The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Isadore Stessel - US Navy Blimp K-74 (7/18/1943) - Oct. 20th, 2004

www.goldcoast-railroad.org ^ | March-April, 1997 | YNC Anthony Attwood - Naval Aviation News

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

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The Battle Between
the Blimp and the Sub

No study of naval warfare or aerial combat can be complete without looking at the night fight that occurred off the coast of Islamorada in the Florida keys on 18 July, 1943; the battle between the blimp and the sub.

AMM2c Isadore Stessel

Nazi U-boats prowled U. S. shores and the "slot" of the Florida Straits was a favorite hunting ground and transit channel for them. Navy blimp squadron ZP-21 out of NAS Richmond, Florida, patrolled the straits to stop them. The silvery, nonrigid airships, graceful but enormous, were used for spotting and reporting surface ships and aircraft. The "K" ships were armed with four depth bombs and a .50-caliber machine gun mounted in the nose of the blimp car... not that these were expected to see much action. Blimp patrols were usually long, tedious and uneventful, until the night of 18 July, 1943, when the German submarine U-134 slipped into the straits.



At dusk on the mainland, the flight briefing concluded for the two blimps scheduled to patrol that night, during which two "friendlies", a tanker and a freighter, would pass through the straits in convoy. K-74 and sister blimp, K-32, would screen the slot. The destroyer Dahlgren out of Key West was on station in the straits. The two blimp crews readied for takeoff. K-74's crew consisted of Lieutenant Nelson Grills, pilot; Chief Aviation Pilot Jandrowitz, copilot; Ensign Damley Eversley, navigator; AMM2c Isadore Stessel and AMM3c Schmidt, mechanics/bombardiers; ARM3c Eckert, rigger/gunner; ARM3c Robert Bourne, radioman; ARM3cs Giddings and Rice, assistant radio operators; and SN Kowalski, assistant rigger.

UP SHIP

The K-ships taxied and soared above the base. K-32 turned south by southwest to fly over Key West and sweep northward up the straits. Lt. Grills and his crew in K-74 headed straight over the Atlantic, then turned south and into the annals of Naval Aviation history!



Night fell and the U-134 rose from beneath the sea. It was a quiet evening. The sea was mild and the winds light. The sub's crew threw open the hatches to vent carbon dioxide and take in fresh air, then clambered topside. The long hours passed while 500 feet above, K-74 was approaching on an overhead course.

About 23:30, a bright spot appeared on the blimp's radar. The possible contact was encrypted and transmitted back to base. In the cramped gondola, the 10 Navy men took stock of their weapons and the impending situation. The blimp headed toward the radar contact.

BATTLE STATIONS

K-74 sailed out of a cloud bank and found the U-boat cruising below. The blimp circled as her skipper weighed the realities: the sub was on a course heading right for the two merchant ships which were sailing down the straits, 30 minutes behind K-74. The merchant ships were at risk and K-74 had the element of surprise in her favor. Grills transmitted his intention to attack. At 23:50, K-74 dropped to 250 feet and began her bombing run.



As the distance closed, the watchstanders aboard the U-boat sighted the blimp. The Nazis opened fire with 20mm machine guns located aft of the conning tower. AOM3c Eckert returned fire from the car's nose mounted machine gun. Then, the German 88mm deck gun commenced firing.

U. S. Navy tracers ricocheted down the length of the sub's deck, while enemy fire thumped into the airship bag. A round punctured the shield beside Eckert's gun. He slapped another belt in and continued firing prolonged bursts.


"Battle Off The Florida Straits"
Painting by Cortney Skinner

When the airship passed over the U-boat, antiaircraft fire hit the K-74's engines. The starboard engine burst into flames. As AMM3c Schmidt turned to extinguish the fire, ARM3c Bourne dashed off the squadron's mayday signal: "Urgent, Fired On." The airship was now directly over the sub. AMM2c Stessel pulled the bomb releases, but the bombs did not leave the rack.



