[SAMWolf]

HEROISM KNOWS NO GENDER

There is no stereotype for heroism, no prediction of behavior under stress, and no formula for courage. Women and men perform incredible acts of bravery when presented with dangerous situations - it is an individual thing - not one about male or female strength or ability.

In World War One, in Belgium, Army Nurse Helen Grace McClelland was on duty with the surgical team at a forward British casualty clearing station. During a bombardment by German aircraft Nurse McClelland continued working on patients and also saved fellow nurse Beatrice MacDonald, who was injured during the air raid, from hemorraging. Gender wasn't an issue.

During World War Two Ellen Ainsworth, a 24-year-old Army nurse from Glenwood City, Wisconsin, performed heroically during the Battle of Anzio in Italy. Lieutenant Ainsworth was on duty in a hospital ward near the Anzio beachhead. In an enemy artillery bombardment, a shell hit the hospital. Despite the severe damage to the hospital, the Wisconsin nurse calmly moved her patients to safety. She was wounded in the attack and died six days later. Gender had nothing to do with it.

In Vietnam in 1970 when SP5 Karen L. Offutt,** WAC, U.S. Army, risked her life to rescue Vietnamese adults and children from burning structures, without regard for her personal safety, she didn't stop to think about her gender.

** On 7 April 2001, Karen Offutt, now a mother of 3, and grandmother of 2, was awarded The Soldiers Medal for her heroism in Vietnam of over thirty years ago.

1989- ASM3 Kelly Mogk was the first female rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard and was the only woman, at that time, to graduate from the Navy Rescue Swimmer School in Pensacola. On January 3, 1989 during her first rescue case as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Aviation Survivalman Third Class Mogk, played the key part in the rescue and life saving of a downed Air National Guard jet pilot who had ejected from an F-4 over the Pacific Ocean during a training exercise. She was awarded the Air Medal and congratulated in person by then President George Bush. Admiral Paul Yost, Jr., Commandant of the Coast Guard, cited Mogk's courageous feat as one of the most deserving of a place in any account of the outstanding rescue achievements during the Coast Guard's 200-year history.

This was the first actual mission of the first woman to qualify as a rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard or any other branch of the Armed Services. Her aircraft commander for the mission, Lieutenant Commander Peterson, was quoted at the time that in his 12 years of flying rescues missions, the conditions were worse than any he had seen for putting a rescue swimmer down to render assistance to an individual in distress. Even upon departure from Air Station Astoria, OR, it was understood that the rescue swimmer would most likely need to enter the water to assist the ejected pilot. The sea state was sixteen-foot waves with a six-foot, wind driven chop, and a temperature of fifty-six degrees. The pilot was severely hypothermic and near death with extensive, life threatening injuries from ejecting at a speed of 600 miles per hour. Because of his injuries and hypothermia, he could not communicate with his rescuer. To complicate matters, the pilot was ensnarled in the shrouds of his parachute. Mogk had to dive under repeatedly to free the shrouds from the disabled pilot. She put her own life at risk when she removed her gloves in order to expedite the removal of the shrouds, exposing herself to hypothermic affects of the water seeping into her wet suit.

After she freed the pilot for hook recovery up to the helicopter, Kelly was left alone in the rough, cold sea to wait for a backup helicopter to pick her up, so that the recovery helicopter could quickly get the recovered pilot to medical treatment facilities. Consequently, Mogk had to fight the quick acting effects of hypothermia until the backup helicopter picked her up. After recovery, she collapsed from the affects of hypothermia and physical injuries incurred in the rescue. Because of her courageous example, ASM3 Mogk immensely enhanced the reputation of the Coast Guard rescue swimmer program.

Source: DEOMI

1991 - Operation Desert Storm - a first-hand account:

During the course of Operation Desert Shield/Storm, I served with the 20th. Sp. Ops. Sq. During that time I had the distinct honor of flying with 1st. Lt. Margaret "[Peg]" Biddle, of the same squadron. Little can be said of the 'bravado' of this lady! At one point, I was wounded by shards of Plexiglas from ground fire! Without a second of hesitation, Peg took the controls and declared an emergency! I passed out from a head wound from a piece of Plexiglas that had pierced the left side of my flight helmet.æ I was told by my Flight Engineer, T/Sgt. Ernest "[Smitty]" Smith that Lt. Biddle had stopped the bleeding somehow, while flying the HH-53! She saved my life according to two nurses.

Before I was transported to Germany, and eventually State side, I called her to my bedside. She reported, and I told to sit down. First off I thanked her on behalf of my ten year old daughter, and myself, for saving my life! She told me that I had taught her how to place the 'cyclic stick' between your legs to temporarily free up a hand. She told me she did as I had taught her. Nothing more!

I have since recovered fully, and in 1994, had the distinct honor of pinning the Silver Star on her for bravery in the 1991 'Gulf' incident! Women in combat? I'm a 'lobbying,' 'staunch ally' of 'reform' for the same!

Most sincerely, Colonel Paul "[PJ]" Stoms, Ph.D., USAFR., (ret.) 20th. Special Operations Squadron

While on duty on Aug. 21st 1999, Sgt. 1st Class Jeanne M. Balcombe's quick thinking and selfless response safeguarded and protected others at the Troop Medical Clinic at Camp Red Cloud, Korea. She placed herself in harm's way between three soldiers and an armed gunman. Sergeant Balcombe gave her life. She didn't stop to worry about gender.

In October 2000 on board the USS Cole Navy women acted without regard to their gender. HM3 Tayinikia Campbell, 24, was working with Seaman Eben Sanchez in Cole's sick bay when the explosion hit the ship. Sick Bay filled with smoke and they rushed out. Campbell immediately set up an improvised triage area in the cramped passageway, worked frantically to provide medical care to the wounded under the dim lighting of the battle lanterns and still found time to coach other sailors to help in tending the wounded.

GSM1(SW) Margaret Lopez was working in Cole's oil lab when the blast hit. With burns covering her body, she helped save a shipmate, then escaped through the hole in the side of the ship into the waters of the Port of Aden.

GM2 Jennifer Long manned a 50 caliber machine gun onboard USS Cole during the attack on the ship.

