The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Task Force Smith - Korea 1950 - Jan. 31st, 2003

http://www.quartermaster.army.mil/oqmg/Professional_Bulletin/1996/Spring/tfsmith.html ^ | LTC Keith K. Fukumitsu

[SAMWolf]

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Task Force Smith
‘What we carried was all we had.’

On July 5, 1950, the morning dawned rainy and windswept in the bleak hills of Korea between Suwan and Osan. Atop three of those hills that straddled the road between the two towns, 406 soldiers of Companies B and C of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry, 24th Infantry Division were arrayed in a mile-long position astride the main road and railway connecting Seoul and Pusan. They had spent a miserable, rain-soaked night in the hills, after previously arriving on a hasty night flight from Japan followed by four days of truck and train travel from Pusan. As the soldiers roused, some opened their C-Rations while others attempted to dry out themselves and their equipment. They soon found their radios inoperative because of the rain. Some of their equipment, most notably their ammunition, was still stacked by the side of the road at the bottom of the hills. About a mile to their rear, similarly wet and miserable soldiers in Battery A of the 52d Artillery Battalion were supporting with six 105-millimeter (mm) howitzers.

Under the command of LTC Charles "Brad" Smith, these US Army units, dubbed "Task Force Smith," represented the farthest forward US ground combat force on the Korean Peninsula. To their rear, the rest of the 24th Infantry Division was hurriedly organizing a defensive line to stop the North Korean attack. Aside from the 105-mm artillery, the commander had two of his four 75-mm recoilless rifles that few of his soldiers knew how to use, six obsolete 2.36-inch "bazooka" rocket launchers (none of the newer, more effective 3.5-inch launchers in the Army inventory had been issued to Far East units), and two mortar platoons armed with four 60-mm and two 4.2-inch mortars. Because of weight constraints on the C-54 aircraft, the rest of the 4.2-inch mortar platoon was left behind for later shipment. Somewhere to the northwest, in the direction of Seoul was the North Korean People’s Army.

The North Korean People’s Army was on a roll. The North Korean People’s Army had invaded the Republic of Korea in South Korea only 11 days earlier and overwhelmed the ill-equipped Republic of Korea armed forces. The North Korean People’s Army steamrolled into Seoul, driving refugees and regrouping Republic of Korea Army units before it, clogging roads and throwing the countryside into a panic.

Their invasion caught General Douglas MacArthur and his Far East Command and Eighth Army by surprise, despite recent intelligence reports that North Korea was planning for an attack on the Republic of Korea. General MacArthur had disregarded the reports, saying he did not believe war with North Korea was imminent. In fact, both the Far East Command analysis and the US National Security Council analysis did not include Korea as one of the US Far East interests. Earlier, in 1947, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had declared Korea "a military liability" and directed withdrawal of all US troops by June 1950. By June 1949, the only US military presence in Korea was the 472-man US Korean Military Advisory Group. The Far East Command was responsible only for support to the US Korean Military Advisory Group.



The Republic of Korea Army of 1950 was a 64,600-man force advised by the US Korean Military Advisory Group and equipped with US surplus equipment, mostly small arms and light artillery. No tanks, heavy artillery, aircraft or ships were allocated the Republic of Korea by the US because of the Republic of Korea military’s "peaceful purpose." A US Korean Military Advisory Group advisor observed: "It (Republic of Korea Army) could have been the American Army of 1775." Also, the Far East Command assessed Korea as "not tank country."

In contrast, the North Korean People’s Army had over 130,000 soldiers and 3,000 Soviet advisors with the Soviets providing a full array of heavy weapons, aircraft and, notably, the formidable T-34/85, arguably the best tank to come out of World War II. On the morning of July 5, 1950, the North Korean People’s Army was a proven, battle-tried combat force.

On the US side, the nation’s military was still in the throes of the post-World War II drawdown, going from a force of 12 million to a congressionally mandated force strength of 1,070,000 from 1945 to 1947. The Far East Command’s US Army Command, Eighth Army, had four divisions - 1st Cavalry, 7th Infantry, 24th Infantry and 25th Infantry - totaling 50,000 soldiers. These divisions were all based in Japan on constabulary duty as occupation forces. Though this looked good on paper, these units were manned with poorly trained draftees and a cadre that put little emphasis on training or readiness during what one observer called the "unabashed sloth" of occupation duty. Of these soldiers, only one in six had seen combat duty in World War II. In fact, by June 1950, unit strengths for combat units had fallen to 48.8 percent, and combat service support units had sunk to 25.9 percent. For combat service support units, this meant an increasing dependence on local civilian labor and facilities for routine combat service support activities and total unpreparedness for wartime mobilization.



Postwar budget cuts had severely shrunk the key logistics capabilities of the other services too. The US Air Force maintained only two dozen C-54 aircraft in Japan. At the time of Task Force Smith’s deployment, several were undergoing maintenance and only six were available. The US Navy’s sealift was also a victim of budget cuts that left the 24th Division "scrounging" for ships in which to deploy. The rest of the 1/21 Infantry, for example, had to commandeer civilian freighters and some US Navy LSTs (landing ships, tank) that were on loan to the Japanese Self Defense Force in order to sail to Korea to link up with Task Force Smith. As one commander put it: "It was a hell of a way to go to war."

In The Korean War, author Max Hastings writes that General MacArthur’s "absolute lack of attention to the combat training of the divisions in Japan can be explained by his conviction that they would not be called upon to fight." The general’s staff also had a condescending attitude toward what General MacArthur called "a barefoot Asian army." Ordered to counter the North Korean invasion, General MacArthur thought sending the 24th Infantry Division - as, in his words, an "arrogant display of strength" - would suffice to intimidate and ultimately stop their advance.

General MacArthur ordered the 24th Infantry Division to mobilize and prepare to move to Korea. Its mission was to secure the port of Pusan and insert a delaying force by air north of the port. The 1/21 Infantry was the designated delaying force and was hastily loaded on six C-54 transport aircraft. Only enough aircraft were available to load out two Infantry companies and some selected equipment. The rest of the battalion, Companies A and D, along with other heavy equipment and weapons, were left behind in Japan to follow-on by sealift. The rest of the division with its organic tank battalion would also deploy by sea.



Task Force Smith landed at Pusan on July 1-2 and began a three-day journey by truck and train to its battle position. The roads were clogged with refugees and retreating Republic of Korea units, and the road surfaces were churned to a quagmire by the rain and traffic. Troops slept in sidings and school houses along the way. Some became sick from drinking from local water supplies. As they neared the front, the civilian drivers refused to proceed, and the soldiers drove the trucks the rest of the way. When they arrived at the position on July 4 in the darkness and rain, the Republic of Korea Army unit that was supposed to link up with Task Force Smith was not there. Supplies were offloaded but not all moved uphill into the battle positions.

