The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Marine Corps Aviation in World War One - Aug 4th, 2004

www.acepilots.com ^

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

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

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

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Marine Corps Aviation
The Early Years

Marine Aviation started on May 22, 1912, when First Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham, USMC, reported to the Naval Aviation Camp at Annapolis. The Navy's first three aviators, Lieutenants T. G. Ellyson, John Rodgers, and J. H. Towers oversaw the camp's three aircraft.

First Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham

Two more Marines were soon assigned to the school: First Lieutenant Bernard L. Smith and Second Lieutenant William M. McIlvain that year. First Lieutenant Francis T. Evans joined them in June 1915.

Along with Roy Geiger, who started flying at Pensacola in 1916, these four were the early nucleus of Marine Aviation.

Early Marine Aviators                  Marine Aviator    Naval Aviator
First Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham          #1               #5
First Lieutenant B. L. Smith                   #2               #6
Second Lieutenant William M. McIlvain          #3              #12
First Lieutenant Francis T. Evans              #4              #26
First Lieutenant Roy S. Geiger                 #5              #49
David L. S. Brewster                           #6              #55
Edmund G. Chamberlain                          #7              #96 1/2
Russell A. Presley                             #8             #100 3/4

Cunningham went to the Burgess Company and Curtiss factory at Marblehead, Mass. for flying lessons. With less than three hours of instruction, he soloed on August 20. When the fuel stick showed empty, Cunningham "got up my nerve and made a good landing, how I don't know. This was my first solo."

Lt. Smith and Aerial Scouting

One of the first contributions by Marine aviators came in 1914 during a combined forces exercise in Puerto Rico. Lieutenants Smith and McIlvain flew scouting and reconnaissance missions in a C-3 Curtiss flying boat. Throughout the exercise, the two pilots took officers over the island to "show the ease and speed of aerial reconnaissance and range of vision open to the eyes of the aerial scout." Based on this experience, Lt. Smith later recommended that an advance base Marine air unit be composed of five aviators and 20 enlisted ground crew.


NC-4

Smith was ordered to the U.S. Embassy in Paris by the Secretary of the Navy in 1914, where he served as aviation observer and as an intelligence officer. During this tour, he visited French aviation units and occasionally flew in combat with them. After being ordered back from France in 1917, he directed much of the design and procurement of naval aircraft, and also organized the aerial gunnery and bombing school at Miami. In 1918, Smith was ordered back to Europe to organize the Intelligence and Planning Section for Naval Aviation at Navy Headquarters in Paris. After the war, he had charge of assembling material and equipment for the famous transatlantic flight of the Navy's NC-4 in 1919.


Officers at the Naval Aeronautic Station, Pensacola, Florida, circa 1914-1915
They are, from left to right:
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Walter A. Edwards, USN;
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Clarence K. Bronson, USN;
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Godfrey deC. Chevalier, USN;
2nd Lieutenant William M. McIlvain, USMC; and
Lieutenant Kenneth Whiting, USN.

Second Lieutenant McIlvain reported to Annapolis for flight instruction in December 1912, becoming Marine Aviator No. 3 and officially designated Naval Aviator No. 12. In January 1915, McIlvain was the only Marine left at the Navy Flying School, and it was at this time that the "Marine Section, Navy Flying School" was officially formed. In August as the war in Europe escalated, an agreement was reached between the Navy and the Army for the training of Navy and Marine pilots in land planes at the Signal Corps Aviation School in San Diego. Secretary of the Navy Daniels believed that defense of advance bases and, in the case of Marines, possible joint operations with the Army, required an aviation force able to operate from either land or water. McIlvain was one of the first two Naval Aviators sent to the Army flight school. During his training there, McIlvain flew for the first time in a cockpit inside a fuselage instead of from a seat in the open, in front of the wings of a primitive "pusher." He stated later that he never would forget "the feeling of security I felt to have a fuselage around me."