With enemy fire punishing her undefended stern, K-74 limped out of range. Schmidt had extinguished the fire, but both engines were damaged. The airship was losing altitude. The crew dumped gas and jettisoned the tanks. No help. K-74 slowly descended. At 23:55, the tail of the airship touched the water and began to settle. The battle had lasted five minutes. It's harrowing aftermath began.

ABANDON SHIP

Wearing their "Mae West" inflatable vests, the crew entered the water through the doors and windows of the flooding blimp car. The life raft, tossed out without a tether line, immediately deployed and drifted away with the Gulf Stream. They were on their own.


K-Class Blimp Bomb
Each navy K-class airship was typically armed with a .50-caliber machine gun, and four 325-pound depth bombs.

Grills swan back around the sinking car to make sure all crewmen had escaped. In so doing, he separated from the others and the same strong current carried him away. When he got his bearings, the blimp was nowhere in sight. Instead, a dark shape was bearing down on him at flank speed. It was one of the merchant ships coming down the slot, oblivious to the battle that had occurred. Grills recalled, "It was coming right at me and I was frantic to get out of the way, shouting and waving my hands. I saw the watch on the fantail, smoking a cigarette." The ship passed in the night, leaving Grills alone in the water.

The rest of the K-74's crew stayed together beside the settling blimp bag. They held on to each other in two bobbing masses adrift at sea.



Through the long night they did not know if the Nazi sub would return to capture them as prisoners or finish them off. They had no idea how much damage Eckert's marksmanship had done. Nor did "Sparks" Bourne realize his Mayday transmission was picked up by K-32's ARM2c Turek, who realized it must be K-74 in trouble and relayed the message to NAS Richmond.

At first light, a Grumman J4F Widgeon amphibian from ZP-21, took off to begin the search. At 07:49, the aircraft was over the scene. The sea was getting rougher, while nine men splashed and waved. The aircraft saw them and dipped its wings, but it was too choppy to land. The aircraft flew off to find the Dahlgren and lead her to the scene. Rescue was on the way.

[SAMWolf]

THEN CAME THE SHARKS

Stessel had become separated from the rest when the men had let go of each other to wave. The others saw the shark fin break the surface and head straight for him. There was no time to warn Stessel before the shark attacked. The sailor went under. Momentarily, he reappeared, bathed in crimson. The water frothed as he went under a last time, spreading a red cloud on the surface. The rest of the crew positioned themselves, back to back, and drew their knives.

At 08:15 on 19 July, K-74 finally sank; the only airship lost to enemy action in World War II.

From under the sea came somber volleys fired in requiem for Petty Officer Stessel. K-74's armed depth bombs detonated, exploding in a mournful salute, as if, paying homage to this Navy hero lost in battle.

Dahlgren soon arrived and the Jacob's ladder was thrown over the side for the survivors. Small arms fire kept back the circling sharks while the crew of K-74 climbed to safety. A launch of bluejackets, with a Thompson submachine gun in the bow, searched in vain for any sign of Stessel.

Meanwhile, the K-74 pilot continued to drift miles away. Grills struck out towards the Florida keys on the horizon. It was late in the day and the aviator was severely sunburned and nearing exhaustion when K-32 passed over. Keen-eyed AMM3c Max May, saw the struggling swimmer, and the K-32 dropped flares. Grills had swum six miles before he was sighted, picked up by a launch from a local rescue unit and transported to Dahlgren. He had been in the water for 19 hours.

After the war, German Submarine Command records revealed U-134 reported downing a U. S. Navy airship. The sub cited sustaining battle damage to her No. 5, main ballast tank and No. 4 diving tank. After surviving two more attacks, U-134 was ordered to return to base in France for repairs. Enroute in August, her luck ran out when two Royal Air Force bombers intercepted her in the Bay of Biscay and sent her to the bottom. A blimp for a sub: the wages of war.

EPILOGUE

If the airship had not joined the battle, the U-boat would have come upon the tanker and the freighter before Dahlgren or shore based aircraft could have intervened. Because of the blimp crew's actions, the merchant ships got through.