The ship's chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Deborah Courtney, worked around the clock for nearly four days to reverse flooding and isolate exposed electrical cables that threatened to turn thousands of gallons of fuel into a blazing inferno.

Women have been saving lives for centuries, in many fields - firefighters, police officers, medics, and the military - yet the media still focuses on heroes - not heroines. In times of crisis women will act equally as brave - and heroines will emerge - for heroism knows no gender.

[SAMWolf]

Ponder this:

He has served ten years in the Army and is a skilled fire controller in a million dollar battle tank. His rank is Sergeant and he is willing to lay his life on the line for his country 24-7. His pay is about $25,000 a year plus a few hundred dollars for incidentals.

She has served ten years in the Air Force and is a skilled pilot in a multi-million dollar aircraft. Her rank is Captain and she is willing to lay her life on the line for her country 24-7. Her pay is about $47,000 a year plus a few hundred dollars for incidentals.

He stands out on grass for about five months a year and throws a six dollar ball around or hits it with a bat while he spits, scratches and rearranges. His pay is $189,000,000 for ten years - or maybe it's $252 million. And he needs steroids to do it!

[Jen]

Fall in to the FReeper Foxhole!

To be removed from this list, send me a blank FReepmail with "REMOVE" in the subject line. Thanks, Jen

[Mudboy Slim]

"I e-mailed the whole thread to NOW..."

Speaking of that, here's a mass e-mail listing that may prove fruitful in creating a buzz...political talk shows!!

Just put "To My Favorite Talk Show Host" in the TO ADDRESS field, have it routed to yourself in your address book for a file copy. Then paste the following list into the BCC ADDRESS field and each recipient will be unaware that you have blanketed them all.

chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com, belling@cyberlynknetwork.com, qra@inteport.com, wtp@wtp.org, pat@patchoate.com, bq@radioamerica.org, bob@bobdornan.com, larry@larryelder.com, roger@regularguy.com, guntalk@guntalk.com, hannity@foxnews.com, roger@rogerhedgecock.com, lkl@cnn.com, godonliddy@aol.com, rush@eibnet.com, pov@usaradio.com, bob.mohan@kfyi.com, jill@lvcm.com, jpa@wava.com, quinn@warroom.com, drshow@wamu.org, michael.a.savage@abc.com, wxyt@wxyt.com, dickstaub@compuserve.com, talkback@cnn.com, liberty@fcref.org, wilbur@kvi.com

BTW...this is a pretty powerful way of getting the word out to many people who have access to many people, so PLEASE be polite and respectful in your comments, and make sure to mention FreeRepublic.com!!

