The FReeper Foxhole Spotlights The DAV - Dec.12th, 200

Disabled American Veterans ^

[SAMWolf]

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

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

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The DAV's Long Tradition of Service
When the troops came home from World War I, some 300,000 carried grim reminders of war: disabling injuries, battle scars, gas-seared lungs, and prolonged illnesses. Following a tumultuous hero's welcome, America wiped the horror of war from its mind almost as quickly as the ticker tape was swept from the streets of New York City.

As a result, the needs of the nation's disabled heroes were swept aside as well. Prejudice kept capable and qualified--but disabled--veterans from gaining employment in a job market with few enough opportunities to offer anyone. Veterans benefits programs were administered by three separate government agencies with conflicting and overlapping responsibilities, leaving disabled veterans with massive confusion and red tape. Without a medical system dedicated to their needs, many disabled veterans found themselves sleeping on cots--or even on floors--in the halls of America's overwhelmed hospitals. Some just gave up the struggle, sitting on street corners with tin cups and signs reading: "Help Me. I'm a Disabled Veteran."



Angered by the negligence and incompetence of the federal government in dealing with their problems, disabled veterans began forming local self-help groups in cities across America. In 1920, leaders from 250 of these groups gathered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Under the charismatic leadership of Judge Robert S. Marx, himself a veteran disabled in France, they federated into a national body named the Disabled American Veterans of the World War (DAVWW). Judge Marx's public life took him to cities across the country, affording him the opportunity to use his superior organizing skills in the new DAVWW's behalf.

The new organization also attracted some very high-powered supporters from society at large. For example, our first corporate sponsor was Henry Ford, who supplied a caravan of 50 Model-T Fords to carry needy disabled veterans to San Francisco for the organization's second national convention in 1922. At that convention, the famed Rudolph Valentino became the DAVWW's first celebrity sponsor when he threw a benefit concert on the organization's behalf.



Early on, the DAVWW also opened a Washington, D.C., office to help veterans file claims for disability benefits. By the mid-1930s, the DAVWW had veterans' benefits experts stationed in Veterans Bureau hospitals across the country. When the specter of World War II raised its head, the DAVWW dropped the reference to the First World War from it's name, becoming simply the Disabled American Veterans, or DAV.

Among those who led the DAV in the era following World War II were two famous generals. One was General Jonathan M. Wainwright, well known for his defense of Corregidor and his 39 months as a prisoner of the Japanese. The other was General Melvin J. Maas, who became known as the "blind general" when he remained on duty after combat wounds suffered on Okinawa took his sight.



The World War II and Korean War generation built a DAV that could never have been imagined by those who founded the organization back in the 1920s. Their efforts to open up employment opportunities for disabled veterans and other handicapped people are legendary. They built a volunteer network that now contributes nearly 2 million hours annually to patients in VA medical facilities. Using a formula provided by Independent Sector, an organization that provides oversight to American nonprofits, this time is valued at $30.5 million. Most importantly, they prepared an organization that was ready to serve the veterans of the next generation, those who returned from the Vietnam War sick and wounded. In doing so, they resolutely stood in opposition to a society that often shunned these younger veterans. In the belief that Vietnam veterans should be treated with the same respect enjoyed by earlier generations of veterans, they worked hard on behalf of the Veterans Readjustment Act of 1966. In the years following the war, they worked with younger veterans to establish a treatment model for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a model later adopted by the VA Vet Center program.

The DAV's Vietnam generation continued that tradition of advocacy, among other victories winning recognition of the needs of veterans exposed to radiation in the post-World War II era and Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. They also won establishment of the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, which affords veterans the right to gain judicial review of unfavorable VA decisions.



If the DAV's World War II and Korean War veterans were quick to respond to the needs of Vietnam veterans, the Vietnam generation proved just as ready to respond to the veterans of the Persian Gulf War and other post-Vietnam military conflicts. They have been outspoken in their advocacy on issues like the unexplained illnesses that plague the lives of so many Gulf War veterans. In addition, they're actively recruiting a new generation of DAV National Service Officers from disabled veterans now in their twenties and thirties, a generation that will lead the DAV into the 21st century.

It is important to note that the DAV has had a quiet partner as the organization built this substantial record of achievement. It takes funds to field the kind of services, programs and advocacy the DAV offers to disabled veterans and their families--more funding than could possibly be supplied by the dues paid by disabled veterans for membership in the organization. The American people--good and loyal people like yourself--have stood by our organization, providing nearly all of the funding necessary to field our extensive network of services. We are not exaggerating one bit when we say we are eternally grateful to you. Your generosity has allowed us to touch the lives of literally millions of disabled veterans and their families. Thank you for such great kindness.

[SAMWolf]

Background Information on the Disabled American Veterans

Treaties are signed and the battles of nations end, but the personal battles of those disabled in war only begin when the guns fall silent. These men and women must struggle to regain health, reshape lives shattered by disability, learn new trades or professions, and rejoin the civilian world. At each step, they need help to help themselves. For three quarters of a century now, that aid has come from the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a nonprofit organization of more than one million veterans disabled during time of war or armed conflict.