Lt. Evans' Spin Recovery

In 1917, First Lieutenant Francis T. Evans became one of the first aviators to recover a seaplane from a spin, a basic element of aviation safety. Up to that time if one got into a spin, there was no known recovery technique and both the aircraft and pilot were lost. Many had debated whether or not a seaplane, with its heavy pontoons, could be looped successfully. Early in 1917, flying over Pensacola Bay in a new N-9 seaplane, Evans decided to resolve the debate. At 3,500 feet, he dived, trying to pick up enough speed to get "over the top" of the loop. He lost too much speed on the way up. The plane stalled and went into a spin. Evans pushed his control wheel forward to regain air speed and controlled the turning motion of the spin with the rudder. Recovering from the spin, he climbed back up and tried again: stalling, spinning and recovering, until he managed to complete the loop without stalling. To make sure he had witnesses, Evans then flew over the hangars and repeated his performance. Pensacola incorporated his spin-recovery technique into its training. In 1936 he was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross retroactively for his extraordinary discovery, almost twenty years earlier.


Francis T. Evans

First Lieutenant Roy S. Geiger reported to Pensacola March 31, 1916, as Marine Aviator No. 5. He was formally designated a Naval Aviator on June 9, 1917, becoming the 49th naval pilot to win his wings. During his training Geiger made 107 heavier-than-air flights, totaling 73 hours of flight time, plus 14 free balloon ascents, totaling 28 hours and 45 minutes. Geiger was undoubtedly the most distinguished aviator in Marine Aviation history and one of its greatest pilots. His distinction stems primarily from his early entry into aviation, his participation in every significant Marine Corps action from WW I through WW II, and his continued and constant leadership role in Marine Aviation over a period of almost 30 developmental and action-packed years. Geiger became a career model for both aviation and ground Marines in WW II, serving with superior distinction as both the commanding general of the First Marine Air Wing in the hardest days of the battle for Guadalcanal, and later as commander of the Third Marine Amphibious Corps at Bougainville, Guam, Peleliu and Okinawa. As the war in Europe increased in intensity and the United States came closer to becoming involved, these five - Cunningham, Smith, McIlvain, Evans and Geiger - were the foundation on which Marine Aviation was built.


Curtiss N-9

With the U.S. declaration of war against Germany, the Navy and Marine Corps air arms entered a period of greatly accelerated growth in manpower and equipment.

Marine Aviation developed its own units and bases, and the Navy Department adopted antisubmarine warfare as Naval Aviation's principal mission. The Marine Corps entered the war with 511 officers and 13,214 enlisted personnel and, by November 11, 1918, reached a strength of 2,400 officers and 70,000 men.

Under the energetic direction of Major General Commandant George Barnett, the Marine Corps' primary goal was to send a brigade to France to fight alongside the Army. Marine Aviation began an aggressive effort to ensure that the new arm got its share of the Corps expanding manpower and that its units would be sent to France in support of the brigade. Cunningham, as the designated commanding officer of the Aviation Company of the Advance Base Force at Philadelphia, became the principal leader and driving force of Marine Aviation expansion.

[SAMWolf]

Marine Corps Aviation
World War One



Marine Corps Aviation soon found itself split between two separate missions. Cunningham's Aviation Company at Philadelphia, renamed the Marine Aeronautic Company, was assigned the mission of flying seaplanes on antisubmarine patrols. Maj. Gen. Barnett had secured Navy Department approval in the summer of 1917 for the formation of a Marine air unit of landplanes to provide reconnaissance and artillery spotting for the brigade being sent to France. By October 14, the Marine Aeronautic Company had attained a strength of 34 officers and 330 enlisted men, and was divided into the two projected units. The 1st Marine Aeronautic Company of 10 officers and 93 men would prepare for seaplane missions, while the 1st Aviation Squadron of 24 officers and 237 enlisted would organize to support the Marine brigade in France.

Anti-Submarine Patrol in the Azores

The 1st Marine Aeronautic Company led the way into active service. In October the company, commanded by then-Captain Francis T. Evans, moved from Philadelphia to Naval Air Station (NAS), Cape May, N.J. On January 9, 1918, the company embarked at Philadelphia for duty in the Azores to begin antisubmarine operations. The unit's strength on deployment was 12 officers and 133 enlisted personnel, with equipment initially at 10 Curtiss R-6s and two N-9s. Later in the deployment, the company received six Curtiss HS-2Ls, which greatly enhanced its ability to carry out its basic mission.


DH-9

During 1918, the Aeronautic company operated from its base at Punta Delgada on the island of San Miguel. It flew regular patrols to deny enemy submarines ready access to the convoy routes and any kind of base activity in the Azores. It was not the stuff of which great heroes are made, but the First Aeronautic Company was the first American aviation unit to deploy with a specific mission.