FReegards...MUD

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on February 15:
0037 Claudius Drusus Germanicus Caesar Nero emperor of Rome (54-68)
1368 Sigismund Nürnberg Germany, Holy Roman emperor (1410-37)
1483 Babur founder of Mughal dynasty in India (1526-30
1497 Philipp Melanchthon Germany, Protestant reformer
1519 Pedro Menéndez de Aviles explored Florida - founded St Augustine FL
1524 Charles de Guise archbishop/cardinal of Reims
1557 Alfonso Fontanelli composer
1564 Galileo Galilei Pisa, Italy, astronomer/physicist
1571 Michael Praetorius Kreuzberg Germany, music theorist/composer (Syntagma music)
1620 François Charpentier French scholar/archaeologist
1650 Anne Jules duke de Noailles marshal of France (hugenot)
1660 Frans Anneessens Belgian merchant/dean of artisans
1666 Antonio M Valsalva Italian anatomist (eardrums, glottis)
1705 Charles A Vanloo French painter
1707 Claude Prosper Paris France, novelist
1710 Louis XV the Well-Beloved Versailles, King of France (1715-74)
1726 Abraham Clark farmer/lawyer, signed Declaration of Independence
1740 Ernst Eichner composer
1748 Jeremy Bentham London England, philosopher/originator (Utilitarian)
1759 Friedrich A Wolfius [Wolf], German philological (Prolegomena)
1760 Jean-François Le Sueur composer
1764 Jens I Baggesen Danish writer/linguist (Danske V'rker)
1768 Jozef B Cannaert [Olim], Flemish lawyer
1774 W G Frederik prince of Orange
1780 Carel Asser Dutch jurist
1783 Johann Nepomuk Poissl composer
1785 Claude Louis Marie Navier
1789 Friedrich Fesca composer
1795 Charles Niellon Belgian brigade general (10 day campaign)
1797 Henry Engelhard Steinway piano maker (Steinway)
1800 Frederik W Conrad Dutch hydraulic engineer/railway pioneer
1803 John Augustus Sutter Swiss/US colonist of California gold rush fame (New Helvetia CA, Sutter Mill)
1807 Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski composer
1809 Cyrus Hall McCormick inventor (Mechanical reaper)
1811 Domingo F Sarmiento President of Argentina (1868-74)
1812 Charles Lewis Tiffany Killingly CT, jeweler (Tiffany)
1817 Charles F Daubigny French restauranteur/painter
1819 Christopher Sholes Mooresburg PA, inventor (typewriter)
1820 Susan Brownell Anthony Adams MA, women's suffragette
1821 Abraham de Amorie van der de Have theologist/poet
1822 Theodor Uhlig composer
1823 Li Hung-Tshang Chinese rebel leader/viceroy of Tsheli Canton
1826 George J Stoney Irish physicist
1828 Johan H van Dale schoolmaster (New Dutch Language Dictionary)
1829 Silas Weir Mitchell US physician/author (Roland Blake)
1834 Sir William Preece English electrical engineer, wireless pioneer
1835 Alexander Stuart Webb Major General (Union Army), died in 1911
1845 Elihu Root (R)/US Secretary of State (1905-09)/Nobel Peace Prize (1912)
1847 Robert Fuchs composer
1855 Gustav Hollaender composer
1856 Frank Harris Galway England, writer
1858 William Pickering Boston, astronomer (9th & 10th moons of Saturn)
1861 Alfred North Whitehead English mathematician/philosopher (Adventures of Ideas)
1861 Halford John Mackinder Gainsborough Lincolnshire, geographer
1866 Bannister Fletcher London, architect & architectural historian
1874 Emilis Melngailis composer
1874 Ernest H Shackleton Kilkee Ireland, explorer (Endurance, Antarctica)
1882 John Barrymore [Blythe], Philadelphia PA, actor (Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, The Tempest, Beloved Rogue)
1885 Richard Wurz composer
1886 Sax Rohmer England, author (Dr Fu Manchu)
1887 H M Bateman Sutton Forest New South Wales, cartoonist
1890 Robert Ley German chemist/MP (NSDAP)
1892 James Forrestal US, banker/minister of Navy
1893 Harm H Kamerlingh Onnes painter/etcher/ceramist
1893 Walter Donaldson US pianist/composer (Girl Crazy, Whoopee)
1894 Oswaldo Aranha Brazil, lawyer/statesman (1st President of UN)
1896 Arthur Shields Dublin Ireland, actor (River, Enchanted Island)
1897 Earl H Blaik Detroit MI, college football hall of fame coach (elected 1965)
1898 Ibuse Masuji Japanese writer (Yôhai Taichô, Kuroi Ame)
1898 Toto (Antonio de Curtis), Naples Italy, actor (Motorizzate, Noi Duri)
1899 Gale Sondergard Litchfield MN, actress (Cat & Canary, Road to Rio)
1899 Georges Auric Lodève France, composer (It Always Rains on Sunday)
1899 Lillian Disney Mrs Walt Disney
19-- Claire Yarlett England, actress (Rituals, Dynasty)
19-- Kevin Cloud Hartford CT, rocker (Rhythm Syndicate)
1901 André Parrot French archaeologist/theologist (Assur)
1901 Christmas Humphreys England, lawyer/writer/Buddhist (Awakening of Zen)
1901 Paul Haesaerts Flemish architect/painter (Animisme)
1904 Antonin Magne French bicyclist (Tour de France 1931, 34)
1904 Mary Adshead muralist/painter
1905 Harold Arlen [Hyman Arluck], US, composer (Over the Rainbow)
1906 Stephen Brown CEO (Stone-Platt Industries)
1907 Cesar Romero New York NY, actor (Joker-Batman, Ocean's 11, The Thin Man)
1907 Jean Langlais composer
1908 Sidney Gilliat producer
1908 Ypk fan der Fear Frisian writer (Reade Runen)
1909 Harold Beeley British diplomat
1910 9th Earl of Jersey English large landowner/art collector
1911 Leonard Woodcock labor leader (UAW)
1912 George Mikes Hungary, British writer (How to Be an Alien)
1913 Willy Vandersteen Belgian cartoonist (Suske & Wiske)
1914 Arthur Sydney Martin spy catcher
1914 Kevin McCarthy Seattle WA, actor (Invasion of Body Snatchers, Howling)
1914 R W Woods bishop (Worcester)
1915 Paul Ferris British author
1916 Ian Ballantine publisher (Ballantine Books)
1918 Alan Arbus New York NY, actor (Dr Sidney Freedman-MASH)
1920 Ingmar Milveden composer
1920 Piet van Aken Flemish writer (Devil Sails to US, Niggers)
1920 Richard O'Brien CEO (Manpower Services Commission)
1922 Herman Kahn New Jersey, writer (Thinking About the Unthinkable)