Formed in 1920 and chartered by Congress in 1932, the million-member DAV is the official voice of America's service-connected disabled veterans -- a strong, insistent voice that represents all of America's 2.1 million disabled veterans, their families and survivors. Its nationwide network of services -- free of charge to all veterans and members of their families -- is totally supported by membership dues and contributions from the American public. Not a government agency, the DAV's national organization receives no government funds.

[SAMWolf]

[Jen]

Drop on in at the FReeper Foxhole!

(If you would like to be added to or removed from this list, please send a freepmail to AntiJen. Thanks!)

[Jen]

Click the logo for more information.

The Veterans History Project is a unique opportunity for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to play an important role in the preservation of our national collective memory and to learn important lessons from the rich historical resource we have in our military veterans and civilians who served in support of the war effort.

[SAMWolf]

Good morning Jen. I'm Off to work, see you later.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"This is from me to those that have not written yet, please write, use it,
tell about your family, your hobbies, how the weather is, what are you planning for the holidays.
Tell a funny thing that happened, send a joke anything. Tell about your pets and kids.
We miss home and it means a lot to hear from everyone."

From a US Marine's e-mail

The USO Canteen Post Office

E-Mail Our Military Direct Links Will you help keep the candle lit in the window for them? Can you spend a few minutes each day to e-mail our men and women in the military? Let them know they are not forgotten! To send your e-mails, Click on the Picture

CLICK FOR UP-TO-DATE SET OF MILITARY& VETS SUPPORT LINKS

[Jen]

Welcome Home to Vietnam Veterans

<==== Click
"Welcome Home"

[Jen]

Thanks Sam! Fantastic job on today's thread. I think the DAV is a great Veterans service organization and I'm so glad to see it profiled today.

[E.G.C.]

Bump for the Foxhole.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Five U.S. soldiers reportedly killed in crash of U.S. military helicopter in Honduras

[Jen]

E.G.C. -- Good morning and thanks for the bump!

D1 - I love this graphic you made for the Foxhole. Thank you so much!!

[freedomson]

Great stories, great artwork, well done, SAMWolf.

[Cate]

Good morning and thanks for remembering the Disabled Vets. Just another example of how strong our military personnel are throughout their entire lives.

[CatoRenasci]

G'mornin' & bump.

[conservativemusician]

Great job on today's Foxhole!

[SAMWolf]

I just heard this on the radio. Thanks for the link.

[SAMWolf]

The DAV can always count on a check from me.

[Valin]

