at: Providence, R.I. Born: 10 September 1840, Providence, R.I. Date of issue: 2 September 1893. Citation: Handled his battery with greatest coolness amidst the hottest fire.

BEATTY, ALEXANDER M.
Rank and organization: Captain, Company F, 3d Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Cold Harbor, Va., 5 June 1864. Entered service at: Vermont. Born: 29 July 1828, Ryegate, Vt. Date of issue: 25 April 1894. Citation: Removed, under a hot fire, a wounded member of his command to a place of safety.

EVANS, THOMAS
Rank and organization: Private, Company D, 54th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Piedmont, Va., 5 June 1864. Entered service at: Cambria County, Pa. Birth: Wales. Date of issue: 26 November 1864. Citation: Capture of flag of 45th Virginia (C.S.A.).

HUNTERSON, JOHN C.
Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry. Place and date: On the Peninsula, Va., 5 June 1862. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 2 August 1897. Citation: While under fire, between the lines of the 2 armies, voluntarily gave up his own horse to an engineer officer whom he was accompanying on a reconnaissance and whose horse had been killed, thus enabling the officer to escape with valuable papers in his possession.

SNEDDEN, JAMES
Rank and organization: Musician, Company E, 54th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Piedmont, Va., 5 June 1864. Entered service at: Johnstown, Pa. Birth: Scotland. Dates of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Left his place in the rear, took the rifle of a disabled soldier, and fought through the remainder of the action.

STAHEL, JULIUS
Rank and organization: Major General, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Piedmont, Va., 5 June 1864. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Born: 5 November 1825, Hungary. Date of issue: 4 November 1893. Citation: Led his division into action until he was severely wounded.

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*FLEMING, RICHARD E.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 2 November 1917, St. Paul, Minn. Appointed from: Minnesota. Citation: For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty as Flight Officer, Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241, during action against enemy Japanese forces in the battle of Midway on 4 and 5 June 1942. When his Squadron Commander was shot down during the initial attack upon an enemy aircraft carrier, Capt. Fleming led the remainder of the division with such fearless determination that he dived his own plane to the perilously low altitude of 400 feet before releasing his bomb. Although his craft was riddled by 179 hits in the blistering hail of fire that burst upon him from Japanese fighter guns and antiaircraft batteries, he pulled out with only 2 minor wounds inflicted upon himself.

On the night of 4 June, when the squadron commander lost his way and became separated from the others, Capt. Fleming brought his own plane in for a safe landing at its base despite hazardous weather conditions and total darkness. The following day, after less than 4 hours’ sleep, he led the second division of his squadron in a coordinated glide-bombing and dive-bombing assault upon a Japanese battleship. Undeterred by a fateful approach glide, during which his ship was struck and set afire, he grimly pressed home his attack to an altitude of 500 feet, released his bomb to score a near miss on the stern of his target, then crashed to the sea in flames. His dauntless perseverance and unyielding devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

*HARR, HARRY R.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company D, 124th Infantry, 31st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Maglamin, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 5 June 1945. Entered service at: East Freedom, Pa. Birth: Pine Croft, Pa. G.O. No.: 28, 28 March 1946. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity. In a fierce counterattack, the Japanese closed in on his machinegun emplacement, hurling hand grenades, 1 of which exploded under the gun, putting it out of action and wounding 2 of the crew. While the remaining gunners were desperately attempting to repair their weapon another grenade landed squarely in the emplacement. Quickly realizing he could not safely throw the unexploded missile from the crowded position, Cpl. Harr unhesitatingly covered it with his body to smother the blast. His supremely courageous act, which cost him his life, saved 4 of his comrades and enabled them to continue their mission.

*VANCE, LEON R., Jr (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Corps, 489th Bomber Group. Place and date: Over Wimereaux. France, 5 June 1944. Entered service at. Garden City, N.Y. Born: 11 August 1916, Enid, Okla . G.O. No. . 1, 4 January 1 945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on 5 June 1944, when he led a Heavy Bombardment Group, in an attack against defended enemy coastal positions in the vicinity of Wimereaux, France. Approaching the target, his aircraft was hit repeatedly by antiaircraft fire which seriously crippled the ship, killed the pilot, and wounded several members of the crew, including Lt. Col. Vance, whose right foot was practically severed. In spite of his injury, and with 3 engines lost to the flak, he led his formation over the target, bombing it successfully.

After applying a tourniquet to his leg with the aid of the radar operator, Lt. Col. Vance, realizing that the ship was approaching a stall altitude with the 1 remaining engine failing, struggled to a semi-upright position beside the copilot and took over control of the ship. Cutting the power and feathering the last engine he put the aircraft in glide sufficiently steep to maintain his airspeed. Gradually losing altitude, he at last reached the English coast, whereupon he ordered all members of the crew to bail out as he knew they would all safely make land. But he received a message over the interphone system which led him to believe 1 of the crewmembers was unable to jump due to injuries; so he made the decision to ditch the ship in the channel, thereby giving this man a chance for life.

To add further to the danger of ditching the ship in his crippled condition, there was a 500-pound bomb hung up in the bomb bay. Unable to climb into the seat vacated by the copilot, since his foot, hanging on to his leg by a few tendons, had become lodged behind the copilot’s seat, he nevertheless made a successful ditching while lying on the floor using only aileron and elevators for control and the side window of the cockpit for visual reference. On coming to rest in the water the aircraft commenced to sink rapidly with Lt. Col. Vance pinned in the cockpit by the upper turret which had crashed in during the landing. As it was settling beneath the waves an explosion occurred which threw Lt. Col. Vance clear of the wreckage.

After clinging to a piece of floating wreckage until he could muster enough strength to inflate his life vest he began searching for the crewmember whom he believed to be aboard. Failing to find anyone he began swimming and was found approximately 50 minutes later by an Air-Sea Rescue craft. By his extraordinary flying skill and gallant leadership, despite his grave injury, Lt. Col. Vance led his formation to a successful bombing of the assigned target and returned the crew to a point where they could bail out with safety. His gallant and valorous decision to ditch the aircraft in order to give the crewmember he believed to be aboard a chance for life exemplifies the highest traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces.

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WILSON, BENJAMIN F.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant (then M/Sgt.), U.S. Army Company I, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Hwach’on-Myon, Korea, 5 June 1951. Entered service at: Vashon, Wash. Birth: Vashon, Wash. G.O. No.: 69, 23 September 1954. Citation: 1st Lt. Wilson distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and indomitable courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. Company I was committed to attack and secure commanding terrain stubbornly defended by a numerically superior hostile force emplaced in well-fortified positions. When the spearheading element was pinned down by withering hostile fire, he dashed forward and, firing his rifle and throwing grenades, neutralized the position denying the advance and killed 4 enemy soldiers manning submachine guns. After the assault platoon moved up, occupied the position, and a base of fire was established, he led a bayonet attack which reduced the objective and killed approximately 27 hostile soldiers.

While friendly forces were consolidating the newly won gain, the enemy launched a counterattack and 1st Lt. Wilson, realizing the imminent threat of being overrun, made a determined lone-man charge, killing 7 and wounding 2 of the enemy, and routing the remainder in disorder. After the position was organized, he led an assault carrying to approximately 15 yards of the final objective, when enemy fire halted the advance. He ordered the platoon to withdraw and, although painfully wounded in this action, remained to provide covering fire. During an ensuing counterattack, the commanding officer and 1st Platoon leader became casualties. Unhesitatingly, 1st Lt. Wilson charged the enemy ranks and fought valiantly, killing 3 enemy soldiers with his rifle before it was wrested from his hands, and annihilating 4 others with his entrenching tool. His courageous delaying action enabled his comrades to reorganize and effect an orderly withdrawal. While directing evacuation of the wounded, he suffered a second wound, but elected to remain on the position until assured that all of the men had reached safety. 1st Lt. Wilson’s sustained valor and intrepid actions reflect utmost credit upon himself and uphold the honored traditions of the military service.

CAVAIANI, JON R.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Vietnam Training Advisory Group, Republic of Vietnam. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 4 and 5 June 1971. Entered service at: Fresno, Calif. Born: 2 August 1943, Royston, England. Citation: S/Sgt. Cavaiani distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 4 and 5 June 1971 while serving as a platoon leader to a security platoon providing security for an isolated radio relay site located within enemy-held territory. On the morning of 4 June 1971, the entire camp came under an intense barrage of enemy small arms, automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire from a superior size enemy force. S/Sgt. Cavaiani acted with complete disregard for his personal safety as he repeatedly exposed himself to heavy enemy fire in order to move about the camp’s perimeter directing the platoon’s fire and rallying the platoon in a desperate fight for survival. S/Sgt. Cavaiani also returned heavy suppressive fire upon the assaulting enemy force during this period with a variety of weapons.

When the entire platoon was to be evacuated, S/Sgt. Cavaiani unhesitatingly volunteered to remain on the ground and direct the helicopters into the landing zone. S/Sgt. Cavaiani was able to direct the first 3 helicopters in evacuating a major portion of the platoon. Due to intense increase in enemy fire, S/Sgt. Cavaiani was forced to remain at the camp overnight where he calmly directed the remaining platoon members in strengthening their defenses. On the morning of S June, a heavy ground fog restricted visibility. The superior size enemy force launched a major ground attack in an attempt to completely annihilate the remaining small force. The enemy force advanced in 2 ranks, first firing a heavy volume of small arms automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade fire while the second rank continuously threw a steady barrage of hand grenades at the beleaguered force. S/Sgt. Cavaiani returned a heavy barrage of small arms and hand grenade fire on the assaulting enemy force but was unable to slow them down. He ordered the remaining platoon members to attempt to escape while he provided them with cover fire.

With one last courageous exertion, S/Sgt. Cavaiani recovered a machine gun, stood up, completely exposing himself to the heavy enemy fire directed at him, and began firing the machine gun in a sweeping motion along the 2 ranks of advancing enemy soldiers. Through S/Sgt. Cavaiani’s valiant efforts with complete disregard for his safety, the majority of the remaining platoon members were able to escape. While inflicting severe losses on the advancing enemy force, S/Sgt. Cavaiani was wounded numerous times. S/Sgt. Cavaiani’s conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.


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6 June

1639 – Massachusetts granted 500 acres of land to erect a gunpowder mill.

1772 – Haitian explorer Jean Baptiste-Pointe DuSable settled Chicago.

1813 – The U.S. invasion of Canada was halted at Stoney Creek, Ontario.

1822 – Alexis St. Martin, a fur trader at Fort Mackinac in the Michigan territory, was accidentally shot in the abdomen. William Beaumont, a US Army assistant surgeon, treated the wound and St. Martin survived. The stomach wound did not close and Beaumont undertook experiments in 1825 to study the digestive system.

1833 – In Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland, President Andrew Jackson boards a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad train for a pleasure trip to Baltimore. Jackson, who had never been on a train before, was the first president to take a ride on the “Iron Horse.” The steam locomotive was first pioneered in England at the beginning of the 19th century by Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began operation in 1828 with horse-drawn cars, but after the successful run of the Tom Thumb, a steam train that nearly outraced a horse in a public demonstration in 1830, steam power was added. By 1831, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad had completed a line from Baltimore to Frederick, Maryland.

Two years later, Andrew Jackson gave railroad travel its presidential christening. The acceptance of railroads came quickly in the 1830s, and by 1840 the nation had almost 3,000 miles of railway, greater than the combined European total of only 1,800 miles. The railroad network expanded quickly in the years before the Civil War, and by 1860 the American railroad system had become a national network of some 30,000 miles. Nine years later, transcontinental railroad service became possible for the first time.

1862 – Union claims Memphis, Tennessee, the Confederacy’s fifth-largest city, a naval manufacturing yard, and a key Southern industrial center. One of the top priorities for Union commanders at the start of the war was to sever the Confederacy along the Mississippi. In April 1862, the Union scored major victories toward this goal with the capture of New Orleans in the south and the fall of Island No. 10 in the north. For seven weeks following the defeat of Island No. 10, Yankee ships pounded away at Fort Pillow, 40 miles north of Memphis. On June 4th, a Rebel garrison abandoned the fort after Confederate troops withdrew from Corinth, Mississippi, leaving them dangerously isolated in Union-held territory. The next day, the Union flotilla steamed to Memphis unopposed. The city had no fortifications, because the Confederates had directed their resources toward strengthening the installation upriver. All that stood between the Yankees and Memphis was a Rebel fleet of eight ships. On the morning of June 6th, thousands of residents lined the shores to watch the action. Three Confederate ships were rammed and sunk, and one Union ship was struck and severely damaged. Union guns aboard the other ships began a devastating barrage that destroyed all but one of the Confederate vessels. The Rebel fleet was decimated with only four Union casualties and one damaged ship.

1862 – Battle of Port Royal, SC (Port Royal Ferry).

1864 – Lieutenant Commander Owen, U.S.S. Louisville, covered the embarkation of 8,000 Union troops under General A. J. Smith on transports near Sunnyside, Arkansas, on the Mississippi River. Under Owen’s charge, the transports had landed the Federal force on 4 June, and the soldiers had engaged Confederate units near Bayou Macon, Louisiana, forcing the Southerners into the interior. Owen noted in his report to Rear Admiral Porter: “The object that brought the enemy here in the first place doubtless still remains, and I may expect him any time after the departure of General Smith. Unless Marmaduke’s forces, with his artillery, are driven away or destroyed, they will very much annoy navigation between Cypress Bend and Sunnyside.”

1865 – William Quantrill, the man who gave Frank and Jesse James their first education in killing, dies from wounds sustained in a skirmish with Union soldiers in Kentucky. Born and raised in Ohio, Quantrill was involved in a number of shady enterprises in Utah and Kansas during his teens. In his early 20s, he fled to Missouri, where he became a strong supporter of pro-slavery settlers in their sometimes-violent conflict with their antislavery neighbors. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the 24-year-old Quantrill became the leader of an irregular force of Confederate soldiers that became known as Quantrill’s Raiders.

By 1862, Union forces had established control over Missouri, but Quantrill’s Raiders continued to harass the northern army and unguarded pro-Union towns over the next three years. Quantrill and other guerrilla leaders recruited their soldiers from Confederate sympathizers who resented what they saw as the unfairly harsh Union rule of their state. Among those who joined him was a 20-year-old farm kid named Frank James. His younger brother, Jesse, joined an allied guerrilla force a year later.

In August 1863, Frank James was with Quantrill when he led a savage attack on the largely defenseless town of Lawrence, Kansas. Angered that the townspeople had allowed Lawrence to be used as a sporadic base for Union soldiers, Quantrill and his guerrillas shot every man and boy they saw. After killing at least 150 male civilians, the raiders set the town on fire. In May 1865, Quantrill was badly wounded in a skirmish with Union forces, and he died on this day in 1865. Since Quantrill’s men were guerillas rather than legitimate soldiers, they were denied the general amnesty given to the Confederate army after the war ended. Some, like Frank and Jesse James, took this as an excuse to become criminals and bank robbers.

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1918 – The first large-scale battle fought by American soldiers in World War I begins in Belleau Wood, northwest of the Paris-to-Metz road. In late May 1918, the third German offensive of the year penetrated the Western Front to within 45 miles of Paris.

U.S. forces under General John J. Pershing helped halt the German advance, and on June 6th Pershing ordered a counteroffensive to drive the Germans out of Belleau Wood. U.S. Marines under General James Harbord led the attack against the four German divisions positioned in the woods and by the end of the first day suffered more than 1,000 casualties.

For the next three weeks, the Marines, backed by U.S. Army artillery, launched many attacks into the forested area, but German General Erich Ludendorff was determined to deny the Americans a victory. Ludendorff continually brought up reinforcements from the rear, and the Germans attacked the U.S. forces with machine guns, artillery, and gas.

