The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Fighting the Kamikazes (1944-1945) - May 23rd, 2003

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/wwii/facts/kamikaze.txt ^ | CE1 Robert A. Germinsky, USNR

[SAMWolf]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

.

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

.

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

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The Divine Wind:
Japanese Kamikazes

In the 13th century, as legend goes, a Mongol emperor massed a large fleet for the invasion of Japan. The Japanese nation had little to defend itself with, and a Mongol conquest seemed certain. As the fleet massed outside Tokyo Bay gathered to attack, a typhoon came up and either sank all the ships or blew them back to China. This storm, which the Japanese believed was sent by the gods to save their nation, was called "Divine Wind." In Japanese, the name is "Kamikaze."

By August of 1944, the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy had very few bases and aircraft carriers, and even fewer planes with which to carry out offensive operations against the American fleet. Certain admirals in the Japanese navy began exploring the use of rather extraordinary "special tactics" they felt would best utilize the dwindling number of aircraft and pilots at their disposal.

Vice Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi, Japanþs foremost expert on naval aviation and at one time Admiral Isoroko Yamamotoþs close advisor on the subject, formulated a plan wherein Japanese pilots would suicide-crash their planes into American ships. This tactic, which Ohnishi hoped would save Japan, was called kamikaze, in honor of the typhoon that saved his country from invasion. The formal name of the unit that had this mission was the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps.

The kamikazes were unique in military history. Death in war is inevitable, but Japanese naval doctrine prior to 1944 forbid carrying out a mission unless there was some chance of survival. Adhering to the code of bushido (code of the warrior), all Japanese military men were prepared to die for the Emperor. This stemmed from the Japanese ideal of "The Path of Eternal Duty," the belief that family and individual welfare were not important when compared to the long history of the Empire. Japanese literature is replete with examples of warriors who died a glorious death on behalf of the Emperor.

The kamikazes, however, were the first unit to actually seek death in battle. This concept was repugnant in the West, and there were those on the Japanese Imperial General Staff who objected to this strategy. They felt this step was needless, a waste of men, and an acknowledgement that Japan had lost the war. In spite of this opposition, Ohnishi lobbied strongly for his plan, and it was finally, if reluctantly, accepted.



The American invasion of Leyte (the Philippines) in October 1944 saw the debut of the kamikazes. The escort carriers guarding the transports and beaches had the dubious honor of being the first American naval units to encounter the Divine Wind.

"Sacred warriors" sank the escort carrier St. Lo and damaged several other ships. Their efforts had little effect on the invasionþs outcome. The damage they inflicted, however, was a prelude to later and more effective massed attacks, particularly at Okinawa.

The kamikazes continued attacks against American shipping through the remainder of the campaign in the Philippines. During the invasion of Iwo Jima, they continued the strategy of attacking shipping, both combatant and transport. Some escort carriers were sunk and some major fleet combatants, particularly the aircraft carrier Franklin, were severely damaged. However, Iwo Jima was taken and secured.

The significant point about these two campaigns was that these kamikaze attacks were carried out independently of other Japanese defense measures. Okinawa was different.



At Okinawa, which was invaded by American troops on Easter Sunday, 1945, the kamikazes were incorporated from the beginning as an integral part of the defense of the island. Being the closest land to the Empire yet invaded, Japanese strategists were determined to hold the island at all costs.

Kamikaze operations at Okinawa were the fiercest of the war, and the most frightening, in view of their intensity. The Okinawa kamikazes were called "kikusui," meaning "floating chrysanthemum," in honor of the imperial symbol of Japan. From the onset of the invasion until the end of the Okinawa campaign, over 1,900 suicide attacks took place. The largest number of attacks was carried out during the period April 6-7, when 355 planes participated.

American strategy was revised to deal with the threat. An outer picket ring of radar-equipped ships, usually destroyers, destroyer escorts and minesweepers, was established to provide early warning of incoming kamikaze raids. It was hoped that with enough advance warning, fleet units would be able to disperse in time to repel the threat. These picket ships bore the greatest brunt of the kamikaze attacks. They were often kamikaze targets because from the air, the inexperienced Japanese flyers mistook them for battleships and cruisers.