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on December 12:
1560 Maximilien de Béthune duke of Sully/baron of Rosny/PM of France
1574 Anne van Denemarken daughter of Danish King Frederik II
1579 Heinrich Steuccius composer
1630 Olof Rudbeck composer
1660 Peter Rabus poet/translator (Liberated Britanje)
1673 Ahmed III 23rd sultan (Turkey, 1703-30)
1685 Lodovico Giustini composer
1712 Charles Alexander Duke of Lotharingen
1715 Gennaro Manna composer
1745 John Jay diplomat (NY-Governor)
1792 Alexandros Ypsilanti Greek resistance fighter
1805 Henry Wells founder (American Express Company & Wells Fargo & Company)
1805 William Lloyd Garrison abolitionist publisher (The Liberator)
1806 Stand Watie Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1871
1818 Paul Octave Hebert Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1880
1821 Gustave Flaubert Rouen Normandy France, novelist (Madame Bovary)
1830 Joseph Orville Shelby Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1897
1832 Abraham C Wertheim Dutch banker/MP (liberal)
1833 Matthias Hohner German manufacturer (harmonica)
1835 Georges Jean Pfeiffer composer
1838 Sherburne W Burnham US, astronomer (binary stars)
1848 William Vanderbilt yachtsman (donated Vanderbilt Cup)
1859 Edward Bradley horse owner (1st to own 4 Kentucky Derby winners)
1859 Maurice Donnay French playwright (Lovers)
1862 Daniel Halévy French historian/writer (La fin des notables)
1863 Edvard Munch Norway, painter/print maker (The Scream)
1866 Alfred Werner Swiss chemist (Nobel 1913)
1874 Volter A Kilpi Finnish writer (Alastalon salissa)
1875 Desiderius A Stracke Flemish jesuit/literature historian
1875 Karl R G von Rundstedt German general-fieldmarshal (Normandy)
1879 Friedrich Christiansen nazi commander Wehrmacht Netherlands
1879 Laura Hope Crews US, actress (Camille, Gone with the Wind)
1879 Percy Fletcher composer
1882 Akiba Rubinstein Polish chess player (openings theory)
1886 Owen Moore County Meath Ireland, actor (She Done Him Wrong)
1887 Kurt Magnus Atterberg composer
1889 Vaclav Stepan composer
1893 Edward G Robinson [Goldenberg] Romania, actor (10 Commandments)
1896 Eslanda Goode US anthropology/author under Paul Robeson
19-- Brandon Maggart Carthage TN, actor (George-Jennifer Slept Here)
19-- Dave Meniketti rocker (Y&T-Contagious)
19-- Ernie Townsend actor (Edge of Night)
19-- John Johnston actor (Loving)
19-- Rick Ruhl rock vocalist (Every Mother's Nightmare-Hard to Hold)
1902 Howard Koch screenwriter
1903 Enid Balint-Edmonds psychoanalyst
1904 Jim Christy righty cricket batter (Transvaal, Queensland & South Africa)
1906 William C Pahlmann interior decorator (4 Season restaurant, New York NY)
1907 F van Heek Dutch sociologist
1907 Fred Elizalde composer
1907 Roy Douglas composer
1909 Armand H F Boni the Good One, Flemish poet/writer
1911 Anna Russell composer
1912 Yusef Bedri educationist
1913 Hal Dickinson singer (Modernaires)
1913 Jesse Owens US, track star (4 golds 1936), spoiled Hitler's Olympics
1913 Eve Lister actress/singer (No Limit, Hyde Park)
1913 Stanley Bate composer
1914 Denis Begbie cricketer (South African batsman in five Tests 1948-50)
1915 Frank Sinatra Hoboken NJ, singer/actor (old blue eyes/chairman of board)
1917 Edward Firth Henderson arabist
1917 Heinrich Böll Germany, writer (Group Portrait with Lady, Nobel '72)
1918 Joe Williams Cordele GA, jazz singer (Everyday I Have the Blues)
1918 Nilda Pinto [NM Geerdink-Jesurun P] Curaçao writer (Nanzi)
1922 Arthur R Hawkins US pilot/captain (WWII, downed 14 jap planes)
1923 Bob Barker Darrington WA, game show emcee (Price is Right)
1924 Edward I Koch New York NY, (Mayor-D-NY, 1977-89)/judge (People's Court)
1924 Francis Miroglio composer
1924 Nevit Kodali composer
1924 Olivier Gendebien Belgian auto racer
1925 Cora Lee Johnson social activist for rural poor
1925 D G "Dattu" Phadkar cricketer (pace bowling all-rounder for India)
1925 Ghulam Guard cricketer (lefty pace bowler in 2 Tests for India 1959)
1928 Helen Frankenthaler New York NY, abstract expressionist artist (Arden)
1928 Aitmatow writer
1928 Lonesome Sundown blues singer/guitarist
1929 John Osborne England, playwright (Look Back in Anger, Luther-TONY 1964)
1929 Doug Ford cricket wicket-keeper (successful New South Wales of 50's)
1930 Friedrich Voss composer
1931 Lionel Blair Montréal, choreographer (Spotlight)
1932 Robert Pettit NBA star (St Louis Bombers/1959 MVP)
1934 Habib Hassan Touma composer
1935 Al Harrington Pago Pago American Samoa, actor (Ben Kokua-Hawaii 5-0)
1936 Bengt Emil Johnson composer
1936 Iolanda Balas Romania, high jumper (Olympics-gold-1960)
1938 Connie Francis Newark NJ, singer/actress (Where the Boys Are)
1938 Joel Chadabe composer
1940 Dionne Warwick East Orange NJ, singer (Solid Gold, Way to San Jose)
1940 Shirley Englehorn LPGA golfer
1941 Tim Hauser jazz singer (Manhattan Transfer-Tuxedo Junction)
1941 Liesbeth List Dutch actress/vocalist (Theodorakis)
1941 Robert Covington drummer/singer
1941 Terry Kirkman Salina KS, rock vocalist/keyboardist (Association)