Grills and Bourne were awarded the Purple Heart. After their release from active duty, radiomen Bourne and Turek received Letters of Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy for their quick actions as did AMM3c May his sharp lookout. Twenty years after the event, Grills was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

[SAMWolf]

LTA and WWII: role of Navy airships often forgotten
- Lighter Than Air

Perhaps the most famous blimp attack on a U-boat during the war was mounted by Lt. Nelson Grills, pilot of the K-74. It is the only combat loss of a blimp acknowledged by the U.S. Navy.



While protecting two ships sailing in an area just off the Florida Keys on July 18, 1943, the K-74 crew spotted a surfaced U-boat. Lt. Grills decided the boats under his protection were in immediate danger and took a steep dive to attack the German U-boat.

The slow-moving K-74 was an easy target for anti-aircraft fire from the U-boat, but the airship returned fire with its guns, and the blimp's momentum carried it directly over the U-boat. Unfortunately, the blimp's bomb-release mechanism failed, and the battered airship crashed into the sea.

As the downed crew waited to be rescued, machinist mate/bombardier AMM2 Isadore Stessel was attacked and killed by a shark.

At first reprimanded for his attack on the U-boat, Lt. Grills would later be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.



Isadore Stessel's vindication didn't come until 40 years later, when he was posthumously awarded a commendation medal, which was given to his surviving family members.

Forgotten by history ...

According to blimp veterans names like "poopie-bag sailors" given to them by others reflect the disrespect and historical disregard experienced by World War II's airship operators.

Although many LTA veterans cite a feeling of safety and security in the bellies of the silver giants, many who served on airships suffered disabilities.

"We were very vulnerable to attack from subs, but for some reason I always felt safe," said John McWade, a radar officer who served in several locations in the Western Hemisphere including Jamaica, Columbia, and Panama.



Mr. McWade, a DAV life member from Cathedral City, Calif., was exposed to harmful radar microwaves while serving in airships. The exposure left his eyes damaged but not his enthusiasm for LTA.

"I loved my service with LTA. The flying, the flight pay, and the chance to take part in those missions was something very special to me," Mr. McWade said.

Unfortunately, the Navy's leadership didn't always share his love of LTA.

"The hierarchy in the Navy had little or no LTA experience for the most part. This led to a lack of understanding for what we did," said John P. Hely IV, a blimp pilot who was involved in an attack on a German U-boat off the coast of Georgia in 1943.



Years later, Mr. Hely actually corresponded with the U-boat captain and found the aging officer, Volker von Simmermacher, still in awe of the defensive prowess of blimps.

"Part of Germany's fear of the blimps came from their belief that we would be as efficient with them as they would have been if they had blimps," Mr. Hely said."

By war's end, LTA squadrons had performed 35,600 operational flights in the Atlantic and 20,300 flights in the Pacific. There was a total of 5.5 million hours in the air, escorting nearly 90,000 ships loaded with cargo, troops, weapons, and supplies.

The 10 blimps of the pre-war days had grown to more than 130 by war's end, but it didn't last.



By 1959, all lighter-than-air activity in the Navy was confined to NAS Lakehurst with only 13 airships in use, and airship training was discontinued.

The role of the airship, particularly sea-based rescue and patrols, was relegated to the newest member of military aviation, the helicopter.

The Navy officially announced the end of its LTA program on June 26, 1961, and the final flight of a Navy airship took place at NAS Lakehurst on Aug. 31, 1962. In March of 1977, NAS Lakehurst ceased operations, and the role of blimps in World War II became a brief footnote in the annals of naval warfare.

"Many of us LTA veterans are coming up on 80 or are already there," said Harold Edwards, the blimp crew chief who caught a glimpse of the Hindenburg on its final flight. "We did the work they asked, finding subs and protecting ships, but my friends always ask where the recognition went, where are the air medals?

"Most people have never heard our stories."