So boring was this duty that one pilot had the temerity to write Major General Commandant Barnett, complaining of the "most unpleasant continued inactivity" and requesting to be detached to France. General Barnett wrote back that a Marine officer's paramount duty was to carry out his assignment, no matter how unpleasant. Furthermore, while orders relieving the bored young aviator had previously been dispatched, the General revoked them.

The First Marine Aviation Force

The deployment of the First Aviation Force, was a much more complex undertaking. The story begins with the Marine landplane unit, the 1st Aviation Squadron, commanded by Captain McIlvain. The squadron was to receive basic flight training at the Army Aviation School at Hazelhurst Field, Mineola, L.I., N.Y. It would then move to the Army Advanced Flying School at Houston, Texas, and upon completion of that syllabus would be deployed to combat. The squadron moved from Philadelphia to Mineola on October 17, 1917, to begin training. In November, the six officers in its balloon contingent were sent to Fort Omaha, Neb., for training as artillery observers. The rest of the story reveals Marine initiative, determination, flexibility and success.


Curtiss JN-4 Jenny in Flight
90 hp 8 cyl, wingspan 43'7", length 27'4", height 9'11" weight 1,525 lbs, speed 73 mph, ceiling 6,500, range 250 miles. Used to train 95% of US WW I pilots.

At Mineola, the squadron flew JN-4B Jenny trainers with civilian instructors, and the main body of the squadron lived in tents. Training progressed reasonably well but, by December, temperatures were dropping rapidly and something had to be done. In the absence of any other orders, Capt. McIlvain packed his troops, equipment and aircraft on a train that he had requisitioned and headed south on January 1, 1918. They paused at Washington to request orders, resumed the journey, and somewhere en route they received orders to the Army's Gerstner Field at Lake Charles, La., where training continued in a more suitable climate.

Preparations

The next chapter in this account of a firm resolution to prepare for combat concerns Captain Geiger's Aeronautic Detachment at Philadelphia. This unit was organized on December 15, 1917, with four officers and 36 enlisted men, most of whom were detached from McIlvain's squadron. The unit's mission was not yet clearly defined, but it was planned to be a supporting element of the Advanced Base Force. However, on February 4, 1918, Geiger received orders to take his detachment, now 11 officers and 41 men, to NAS Miami, Fla. Soon after arriving, Geiger, seeking a base for the entire 1st Aviation Force, moved his command to a small airstrip on the edge of the Everglades, owned at the time by the Curtiss Flying School. To secure Marine training facilities independent of the Army, Geiger absorbed the entire School into the Marine Corps, arranging to commission the instructors in the reserves and requisition the school's Jennies. On April 1, McIlvain's squadron arrived at the field from Lake Charles and, for the first time, the nucleus of the 1st Aviation Force was consolidated at one location.


Curtiss HS-2L

Capt. Cunningham launched a campaign to bring his squadrons to full strength in men and machines. He made repeated recruiting visits to the Officers' School at Quantico, Va., and collected other volunteers elsewhere. As long as they seemed willing, able and in possession of a reasonable set of credentials as potential pilots or mechanics, they got orders to Miami.

Even with this influx of strength, the two detachments could not furnish enough pilots for the planned four squadrons of the 1st Aviation Force. Realizing this, Cunningham toured the Navy air installations and recruited Naval Aviators, most of them young reservists who wanted to go to France. These officers, already qualified Navy seaplane pilots, transferred from the Navy to the Marine Corps, and reported to the Marine field at Miami for landplane training. Of 135 pilots who eventually flew in France with the 1st Aviation Force, 78 were transferred naval officers.


Marine 1st Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham, Naval Aviator No. 5 and the first Marine pilot.

By June 16, the force was organized into a headquarters and four squadrons designated A, B, C and D. On July 13, the force, less Squadron D which was left behind temporarily, trained at Miami. On July 18, the 107 officers and 654 enlisted men of the three squadrons sailed for France in the transport USS De Kalb.

At Miami, the Marine Flying Field became a bustling military complex of hangars, warehouses, machine shops, and gunnery and bombing ranges. The completion of the manning and training of Squadron D was accomplished as a first priority, and then additional personnel were trained to provide air patrols off the Florida coast.