1942 Mike Heron rocker
1942 Mike Pinder Birmingham England, rocker (Moody Blues)
1943 Grover Washington Jr jazz artist (Mr Magic)
1943 Dave Munden rock drummer (Brian Poole & The Tremeloes)
1943 Dickey Betts West Palm Beach FL, guitarist (Allman Brothers-Ramblin' Man)
1943 Mike Smith rocker
1945 Alan Ward rocker
1945 Karl Edward Wagner US, sci-fi author (Bloodstone, Night Winds)
1945 Leslie Holbert LPGA golfer
1945 Susi Hush TV producer
1945 Tony Williams jazz musician
1946 Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil, Indy-car racer (over 10 wins)
1946 George Santo Pietro husband of Vanna White
1946 Clive Bunker rock drummer (Jethro Tull)
1946 Marlous Fluitsma actress (De Prooi, Apart, Alle Dagen Feest)
1947 Ralph Scala rocker
1948 Ray Jackson rocker
1949 Ricardo Luís Carreras New York NY, bantamweight boxer (Olympics-bronze-1972)
1950 Billy Smith Ontario, NHL goaltender (New York Islanders)
1951 Caren Kaye New York NY, actress (My Tutor, Blansky's Beauties)
1951 Steven Alan Hawley Ottawa KS, PhD/ast (STS 41-D, STS 61-C, STS 31, STS 82)
1952 Sarah Douglas England, actress (Conan, Superman II, Falcon Crest)
1952 Ajit De Silva cricketer (Sri Lankan lefty spinner in four Tests 1982)
1952 Cathy Rigby McCoy Los Alamitos CA, gymnast (Olympics-4th-1968, 1972)
1952 Neil Peart rocker (Rush)
1953 Bruce Kulick Brooklyn NY, rocker (Kiss-Beth, Rock and Roll All Nite)
1955 Lenore Rittenhouse Honolulu HI, LPGA golfer (1983 United Virginia Bank)
1956 Sondra Theodore San Bernadino CA, playmate (July, 1977)
1956 Ana Alicia Ortiz México City, actress (Melissa-Falcon Crest)
1957 Cy Curnin London England, rock vocalist (Fixx-Sign of Fire)
1957 Sheila E[scovedo] San Franciso CA, disco drummer (Krushgrove, Holly Rock)
1958 Leo Kenter Dutch drummer (Tröckener Kecks-More! More! More!)
1958 Sheree J Wilson Rochester MN, actress (Our Family Honor, Dallas)
1959 Belouis Some rocker (Neville Keighley-Some People)
1959 Krishnammachari Srikkanth cricketer (big-hitting Indian opener)
1959 Scott D Vangen Granite Falls MN, astronaut
1960 Amal Silva cricketer (Sri Lankan wicket-keeper in 9 Tests 1983-88)
1960 Jaap van Sweden Dutch violinist/concert master
1961 Dale Sanderson CFL guard (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
1962 Holly Gagnier Los Angeles CA, actress (One Life to Live)
1962 Nadeem Ghauri cricketer (bowled in Test for Pakistan vs Australia 1990)
1962 Ray Brown NFL guard (Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers)
1962 Tracy Austin Rolling Hills CA, tennis pro (US Open 1979, 81)
1963 Teresa Blake Tuscaloosa AL, actress (Gloria Marsh-All My Children)
1964 Rockin' Jeff rocker (The Pasadenas-Riding on a Train)
1964 Haywood Jeffires NFL wide receiver (Houston Oilers)
1965 Laurie Grover-Tavares Newark NJ, biathlete (Olympics-1994)
1966 Cheryl Dickey Houston TX, 100 meter hurdler
1966 Jim Sandlak Kitchener, NHL right wing (Vancouver Canucks)
1967 David Szott NFL guard (Kansas City Chiefs)
1967 John Randle NFL defensive tackle (Minnesota Vikings)
1967 Masood Anwar cricketer (one Test Pakistan vs West Indies 1990)
1968 Tatianna Philadelphia PA, Spanish singer (Baile Commigo, Chicad de Hoy)
1968 Chris Walsh NFL wide receiver (Minnesota Vikings)
1968 Kurt Schulz safety (Buffalo Bills)
1968 Laurie Williams cricketer (West Indian ODI all-rounder vs New Zealand 1996)
1968 Ray Ethridge wide receiver (Baltimore Ravens)
1969 Carrie Westcott Mission Hills KS, playmate (September 1993)
1969 Courtney Hawkins NFL wide receiver (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers)
1969 Doug Terry NFL/WLAF safety (Kansas City Chiefs, Scotland Claymores)
1969 Frank Dikstaal soccer player (MVV)
1969 Jane Robinson Australian rower (Olympics-96)
1969 Kris Wirtz Red Deer Alberta, ice pairs (1994 Skate Canada)
1969 Sebastian Savage WLAF cornerback (Rhein Fire)
1970 Jennifer Connelly Brooklyn Heights NY, actress (Labyrinth, Rocketeer)
1970 Ivano Newbill NBA center (Vancouver Grizzlies)
1970 Madchen Amick Reno NV, actress (Shelly Johnson-Twin Peaks)
1970 Orlando Brown NFL tackle (Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens)
1971 Becky Sunshine [Rebekah Jayne Hunter] Arkansas, Miss Nude California (1993)
1971 John Sacca WLAF quarterback (Amsterdam Admirals)
1971 Tito Wooten NFL safety (New York Giants)
1971 Toni Hodgkinson Auckland New Zealand, 800 meter (Olympics-96)
1972 Missy Francis Los Angeles CA, actress (Little House on the Prairie)
1972 Greg Randolph Denver CO, road cyclist (Olympics-74th-96)
1972 Jamal Willis NFL running back (San Francisco 49ers)
1972 John Walsh NFL quarterback (Cincinnati Bengals)
1972 Kara Williams Miss Texas USA (1996)
1972 Oliver Quass WLAF kicker (Amsterdam Admirals)
1973 Michael DiVenuto cricketer (exciting Tasmanian batsman)
1973 Reinard Wilson linebacker (Cincinnati Bengals)
1973 Stanley Pritchett running back (Miami Dolphins)
1975 Mayim Winkelman Bialik San Diego CA, actress (Blossom, Beaches)
1977 Bridget Hall Dallas TX, model (Ford)
1978 Derrick Delmore Camp Springs MD, figure skater (1996 Grand Prix champion)