While Task Force Smith was moving into position, Pusan was struggling to transform itself into a major supply base. At the southeastern corner of the Korean Peninsula, Pusan was 185 miles southeast of Task Force Smith and 275 road miles away, separated by two mountain ranges. The Pusan Logistics Command was still organizing, finding the port facilities underdeveloped and the rail and motor transport systems in a state of confusion. Many of the networks had been damaged by air strikes from both sides. There was no centralized system of asset management, and no one was quite sure of supplies on hand. By July 5, 7,600 tons of Class V (ammunition), and 3,200 tons of general supplies had been offloaded, but there was still no coherent system to move the supplies forward.

Back at the Far East Command, the staff was acting as the combat service support staff, trying to mobilize the available forces without a theater logistics plan. The staff had neither identified a communications zone (COMMZ) nor organized support architecture. There was no plan to synchronize the deployment of combat service support units with the combat units. Because of the perceived superiority of the US forces, no preparations had been made for the retrograde, resupply or reinforcement of Task Force Smith.



The soldiers of Task Force Smith were minimally supplied, also based on the anticipation of their mission as a short "police action." They had been issued two days’ C-Rations and about the same amount of ammunition (120 rounds per man). According to LTC Smith, "What we carried was all we had." There were no barrier materials or mines available. Many of their 2.36-inch rockets were deteriorated and old, as were the mortar rounds.

At 0700 on July 5, 1950, the North Korean People’s Army attacked Task Force Smith with a lead element of eight T-34/85 tanks. The tanks moved through an initial barrage of A/52 Artillery unfazed. The 75-mm recoilless rifle gunners engaged the tanks, but did not score a single kill despite many hits. Task Force Smith bazooka gunners also fired many rounds at the tanks, likewise with little effect. One gunner fired over 20 rockets at the tanks at close range without managing to inflict any serious damage. A 105-mm howitzer, firing in direct fire mode, managed to knock out one tank. By 0900, more than 30 tanks had driven through Task Force Smith’s position, cutting the single communications line between the task force and A/52 Artillery. At 1100, two regiments of North Korean People’s Army infantry assaulted Task Force Smith. With LTC Smith’s radios inoperative as a result of the rain, he had to use runners between his elements.



Faced with being overrun and caught between the North Korean troops and tanks in the rear, LTC Smith ordered a phased withdrawal beginning with Company C on the right flank. Company B, holding the left flank position and straddling the main road through which the tank attack came, saw the withdrawal of Company C and began to fall back on its own. The withdrawal turned into a rout with soldiers stumbling through the rice paddies and abandoning weapons and equipment. Of the 406 Task Force Smith soldiers who started the battle, only 185 could be mustered a week later after reaching friendly lines.

Task Force Smith’s mission was doomed to failure for many reasons, but foremost was the failure by General MacArthur’s Far East Command and Eighth Army to anticipate the threat. Given the proximity of communist and Soviet influences in the theater of operations, leaders should have had contingency plans in case hostilities erupted. These plans should have also contained logistics support to include prepositioned reserve equipment. Anticipating the threat also would have prompted the staff to develop training that supported contingency plans instead of allowing the deterioration of both combat and combat service support forces.



On the plus side, the decision to secure Pusan was crucial to establishing a support base for reinforcing the Republic of Korea Army and ultimately deploying heavy ground forces and attendant combat service support. Having "friendly" port of entry into the theater was better than forcing a lodgment on hostile shores.

After Task Force Smith was committed, no plan for its continuous support was evident. Given the state of training and readiness in Eighth Army, effective execution of a combat service support plan was questionable, even if such a plan had existed. This must have been obvious to the soldiers of Task Force Smith, after their experiences just before the battle. Their lack of training, frantic deployment and poor outfitting, followed by their sporadic and haphazard movement into position could only have been viewed as harbingers of the future, hammered home by North Korean People’s Army on the morning of July 5, 1950.

The events that unfolded on the Korean peninsula some 45 years ago offer a telling reminder of what happens when a force goes to war unprepared. Disaster lurks around every bend. There are lessons here especially pertinent to the logistics community.

The Army either learns from its history or runs the risk of repeating past mistakes on some future battlefield. This is what General (Retired) Gordon R. Sullivan meant when he said repeatedly throughout his tour as Army Chief of Staff: "No more Task Force Smiths."

[SAMWolf]

General Douglas MacArthur ordered the Eighth Army’s 24th Infantry Division from Ford Wood, Japan, to Pusan, Korea, after President Harry S. Truman committed US ground forces to stop the North Korean invasion of South Korea. The July 1, 1950, operations order provided for a delaying force to go to Pusan, Korea, by air immediately. Named for its commander, LTC Charles B. "Brad" Smith, Task Force Smith was assembled June 30 and then trucked to C-54 aircraft at nearby Itazuke Air Base for flight beginning at 0845 on July 1. This initial commitment of US ground troops in the Korean War consisted of two understrength rifle companies, half a battalion headquarters company, half of a communications platoon, a 75-mm recoilless rifle platoon with two guns, and two 4.2-inch mortars. Also, the two rifle companies had six 2.36-inch bazooka teams and four 60-mm mortars. Each man carried 120 rounds of .30-caliber ammunition and two days of C-Rations.



Only five years after the end of World War II, less than one-sixth of Task Force Smith had combat experience. After the 406 men arrived at Pusan, Task Force Smith was trucked through cheering crowds to the train station for its trip north. This send-off in South Korea boosted the already high morale of the soldiers who thought that the North Koreans would stop in the face of the "invincible" US Army. LTC Smith chose an excellent infantry position three miles north of Osan to set up a road block for the first engagement on the morning of July 5, but he did not have the firepower to stop the Soviet-made T-34/85 tanks. General MacArthur had called this small, ill-equipped unit an "arrogant display of strength." Like everyone else, the general thought that the mere presence of US troops would "chill the enemy commander into taking precautionary and time-consuming" actions.

[SAMWolf]

On June 25, 1950, communist North Korea invaded their southern neighbor, the Republic of Korea. After their artificial separation following World War II, both nations had contemplated reunification by way of invasion, and border clashes were common. Knowing this and underestimating the North Korean army, the United States refused to supply the South with heavy weapons, including tanks and artillery. The ROK Army initially offered stiff resistance, but it lost vital battles north of Seoul and lost many men and important equipment when a bridge over the Han was prematurely blown in Seoul.

US defense spending had reached a modern day low after World War. The military was ill-prepared and those in authority embaced questionable doctrines. The usefulness of the tank in World War II had been lost to those in charge, and the Army had only a single armored division. The weaponry of World War II had not been significantly improved upon. Aircraft carriers and amphibious warfare were thought obsolete in the nuclear age, and the A-Bomb was seen as a serious deterent to ANY enemy aggression.

In Japan, US occupation forces were prepared for quick shipment to Korea. A 540 man battalion sized task force of the 24th Infantry Division under Lt. Col. Charles Smith was rushed to Korea on transport planes and moved north through hordes of refugees and retreating ROK Army units to block the enemy advance. They were told the communists would flee at the sight of American soldiers.



Early on the morning of July 5th, Task Force Smith took up position a mile long just north of Osan on ridge 300 feet above the plain to the north. A platoon of B Company occupied a knob to the west of the road while the other two platoons as well as the two platoons of C Company occupied the ridge to the east. Two mortar platoons were 400 yards to the rear and five 105 mm howitzers were 2,000 yards to the rear.