Finally, on June 26th, the Americans prevailed but at the cost of nearly 10,000 dead, wounded, or missing in action. This is first battle where the AEF experienced the heavy casualties associated with the Great War. It represents the embodiment of U.S. Marine Corps determination and dedication and served as a signal to both allies and adversaries that America was on the Western Front to fight.

1918 – Battalions of the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments frontally assault the woods from the south and west and attempt to capture Bouresches on the east edge of Belleau Wood. This afternoon attack was to be coordinated between the 3rd Batt, 5th Marines [3/5] and 3rd Batt, 6th Marines [3/6] with the latter taking the village of Bouresches the next day.

1924 – The German Reichstag accepted the Dawes Plan, an American plan to help Germany pay off its war debts.

1932 – The first gasoline tax levied by Congress was enacted as a part of the Revenue Act of 1932. The Act mandated a series of excise taxes on a wide variety of consumer goods. Congress placed a tax of 1¢ per gallon on gasoline and other motor fuel sold.

1933 – The US Employment Service was created.

1941 – The U.S. government authorized the seizure of foreign ships in U.S. ports.

1942 – The 1st nylon parachute jump was made in Hartford, Ct., by Adeline Gray.

1942 – Japanese troops landed on Kiska, Aleutians.

1942 – The Battle of Midway. Admiral Yamamoto considers engaging in a surface battle against the US carrier fleet, but decides to retreat instead. The loss of the main portion of the Japanese carrier fleet and their aircraft pilots in the battle on June 4th has robbed the Japanese of the initiative in the naval battle in the Pacific.

Also of importance is the use of code-breaking by the Americans to intercept Japanese planning. Prior knowledge of Japanese intentions at Midway allowed the Americans to prepare a trap.

1943 – The L.A. Zoot Suit Riot escalates and spreads into East Los Angeles. California Attorny General Kenny meets with Mayor McWilliams regarding the investigation and creates the McGucken Committee. Chaired by the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, Joseph T. McGucken, the committee blames the press for its irresponsible tone and the police for overreacting to the riot.

1944 – Operation Overlord begins. In Normandy, France, during the predawn hours, the US 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions are dropped inland from the right flank beach. The British 6th Airborne Division is landed inland from the left flank beach. These forces achieve their objectives and create confusion among the German defenders. The Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy at dawn. Forces of the 21st Army Group (Field Marshal Montgomery) commands the US 1st Army (General Bradley) on the right and the British 2nd Army (General Dempsey) on the left.

There are five invasion beaches: Utah on the right flank, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, on the left flank:

At Utah, the US 7th Corps (General Collins) lands with US 4th Division spearheading the assault. The troops advance inland against light resistance. Admiral Moon provides naval support.

At Omaha, the US 5th Corps (General Gerow) lands. There is heavy resistance and by the end of the day the American forces have advance less than one mile inland. Admiral Hall provides naval support. At Gold, the British 30th Corps (General Bucknall) lands with 50th Infantry Division and 8th Armored Brigade leading the assault. There is reasonable advance inland although the assigned objectives are not met.

At Juno beach, the British 1st Corps (General Crocker) lands with the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division and the Canadian 2nd Armored Brigade leading the assault. The tanks and infantry quickly push inland. Naval support is under the command of Commodore Oliver.

At Sword beach, other elements of the British 1st Corps land. The British 3rd Infantry Division, 27th Armored Brigade and several Marine and Commando units lead the assault. The beach is quickly secured and bridges over the Orne River are captured but the first day objectives are not reached.

The German 21st Panzer Division counterattacks in the late afternoon but does not dislodge the British defenders. Overall, the Allies land almost 150,000 men. Naval support and massive aerial interdiction prevents the German defenders from concentrating forces for a decisive counterattack. Despite the German resistance, Allied casualties overall were relatively light. The United States and Britain each lost about 1,000 men, and Canada 355.

Before the day was over, 155,000 Allied troops would be in Normandy. However, the United States managed to get only half of the 14,000 vehicles and a quarter of the 14,500 tons of supplies they intended on shore. Three factors were decisive in the success of the Allied invasion. First, German counterattacks were firm but sparse, enabling the Allies to create a broad bridgehead, or advanced position, from which they were able to build up enormous troop strength. Second, Allied air cover, which destroyed bridges over the Seine, forced the Germans to suffer long detours, and naval gunfire proved decisive in protecting the invasion troops. And third, division and confusion within the German ranks as to where the invasion would start and how best to defend their position helped the Allies. (Hitler, convinced another invasion was coming the next day east of the Seine River, refused to allow reserves to be pulled from that area.)

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commander of Britain’s Twenty-first Army Group (but under the overall command of General Eisenhower, for whom Montgomery, and his ego, proved a perennial thorn in the side), often claimed later that the invasion had come off exactly as planned. That was a boast, as evidenced by the failure to take Caen on the first day, as scheduled. While the operation was a decided success, considering the number of troops put ashore and light casualties, improvisation by courageous and quick-witted commanders also played an enormous role.

1944 – Brigadier General Norman “Dutch” Cota was the first American General to step foot on Omaha Beach. Cota, assistant commander of the 29th Infantry Division, heroically spurred his men to cross the beach under withering German fire. He went on to lead his infantrymen across France to the Siegfried Line and in the battle of Hurtgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge.

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1944 – The Allied invasion of France, commonly known as “D-Day” begins as Guardsmen from the 29th Infantry Division (DC, MD, VA) storm onto what will forever after be known as “Bloody Omaha” Beach. The lead element, Virginia’s 116th Infantry, suffers nearly 80% casualties but gains the foothold needed for the invasion to succeed. The 116’s artillery support, the 111th Field Artillery Battalion, also from Virginia, loses all 12 of its guns in high surf trying to get on the beach. Its men take up arms from the dead and fight as infantrymen. Engineer support came from the District of Columbia’s 121st Engineer Battalion. Despite high loses too, its men succeed in blowing holes in several obstacles clearing paths for the men to get inland off the beach.

In the early afternoon, Maryland’s 115th Infantry lands behind the 116th and moves through its shattered remnants to start the movement in off the beach. Supporting the invasion was the largest air fleet known to history. Among the units flying missions were the Guards’ 107th (MI) and 109th (MN) Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons The Normandy campaign lasted until the end of July with four Guard infantry divisions; the 28th (PA), 29th, 30th (NC, SC, TN) and the 35th (KS, MO, NE) taking part along with dozens of non-divisional units all earning the “Normandy” streamer.

1944 – Cherokee tribal members communicated via radios in their native language on the Normandy beaches. Some 6,603 Americans were killed along the coast of France during the D-day invasion. A total of 9,758 Allied soldiers died during the invasion. “D-Day” by Stephen Ambrose was published in 1994.

1944 – Ninety-nine Coast Guard cutters, Coast Guard-manned warships and landing craft participated in the landings at Normandy, France. CAPT Miles Imlay took command of one of the assault groups attacking Omaha Beach during the invasion. He directed the invasion from his command USS LCI(L)-83. LCI(L)s 85, 91, 92, and 93 (Coast Guard-manned) were lost at the Omaha beachhead that day. Sixty cutters sailed in support of the invasion forces, acted as search and rescue craft for each of the landings. A Coast Guard manned assault transport, the USS Bayfield, served as the command and control vessel for the assault at Utah beach.

1944 – The French Expeditionary Corps (part of US 5th Army) completes the capture of Tivoli. Recent combat has depleted 4 German infantry divisions and reduced six of their panzer and panzer grenadier divisions.

1944 – On Biak, elements of the US 41st Division (ORARNG) prepare to advance on Mokmer Airfield while other elements are engaged near Ibdi.

1945 – Coast Guard-manned USS Sheepscot (AOG-24) went aground and was lost off Iwo Jima. No lives were lost.

1945 – On Okinawa, elements of the US 6th Marine Division advance in the Oruka Peninsula following their landing. Naha airfield is secured. Elements of the US 96th Division (US 24th Corps) reach the lower slopes of Mount Yaeju and are halted by intensive Japanese fire.

1945 – American forces advance without meeting significant resistance in the Cayagan valley, on Luzon, as well as on Minadanao.

1949 – George Orwell’s novel of a dystopian future, Nineteen Eighty-four, is published. The novel’s all-seeing leader, known as “Big Brother,” becomes a universal symbol for intrusive government and oppressive bureaucracy. George Orwell was the nom de plume of Eric Blair, who was born in India. The son of a British civil servant, Orwell attended school in London and won a scholarship to the elite prep school Eton, where most students came from wealthy upper-class backgrounds, unlike Orwell. Rather than going to college like most of his classmates, Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police and went to work in Burma in 1922.

During his five years there, he developed a severe sense of class guilt; finally in 1927, he chose not to return to Burma while on holiday in England. Orwell, choosing to immerse himself in the experiences of the urban poor, went to Paris, where he worked menial jobs, and later spent time in England as a tramp. He wrote Down and Out in Paris and London in 1933, based on his observation of the poorer classes, and in 1937 his Road to Wigan Pier documented the life of the unemployed in northern England. Meanwhile, he had published his first novel, Burmese Days, in 1934. Orwell became increasingly left wing in his views, although he never committed himself to any specific political party.

He went to Spain during the Spanish Civil War to fight with the Republicans, but later fled as communism gained an upper hand in the struggle on the left. His barnyard fable, Animal Farm (1945), shows how the noble ideals of egalitarian economies can easily be distorted. The book brought him his first taste of critical and financial success. Orwell’s last novel, Nineteen Eighty-four, brought him lasting fame with its grim vision of a future where all citizens are watched constantly and language is twisted to aid in oppression. Orwell died of tuberculosis in 1950.

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1951 – U.N. naval aircraft, along with Air Force and Marine Corps reinforcements, flew 230 sorties against enemy troop concentrations and supply lines in the central and western sectors.

1952 – Operation COUNTER began as the 45th Infantry Division (OKARNG) launched a two-phased series of attacks to establish strategic outpost sites in the Old Baldy area. The 45th Infantry Division seized 11 outposts west of Chorwon. Repeated communist counterattacks during the remainder of the month failed to dislodge friendly troops.

1952 – F-86 Sabre Jets scored one of the greatest single victories of the war, destroying eight MiGs and damaging two others.

1964 – The UN Security Council names Brazil, the Ivory Coast, and Morocco to form a commission to investigate conditions on the Cambodia-Vietnam border.

1964 – Two U.S. Navy jets flying low-altitude target reconnaissance missions over Laos are shot down by communist Pathet Lao ground fire. Washington immediately ordered armed jets to escort the reconnaissance flights, and by June 9, escort jets were attacking Pathet Lao headquarters. The downing of the two reconnaissance aircraft and the retaliatory strikes were made public, but the full extent of the U.S. involvement in Laos was not. In fact, the U.S. fighter-bombers were flying combat missions in support of Royal Lao forces in their war against the communist Pathet Lao and would continue to do so until 1973.

1972 – South Vietnamese forces drive out all but a few of the communist troops remaining in Kontum. Over 200 North Vietnamese had been killed in six battles in and around the city. The city had come under attack in April when the North Vietnamese had launched their Nguyen Hue Offensive (later called the Easter Offensive), a massive invasion by North Vietnamese forces designed to strike the blow that would win them the war. The attacking force included 14 infantry divisions and 26 separate regiments, with more than 120,000 troops and approximately 1,200 tanks and other armored vehicles. In addition to Kontum, the other main North Vietnamese objectives were Quang Tri in the north and An Loc farther to the south.

Initially, the South Vietnamese defenders were almost overwhelmed, particularly in the northernmost provinces, where they abandoned their positions in Quang Tri and fled south in the face of the enemy onslaught. At Kontum and An Loc, the South Vietnamese were more successful in defending against the attacks, but only after weeks of bitter fighting. Although the defenders suffered heavy casualties, they managed to hold their own with the aid of U.S. advisors and American airpower. Fighting continued all over South Vietnam into the summer months, but eventually the South Vietnamese forces prevailed against the invaders and retook Quang Tri in September. With the communist invasion blunted, President Nixon declared that the South Vietnamese victory proved the viability of his Vietnamization program, which he had instituted in 1969 to increase the combat capability of the South Vietnamese armed forces so that U.S. troops could be withdrawn.

1977 – “Washington Post” reported that the United States had developed a neutron bomb.

1985 – CGC Polar Sea departed Seattle for a voyage through the Northwest Passage by way of the Panama Canal, the east coast, and then Greenland, sparking an international incident with Canada. She completed the first solo circumnavigation of the North American continent by a U.S. vessel and the first trip by a Polar-Class icebreaker. She also captured the record for the fastest transit of the historic northern route. She arrived back in Seattle on 27 October 1985.

1988 – Morton Thiokol Inc., which built the booster rocket involved in the Challenger explosion in 1986, announced it would not bid to build the next generation of rocket motors for the nation’s manned space shuttles.

1991 – NATO issued a statement saying it would not accept any “coercion or intimidation” against the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe.

1995 – US astronaut Norman Thagard broke NASA’s space endurance record of 84 days, one hour and 16 minutes, aboard the Russian space station “Mir.”

1995 – NATO launched 2 air raids against an ammunition dump in Serb-held central Bosnia. The air strikes touched off a crises in which [270] 350 UN peacekeepers were taken hostage by Bosnian Serbs. Serb forces seized 270 UN peacekeepers, shackled them to potential targets, and ordered them to plead on camera for the NATO air attacks to stop. Serbia improved its relations with the West by helping to arrange the release of the hostages.

1996 – China agreed conditionally to a ban on the use of nuclear explosions for civilian projects.

1996 – Cuba announced plans to create free trade zones on the island.

1998 – The UN Security Council demanded in a unanimous vote that India and Pakistan refrain from further nuclear tests and sign nuclear control agreements.

1999 – The Shuttle Discover landed at Kennedy Space Center just after 2 a.m. following a ten-day mission and the first docking with the new International Space Station.

1999 – NATO officials failed to reach an agreement with Yugoslav military officers on withdrawal plans from Kosovo. Bombing continued on Yugoslav army positions near the Albania-Kosovo border.

1999 – NATO said that Yugoslav army troops and police had gone on a looting spree in Pristina and Prizren.

1999 – In Iraq US and British warplanes struck military facilities after being fired on in the no-fly zone of southern Iraq.

2001 – President Bush announced plans to restart negotiations with North Korea on issues ranging from missile production to border soldier deployment.

2002 – President Bush proposed a new Cabinet department for domestic security. The Department of Homeland Security would operate on a $37.5 billion budget and have 169,154 employees.

2003 – Chile became the first South American country to sign a free trade agreement with the United States.

2003 – An Iraqi prisoner (52) of war was found dead at a camp run by the 1st Marine Division near Nasiriyah. On October 8th Marine reservists stationed at Camp Pendleton were charged in connection with his death.

2003 – The Netherlands said it will send 1,100 peacekeepers to southern Iraq to join the British-led multinational stabilization force.

2004 – The US military free 320 prisoners at Abu Ghraib leaving some 3,100.

2006 – The United States was successful in tracking Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed in a targeted killing, while attending a meeting in an isolated safe house approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Baqubah. Having been tracked by a British UAV, radio contact was made between the controller and two United States Air Force F-16C jets which identified the house and at 14:15 GMT, the lead jet dropped two 500-pound (230 kg) guided bombs, a laser-guided GBU-12 and GPS-guided GBU-38 on the building where he was located.

BOOM !!

:smilie flag:

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Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

LEJEUNE, EMILE
Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1853, France. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 212, 9 June 1876. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Plymouth, Lejeune displayed gallant conduct in rescuing a citizen from drowning at Port Royal, S.C., 6 June 1876.