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Deaths which occurred on December 12:
0884 Carloman co-king of France (879, 882-884), dies
1112 Tancred monarch of Galilea/Edessa/Antioch, dies
1204 Maimonides [Moses Ben Maimon] Spanish/Egyptian rabbi, dies at 69
1263 Hakon IV Gamli, King of Norway (1217-63), dies
1600 John Craig Scottish church reformer/James VI's court vicar, dies
1677 Jacob Binckes/Benckes Dutch admiral (Chatham), dies in battle
1772 Johann Gottfried Seyfert composer, dies at 41
1777 Reverand Benjamin Russen executed at Tyburn, England for rape
1777 Albrecht von Haller Swiss physician/biologist/author, dies at 69
1788 Joseph Gibbs composer, dies at 88
1812 John Malchair composer, dies at 82
1836 Giuseppe Farinelli composer, dies at 67
1843 Willem I Frederik King of Netherlands (1814-40), dies at 71
1872 Willem A Schimmelpenninck van der Oye Dutch politician, dies at 72
1877 José M de Alencar Brazilian writer/minister of Justice, dies at 48
1880 Michel Chasles French mathematician (geometry), dies at 83
1889 Robert Browning English poet (Ring & Book), dies at 77
1912 Luitpold von Bayern prince-regent of Bayern, dies at 91
1914 Watkins Lewis black man lynched in Shreveport LA
1920 Olive Schreiner South Afr writer (Healing Imagination), dies at 75
1920 Paul Lacome composer, dies at 82
1921 Henrietta Leavitt cepheid period-luminosity relation discover, dies
1923 Raymond Radiguet French journalist/writer (Ball du Comte), dies at 20
1926 Jean Richepin French poet/writer (Contes sans morale), dies at 77
1927 Heinrich Reitsch composer, dies at 67
1932 Egon Richter writer, dies
1933 Theodore Moses Tobani composer, dies at 78
1937 Alfred Abel actor (Dr Mabuse, Metropolis), dies at 57
1939 Douglas Fairbanks actor (Zorro, 3 Musketeers, Robin Hood), dies at 56
1946 Johannes L "Jan" Walch Dutch literary (Abelard & Heloïse), dies at 67
1947 Júlio A Peixoto Brazilian writer (Fruta do Mato), dies at 70
1956 Lorenzo Perosi composer, dies at 83
1957 Robert Frank Kurka composer, dies at 35
1959 Russell Simpson actor (Abraham Lincoln), dies at 79
1961 Daiun Sogaku Harada Zen founder of Sanbo Kyodan lineage, dies at 91
1962 Sid Saylor actor (Wally-Waterfront), dies at 67
1964 H I "Sailor" Young cricketer (left-arm bowler England vs Australia 1899), dies
1965 Johnny Lee actor (Calhoun-Amos 'n' Andy), dies at 67
1968 Tallulah Bankhead actress (All Star Revue), dies of pneumonia at 65
1968 Walter Robins cricketer (19 Tests for England 64 wickets), dies
1970 Louis Zimmer Flem clock maker (Jubelklok, Wonder Clock), dies at 82
1971 David Sarnoff US TV pioneer (RCA), dies at 80
1971 Frank Wolff actor (Erotic Illusion, Last Gun), suicide at 43
1971 Jack Barnhill Northern Ireland senator, assassinated
1971 John A Emmens art historian/poet (Dog of Pavlov), dies at 47
1976 Jack [John Joseph Edward] Cassidy actor (Oscar-He & She, Eiger Sanction), dies in fire at 49
1977 Clementine O Spencer-Churchill (Hozier) British barones, dies at 92
1978 Clifton Chenier US accordionist (Bayou Blues), dies at 53
1978 Fay Compton actress (Othello), dies at 74
1985 Anne Baxter actress (Myra-Marcus Welby, Victoria-Hotel), dies at 62
1985 Ian Stewart keyboardist/road manager (Rolling Stones), dies at 47
1987 Louis de Meester composer, dies at 83
1988 John Canning New York Post managing editor, dies at 56
1991 Eleanor Boardman actor (Crowd), dies in at 93
1991 Ken Keltner US baseball player (Cleveland Indians), dies at 75
1991 Lex Karsemeijer Dutch tenor/choral director (Sweet 16, Pro Musica), dies
1992 Bernard Lievegoed Dutch doctor/psychiatrist/author (Free College), dies at 87
1992 Jasu Patel cricketer (29 wickets for India, best 9-69 vs Australia), dies
1993 Gerard "Gé" Nabrink Dutch anarchist/NVSH-founder, dies at 90
1993 Jeremiah Sullivan actor (Soldier, Double-Stop), dies of AIDS at 58
1993 Jozsef Antall historian/premier of Hungary (1990-93), dies at 61
1994 Antoine Pinay French PM (1952)/foreign minister, dies at 102
1994 Donna J. Stone poet, dies of heart failure at 61
1994 Herman H Felderhof radio-announcer/head (NRU/NOS Radio), dies at 83
1994 John Edward Caulwell Hearne writer, dies at 68
1994 Stuart Allen Roosa astronaut (Apollo 14), dies of pancreatitis at 46
1995 Andrew Olle broadcaster, dies at 48
1995 David Lincoln Lightbown politician, dies at 63
1995 David Saul Marshall diplomat lawyer/politician, dies at 97
1995 James Altgens JFK assassination photographer, dies at 76
1995 Lindsay Oliver John Boynton furniture historian, dies
1995 Mary Bruce dance Teacher, dies at 95
1995 Mohyedin Alempour tajik artist/journalist, dies at 50
1996 Gerald Ian Lacey architect/town planner, dies at 70
1996 Jack Perry businessman, dies at 81
1996 Jean-Pierre Guerlain cosmetics pioneer, dies at 91
1996 Michael Geoffrey Corcos medical researcher, dies at 77
1996 Vance Oakley Packard writer (Hidden Perseuders), dies at 82