One of these picket ships underwent an amazing ordeal in the waters off Okinawa on April 16, 1945. The destroyer Laffey, under the command of Commander (later Rear Admiral) F. Julian Becton, was assigned to radar picket station No. 1 that day. In a period of 80 minutes, Laffey underwent 22 separate attacks by 32 planes. She was struck by six of them, suffered four bomb hits and was continuously strafed. Her gunners destroyed at least eight of the attackers. At the conclusion of the attack, only four of Laffeyþs 20mm mounts were still firing. Her main batteries were destroyed, her stern was almost awash, her rudder was jammed, and she was barely able to make steam.

Laffeyþs gallant crew, under the direction of Becton, who vowed that he would never abandon his ship while one of its guns still fired, made heroic efforts to save their stricken vessel. They not only kept Laffey afloat, but managed to bring her home to Seattle, Washington, under her own power for repairs. Laffey continued in service until well after World War II, when she was finally and honorably decommissioned.

Were the kamikazes successful? From a strategic and tactical point of view, the answer is "no." Ohnishi hoped they would turn the tide of the war in Japanþs favor, and allow at least a negotiated peace. He had hoped that the Americans would psychologically be unable to deal with this type of threat. He was wrong on both counts.



The kamikazes operating during the Okinawa campaign did take a terrible toll on American lives and ships. At the beginning of the suicide operations, there was stunned disbelief on the part of American sailors that other men would be willing to kill themselves in order to destroy them. Because the threat was continuous, shipsþ personnel were forced to remain at battle stations for days on end. Fatigue began to take its toll, on ships and men. Sleep and food, often taken for granted, became precious to American sailors.

In summation, the Okinawa kikusui operation damaged 368 ships and sunk 32. Suicide planes killed 4,900 American sailors and wounded over 4,800. These were the heaviest losses incurred in any naval campaign in World War II. Over 2,000 Japanese pilots lost their lives in the suicide attacks off Okinawa. Because the many kamikaze attacks at Okinawa did not stem the American advance, Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki, commander of the Japanese 5th Air Fleet, wanted to atone to the Emperor and the kamikazes who died under his command. He ordered three planes readied, intending to lead a final suicide attack against Okinawa. The attack was scheduled to leave Japanþs Kyushu Island on Aug. 15, 1945, the day the Emperor announced the decision to surrender.



When Ugaki went to his plane, 10 others were revved up on the runway with it. Questioning this, Ugaki was told by the squadron leader that when the fleet commander himself led the attack, every squadron plane would follow. True to the code of the warrior, the 11 took off for Okinawa.

Symbolic of the futility of the kamikaze attacks in changing the warþs outcome, the mission did not succeed. The plane flown by Ugaki fell harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean.

Late in the evening of Aug. 15, Ohnishi, the man who sowed the Divine Wind, committed hara kiri, the ritual suicide of the Japanese warrior.

Thanks to Freeper Gridlock for suggesting this Thread

[SAMWolf]

Kamikazes

The ultimate image of Japanese determination and desperation in the war is that of the Kamikaze pilot, a young man sworn to crash his airplane directly into an enemy vessel to destroy it. Nearly 4,000 Kamikaze aircraft managed to sink or damage over 300 Allied ships and kill or injure more than 15,000 Allied sailors.

Named for the "Divine Wind" which had twice saved Japan from Mongol invasion during the thirteenth century, the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps was a logical, almost reasonable measure. Japan's prewar pilots were extraordinarily capable, perhaps the best in the world, but there were relatively few of them, and Japan had an inadequate pilot replacement training program. So from the moment Japan entered the war she began to lose pilots faster than they could be replaced. By mid-1944, new Japanese pilots were being sent into action with less than one-third of the flight training time that US pilots received, and they were being shot down in disproportionate numbers. Meanwhile, the anti-aircraft defense capability of the US Navy had increased to the point that a pilot who attempted to attack an American ship was effectively committing suicide anyway, and not likely to do very much damage in the process. Given the sacrificial mythos of the Japanese military, the Kamikaze Corps was a logical step. How much more practical and profitable to deliberately plunge one's aircraft into the enemy, thereby insuring his destruction along with one's own. And the Kamikaze pilots were actually quite effective. Indeed, they could easily have been more devastating than was the case.