HOFFMAN, CHARLES F. (Army Medal)
Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 49th Company, 5th Regiment, 2d Division, (Name changed to Ernest August Janson, see p. 444. ) Place and date: Near Chateau-Thierry, France, 6 June 1918. Entered service at: Brooklyn, N.Y. Born. 17 August 1878, New York, N.Y. G.O. No.: 34, W.D., 1919. (Also received Navy Medal of Honor. ) Citation: Immediately after the company to which he belonged had reached its objective on Hill 142, several hostile counterattacks were launched against the line before the new position had been consolidated. G/Sgt. Hoffman was attempting to organize a position on the north slope of the hill when he saw 12 of the enemy, armed with 5 light machineguns, crawling toward his group. Giving the alarm, he rushed the hostile detachment, bayoneted the 2 leaders, and forced the others to flee, abandoning their guns. His quick action, initiative, and courage drove the enemy from a position from which they could have swept the hill with machinegun fire and forced the withdrawal of our troops.

JANSON, ERNEST AUGUST (Navy Medal)
Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 49th Company. (Served under name of Charles F. Hoffman) Born: 17 August 1878, New York, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. (Also received Army Medal of Honor.) Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Chateau-Thierry, France, 6 June 1918. Immediately after the company to which G/Sgt. Janson belonged, had reached its objective on Hill 142, several hostile counterattacks were launched against the line before the new position had been consolidated. G/Sgt. Janson was attempting to organize a position on the north slope of the hill when he saw 12 of the enemy, armed with 5 light machineguns, crawling toward his group. Giving the alarm, he rushed the hostile detachment, bayoneted the 2 leaders, and forced the others to flee, abandoning their guns. His quick action, initiative and courage drove the enemy from a position from which they could have swept the hill with machinegun fire and forced the withdrawal of our troops.

*OSBORNE, WEEDON E.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, Junior Grade, (Dental Corps), U.S. Navy. Born: 13 November 1892, Chicago, Ill. Appointed from: Illinois. Citation: For extraordinary heroism while attached to the 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines, in actual conflict with the enemy and under fire during the advance on Bouresche, France, on 6 June 1918. In the hottest of the fighting when the marines made their famous advance on Bouresche at the southern edge of Belleau Wood, Lt (j.g.). Osborne threw himself zealously into the work of rescuing the wounded. Extremely courageous in the performance of this perilous task, he was killed while carrying a wounded officer to a place of safety.

BARRETT, CARLTON W.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944. Entered service at: Albany, N.Y. Birth: Fulton, N.Y. G.O. No.: 78, 2 October 1944. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in the vicinity of St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France. On the morning of D-day Pvt. Barrett, landing in the face of extremely heavy enemy fire, was forced to wade ashore through neck-deep water. Disregarding the personal danger, he returned to the surf again and again to assist his floundering comrades and save them from drowning. Refusing to remain pinned down by the intense barrage of small-arms and mortar fire poured at the landing points, Pvt. Barrett, working with fierce determination, saved many lives by carrying casualties to an evacuation boat Iying offshore. In addition to his assigned mission as guide, he carried dispatches the length of the fire-swept beach; he assisted the wounded; he calmed the shocked; he arose as a leader in the stress of the occasion. His coolness and his dauntless daring courage while constantly risking his life during a period of many hours had an inestimable effect on his comrades and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

*MONTEITH, JIMMIE W., JR.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944. Entered service at: Richmond, Va. Born: 1 July 1917, Low Moor, Va. G.O. No.: 20, 29 March 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, near Colleville-sur-Mer, France. 1st Lt. Monteith landed with the initial assault waves on the coast of France under heavy enemy fire. Without regard to his own personal safety he continually moved up and down the beach reorganizing men for further assault. He then led the assault over a narrow protective ledge and across the flat, exposed terrain to the comparative safety of a cliff. Retracing his steps across the field to the beach, he moved over to where 2 tanks were buttoned up and blind under violent enemy artillery and machinegun fire.

Completely exposed to the intense fire, 1st Lt. Monteith led the tanks on foot through a minefield and into firing positions. Under his direction several enemy positions were destroyed. He then rejoined his company and under his leadership his men captured an advantageous position on the hill.

Supervising the defense of his newly won position against repeated vicious counterattacks, he continued to ignore his own personal safety, repeatedly crossing the 200 or 300 yards of open terrain under heavy fire to strengthen links in his defensive chain. When the enemy succeeded in completely surrounding 1st Lt. Monteith and his unit and while leading the fight out of the situation, 1st Lt. Monteith was killed by enemy fire. The courage, gallantry, and intrepid leadership displayed by 1st Lt. Monteith is worthy of emulation.

*PINDER, JOHN J., JR.
Rank and organization: Technician Fifth Grade, U.S. Army, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944. Entered .service at: Burgettstown, Pa. Birth: McKees Rocks, Pa. G.O. No.: 1, 4 January 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, near Colleville-sur-Mer, France.

On D-Day, Technician 5th Grade Pinder landed on the coast 100 yards off shore under devastating enemy machinegun and artillery fire which caused severe casualties among the boatload. Carrying a vitally important radio, he struggled towards shore in waist-deep water. Only a few yards from his craft he was hit by enemy fire and was gravely wounded. Technician 5th Grade Pinder never stopped. He made shore and delivered the radio.

Refusing to take cover afforded, or to accept medical attention for his wounds, Technician 5th Grade Pinder, though terribly weakened by loss of blood and in fierce pain, on 3 occasions went into the fire-swept surf to salvage communication equipment. He recovered many vital parts and equipment, including another workable radio.

On the 3rd trip he was again hit, suffering machinegun bullet wounds in the legs. Still this valiant soldier would not stop for rest or medical attention. Remaining exposed to heavy enemy fire, growing steadily weaker, he aided in establishing the vital radio communication on the beach. While so engaged this dauntless soldier was hit for the third time and killed. The indomitable courage and personal bravery of Technician 5th Grade Pinder was a magnificent inspiration to the men with whom he served.

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*ROOSEVELT, THEODORE, JR.
Rank and organization: brigadier general, U.S. Army. Place and date: Normandy invasion, 6 June 1944. Entered service at: Oyster Bay, N.Y. Birth: Oyster Bay, N.Y. G.O. No.: 77, 28 September 1944. Citation: for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in France. After 2 verbal requests to accompany the leading assault elements in the Normandy invasion had been denied, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt’s written request for this mission was approved and he landed with the first wave of the forces assaulting the enemy-held beaches. He repeatedly led groups from the beach, over the seawall and established them inland.

His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy. Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties. He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France .

*WOODFORD, HOWARD E.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 130th Infantry, 33d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Tabio, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 6 June 1945. Entered service at: Barberton, Ohio. Birth: Barberton, Ohio. G.O. No.: 14, 4 February 1946. Citation: He volunteered to investigate the delay in a scheduled attack by an attached guerrilla battalion. Reaching the line of departure, he found that the lead company, in combat for the first time, was immobilized by intense enemy mortar, machinegun, and rifle fire which had caused casualties to key personnel. Knowing that further failure to advance would endanger the flanks of adjacent units, as well as delay capture of the objective, he immediately took command of the company, evacuated the wounded, reorganized the unit under fire, and prepared to attack. He repeatedly exposed himself to draw revealing fire from the Japanese strongpoints, and then moved forward with a 5-man covering force to determine exact enemy positions. Although intense enemy machinegun fire killed 2 and wounded his other 3 men, S/Sgt. Woodford resolutely continued his patrol before returning to the company.

Then, against bitter resistance, he guided the guerrillas up a barren hill and captured the objective, personally accounting for 2 hostile machinegunners and courageously reconnoitering strong defensive positions before directing neutralizing fire. After organizing a perimeter defense for the night, he was given permission by radio to return to his battalion, but, feeling that he was needed to maintain proper control, he chose to remain with the guerrillas. Before dawn the next morning the enemy launched a fierce suicide attack with mortars, grenades, and small-arms fire, and infiltrated through the perimeter. Though wounded by a grenade, S/Sgt. Woodford remained at his post calling for mortar support until bullets knocked out his radio. Then, seizing a rifle he began working his way around the perimeter, encouraging the men until he reached a weak spot where 2 guerrillas had been killed. Filling this gap himself, he fought off the enemy. At daybreak he was found dead in his foxhole, but 37 enemy dead were lying in and around his position. By his daring, skillful, and inspiring leadership, as well as by his gallant determination to search out and kill the enemy, S/Sgt. Woodford led an inexperienced unit in capturing and securing a vital objective, and was responsible for the successful continuance of a vitally important general advance.

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7 June

1498 – Christopher Columbus left on his third voyage of exploration.

1712 – The Pennsylvania Assembly banned the importation of slaves.

1769 – Daniel Boone first began to explore the present-day Kentucky.

1775 – The United Colonies changed their name to United States.

1776 – Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress the resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence: that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States…” Congress delayed the vote on the resolution until July 1st.

1819 – LT John White on merchant ship Franklin, anchored off Vung Tau is first U.S. naval officer to visit Vietnam.

1828 – A party led by Jebediah Smith completed a journey down the Klamath River and were on the verge of starvation when they were visited by Indians who brought food. Smith’s party proceeded north to Oregon and most of the party was killed by Umpqua Indians. Smith was killed in 1831 by Comanches on the Cimarron River. Smith’s party were the 1st white people to see Lake Earl, the biggest lagoon on the West Coast.

1862 – U.S.S. Wachusett, Commander W. Smith, U.S.S. Chocura, and Sebago escorted Army transports up the York River, supported the landing at West Point, Virginia, and countered a Confederate attack with accurate gunfire. U.S.S. Currituck, Acting Master William F. Shankland, sent on a reconnaissance of the Pamunkey River by Smith on the 6th, captured American Coaster and Planter the next day. Shankland reported that some twenty schooners had been sunk and two gunboats burned by the Confederates above West Point.

1862 – William Mumford became the 1st US citizen to be hanged for treason. New Orleans citizen William Mumford was hanged by occupying commander General Benjamin Butler for lowering the Union flag that flew over the New Orleans branch of the United States Mint.

1863 – A Confederate attempt to rescue Vicksburg and a Rebel garrison held back by Union forces to the east of the city fails when Union troops turn back the attack. By late May 1863, Union General Ulysses S. Grant had surrounded Vicksburg, the last major Confederate possession on the Mississippi River. In one of the more remarkable campaigns of the war, Grant had slipped his army around the city, dove toward the middle of Mississippi, and then bottled up Vicksburg from the east. He held off one Confederate army while pinning another, commanded by John C. Pemberton, in the city. Grant then laid siege and waited for surrender. Since Grant’s army was holding off Rebel forces to the east of Vicksburg, the Confederates would have to come from across the Mississippi to stage a rescue attempt. General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the South’s Trans-Mississippi Department, dispatched a force under Richard Taylor to attack Federal supply lines on the western side of the river.

Taylor aimed the assault at Milliken’s Bend, once a key supply point for the Union forces, just north of Vicksburg. Unfortunately for the Confederates, the Yankees had already moved the supply point several miles away. Before dawn on June 7th, the advancing Confederates encountered Union pickets and began driving them back toward the river. But once the Yankee defenders were backed up to the Mississippi, U.S.S. Choctaw, Lieutenant Commander Ramsay, and U.S.S. Lexington, Lieutenant Commander Bache, defended Union troops, blasting the Rebels with grapeshot and canister.

The Confederates withdrew, while Federal gunboats broke up nearby attacks before they could materialize. Confederate losses stood at 44 killed, 131 wounded, and 10 missing; the Union suffered much heavier losses: 101 killed, 285 wounded, and 266 missing. Hardest hit were the newly formed African-American regiments that were made up of freed slaves from captured areas in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The 9th Louisiana lost 45 percent of its force.

1864 – Suspecting that Confederates were using cotton to erect breastworks on the banks of the Suwannee River, Florida, boat expedition commanded by Acting Ensign Louis R. Chester, composed of men from U.S.S. Clyde and Sagamore, proceeded upriver. They captured over 100 bales of cotton in the vicinity of Clay Landing.

1868 – The American flag was raised over Fort Wrangell, formerly known as Fort Stikine and Fort Dionysius.

1900 – Boxer rebels cut the rail links between Peking and Tientsin in China.

1912 – US army tested the 1st machine gun mounted on a plane.

1912 – Company A, 1st Marines landed at Santiago, Cuba.

1914 – The first vessel passed through the Panama Canal.

1915 – The resignation of William Jennings Bryan as Woodrow Wilson‘s secretary of state, was prompted by the “second Lusitania note.” Bryan, who had signed the first Lusitania note demanding that Germany stop unrestricted submarine warfare, disavow the sinking of the Lusitania and make reparations for the loss of U.S. lives, declined to sign a second note out of fear it might involve the U.S. in World War I. The second note, which demanded certain pledges from Germany, was dispatched on June 9 over the signature of Bryan‘s replacement, Robert Lansing. A third note, dispatched on July 21, was a virtual ultimatum warning that repetition of such acts as the sinking of Lusitania would be regarded as “deliberately unfriendly.”

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1917 – U.S. sub chasers arrive at Corfu for anti-submarine patrols.

1918 – French and Americans capture Veuilly-la-Poterie and Vinly (west of Chateau-Thierry), Bouresches and Hill 204 (west of Chateau-Thierry).

1932 – Over 7,000 war veterans march on Washington, D.C. demanding their bonuses for service in WWI.

1940 – A crew of 25 workmen began construction of Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage. In 1960, a memorial to the late Captain M. Elmendorf was dedicated. Elmendorf was killed at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio while testing a new type of pursuit plane.

1942 – The Battle of Midway–one of the most decisive U.S. victories in its war against Japan–comes to an end. In the four-day sea and air battle, the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese aircraft carriers with the loss of only one of its own, the Yorktown, thus reversing the tide against the previously invincible Japanese navy. In six months of offensives, the Japanese had triumphed in lands throughout the Pacific, including Malaysia, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, and numerous island groups. The United States, however, was a growing threat, and Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto sought to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet before it was large enough to outmatch his own. A thousand miles northwest of Honolulu, the strategic island of Midway became the focus of his scheme to smash U.S. resistance to Japan’s imperial designs.

Yamamoto’s plan consisted of a feint toward Alaska followed by an invasion of Midway by a Japanese strike force. When the U.S. Pacific Fleet arrived at Midway to respond to the invasion, it would be destroyed by the superior Japanese fleet waiting unseen to the west. If successful, the plan would eliminate the U.S. Pacific Fleet and provide a forward outpost from which the Japanese could eliminate any future American threat in the Central Pacific. Unfortunately for the Japanese, U.S. intelligence broke the Japanese naval code, and the Americans anticipated the surprise attack. Three heavy aircraft carriers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were mustered to challenge the four heavy Japanese carriers steaming toward Midway. In early June, U.S. command correctly recognized a Japanese movement against Alaska’s Aleutian Islands as a diversionary tactic and kept its forces massed around Midway.

On June 3rd, the Japanese occupation force was spotted steaming toward the island, and B-17 Flying Fortresses were sent out from Midway to bomb the strike force but failed to inflict damage. Early in the morning on June 4, a PBY Catalina flying boat torpedoed a Japanese tanker transport, striking the first blow of the Battle of Midway. Later that morning, an advance Japanese squadron numbering more than 100 bombers and Zero fighters took off from the Japanese carriers to bomb Midway. Twenty-six Wildcat fighters were sent up to intercept the Japanese force and suffered heavy losses in their heroic defense of Midway’s air base. Soon after, bombers and torpedo planes based on Midway took off to attack the Japanese carriers but failed to inflict serious damage. The first phase of the battle was over by 7:00 a.m.

