Veterans...Get the hell in here now!

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Today in Military History:

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June 8. 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 crew members 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 Medal of Honor for his heroic command of the Liberty during and after the attack.

theintercept.com

Fifty Years Later, NSA Keeps Details of Israel's USS Liberty Attack Secret

New Snowden documents provide precious few new details about an incident that remains shrouded — and controversial.
theintercept.com theintercept.com

H-007-1 Attack on USS Liberty

H-Gram 007, Attachment 1 Samuel J. Cox, Director NHHC 8 June 2017 USS Liberty’s mission was to collect intelligence on activity along the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula. Although Liberty was a U.S. Navy ship with a mostly U.S. Navy crew, its mission was in support of National Security...
www.history.navy.mil www.history.navy.mil

ATTACK ON THE USS LIBERTY A STAB AT THE TRUTH
 
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Today in Military History:

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The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest ever to take place on American soil. It was fought on June 9, 1863, around Brandy Station, Virginia, at the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign by the Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton against Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry.

Union commander Pleasonton launched a surprise dawn attack on Stuart's cavalry at Brandy Station. After an all-day fight in which fortunes changed repeatedly, the Federals retired without discovering Gen. Robert E. Lee's infantry camped near Culpeper. This battle marked the end of the Confederate cavalry's dominance in the East. From this point in the war, the Federal cavalry gained strength and confidence.

Union casualties were 907 (69 killed, 352 wounded, and 486 missing, primarily captured); Confederate losses totaled 523. Some 20,500 men were engaged in this, the largest predominantly cavalry battle to take place during the war.

Stuart argued that the battle was a Confederate victory since he held the field at the end of the day and had repelled Pleasonton's attack. The Southern press was generally negative about the outcome. The Richmond Enquirer wrote that "Gen. Stuart has suffered no little in public estimation by the late enterprises of the enemy." The Richmond Examiner described Stuart's command as "puffed up cavalry," that suffered the "consequences of negligence and bad management."

Subordinate officers criticized Pleasonton for not aggressively defeating Stuart at Brandy Station. Maj. Gen. Hooker had ordered Pleasonton to "disperse and destroy" the Confederate cavalry near Culpeper, but Pleasonton claimed that he had only been ordered to make a "reconnaissance in force toward Culpeper," thus rationalizing his actions.

For the first time in the Civil War, Union cavalry matched the Confederate horsemen in skill and determination. Stuart falling victim to two surprise attacks, which cavalry was supposed to prevent, foreshadowed other embarrassments ahead for him in the Gettysburg campaign.

Prelude to Gettysburg: The Battle of Brandy Station - Gettysburg National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov www.nps.gov

The Battle of Brandy Station - Essential Civil War Curriculum

www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com
 
raratt

raratt

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Early on 17 June 2017, the United States Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with MV ACX Crystal, a Philippine-flagged container ship, about 80 nautical miles (150 kilometres; 92 miles) southwest of Tokyo, Japan; 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) southeast of the city of Shimoda on the Japanese mainland (Honshu).

The accident killed seven Fitzgerald sailors. Their bodies were recovered from the flooded berthing compartments of the ship. At least three more of the crew of nearly 300 were injured, including the ship's commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson. The top two senior officers and the top enlisted sailor were relieved of duty and faced criminal charges, which were later dismissed; about a dozen other sailors will receive non-judicial punishment. The owners of the merchant vessel have agreed to pay $27 million in compensation to the US Navy.

news.usni.org

NTSB: ‘Unexplained’ Course Change Was ‘A Critical Error’ in Fatal USS Fitzgerald Collision - USNI News

Federal investigators highlighted an “unexplained course change” by a U.S. guided-missile destroyer as “a critical error” that put the warship on the path to the fatal 2017 collision that would kill seven sailors, according to a new report released Thursday. Eight minutes before the collision...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
www.navytimes.com

Worse than you thought: inside the secret Fitzgerald probe the Navy doesn’t want you to read

It was kept secret from the public in part because it was designed to prep the Navy for potential lawsuits in the aftermath of the accident.
www.navytimes.com www.navytimes.com
 
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"At Waterloo in Belgium on June 18, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte suffers defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, bringing an end to the Napoleonic era of European history.