The first attacks were very successful. From October 24 through November 1, 1944, Kamikaze attacks off Leyte in the Philippines sank one escort carrier, one destroyer, and an ocean-going tug, while damaging two fleet carriers, one light carrier, seven escort carriers, one light cruiser, and three destroyers, at an expenditure of 51 Kamikaze aircraft and 15 escorting fighters. During the Philippines Campaign as a whole (October 24, 1944-January 31, 1945), the Japanese sank 16 US vessels (two CVEs, three DDs, one DMS, and ten smaller vessels, including a PT-boat!) and damaged another 87 (including seven CVs, two CVLs, thirteen CVEs, five BBs, three CAs, seven CLs, 23 DDs, five DEs, one DMS), at a cost of 378 Kamikaze aircraft and 102 escorts. Japanese air power had not done so well since Pearl~Harbor. Nor was it ever to do as well again.

The success of the Kamikaze off the Philippines alerted the US Navy to the threat posed by this new weapon. Defensive weapons and tactics which were adequate to deal with aircraft attacking in the normal way were inadequate to cope with the Kamikaze. AA machine guns were much too light, 20mm guns only marginally better, and even 40mm guns only barely served. The problem was that these wouldn't break up an incoming airplane. Even a bullet-riddled, dying pilot could guide his plane the few extra minutes necessary to crash it into a ship. What was needed was something explosive. The most effective gun was the Navy's standard 5"/38 dual purpose rapid fire cannon. CAP (Combat Air~patrol) was also much less effective against the Kamikaze. Standard doctrine assumed that defensive fighters could handle an attacking force of roughly twice their own number, since it was your fighters against the enemy's bombers. This didn't work with suicide attackers, for which you needed as many defenders as there were attackers and escorts.

Another asset of the Kamikaze was that aircraft making such attacks had much greater reach than those making conventional attacks. After all, they weren't planning on returning to base, so Kamikaze attacks were possible well beyond the range of conventional air strikes. This was particularly evident off Okinawa. During the Okinawa Campaign (April-June 1945), the Japanese expended 1,465 aircraft in Kamikaze attacks, sinking 21 ships and damaging 217, of which 43 were constructive total losses and 23 required at least a month's repair before returning to service. Including casualties from conventional air attacks, a total of about 4,900 US Navy men were killed (more than 7 percent of total Navy war dead) and 4,800 wounded during the campaign, making it the bloodiest in US naval history. Altogether about 3,900 aircraft were expended by the Kamikaze, counting Army and Navy attacks together and excluding escorts. Several thousand aircraft sortied on Kamikaze missions but returned to base having failed to locate targets worthy of their sacrifice. Many of these were eventually used in successful attacks. These aircraft inflicted considerable damage on American and Allied ships, sinking 83 and damaging some 350 others.

The Kamikaze was the most serious threat to the safety of the fleet during the war. It was also, interestingly enough, the only major development in the war which US Navy brass had not anticipated during prewar planning. Actually, as bad as the experience with the Kamikaze was, it could easily have been worse. The Japanese could have resorted to Kamikaze tactics earlier, when anti-aircraft defenses were not so good. They also could have attempted mass attacks, rather than piecemeal ones, during the Philippine Campaign. Had the war lasted longer, it would most certainly have been worse. In anticipation of an American invasion of the Home Islands, the Japanese had some 9,000 aircraft on hand, of which a third were earmarked for Kamikaze attacks.

[SAMWolf]

Japanese Suicide Attacks at Sea.