At around 7:00 AM the approaching enemy was sighted, and at 8:16 the artillery began firing on the advancing enemy. Leading the North Korean advance was the 107th Armored Brigade equipped with T-34 tanks. Not bothering to deploy, the tanks advanced straight up the road toward the American position. Fire from two American 75 mm recoilless rifles did not damage the advancing T-34s. No anti-tank mines had been brought along, and anti-tank guns, a vital part of World War II armies, were no longer used. As the tanks continued, the Americans opened up with the 2.36 inch bazookas. These weapons were quickly obsolete in World War II and predictably could not penetrate the T-34s' frontal armor. They were even of questionable use against the weaker areas of the tanks. One of the 105 mm howitzers fired HEAT rounds as the tanks crested the ridge, and the front two tanks were disabled. The remaining 33 tanks continued down the road, firing as they went. The tanks tore up the communications wire as they went and bypassed the howitzers, whose rounds stopped only three of the T-34s.



Before noon, 1,000 men in two regiments of the North Korean 4th Division supported by three tanks deployed to attack the ridge. The Americans held off attacks to their front, but the enemy began moving around both flanks. At 12:30 PM, the North Koreans occupied a hill overlooking the American position west of the road, so the American platoon fell back to the east side. Running low on ammunition and with the enemy around both flanks, Smith ordered a withdrawal at 2:30. The retreat was confused and the guns were abandoned. Although they had inflicted 127 casualties, the task force suffered 181 casualties and was so scattered it would be largely ineffective. Over the coming months, additional US troops were sent to Korea, and the battlelines finally stabilized at the Pusan Perimeter, where UN troops fought off desperate human wave attacks. In September, landings at Inchon would turn the tide in favor of the UN.

The battle at Osan is a low point in American history. It symbolizes the price in blood our troops pay for ill preparedness and inadequate defense spending. Has America learned this lesson? Other than Korean War veterans, how many people have heard of Task Force Smith?

[SAMWolf]

'Honor our brave soldiers of Task Force Smith -- and those who followed them to hold the line in Korea. They sacrificed and rendered selfless service in the cause of freedom. They deserve our respect as much as those who fought in Vietnam, World War Two, and World War One.'

--Lt. Col. Thomas J. Vance, USAR

'No more Task Force Smiths.'

--Gordon R. Sullivan, Army Chief of Staff

[SAMWolf]

The State of the Union is Strong!
Support the Commander in Chief
Click Here to Send a Message to the opposition!

[SAMWolf]

Thanks, Doughty!

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Everybody.

Hurry Back Fiddlstix!
No one makes Coffee and Donuts like you.

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics

[SAMWolf]

Good morning Cote, thanks for your daily poem.

[CholeraJoe]

Salute to the 21st Infantry.

"BORE BROTHER BORE"

[Jen]

PING! It's a new day to remember and honor Veterans!

If you would like to be removed from this list, send me a BLANK FReepmail with "Remove" in the subject line. Thanks.

[Jen]

I've never heard of Task Force Smith. Thanks for this terrific thread. I'll be back later - when I'm awake - to read it.

[manna]

Present!

[Mudboy Slim]

"Take It To The Senate!!"
(To be sung to the Eagles' "Take It To The Limit")

Willie moans as he dreams 'bout Lewinsky...
While the HildaBeast's playin' "The FOOL!!"
Slick keeps lying about "those women" he's used...used like SlixTools!!
You know Bill's always been a creeper...spent his life sleepin' 'round...
And it's so hard to change...Lib'rals like to go down!!!
But these crimes we've seen lately...
Slick's a Whore fer Power, tearin' FReedoms down and sellin' out to Beijing!!

So join US on the high road...tell Ashcroft, "INDICT!!!"
Take it to the Senate, RE-Impeach RATS' Slime!!!

Bill just spends all his time hustlin' money.
Willie spends all his Power hiding crimes.
When it all falls to pieces tomorrow,
Slick'll do Prison Time!!

I know y'all're searchin' for a reason...why nobody seems to care...
That EX-Prez'dent's a Whore...Left loves their Tyrant PIGS!!
Still, this Country's worth retrievin'...
Right'll come storming back, STAY on The Attack...
Next, We'll WHUP [enter RAT POTUS nominee '04]!!

So join me on the high road...Demand Slick, "Resign!!"**
Take it to the Senate...Convict RATS' Slime!!!

Take it to the Senate...RE-Impeach Bill Clinton!!
Take it to the Senate, it's Justice Time.......

(Chorus to fade)

MUDBOY SLIM

BTW...RE-IMPEACH. CONVICT. DETHRONE. DISBAR. DE-PENSION. INDICT. CONVICT. IMPRISON. DISCARD KEY.

It's that simple, folks, and it starts with you...MUD

1 Posted on 06/12/2000 12:40:56 PDT by Mudboy Slim (Impeach@gain.harder!!)

**Too late, Slick...yer gettin' the Full Monty...MUD

[HiJinx]

Good Morning everybody!

Quick Bump to say Hi! and thanks to all who have gone before...
And to those who will be making history in the weeks to come.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[Darksheare]

Not at all mentioned in modern US Histroy classes.
Thanks, libs....

[SAMWolf]

I think the Liberals will never learn that lesson and out young people in the Military keep paying the price.

[SAMWolf]

Morning, CholeraJoe.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Mud, good parody.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning HiJinx.

[SAMWolf]

I wonder if they even mention the Korean WAr in class anymore, They barely mention the the War Between the States they spend all the time on the slave issue and not the war.

[Valin]