In the meantime, 200 miles to the northeast, two U.S. attack fleets caught the Japanese force entirely by surprise. Beginning around 9:30 a.m., torpedo bombers from the three U.S. carriers descended on the Japanese carriers. Although nearly wiped out, they drew off enemy fighters, and U.S. dive bombers penetrated, catching the Japanese carriers while their decks were cluttered with aircraft and fuel. The dive-bombers quickly destroyed three of the heavy Japanese carriers and one heavy cruiser. The only Japanese carrier that initially escaped destruction, the Hiryu, loosed all its aircraft against the American task force and managed to seriously damage the U.S. carrier Yorktown, forcing its abandonment. At about 5:00 p.m., dive-bombers from the U.S. carrier Enterprise returned the favor, mortally damaging the Hiryu. It was scuttled the next morning. Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto still had numerous warships at his command, but without his carriers and aircraft he was forced to abandon his Midway invasion plans and begin a westward retreat.

On June 5th, a U.S. task force pursued his fleet, but bad weather saved it from further destruction. On June 6th, the skies cleared, and U.S. aircraft resumed their assault, sinking a cruiser and damaging several other warships. After the planes returned to their carriers, the Americans broke off from the pursuit. Meanwhile, a Japanese submarine torpedoed and fatally wounded the Yorktown, which was in the process of being salvaged. It finally rolled over and sank at dawn on June 7th, bringing an end to the battle.

At the Battle of Midway, Japan lost four carriers, a cruiser, and 292 aircraft, and suffered 2,500 casualties. The U.S. lost the Yorktown, the destroyer USS Hammann, 145 aircraft, and suffered 307 casualties. Japan’s losses in the hobbled its naval might–bringing Japanese and American sea power to approximate parity–and marked the turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II. In August 1942, the great U.S. counteroffensive began at Guadalcanal and did not cease until Japan’s surrender three years later.

1942 – Japanese soldiers occupy the American islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, as the Axis power continues to expand its defensive perimeter. Having been defeated at the battle of Midway–stopped by the United States from even landing on the Midway Islands–the Japanese nevertheless proved successful in their invasion of the Aleutians, which had been American territory since purchased from Russia in 1867. Killing 25 American troops upon landing in Attu, the Japanese proceeded to relocate and intern the inhabitants, as well as those at Kiska. America would finally invade and recapture the Aleutians one year later-killing most of the 2,300 Japanese troops defending it–in three weeks of fighting.

1943 – The worst of the L.A. Zoot Suit Riot violence occurs as soldiers, sailors, and marines from as far away as San Diego travel to Los Angeles to join in the fighting. Taxi drivers offer free rides to servicemen and civilians to the riot areas. Approximately 5,000 civilians and military men gather downtown. The riot spreads into the predominantly African American section of Watts.

1944 – Construction of artificial harbors and sheltered anchorages begins off Normandy coast.

1944 – Allied forces attempt to link up the beachheads. Gold and Juno beach are already joined. Elements of US 7th Corps, on Utah beach, attempts to link up with the paratroops of 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions and advances toward Carentan and Montebourg. The US 5th Corps, on Omaha, advances toward Isigny and Bayeux. Elements of the British 30th Corps cut the Caen-Bayeux road. The 50th Division captures Bayeux. Meanwhile, German reserves are concentrating on the right flank of the invasion against the British forces threatening Caen.

1944 – Elements of US 5th Army capture Bacciano and Civitavecchia. The port facilities are serviceable. Elements of British 8th Army advance as well. Subiaco is taken. The South African 6th Armored Division captures Civita Castellana and advances to Orvieto.

1944 – On Biak Island, elements of US 41st Division capture Mokmer Airfield. Japanese resistance continues.

1945 – On Luzon forces from US 1st Corps take Bambang and move northeast toward the Cagayan Valley. Other units are moving around the coast from the northwest to the north of the island.

1945 – On Okinawa, in the Oroku peninsula, Japanese forces hold attacks by the US 6th Marine Division while the US 1st Marine Division advances southward and isolates the peninsula defenders. The US 24th Corps is engaged in artillery bombardments.

1945 – All German citizens in the zone occupied by the western Allies are order to watch films of Belsen and Buchenwald — former Nazi concentration camps.

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1953 – President Eisenhower announced that proposals for a Korean truce are acceptable to the US and appealed to South Korea to accept terms to stop the war.

1955 – Presisent Eisenhower became the 1st president to appear on color TV.

1962 – Joseph A. Walker, NASA civilian test pilot, took the X-15 to 31,580 meters.

1963 – Diem’s sister-in-law, Madame Nhu, self-styled First lady of Vietnam, alleges the Buddhists are being manipulated by the Americans, publically contradicting Diem. This does nothing to improve the ‘Dragon Lady’ image that Madame Nhu has begun to acquire in the United States. Pressure form Deputy Ambassador William Trueheart forces Diem to create a cosmetic committee to investigate the Hue incident.

1964 – US officials report that Vietcong are blockading a 600-square-mile area south of Camau to starve the residents and to deprive South Vietnam of charcoal.

1965 – General Westmoreland requests a total of 35 battalions of combat troops, with another nine in reserve. This gave rise to the “44 battalion” debate within the Johnson administration, a discussion of how many U.S. combat troops to commit to the war. Westmoreland felt that the South Vietnamese could not defeat the communists alone and he wanted U.S. combat troops to go on the offensive against the enemy.

His plan was to secure the coastlines, block infiltration of North Vietnamese troops into the south, and then wage a war of attrition with “search and destroy” missions into the countryside, using helicopters for rapid deployment and evacuation. Westmoreland had some supporters in the Johnson administration, but others of the president’s advisers did not support Westmoreland’s request for more troops, because they disagreed with what would be a fundamental change in the U.S. role in Vietnam. In the end, Johnson acquiesced to Westmoreland’s request; eventually there would be over 500,000 U.S. troops in South Vietnam.

1965 – Gemini 4 completed 62 orbits of the Earth.

1968 – In Operation Swift Saber, U.S. Marines swept an area 10 miles northwest of Danang in South Vietnam.

1968 – Tuy Hoa Air Base, Vietnam — New Mexico’s 188th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) arrives, becoming the third Air National Guard unit to serve in Vietnam. Combined on June 14th with New York’s newly arrived 136th TFS into the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, both squadrons immediately began flying close ground support missions for American troops. These two units are the only Guard units, Air or Army to actually be assigned to the same operational headquarters while serving in Vietnam. During the course of its tour the 188th will fly 6,029 sorties and lose three pilots in combat, including two missing in action and later declared killed.

The 136th flew nearly as many sorties and fortunately lost no members to combat although it did have three pilots killed in stateside training. One member of the 188th, Sergeant Melvyn S. Montano, will become a commissioned officer after the unit returns home and in December 1994 he is appointed the Adjutant General of New Mexico; the only known enlisted Guardsman serving in Vietnam War to later achieve this position in any state.

1971 – In an unusual secret US Senate session to review the American military role in Laos, including some $350 million annually in aid, regular raids by B-52 bombers, and 4,800 CIA financed Thai troops, Stuart Symington (D-MO), J. William Fullbright (D-AR), and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) attack the Nixon administration’s policies. The State Department defends the use of ‘volunteer’ Thais predating the 1970 congressional ban on the use of mercenaries.

1981 – Israeli F-16 fighter-bombers destroyed a nuclear power plant in Iraq at Osirak, Iraq, before it went into operation, a facility the Israelis charged could have been used to make nuclear weapons. Ilan Ramon (d.2003) flew the last of the 8 planes that bombed the reactor.

1998 – CNN and Time magazine reported that a secret 1970 raid called Operation Tailwind by a Special Forces unit called the Studies and Observations Group (SOG) used the nerve gas sarin in Laos to kill American armed service members who had defected. CNN and Time magazine later recanted the story due to insufficient evidence. Reporter April Oliver and senior producer Jack Smith were fired.

1999 – The FBI put alleged terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden on the bureau’s list of the Ten Most Wanted fugitives.

1999 – NATO dropped cluster bombs on an estimated 800-1,200 Yugoslav troops near the Kosovo-Albanian border. An estimated 650 sorties were flown in the last 24 hours.

1999 – Russia balked at a UN peace deal for Kosovo because it did not want its troops under NATO control.

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2001 – The US and China agreed on a final plan for the removal of the US spy plane from Hainan Island.

2001 – A federal judge refused to stop plans for a World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

2002 – In El Salvador Mauricio Gonzalez (68), retired dental hygienist from San Ramon, Ca., was kidnapped near Sonsonate. A demand for $500,000 was made. This was the 4th kidnapping of a US citizen here since January 1, 2000.

2002 – In the Philippines Martin Burnham, an American missionary, was killed along with Philippine nurse Ediborah Yap when troops stormed an Abu Sayyaf outpost on Mindanao. Burnham’s wife, Gracia Burnham, was wounded.

2003 – The Saudi interior minister linked last month’s Riyadh bombings to the al-Qaida terror network in an interview, and his ministry identified 12 of the attackers.

2004 – In Iraq 9 militias agreed to disband in exchange for veteran’s pensions, jobs and other rewards. The Mahdi Army of al-Sadr was not included.

2004 – US and South Korean officials announced plans to withdraw a third of 37,000 US troops from South Korea by the end of next year.

2006 – Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, is killed by US airstrikes on a safe house north of Baghdad.


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Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

DOODY, PATRICK
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company E., 164th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Cold Harbor, Va., 7 June 1864. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 13 December 1893. Citation: After making a successful personal reconnaissance, he gallantly led the skirmishers in a night attack, charging the enemy, and thus enabling the pioneers to put up works.

*McTUREOUS, ROBERT MILLER, JR.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 26 March 1924, Altoona, Fla. Accredited to: Florida. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the 3d Battalion, 29th Marines, 6th Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa in the Ryukyu Chain, 7 June 1945. Alert and ready for any hostile counteraction following his company’s seizure of an important hill objective, Pvt. McTureous was quick to observe the plight of company stretcher bearers who were suddenly assailed by slashing machinegun fire as they attempted to evacuate wounded at the rear of the newly won position. Determined to prevent further casualties, he quickly filled his jacket with hand grenades and charged the enemy-occupied caves from which the concentrated barrage was emanating.

Coolly disregarding all personal danger as he waged his furious 1-man assault, he smashed grenades into the cave entrances, thereby diverting the heaviest fire from the stretcher bearers to his own person and, resolutely returning to his own lines under a blanketing hail of rifle and machinegun fire to replenish his supply of grenades, dauntlessly continued his systematic reduction of Japanese strength until he himself sustained serious wounds after silencing a large number of the hostile guns. Aware of his own critical condition and unwilling to further endanger the lives of his comrades, he stoically crawled a distance of 200 yards to a sheltered position within friendly lines before calling for aid. By his fearless initiative and bold tactics, Pvt. McTureous had succeeded in neutralizing the enemy fire, killing 6 Japanese troops and effectively disorganizing the remainder of the savagely defending garrison. His outstanding valor and heroic spirit of self-sacrifice during a critical stage of operations reflect the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service.

*HANSON, JACK G.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company F, 31st Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Near Pachi-dong, Korea, 7 June 1951. Entered service at: Galveston, Tex. Born: 18 September 1930, Escaptawpa, Miss. G.O. No.: 15, 1 February 1952. Citation: Pfc. Hanson, a machine gunner with the 1st Platoon, Company F, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an armed enemy of the United Nations. The company, in defensive positions on two strategic hills separated by a wide saddle, was ruthlessly attacked at approximately 0300 hours, the brunt of which centered on the approach to the divide within range of Pfc. Hanson’s machine gun. In the initial phase of the action, 4 riflemen were wounded and evacuated and the numerically superior enemy, advancing under cover of darkness, infiltrated and posed an imminent threat to the security of the command post and weapons platoon.

Upon orders to move to key terrain above and to the right of Pfc. Hanson’s position, he voluntarily remained to provide protective fire for the withdrawal. Subsequent to the retiring elements fighting a rearguard action to the new location, it was learned that Pfc. Hanson’s assistant gunner and 3 riflemen had been wounded and had crawled to safety, and that he was maintaining a lone-man defense. After the 1st Platoon reorganized, counterattacked, and resecured its original positions at approximately 0530 hours, Pfc. Hanson’s body was found lying in front of his emplacement, his machine gun ammunition expended, his empty pistol in his right hand, and a machete with blood on the blade in his left hand, and approximately 22 enemy dead lay in the wake of his action. Pfc. Hanson’s consummate valor, inspirational conduct, and willing self-sacrifice enabled the company to contain the enemy and regain the commanding ground, and reflect lasting glory on himself and the noble traditions of the military service.

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*McDONALD, PHILL G.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division. place and date: Near Kontum City, Republic of Vietnam, 7 June 1968. Entered service at: Beckley, W . Va. Born: 13 September 1941. Avondale, W. Va. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. McDonald distinguished himself while serving as a team leader with the 1st platoon of Company A. While on a combat mission his platoon came under heavy barrage of automatic weapons fire from a well concealed company-size enemy force. Volunteering to escort 2 wounded comrades to an evacuation point, Pfc. McDonald crawled through intense fire to destroy with a grenade an enemy automatic weapon threatening the safety of the evacuation. Returning to his platoon, he again volunteered to provide covering fire for the maneuver of the platoon from its exposed position. Realizing the threat he posed, enemy gunners concentrated their fire on Pfc. McDonald’s position, seriously wounding him.

Despite his painful wounds, Pfc. McDonald recovered the weapon of a wounded machine gunner to provide accurate covering fire for the gunner’s evacuation. When other soldiers were pinned down by a heavy volume of fire from a hostile machine gun to his front, Pfc. McDonald crawled toward the enemy position to destroy it with grenades. He was mortally wounded in this intrepid action. Pfc. McDonald’s gallantry at the risk of his life which resulted in the saving of the lives of his comrades, is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

*MURRAY, ROBERT C.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, 23d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near the village of Hiep Duc, Republic of Vietnam, 7 June 1970. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Born: 10 December 1946, Bronx, N.Y. Citation: S/Sgt. Murray distinguished himself while serving as a squad leader with Company B. S/Sgt. Murray’s squad was searching for an enemy mortar that had been threatening friendly positions when a member of the squad tripped an enemy grenade rigged as a booby trap.

Realizing that he had activated the enemy booby trap, the soldier shouted for everybody to take cover. Instantly assessing the danger to the men of his squad, S/Sgt. Murray unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own safety, threw himself on the grenade absorbing the full and fatal impact of the explosion. By his gallant action and self sacrifice, he prevented the death or injury of the other members of his squad. S/Sgt. Murray’s extraordinary courage and gallantry, at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

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[SHOOTER13]

8 June

1813 – David D. Porter, Union Admiral, was born.

1830 – Sloop-of-war Vincennes becomes first U.S. warship to circle the globe.

1845 – Seventh President Andrew Jackson dies. Born in South Carolina in 1767, Jackson gained his first military experience at the age of 15 when, as a member of a local militia company, he helped to repel a British raiding party in 1782. Later he served in the Tennessee militia, rising to the rank of major general. He was affectionately known by his troops as “Old Hickory” because of his hard but fair discipline. During the War of 1812 he commanded a combined force of Regulars and militiamen in suppressing the Creek Indians in Alabama. His determined leadership soon led to his appointment as a major general in the Regular Army in 1814, just in time to lead a combined Regular and militia force in the defense of New Orleans against a British attack in January 1815. In 1818-1819 he lead a combined army of Regulars and militia in his invasion of western Florida chasing raiding Indians who sought sanctuary in the then Spanish colony. In fact, his action helped induce the Spanish government to sell Florida to the US. Jackson was elected president in 1828. In 1918, the 30th Division, composed of National Guard soldiers from the Carolina’s and Tennessee, proudly adopted a division shoulder patch that featured the Roman numerals “XXX” indicating the division’s designation surrounded by the letters “OH” for “Old Hickory” in honor of Jackson.