1923 Keene Curtis Salt Lake City UT, actor (Magician, Amanda's)
1923 Yelena Bonner Moscow, soviet dissident/wife of Andre Sakharov
1923 Justice Drake British justice
1927 Harvey Korman Chicago IL, actor (Carol Burnett Show, Blazing Saddles)
1927 Frank Dunlop director (Edinburgh International Festival)
1927 Gottfrid Grasbeck composer
1927 William Bentley diplomat
1929 James Schlesinger US Secretary of Defense (1973-75)
1929 Countess of Dysart
1929 Gerald Harper broadcaster/actor (Tunes of Glory, Extra Day)
1929 Graham Hill London England, auto racer (1962, 68 international racing champion)
1930 C F Payne Cleveland OH, British chief constable
1931 [Patricia] Claire Bloom London, actress (Charly, Look Back in Anger)
1931 W K Reid British ombudsman
1932 Adrian Swire British aircraft magnate (Cathay Pacific)
1933 Adolfo Cardones Cuba, fashion designer (Nancy Reagan)
1934 Niklaus Wirth Switzerland, computer programmer/inventor (PASCAL)
1935 John R Block US Secretary of Agriculture (1981-86)
1935 Roger B Chaffee Grand Rapids MI, Lieutenant Commander USN/astronaut
1935 Susan Brownmiller Brooklyn NY, feminist author (Against Our Wills)
1936 Andrew Miller British principal (Stirling U)
1937 Nicholas Bayne diplomat
1937 P J Squire British headmaster (Bedford Modern School)
1937 Terry Everett (Representative-R-AL)
1937 Zoltan Pesko composer
1938 Jack Tinker drama critic
1938 Lord Justice Ward British judge
1939 Ollie Ellefsäter Norway, 3K steeplechase (Olympics-1960)
1939 Jo Clayton US, sci-fi author (Irsud, Maeve, Star Hunters)
1939 Tony Bloom deputy CEO (Sketchley)
1941 Brian Holland US pianist/producer (Holland/Dozier/Holland)
1941 Dan Crompton Nottinghamshire, Chief Constable
1941 Florinda Bolkan Ceara Brazil, actress (Damned, Last Valley, Word)
1944 Mick Avory rock drummer (Kinks-Lola)
1944 Aleksandr A Serebrov USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-7, T-8, TM-8, TM-17)
1944 Tineke Netelenbos Dutch MP (PvdA)
1945 Douglas R Hofstadter New York NY, author (Gödel, Escher, Bach)
1946 Clare Short British MP
1946 John Greenway British MP
1947 John Adams Worcester MA, composer (Nixon on China)
1947 Rusty Hamer Tenafly NJ, actor (Rusty-Make Room for Daddy)
1947 Marisa Berenson New York NY, actress (Barry Lyndon, Death in Vienna, SOB)
1948 Ron "The Penguin" Cey Tacoma WA, 3rd baseman (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1949 Ken Anderson NFL quarterback (Cincinnati Bengals)
1949 Christopher Rouse composer
1949 Earl of Carlisle
1949 Jess Walton Michigan, actress (Jill Foster Abbott-Young & Restless)
1950 Donna Hanover Giuliani TV news anchor (WPIX)/wife of Mayor Giuliani
1950 Nikolai Sergeivich Grekov Russia, cosmonaut
1951 Melissa Manchester Bronx NY, singer (Don't Cry Out Loud)
1951 Jane Seymour [Joyce Frankenberg], Middlesex England, actress (Dr Quinn, East of Eden, Lassiter)
1953 Derek Conway British MP
1954 Matt Groening cartoonist (Life in Hell, Simpsons)
1955 Bev Francis Australia, world women's power-lifting champion
1955 Clive Aslet British editor (Country Life)
1956 Desmond Haynes cricket (West Indies opener-greatest batsman in 1-day history)
1956 Hilda Beatriz "Hildita" Guevara Cuba, daughter of "Che" Guevara
1957 Bienvenida Buck Velencia Spain, lover of British Peter Harding
1957 Charles Edward Pevensey Tennant aristocrat
1957 Jake E Lee rocker (Badlands-Dreams in the Dark)
1959 Ali Campbell British reggae vocalist/guitarist (UB40-Red Red Wine)
1959 Guy De Alwis cricket wicket-keeper (Sri Lankan mid 80s)
1959 Joe Hesketh US baseball player (Boston Red Sox)
1960 Mikey Craig rock bassist (Culture Club-Do You Really Want to Hurt Me)
1960 Darrell Green NFL cornerback (Washington Redskins)
1960 Jeanne Goldsmith Los Angeles CA, WPVA volleyballer (National-5th-1987)
1962 [Babette] Renee Props Oklahoma, actress (Ellie-As the World Turns, Get Shorty, Weird Science)
1964 Chris Farley actor (Saturday Night Live, Wayne's World, Coneheads)
1964 Mark Price NBA guard (Washington Bullets, Orlando Magic)
1965 Craig Matthews cricket pace bowler (South African Test)
1966 Melido Perez Dominican/US baseball pitcher (New York Yankees)
1966 Petra Huber Austria, tennis star
1967 Michael Easton actor (Ally McBeal, Total Recall 2070, VR.5, Tanner-Days of Our Lives)
1968 Kurt Robin McKinney Louisville KY, actor (Ned-General Hospital)
1968 Michael Easton Los Angeles CA, actor (Tanner-Days of Our Lives)
1969 Brian Williams Lancaster SC, pitcher (Detroit Tigers, Astros)
1969 Edgar Bennett NFL running back (Green Bay Packers-Superbowl 31)
1970 Gloria Trevi Mexico, sexy Spanish vocalist (A Gatas)
1970 Nathaniel Mills Evanston IL, speed skater (Olympics-1994)
1970 Tyrone Legette NFL cornerback (New Orleans Saints)
1971 Barbara Failey-Herbert South Africa, golfer (1989 winner South Africa Champion)
1971 Jim Butler Iowa City IA, table tennis player (Olympics-92, 96)
1971 Renee O'Connor actress, (Xena Warrior Princess)
1971 Tyrone Legette cornerback (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1972 Jaromir Jagr Kladno Czechoslovakia, NHL right wing (Penguins, Czechoslovakia Olympics-gold-1998)
1972 Lance Scott NFL offensive linesman (Arizona Cardinals)
1973 Amy Van Dyken 50 meter/100 meter freestyle/100 meter butterfly swimmer (Olympics-2 gold-96)
1974 Erik Schulz Port Huron MI, pairs skater (& Ilana Goldfogel)
1974 Jodie McMullen Miss Australia-Universe/Miss Congeniality (1996)
1974 Tim Hall running back (Oakland Raiders)
1974 Ugueth Urbina Caracas Venezuela, pitcher (Montréal Expos)
1975 Robert Fuchs soccer player (PSV)
1977 Brook Wackman rocker
1979 Kaj-Erik Eriksen actor (Quarantine)
1983 Ashley Lyn Cafagna Iowa City IA, actress (Kimberly-Bold & the Beautiful, Saved By The Bell: The New Class)
1991 Nicholas Garland son of Pamela Sue Martin