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on January 31:
1517 Gioseffo Zarlino composer
1573 Ambrosius Metzger composer
1573 Giulio Cesare Monteverdi composer
1601 Pieter de Bloot Dutch landscape painter
1607 James Stanley 7th Earl of Derby
1612 Hendrik Casimir I count of Nassau-Dietz/mayor of Frisia
1614 Nicolas Saboly composer
1620 Georg F von Waldeck German commander-in-chief
1623 François-Xavier de Laval Montmorency, consecrated the first bishop of Québec Canada in 1674
1633 Nathaniel Crew English bishop (Durham)
1734 Robert Morris merchant (signed Declaration of Independence)
1734 Julien-Amable Mathieu composer
1741 Theodor Gotlieb von Hippel East Prussian author/mayor of Köningsberg
1750 Gerrit J Pijman Dutch minister of War (1798-1800, 1803-06)
1759 François Devienne composer
1778 Franz Anton graaf von Kolowrat Austrian premier of Bohemia (1848)
1784 Carl Wilhelm Henning composer
1787 Louis Angely Germany, comedy writer (Sieben Mädchen in Uniform)
1797 Franz Peter Schubert Lichtenthal Austria, composer (Unfinished Symphony)
1798 Karl Gottlieb Reissiger composer
1802 Jan C J van Speijk Dutch naval hero
1804 József Bajza Hungarian author/poet/critic
1810 Daniel Ruggles Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1897
1812 John Randolph Tucker Capt (Confederate Navy), died in 1883
1813 Samuel Sarphati Amsterdam, physician/pharmacist/social activist
1817 Antony Winkler Prins Dutch writer (Groiler Encyclopaedia)
1818 William Raine Peck Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1871
1830 James Gillespie Blaine West Brownsville PA, (Representative-R-ME 1863-76/Senator-R-ME 1876-81/Secretary of State 1889-92)
1836 Henryk Szulc composer
1863 F Henri Berz French existentialist philosopher (Revue the Synthesis)
1866 Emil Strauss Germany, writer (Naked Man)
1866 Henry Forster cricketer (Oxford blue 1887-89, later Australian Governor-General)
1868 Theodore William Richards chemist (atomic weights, Nobel-1914)
1869 Henry graaf Carton de Wiart Belgian literary/premier (1920-21)
1872 Zane Grey American West novelist (Riders of the Purple Sage, Spirit of the Border)
1877 Max Ettlinger German philosopher
1878 Willem J M van Eysinga Dutch international law jurist
1881 Irving Langmuir physical chemist/colloid researcher/inventor (tungsten filament lamp/Nobel 1932)
1881 Joseph A Cushman US, palaentologist/foraminiferologist
1882 Anna Pavlova St Petersburg Russia, ballerina/choreographer
1882 Josephus RH van Schaik Dutch lawyer/vice-premier
1884 Nicholas Joy Paris France, actor (Boss Lady)
1886 Alfonso Lopez Colombia, statesman (President UN security council-1948)
1889 F R Foster cricketer (330 runs & 45 wickets for England)
1890 Adolf Bach German language/sociologist (Deutsche Namenkunde)
1891 Max Drischner composer
1892 Eddie Cantor New York City NY, comedian (Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater)
1893 Freya Stark English explorist/author
1894 Percy Helton NY, actor (Jail Busters, Harbor of Missing Men)
19-- David Mason Daniels actor (Tyler-Capitol)
1901 Blaz Arnic composer
1901 Marie Luise Kaschnitz writer
1902 Alva Myrdal Uppsala Sweden, diplomat (Nobel Peace Prize-1982)
1902 Julian H Steward US anthropologist/professor
1902 Jean C M Picart le Doux France, carpet designer
1903 Gardner Cowles Iowa, publisher/founder (Look Magazine)
1903 Tallulah Bankhead Huntsville AL, actress (Lifeboat, Die Die Darling)
1904 E van Ruller Dutch journalist/ARP-alderman/co-founder (Trouw)
1904 Léon N H Jungschläger head of military intelligence (Netherlands-Indies)
1905 John Henry O'Hara Pottsville PA, novelist (Butterfield 8, Pal Joey, Appointment at Samarra)
1905 Anna Blaman [Johanna P Vrugt], Dutch writer (Wife & Friend)
1905 Charles de Trooz Belgian literary (Le Magister et Ses Maîtres)
1906 R W Bonham founder (International Braille Chess Association)
1906 Benjamin Frankel composer
1908 René Simone Mathieu France, doubles tennis star (Wimbledon 1934)
1909 Foley Newns British colonial administrator
1909 Miron Grindea literary editor
1910 Herbert Ashworth CEO (Nationwide Building Society)
1911 A G Ogston president (Trinity College-Oxford)
1911 Christina Foyle book seller
1913 Don Hutson NFL end (Packers)
1913 Wayne Millner NFL end (Boston/Washington Redskins)
1913 Hector Iglesias Villoud composer
1914 Carey Lofton Blountsville FL, actor (Skinner-Troubleshooters)
1914 Jersey Joe Walcott heavyweight boxing champ (1951-52)
1914 Louis Osman architect/artist/goldsmith
1915 Bobby Hackett Providence RI, trumpeteer/orchestra leader (Air Time '57)
1915 Thomas Merton France, Trappist monk/poet/essayist (7 Storey Mt)
1915 Garry Moore [Thomas Garrison Morfit], Baltimore MD, TV host (Garry Moore Show, I've Got a Secret)
1915 John Profumo president (Toynbee Hall)
1915 William Crosbie artist
1916 Ciro D Crown premier of Dutch Antilles (1968-69)
1916 Frank A Parker tennis champ (US Open-1944)
1916 Violet Cane statistician
1917 Erich Geiringer General practitioner campaigner
1917 Jose Maceda composer
1919 Jackie Robinson Georgia, 1st black major league baseball player (Dodgers)
1919 Lord Lowry
1920 Patrick Heron painter
1920 Robert Hersant press baron
1920 Stewart L Udall St Johns AZ, US Secretary of Interior (1961-69)
1921 Carol Channing Seattle WA, actress (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hello Dolly)
1921 John Agar Chicago IL, actor (Fort Apache, Sands of Iwo Jima)
1921 Mario Lanza Philadelphia PA, actor/singer (Great Caruso, Toast of New Orleans)
1922 William Sylvester Oakland CA, actor (2001, Gorgo, Gemini Man)
1922 Michael Wilford diplomat
1923 Joanne Dru Logan WV, actress (Guestward Ho, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)
1923 Eddie Ryder New York City NY, actor (Slick Jones-General Hospital)
1923 Norman Mailer New Jersey, New York City NY mayoral candidate/novelist (Naked & the Dead)
1924 Robert Gatehouse former High Court judge
1924 Tengiz Abuladze filmmaker
1925 Benjamin Hooks civil rights leader
1925 Charles Aidman Frankfort IN, narrator (New Twilight Zone)
1925 Fred Catherwood MP
1926 Jean Simmons London England, actress (Thorn Birds, Guys & Dolls)
1926 Prunella Briance founder (National Childbirth Trust)