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On this day...
0627 Battle at Nineveh: Byzantine emperor Heraclius beats Perzen
1098 1st Crusaders capture & plunder Mara Syria
1474 Isabella crowns herself queen of Castile & Aragon
1479 Jews are expelled from Schlettstadt Alsace by Emperor Frederick III
1524 Pope Clement VII approves Organization of Jewish Community of Rome
1527 Composer Adrian Willaert moves from Milan to Venice
1653 Barebone-parliament ends
1677 Brandenburgs army occupies Stettin
1700 Utrecht/Overijssel/Buren/Leerdam/Ijsselstein adopt Gregorian calendar
1715 Russian/Prussian troops occupy Stralsund
1769 Pope Clement XIV proclaims a universal jubilee
1777 Reverend Benjamin Russen executed at Tyburn, England for rape
1787 Pennsylvania becomes 2nd state to ratify US constitution
1791 Bank of the US opens
1792 In Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven (21) receives 1st lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn
1800 Washington DC established as capital of US
1822 México officially recognized as an independent nation by US
1858 1st Canadian coins circulated (1¢, 5¢, 10¢ & 20¢)
1862 Battle of Dumfries VA
1862 Naval Engagement at Yazoo River MS (USS CAIRO torpedoed)
1870 Joseph Rainey (South Carolina) became 1st black sworn into House of Representatives
1871 Jules Janssen discovers dark lines in solar corona spectrum
1878 Joseph Pulitzer begins publishing "St Louis Dispatch"
1884 1st Test match played at the Adelaide Oval
1897 Anti-Jewish violence breaks out in Bucharest Romania
1897 Rudolph Dirks' 1st Katzenjammer cartoon strip in New York Journal
1898 1st 1st-class game between New South Wales & Tasmania
1899 George F Grant of Boston )first black graduate of Harvard College, and a dentist) patents the wooden golf tee
1899 1st case of plague on Oahu HI
1900 National Negro Anthem, "Lift Every Voice & Sing" is composed
1901 Marconi receives 1st transatlantic radio signal, England to US
1903 Roger Casement completes report about abuses in Belgian Congo
1904 CMS McClellans "Leah Kleschna" premieres in New York NY
1906 Oscar Straus, 1st Jewish cabinet member, appointed Secretary of Commerce
1912 R Friml/O Harbachs musical "Firefly" premieres in New York NY
1913 "Mona Lisa", recovered after being stolen from the Louvre Museum in 1911
1913 Hebrew language officially used to teach in Palestinian schools
1915 1st all-metal aircraft (Junkers J.1) test flown at Dessau Germany
1915 Aristide Briand forms French war government
1915 Russian troops overrun Hamadan, Persia
1917 Worst train disaster (derailment near mouth of Mount Cenis tunnel) ever (Modane France-543 French troops killed)
1917 Reverend Edward Flanagan founds Boys Town outside Omaha NE
1920 Maurice Ravels ballet "La Valse" premieres in Paris
1925 Arthur Heinman coins term "motel", opens Motel Inn, San Luis Obispo
1925 Last Qajar Shah of Iran deposed; Rexa Shah Pahlavi takes over
1925 Cossack officer/ex-premier Reza Chan becomes shah of Persia
1926 Leningrad: premier of Dmitri Shostakovich's 1st Pianoconcert
1928 Nichols/Brownes "Wings over Europe" premieres in New York NY
1930 Baseball Rules Committee greatly revises the rule book, when a ball bounces into stands now a double, not a homerun
1930 Start of the 1st Australia vs West Indies Test (at Adelaide)
1931 Japanese Government of Imukai forms
1932 S N Behrmans "Biography" premieres in New York NY
1932 USSR & China resume diplomatic relations
1936 Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek declares war on Japan
1937 Japanese aircraft shell & sink US gunboat Panay on Yangtze River in China. (Japan apologized & eventually paid US $2.2 million in reparations)
1937 NBC & RCA sends 1st mobile-TV vans onto the streets of New York
1937 Washington Redskins win NFL championship
1939 Soviet prison ship Indigirka, carrying 2,500 prisoners capsizes in blizzard off Japanese coast; 2,470 die
1940 British troops conquer Sidi el-Barrani
1941 German occupying army do a house search in Paris looking for Jews
1941 European reservists on Java mobilizes
1941 Russian 20th army recaptures Soljetsjnogorsk
1942 German offensive in South Western Stalingrad
1945 Special Court of justice convicts NSB-leader Mussert to death
1946 Ice plant collapses, shearing a tenement building & burying 38
1946 UN accepts 6 Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D Rockefeller Jr
1946 Tide detergent introduced
1947 United Mine Workers union withdrew from AFL
1949 American League votes 7-1 rejecting legalizing the spitball
1950 16th Heisman Trophy Award: Vic Janowicz, Ohio State (HB)
1950 Baseball owners vote to drop 4-year old bonus & high school rule
1951 Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement
1952 Dallas Texans (former Boston Yanks) play last game, last original team
1953 Chuck Yeager reaches Mach 2.43 in Bell X-1A rocket plane
1955 1st prototype of hovercraft patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell
1957 US announces manufacture of Borazon (harder than diamond)
1957 Jerry Lee Lewis weds his cousin Myra Gale Brown, 13, while still married to his 1st wife, Jane Mitcham
1957 Major Adrian Drew flies 1,943 kph in F-101 Voodoo
1958 Dutch social democratic party-ministers/premier Drees dismissed
1958 Fergie Gupte takes 9-102 with leggies vs W Indies at Kanpur
1959 UN Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space is established
1961 Ham radio satellite Oscar 1 launched with military Discoverer 36