---

Deaths which occurred on February 15:
1043 Gisela wife of Roman Catholic-German emperor Conrad II the Salier, dies at 52
1145 Lucius II [Gherardo Caccianemici], Italian Pope (1144-45), dies
1152 Konrad III Roman-German King (1138-1152), dies at about 58
1503 Henry Deane Archbishop of Canterbury (1501-03), dies
1568 Hendrik van Brederode Dutch noble (Compromise of Nobles), dies at 36
1580 Cunerus Petri Dutch theologist/bishop of Leeuwarden, dies
1597 Pieter J Kies Dutch mayor of Haarlem (1572-73), dies at about 66
1600 José the Acosta Spanish missionary (Peru), dies at 59
1621 Michael Praetorius German composer (In Dulce Jubilo), dies at 50
1637 Ferdinand II King of Bohemia/Hungary/German Emperor (1619-37), dies at 58
1660 Klaas Geritsz Compaen Dutch buccaneer/merchant, dies at 72
1680 Jan Swammerdam Dutch entomologist (Bible of Nature), dies at 41
1686 Mathias Rauchmüller German sculptor (Piasten mausoleum Poland), dies
1701 Adam Drese German composer, dies at 80
1713 Anthony Ashley Cooper 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, writer, dies
1744 Frantisek Antonin Mica composer, dies at 49
1744 John Hadley inventor (sextant), dies
1759 Alexander von Papenhoven Flemish religious sculptor, dies at 89
1761 Carlo Cecere composer, dies at 54
1778 Johann Gottlieb Gorner composer, dies at 80
1781 G E Lessing writer, dies at 52
1781 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Saxon playwright/critic, dies
1818 Charles XIII King of Sweden (1809-18)/Norway (1814-18), dies at 69
1820 Pierre-Joseph Cambon member of Committee the Salut Public, dies at 63
1820 William Ellery US attorney (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 92
1831 Henry Maudslay inventor (metal lathe), dies
1832 Hardenack Otto Conrad Zinck composer, dies at 85
1835 Henry Hunt British politician, dies
1841 Sibrand Acker Stratingh Dutch doctor/chemist (electrical car), dies at 53
1844 Henry Addington Lord Sidmouth British premier (1801-04), dies at 86
1849 Pierre F Verhulst Belgian mathematician (logistic curve), dies at 44
1857 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka Russian composer, dies at 53
1864 Israel Zangwill writer/Zionist/philanthropist, dies
1864 William Dyce painter, dies
1865 Nicholas Wiseman 1st Archbishop of Westminster (1850-65), dies
1885 Leopold Damrosch composer, dies at 52
1887 Alexander Borodin composer, dies
1896 E J Nicholson writer, dies
1902 Wilhelmina JR Albregt-Engelman Dutch actress, dies at 68
1903 Julie Verstraete-Lacquet Flemish actress, dies at 69
1905 Lewis Wallace US diplomat/writer (Ben Hur), dies at 77
1910 Albert Fuchs composer, dies at 51
1916 Nikolay Nikolayevich Lodizhensky composer, dies at 73
1917 Charles A van Ophuysen Dutch orientalist, dies at 60
1919 Pieter K Pel Dutch internist (Pel-Ebstein fever), dies at 66
1921 Hans Haym composer, dies at 60
1922 Clara [G Meijer-]Wichmann German/Dutch anarchist/feminist, dies at 36
1923 Josephine B Willson Bruce US black theorist, dies at 69
1924 Lionel Monckton English composer (Country Girl), dies at 62
1928 Hubert H Asquith premier Great-Britain (1908-16), dies at 75
1932 Minnie Maddern Fiske actress (Henrik Ibsen's plays), dies at 66
1933 Anton J Cermak (Mayor-D-Chicago), assassinated in Miami
1939 Foppe G Scheltema Dutch lawyer, dies at 47
1939 Henri Jaspar premier of Belgium (1926-31), dies at 68
1942 Guido Adler Austrian musicologist, dies at 91
1942 Stanislav Binicki composer, dies at 69
1943 Thomas "Fats" Waller US jazz pianist (Hot Chocolate), dies at 38
1943 William Victor Harris composer, dies at 73
1955 S Z Sakall actor (Dolly Sisters, Casablanca), dies at 71
1959 Owen W Richardson English physicist (Nobel 1928), dies at 69
1961 Jack Whiting actor (Top Speed, Life of the Party), dies at 59
1961 Marubel Vinaon Owen figure skater (Olympics-silver-1932), dies
1962 Vladimir Sokoloff actor (Road to Morocco, Cloak & Dagger), dies at 72
1964 Ken Hubbs 2nd baseman (Chicago Cubs), dies in plane crash at 22
1965 Nat King Cole singer (Unforgettable, Mona Lisa), dies at 45
1966 Camillo Torres Colombian priest/guerrilla fighter, dies
1967 Antonio Moreno Spanish actor/director (It, Careers), dies at 79
1967 William C Bullitt 1st US ambassador in USSR, dies at 76
1968 Little Walter rocker, dies at 37
1971 Marian Viktorovich Koval composer, dies at 63
1972 Edgar P Snow US author/journalist (Battle for Asia), dies at 66
1972 Jef [Josephus CF] Last Dutch poet/Indonesian politician, dies at 73
1973 Wally Cox actor (Mr Peepers, Hollywood Squares), dies at 48
1973 Tim Holt actor (Stagecoach, Hitler's Children), dies of cancer at 55
1974 Kurt Magnus Atterberg composer, dies at 86
1975 Julian Huxley biologist, dies
1975 Pelham G Wodehouse writer, dies
1978 Ilka Chase actress (Masquerade Party), dies at 72
1979 Alex Bradford actor/composer (Your Arms too Short...), dies at 51
1979 Mehdi Rahimi Iran General/military Governor of Tehran, executed
1981 Jack Crapp cricketer (7 Tests for England 1948-49, 319 runs), dies
1981 Mike Bloomfield rocker (Electric Flag), dies of drug overdose at 36
1981 Thomas Beversdorf composer, dies at 56
1982 Rolfe Sedan actor (Mailman-George Burns Show), dies at 86
1984 Leamon Hunt US director-General in Sinai, killed by communists
1984 Avon Long dancer/actor (Roots Next Generation), dies of cancer at 73
1984 Ethel Merman singer/actress (Kid Million), dies in her sleep at 76
1987 Jimmy Holiday US singer (Baby I Love You), dies at 42
1987 Osmo Uolevi Lindeman composer, dies at 57
1988 Frederick [Fritz] Loewe composer, dies
1988 Gardiner Means US economist, dies at 91
1988 Gerard Holt architect, dies at 83
1988 Neil R[onald] Jones science fiction writer (Space War, Twin Worlds), dies at 78
1988 Richard P Feynman physicist (Nobel 1965, Physical Law), dies at 69
1990 Henry Brandon actor (Assault on Precinct 13), dies at 77
1990 Jack Fletcher actor (Any Wednesday), dies of heart attack at 68
1991 Gary Gears Chicago disk jockey, dies at 46 of a heart attack
1991 Luis Escobar Spanish actor (Don Juan My Love), dies at 78
1992 William H Schuman US composer (Pulitzer)/President of Julliard, dies at 81
1993 George Wallington [Giacinto Figlia], Italian bebop-pianist/, dies
1994 Andrei Tsjikatilo [Rostov Ripper], Russian mass murdered, executed
1994 Tiger Haynes US actor (Moscow on the Hudson, Cosby Show), dies at 79
1995 Francis Taylor builder, dies at 90
1995 Joseph Ortiz French-Algerian extremist/rebel, dies at 77
1995 Lord Taylor of Hadfield British president of Taylor Woodrow Group, dies at 90
1995 Nabila Diahnine Algerian architect/feminist, murdered at 33
1995 Sahnoun Jawhari Tunisian Annahda-leader, dies at 40 in jail
1995 Viscount Camrose British large landowner/Conservative, dies
1996 Bruno Ferenc Straub Hungarian statesman, dies
1996 Margaret Courtenay actress (Royal Flash, Duet for One), dies at 72
1996 McLean Stevenson actor (MASH, Hello Larry), dies at 66
1996 Oscar Abrams community organiser, dies at 58
1996 Tommy Rettig actor (Lassie)/computer programmer (Clipper), dies at 54
1998 Martha Gelhorn female war correspondents, dies at 89