1928 Chuck Willis rock vocalist (C C Rider)
1928 Eric Ash rector (Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine)
1928 Richard Buckley royal equerry
1928 Robert Clatworthy sculptor
1929 Rudolf Mossbauer Germany, physicist (Nobel 1961)
1930 Lynn Carlin Los Angeles CA, actress (Joan Hunter-James at 15)
1931 Ernie "Mr Cubs" Banks Chicago Cubs, Hall-of-Famer (1st baseman)
1931 Bill Watson cricketer (New South Wales & Australian opening batsman mid-50s)
1931 Christopher Chataway British MP/athlete (world record 5k)
1931 Jean Burroughs educationalist
1931 Nicholas Gordon Lennox diplomat
1932 Pieter Brattinga Dutch graphic artist
1932 Rick Hall country/R&B singer
1933 Joseph D Early (Representative-D-MA, 1975- )
1933 Walter Paulis mineworker/pilot/Dutch MP (CDA)
1934 James Franciscus Clayton MO, actor (Mr Novak, Longstreet, Hunter)
1934 Brian Bolus cricketer (England opening batsman early 60's)
1934 Ron Weatherburn jazz pianist
1935 Oe Kenzaburo Japanese novelist (The Catch, A Personal Matter)
1935 Bojidar Dimov composer
1936 Marvin Junior singer (Dells-Oh What a Night)
1937 Philip Glass Baltimore MD, composer (Einstein on the Beach)
1937 Steve Karmen Bronx NY, jingle writer (I Love NY, This Bud's for You)
1937 Suzanne Pleshette New York City NY, actress (The Birds, Emily-Bob Newhart Show)
1938 Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard queen of Netherlands (1980- )
1938 James G Watt Colorado, US Secretary of Interior (1981-83)
1938 Ajip Rosidi Indonesian poet/writer (Madjalah Sunda, Pesta)
1940 Jessica Walter Brooklyn NY, actress (Play Misty For Me, Amy Prentiss)
1940 Stuart Margolin Davenport IA, actor (Love American Style)
1941 George S Mickelson (Governor-SD)
1941 Richard A Gephardt (Representative-D-MO, 1977- )
1941 Sharon Miller LPGA golfer
1942 Derek Jarman actor/director (Angelic Conversation, Edward II)
1942 Gerald Chamberlain jazz musician
1944 Anton Korteweg Dutch poet (For the Good Order)
1944 Charley Musselwhite blues musician (Stand Back, Louisiana Fog)
1944 Eugene Terre Blanche South African leader of Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
1944 John Inverarity cricketer (Australian batsman 1968-72)
1945 Noah Creshevsky composer
1946 Glynn Turman New York City NY, actor (Lew-Peyton Place, Manimal, Centennial)
1946 Jonathan Banks Washington DC, actor (Armed & Dangerous, Cold Steel)
1946 Terry Kath rocker (Chicago-If You Leave Me Now)
1946 Subroto Guha cricketer (right arm swing bowler for India 1967-69)
1947 Jim Nollman composer
1947 Nolan Ryan pitcher (Mets, Angels, Astros) (7 no-hitters, 5,714 Ks)
1949 Carol Hawkins actress (Dialing for Dingbats)
1951 Harry Casey [KC], rock vocalist (KC & Sunshine Band-Give It)
1951 Phil Collins England, singer/drummer (Genesis-Against All Odds)
1951 Phil Manzanera rock guitarist (Roxy Music-Let's Stick Together)
1951 Presiley Baxendale British QC
1952 Rosanne Musgrave headmistress (Blackheath HS)
1953 Aart Mol Dutch bassist (Catapult)
1954 Adrian Vandenberg Amsterdam Netherlands, rock guitarist (Whitesnake)
1954 Sheik Faoud Ahamul Bacchus cricketer (West Indian bat late 70's)
1955 Virginia Ruzici Romania, tennis star
1956 Johnny Rotten [John Lydon], rocker (Sex Pistols-God Save the Queen)
1956 Lloyd Cole rocker
1956 Trevor A Manuel South African UDF/ANC-leader
1957 Brett "the Hitman" Hart Alberta Canada, WWF champion
1957 Shirley F Babashoff California, swimmer (Olympics-6 silver/2 gold-72, 76)
1958 Rafael Santana shortstop (New York Mets, New York Yankees)
1958 Tom Schuman pianist (Spyro Gyra-Morning Dance)
1959 Anthony LaPaglia actor (Murder One)
1959 Kelly Lynch actress (Drugstore Cowboy)
1960 Elaine Roque Santa Monica CA, beach volleyballer (Olympics-96)
1961 Lloyd Cole guitar/vocals (& the Commotions-Rattlesnakes)
1963 Scott Ian Rosenfeld Bayside NY, rocker (Anthrax-Protest & Survive)
1963 John Dye Amory MA, actor (Andrew-Touched by an Angel)
1964 Oto Hascak hockey forward (Team Slovakia 1998)
1964 Remi Bouchard Lasalle Québec Canada, Canadian Tour golfer (1989 India Open)
1964 Sharon Cain San Antonio TX, team handball center back (Olympics-1996)
1965 Bianca Yasmin Salahshourian Fairfield CT, Miss Connecticut-America (1990)
1965 Adam Johnson Portland OR, beach volleyballer (Olympics-96)
1965 Bobby Dollas Montréal Québec Canada, NHL defenseman (Anaheim Mighty Ducks)
1965 Kim Clarke Tulsa OK, team handball back court (Olympics-88, 92, 96)
1965 René Trost Dutch soccer player (Roda JC)
1966 Al Jaworsky [Alan Doughty], pop bassist (Jesus Jones)
1966 Charles Dimry NFL cornerback (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles)
1966 Jamie Taras CFL guard (British Columbia Lions)
1968 Doug Pederson NFL quarterback (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl XXXI)
1968 Michael Sinclair NFL defensive end (Seattle Seahawks)
1968 Steve Phoenix US baseball pitcher (Oakland Athletics)
1969 Mathew Pallister Sydney New South Wales Australia, canoeist (Olympics-96)
1970 Greg Skrepenak NFL tackle (Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers)
1970 Rachel Jean Marteen Atlanta GA, playmate (August 1995)
1970 Travis Hannah NFL/WLAF receiver (Houston Oilers, Frankfurt Galaxy)
1971 Brandi Sherwood Miss Idaho-USA (1997, 2nd, succeeded Brook Lee)
1971 Corey Holliday NFL wide receiver (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1971 Minnie Driver actress (Good Will Hunting)
1972 Ben Cavil guard (Baltimore Ravens)
1972 Fritz Fequiere WLAF guard (Barcelona Dragons, London Monarchs)
1972 Marvin Coleman CFL defensive back (Calgary Stampeders)
1972 Pulu Poumele guard (San Diego Chargers)
1972 Reinier Robbemond Dutch soccer player (Dordrecht '90)
1973 Latario Rachal WLAF/NFL receiver (Amsterdam Admirals, San Diego Chargers)
1974 Bob Mulder soccer player (Appingedam, FC Groningen)
1974 Lorenzo Styles NFL linebacker (Atlanta Falcons)
1974 Othella Harrington NBA forward (Houston Rockets)
1974 Pavi Sald ice hockey defenseman (Finland, Olympics-98)
1974 Tory Toogood Australian rower (Olympics-96)
1975 Kenard Lang defensive end (Washington Redskins)
1977 Naomi Darrell Miss Bermuda-Universe (1997)
1985 Andrew Giuliani son of Rudy (Mayor-R-NYC, 1994-2002)