First Marine Aviation Force in France

The force disembarked at Brest on July 30, and found a full bag of administrative and supply problems. Foremost among them was the fact that no arrangements had been made to move them the 400 miles to their base locations near Calais. This was solved and the two-day trip accomplished with the requisition of a French train by Maj. Cunningham. Squadrons A and B were located at landing field sites in Calais and Dunkirk, with Squadron C occupying a field near the town of La Fresne. The force headquarters were established in the town of Bois en Ardres.


DH-4

The worst problem encountered was a delay in the arrival of the force's aircraft. Before leaving for France, Cunningham had made arrangements with the Army for the delivery of 72 DH-4 bombers. These British-designed aircraft were to be shipped to France, assembled there and issued to the Marine force. Due to delays in assembly, followed by an administrative error which sent most of the assembled aircraft to England, the first one did not reach the force until September. When it became clear that the delays were in the offing, Cunningham got the Navy's approval to make a deal with the British. For every three Liberties that Cunningham sent the RAF, they sent back one DH-9A with engine installed.

Unable to get his pilots into the air immediately in American machines, Maj. Cunningham again talked to the British and made arrangements for Marine pilots to fly bombing missions with RAF Squadrons 217 and 218 in DH-4s and 9s. Each pilot flew at least three missions under this cooperative agreement.

Curtiss R6

On October 5, Squadron D arrived at La Fresne bringing the strength of the force to 149 officers and 183 enlisted. At this point, the squadrons were redesignated 7, 8, 9 and 10, to conform to the Northern Bombing Group identification system. The Germans had evacuated their submarine bases on the Channel coast, eliminating the planned mission of the Marines. Instead the Marine force was placed in general support of the British and Belgian armies in their final assault on the crumbling German defenses.

[SAMWolf]

Talbot & Robinson win Medal of Honor

By October 12, the Marines had received enough of their own DH-4s and 9As to begin flying missions independently of the British. Two days later, Captain Robert S. Lytle of Squadron Nine led the Marines' first mission in their own aircraft, bombing the German-held railyards at Thielt, Belgium. The bombing was without incident but, on the way back to base, the formation of eight DHs was jumped by 12 German fighters. The Germans succeeded in separating one aircraft from the rest of the formation and concentrated their attack on Second Lieutenant Ralph Talbot, one of the Naval Reserve officers who had transferred to Marine Aviation.



Talbot's gunner, Corporal Robert G. Robinson, quickly shot down one attacker, but two others closed in from below, spraying the DH with fire and wounding Robinson in the arm. In spite of his wounds, Robinson cleared a jam in his gun and continued to fire until hit twice more, while Talbot took frantic evasive action. With Robinson unconscious in the rear seat, Talbot brought down a second German with his fixed guns and then put the plane into a steep dive to escape the remaining German fighters. Crossing the German lines at an altitude of 50 feet, he landed safely at a Belgium airfield where Robinson was hospitalized. Robinson ultimately recovered and, for this mission, both he and Talbot were awarded the Medal of Honor.

Robinson and Talbot's MOH Citations:

ROBINSON, ROBERT GUY


Robert Guy Robinson
Gunnery Sergeant, US Marine Corps

Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 1st Marine Aviation Force
Place and date: Pittham, Belgium, 14 October 1918.
Entered service at: Chicago, Ill.
Born: 30 April 1896, New York, N.Y.

Citation: For extraordinary heroism as observer in the 1st Marine Aviation Force at the front in France. In company with planes from Squadron 218, Royal Air Force, conducting an air raid on 8 October 1918, G/Sgt. Robinson's plane was attacked by 9 enemy scouts. In the fight which followed, he shot down 1 of the enemy planes. In a later air raid over Pittham, Belgium, on 14 October 1918, his plane and 1 other became separated from their formation on account of motor trouble and were attacked by 12 enemy scouts.

Acting with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in the fight which ensued, G/Sgt. Robinson, after shooting down 1 of the enemy planes, was struck by a bullet which carried away most of his elbow. At the same time his gun jammed. While his pilot maneuvered for position, he cleared the jam with one hand and returned to the fight. Although his left arm was useless, he fought off the enemy scouts until he collapsed after receiving 2 more bullet wounds, one in the stomach and one in the thigh.

TALBOT, RALPH


Ralph Talbot
Second Lieutenant, US Marine Corps

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps.
Born: 6 January 1897, South Weymouth, Mass.
Appointed from: Connecticut.