---

On this day...
0399 Philosopher Socrates sentenced to death
0732 Ho-tse Shen-hui, Zen teacher disputes founder of Northern Ch'an line
1145 Bernardo elected Pope Eugene III
1313 Peace of Angleur
1386 Duke Philip the Stout forms Council of Flanders
1539 Emperor Charles receives Cardinal Pole in Toledo
1552 Dutch coast hit by heavy storm
1563 Russian troops occupy Polotsk Lithuania
1637 Ferdinand III succeeds Ferdinand II as Holy Roman Emperor
1677 King Charles II reports anti-French covenant with Netherlands
1686 Jean Baptiste Lully's opera "Armide" premieres in Paris
1689 German Parliament declares war on France
1745 Colley Cibbers "Papal Tyranny" premieres in London
1763 Austria, Prussia & Saxony sign Peace of Hubertusburg
1764 St Louis founded as a French trading post by Pierre Laclade Ligue
1768 1st mustard manufactured in America advertised, Philadelphia
1775 Angelo Braschi chosen as Pope Pius VI
1797 Battle of Cape St Vincent
1799 1st US printed ballots authorized, Pennsylvania
1804 New Jersey becomes last northern state to abolish slavery
1842 1st adhesive postage stamps in US (private delivery company), New York NY
1845 William Parsons, Earl of Rosse, 1st uses 72" (183 cm) reflector
1848 Sarah Roberts barred from white school in Boston
1851 Black abolitionists invade Boston courtroom rescuing a fugitive slave
1852 Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits 1st patient
1861 Ft Point completed & garrisoned (but has never fired cannon in anger)
1862 Grant's major assault on Ft Donelson TN
1864 Fire in Rotterdam Netherlands damages Museum Boymans
1869 Charges of Treason against Jefferson Davis are dropped
1870 Ground broken for Northern Pacific Railway near Duluth MN
1876 Historic Elm at Boston blown down
1879 Congress authorizes women lawyers to practice before the Supreme Court
1882 1st cargo of frozen meat leaves New Zealand for Britain, on SS Dunedin
1895 23 cm (9") of snow falls on New Orleans
1898 USS Maine blows up in Havana harbor, cause unknown-258 sailors die
1900 General French relieves Kimberley/Cecil Rhodes
1902 Underground railway (U-Bahn)
1903 1st Teddy Bear introduced in America, made by Morris & Rose Michtom
1905 1st race meet at Oaklawn Park (Hot Springs AR)
1906 British Labour Party organizes
1912 Fram reaches latitude 78º 41' S, farthest south ever by ship
1913 1st avant-garde art show in America opens in New York NY
1916 New York Yankees buy Frank "Home Run" Baker from the Athletics for $37,500
1917 San Francisco Public Library (Main Branch at Civic center) dedicated
1918 1st WWI US army troop ship torpedoed & sunk by Germany, off Ireland
1918 Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania adopt the Gregorian calendar
1919 American Legion organizes in Paris
1921 Arthur Mailey completes 9-121 vs England, Australian Test Cricket record
1922 Marconi begins regular broadcasting transmissions from Essex
1926 Contract air mail service begins in US
1926 Brooks Atkinson Theater opens at 256 W 47th St NYC
1929 St Valentine's Day massacre (Chicago)
1930 Weona beats Toluca in Illinois Basketball Tournament in 10 overtimes
1931 1st Dracula movie released
1931 Spring training site of New York Yankees in St Petersburg is renamed Miller Huggins Field in honor of the team's late manager
1932 US bobsled team member Eddie Eagan becomes only athlete to win gold in both Summer & Winter Olympics (1920 boxing gold)
1932 3rd Winter Olympics games close at Lake Placid NY
1932 Australia beat South Africa in cricket by an inn in 5 hours 53 minutes playing time
1932 George Burns & Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on "Guy Lombardo Show"
1932 John Van Druten's "There's Always Juliet" premieres in New York NY
1933 President-elect Franklin Roosevelt survives assassination attempt
1933 Karl Radek praises invincible force of German communist party
1933 Social-democratic newspaper "Vorwärts" banned again in Berlin
1936 -60º F (-51º C), Parshall ND (state record)
1936 Sonja Henie, Norway, wins 3rd consecutive Olympics figure skating gold
1936 Hitler announces building of Volkswagens (starting slug-bug game)
1939 German battleship Bismarck was launched
1939 Lillian Hellman's "Little Foxes" premieres in New York NY
1941 Duke Ellington 1st records "Take the A Train"
1942 Singapore surrenders to the Japanese
1942 German U-boat shells at Antillian oil refinery
1942 Japanese troops march into Palembang, South Sumatra
1943 Women's camp Tamtui on Ambon (Moluccas) hit by allied air raid
1944 891 British bombers attack Berlin
1944 Bombing & shooting at Monte Cassino convent Italy, begins
1946 Bank of England nationalized
1947 "Toplitzky of Notre Dame" closes at Century Theater NYC after 60 performances
1948 Mao Zedong's army occupies Yenan
1949 Dmitri Shostakovich's "Song of the Woods" premieres in Leningrad
1950 Walt Disney's "Cinderella" released
1950 KENS TV channel 5 in San Antonio TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
1950 WM Inge's "Come Back, Little Sheba" premieres in New York NY
1950 WSYR (now WSTM) TV channel 3 in Syracuse NY (NBC) begins broadcasting
1954 1st bevatron in operation-Berkeley CA
1954 WRDW TV channel 12 in Augusta GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1955 1st pilot plant to produce man-made diamonds announced
1956 Pirates & Kansas City A's cancel an exhibition game in Birmingham AL, because of local ordinance barring black from playing against white
1956 Urho Kekkonen appointed President of Finland
1957 Andrei A Gromyko succeeds Dmitri Shepilov as Soviet foreign minister
1958 Ice Dance Championship at Paris won by June Markham/Courtney Jones Great Britain
1958 Ice Pairs Championship at Paris won by Barbara Wagner/Rob Paul of CAN
1958 Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Carol Heiss of USA
1958 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by David Jenkins USA
1958 Sjafroeddin Prawiranegara forms anti-government of Middle Sumatra
1959 Antonio Segni forms Italian government
1959 Louise Suggs wins LPGA St Petersburg Golf Tournament
1961 Entire US figure skating team of 18, dies in Belgian Sabena 707 crash
1961 Australia beat West Indies 2-1 in one of best Test Cricket series ever
1962 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1963 1st US female world figure skating champion (Tenley Albright)
1963 Ken Lynch records "Misery", 1st Lennon-McCartney song by someone else
1964 Beatles' "Meet the Beatles!" album goes #1 & stays #1 for 11 weeks
1964 Bill Bradley scores 51 points for Princeton
1965 Canada replaces the Union Jack flag with the Maple Leaf
1965 John Lennon passes his driving test
1966 Kees Verkerk becomes world champion all-round skater
1967 1st anti-bootleg recording laws enacted
1967 French Diadème 1-D satellite launches into Earth orbit
1967 Longest dream (REM sleep) on record, Bill Carskadon, Chicago (2:23)
1967 D66 (D'66) wins 7 seats in Dutch 2nd Chamber
1968 Anaheim's Les Salvage scores 10, 3-point baskets in ABA game vs Denver
1968 WVUT TV channel 22 in Vincennes IN (PBS) begins broadcasting
1970 Nationalists disrupt UN session on Congo
1970 Ard Schenk becomes world champion all-round skater
1970 Carol Mann wins LPGA Burdine's Golf Invitational
1970 Dominican DC-9 crashes into sea at Santo Domingo, kills 102
1970 KAMU TV channel 15 in College Station TX (PBS) begins broadcasting
1971 After 1200 years Britain abandons 12-shilling system for decimal
1972 Bill Torrey becomes 1st Islander General Manager
1972 Dimitrios Papadopoulos becomes metropolitan of Imbros/Tenedos
1972 President Velasco Ibarra of Ecuador deposed for 4th time
1973 Friendsville Academy (Tennessee) ends 138-game basketball losing streak
1973 USSR launches Prognoz 3 to study sun (589/200,300 km)
1976 12th Winter Olympics games close at Innsbruck, Austria
1976 Joanne Carner wins LPGA Orange Blossom Golf Classic
1977 Social-democrats win Danish parliamentary election
1978 Escaped mass murderer Ted Bundy recaptured, Pensacola FL
1978 Leon Spinks beats Muhammad Ali in 15 for world heavyweight crown
1978 England all out 64 for 1st loss to New Zealand in cricket (Boycott Captain)
1978 Zaire revises constitution
1979 Paul Shirley (21) of Australia, sucked a lifesaver for 4 hours 40 minutes
1979 Temple City Kazoo Orchestra appears on Mike Douglas Show
1979 21st Grammy Awards Just the Way You Are, Taste of Honey win
1979 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1980 Wayne Gretzky assists on NHL-record-tying 7 goals
1980 Eric Heiden skates Olympics record 500 meter in 38.03 seconds
1981 Rocket-powered ice sled attains 399 kph, Lake George NY
1981 Joanne Carner wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic
1982 Dan Issel (NBA-Nuggets), begins streak of 63 consecutive free throws
1982 Ocean Ranger oil-drilling platform lost off Newfoundland, 84 die
1984 500,000 Iranian soldiers move into Iraq
1985 STS 51-E vehicle moves to launch pad
1985 World chess championship match abandoned-Karpov 25, Kasparov 23
1986 44,180 largest NBA crowd to date-Philadelphia at Detroit
1986 Ferdinand Marcos wins rigged Philippines presidential election
1987 ABC-TV begins broadcasting "Amerika" mini-series
1987 Craig Stadler disqualified from Andy Williams Open for kneeling on a towel to make a shot
1987 Karlstad skates world record 10km (14:03,92)
1987 Nikolai Guljajev becomes world champion skater
1988 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1989 Israel attacks border strip Taba near Egypt
1989 Soviet military occupation of Afghánistán ends
1990 Baseball owners lock out players
1991 Freighter with dynamite explodes in Phang Nga Thailand, 120 die
1991 Troy State sets NCAA Division II record with 103 points in 2nd half routing DeVry Institute 187-117
1992 100th episode of "Cops" airs on the Fox Network
1992 Jeffrey Dahmer found sane & guilty of killing 15 boys
1993 Bombings by Mafia drug lords kill 14 in Bogotá Colombia
1993 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Rochester NY on WNVE 95.1 FM
1994 US asks Aristide to adopt a peace plan from Haiti
1995 Burundi premier Anatole Kanyenkiko, resigns
1995 Dow-Jones closes at record 3986.17
1995 Population of People's Republic of China hits 1.2 billion
1997 US female Figure Skating championship won by Tara Lipinski
1997 US male Figure Skating championship won by Todd Eldridge
1998 Dale Eggeling wins Los Angeles Women's Golf Championship
1998 Daytona 500 race; Dale Earnhardt wins

