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Honoring the Sullivan Brothers

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

USS THE SULLIVANS (DD-537)

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

USS The Sullivans (DDG 68)

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

Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The USS Juneau and the Sullivan Brothers - Feb. 5th, 2003
www.history.navy.mil/

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

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

"Dear Mrs. Sullivan:

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

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

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

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

Very sincerely yours,

"/s/ Franklin D. Roosevelt"

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on June 19:
1556 James VI of Scotland (1567-1625)/James I of England (1603-25)
1595 Wladyslaw IV Vasa, king of Poland (1632-48)
1623 Blaise Pascal mathematician/physicist/religious writer
1764 Jos‚ Gervasio Artigas general/father of Uruguay
1764 Sir John Barrow England, founded Royal Geographical Society
1783 Thomas Sully US portrait painter (Queen Victoria)
1811 Henry Prince, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1892
1865 Dame May Whitty Liverpool England, actress (Mrs Minerva)
1877 Charles Coburn Macon Ga, actor (Acad-1943, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
1878 James M Kilroe priest of St Mary Star of the Sea, in the Bronx
1896 Mrs Simpson [Bessie Wallis Warfield), Duchess of Windsor, divorcee
1897 Moe Howard [Moses Horowitz] comedian (3 Stooges)
1902 Guy Lombardo London Ontario Canada, orch leader (Auld Lang Syne)
1903 Henry Louis Gehrig 1st baseman (NY Yankees) "Iron Horse"
1908 Mildred Natwick Balt Md, actress (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)
1908 Quentin N Burdick (Sen-D-NC)
1914 Alan Cranston (Sen-D-CA) Pres candidate
1914 Harry Lauter White Plains NY, actor (Waterfront)
1914 Lester Flatt Earl Scrugg's partner (Beverly Hillbillies theme)
1918 Evelle Jansen Younger prosecutor of Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan
1919 Louis Jourdan Marselles France, actor (Gigi, Can-Can, Madame Bovary)
1919 Pauline Kael movie critic (NY Times)
1921 Howell Heflin (Sen-D-AL)
1922 Aage Neals Bohr Denmark, physicist/study atomic nucleus (Nobel 1975)
1928 Nancy Marchand Buffalo NY, actress (Beacon Hill, Margaret-Lou Grant)
1932 Pier Angeli Italy (Sodom & Gomorrah, Vintage, Battle of the Bulge)
1933 Viktor I Patsayev USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 11)
1935 - Tommy Devito, Montclair NJ, rock vocalist (Four Seasons-Sherry)
1936 Gena Rowlands Cambria Wisc, actress (Gloria, Tempest, Brinks Job)
1942 Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane rocker (Spanky & Our Gang-Lazy Day)
1943 Malcolm McDowell actor (Clockwork Orange, Caligula)
1947 Salman Rushdie novelist (Midnight's Children, Satanic Verses)
1949 Kathleen Turner Springfield Mo, actress (Romancing The Stone, War of the Roses)
1962 Paula Julie Abdul Van Nuys Calif, singer/choreographer (Straight Up)
1978 Garfield the Cat animated character "Big fat hairy deal"
1980 Amy Merrill, Miss Utah Teen USA (1997)

Deaths which occurred on June 19:
1747 Nadir, shah of Persia (1736-47), murdered
1794 Richard H Lee, US farmer (signed Decl of Independence), dies at 62
1811 Samuel Chase, US judge (signed Declar of Independence), dies at 70
1864 George Lincoln Prescott, US Union brig-gen, dies of injuries
1867 Maximilian Mexican emperor, executed, Mexican republic restored
1953 Rosenbergs executed at Sing Sing, Julius takes 3 tries, Ethel 5
1966 Ed Wynn comedian (Ed Wynn Show), dies at 86
1973 Roger Delgado actor (Adventures of Sir Francis Drake), dies at 53
1986 Len Bias 1st pick of Celtics, suffers fatal cocaine-induced seizure
1986 Murray P Haydon artificial heart recipient, dies in Louisville, Ky
1989 I.F. Stone author, dies at 81 of heart failure
1993 William Golding, author (Lord of the Flies, Nobel 1983), dies at 81

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1964 LEDBETTER THOMAS I.---TAMPA FL.
[MIA IN GROUND FIGHT ON PATROL]
1964 TALLEY JAMES L.---FORT BENNING GA.
[MIA IN GROUND FIGHT ON PATROL]
1969 TELLIER DENNIS A.---WOONSOCKET RI.
[03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG]