It is not uncommon in warfare for a wounded soldier to "Take one with him." The most dramatic is that of a pilot on either side with a damaged plane with no hope of getting home to ram the enemy, either in the air, on the ground, or at sea.

• 19 June 44. Japanese carrier-based aircraft attack Fifth Fleet (Spruance) covering Saipan operation; battleship Indiana (BB-58) is damaged by suicide plane.
  
  
• 14 October 44. Japanese aerial counterattacks continue on TF 38, inflicting damage on light cruiser Reno (CL-96) by a suicide plane.

Late in the war, the Japanese established a policy of intentional suicide, called "special attack". From 24 October 1944, the policy of suicide attack inflicted much damage on the US fleet.

Kamikaze -- Japanese Navy suicide plane. The Army also used suicide planes.

• 21 Oct 44 Two planes with volunteers flew from the Philippines to attack US carriers.
  
  
• 23-26 Oct 44. Off Leyte, 55 Kamikaze pilots, in the first planned mass suicide attacks of the war, coordinated with the IJN attack on Leyte Gulf, hit the escort carriers and sank the St. Lo (CVE-63) and damaged the large escorts Sangamon (CVE-26), Suwannee (CVE-27), Santee (CVE-29), and small escorts White Plains, Kalinin Bay, and Kitkun Bay. In all, 7 carriers were hit and 40 other types damaged; five ships were sunk, 23 heavily damaged, and 12 moderate damage.
  
  
• 25 Mar 45-21 Jun 45. Off Okinawa -- Ten "Kikusui", swarms of Kamikaze, up to 350 attackers at a time, 1,900 in total, damaged 250 ships with 34 destroyers and smaller ships sunk. Several ships were damaged so badly they were not repaired. One in seven of all naval causalities occurred off Okinawa.

3,500 naval planes and an additional 1,500 army planes are hidden on Kyushu for the "final battle" and just as many for orthodox use; once suicide planes were used up, the orthodox pilots would become Kamikazes. This is a number sufficient to sink or damage 1,000 ships of an invading fleet.

Nakajima Ki-115. -- Specially built, basic aircraft that could carry a bomb used for kamikaze attacks. There were 104 build before the war ended, but had not yet reached combat units.

Mitsubishi J8M/Ki-200 Shusui -- rocket powered interceptor.

Japanese copy of German Me163 rocket powered interceptor fighter specially designed for use against B-29. The prototype flew on 7July45. The War ended before production.



Reppu. -- Specially designed kamikaze for use against B-29; the war ended before production.

Yokosuka Ohka. -- A piloted glide bomb, called "Baka" by the allies. The Baka piloted glide bomb was carried to within 12 miles of the target by a medium bomber. It would glide towards the target then activate rockets (model 11) or jet engine (model 22) to dive into the target and explode its one ton warhead. The Baka was difficult to stop, but its mother plane was extremely vulnerable.

• 21 Mar 45. Japanese make first known operational use of Baka piloted bombs in unsuccessful air attack against TF-58.
  
  
• 12 Apr 45. Off Okinawa, destroyer Mannert L. Abele (DD-733) is sunk by Baka--she is the first U.S. Navy ship to be sunk by that type of weapon. Destroyer Stanly (DD-478) is damaged by Baka. High speed minesweeper Jeffers (DMS-27) is damaged by Baka and kamikaze.
  
  
• 4 May 45. Light minelayer Shea (DM-30) is damaged by a Baka. Minesweeper Gayety (AM-239) is damaged by near-misses of kamikaze and Baka.
  
  
• 10 May 45 --In a crash program to counter the Japanese Baka (suicide) bomb, the Navy authorized development of Little Joe, a ship-to-air guided missile powered with a standard JATO unit.
  
  
• 11 May 45. Destroyer Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774) is damaged by Baka.

Ki-167 or Hiruy To-Go -- Bomber with 3 ton thermite bomb.
A Ki-67 Kai (Peggy) twin-engine bomber with guns removed and faired over, with crew reduced to four men, a 6,400 pound thermite bomb was installed with a blast radius of 1 km. Two are known to have been built, one sortied 17Apr45 for the USN fleet and disappeared, likely shot down by a Hellcat.