1961 Martin Luther King Jr & 700 demonstrators arrested in Albany GA
1962 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1963 Frank Sinatra Jr returned after being kidnapped
1963 Argentina asks for extradition of ex-President Peron
1963 Kenya (formerly British East Africa) declares independence from UK
1964 Shooting starts for "Star Trek" pilot, "The Cage" (Menagerie)
1964 Cleveland Browns' Frank Ryan sets club record of 5 TD passes
1965 Gale Sayers of Chicago Bears scores 6 TDs, ties NFL record
1965 Beatles last Great Britain concert (Capitol Theatre in Cardiff Wales)
1965 Doug Walters makes maiden Test ton in 1st Test, goes on to 155
1965 Vivian Beaumont Theater opens at 65th St & Amsterdam Ave NYC
1966 US Supreme Courts votes 4-3 allowing Braves to move to Atlanta
1967 US launches Pioneer 8 into solar orbit
1968 Rolling Stones film TV show "Rock 'n Roll Circus" - it never airs
1968 Arthur Ashe becomes 1st black to be ranked #1 in tennis
1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1969 "Hello Dolly" with Barbra Streisand premieres
1969 Bill Toomey (track and field) achieves world record-score (8417 points)
1969 Bomb attack on bank in Milan, 14 killed
1970 Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 42 launched to study X-rays
1970 Polish government proclaims price rise
1970 USSR performs underground nuclear test
1973 San Diego files anti-trust against National League (stopping Padres move to DC)
1973 Canada begins selling Olympic coins ($5 & $10 silver coins)
1975 Gas stove explodes & starts fire killing 138 (Mecca Saudi Arabia)
1975 Sara Jane Moore pled guilty to trying to kill President Gerald Ford
1976 QB Joe Namath's last game as a New York Jet
1977 Yankees purchase Andy Messersmith from Braves
1979 Gold hits record $462.50 an ounce
1979 Rhodesia becomes the independent nation of Zimbabwe
1980 US's copyright law amended to include computer programs
1981 Wayne Gretsky scores quickest 50th goal (game 39)
1981 "1st" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 37 performances
1981 Gambia & Senegal sign agreement to be known as Senegambia in Feb 1982
1982 "Herman Van Veen: All of Him" closes at Ambassador NYC after 6 performances
1982 $9,800,000 in cash stolen from money transport car in New York NY
1982 57th Australian Women's Tennis: Chris Evert beats Martina Navratilova (63 26 63)
1982 Joanne Carner/John Mahaffey win LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
1983 A truck bomb explodes at the US Embassy in Kuwait
1985 248 US soldiers & 8 crew members die in Arrow Air DC-8 charter crash (Gander, Newfoundland)
1985 NASA launches space vehicle S-207
1986 Microlite aircraft circles world non-stop
1986 David Boon's fourth Test century, 103 vs England at Adelaide
1986 James "Bone Crusher" Smith TKO's WBA champion Tim Witherspoon at Madison Square Garden
1986 Russian Tupolev-134 crashes in East Berlin, 70 killed
1986 South African journalist Zwelakhe Sisulu arrested
1987 Mookie Blaylock sets NBA record of 13 steals in a game
1987 Rollermania at Madison Square Garden, Eastern Express beats Midwest Pioneers
1987 Oklahoma sets NCAA record of 33 steals vs Centenary
1988 NYC Subway system adds new stations (the Z line)
1988 Sandra Miller of Queens sues Mike Tyson for sexual harassment
1988 3 trains collide in London, 40 die
1988 PLO leader Yasser Arafat accepts Israel's right to exist
1990 US ambassador to Kuwait, Nathaniel Howell leaves Kuwait
1990 US accuses Iraq of dragging its feet on dates for talks
1991 Actor Richard Gere marries super model Cindy Crawford
1991 New Jersey Nets set NBA record of 22 blocks beating Nuggets 121-81
1991 Orion Pictures filed Chapter 11 for bankruptcy protection
1991 Maastricht Treaty signed to create a European Community
1991 Tampa Bay Bucaneer Dexter Manley, retires after failing drug test
1992 58th Heisman Trophy Award: Gino Torretta, Miami FL (QB)
1992 6.8-7.5 earthquake strikes Flores Island (tsunami kills 3,000)
1992 Japanese crown prince Naruhito announces engagement to Masaka Owada
1992 Julia Kurotchkina, 18, of Russia, crowned 42nd Miss World
1992 New York Giants lose 19-0 to Phoenix Cardinals
1993 Ultra-Nationalists make strong gains in Russian elections
1993 "Any Given Day" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 32 performances
1993 "Kentucky Cycle" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 34 performances
1993 WAQX 104.3 (Q-104) rock format replaces WNCN classic format in New York NY
1995 Amendment to make it illegal to physically desecrate the flag turned down by senate 63-36 (need 2/3 vote)
1995 CBC announces Radio Canada International service to end on March 31
1995 Israeli PM Shimon Peres address both house of US congress
1995 NBA referees return to work after striking
1996 Assassination attempt on Uday (Iraqi's heir to Sadam Hussain)
1996 Marlins sign their 6th free-agent since Nov 22, Moises Alou
1997 Carlos the Jackal, "professional revolutionary" goes on trial in Paris
1997 Federal judge sentences Autumn Jackson, who claims to be Bill Cosby's daughter, to 26 months for trying to extort $40 million from him
1997 Florida releases Alex Arias, the last original Marlin
1997 Japanese train builders (Maglev) claim world speed record at 332 MPH
1997 Red Sox sign Pedro Martinez to record 6 year $69 million contract
1997 SWAT team shoots John E Armstrong in Florida, freeing 2 young hostages
1997 TWA 800 hearings end in Baltimore MD