Citation: For exceptionally meritorious service and extraordinary heroism while attached to Squadron C, 1st Marine Aviation Force, in France. 2d Lt. Talbot participated in numerous air raids into enemy territory. On 8 October 1918, while on such a raid, he was attacked by 9 enemy scouts, and in the fight that followed shot down an enemy plane. Also, on 14 October 1918, while on a raid over Pittham, Belgium, 2d Lt. Talbot and another plane became detached from the formation on account of motor trouble and were attacked by 12 enemy scouts. During the severe fight that followed, his plane shot down 1 of the enemy scouts. His observer was shot through the elbow and his gun jammed.

2d Lt. Talbot maneuvered to gain time for his observer to clear the jam with one hand, and then returned to the fight. The observer fought until shot twice, once in the stomach and once in the hip and then collapsed, 2d Lt. Talbot attacked the nearest enemy scout with his front guns and shot him down. With his observer unconscious and his motor failing, he dived to escape the balance of the enemy and crossed the German trenches at an altitude of 50 feet, landing at the nearest hospital to leave his observer, and then returning to his aerodrome.

Additional Sources:

www.homeofheroes.com
www.earlyaviators.com
members.tripod.com/ ralphcooper0
www.history.navy.mil
www.aerofiles.com
www.reservaer.com.br
www.worldwar1.com
www.airminded.net
www.miramarairshow.com
members.shaw.ca/ flyingaces
www.ascho.wpafb.af.mil
www.brooks.af.mi

[SAMWolf]

Between October 14 and November 11, the Marines carried out a total of 14 bombing missions against railway yards, canals, supply dumps and airfields - always flying without fighter escort. During their tour in France from August 9 to November 11, Marines of the 1st Aviation Force participated in 57 missions. They dropped a total of 33,932 pounds of bombs, at a cost of four pilots killed, and one pilot and two gunners wounded. They scored confirmed kills of four German fighters and claimed eight more. During its brief period in combat, the force earned a total of 30 awards, including Talbot's and Robinson's Medals of Honor and four Distinguished Service Medals.

[SAMWolf]

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

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

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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[snippy_about_it]

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Good Wednesday Morning Everyone



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

[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy. Good Luck tomorrow. ;-)

[snippy_about_it]

Tomorrow hard work pays off. Good luck to us both. Good night.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole. After entertaining my Sisiter from georiga and her son, everything's bakc to normal. Slept real well last night.

Today's the day Norton updates their anti-virus lists. Be sure to download them when they arrive.

[stand watie]

GM, snipp!

hugs, duckie/sw

[alfa6]

Day Off Bump for the Foxhole

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on August 04:
1755 Nicolas-Jacque Conte inventor (modern pencil)
1792 Percy Bysshe Shelley England, romantic poet (Adonais)
1816 Israel Vogdes, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1889
1818 Lovell Harrison Rosseau, Major General (Union volunteers)
1859 Knut Hamsun Norway, writer/Nazi (Hunger-Nobel 1920)
1870 Sir Harry Lauder Scotland, comedian/singer (Roamin in the Gloamin)
1897 Joseph Calleia Malta, actor (Jungle Book, Gilda, Touch of Evil)
1901 Louis Armstrong New Orleans, Jazz musician & bandleader, "Hello Dolly" - oldest musician in Billboard history to have a Number One song
1900 Elizabeth Britain's Queen Mother
1910 William Howard Schuman NYC, composer (American Festival Overture)
1912 Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat in WW II (saved 10,000s of Jews)
1920 Helen Thomas UPI journalist (starts press conferences)(scares little childern)
1921 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Montreal Canadien (MVP-1947)
1934 Jonas Savimbi, Angolian leader of Unita
1939 Frankie Ford Gretna La, rock vocalist (Sea Cruise)
1943 Michael J McCulley San Diego Calif, Cmdr USN/astronaut (STS-34)
1944 Richard Belzer, comedian, actor
1946 Maureen Cox Starkey 1st wife of Beatle Ringo Starr
1952 Bobby Buntrock Denver Colo, actor (Harold Baxter-Hazel)
1955 Andrew M Allen Phila Pa, Captain USMC/astronaut (sk: STS-46)
1955 Charles D "Sam" Gemar Yankton SD, army/astronaut (STS 38, 48)
1955 Billy Bob Thornton Hot Springs, Ark. US. actor, 'Sling Blade','A Family Thing'