Shinyo -- Motorboat with two tons of explosives in the bow.

Great numbers were built and stored in caves for the invasion. 400 were at Okinawa; thousands waited in the coves of Japan proper. The speedboat had one man and, typically, two depth charges as explosives.

• 10 Jan 45. LCI(G)-365 and LCI(M)-974 sunk by Japanese suicide boats in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippines.
  
  
• 31 Jan 45. PC-1129 sunk by Japanese suicide boat off Nasugbu, Luzon, Philippine Islands.
  
  
• 16 Feb 45. LCS(L)-7, LCS(L)-26, and LCS(L)-49 sunk by suicide boats off Mariveles, Corregidor Channel, Luzon.
  
  
• 4 April 45. USS LCI(G)-82 and LSM-12 sunk by Japanese suicide boats off Okinawa.
  
• 27 April 45. USS Hutchins (DD-476) seriously damaged by a Japanese suicide boat in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, and not repaired after the end of the war.

Fukuryu -- Human mine - Swimmers carry an explosive charge beneath a ship.

• 8 Jan 45. Infantry landing craft (gunboat) LCI(G)-404 is damaged by suicide swimmers, Yoo Passage, Palaus.
  
  
• 10 Feb 45. Japanese suicide swimmers attempt attack upon surveying ship Hydrographer (AGS-2) in Schonian Harbor, Palaus.

Nikaku (spelling?) -- Human anti-tank mine - Soldiers with explosives strapped to their bodies.

The army had developed the technique in Philippines and on Okinawa to attack tanks by strapping explosive on a soldier who would crawl between the treads.



Kaiten -- Submarine launched, human guided torpedo.
48 feet, 3 feet diameter, 8.3 tons, 3,400 pound TNT warhead.

• 24 Jan 45. Begin Operation KONGO, employing suicide torpedoes [Kaitens]. I-36 launches Kaitens that damage ammunition ship Mazama (AE-9) and infantry landing craft LCI-600 at Ulithi.
  
  
• 12 Jan 45. Operation KONGO continues; submarine I-47 launches Kaitens that damage U.S. freighter Pontus H. Ross off Hollandia, New Guinea.
  
  
• 20 Jan 45. Operation KONGO concludes with Japanese submarine I-48 carrying out unsuccessful Kaiten attack on U.S. shipping at Ulithi. I-48 is sunk by destroyer escorts 23Jan45.
  
  
• 28 Mar 45. Japanese submarine I-47 (equipped with Kaitens) is damaged by 5th Fleet surface ships/craft off Okinawa and forced to return to Kure for repairs.
  
  
• From 26 Apr 45 to 10 Aug 45, ten ships were reported sunk.

Other Kaiten contacts include:

• 6 May 45. Submarine I-366, en route to take delivery of Kaitens, is damaged by mine off Hikari.
  
  
• 27 May 45. Destroyer escort Gilligan (DE-508) is damaged by dud torpedo Kaiten launched from Japanese submarine I-367.
  
  
• 28 June 45. Japanese submarine I-36 carries out unsuccessful Kaiten attack on stores ship Antares (AKS-3) southeast of the Marianas, destroyer Sproston (DD-577) comes to Antares's aid, sinking one Kaiten and damaging I-36.
  
  
• 24 July 45. Destroyer escort Underhill (DE-682), destroyed while intercepting 4 Kaitens from Japanese submarine I-53 off Luzon.
  
  
• 5 Aug 45. Destroyer escort Earl V. Johnson (DE-702) is damaged by explosion--near-miss of Kaiten fired by submarine I-53, Philippine Sea.
  
  
• 9 Aug 45. Destroyer escort Johnnie Hutchins (DE-360) on the convoy route between Leyte and Okinawa, sinks what may have been Kaitens launched by I-58.
  