1853 – Commodore Matthew Perry arrives at Uraga, Japan to begin negotiations for a treaty with Japan.

1861 – Tennessee voted to secede from the Union and joined the Confederacy.

1861 – U.S.S. Mississippi, Flag Officer Mervine, set a naval blockade at Key West.

1862 – Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s notches another victory during the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. Sent to the valley to relieve pressure on the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia, which had been pinned on the James Peninsula by Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, Jackson’s force staged one of the most stunning and brilliant campaigns of the war. On May 25, Jackson routed a Union force commanded by Nathaniel Banks at Winchester in the northern Shenandoah Valley. The defeat sent panic through Washington, D.C., because Jackson was now poised to invade the capital from the north. President Lincoln ordered Banks to regroup and head south into the valley, while an army under Irwin McDowell headed in from the east, and one under John C. Fremont moved in from the west to pinch Jackson’s troops and destroy his army.

Jackson led the Yankees on a chase south through the valley, beating the Union forces to Port Republic, the site of a crucial bridge where the Federals could have united to defeat Jackson. He kept the bulk of his force at Port Republic and sent General Richard C. Ewell and 5,000 troops to nearby Cross Keys. On June 8th, Freemont’s troops advanced on Ewell’s and launched a halfhearted attack that failed to disrupt the Confederate lines. Fremont engaged only 5 of his 24 regiments, followed by a mild artillery bombardment. Casualties were relatively light, with Ewell losing 288 men to Fremont’s 684. Cross Keys was only a prelude to the larger Battle of Port Republic on June 9th, but it was another Union failure in Jackson’s amazing 1862 Shenandoah campaign.

1862 – U.S.S. Monitor, Dacotah, Naugatuck, Seminole, and Susquehanna by direction of the President”-shelled Confederate batteries at Sewell’s Point, Virginia, as Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough reported, ”mainly with the view of ascertaining the practicability of landing a body of troops thereabouts” to move on Norfolk. Whatever rumors President Lincoln had received about Confederates abandoning Norfolk were now confirmed; a tug deserted from Norfolk and brought news that the evacuation was well underway and that C.S.S. Virginia, with her accompanying small gunboats, planned to proceed up the James or York River. It was planned that when Virginia came out, as she had on the 7th, the Union fleet would retire with U.S.S. Monitor in the rear hoping to draw the powerful but under-engined warship into deep water where she might be rammed by high speed steamers. The bombardment uncovered reduced but considerable strength at Sewell’s Point. Virginia came out but not far enough to be rammed.

Two days later President Lincoln wrote Flag Officer Goldsborough: “I send you this copy of your report of yesterday for the purpose of saying to you in writing that you are quite right in supposing the movement made by you and therein reported was made in accordance with my wishes verbally expressed to you in advance. I avail myself of the occasion to thank you for your courtesy and all your conduct, so far as known to me, during my brief visit here.” President Lincoln, acting as Commander-in-Chief in the field at Hampton Roads, also directed Flag Officer Goldsborough: “If you have tolerable confidence that you can successfully contend with the Merrimack without the help of the Galena and two accompanying gunboats, send the Galena and two gunboats up the James River at once” to support General McClellan. This wise use of power afloat by the President silenced two shore batteries and forced gunboats C.S.S. Jamestown and Patrick Henry to return up the James River.

1862 – Landing party from U.S.S. Iroquois, Commander James S. Palmer, seized arsenal and took possession of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1863 – Residents of Vicksburg, Miss., fled into caves as Grant’s army began shelling the town.

1863 – Crew from a Confederate launch commanded by Master James Duke, CSN, boarded and captured steam tug Boston at Pass a l’Outre, Mississippi River, and put to sea, then capturing and burning Union barks Lenox and Texana. Duke carried Boston safely into Mobile on June 11th.

1864 – President Lincoln forwarded to Congress a dispatch from Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton regarding the Enrollment Act, which instituted a military draft. Stanton suggested that Congress repeal the Act’s “three hundred… dollar clause,” which allowed draftees to get out of military service by paying $300. Stanton explained, “ample experience has now shown that the pecuniary exemption from service frustrates the object of the enrolment law, by furnishing money instead of men.” Lincoln informed Congress that he concurred with Stanton’s recommendation.

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1864 – Lieutenant Commander Ramsay, U.S.S. Chillicothe, led an expedition up the Atchafalaya River, Louisiana, accompanied by U.S.S. Neosho, Acting Lieutenant Howard, and U.S.S. Port Hindman, Acting Lieutenant Pearce, to silence a Confederate battery above Simmesport. The Union gun-boats, after a short engagement, forced the Southerners to abandon their position and a landing party captured the guns.

1874 – Chief Cochise, one of the great leaders of the Apache Indians in their battles with the Anglo-Americans, dies on the Chiricahua reservation in southeastern Arizona. Little is known of Cochise’s early life. By the mid-19th century, he had become a prominent leader of the Chiricahua band of Apache Indians living in southern Arizona and northern Mexico. Like many other Chiricahua Apache, Cochise resented the encroachment of Mexican and American settlers on their traditional lands. Cochise led numerous raids on the settlers living on both sides of the border, and Mexicans and Americans alike began to call for military protection and retribution. War between the U.S. and Cochise, however, resulted from a misunderstanding.

In October 1860, a band of Apache attacked the ranch of an Irish-American named John Ward and kidnapped his adopted son, Felix Tellez. Although Ward had been away at the time of the raid, he believed that Cochise had been the leader of the raiding Apache. Ward demanded that the U.S. Army rescue the kidnapped boy and bring Cochise to justice. The military obliged by dispatching a force under the command of Lieutenant George Bascom.

Unaware that they were in any danger, Cochise and many of his top men responded to Bascom’s invitation to join him for a night of entertainment at a nearby stage station. When the Apache arrived, Bascom’s soldiers arrested them. Cochise told Bascom that he had not been responsible for the kidnapping of Felix Tellez, but the lieutenant refused to believe him. He ordered Cochise be kept as a hostage until the boy was returned. Cochise would not tolerate being imprisoned unjustly. He used his knife to cut a hole in the tent he was held in and escaped.

During the next decade, Cochise and his warriors increased their raids on American settlements and fought occasional skirmishes with soldiers. Panicked settlers abandoned their homes, and the Apache raids took hundreds of lives and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damages. By 1872, the U.S. was anxious for peace, and the government offered Cochise and his people a huge reservation in the southeastern corner of Arizona Territory if they would cease hostilities. Cochise agreed, saying, “The white man and the Indian are to drink of the same water, eat of the same bread, and be at peace.” The great chief did not have the privilege of enjoying his hard-won peace for long.

In 1874, he became seriously ill, possibly with stomach cancer. He died on this day in 1874. That night his warriors painted his body yellow, black, and vermilion, and took him deep into the Dragoon Mountains. They lowered his body and weapons into a rocky crevice, the exact location of which remains unknown. Today, however, that section of the Dragoon Mountains is known as Cochise’s Stronghold. About a decade after Cochise died, Felix Tellez–the boy whose kidnapping had started the war–resurfaced as an Apache-speaking scout for the U.S. Army. He reported that a group of Western Apache, not Cochise, had kidnapped him.

1880 – Captain W. B. Remey was the first Marine appointed Judge Advocate of the Navy.

1904 – U.S. Marines landed in Tangiers, Morocco, to protect U.S. citizens.

1918 – Prisoners of War Conference at the Hague opens.

1937 – Observation of total eclipse of the sun by U.S. Navy detachment commanded by CAPT J. F. Hellweg, USN, participating in the National Geographic Society – United States Navy Eclipse Expedition at Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands, Pacific Ocean. USS Avocet was assigned to this expedition.

1943 – Senior military officials bring the Zoot Suit Riot under control by declaring Los Angeles off-limits to all sailors, soldiers, and marines. The Shore Patrol is under orders to arrest any disorderly personnel. The Los Angeles City Council passes a resolution banning the wearing of zoot suits in public, punishable by a 50-day jail term.

1944 – A second wave of Allied troops has landed. Elements of the US 7th Corps, from Utah beach, advance toward Cherbourg. The 4th Division engages in heavy fighting near Azeville. Elements of the US 5th Corps, on Omaha beach, capture Isigny but cannot establish a link with the American forces on Utah. A link is established between Omaha and Gold beach once British Marines, part of the 30th Corps, take Port-en-Bessin.

1944 – Russian Premier Joseph Stalin telegraphs British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to announce that the Allied success at Normandy “is a source of joy to us all.” He renews promises to launch his own offensive on the Eastern Front, as had been agreed upon at the Tehran Conference in late ’43, and thereby prevent Hitler from transferring German troops from the east to support troops at Normandy.

1944 – German rearguards slow the advance of the US 5th Army and British 8th Army.

1944 – Fighting continues on Biak Island. A Japanese attempt to ship reinforcements to Biak is intercepted by the cruiser squadron commanded by Admiral Crutchley. It is forced to retreat. On the mainland, at the American beachhead around Aitape, US forces begin counterattacking.

1945 – There are reports that every able bodied Japanese man, woman and child is being given instructions in the fighting of tanks, paratroops and other invading forces.

1945 – On Okinawa, in the north heavy fighting continues on the Oroku peninsula. In the south, the US 24th Corps prepares to attack Mount Yaeju.

1945 – On Luzon, patrols of the US 37th Division reach the Magat river. The US 145th Infantry Regiment (US 37th Division) takes Solano and advances as far as Bagabag, towards the Cagayan valley.

1945 – The Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, says at a press conference that British forces would carry the full weight of military responsibilities in Burma and noted the these forces had been reinforced since the end of the war in Europe.

1951 – Paul Bobel, Werner Braune, Erich Naumann, Otto Ohlendorf, Oswald Pohl, W. Schallenmair & Otto Schmidt, last Nazi war criminals, were hanged by Americans at Landsberg Fortress.

1953 – U.N. and communist delegates at the peace talks signed an agreement on the exchange of prisoners. South Korea refused to accept the truce terms.

1958 – Navy and Post Office deliver first official missile mail when USS Barbero (SS-317) fired Regulus II missile with 3000 letters 100 miles east of Jacksonville, FL to Mayport, Florida.

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1965 – A State Department press officer notes that, “American forces would be available for combat support together with Vietnamese forces when and if necessary,” alerting the press to an apparently major change in the U.S. commitment to the war. Prior to this time, U.S. forces had been restricted to protecting American airbases and other installations. The next day, the White House tried to calm the protests by some in Congress and the media who were alarmed at this potential escalation of the war by issuing a statement claiming, “There has been no change in the missions of United States ground combat units in Vietnam.” The statement went on to explain that General Westmoreland, senior U.S. commander in Saigon, did have the authority to employ troops “in support of Vietnamese forces faced with aggressive attack.” Later in the month, Westmoreland was given formal authority to commit U.S. forces to battle when he decided they were necessary “to strengthen the relative position of the GVN [Government of Vietnam] forces.” This authority and the influx of American combat troops that followed forever changed the role of the United States in the war.

1966 – Gemini astronaut Gene Cernan attempted to become the first man to orbit the Earth untethered to a space capsule, but was unable to when he exhausts himself fitting into his rocket pack.

1967 – During the Six-Day War, Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attack the USS Liberty in international waters off Egypt’s Gaza Strip. The intelligence ship, well-marked as an American vessel and only lightly armed, was attacked first by Israeli aircraft that fired napalm and rockets at the ship. The Liberty attempted to radio for assistance, but the Israeli aircraft blocked the transmissions. Eventually, the ship was able to make contact with the U.S. carrier Saratoga, and 12 fighter jets and four tanker planes were dispatched to defend the Liberty. When word of their deployment reached Washington, however, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered them recalled to the carrier, and they never reached the Liberty. The reason for the recall remains unclear. Back in the Mediterranean, the initial air raid against the Liberty was over. Nine of the 294 crewmembers were dead and 60 were wounded. Suddenly, the ship was attacked by Israeli torpedo boats, which launched torpedoes and fired artillery at the ship.

Under the command of its wounded captain, William L. McGonagle, the Liberty managed to avert four torpedoes, but one struck the ship at the waterline. Heavily damaged, the ship launched three lifeboats, but these were also attacked–a violation of international law. Failing to sink the Liberty, which displaced 10,000 tons, the Israelis finally desisted. In all, 34 Americans were killed and 171 were wounded in the two-hour attack.

In the attack’s aftermath, the Liberty managed to limp to a safe port. Israel later apologized for the attack and offered $6.9 million in compensation, claiming that it had mistaken the Liberty for an Egyptian ship. However, Liberty survivors, and some former U.S. officials, believe that the attack was deliberate, staged to conceal Israel’s pending seizure of Syria’s Golan Heights, which occurred the next day. The ship’s listening devices would likely have overheard Israeli military communications planning this controversial operation. Captain McGonagle was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic command of the Liberty during and after the attack.

1969 – President Nixon and South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu meet at Midway Island in the Pacific. At the meeting, Nixon announced that 25,000 U.S. troops would be withdrawn by the end of August. Nixon and Thieu emphasized that South Vietnamese forces would replace U.S. forces. Along with this announcement of the first U.S. troop withdrawal, Nixon discussed what would become known as “Vietnamization.” Under this new policy, Nixon intended to initiate steps to increase the combat capability of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces so that the South Vietnamese would eventually be able to assume full responsibility for the war. After the initial withdrawal was accomplished in August, 14 more increments departed between late 1969 and 1972. By the time the Paris Peace Accords were signed in January 1973, there were only 27,000 U.S. troops left in South Vietnam (down from a high of over 540,000 in April 1969). These remaining personnel were withdrawn in March 1973 in accordance with the provisions of the Paris Peace Accords.

1970 – In a speech delivered in Hanoi, Norodom Sihanouk pledges Cambodians will fight with the Vietnamese Communists to defeat US ‘imperialism.’

1982 – President Reagan became the first American chief executive to address a joint session of the British Parliament.

1987 – Fawn Hall began testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings, describing how, as secretary to National Security aide Oliver L. North, she helped to shred some documents and spirit away others.

1988 – The judge in the Iran-Contra conspiracy case ruled that Oliver North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord and Albert Hakim had to be tried separately.

1990 – CDR Rosemary Mariner becomes first Navy women to command fleet jet aircraft squadron.

1991 – General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of Allied forces in Operation “Desert Storm” leads the National Victory Parade up Pennsylvania Avenue past the reviewing stand holding President George H.W. Bush and other dignitaries in the first such military parade held in the nation’s capital since the end of World War I. Among the contingents of military units are composite battalions of Air and Army Guard personnel who served in theater.

1995 – A Marine tactical recovery team from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit stationed on board the USS Kearsarge rescued a downed U.S. pilot, Captain Scott O’Grady, USAF, from Bosnian-Serb territory in Bosnia.

1998 – In New Mexico the $77 million Sloan Digital Sky Survey was reported to be about to start probing the universe.

1998 – The shuttle Discovery pulled away from Mir, ending America’s three-year space partnership with Russia.

1999 – The United States, Russia and six leading democracies authorized a text calling for a peacekeeping force in Kosovo. The G8 agreed to the context of a UN Security Council resolution to end the conflict in Kosovo.

2000 – In Greece Brigadier Stephen Saunders (53), a British diplomat, was assassinated in Athens. The November 17 terrorist group claimed responsibility, saying it killed Saunders because of his role in NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia. In 2002 Iraklis Kostaris was charged with participating in the murder and Vassilis Xiros confessed to the assassination.

2001 – Five Cuban men were convicted in the US for operating as unregistered foreign agents. Gerardo Hernandez (36) was sentenced to life in prison on December 12th.