Exerpted from :DAV Magazine, May-June, 2002 by Rob Lewis

Additional Sources:

www.kilroywashere.org
gallery.flight100.org
www.geocities.com/ CapeCanaveral
www.uboatarchive.net
www.navsource.org
www.history.navy.mil
www.naval-airships.org
www.nastillamook.org
www.centennialofflight.gov

[SAMWolf]

19 July, 1997 - 54 years after the loss of AMM2c Isadore Stessel, as a result of enemy fire, 12 family members, former crewmembers, and invited guests of the Friends of NAS Richmond, returned to the Gulf Stream to commemorate his death.

Aboard a 41 foot, U.S. Coast Guard, patrol boat, the somber party left the dock at Coast Guard Base, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 09:00, Saturday, 19 July, 1997. They proceeded several miles offshore for Divine Services at Sea, En Momento Mori. On station by 09:30, YNC Anthony Attwood brought the group to order, and the Chaplaincy pennent for the Jewish faith, was hoisted on the after flag staff. Chief Attwood then reiterated the conditions of Seaman Stessel's death. Mr. Robert H. Bourne, former ARM3c, radioman aboard the K-74 read a verse of the Navy Hymn followed by a verse each by Peter Simpson and Francis Brophy LT James McGibbon then read the committal service.

A ceremonial wreath of red, white and blue carnations, was put over the side by Mr. Nelson G. Grills, former Lieutenant and pilot of K-74, and Mr. Saul Stessel, cousin of Isadore Stessel. Accompanied by Chief Attwood on guitar, all aboard sang three verses of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The service was concluded by Chief Attwood, and the boat returned to Fort Lauderdale. In attendance were Nelson G. Grills and his wife Reva M. Grills, Robert H. Bourne and his wife, Earline Bourne, Leonard Simpson, Sally Simpson, and Peter Simpson, Saul Stessel, Timothy Brophy, Susie Brophy, Francis Brophy, Francis E. Brophy, LT James McGibbon, YNC Anthony Attwood, and CAPT Charles M. LaBow.

[SAMWolf]

Here are the recommended holiday mailing dates for military mail this year:

For military mail addressed TO APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Parcel Post - November 13
• Space Available - November 27
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - Mailing date is December 11 to all locations
  • EXCEPT for locations starting with ZIP 093. For all locations starting with ZIP 093 the mailing date is December 6.
• Express Mail - December 20 to locations where Express Mail service is available. Check with your local post office to determine which APO/FPO addresses can receive Express Mail. Note: This service is not available to ships.

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For military mail FROM APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Space Available - November 20
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - December 11
• Express Mail - December 18 from APO/FPO addresses where Express Mail can be accepted. Check with your local military post office to determine if they can accept Express Mail. Note: This service is not available from ships.

Thanks for the information StayAtHomeMother

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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



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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[snippy_about_it]

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Good Wednesday Morning Everyone.


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If you'd like to drop us a note you can write to:

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[alfa6]

Back to work bump for the Foxhole...OOOO-RAHHH

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[snippy_about_it]

Off to bed bump back to you!

[snippy_about_it]

Lots to do again tomorrow. Good night Sam.

[SAMWolf]

Evening alfa6.

I get to say goodnight before good morning today. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy.

Walls by the end of the week!!

[Iris7]

Not trivial firepower. Two double-barrelled 13.2mm (.52 caliber) Breda-Fla-MG with high cyclic rate and usually one 20mm autocannon. The deck gun was a naval 88 mm, not the same as the famous 88, and could only be elevated 30 degrees, and so could engage the airship only up to twice the airship's altitude in horizontal distance. (Ain't the Net grand?)

Lighter than air has possibilities yet today. Hard to beat as a sigint platform, the darn satellites are always below the horizon! And boy, are they ever expensive, besides!

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[GailA]

[The Mayor]

October 20, 2004

A Gift Of Grace

Read: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. —2 Corinthians 8:9

Bible In One Year: Isaiah 59-61; 2 Thessalonians 3

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In high schools in the US, being elected homecoming queen is a great honor for any young woman. But when a high school near Houston, Texas, crowned Shannon Jones, it was a special moment for her and for everyone in the community. Nineteen-year-old Shannon, who is an award-winning athlete and an active member of her church youth group, has Down syndrome.