---

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

Massachusetts : Spanish-American War Memorial Day (1898)
US : Battleship Day, Remember the Maine (1898)
US : Presidents' Day (formerly Washington's Birthday)-legal holiday - - - - - ( Monday )

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Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Georgia (St Georgette)
Orthodox : Meeting of the Lord/Purification of the Virgin
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of Sts Faustinus & Jovita, martyrs
Anglican : Commemoration of Thomas Bray, priest/missionary

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Religious History
1386 King Jagiello of Lithuania was baptized into the Christian faith. Lithuania being the last heathen nation in Europe, Jagiello's conversion finalized the Macedonian Vision in Acts 16:9, leading St. Paul to begin taking the Gospel to Europe.
1762 Anglican hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.'
1860 Wheaton College was chartered in Illinois under Methodist sponsorship. (The following year the school passed into Congregational control. Today, Wheaton is non-denominational.)
1930 Death of Franklin L. Sheppard, 78. He served on the editorial committee of the 1911 edition of the Presbyterian Hymnal, but is better remembered for composing the hymn tune TERRA BEATA, to which "This Is My Father's World" is most commonly sung.
1986 Living Bibles International moved to its present headquarters in Naperville, IL. Founded in 1968 by Ken Taylor, editor of the Living Bible, LBI is an interdenominational Bible distributing agency, working in 45 countries.

---

Thought for the day :
" Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate. "

[Dante3]

Interesting. Thanks for posting it.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.."IS it SAFE?" = HILLARY on Armed Services Committtee..

http://www.TheAlamoFILM.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629

[OldCorps]

Sam,

Your post presumes that all of us agree that women have a role in the military. I for one do not agree with this premise.