2003 – A coalition of US mayors meeting in Denver asked federal officials to bypass state governments and give them the money they needed to beef up homeland security.

2003 – Thai police, on a tip from U.S. authorities, arrest Narong Penanam, who tried to sell cesium-137 to make a “dirty bomb.”

2004 – John Ashcroft, US Attorney General, told Congress he would not release a 2002 policy memo on the degree of pain and suffering legally permitted during enemy interrogations.

2004 – U.S.-led troops backed by jet fighters and helicopters killed 21 Taliban militants, after rebels attacked a convoy in the mountains of southern Afghanistan.

2004 – Iraqi officials declared that the interim government has assumed full control of the country’s oil industry.

2004 – In Saudi Arabia an American citizen was shot and killed.

2004 – The UN voted 15-0 to accept a US and British resolution to end the formal co-occupation of Iraq on June 30th.

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Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

*LESTER, FRED FAULKNER
Rank and organization: Hospital Apprentice First Class, U.S. Navy. Born: 29 April 1926, Downers Grove, Ill. Accredited to: Illinois. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Medical Corpsman with an Assault Rifle Platoon, attached to the 1st Battalion, 22d Marines, 6th Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Chain, 8 June 1945. Quick to spot a wounded marine Iying in an open field beyond the front lines following the relentless assault against a strategic Japanese hill position, Lester unhesitatingly crawled toward the casualty under a concentrated barrage from hostile machineguns, rifles, and grenades. Torn by enemy rifle bullets as he inched forward, he stoically disregarded the mounting fury of Japanese fire and his own pain to pull the wounded man toward a covered position.

Struck by enemy fire a second time before he reached cover, he exerted tremendous effort and succeeded in pulling his comrade to safety where, too seriously wounded himself to administer aid, he instructed 2 of his squad in proper medical treatment of the rescued marine. Realizing that his own wounds were fatal, he staunchly refused medical attention for himself and, gathering his fast-waning strength with calm determination, coolly and expertly directed his men in the treatment of 2 other wounded marines, succumbing shortly thereafter. Completely selfless in his concern for the welfare of his fighting comrades, Lester, by his indomitable spirit, outstanding valor, and competent direction of others, had saved the life of 1 who otherwise must have perished and had contributed to the safety of countless others. Lester’s fortitude in the face of certain death sustains and enhances the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

*PEREGORY, FRANK D.
Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division. Place and date: Grandcampe France, 8 June 1944. Entered service at: Charlottesville, Va. Born. 10 April 1915, Esmont, Va. G.O. No.: 43, 30 May 1945. Citation: On 8 June 1944, the 3d Battalion of the 116th Infantry was advancing on the strongly held German defenses at Grandcampe, France, when the leading elements were suddenly halted by decimating machinegun fire from a firmly entrenched enemy force on the high ground overlooking the town. After numerous attempts to neutralize the enemy position by supporting artillery and tank fire had proved ineffective, T/Sgt. Peregory, on his own initiative, advanced up the hill under withering fire, and worked his way to the crest where he discovered an entrenchment leading to the main enemy fortifications 200 yards away.

Without hesitating, he leaped into the trench and moved toward the emplacement. Encountering a squad of enemy riflemen, he fearlessly attacked them with hand grenades and bayonet, killed 8 and forced 3 to surrender. Continuing along the trench, he single-handedly forced the surrender of 32 more riflemen, captured the machine gunners, and opened the way for the leading elements of the battalion to advance and secure its objective. The extraordinary gallantry and aggressiveness displayed by T/Sgt. Peregory are exemplary of the highest tradition of the armed forces.

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9 June

1628 – Thomas Morton of Mass. became the 1st person deported from what is now the United States.

1732 – Royal charter for Georgia was granted to James Oglethorpe. Before settlement by Europeans, Georgia was inhabited by the mound building cultures. The British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12, 1733. The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by (and named for) King George II. The Trustees implemented an elaborate plan for the colony’s settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan, which envisioned an agrarian society of yeoman farmers and prohibited slavery.

1772 – In an incident that some regard as the first naval engagement of the American Revolution, colonists board the Gaspee, a British vessel that ran aground off the coast of Rhode Island, and set it aflame. The Gaspee was pursuing the Hanna, an American smuggling ship, when it ran aground off Namquit Point in Providence’s Narragansett Bay on June 9. That evening, John Brown, an American merchant angered by high British taxes on his goods, rowed out to the Gaspee with a number of other colonists and seized control of the ship. After leading away its crew, the Americans set the Gaspee afire. When British officials attempted to prosecute the colonists involved in the so-called “Gaspee Affair,” they found no Americans willing to testify against their countrymen. This renewed the tension in British-American relations and inspired the Boston Patriots to found the “Committee of Correspondence,” a propaganda group that rallied Americans to their cause by publicizing all anti-British activity that occurred throughout the 13 colonies.

1862 – Battle of Port Republic, last of 5 battles in Jackson’s Valley campaign. The Battle of Port Republic was fought in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Port Republic was a fierce contest between two equally determined foes and was the most costly battle fought by Jackson’s Army of the Valley during its campaign. Together, the battles of Cross Keys (fought the previous day) and Port Republic were the decisive victories in Jackson’s Valley Campaign, forcing the Union armies to retreat and leaving Jackson free to reinforce Gen. Robert E. Lee for the Seven Days Battles outside Richmond, Virginia.

1862 – President Lincoln himself, after talking to pilots and studying charts, reconnoitered to the eastward of Sewell’s Point and found a suitably unfortified landing site near Willoughby Point. The troops embarked in transports that night. The next morning they landed near the site selected by the President. The latter, still afloat, from his “command ship” Miami ordered U.S.S. Monitor to reconnoiter Sewell’s Point to learn if the batteries were still manned. When he found the works abandoned, President Lincoln ordered Major General Wool’s troops to march on Norfolk, where they arrived late on the afternoon of the 10th.

1863 – Union mortar boats continued to bombard Vicksburg. From dawn until nearly noon, they poured 175 shells into the city as the Confederate position, cut off from supplies and relief, grew steadily more desperate. Heavy rains curtailed the mortar activity the next day, only some 75 shells being fired, but on the 11th the attack was stepped up once again and Ordnance Gunner Eugene Mack reported that 193 mortar shells fell on the river stronghold. Rear Admiral Porter wrote Secretary Welles: “The mortars keep constantly playing on the city and works, and the gunboats throw in their shell whenever they see any work going on at the batteries, or new batteries being put up. Not a soul is to be seen moving in the city, the soldiers lying in their trenches or pits, and the inhabitants being stowed in caves or holes dug out in the cliffs. If the city is not relieved by a much superior force from the outside, Vicksburg must fall without anything more being done to it. I only wonder it has held out so long. . .”

1863 – As the Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of General Robert E. Lee, started moving northward to take the war to the Union (a move that would eventually end at Gettysburg, PA), General J.E.B. Stuart was tasked to use the Confederate cavalry to screen this movement from Union scouts. But the Federals soon learned of a large rebel presence in area around Culpeper Court House, near a train depot named “Brandy Station.” Two Union cavalry corps, numbering some 11,000 men were dispatched as a “reconnaissance in force” when it clashed with Stuart’s 9,000 man mounted force. This set the stage for the largest cavalry engagement ever fought on the North American continent.

Perhaps the toughest fighting of the day occurred when the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry collided with 10th Virginia Cavalry. In a scene reminiscent of a movie there was a swirling, melee as sabers flashed and dust was kicked up by injured and frightened horses. The 10th Virginia was about to give way when the 9th Virginia Cavalry galloped into the fray and caused so much damage to the 6th PA that it pulled back to regroup.

The type of combat experienced by these three units was repeated in numerous encounters over an area of several square miles as nearly 20,000 men and horses charged into each other much as waves clash onto a beach, only to recede to regroup and charge again. At the end of the day the Confederates held the ground but the Union cavalry, which up to this point in the war had proved ineffective against the rebels, held its own in most of the engagement. The number of Union dead was 852 while the Confederates lost 515 men. Thousands of horses were killed or injured and had to be destroyed.

The 6th PA Cavalry was organized by Colonel Richard Rush in Philadelphia in July 1861, by raising new recruits and combining them with an existing mounted volunteer militia unit from Berks County. The men were issued ten foot lances then popular with European light cavalry. Known as “Rush’s Lancers” they were high-trained, which was enhanced by their assignment to a brigade of five Regular Army cavalry squadrons under the command of Brigadier General John Buford. By the time of the Battle of Brandy Station the Lancers had traded their lances for Sharps carbine rifles. However several veterans later regretted not having retained the lances as they would have been more effective in the melee than letting their opponent get close enough to use his saber.

1864 – Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, GA (Pine Mt, Pine Knob, Golgotha).

1870 – President Ulysses S. Grant met with Sioux chief Red Cloud.

1883 – The 1st commercial electric railway line began operation Chicago.

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1916 – Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (died 2009), was born.

1915 – William Jennings Bryan resigns as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State over a disagreement regarding the United States’ handling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.

1918 – Under orders form General Erich Ludendorff, the deputy chief of the German General Staff, General Oskar von Hutier’s Eighteenth Army launches the fourth in a series of offensives. Ludendorff is aiming to unite two salient, carved out in previous attacks, in the Amiens and Aisne-Marne sectors. Hutier is to attack westward along the Matz River, a tributary of the Oise River, in the direction of Noyon and Montdidier. The commander of the Third French Army, however, General Georges Humbert, has been forewarned by deserters of the German attack and organizes his defenses accordingly. He initiates an artillery bombardment on the enemy assault troops shortly before their onslaught. This is still unable to prevent the Germans from gaining some 5 miles on the first day of their attack which is codenamed Gneisenau. French resistance intensifies over the following days and the attempted link-up between Hutier’s troops and the German Seventh Army under General Max von Boehn, which began an attack from Soissons on the 10th, fails. Meanwhile, French general Charles Mangin has organized a counterattacking force of three French and two US divisions. These strike the Eighteenth Army on the 12th, forcing Ludendorff to call off the operation the following day.

1931 – Robert H. Goddard patented a rocket-fueled aircraft design.

1942 – The Japanese high command announced that “The Midway Occupation operations have been temporarily postponed.”

1942 – First Navy photograhic interpretation unit set up in the Atlantic.

1942 – The British and Americans appoint Oliver Lyttleton and Donald Nelson as heads of the Combined Boards for Production and Food.

1943 – World War II prompted sweeping fiscal changes in the United States, as President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress geared the nation for the rigors of wartime production. Along with reallocating vast chunks of America’s work force to the task of manufacturing military items, Roosevelt helped establish tight controls on wages, prices, and consumption. While most of these initiatives were brought to a halt shortly after the declaration of peace in 1945, at least one wartime fiscal policy–the Current Tax Payment Act — has had some enduring impact. Indeed, the tax legislation, which hit the law books on this day in 1943, paved the path for withholding on income taxes. In particular, the bill, popularly known as the “Pay As You Go Tax,” allowed Americans taxpayers to withhold federal income taxes before getting paid their wages or salaries.

1944 – On the right flank of the invasion beaches, elements of the US 7th Corps capture Azeville in its northward drive toward Cherbourg. Other elements are moving west toward Carentan. The US 5th Corps, from Omaha beach, capture Trevieres. The British and Canadian forces of the British 2nd Army are heavily engaged by growing German reserves around Caen. Allied aircraft are now operating from forward landing strips in France.

1944 – Forces of the US 5th Army capture Tarquinia, Viterbo and Vetrella. Elements of British 8th Army advance toward Terni and Orvieto. A small amphibious force lands at Santo Stefano. Meanwhile, there is a substantial reorganization of Allied forces. Elements of British 10th and 13th Corps are regrouped while elements of the US 6th Corps, mostly, are withdrawn from the line for the invasion of southern France.

1944 – Marshal Badoglio resigns and Ivanoe Bonomi forms a new government. The cabinet includes Count Sforza, Professor Croce and Togliatti, the Communist Party leader.

1945 – On Okinawa, the Japanese forces defending the Oroku peninsula are cut off and surrounded by forces of the US 6th Marine Division. The US 1st Marine Division advance southward to Kunishi Ridge, one of the last Japanese strong points.

1945 – On Luzon, the US 37th Division captures Bagabag. The American forces attempt to block the routes into the Cagayan valley in order to isolate the Japanese forces concentrated in the Sierra Madre, in the northeast. On Mindanao, elements of the US 24th Division take Mandog, the last major strong point in the Japanese defenses.

1945 – Japanese Premier Kantaro Suzuki declared that Japan will fight to the last rather than accept unconditional surrender.

1948 – Israel became a state and was immediately attacked by her Arab neighbors. About 150,000 Arabs remained in Israel after the founding. Most others fled or were forced out.

1951 – Eighth Army commander Lieutenant General James A. Van Fleet insisted that his forces occupy suitable ground in the event of a cease-fire.

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1954 – In a dramatic confrontation, Joseph Welch, special counsel for the U.S. Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether communism has infiltrated the U.S. armed forces. Welch’s verbal assault marked the end of McCarthy’s power during the anticommunist hysteria of the Red Scare in America. Senator McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) experienced a meteoric rise to fame and power in the U.S. Senate when he charged in February 1950 that “hundreds” of “known communists” were in the Department of State. In the years that followed, McCarthy became the acknowledged leader of the so-called Red Scare, a time when millions of Americans became convinced that communists had infiltrated every aspect of American life. Behind closed-door hearings, McCarthy bullied, lied, and smeared his way to power, destroying many careers and lives in the process. Prior to 1953, the Republican Party tolerated his antics because his attacks were directed against the Democratic administration of Harry S. Truman.

When Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the White House in 1953, however, McCarthy’s recklessness and increasingly erratic behavior became unacceptable and the senator saw his clout slowly ebbing away. In a last-ditch effort to revitalize his anticommunist crusade, McCarthy made a crucial mistake. He charged in early 1954 that the U.S. Army was “soft” on communism. As Chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee, McCarthy opened hearings into the Army. Joseph N. Welch, a soft-spoken lawyer with an incisive wit and intelligence, represented the Army. During the course of weeks of hearings, Welch blunted every one of McCarthy’s charges. The senator, in turn, became increasingly enraged, bellowing “point of order, point of order,” screaming at witnesses, and declaring that one highly decorated general was a “disgrace” to his uniform.

On June 9, 1954, McCarthy again became agitated at Welch’s steady destruction of each of his arguments and witnesses. In response, McCarthy charged that Frederick G. Fisher, a young associate in Welch’s law firm, had been a long-time member of an organization that was a “legal arm of the Communist Party.” Welch was stunned. As he struggled to maintain his composure, he looked at McCarthy and declared, “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.” It was then McCarthy’s turn to be stunned into silence, as Welch asked, “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?” The audience of citizens and newspaper and television reporters burst into wild applause. Just a week later, the hearings into the Army came to a close. McCarthy, exposed as a reckless bully, was officially condemned by the U.S. Senate for contempt against his colleagues in December 1954. During the next two-and-a-half years McCarthy spiraled into alcoholism. Still in office, he died in 1957.

1959 – Launching of USS George Washington (SSBN-598), first nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarine, at Groton, CT.

1961 – Diem requests US assistance in increasing the South Vietnamese Army by 100,000 men. In August, Washington agrees to finance a 30,000 man increase, but continues to postpone the buildup of US advisors, Diem also requested.

1963 – JFK named Winston Churchill a Honorary US Citizen.

1964 – In reply to a formal question submitted by President Lyndon B. Johnson–“Would the rest of Southeast Asia necessarily fall if Laos and South Vietnam came under North Vietnamese control?”–the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) submits a memo that effectively challenges the “domino theory” backbone of the Johnson administration policies. This theory contended that if South Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would also fall “like dominoes,” and the theory had been used to justify much of the Vietnam War effort. The CIA concluded that Cambodia was probably the only nation in the area that would immediately fall. “Furthermore,” the report said, “a continuation of the spread of communism in the area would not be inexorable, and any spread which did occur would take time–time in which the total situation might change in any number of ways unfavorable to the communist cause.”