The Corsica-born Napoleon, one of the greatest military strategists in history, rapidly rose in the ranks of the French Revolutionary Army during the late 1790s. By 1799, France was at war with most of Europe, and Napoleon returned home from his Egyptian campaign to take over the reins of the French government and save his nation from collapse. After becoming first consul in February 1800, he reorganized his armies and defeated Austria. In 1802, he established the Napoleonic Code, a new system of French law, and in 1804 was crowned emperor of France in Notre Dame Cathedral. By 1807, Napoleon controlled an empire that stretched from the River Elbe in the north, down through Italy in the south, and from the Pyrenees to the Dalmatian coast.

Beginning in 1812, Napoleon began to encounter the first significant defeats of his military career, suffering through a disastrous invasion of Russia, losing Spain to the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula War, and enduring total defeat against an allied force by 1814. Exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean, he escaped to France in early 1815 and set up a new regime. As allied troops mustered on the French frontiers, he raised a new Grand Army and marched into Belgium. He intended to defeat the allied armies one by one before they could launch a united attack.

On June 16, 1815, he defeated the Prussians under Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher at Ligny, and sent 33,000 men, or about one-third of his total force, in pursuit of the retreating Prussians. On June 18, Napoleon led his remaining 72,000 troops against the Duke of Wellington’s 68,000-man allied army, which had taken up a strong position 12 miles south of Brussels near the village of Waterloo. In a fatal blunder, Napoleon waited until mid-day to give the command to attack in order to let the ground dry. The delay in fighting gave Blucher’s troops, who had eluded their pursuers, time to march to Waterloo and join the battle by the late afternoon.

In repeated attacks, Napoleon failed to break the center of the allied center. Meanwhile, the Prussians gradually arrived and put pressure on Napoleon’s eastern flank. At 6 p.m., the French under Marshal Michel Ney managed to capture a farmhouse in the allied center and began decimating Wellington’s troops with artillery. Napoleon, however, was preoccupied with the 30,000 Prussians attacking his flank and did not release troops to aid Ney’s attack until after 7 p.m. By that time, Wellington had reorganized his defenses, and the French attack was repulsed. Fifteen minutes later, the allied army launched a general advance, and the Prussians attacked in the east, throwing the French troops into panic and then a disorganized retreat. The Prussians pursued the remnants of the French army, and Napoleon left the field. French casualties in the Battle of Waterloo were 25,000 men killed and wounded and 9,000 captured, while the allies lost about 23,000.

Napoleon returned to Paris and on June 22 abdicated in favor of his son. He decided to leave France before counterrevolutionary forces could rally against him, and on July 15 he surrendered to British protection at the port of Rochefort. He hoped to travel to the United States, but the British instead sent him to Saint Helena, a remote island in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. Napoleon protested but had no choice but to accept the exile. With a group of followers, he lived quietly on St. Helena for six years. In May 1821, he died, most likely of stomach cancer. He was only 51 years old. In 1840, his body was returned to Paris, and a magnificent funeral was held. Napoleon’s body was conveyed through the Arc de Triomphe and entombed under the dome of the Invalides."

owlcation.com

The Waterloo Medal of 1816 : Considering Medals in War and Society

Medals have long fascinated collectors and historians alike. The Waterloo Medal of 1816 was the first British military campaign medal issued to all ranks of soldiers after the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
owlcation.com owlcation.com

The Causes of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Loss at Waterloo 1815.pdf
 
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BarnBuster

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June 18, 1812: The day after the Senate followed the House of Representatives in voting to declare war against Great Britain, President James Madison signs the declaration into law—and the War of 1812 begins. The American war declaration, opposed by a sizable minority in Congress, had been called in response to the British economic blockade of France, the induction of American seaman into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier. A faction of Congress known as the “War Hawks” had been advocating war with Britain for several years and had not hidden their hopes that a U.S. invasion of Canada might result in significant territorial land gains for the United States.

In the months after President Madison proclaimed the state of war to be in effect, American forces launched a three-point invasion of Canada, all of which were decisively unsuccessful. In 1814, with Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Empire collapsing, the British were able to allocate more military resources to the American war, and Washington, D.C., fell to the British in August. In Washington, British troops burned the White House, the Capitol, and other buildings in retaliation for the earlier burning of government buildings in Canada by U.S. soldiers.

In September, the tide of the war turned when Thomas Macdonough’s American naval force won a decisive victory at the Battle of Plattsburg Bay on Lake Champlain. The invading British army was forced to retreat back into Canada. The American victory on Lake Champlain led to the conclusion of U.S.-British peace negotiations in Belgium, and on December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, formally ending the War of 1812. By the terms of the agreement, all conquered territory was to be returned, and a commission would be established to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada.