---

Deaths which occurred on January 31:
1561 Menno Simonsz Dutch priest/vicar (Foundation Book), dies
1580 Hendrik Portuguese cardinal/epilepticus/regent (1578-80), dies
1606 Guy Fawkes convicted in the "Gunpowder Plot", executed at 35
1788 Charles E Stuart English pretender to the throne, dies at 67
1788 Francesco Zannetti composer, dies at 50
1788 [Bonnie Prince] Charles E Stuart English pretender, dies at 67
1828 Alexandros Ypsilanti Greek resistance fighter, dies at 35
1861 Franciscus J van Vree Dutch Catholic foreman, dies at 53
1864 Hamilton Rowan Gamble US judge/Governor of Missouri (1861-64), dies
1891 Ernest Meissonier French painter/etcher/sculptor, dies at 75
1919 Paul Lindau German playwright/critic (Estimate), dies at 79
1922 Heinrich Reinhardt composer, dies at 56
1933 John Galsworthy England, writer (Forsythe, Nobel 1932), dies at 65
1939 George Thornton cricketer (1 Test for South Africa 1902, 1* & 1-20), dies
1940 René "Sascha" Schickele German writer (Erbe am Rhein), dies at 56
1945 Eddie Slovik 1st US soldier executed for desertion since Civil War at 25
1949 Henri de Vries [Hendricus Walterop], actor (Cleopatra), dies at 84
1954 Florence Bates actress (Kismet, I Remember Mama), dies at 65
1954 Edwin H Armstrong US radio inventor (FM), commits suicide at 63
1955 John R Mott US theologist/founder (YMCA, Nobel 1946), dies at 89
1960 Lowell Gilmore actor (Calcutta, Roadblock), dies at 53
1966 Elizabeth Patterson actress (Tall Story), dies at 90
1967 Chief Thundercloud actor (Ambush, Colt 45, Typhoon), dies at 100
1967 Otto Dibelius German theologian/bishop, dies at 86
1969 Alexander Mikhaylovich Dzegelyonok composer, dies at 77
1970 Slim Harpo [James Moore], rocker, dies at 28
1972 Howard Barlow conductor (Voice of Firestone), dies at 79
1972 Bir Bikram Shah Deva Mahendra king of Nepal (1955-72), dies at 51
1972 Istvan Szelenyi composer, dies at 67
1973 Ragnar Frisch Norwegian economist (Nobel 1969), dies at 77
1974 Glenn Morris olympian/actor (Tarzan's Revenge), dies at 61
1974 Harry Baum actor (Crime & Punishment), dies at 58
1974 Paul Haesaerts Flemish architect/painter (Flandre), dies at 72
1974 Roger Pryor actor (Lady by Choice), dies at 72
1974 Samuel Goldwyn Polish/English/US film magnate (MGM), dies at 91
1980 J P Duminy cricket (30 runs at 5 & 1 wicket at 39 in 3 Test South Africa), dies
1987 Yves Allégret French director (Such a lovely tiny beach), dies at 79
1989 Jack Douglas humorist (My Brother Was an Only Child), dies at 80
1989 Yasushi Akutagawa composer, dies at 63
1992 Mel Hein NFLer (New York Giants), dies at 82
1992 Wim van Heumen field hockey coach (Netherlands), dies at 63
1994 Pierre Boulle French writer (Executioner), dies at 81
1995 George Abbott playwright/actor/producer (Damn Yankees), dies at 105
1995 James Johnson English MP (Labour, 1950-83), dies at 86
1996 Gustave Solomon mathematician, dies at 65
1997 Eve Lister actress/singer (No Limit, Hyde Park), dies at 84