Shannon knew this once-in-a-lifetime experience was a gift from her younger sister Lindsey, who was the catalyst to elect her. Their dad said, "I'm so proud of Lindsey. Probably somewhere in the back of her mind, this is something she'd like to do." But she made it happen for Shannon.

The most inspiring acts of human love are only a shadow of the immeasurable gift our Savior has given us. Paul wrote, "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Christ left His glory in heaven and died on the cross for our sin so that we could be forgiven through faith in Him. His sacrifice was based on His love, not on our merit. All we are and all we have are the Savior's loving gifts of grace to us. —David McCasland

God gives His grace so rich, so free—
No one will He deny;
For He has promised in His Word
An infinite supply. —D. De Haan

Grace is an unearned blessing to unworthy sinners.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on October 20:
1632 Sir Christopher Wren England, astronomer/architect
1812 Austin Flint 19th century heart research pioneer
1819 Mirza Ali Mohammad [Babi faith], forerunner of Baha'i
1854 Arthur Rimbaud France, poet/adventurer (Illuminations)
1859 John Dewey philosopher, educational theorist/writer (Learn by doing)
1874 Charles Edward Ives Danbury Ct, composer (Holliday Quick Step)
1874 Viscount Palmerston (Whig) British PM (1855-65)
1889 Margaret Dumont actress-Marx Brothers' foil
1896 Nat Holman basketball coach (CCNY)
1900 Wayne Morse (Sen-R/D-Ore)
1908 Arlene Francis Boston Mass, radio/TV hostess (What's My Line?)
1911 Will Rogers Jr actor (Down to Earth)
1913 Barney Phillips St Louis Mo, actor (Dragnet, Felony Squad)
1918 Anton Diffring Koblenz Germany, actor (Assignment Vienna)
1921 Pierre Laporte Canada, journalist/statesman (Revolution Script)
1922 John Anderson Clayton Ill, actor (Virgil-Legend of Wyatt Earp)
1923 Herschel Bernardi NYC, actor (Peter Gunn, Arnie, Voice of Charlie the Tuna, The Front)
1925 Art Buchwald Mt Vernon NY, columnist/author (Have I Ever Lied to You)
1926 Ursula Happe Germany, 200m backstroke swimmer(Olympic-gold-1956)
1930 "Grandpa" Louis M Jones Niagra Ky, country singer/banjoist (Hee Haw)
1931 Mickey Mantle NY Yankee, home run slugger (1956 Triple Crown)
1932 Roosevelt Brown Virginia, NFL hall of fame tackle (NY Giants)
1932 William Christopher Evanstown Ill, actor (Father Mulcahy-M*A*S*H)
1934 Martin Landau actor (Mission Impossible, Space 1999, Tucker)
1935 Jerry Orbach actor (Law & Order, Dirty Dancing)
1937 Juan Marichal baseball pitcher (SF Giants)
1937 Wanda Jackson Maud Okla, country singer (Let's Have a Party)
1946 Connie Chung Washington DC, news anchor (NBC, CBS)
1948 Andrei Suraikin USSR, pairs figure skater (Olympic-silver-1972)
1953 Keith Hernandez SF Calif, NY Met 1st baseman (9 golden gloves)
1953 Tom Petty Gainesville Fla, singer (Heartbreakers-Refugee)
1958 Eric Scott Hollywood Calif, actor (Ben-Waltons)
1967 Susan Tulley British actress (Michelle-EastEnders)
1970 Tiffany [Renee Darwisch], rocker (I Think We are Alone Now)

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Deaths which occurred on October 20:
1765 William August duke of Cumberland, Engl supreme commander, dies at 44
1906 William "Buck" Ewing hall of fame catcher (NY Giants), dies at 67
1954 Willie Shaw race car driver (Indy 500-1937, 39, 40), dies at 51
1964 Herbert Hoover 31st president of US, dies in NY at 90
1968 Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux TV preacher, dies at 84
1972 Harlow Shapley discoverer of the Sun's position in the galaxy, dies
1989 Anthony Quayle, actor (Moses, Operation Crossbow), dies at 76
1990 Joel McCrea, actor (Ramrod), dies of pulmonary complications at 84
1994 Burt Lancaster, actor (Elmer Gantry), dies of heart attack at 80