British forces assailing the Gulf Coast were not informed of the treaty in time, and on January 8, 1815, the U.S. forces under Andrew Jackson achieved the greatest American victory of the war at the Battle of New Orleans. The American public heard of Jackson’s victory and the Treaty of Ghent at approximately the same time, fostering a greater sentiment of self-confidence and shared identity throughout the young republic.
 
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Today in Military History:
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Lieutenant Junior Grade Alexander Vraciu, USNR, Fighting Squadron 16 "ace", holds up six fingers to signify his "kills" during the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" on 19 June 1944. Taken on the flight deck of the USS Lexington (CV-16)
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"On June 19, 1944, in what would become known as the “Marianas Turkey Shoot,” U.S. carrier-based fighters decimate the Japanese Fleet with only a minimum of losses in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

The security of the Marianas Islands, in the western Pacific, were vital to Japan, which had air bases on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. U.S. troops were already battling the Japanese on Saipan, having landed there on the 15th. Any further intrusion would leave the Philippine Islands, and Japan itself, vulnerable to U.S. attack. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, commanded by Admiral Raymond Spruance, was on its way west from the Marshall Islands as backup for the invasion of Saipan and the rest of the Marianas. But Japanese Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo decided to challenge the American fleet, ordering 430 of his planes, launched from aircraft carriers, to attack. In what became the greatest carrier battle of the war, the United States, having already picked up the Japanese craft on radar, proceeded to shoot down more than 300 aircraft and sink two Japanese aircraft carriers, losing only 29 of their own planes in the process. It was described in the aftermath as a “turkey shoot.”

Admiral Ozawa, believing his missing planes had landed at their Guam air base, maintained his position in the Philippine Sea, allowing for a second attack of U.S. carrier-based fighter planes, this time commanded by Admiral Mitscher, to shoot down an additional 65 Japanese planes and sink another carrier. In total, the Japanese lost 480 aircraft, three-quarters of its total, not to mention most of its crews. American domination of the Marianas was now a foregone conclusion.

Not long after this battle at sea, U.S. Marine divisions penetrated farther into the island of Saipan. Two Japanese commanders on the island, Admiral Nagumo and General Saito, both committed suicide in an attempt to rally the remaining Japanese forces. It succeeded: Those forces also committed a virtual suicide as they attacked the Americans’ lines, losing 26,000 men compared with 3,500 lost by the United States. Within another month, the islands of Tinian and Guam were also captured by the United States.

June 1944 represented a conspicuous moment of military achievement for the Allied powers with historian Craig Symonds declaring, “June 1944 might well be labeled the decisive month of the entire Second World War.” As the Allies landed in Normandy, breaching Hitler’s Festung Europa, the Empire of Japan’s airpower suffered near annihilation in the Philippine Sea

The Japanese government of Premier Hideki Tojo resigned in disgrace at this stunning defeat, in what many have described as the turning point of the war in the Pacific."

Decisive Battle: The Battle of the Philippine Sea, June 18th to June 20th, 1944

Battle of the Philippine Sea, 19-20 June 1944

The Battle of the Philippine Sea or 'Great Marianas Turkey Shoot (19-20 June 1944) was the first major naval battle in the Pacific since 1942 and was a crushing American victory that permanently destroyed Japanese naval aviation, leaving their carriers as hollow shells for the rest of the war
www.historyofwar.org

Great Marianas 'Turkey Shoot' - WW2 Timeline (June 19th - 20th, 1944)

Timeline of events related to the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot air battle of the Pacific Theater of World War II.
www.secondworldwarhistory.com
 
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Today in Military History:

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21 June, 1945 Battle of Okinawa ends. During World War II, the U.S. 10th Army overcomes the last major pockets of Japanese resistance on Okinawa Island, ending one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II. On April 1, 1945—Easter Sunday—the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. The invasion was part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa.

OKINAWA ISLAND
By the time American troops landed on Okinawa, the war on the European front was nearing its end. Allied and Soviet troops had liberated much of Nazi-occupied Europe and were just weeks away from forcing Germany’s unconditional surrender.