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

El Salvador : Day of the Indians
Kenya : Independence Day/Jamhuri Day (1963)
Pennsylvania : Ratification Day (1787)
World : National Ding-a-ling Day

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Religious Observances
Roman Catholic-US : Memorial of Dark Virgin of Guadalupe, patron of México
Roman Catholic : Memorial of Jane Frances de Chantal, religious (optional)

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Religious History
1666 The Moscow Council deposed Russian Orthodox Patriarch Nikon, 61. The church synod had sought to bring an end to the struggle between Czar Alexis and Patriarch Nikon, but the antagonism, begun as a call for liturgical reform, ultimately grew into a struggle over the relationship between church and state.
1712 The South Carolina colony passed a "Sunday Law" requiring "all...persons whatsoever" to attend church each Sunday, to refrain from skilled labor, and to do no traveling by horse or wagon beyond the necessary. Infractions of this law were met with a 10_shilling fine and/or a two_hour lock_up in the village stocks.
1767 Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'The Lord himself is our Keeper. Nothing befalls us but what is adjusted by His wisdom and love. He will, in one way or another, sweeten every bitter cup, and ere long He will wipe away all tears from our eyes.'
1808 The Bible Society of Philadelphia was organized, the first of its kind in America. Rev. William White was elected first president of the new organization, whose purpose it was to promote and distribute the Scriptures.
1974 Pope Paul VI announced his intention of canonizing Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774_1821), who had founded the first free Catholic school in the U.S. as well as the religious order known as the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.

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Thought for the day :
" A Smith and Wesson beats four aces. "

[Chad Fairbanks]

Wow? It's World Ding-a-ling Day? Well, funny you shoudl mention that, because once, I was climbing a garden wall, I slipped and had a terrible fall, fell so hard I heard bells ring, and held on to my ding-a-ling-a-ling...

Morning! THanks, guys - great topic for today. A great big "Thank you for your sacrifice" going out to all Disabled Veterans...

[Jen]

Five U.S. soldiers reportedly killed in crash of U.S. military helicopter in Honduras

<=== Click

Taps

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor,
God keep.
On the land or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Thanks and praise, For our days,
'Neath the sun, Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know,
God is nigh.