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Deaths which occurred on August 04:
1060 Henry I, King of France (1027..60), dies at 52
1265 Simon de Montfort English baron, dies in battle
1306 Vclav III, last Premysliden-king of Bohemia (1305-06), murdered
1578 Sebastiaan, king of Portugal (1557-78), dies in battle at about 24
1821 William Floyd, US soldier/signer (Declar of Independence), dies at 86
1891 George Washington Williams dies at 41 in Blackpool England
1892 Andrew & Abby Borden, axed to death in Mass (by Lizzie Borden?)
1938 Pearl White, US actress/stunt woman (Perils of Pauline), dies
1940 Vladimir Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism, dies
1973 Eddie Condon jazz guitarist (Eddie Condon's Floor Show), dies at 68
1981 Melvyn Douglas actor, dies at 80
1984 Mary Miles Minter silent screen star, dies at 82 of heart failure
1984 Walter Burke actor, dies at 75 of emphysema
1997 Jeanne Calment, world's oldest person (Feb 21 1875), dies at 122

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 BURNS JOHN R. MEMPHIS TN.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 05 FEB 93]
1967 BISZ RALPH C. MIAMI FL.
1971 WALDHAUS RICHARD PITTSBURG CA.
[02/73 RELEASED BY PRG]

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

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On this day...
1181 Supernova seen in Cassiopia
1265 Battle at Evesham: English prince Edward beats Simon de Montfort
1558 1st printing of Zohar (Jewish Kabbalah)
1578 Battle of Alcazarquivir, Morrocans defeat Portugeese
1693 Dom Perignon invents champagne
1704 War of Spanish Succession, English and Dutch troops occupy Gibraltar
1735 Jury acquits John Zenger (NY Weekly Journal) charged with seditious libel by royal governor of NY (victory for Freedom of press)
1753 George Washington becomes a master mason
1777 Retired British cavalry officer Philip Astley establishes 1st circus

1790 US Coast Guard founded as Revenue Cutter Service

1821 1st edition of Saturday Evening Post (publishes until 1969)
1830 Plans for the city of Chicago laid out
1855 John Bartlett publishes "Familiar Quotations"
1862 US govt collects its 1st income tax
1864 Land & naval action new Brazos Santiago, Texas
1881 122ø F (50ø C), Seville, Spain (European record)
1892 Sunday school teacher Lizzie Borden arrested in Fall River, Mass
1910 A's Jack Coombs & White Sox Ed Walsh pitch a 16 inn scoreless tie

1914 Germany declares war on Belgium; Britain declares war on Germany

1914 Lord Kitchener becomes British minister of War
1914 US declares neutrality in WW I
1916 US agrees to buy Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million
1925 US marines leave Nicaragua after 13-year occupation
1927 Peace Bridge between US & Canada opened
1941 Winston Churchill departs on Prince of Wales to US
1942 1st train with Jews departs Mechelen Belgium to Auschwitz
1944 Anne Frank, 15, (Diary of Anne Frank) is arrested by Nazis
1945 Golfer Byron Nelson records most tournament wins (18) in a season
1948 5 day southern filibuster succeeds in maintaining poll tax
1949 The NBL & NBAA merge into the National Basketball Association
1953 Black families move into Trumbull Park housing project in Chicago
1953 Vic Raschi sets pitcher record by driving in 7 runs & wins 15-0
1956 Elvis Presley releases "Hound Dog"
1956 1st motorcycle rode over 200 mph (Wilhelm Herz-210 mph/338 kph)
1958 Dumont TV Network crumbles
1960 Rocket propelled USAF research aircraft sets record at 2,150 MPH
1961 108ø F, Spokane, WA
1964 Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman & James Chaney found buried inside an earthen dam in Mississippi
1967 Shortwave group ANARC's 1st convention (Chicago)
1968 100,000 attend Newport Pop Festival, Costa Mesa, Calif
1969 Willie Stargell is 1st to hit a HR outside of Dodger Stadium
1974 Crawford-Butler Act allows Puerto Ricans to elect own governor
1977 Pres Carter establishes Dept of Energy
1981 Oliver North is assigned to White House duty
1982 NY Met Joel Youngblood singles in Chicago day game, then singles for Expos in Philadelphia night game. (He was traded in between)
1983 While warming up before 5th inning Yankee Dave Winfield accidentally kills a seagull
1984 Cliff Johnson sets a record with his 19th pinch hit HR
1984 Republic of Upper Volta becomes Bourkina Fasso (National Day)
1985 Calif Angel Rod Carew gets his 3,000th hit
1985 Phil Rizzuto Day, Yanks retire #10