On the Pacific front, however, American forces were still painstakingly conquering Japan’s Home Islands, one after another. After obliterating Japanese troops in the brutal Battle of Iwo Jima, they set their sights on the isolated island of Okinawa, their last stop before reaching Japan. Okinawa’s 466 square miles of dense foliage, hills and trees made it the perfect location for the Japanese High Command’s last stand to protect their motherland. They knew if Okinawa fell, so would Japan. The Americans knew securing Okinawa’s airbases was critical to launching a successful Japanese invasion.

LANDING ON THE BEACHHEADS
As dawn arrived on April 1, morale was low among American troops as the Fifth Fleet launched the largest bombardment ever to support a troop landing to soften Japanese defenses. Soldiers and Army brass alike expected the beach landings to be a massacre worse than D-Day. But the Fifth Fleet’s offensive onslaught was almost pointless and landing troops could have literally swum to shore—surprisingly, the expected mass of awaiting Japanese troops wasn’t there.

On D-Day, American troops fought hard for every inch of beachhead—but troops landing on Okinawa’s beaches surged inland with little resistance. Wave after wave of troops, tanks, ammunition and supplies went ashore almost effortlessly within hours. The troops quickly secured both Kadena and Yontan airfields.

THE ENEMY WAITS
Japan’s 32nd Army, some 130,000 men strong and commanded by Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima, defended Okinawa. The military force also included an unknown number of conscripted civilians and unarmed Home Guards known as Boeitai. As they moved inland, American troops wondered when and where they’d finally encounter enemy resistance. What they didn’t know was the Japanese Imperial Army had them just where they wanted them.

Japanese troops had been instructed not to fire on the American landing forces but instead watch and wait for them, mostly in Shuri, a rugged area of southern Okinawa where General Ushijima had set up a triangle of defensive positions known as the Shuri Defense Line.

BATTLESHIP YAMATO
American troops who headed North to the Motobu Peninsula endured intense resistance and over 1,000 casualties, but won a decisive battle relatively quickly. It was different along the Shuri Line where they had to overcome a series of heavily-defended hills loaded with firmly-entrenched Japanese troops. On April 7, Japan’s mighty battleship Yamato was sent to launch a surprise attack on the Fifth Fleet and then annihilate American troops pinned down near the Shuri Line. But Allied submarines spotted the Yamato and alerted the fleet who then launched a crippling air attack. The ship was bombarded and sank along with most of its crew.

After the Americans cleared a series of outposts surrounding the Shuri Line, they fought many fierce battles including clashes on Kakazu Ridge, Sugar Loaf Hill, Horseshoe Ridge and Half Moon Hill. Torrential rains made the hills and roads watery graveyards of unburied bodies. Casualties were enormous on both sides by the time the Americans took Shuri Castle in late May. Defeated yet not beaten, the Japanese retreated to the southern coast of Okinawa where they made their last stand.

KAMIKAZE WARFARE
The kamikaze suicide pilot was Japan’s most ruthless weapon. On April 4, the Japanese unleashed these well-trained pilots on the Fifth Fleet. Some dove their planes into ships at 500 miles per hour causing catastrophic damage.

American sailors tried desperately to shoot them down but were often sitting ducks against enemy pilots with nothing to lose. During the Battle of Okinawa, the Fifth Fleet suffered:

36 sunk ships
368 damaged ships
4,900 men killed or drowned
4,800 men wounded
763 lost aircraft

HACKSAW RIDGE
The Maeda Escarpment, also known as Hacksaw Ridge, was located atop a 400-foot vertical cliff. The American attack on the ridge began on April 26. It was a brutal battle for both sides.

To defend the escarpment, Japanese troops hunkered down in a network of caves and dugouts. They were determined to hold the ridge and decimated some American platoons until just a few men remained. Much of the fighting was hand-to-hand and particularly ruthless. The Americans finally took Hacksaw Ridge on May 6.

All Americans who fought in the Battle of Okinawa were heroic, but one soldier at the escarpment stood out—Corporal Desmond T. Doss. He was an army medic and Seventh-Day Adventist who refused to raise a gun to the enemy. Still, he remained on the escarpment after his commanding officers ordered a retreat. Surrounded by enemy soldiers, he went alone into the battle fray and rescued 75 of his wounded comrades. His heroic story was brought to life on the big screen in 2016 in the film Hacksaw Ridge.