The CIA report concluded that if South Vietnam and Laos also fell, it “would be profoundly damaging to the U.S. position in the Far East,” but Pacific bases and allies such as the Philippines and Japan would still wield enough power to deter China and North Vietnam from any further aggression or expansion. President Johnson appears to have ignored the CIA analysis–he eventually committed over 500,000 American troops to the war in an effort to block the spread of communism to South Vietnam.

1969 – President Thieu, in a televised news conference in Saigon, attempts to counter the gloom following his meeting with President Nixon by saying ‘this is a replacement, not a withdrawal. Withdrawal is a defeatist and misleading term.’

1972 – In Military Region II, senior US advisor John Paul Vann is killed in a helicopter crash.

1972 – Under President Nixon, the number of USAF fighter bombers in Southeast Asia has tripled, the number of aircraft carriers has tripled and will quadruple (2 to 8), and B-52s are being quadrupled.

1972 – Part of a relief column composed mainly of South Vietnamese 21st Division troops finally arrives in the outskirts of An Loc. The division had been trying to reach the besieged city since April 9, when it had been moved from its normal station in the Mekong Delta and ordered to attack up Highway 13 from Lai Khe to open the route to An Loc. The South Vietnamese forces had been locked in a desperate battle with a North Vietnamese division that had been blocking the highway since the very beginning of the siege. As the 21st Division tried to open the road, the defenders inside An Loc fought off repeated attacks by two North Vietnamese divisions that had surrounded the city early in April. This was the southernmost thrust of the North Vietnamese invasion that had begun on March 30; the other main objectives were Quang Tri in the north and Kontum in the Central Highlands.

Although the lead elements of the 21st Division reached the outskirts of the city on this day, they did not represent significant reinforcements for An Loc, having suffered tremendous casualties in their fight up the highway and the two-month siege was not lifted. It would not be lifted until large numbers of fresh reinforcements were flown in to a position south of the city from which they then successfully attacked the North Vietnamese forces that surrounded the city. By the end of the month, most of the communist troops within the city had been eliminated, but the North Vietnamese forces still blocked Route 13 and continued to shell An Loc.

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1985 – Thomas Sutherland (born May 3, 1931), former Dean of Agriculture at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon was kidnapped by Islamic Jihad members near his Beirut home. He was released on November 18, 1991 at the same time as Terry Waite, having been held hostage for 2353 days. Sutherland earned a degree in Agriculture from Glasgow University, and moved to the United States in the 1950s. He was awarded a master’s degree and PhD in animal breeding from Iowa State University, then taught animal science at Colorado State University for 26 years. He moved to Beirut in 1983 for a three-year term as dean of the faculty of agriculture and food science in the American University in Beirut. Despite the assassination of University President Malcolm Kerr and the kidnapping of Professor Frank Reiger in 1984, and despite being warned repeatedly by the State Department to leave, Sutherland remained at the University. Two weeks after David P. Jacobsen was abducted, Sutherland was also kidnapped while using the limousine of University President Calvin Plimpton.

Upon his release, Sutherland claimed that the kidnappers mistook him for Plimpton. He was the second-longest held captive after Terry Anderson. His memories of the experience were published in a book co-authored by his wife Jean, At Your Own Risk (ISBN 1555912559). He claims to have attempted suicide a number of times and to have spent a substantial amount of time in solitary confinement. In June 2001, the Sutherland family won a $323 million verdict in a lawsuit against the frozen assets of the government of Iran, because of evidence that Iran had directed terrorists to kidnap Americans in Lebanon. In accordance with Section 2002 of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Sutherland and his family received $35,041,877.36 (including interest) and the lien for the rest of the original settlement is now held by the US Government.

1986 – The Rogers Commission released its report on the “Challenger” disaster, criticizing NASA and rocket-builder Morton Thiokol for management problems leading to the explosion that claimed the lives of seven astronauts. The Space Shuttle Challenger blew up as a result of a failure in a solid rocket booster joint.

1987 – In a second day of testimony before the Iran-Contra congressional committees, secretary Fawn Hall said she had spirited secret documents from the White House because she feared they would fall into the wrong hands.

1994 – In a bipartisan slap at President Clinton, the House of Representatives voted 244-178 for the United States to defy the international arms embargo on Bosnia.

1995 – One week after being shot down over Bosnia by a Bosnian Serb missile, and a day after being rescued, US Air Force Captain Scott O’Grady was warmly welcomed by his comrades at Aviano Air Base in Italy.

1997 – Air Force General Joseph Ralston gave up his fight to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his candidacy doomed by the clamor over his admission that he’d had an adulterous affair years ago.

1999 – Germany sent $18 million to the US Treasury for distribution to the survivors of the WW II concentration camps.

1999 – Yugoslav and Western generals signed a military agreement to end the 78-day NATO air war against Yugoslavia based on a demonstrable withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo and a complete pullout in 11 days.

2002 – U.S. military officials reported that traces of nerve agents and mustard gas were found in three locations at a U.S. base in Uzbekistan. Later tests reported no contamination.

2002 – Iraq and Qatar signed a free-trade agreement to drop customs duties and ease the flow of goods between the two Arab countries, further mending relations damaged by the 1990-91 Gulf War.

2003 – As rebels bore down on the capital of Liberia, French helicopters rescued more than 500 Americans, Europeans and other foreigners.

2004 – G-8 Summit leaders at Sea Island Resort near Savannah, Georgia, called for Middle East reform and a broader role for NATO in Iraq.

2004 – An Afghan commander said that Afghan and U.S. forces killed more than 70 Taliban rebels in a seven-day operation in a mountainous southern district, including at least 20 militants who died in a single clash.

2004 – At least 20 militants were killed in a gunbattle with the Pakistani army in a tense border region where hundreds of al-Qaida militants are suspected to be hiding.

2014 – Following its large-scale offensives in Iraq, ISIS had seized control of most of Mosul, the second most populous city in Iraq, a large part of the surrounding Nineveh province, and the city of Fallujah. ISIS also took control of Tikrit, the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate, with the ultimate goal of capturing Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. The militants seized control of government offices, the airport and police stations. Militants also looted the Central Bank in Mosul, reportedly absconding with US$429 million. More than 500,000 people fled Mosul to escape ISIS. Mosul is a strategic city as it is at a crossroad between Syria and Iraq, and poses the threat of ISIS seizing control of oil production.

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Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

GRAY, JOHN
Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 5th Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Port Republic, Va., 9 June 1862. Entered service at: Hamilton County, Ohio. Birth: Scotland. Date of issue: 14 March 1864. Citation: Mounted an artillery horse of the enemy and captured a brass 6-pound piece in the face of the enemy’s fire and brought it to the rear.

HARDING, THOMAS
Rank and organization: Captain of the Forecastle, U.S. Navy. Born: 1837, Middletown, Conn. Accredited to: Connecticut. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Served as captain of the forecastle on board the U.S.S. Dacotah on the occasion of the destruction of the blockade runner Pevensey, near Beauford, N.C., 9 June 1864. “Learning that one of the officers in the boat, which was in danger of being, and subsequently was, swamped, could not swim, Harding remarked to him: ‘If we are swamped, sir, I shall carry you to the beach or I will never go there myself.’ He did not succeed in carrying out his promise, but made desperate efforts to do so, while others thought only of themselves. Such conduct is worthy of appreciation and admiration–a sailor risking his own life to save that of an officer.”

*DEGLOPPER, CHARLES N.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Co. C, 325th Glider Infantry, 82d Airborne Division. Place and date: Merderet River at la Fiere, France, 9 June 1944. Entered service at: Grand Island, N.Y. Birth: Grand Island, N.Y. G.O. No.: 22, 28 February 1946. Citation: He was a member of Company C, 325th Glider Infantry, on 9 June 1944 advancing with the forward platoon to secure a bridgehead across the Merderet River at La Fiere, France. At dawn the platoon had penetrated an outer line of machineguns and riflemen, but in so doing had become cut off from the rest of the company. Vastly superior forces began a decimation of the stricken unit and put in motion a flanking maneuver which would have completely exposed the American platoon in a shallow roadside ditch where it had taken cover. Detecting this danger, Pfc. DeGlopper volunteered to support his comrades by fire from his automatic rifle while they attempted a withdrawal through a break in a hedgerow 40 yards to the rear.

Scorning a concentration of enemy automatic weapons and rifle fire, he walked from the ditch onto the road in full view of the Germans, and sprayed the hostile positions with assault fire. He was wounded, but he continued firing. Struck again, he started to fall; and yet his grim determination and valiant fighting spirit could not be broken. Kneeling in the roadway, weakened by his grievous wounds, he leveled his heavy weapon against the enemy and fired burst after burst until killed outright. He was successful in drawing the enemy action away from his fellow soldiers, who continued the fight from a more advantageous position and established the first bridgehead over the Merderet. In the area where he made his intrepid stand his comrades later found the ground strewn with dead Germans and many machineguns and automatic weapons which he had knocked out of action. Pfc. DeGlopper’s gallant sacrifice and unflinching heroism while facing unsurmountable odds were in great measure responsible for a highly important tactical victory in the Normandy Campaign.

GANDARA, JOE
Rank and Organization: Private. U.S. Army. Company D, 2d Battalion. 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Place and Date: June 9, 1944, Amfreville, France. Born: April 25, 1924, Santa Monica, CA . Departed: Yes (06/09/1944). Entered Service At: Los Angeles, CA. G.O. Number: . Date of Issue: 03/18/2014. Accredited To: . Citation: Gandara is being recognized for his heroic actions on June 9, 1944, in Amfreville, France. His detachment came under devastating enemy fire from a strong German force, pinning the men to the ground for a period of four hours. Gandara advanced voluntarily and alone toward the enemy position and destroyed three hostile machine-guns before he was fatally wounded.

McGONAGLE, WILLIAM L.
Rank and organization: Captain (then Comdr.) U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Liberty (AGTR-5). place and date: International waters, Eastern Mediterranean, 8-9 June 1967. Entered service at: Thermal, Calif. Born: 19 November 1925, Wichita, Kans. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sailing in international waters, the Liberty was attacked without warning by jet fighter aircraft and motor torpedo boats which inflicted many casualties among the crew and caused extreme damage to the ship. Although severely wounded during the first air attack, Capt. McGonagle remained at his battle station on the badly damaged bridge and, with full knowledge of the seriousness of his wounds, subordinated his own welfare to the safety and survival of his command. Steadfastly refusing any treatment which would take him away from his post, he calmly continued to exercise firm command of his ship.

Despite continuous exposure to fire, he maneuvered his ship, directed its defense, supervised the control of flooding and fire, and saw to the care of the casualties. Capt. McGonagle’s extraordinary valor under these conditions inspired the surviving members of the Liberty’s crew, many of them seriously wounded, to heroic efforts to overcome the battle damage and keep the ship afloat. Subsequent to the attack, although in great pain and weak from the loss of blood, Captain McGonagle remained at his battle station and continued to command his ship for more than 17 hours. It was only after rendezvous with a U.S. destroyer that he relinquished personal control of the Liberty and permitted himself to be removed from the bridge. Even then, he refused much needed medical attention until convinced that the seriously wounded among his crew had been treated. Capt. McGonagle’s superb professionalism, courageous fighting spirit, and valiant leadership saved his ship and many lives. His actions sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. (Captain McGonagle earned the Medal of Honor for actions that took place in international waters in the Eastern Mediterranean rather than in Vietnam.)

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10 June

1610 – The 1st Dutch settlers arrived from NJ to colonize Manhattan Island.

1639 – The 1st American log cabin at Fort Christina (Wilmington, Delaware).

1776 – The Continental Congress appointed a committee to write a Declaration of Independence.

1805 – Wearied of the blockade and raids, and now under threat of a continued advance on Tripoli proper and a scheme to restore his deposed older brother Hamet Karamanli as ruler, Yusuf Karamanli signed a treaty ending hostilities with the United States. Article 2 of the Treaty reads: The Bashaw of Tripoli shall deliver up to the American Squadron now off Tripoli, all the Americans in his possession; and all the Subjects of the Bashaw of Tripoli now in the power of the United States of America shall be delivered up to him; and as the number of Americans in possession of the Bashaw of Tripoli amounts to Three Hundred Persons, more or less; and the number of Tripolino Subjects in the power of the Americans to about, One Hundred more or less; The Bashaw of Tripoli shall receive from the United States of America, the sum of Sixty Thousand Dollars, as a payment for the difference between the Prisoners herein mentioned.

1848 – The 1st telegraph link between NYC & Chicago was established.

1854 – U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, holds first formal graduation exercises. Previous classes graduated without ceremony.

1861 – The Virginia village of Big Bethel became the site of the 1st major land battle of the Civil War. Private Henry L. Wyatt was the 1st Confederate soldier killed in a Civil War battle. 18 Union soldiers were killed.

1861 – Lieutenant John Mercer Brooke, CSN. ordered to design ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (ex-U.S.S. Merrimack).

1862 – Norfolk Navy Yard set afire before being evacuated by Confederate forces in a general withdrawal up the peninsula to defend Richmond. Union troops under Major General Wool crossed Hampton Roads from Fort Monroe, landed at Ocean View, and captured Norfolk.

1862 – Pensacola reoccupied by Union Army and Navy forces. Military installations in the area, including the Navy Yard, Forts Barrancas and McRee, C.S.S. Fulton, and an ironclad building on the Escambia River, were destroyed by the Confederates the preceding day before withdrawing. Commander D. D. Porter reported to Secretary of the Navy Welles: “The rebels had done their work completely. The yard is a ruin. Abandonment of the important Pensacola coastal area had been in preparation by the Confederates for months after Flag Officer Foote’s stunning successes on the upper Mississippi made redeployment of guns and troops necessary.

Flag Officer Farragut’s momentous victory at New Orleans precipitated the final evacuation. Colonel Thomas M. Jones, CSA, commanding at Pensacola, reported: “On receiving information that the enemy’s gunboats had succeeded in passing the forts below New Orleans with their powerful batteries and splendid equipments, I came to the conclusion that, with my limited means of defense, reduced, as I have been by the withdrawal of nearly all my heavy guns and ammunition, I could not hold them in check or make even a respectable show of resistance.”

1862 – Confederate River Defense Fleet C.S.S. General Bragg, General Sumter, General Sterling Price, General Earl Van Dorn, General M. Jeff Thompson, General Lovell, General Beauregard, and Little Rebel–made a spirited attack on Union gunboats and mortar flotilla at Plum Point Bend, Tennessee. The Confederate fleet, Captain James E. Montgomery, attacked Mortar Boat No. 16, stationed just above Fort Pillow and engaged in bombarding the works. U.S.S. Cincinnati, Commander Stembel, coming to the mortar boat’s defense, was rammed by Bragg and sank on a bar in eleven feet of water.

Van Dorn rammed U.S.S. Mound City, Commander Kilty, forcing her to run aground to avoid sinking. The draft of the Confederate vessels would not permit them to press the attack into the shoal water in which the Union squadron steamed, and, having sustained various but minor injuries, Montgomery withdrew under the guns of Fort Pillow. Cincinnati and Mound City were quickly repaired and returned to service.

1862 – Ironclad steamer U.S.S. New Ironsides launched at Philadelphia.

1863 – Rear Admiral Du Pont ordered U.S.S. Weehawken, Captain J. Rodgers, and U.S.S. Nahant, Commander Downes, to Wassaw Sound, Georgia, where it was reported that the powerful ram C.S.S. Atlanta, Commander Webb, was preparing to attack the wooden blockader U.S.S. Cimarron. A week later Du Pont’s wise foresight would save the day for the Union blockade there.