---

On this day...
0314 St Silvester I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0876 Charles becomes king of Italy
1504 By treaty of Lyons, French cede Naples to Ferdinand of Aragon
1531 Kings Ferdinand of Austria/János Zápolyai of Hungary accept each other
1560 Spanish king Philip II marries Elisabeth van Valois
1578 Battle of Gembloers
1596 Catholic League disjoins
1609 Wisselbank of Amsterdam established
1627 Spanish government goes bankrupt
1675 Cornelia/Dina Olfaarts found not guilty of witchcraft
1679 Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera "Bellérophon" premieres in Paris
1696 Revolt of undertakers after funeral reforms (Amsterdam)
1779 Charles Messier adds M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra) to his catalog
1804 British Vice-Admiral William Bligh's fleet reaches Curaçao
1817 Franz Grillparzer's "Die Ahnfrau" premieres in Vienna
1842 John Tyler's daughter Elizabeth marries in the White House
1849 Corn Laws abolished in Britain
1851 San Francisco Orphan's Asylum, 1st in California founded
1851 Gail Borden announces invention of evaporated milk
1854 Dutch KNMI established (Royal Meteorological Institute)
1855 Western railroads blocked by snow
1861 State of Louisiana takes over US Mint at New Orleans
1861 Friedrich Hebbel's "Siegfrieds Tod" premieres in Weimar
1862 Telescope maker Alvin Clark discovers dwarf companion of Sirius
1863 1st black Civil War regiment, SC Volunteers, mustered into US army
1865 Congress passes 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America (121-24)
1871 Millions of birds fly over western San Francisco, darken the sky
1874 Jesse James gang robs train at Gads Hill MO
1893 "Westminster Gazette" begins publishing
1895 José Martí & others leave New York City NY for invasion of Spanish Cuba
1901 Chekhov's "Three Sisters" opens at the Moscow Art Theater
1901 Winnipeg Victorias sweep Montréal Shamrocks in 2 for the Stanley Cup
1901 Boer General John Smuts & De la Rey conqueror Mud river Transvaal
1904 Béla Bartók's symphony "Kossuth" premieres
1905 1st auto to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), A G MacDonald, Daytona Beach
1905 Carroll Wright appointed 1st US Commissioner of Labor
1906 Strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake, Colombia, 8.6 Richter
1911 Congress names San Francisco as Panama Canal opening celebration site
1915 1st (German) poison gas attack, against Russians
1916 Dutch Girl Guides form
1917 Germany notifies US that U-boats will attack neutral merchant ship
1920 1st Ukrainian daily newspaper in US (New York City NY) begins publication
1920 Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, at Howard University, incorporates
1920 Joe Malone, Québec Bulldogs, sets NHL record with 7 goals in a game against Toronto
1925 Premier Ahmed Zogu (Zogu I) becomes President of Albania
1927 International allies military command in Germany disbands
1927 National League President John Heydler rules Roger Hornsby can't hold stock in the Cardinals & play for the Giants
1928 Scotch tape 1st marketed by 3-M Company
1929 Erich Maria Remarque publishes "Im West nieces Neues" in Berlin
1929 Leon Trotsky expelled from Russia to Turkey
1930 1st US glider flight from a dirigible, Lakehurst New Jersey
1931 Philip Barry's "Tomorrow & Tomorrow" premieres in New York City NY
1932 US railway unions accept 10% wage reduction
1933 French government of Daladier takes power
1933 Hitler promises parliamentary democracy
1934 FDR devalues the dollar in relation to gold at $35 per ounce
1935 30.5 cm (12.0") of rain falls, Quinault RS WA (state record)
1936 "Green Hornet" radio show is 1st heard on WXYZ Radio in Detroit
1940 40 U boats sunk this month (111,000 ton)
1940 C Turney & J Horwin's "My Dear Children" premieres in New York City NY
1941 21 U boats sunk this month (127,000 ton)
1941 Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem Netherlands
1941 Joe Louis KOs Red Burman in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
1942 62 U boats sunk this month (327,000 ton)
1943 39 U boats sunk this month (203,100 ton)
1943 Chile breaks contact with Germany & Japan
1943 General Friedrich von Paul surrenders to Russian troops at Stalingrad
1944 Operation-Overlord (D-Day) postponed until June
1944 U-592 sunk off Ireland
1944 US forces invade Kwajalein Atoll
1945 Eddie Slovik, 1st American executed for desertion since Civil War
1945 US 4th Infantry division occupies Elcherrath
1946 Yugoslavia adopts new constitution, becomes a federal republic
1948 J D Salinger's "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish" appears in NY
1948 Magnetic tape recorder developed by Wireway
1949 1st daytime soap on TV "These Are My Children" (NBC in Chicago)
1950 President Truman reveals that he ordered the Atomic Energy Commission to develop the hydrogen bomb
1952 Dutch Lutheran Church reunites after 1½ centuries
1952 Harry Heilmann & Paul Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1953 "Princess Victoria" capsized off Stanraer Scotland; 133 die
1953 Hurricane-like winds flood Netherlands drowning nearly 2,000
1953 New York, Cleveland & Boston retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues
1955 RCA demonstrates 1st music synthesizer
1956 French government of Mollet forms
1956 Juscelino Kubitschek becomes President of Brazil
1957 Liz Taylor's 2nd divorce (Michael Wilding)
1957 Trans-Iranian oil pipe line finished
1958 "Jackpot Bowling" premieres on NBC with Leo Durocher as host
1958 James van Allen discovers radiation belt
1958 US launches their 1st artificial satellite, Explorer 1
1959 Joe Cronin signs 7 year pact to become head of AL
1960 Songwriter Adolph Green marries actress/singer Phyllis Newman in New York City NY
1961 Ham is 1st primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2
1961 USAF launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights
1961 David Ben-Gurion resigns as premier of Israel
1961 Houston voters approve bond to finance luxury domed stadium
1961 Kanhai completes twin tons (117 & 115) vs Australia at Adelaide
1961 NATO secretary-General Paul-Henri Spaak says he'll resign
1962 Samuel Gravely assumes command of destroyer escort "USS Falgout"
1962 General Charles P Cabell, USAF, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1963 Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers record "What'd I Say" & "Ruby Baby"
1964 US report "Smoking & Health" connects smoking to lung cancer
1965 Pud Galvin elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1966 USSR launches Luna 9 toward the Moon
1966 Belgian state police kills 2 striking mine workers
1968 Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb, 32"), at Agata, USSR
1968 Viet Cong's Tet offensive begins
1968 Bobby Simpson takes 5-59 vs India in his last Test for ten years
1968 Nauru (formerly Pleasant Island) declares independence from Australia
1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1969 Vice Admiral Rufus L Taylor, USN, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1970 Grateful Dead members busted on LSD charges
1971 Apollo 14 launched, 1st landing in lunar highlands
1971 "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison hit #1 on UK pop chart
1971 Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Harry Hooper, Rube Marquard, Chick Hafey & Dave Bancroft & George Weiss elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1971 US female Figure Skating championship won by Janet Lynn
1971 US male Figure Skating championship won by John Misha Petkevich
1972 Military coup ousts civilian government of Ghana
1972 US launches HEOS A-2 for interplanetary observations (396/244,998)
1972 Aretha Franklin sings at Mahalia Jackson's funeral
1972 Birenda, becomes leader of Nepal
1974 McDonald's founder Ray Kroc buys San Diego Padres
1975 John Lennon's "#9 Dream" is released
1975 Barry Manilow's "Mandy" goes gold
1975 UCLA wins NCAA basketball championship
1976 "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players hits #1
1976 Lance Gibbs becomes highest Test wicket-taker at 308
1977 Frenchman François Claustre freed, after 33 months as hostage in Chad
1977 Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie, & Al Lopez elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1978 Israel turns 3 military outposts in West Bank into civilian settlements
1978 "Elvis The Legend Lives!" opens at Palace Theater New York City NY for 101 performances
1980 Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41
1981 "The Tide Is High" by Blondie hits #1
1981 38th Golden Globes Ordinary People, Coal Miner's Daughter
1981 Gaetan Boucher skates world record 1000m (1 13.39)
1982 10 Arabian oryx (extinct except in zoos) released in Oman
1982 12th NFL Pro Bowl AFC beats NFC 16-13
1982 32nd NBA All-Star Game East beats West 120-118 at New Jersey
1982 Gustafson skates world record 10 km (14 26.59)
1982 Hollis Stacy wins LPGA Whirlpool Golf Championship of Deer Creek
1982 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
1984 36th NHL All-Star Game Wales beat Campbell 7-6 at New Jersey
1984 Edwin Newman retires from NBC News after 35 years with the network
1984 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1985 South African President PW Botha offers to free Mandela if he denounces violence
1985 "Harrigan 'n Hart" opens at Longacre Theater New York City NY for 5 performances
1986 Mary Lund of Minnesota, is 1st female recipient of an artificial heart
1987 United Steelworkers union ratified a concessionary contract with USX Corp
1987 44th Golden Globes Platoon, Marlee Matlin win
1988 Barge sinks near Anacortes WA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil
1988 Super Bowl XXII Washington Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10 in San Diego; Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams, Washington, Quarterback
1990 1st McDonald's in Russia opens in Moscow, world's biggest McDonald's
1990 The 1st ever all-sports daily "The National" begins publishing
1990 Jushin "Thunder" Liger beats Naoki Sano to become New Japan IWGP champ
1991 Battle for Khafji in Saudi Arabia (ends after 3 days)
1991 Nugget's Michael Adams becomes shortest NBAer to get a triple-double
1991 Robert Gibson flies record 27,040 feet altitude
1992 MTA raised tolls on most New York City NY bridges from $2.50 to $3.00
1992 Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires
1993 "St Joan" opens at Lyceum Theater New York City NY for 49 performances
1993 81st Australian Men's Tennis Jim Courier beats Stefan Edberg (62 61 26 75)
1993 Super Bowl XXVII Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 52-17 in Pasadena; Super Bowl MVP Troy Aikman, Dallas, Quarterback
1994 Barcelona opera theater "Gran Teatro del Liceo" burns down
1994 Dow Jones hits a record 3,978.36
1998 72nd Australian Women's Tennis Martina Hingis beats C Martinez (63 63)
1998 STS 89 (Endeavour 12) lands
1999 Super Bowl XXXIII Denver Broncos beat Atlanta Falcons in Miami; Super Bowl MVP John Elway, Denver, Quarterback

---

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

Lerwick, Shetland Islands : Up-Helly-Aa/Norse fire festival
Nauru : Independence Day (1968)
Surrey England : Dicing for Maid's Money Day
Australia : Australia Day (1788 - 1993) - - - - - ( Monday )

---

Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Marcella
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Peter Nolasco, French founder
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Francis Xavier Bianchi, Apostle of Naples
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St John Bosco, confessor/priest

---

Religious History
1538 French reformer John Calvin wrote in a letter: 'I pray the Lord to keep you in His holy protection, and so to direct you that you may not go astray in that slippery path whereon you are, until He shall have manifested to you His complete deliverance.'
1752 The profession ceremony for Sister St. Martha Turpin was held at Ursuline Convent in New Orleans, LA. She was the first American-born woman to become a nun in the Catholic Church.
1839 Two months before his premature death at age 39, Church of Scotland clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'Is not a Christian's darkest hour calmer than the world's brightest?'
1911 In Falcon, NC, the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church (FBHC) and the Pentecostal Holiness Church (PHC) officially merged. In 1915, the Tabernacle Pentecostal Church (TPC) joined the merger. In 1975, the name of this body officially became the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC).
1949 American missionary and Auca Indian martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'One does not surrender a life in an instant Ä that which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.'