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 EDWARDS HARRY S. JR.---DECATUR GA.
[REMAINS RETUNED 09/96]
1966 PURRINGTON FREDERICK R.---NORTH DARTMOUTH MA.
[02/18/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1966 WAGENER DAVID R.---ANN ARBOR MI.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 04 SEPT 97]
1967 WOMACK LONNIE H.
[10/24/67 NOT HEARD OF SINCE]
1968 BRIDGES JERRY G.---COLUMBIA TN.
1968 DEITSCH CHARLES E.---MT DORA FL.
1968 KNIGHT HENRY C.---LA HABRA CA.
1968 MELDAHL CHARLES H.---MONROE WA.
1968 STANTON RONALD V.---MASSILLON OH.
1969 STUBBS WILLIAM W.---NEWPORT WA.

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

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On this day...
0480 BC Greeks defeat the Persians in a naval battle at Salamis.
1097 1st Crusaders arrive in Antioch
1349 Pope Clement VI condemns the flagellant movement
1600 Battle of Sekigahara sets Tokugawa clan as Japan's rulers (shoguns)
1740 Maria Theresa became ruler of Austria, Hungary & Bohemia
1803 US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase
1813 German Kingdom of Westphalia abolished
1817 1st Mississippi showboat leaves Nashville on maiden voyage
1818 49th parallel established as the border between US & Canada
1818 US & Britain agree to joint control of Oregon country
1847 Little William Nelman poisons his grandpa
1883 Treaty of Ancon, Peru cedes Tarapaca to Chile
1888 Chicago & All America baseball teams play exhibition in Auckland, NZ
1891 1st International 6 day bike race (NY MSG) begins
1899 Columbia (US) beats Shamrock (England) in 11th America's Cup
1903 US wins disputed boundary between the District of Alaska & Canada
1905 Great General Strike in Russia begins; lasts 11 days
1906 Dr Lee DeForest demonstrates his radio tube
1910 1st appearance of cork centered baseball in World Series (World Series #7)
1911 Roald Amundsen sets out on race to South Pole
1929 Bayshore Highway opens (SF)
1930 British White Paper restricts Jews from buying Arab land
1942 "Durham Manifesto" calls for fundamental changes in race relations
1944 30 blocks of Cleveland OH burn after a liquid gas factory explodes
1944 Revolution by workers & students in Guatemala
1944 US 1st army wins battle of Aachen
1944 US forces under Gen Douglas MacArthur return to the Philippines
1945: Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon form the Arab League to present a unified front against the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.
1946 Frank Seno returns kickoff 105 yd, Chicago Cards vs NY Giants
1947 HUAC opens hearings into alleged Communist influence in Hollywood
1955 Yanks begin 16-game exhibition in Japan
1956 58ø F (15ø C), Esperanza Station, Antarctica (Antarctic record high)
1956 Hannes Lindemann begins journey across Atlantic in a 17' craft
1960 1st fully mechanized post office opened, Providence, RI
1960 Ralph Houk replaces Casey Stengel as Yankee manager
1963 Jim Brown sets NFL single-season rushing record, 1,863 yds
1963 S Africa begins trial of Nelson Mandela & 8 others on conspiracy
1964 Riot at Rolling Stones show in Paris (150 arrested)
1967 7 men are convicted of civil rights violations in Meridan Miss
1967 All white fed jury convicts 7 in murder of 3 civil rights workers
1968 Jacqueline Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis
1973 Arab oil-producing nations ban oil exports to the United States, following the outbreak of Arab-Israeli war.
1973 Sat Night Massacre, Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox dismissed by Solicitor Gen Bork, AG Richardson & Deputy AG Ruckelshaus resigned
1973 The Family Station Inc buys shortwave Radio Station WNYW, changes calls to WYFR & moves station from NYC to Scituate Mass
1976 70 die as Norwegian tanker Frosta collides with George Prince
1976 NY Nets Julius "Dr J" Erving sold to the Phila 76ers
1977 3 members of rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd die in charter plane crash
1979 John F Kennedy Library dedicated in Boston
1981 3 members of Weather underground arrested for armored truck robbery
1982 Billy Martin fired as manager of the Oakland A's
1982 St Louis Cards beat Mil Brewers, 4 games to 3 in 79th World Series
1983 IBM-PC DOS Version 2.1 released
1984 Islander's Mike Bossy's 30th career hat trick-4 goals
1987 10 die as Air Force jet crashed into a Ramada Inn near Indianapolis
1987 Subway gunman Bernhard Goetz sentenced to 6 months in jail
1988 Britain ends suspects right to remain silent in crackdown on IRA
1988 LA Dodgers beat Oakland A's in 85th World Series 4 games to 1
1988 Man armed with explosives blows self up in 125 St subway station (NYC)
1988 Reggie Rogers, Det Lion's # 1 pick, kills 3 by driving intoxicated
1989 US Senate impeaches US District Judge Alcee L Hastings
1990 3 members of 2 Live Crew acquitted on obscenity charges in Florida
1990 Antiwar protest marches begin in 20 US cities (US-Iraq)
1990 Cincinatti Reds sweep Oakland A's in the 87th World Series
1997 US accuses Microsoft of violating pact forcing IE browser on computers using Windows 95
2000 A former U.S. Army sergeant pleaded guilty to participating in a terrorist plot against Americans. His testimony directly linked Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden to the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