1863 – Confederate officer prisoners of war being transported to Fort Delaware on board steamer Maple Leaf overpowered the guard, took possession of the steamer, and landed below Cape Henry, Virginia.

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1864 – Nathan Bedford Forrest’s legend grows substantially when his Confederate cavalry routs a much larger Union force in Mississippi. When Union General William T. Sherman inched toward Atlanta, Georgia, in the summer of 1864, he left behind a vulnerable supply line through Tennessee. Of utmost concern to Sherman was the Rebel cavalry under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a daring leader who gave Union commanders in the west difficulty throughout the war. Sherman insisted that Forrest be neutralized and ordered a force from Memphis to hunt down Forrest’s command, which at that time was in northern Alabama. On June 1, some 5,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry troopers under the command of General Samuel D. Sturgis trudged out of Memphis in search of the elusive Forrest. But rain and poor roads slowed them, and a week’s travel found the Yankees only 50 miles from Memphis.

Forrest had been preparing for an assault on central Tennessee, but Sturgis’s expedition forced him back to northern Mississippi. The Confederates spread out along a railroad between Tupelo and Corinth and awaited the Union advance. On June 8, Forrest learned that Sturgis was moving on Tupelo. He carefully selected Brice’s Crossroads for its muddy roads and dense woods to mitigate the Union’s numerical advantage and called for his men to attack the leading Yankee cavalry, which would force the trailing infantry to hurry to the battle and fight before recovering from the march. The plan worked to perfection.

Around 10 a.m. on June 10, the cavalry forces began fighting, and the Union infantry made a five-mile dash in intense heat and humidity to aid their fellow soldiers. In the afternoon, Forrest orchestrated a series of attacks all along the Union front, which broke the Yankee lines and sent the Federals from the field in disarray with the Confederates in hot pursuit. The chase continued into the next day. Sturgis’s command suffered over 600 killed and wounded and over 1,600 captured—more than a quarter of the entire force. Forrest’s force suffered less than 600 killed and wounded, and the Confederates captured 16 cannons and 176 supply wagons. Forrest was never able to disrupt Sherman’s supply lines. However, the Battle of Brice’s Crossroads stands as his greatest military victory.

1871 – A landing force of 110 U.S. Marines came ashore on Korea’s Kangwha Island, a fortress island guarding the approaches to Seoul. The Korean Punitive Expedition was launched from an American fleet, which anchored in the Han River after the isolationist Korean government rejected U.S. diplomatic demands for an explanation of the fate of an American ship and her crew believed killed by the Koreans. In two days of fighting, the Marines and sailors captured the defensive forts on the Island, leaving 243 Koreans dead. Nevertheless, the expedition failed to open Korea to foreign trade.

1898 – The First Marine Battalion, commanded by LtCol Robert W. Huntington, landed on the eastern side of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The next day, Lt Herbert L. Draper hoisted the American flag on a flag pole at Camp McCalla where it flew during the next eleven days. LtCol Huntington later sent the flag with an accompanying letter to Colonel Commandant Charles Heywood noting that “when bullets were flying, …the sight of the flag upon the midnight sky has thrilled our hearts.”

1905 – Japan and Russia agreed to peace talks brokered by President Theodore Roosevelt.

1915 – The International Organization of The Girl Scouts were founded.

1940 – As President Franklin D. Roosevelt prepares to deliver the commencement address at the University of Virginia where his son is graduating with a law degree, Italy declares war on France and Great Britain. Rather than deleiver his prepared speech, Roosevelt instead expresses his opposition to Mussolini’s move and calls on America to end its isolationism. This becomes known as the “Stab in the Back” speech.

1942 – The carrier USS Wasp and battleship USS North Carolina accompanied by cruisers and destroyers pass through the canal to join the US Pacific Fleet after service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. There are now four American fleet aircraft carriers in the Pacific theater.

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1943 – Operation Husky, Allied landing on Sicily. The landings took place in extremely strong wind conditions, which made the landings difficult but also ensured the element of surprise. Landings were made on the southern and eastern coasts of the island, with the British forces in the East and the Americans towards the West. Four airborne operations were carried out, landing during the night of the 9/10 July, as part of the invasion; two were British and two American. The American troops were the 82nd Airborne division, making their first combat parachute jump. The strong winds blew the dropping aircraft off course and scattered them widely; the result was that around half the US paratroops failed to make it to their rallying points.

British glider-landed troops fared little better; only 12 out of 144 gliders landing on target, many landing in the sea. Nevertheless the scattered airborne troops maximized their opportunities, attacking patrols and creating confusion wherever possible. U.S. paratroopers jump into Australia on a military training exercise. The sea landings, despite the weather, were carried out against little opposition, the Italian units stationed on the shoreline lacking equipment and transport. The British walked into the port of Syracuse virtually unopposed. Only in the American center was a substantial counterattack made, in exactly the point where the US Airborne were supposed to have been.

On the 11 July Patton ordered his reserve parachute regiments to drop and reinforce the center. Unfortunately not every unit had been informed of the drop, and the transports, which arrived shortly after an Axis air raid, were fired on by their own side, losing 37 out of 144 planes by friendly fire. The plans for the post-invasion battle had not been worked out in detail. Each Army was expected to advance towards its own objectives; boundaries between the two armies were fixed. In the first two days progress was excellent, capturing Vizzini in the west and Augusta in the east.

However resistance in the British sector then stiffened. Montgomery persuaded Alexander to shift the boundaries so that the British could by-pass the resistance and retain the key role of capturing Messina, while the Americans were given the role of protecting and supporting their flank. Patton sought a greater role for his army, and decided to try to capture the capital, Palermo. After dispatching a ‘reconnaissance’ toward the town of Agrigento which succeeded in capturing it, he persuaded Alexander to allow him to continue to advance. Alexander changed his mind and countermanded his orders, but Patton claimed the countermand was ‘garbled in transmission’, and by the time the position had been clarified Patton was at the gates of Palermo. Messina, Italy Strait of Messina, Italy.

The fall of Palermo inspired a coup against Mussolini, and he was deposed from power. Although the removal of Italy from the war had been one of the long-term objectives of the Italian campaign, the suddenness of the move caught the Allies by surprise. After Patton’s capture of Palermo, with the British still bogged down south of Messina, Alexander ordered a two-pronged attack on the city. Patton became obsessed with the idea of reaching Messina before the British, writing “This is a horse race in which the prestige of the US Army is at stake.”.

The Axis, now effectively under the command of German General Hans Hube, had prepared a strong defensive line, the ‘Etna Line’ around Messina, that would enable him to make a progressive retreat while evacuating large parts of his army to the mainland. Patton began his assault on the line at Troina, but it was a lynchpin of the defense and stubbornly held. Despite three ‘end run’ amphibious landings the Germans managed to keep the bulk of their forces beyond reach of capture, and maintain their evacuation plans. Elements of the US Third Infantry Division entered Messina just hours after the last axis troops boarded ship for Italy. However Patton had won his race to enter Messina first. The casualties on the Axis side totaled 29,000, with 140,000 captured. The capture of Biscari airfield also resulted in an atrocity when American troops killed seventy-three Prisoners of War, supposedly inspired by Patton. The US lost 2,237 killed and 6,544 wounded and captured; the British suffered 2,721 dead, and 10,122 wounded and captured.

For many of the American forces this was their first time in combat. However the Axis successfully evacuated over 100,000 men and 10,000 vehicles from Sicily. No plan had been made by the Allies to prevent this. The invasion also had an impact on the Eastern front. One of the reasons why the Germans had to cancel their offensive near Kursk was that they decided to send units to Italy after they received news of the invasion. The Eastern Front was the theatre of combat between Nazi Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union during World War II. It was somewhat separate from the other theatres of the war, not only geographically, but also for its scale and ferocity.

Generally considered a strategic German loss The Battle of Kursk was a significant battle on the Eastern Front of World War II. It remains the largest armored engagement of all time, Husky was the largest amphibious operation of World War II in terms of men landed on the beaches, and of frontage; it overshadowed even the later Normandy landings. Strategically, the Sicilian operation achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners. Axis air and naval forces were driven from the island; the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened and Mussolini had been toppled from power. It opened the way to the invasion of Italy, which had not necessarily been seen as a follow-up to Operation Husky.

1943 – The Combined Chiefs of Staff issue the Pointblank Directive to British and American heavy bomber forces in Europe. The document sets out formal instructions for the priorities and aims of the bomber offensive up to D-Day. The instructions reflect American thought more so than British but the guidelines are vague enough that both the US Air Force and British Bomber Command can continue their independent operations.

1944 – The U.S. VII and V corps, advancing from Normandy’s Utah and Omaha beaches, respectively, linked-up and began moving inland. The Utah and Omaha beaches are linked up by an advance of the US 2nd Armored Division (part of 5th Corps). The US 101st Airborne Division continues to be engaged around Carentan.

1944 – In a diversionary action, British aircraft from Illustrious and Atheling raid Japanese positions on Sabang. The intent is to distract Japanese attention from American forces approaching the Mariana Islands.

1945 – On Okinawa, fighting continues on the Oroku Peninsula, where the forces of the US 6th Marine Division have reduced the Japanese pocket to about 2000 square yards. Heavy Japanese losses are recorded in nighttime counterattacks. Meanwhile, on the south of the island, the US 1st Marine Division suffers heavy losses in the successful capture of a hill west of the town of Yuza. The US 24th Corps forces, to the left, launches a major offensive against the last Japanese defensive line, the Yaeju-Dake Line. Japanese resistance is evidently weakening.

1945 – On Luzon, Japanese forces halt the advance of the US 37th Division near Orioung Pass.

1945 – In Frankfurt, Marshal Zhukov confers the Soviet Order of Victory on Field Marshal Montgomery and General Eisenhower. During the evening, in a message broadcast by Hamburg radio, Field Marshal Montgomery says that the German people must be taught that not only have they been defeated, but that they are guilty of beginning the war as they were guilty in 1914. He suggests parents read the message to their children and ensure that they understand it.

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1948 – The news that the sound barrier has been broken is finally released to the public by the U.S. Air Force. Chuck Yeager, piloting the rocket airplane X-1, exceeded the speed of sound on October 14, 1947.

1953 – During the siege of Outpost Harry, the 15th Infantry Regiment and the 5th Regimental Combat Team, both of the 3rd Infantry Division, repelled an assault by the Chinese 74th Division. The Chinese suffered an estimated 4,200 casualties.

1953 – The Chinese opened an assault on ROK II Corps near Kumsong. By June 16, ROK II Corps had been pushed to a new main line of resistance.

1953 – U.S. Air Force Captain James Jabara, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing bagged his third double MiG kill and qualified as the seventh “double ace” of the war, with a total of 10 kills.

1953 – In a forceful speech, President Dwight D. Eisenhower strikes back at critics of his Cold War foreign policy. He insisted that the United States was committed to the worldwide battle against communism and that he would maintain a strong U.S. defense. Just a few months into his presidency, and with the Korean War still raging, Eisenhower staked out his basic approach to foreign policy with this speech. In the weeks prior to Eisenhower’s talk, Senator Robert Taft and Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg issued challenges to the president’s conduct of foreign policy. Taft argued that if efforts to reach a peace agreement in Korea failed, the United States should withdraw from the United Nations forces and make its own policy for dealing with North Korea.

Vandenberg was upset over Eisenhower’s proposal to cut $5 billion from the Air Force budget. Without naming either man, Eisenhower responded to both during a speech at the National Junior Chamber of Commerce meeting in Minneapolis. He began by characterizing the Cold War as a battle “for the soul of man himself.” He rejected Taft’s idea that the United States should pursue a completely independent foreign policy, or what one “might call the ‘fortress’ theory of defense.” Instead, he insisted that all free nations had to stand together: “There is no such thing as partial unity.” To Vandenberg’s criticisms of the new Air Force budget, the president explained that vast numbers of aircraft were not needed in the new atomic age. Just a few planes armed with nuclear weapons could “visit on an enemy as much explosive violence as was hurled against Germany by our entire air effort throughout four years of World War II.”

With this speech, Eisenhower thus enunciated two major points of what came to be known at the time as his “New Look” foreign policy. First was his advocacy of multi-nation responses to communist aggression in preference to unilateral action by the United States. Second was the idea that came to be known as the “bigger bang for the buck” defense strategy. This postulated that a cheaper and more efficient defense could be built around the nation’s nuclear arsenal rather than a massive increase in conventional land, air, and sea forces.

1963 – MACV Commander General Paul Harkins is reported to warn US military personnel to avoid duty with Vietnamese military units involved in the suppression of the Buddhists.

1964 – Embarrassed by the disclosure of US participation in air action sin Laos, Souvanna Phouma threatens to resign if the flights don’t stop. The US Ambassador to Los, Leonard Unger, persuades Souvanna to change his mind, and after a temporary suspension, the US State Department announces on the 11th that the reconnaissance flights will continue ‘as necessary’ but that ‘operational aspects would not be discussed.’ This results in describing all US air operations in Laos during the coming years as ‘reconnaissance flights.’

1965 – Amid rising criticism of the new combat role of US forces in Vietnam, Johnson’s Attorney General, Nicholas Katzenbach, writes to assure the president that he has the authority to commit large-scale forces without going back to Congress.

1965 – Some 1,500 Viet Cong start a mortar attack on the district capital of Dong Xoai, about 60 miles northeast of Saigon, and then quickly overrun the town’s military headquarters and an adjoining militia compound. Other Viet Cong forces conducted a raid on a U.S. Special Forces camp about a mile away. U.S. helicopters flew in South Vietnamese reinforcements, but the Viet Cong isolated and cut down the troops. Heavy U.S. air strikes eventually helped to drive off the Viet Cong, but not before the South Vietnamese had suffered between 800 and 900 casualties and the United States had 7 killed, 12 missing and presumed dead, and 15 wounded. The Viet Cong were estimated to have lost 350 in the ground combat and perhaps several hundred more in air attacks.

1968 – At a Saigon news conference on the day he is to turn over command of U.S. forces in Vietnam to General Creighton Abrams, General William Westmoreland offers his assessment of past and current trends in the war. In defense of his attrition policy, Westmoreland declared that it would ultimately make continued fighting “intolerable to the enemy.” He also explained that, because it was impossible to “cut a surface line of communication with other than ground operations,” Washington’s ban on ground attacks to interdict communist infiltration through Laos precluded the achievement of military victory.

Westmoreland denied, however, that the military situation was stalemated. Westmoreland’s approach to the war had all but been discredited by the communist Tet Offensive, which was launched in January 30, 1968. In the wake of the widespread Viet Cong and North Vietnamese attacks, there was a review of U.S. policy by the Johnson administration. When it was decided to de-escalate the war, halt the bombing of North Vietnam, and go to the negotiating table, Westmoreland was reassigned to become the Army Chief of Staff, a post he held until his retirement from the service in 1972.

1969 – President Nixon says the Midway meeting ahs ‘opened wide the door to peace’ and invites North Vietnam to ‘walk with us through that door.’ Nixon challenges North Vietnam to begin withdrawing forces or to begin serious negotiations, or both.

1970 – A fifteen-man group of special forces troops began training for Operation Kingpin, a POW rescue mission in North Vietnam. The daring rescue raid at the Son Tay prison camp deep within North Vietnam lacked only one essential ingredient–POWs.

1972 – US Phantom jets destroy Langchi hydroelectric power plant, using 2,000-pound, laser-guided bombs. Langchi supplied power to the Hanoi-Haiphong area.

1977 – The Apple II, one of the first personal computers, goes on sale.

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