All this cheerleading about "how far women have come" is in my view the usual self justification of the feminists who would have us subordinate the security of our nation to their single most important issue of women using the military as a vehicle to advance their own selfish agenda.

From my perspective as an infantry officer, the presence of women in uniform emasculates the service and draws precious resources that could better be used elsewhere.

Please understand that I am not denigrating the service of individuals, I just think that our country is mistakenly imposing women on the military, to the detriment of combat effectiveness.

[Chad Fairbanks]

It's good to finally see the women who DO serve, and serve well, receive the recognition they deserve...

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Maine (ACR-1)

Maine class armored cruiser
Displacement. 6,682 t.
Lenght. 319'
Beam. 57'
Draft. 21' 6"
Complement. 374
Speed. 17 k.
Armament. 4 10", 6 6", 7 6-pdrs., 8 1-pdrs., 4 14" tt.

The USS Maine was designed and laid down as an armored cruiser. Her construction was delayed by a fire in the drafting room of the New York Navy Yard and also by the late delivery of her armor. By the time she was ready, the concept of the armored cruiser had moved beyond her. Too slow and heavily armored to be considered a cruiser, she was later redisignated a second-class battleship during her lenghty construction.

The USS Maine (ACR-1), was laid down at New York Navy Yard 17 October 1888; launched 18 November 1889, sponsored by Miss Alice Tracy Wilmerding, granddaughter of Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Tracy; and commissi oned 17 September 1895, Capt. Arent S. Crowninshield in command.

Maine departed New York Navy Yard 5 November 1895 for Newport, R.I., via Gardiner's Bay, N.Y., to fit out 16 to 23 November, and then proceeded on the 25th to Portland, Maine, to visit her namesake. The battlewagon then put to sea on the 29th on trials and inspection, being assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron 16 December, and sailing via Newport to Tompkinsville, N.Y., arriving 23 December. The ship sailed the next day for Fort Monroe, Va., arriving on Christmas Day. She operated out of that place and Newport News through June 1896 and then on the 4th sailed for Key West on a 2-month training cruise, returning to Norfolk 3 August. Maine continued extensive east coast operations until late 1897. Then the ship prepared for a voyage to Havana, Cuba, to show the flag and to protect American citizens in event of violence in the Spanish struggle with the revolutionary forces in Cuba.

On 11 December Maine stood out of Hampton Roads bound for Key West, arriving on the 15th. She was joined there by ships of the North Atlantic Squadron on maneuvers, then left Key West 24 January 1898 for Havana.

Arriving 25 January, Maine anchored in the center of the port, remained on vigilant watch, allowed no liberty, and took extra precautions against sabotage. Shortly after 2140, 15 February, the battleship was torn apart by a tremendous explosion that shattered the entire forward part of the ship. Out of 350 officers and men on board that night (4 officers were ashore), 252 were dead or missing. Eight more were to die in Havana hospitals during the next few days. The survivors of the disaster were taken on board Ward Line steamer City of Washington and Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII. The Spanish officials at Havana showed every attention to the survivors of the disaster and great respect for those killed. The court of inquiry convened in March was unable to obtain evidence associating the destruction of the battleship with any person or persons, but public opinion in the United States was so inflamed that the Maine disaster led eventually to the declaration of war on Spain 21 April.

On 5 August 1910, Congress authorized the raising of Maine and directed Army engineers to supervise the work. A second board of inquiry appointed to inspect the wreck after it was raised reported that injuries to the ship's bottom were caused by an external explosion of low magnitude that set off the forward magazine, completing destruction of the ship.

Technical experts at the time of both investigations disagreed with the findings, believing that spontaneous combustion of coal in the bunker adjacent to the reserve six-inch magazine was the most likely cause of the explosion on board the ship. In 1976, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover published his book, How the Battleship Maine Was Destroyed. The admiral became interested in the disaster and wondered if the application of modern scientific knowledge could determine the cause. He called on two experts on explosions and their effects on ship hulls.

Using documentation gathered from the two official inquiries, as well as information on the construction and ammunition of Maine, the experts concluded that the damage caused to the ship was inconsistent with the external explosion of a mine. The most likely cause, they speculated, was spontaneous combustion of coal in the bunker next to the magazine.

Some historians have disputed the findings in Rickover's book, maintaining that failure to detect spontaneous combustion in the coal bunker was highly unlikely. Yet evidence of a mine remains thin and such theories are based primarily on conjecture. Despite the best efforts of experts and historians in investigating this complex and technical subject, a definitive explanation for the destruction of Maine remains one of the continuing enigmas of American history.

Maine's hulk was finally floated 2 February 1912 and towed out to sea where it was sunk in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico with appropriate ceremony and military honors 16 March.

[OneLoyalAmerican]

Greetings SAMWolf, AntiJen, Foxhole FReepers, et al:

Thanks for featuring a few of American’s female defenders of freedom. In my Desert Storm deployed unit, our sisters bearing arms were highly qualified and mission essential.

It‘s a shame one particular over achiever cannot yet be recognized. She’s a fellow battle-rostered Desert Storm plankowner and a SNCO service academy classmate of mine. This real life "GI Jane," was fully qualified for every mission specialty of our unit. Following Desert Storm, our "GI Jane" continued to influence, enhance, and improve upon this multi-faceted unit’s methods, as she rose through the enlisted ranks.

Ten years after Desert Storm, our modern "minutegal, GI Jane," returned to duty. In those troubling days after the horrific 9-11 attack, "GI Jane's" wisdom played a key homeland security coordination role for Operation Noble Eagle.

It would be really cool to post some photos of "GI Jane" in action, but we can’t even post "GI Jane" in ghatra and throbe. Those of us who know "her-story," know who this "GI Jane" is. Our real "GI Jane" is no fictional Demi Moore Hollywood character, just an ordinary citizen-soldier, who lives with honor, respect, and a devotion to duty.

[Aura Of The Blade]

Hi SAM - The military has come a long way since the 1960's and 70's, but anyone who wears a uniform deserves the utmost respect, especially with all these anti-war protesters, as of late.

A salute to all women serving or who have served in the military, which includes you Antijen ;)