1987 FCC vote 4-0 to rescind fairness doctrine for broadcasters

1988 Congress votes $20,000 to each Japanese-American interned in WW II
1988 Hertz car rental will pay out $23 million in consumer fraud case
1990 European community proposes a boycott of Iraq (Saddam quakes with fear)
1996 26th Olympic Summer games close in Atlanta, Georgia

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

Norway : Peer Gynt Festival Days
Trinidad & Tobago : Discovery Day (1498)
US : Coast Guard Day (1790)
Virgin Islands : Nicole Robin Day
US : National Smile Week (day 3)
National Psychiatric Technician Appreciation Day
American Artists Appreciation Month

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Religious Observances
Old RC : Feast of St Dominic, confessor
RC : Memorial of St John Mary Vianney, patron of priests

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Religious History
1874 Methodist clergyman John H. Vincent (1832-1920) and Ohio manufacturer Lewis Miller established the Chautauqua Assembly in northwest New York state a summer retreat center combining recreational activities with the training of Sunday School teachers and other church workers.
1879 Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical "Aeterni patris," which urged the study of "true" philosophy, especially that of Thomas Aquinas. The injunction led to a great revival of both Thomist studies and scholastic philosophy.
1884 Birth of Sigmund O.P. Mowinckel, Norwegian Old Testament scholar. Associated from 1917-54 with Oslo University, his most influential work was done in the Psalms. In 1951 he published "The Psalms in Israel's Worship" (1963).
1892 English medical missionary Wilfred T. Grenfell, 26, first arrived in Labrador, Newfoundland. For 42 years he labored among the fisherfolk, helping build hospitals and orphanages as well as churches.
1959 Swedish Christian and U.N. Secretary General Dago Hammarskald observed in his journal (Markings): 'We encounter a world where each man is a cosmos, of whose riches we can only catch glimpses.'

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

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Thought for the day :
"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom"

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Media Reports of the Apocalypse...
National Inquirer:
O.J. AND NICOLE, TOGETHER AGAIN

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Letters To God From The Dog...
Dear God,
Is it true that dogs are not allowed in restaurants because we can't make up our minds what NOT to order? Or is it the accident on the carpet thing, again?

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You Might Be An Engineer If...
You chuckle whenever anyone says "centrifugal force."

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Dumb Laws...
Florida:
Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[The Mayor]

August 4, 2004

Morning, Noon, Night

Read: Psalm 55:16-23

Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. —Psalm 55:17

Bible In One Year: Psalms 66-67; Romans 7

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In May 2003, a powerful earthquake struck northern Algeria. TV news images showed distraught people searching the rubble for survivors, while others numbly visited hospitals and morgues to see if their loved ones were alive or dead. Families stood together weeping and crying out for help. Their burden of uncertainty and grief could be seen, heard, and felt.

If you've experienced an intense feeling of loss, you'll appreciate the words of David in Psalm 55, penned during a painful time in his life. Oppressed by the wicked, hated by his enemies, and betrayed by a friend, David spoke of the anxiety and anguish that threatened to crush his spirit: "Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me" (v.5).

But instead of caving in to fear, David poured out his heart to God: "As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice" (vv.16-17).

Prayer lifts our eyes from personal tragedy to the compassion of God. It enables us to cast our burdens on the Lord instead of breaking under their weight. When our hearts are filled with pain, it's good to call on God in prayer—morning, noon, and night. —David McCasland

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer. —Scriven

In prayer, God hears more than words; He listens to your heart.

[SAMWolf]

Nice Picture.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

James McHenry

Pastel, by James Sharples, Sr. (c. 1795) Independence
National Historical Park Collection

BIOGRAPHY OF A PATRIOT

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C. AHHHHH, normal! That sounds sooooo good. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Morning stand watie.

Free Dixie!

[SAMWolf]

Day Off! Again!! ;-)

Morning alfa6.