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

Guatemala : Revolution Day/D¡a de la Revoluci¢n (1944)
Kenya : Jomo Kenyatta Day
Getting the World to Beat a Path to Your Door Week (Day 2)
National Shampoo Week (Day 2)
National Save Your Back Week (Day 2)
Auto Battery Safety Month
International Marine Travel Month
National Sarcastics' Awareness Month
Clergy Appreciation Month
National Cookie Month! (It was Cookie Madness..taking over me)

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Religious Observances
Buddhist-Laos : End of Buddhist Fast
Christian : Commemoration of St Bertilla Boscardin
Christian : Feast of St Irene
Old Catholic : Commemoration of St John Cantius (now 12/23)

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Religious History
1802 Birth of Ernst W. Hengstenberg, German O.T. scholar. An outspoken defender of evangelical Christianity against the rationalism of his day, Hengstenberg's most significant writing was his four-volume "Christology of the Old Testament."
1828 Birth of American lawyer Horatio Gates Spafford. In 1873, upon learning of the drowning of his four daughters following a ship collision in the Atlantic, Spafford penned the lines to the hymn, "It is Well With My Soul."
1892 Birth of Harry Dixon Loes, sacred music educator. A writer of gospel songs and choruses, it was Loes who composed the hymn tune REDEEMER ("Up Calvary's Mountain, One Dreadful Morn").
1908 Birth of Stuart Hamblen, country songwriter who flourished during the 1950s. His best-remembered Christian songs include "Known Only to Him," "Beyond the Sunset," and "It Is No Secret."
1957 English apologist C.S. Lewis shared his longing for heaven in a letter: 'It'll be nice when we all wake up from this life, which has indeed something like a nightmare about it.'

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

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Thought for the day :
"All generalizations are bad."

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Childrens Impression of Love...
WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE??

"You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, 'cause she'll want to have videos of the wedding." (Jim, 10)

"Never kiss in front of other people. It's a big embarrassing thing if anybody sees you. But if nobody sees you, I might be willing to try it with a handsome boy, but just for a few hours." (Kally, 9)

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Signs Your Cat is Overweight...
Cat door retrofitted with garage door opener

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Handy Latin Phrases...
Die dulci freure.

Have a nice day

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Things you would like to say at work, but won't...
It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy.

[Valin]

COFFEE!!!!

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Iris7.

(Ain't the Net grand?)

Yep it sure is.

Later in the war they got even more serious firepower, still in the long run in an aircraft vs U-Boat fight the aircraft usually won.

Some boats had a 3.7cm gun and others featured the quadruple 2cm 38/43 U with shield.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.