---

Thought for the day :
"The smaller the mind the greater the conceit."

[SAMWolf]

1931 Ernie "Mr Cubs" Banks Chicago Cubs, Hall-of-Famer (1st baseman)

Growing up in Chicago with Ernie Banks on the Cubs, those were the days.

[Johnny Gage]

Thanks for the great thread! I've not read much about the opening weeks of the Korean War. For as badly as it went, I'm surprised we pulled it out.

No More Task Force Smiths

[SAMWolf]

I believe Bush when it comes to support of the Military, It's the Liberals in Congress I don't trust.

[alfa6]

Thanks for the ping y'all.

For an interesting read on the first half of the Korean War I can recommend a book by Clay Blair called "The Forgotten War".
It has been a few years since I read it but IIRC Blair does a fairly good job of covering the Korean situation post WW-II and the about the first half of the conflict. He tended to gloss over the second half of the conflict, where the war had evolved into a WW-I trench type stalemate. But hey you can only cover so much in a 1,000 pages.

The strong point of the book was the way Blair delved into the strenghts and weaknesses of the, mostly, American commanders from the Battalion level on up. It also brought a pretty real feel to what conditions the average GIs and Marines had to put up with in the fighting.

Regards'

alfa6 ;>}

[facedown]

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Johnny.

It po's me to see the way the South Koreans are acting today. They'ed be starving like the North if it wasn't for the sacrifice that U.S. Troops made for them in the early 1950's.

[tictoc]

Bump!

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Constitution (CC-5)

Lexington class battlecruiser
Lexington class design characteristics (1919 design):
Displacement: 43,500 tons
Lenght: 874'
Beam: 105'5"
Powerplant: 180,000 horsepower steam turbines with electric drive, producing a 33.25 knot maximum speed
Armament (Main Battery): Eight 16"/50 guns in four twin turrets
Armament (Secondary Battery): Sixteen 6"/53 guns in single mountings (eight guns on each side of the ship)

USS Constitution, a 43,500-ton Lexington class battle cruiser, was laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, in September 1920. Her construction was suspended in February 1922, under the terms of the Washington Naval Limitations Treaty. After she was formally cancelled in August 1923, her hull was scrapped on the building ways.

The six battle cruisers of the Lexington class, authorized under the 1917-1919 building programs, were the only ships of their type ever ordered by the U.S. Navy. Intended as fast combat scouts for the battle fleet, these large ships had a prolonged development history. Their original 1916 design was to displace 34,300 tons with a main battery of ten 14-inch guns, relatively light armor and a speed of 35 knots. By 1919, the plans had been recast on the basis of World War I experience to produce larger ships armed with 16-inch guns, better protection and a slightly lower speed.

Construction of the Lexington class ships was held up by other priorities during the First World War, and none of them were laid down until mid-1920. The following year's naval limitations conference in Washington, D.C., had these expensive battle cruisers, and their Japanese and British contemporaries, among its main targets. Following adoption of the Washington Treaty, their construction was stopped in February 1922. The treaty allowed the conversion of two of the battle cruiser hulls to the aircraft carriers Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga (CV-3). The other four were formally cancelled in August 1923 and scrapped on their building ways.

The Lexington class consisted of six ships, under construction at four locations:

Lexington (CC-1). Keel laid at Quincy, Massachusetts, January 1921. Became the aircraft carrier CV-2.

Constellation (CC-2). Keel laid at Newport News, Virginia, August 1920. Cancelled and scrapped.

Saratoga (CC-3). Keel laid at Camden, New Jersey, September 1920. Became the aircraft carrier CV-3.

Ranger (CC-4). Keel laid at Newport News, Virginia, June 1921. Cancelled and scrapped.

Constitution (CC-5). Keel laid at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 1920. Cancelled and scrapped.

United States (CC-6). Keel laid at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 1920. Cancelled and scrapped.

Artwork by F. Muller, circa 1919, depicting the definitive design for these ships, whose construction was cancelled under the Washington Naval Limitations Treaty of 1922.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the lead on the book.

Max Hastings "The Korean War" is also good and the best I read was S.L.A. Marshall's "Military History of the Korean WAr" and T. R. Fehrenbach's "This Kind of War"

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning facedown.

[SAMWolf]

We ended up better off having the carriers than the battle crusiers.

[alfa6]

I had a couple of other books on the Korean War but can not seem to locate them. One in particular was by Roy Appleman. If my memory serves me it was published by the US Army Historical Branch and covered mostly the US Army's campaign in the first 6 months of the War or so. Appleman's book was very detailed on the small and medium unit level as well as covering the big picture.

The rest of my books were more of the first person type of narratives. I think that Mrs alfa6 has packed them away as a temporary measure till we can get some more book cases. If I can locate them I will pass them on as well.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Darksheare]

They also spend more time talking about Europeon History and China.
Seems we can't offend their sensibilities by doing anything 'American'.
Sergei Eisenstien didn't bother worrying about the Germans sensibilities when he did those propaganda films during WWII... (Ever see those ridiculously huge 'fritz' helmets in that film, 'Alexander Nevsky' I think it was? Cripes, he also did Battleship Potemkin... Hard to keep them straight at times..)

They barely even teach anything about our Revolution either. They quit that when I was in 5th grade.

[BeachBelle]

Hey there!

Thanks for pinging me to the Foxhole. Great idea!

I'm backing in, since I'll never be able to catch up here.

A great history lesson, Sam!

Belle

[Mudboy Slim]

Muchas gracias, mi amigo...MUD

[GailA]

Today's graphic

[firewalk]

Thanks for the ping AntiJen....

[Dianna]

Can you please remove me from your ping list?

[fatima]

Here is a ping for our beautiful Veterans.

[Light Speed]

[SAMWolf]

Can you please remove me from your ping list?

OK, Thank You.

[jeremiah]

This is off topic, but my son is at Fort Leonard Wood, in basic, and we don't know how to contact him, or his unit number etc. His mom wants to send him mail and care packages, does anyone know how to do this, or how to find info.

[HiJinx]

Hoo, boy howdy, if I had pulled that stunt on my parents I never would have made it past one year in service, let alone 20!

FReepmail me with a name and I'll see if I can't get in touch with the post locator at Ft. Lost-in-the-Woods. How long has the young man been there?

[HiJinx]

In the meantime, here is a page you can browse to get an idea of what is happening at Ft. Leonard Wood. I accessed the page through the Army Knowledge Online portal, but it looks like the page is readily available to the general Internet public. Click the image!

Basic training units belonging to the 3rd Training Brigade are 1-48 Infantry Bn, 2-10 Infantry Bn, and 3-10 Infantry Bn.

Happy hunting!

[SAMWolf]

You can try the Training Brigade Number and they should be able to provide info on how to contact him:

Fort Leonard Wood Information: 573-596-0131
Brigade FAX: 573-596-0028

Postal Address

Bldg 636, 495 Iowa Ave. Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri 65473

[jeremiah]

Thank you for the info, I have used those numbers to good effect.