SUICIDE OR SURRENDER
Most Japanese troops and Okinawa citizens believed Americans took no prisoners and they’d be killed on the spot if captured. As a result, countless took their own lives. To encourage their surrender, General Buckner initiated propaganda warfare and dropped millions of leaflets declaring the war was all but lost for Japan.

About 7,000 Japanese soldiers surrendered, but many chose death by suicide. Some jumped from high hills, others blew themselves up with grenades.
When faced with the reality that further fighting was futile, General Ushijima and his Chief of Staff, General Cho, committed ritual suicide on June 22, effectively ending the Battle of Okinawa.

LEGACY OF THE BATTLE OF OKINAWA
Both sides suffered enormous losses in the Battle of Okinawa. The Americans bore over 49,000 casualties including 12,520 killed. General Buckner was killed in action on June 18, just days before the battle ended.

Japanese losses were even greater—about 110,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives. It’s estimated between 40,000 and 150,000 Okinawa citizens were also killed.

Winning the Battle of Okinawa put Allied forces within striking distance of Japan. But wanting to bring the war to a swift end, and knowing over 2 million Japanese troops were awaiting battle-weary American soldiers, Harry S. Truman chose to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6.
Japan didn’t give in immediately, so Truman ordered the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9. Finally, Japan had had enough. On August, 14, 1945, they finally surrendered, marking the end of World War II.

Twenty-three Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor for their conduct during the 82 days of fighting in The Battle of Okinawa.


The Final Campaign Marines in the Victory on Okinawa
 
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Today in Military History:

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24 June 1948 - One of the most dramatic standoffs in the history of the Cold War begins as the Soviet Union blocks all road and rail traffic to and from West Berlin. The blockade turned out to be a terrible diplomatic move by the Soviets, while the United States emerged from the confrontation with renewed purpose and confidence.

Following World War II, Germany was divided into occupation zones. The United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and, eventually, France, were given specific zones to occupy in which they were to accept the surrender of Nazi forces and restore order. The Soviet Union occupied most of eastern Germany, while the other Allied nations occupied western Germany. The German capital of Berlin was similarly divided into four zones of occupation. Almost immediately, differences between the United States and the Soviet Union surfaced. The Soviets sought huge reparations from Germany in the form of money, industrial equipment, and resources. The Russians also made it clear that they desired a neutral and disarmed Germany. The United States saw things in quite a different way. American officials believed that the economic recovery of Western Europe was dependent on a strong, reunified Germany. They also felt that only a rearmed Germany could stand as a bulwark against Soviet expansion into Western Europe. In May 1946, the Americans stopped reparations shipments from their zone to the Soviets. In December, the British and Americans combined their zones; the French joined some months later. The Soviets viewed these actions as a threat and issued more demands for a say in the economic future of Germany. On June 22, 1948, negotiations between the Soviets, Americans, and British broke down. On June 24, Soviet forces blocked the roads and railroad lines into West Berlin.

American officials were furious, and some in the administration of President Harry S. Truman argued that the time for diplomacy with the Soviets was over. For a few tense days, the world waited to see whether the United States and Soviet Union would come to blows. In West Berlin, panic began to set in as its population worried about shortages of food, water, and medical aid. The United States response came just two days after the Soviets began their blockade. A massive airlift of supplies into West Berlin was undertaken in what was to become one of the greatest logistical efforts in history. For the Soviets, the escapade quickly became a diplomatic embarrassment. Russia looked like an international bully that was trying to starve men, women, and children into submission. And the successful American airlift merely served to accentuate the technological superiority of the United States over the Soviet Union. On May 12, 1949, the Soviets officially ended the blockade.

www.nytimes.com

Gail Halvorsen, ‘Candy Bomber’ in Berlin Airlift, Dies at 101

Lieutenant Halvorsen came up with the idea to drop candies, chocolate and chewing gum for the children of West Berlin during a tense Cold War standoff.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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BarnBuster

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Today in Military History:
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On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. By July, American troops had entered the war on South Korea’s behalf. As far as American officials were concerned, it was a war against the forces of international communism itself. After some early back-and-forth across the 38th parallel, the fighting stalled and casualties mounted with nothing to show for them. Meanwhile, American officials worked anxiously to fashion some sort of armistice with the North Koreans. The alternative, they feared, would be a wider war with Russia and China–or even, as some warned, World War III. Finally, in July 1953, the Korean War came to an end. In all, some 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the war. The Korean peninsula is still divided today.
 