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

On this day...
240 -BC- Eratosthenes estimates circumference of Earth
0987 Louis IV, crowned king of France
1269 King Louis IX of Frances decrees all Jews must wear a badge of shame
1588 Spanish Armada heavily destroyed in storm at Coruna
1669 Polish parliament selects Litouwer Michael Wisniopwiecki as king
1754 Albany Congress held by 7 British colonies & Iroquois indians
1778 Washington's troops finally leave Valley Forge
1829 Sir Robert Peel found London Metropolitan Police (Bobbies)
1835 New Orleans gives US govt Jackson Square to be used as a mint
1846 1st baseball game (Cartwright Rules)-NY Nines 23, Knickerbockers 1
1862 Slavery outlawed in US territories
1864 CSS "Alabama" sunk by USS "Kearsarge" off Cherbourg, France
1865 All slaves in Texas freed (Juneteen)
1867 1st Belmont Stakes, Ruthless wins
1868 Maj Gen E R S Canby removes mayor of Columbia SC
1875 Formal opening of US Marine Hospital at Presidio
1881 Muhammad Ahmad becomes Mahdi of Sudan
1910 Father's Day celebrated for 1st time (Spokane, Wash)
1917 After WW I King George V ordered members of British royal family to dispense with German titles & surnames, they take the name Windsor
1921 Turk and Christian of Palestine sign a friendship treaty against Jews
1930 C Jackson & H E Wood discovers asteroid #1595 Tanga
1931 1st photoelectric cell installed commercially West Haven Ct
1932 Hailstones kill 200 in Hunan Province, China PR
1934 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created
1938 "Olympian Flyer" express train crashes in Montana, killing 47
1940 "Brenda Starr," 1st cartoon strip by a woman, appears in Chicago
1941 Cheerios Cereal invents an O-shaped cereal
1943 NFL's Phila Eagles & Pitts Steelers merge, (disolves on Dec 5)
1943 "Shiek Of Arahy" Spike Jones and City Slickers peaks at #19
1944 Heavy air raid on US fleet at Guam "Turkey Shoot"
1944 Japanese troops conquer Changsha China
1946 1st TV sports spectacular-Joe Louis vs Billy Conn
1947 1st plane (F-80) to exceed 600 mph (1004 kph)-Albert Boyd, Muroc Ca
1950 A G Wilson discovers asteroid #1980 Tezcatlipoca
1952 "I've Got A Secret" debuted on CBS with Garry Moore as host
1955 Mickey Mantle hits career HR # 100
1955 Phils beat Cubs 1-0 in 15, ties longest shut out in Phillies history
1959 Senate rejects Ike's appointment of Lewis Strauss for Sec of Comm
1961 Kuwait regains complete independence from Britain
1961 US Supreme Court struck down a provision in Md's constitution requiring state office holders to believe in God
1963 2 Russian space missions return to Earth
1963 Valentina Tereshkova 1st woman in space returns to Earth
1964 Civil Rights Act of 1964 passes 73-27
1967 Muhammad Ali is convicted for reusing induction in US Army
1967 Paul McCartney admits on TV that he took LSD
1968 50,000 participate in Solidarity Day March of Poor People's Campaign
1969 State troopers ordered to Cairo Ill, to quell racial disturbances
1970 A Nikolayev & V Sevastyanov return after 18 days in Soyuz 9
1970 Jim Bouton's controversial "Ball Four" is published
1971 Mayor declares state of emergency in Columbus Ga, racial disturbance
1973 Pete Rose & Willie Davis both get career hit # 2,000
1976 US Viking 1 goes into Martian orbit after 10-month flight from Earth
1977 Pope Paul VI makes 19th-cen bishop John Neumann 1st US male saint
1977 Red Sox set 3 game record of 16 HRs, all against Yanks
1981 Boeing commercial Chinook 2-rotor helicopter is certified
1981 European Space Agency's Ariane carries 2 satellites into orbit
1981 Heaviest known orange (2.5 kg) exhibited, Nelspruit, S Africa
1981 India's APPLE satellite, 1st to be stabilized on 3 axes, launched
1984 1st live TV appearance by Chief Justice Warren Burger (Nightline)
1987 ETA bomb attack in Barcelona, 15 killed
1987 Ben & Jerry Ice Cream & Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia announce new Ice Cream flavor, Cherry Garcia
1988 In Santa Barbara, CA, a team of 32 divers finish cycling underwater on a standard tricycle, to complete 116.66 mi in 75 hrs 20 mins
1992 Evander Holyfield beats Larry Holmes in 12 for heavywgt boxing title
1992 Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa is shot twice in NYC
2000 The Supreme Court reaffirmed, 6-3, that praying in public schools had to be private, barring officials from letting students lead stadium crowds in prayer before football games.
2001 A jury in San Jose, Calif., convicted Andrew Burnett of tossing a little dog to its death on a busy highway in a bout of road rage. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the death of Leo, a fluffy white bichon frise.

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

Algeria : Anniversary of the Revolution (1965)
Kuwait : Independence Day (1961)
Texas : Juneteenth Day/Emancipation Day (1865)
Trinidad & Tobago : Labor Day
Uruguay : Artigas Day (1764)
US : Father's Day (Sunday)
US : Flag Week Ends
US : National Juggling Day.
Ragweed Control Month

Religious Observances
RC : Commemoration of SS Gervase & Protase, martyrs
RC : Memorial of Romuald, abbot (opt)
RC : Feast of St Juliana Falconieri, virgin

Religious History
0325 The month-long Council of Nicea closed. Known as the first ecumenical council in the history of the Church, it formulated the Nicene Creed and established the method for calculating Easter.
1566 Birth of James VI of Scotland. Upon the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, he ascended the English throne as James I. He is best remembered for authorizing the publication known today as the 'King James Version' (KJV) of the Bible.
1910 In Spokane, Washington, under sponsorship of the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA, Father's Day was observed for the first time.
1977 Paul VI canonized John Nepomucene Neumann, the first American-born male saint. As fourth Bishop of the Philadelphia Diocese, Neumann is remembered for developing the parochial school system.
1987 The Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law requiring public schools to teach creationism if they taught evolutionism. The court ruled that the state law violated the First Amendment.

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

Thought for the day :
"To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved."

Things To Do If You Ever Became An Evil Overlord...
(Repeat Daily)
I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.

The World's Shortest Books...
Royal Family's Guide to Good Marriages

Dumb Laws...
Denmark:
Attempt to escape from prison is not illegal, however, if one he is caught he is required to serve out the remainder of his term.

Top 10 signs your family is stressed...
You are trying to get your four-year-old to switch to decaffeinated.