Weedoguido

Weedoguido

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SwarthySchlong said:
Since this is the vet thread, can i post all my army stuff here?
Even cell phone vids of shoveling charred bodies out of civilian trucks? Psyche. Not gonna post that but i might have some noteworthy stuff

I recorded one of my jumps on my phone. I have to find that phone though
Click to expand...
I wish cell phones where around when I was in the Army.
 
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The Queen distributing the first Victoria Crosses in Hyde Park, 26th June 1857. In the middle distance the Queen shown presenting the first medals to the recipients, who approach from the right. The first to recieve it was a sailor. Prince Albert rides on the left.​

The Victoria Cross (VC) was awarded to 111 members of the British Armed Forces during the Crimean War (also known as the Russian War) that lasted from 1854 to 1856. The first ceremony was held on 26 June 1857 where Queen Victoria invested 62 of the 111 Crimean recipients in Hyde Park.

The VC was introduced in Great Britain on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War. It takes precedence over all other Orders, decorations and medals; it may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to civilians under military command.

Until 1907, it was policy not to award the VC posthumously. Between 1857 and 1901, nine notices were published in the London Gazette for soldiers who would have been awarded the VC had they survived.

In a partial reversal of policy in 1902, medals were sent to the next of kin of the three mentioned for the Boer War and at the same time the first three official posthumous awards, again for the Boer War, were gazetted. In 1907, the posthumous policy was completely reversed and medals were sent to the next of kin of the remaining six officers and men. As a result of the change of policy, one quarter of all awards for the First World War were posthumous but it was only in the general revision of the warrant issued in 1920 that a clause was inserted to explicitly allow posthumous awards.

Contrary to common belief, the Victoria Cross is not made from the bronze from Russian cannons that were captured at Sebastopol during the Crimean war but from Chinese cannons captured from the Russians.

Hancock's Jewelry in London has been the sole supplier of the award since issue. Unlike any other award for gallantry the Victoria Cross is not made in a die. It is not struck, as are coins and many other medals, it is cast. Traditionally it is sand cast in moulds usually containing four specimens at a time. The medals are removed from the sand moulds when the metal has cooled, and then the hand finishing process begins. The suspender bar from which the cross itself is hung, is cast at the same time as the medal and receives the same hand finishing. The obverse and reverse are hand chased even to the minutest detail and the whole medal has a special bronze finish applied at the end of the process. This gives a nice even colour to the medal because the bronze from which it is cast does not have an overall attractive appearance. Typically twelve Victoria Crosses are produced at a time.

A medal was awarded to 'The unknown warrior of the United States of America' and placed on the grave of the Unknown Soldier in the vault of the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery by Lord Beatty on 11th November 1921. This VC symbolically honoured all the men and women who died for the Allied cause during the Great War. (The Unknown Warrior who lies in Westminster Abbey received the reciprocal award of the Congressional Medal of Honour, but not the VC.) To date no woman has been awarded the Victoria Cross. Each recipient receives an annual pension of £10,000 tax free.

The largest number of Victoria Crosses won in a single action was on January 22nd 1879 at Rorke’s Drift during the Zulu War. Following this action, 11 men were awarded the VC.

Occasionally the medals come up for auction (unlike the USA Medal of Honor which is forbidden by law from being sold or traded), where they always sell for extremely high prices. The latest auctioned in April 2022 to honor Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf sold for £682,000 at auction. Many of the medals can be seen today in regimental museums including the National Army Museum in Chelsea and the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth.

In 1997 a new, permanent exhibition of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Collection, consisting of 25 VCs and 16 GCs (the civilian equivalent of the VC), opened at the Imperial War Museum. At the opening by the Prince of Wales, the actual ingot of metal from the captured Russian cannons was displayed before being returned to its secure vault.

The VC and GC Association

Victoria Cross and George Cross Association Official Website
vcgca.org vcgca.org
 
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Last Living WW2 Medal of Honor Recipient Receives Special Flight Home

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as demolition sergeant serving with the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 23 February 1945. Quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands, Cpl. Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machine-gun fire from the unyielding positions. Covered only by four riflemen, he fought desperately for four hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out one position after another. On one occasion, he daringly mounted a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent, killing the occupants, and silencing the gun; on another he grimly charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon. His unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism in the face of ruthless enemy resistance were directly instrumental in neutralizing one of the most fanatically defended Japanese strongpoints encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his company to reach its objective. Cpl. Williams' aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.​
 
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