  
• 12 Aug 45. Japanese submarine I-58 conducts unsuccessful Kaiten attack on dock landing ship Oak Hill (LSD-7) while she is en route from Okinawa to Leyte Gulf.

A shore based Kaiten station was established on the SE tip of Kyushu in prepartion for the invasion.

Koryu -- midget submarines.
Although not intended as a suicide weapon, survival rates were not high.
All five in the "Special Attack Unit" used in the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor were destroyed. Midgets also attacked in Sydney (all four lost) and Madagascar in June'42.

Five hundred 5-man submarines were being built for coastal defense with 115 completed at the time of surrender.

Additional Sources:

users.pandora.be
www.ww2pacific.com
www.usskidd.com
www.history.navy.mil
www.microworks.net
www.usslexington.bizland.com
www.spiegel.de
www.e-scoala.ro
koti.mbnet.fi
www.airgroup4.com
www.210521-journal.de
www.mlcook.lib.oh.us
www.katy.isd.tenet.edu
www.spclevents.com

[SAMWolf]

'All I could think of as the Jap bore in was 'I'm sitting on top of this 2000-pound torpedo. Let's get the hell out of here!' So I cut the gun, climbed out of the cockpit, and ran forward on the flight deck. I slid under an F6F. When the smoke cleared, I raised my head and bumped against a 1000-pound bomb loaded on the Hellcat. If that bomb had shaken loose I would have been a goner--even if the bomb didn't explode.'

-- W. S. Souza, VT-4 Pilot. USS ESSEX

'I saw all the 20-mm and 40-mm guns shooting at it… it seemed like it was coming in very slow… It was smoking but no one could shoot it down. I jumped back into the Ready Room as it hit. After the explosion, I ventured back on the flight deck--and I wish I hadn't--all those people killed--most burned to death!'

-- Don Gress, VT-4 Crewman. USS ESS

'By the end of the Pacific war records show that:
7,465 kamikazes flew to their deaths

the Allied fleet paid dearly with:
3,048 sailors killed
6,025 sailors wounded.
120 ships sunk'

-- Goralski, Robert. 1981. World War II Almanac

[SAMWolf]

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[SAMWolf]

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[ladtx]

My dad served aboard the USS Maryland and was in one of the main gun turrets when it took a direct kamikaze hit in 1945. He was the only survivor in the turret. He never spoke about it to me until I returned from Vietnam. Guess he figured I might have a better understanding then.

The USS Maryland torpedoed 22 June 1944 with moderate damage; repaired at Pearl Harbor. Engaged Japanese battleships at Surigao Strait, 25 October 1944. Received moderate Kamikaze damage 9 November 1944; repaired at Pearl Harbor. Received heavy Kamikaze damage 7 April 1945.

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Kennedy (DD-306)

Clemson class destroyer
Displacement. 1,190 t.
Lenght. 314'5"
Beam. 31'5"
Draft. 9'3"
Speed. 35 k.
Complement. 95
Armament. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt.

USS Kennedy (DD-306) was launched 15 February 1919 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco Calif. sponsored by Mrs. Eugene F. Essner; and commissioned 16 August 1920, Lt. Comdr. C. J. Parrish in command.

Kennedy arrived in San Diego, her homeport, 7 October 1920 and joined the PacifIc Fleet in exercises and maneuvers along the West Coast from the Pacific Northwest to South America. Gunnery drills, torpedo practice, planeguard duty, fleet problems, and war maneuvers with the Army kept Kennedy busy at sea, perfecting the techniques of naval warfare which were to make possible the great victories of World War II.

During the spring of 1924, the destroyer transited the Panama Canal for fleet concentrations in the Caribbean. She returned San Diego 22 April to resume operations of her homeport. She sailed 13 June 1925 for a fleet problem and joint exercises off Hawaii. During this cruise she accompanied the Battle Fleet to Pago Pago, Samoa, and ports in Australia and New Zealand, returning San Diego 26 September. In 1927 she revisited the Caribbean for more exercises, this time calling at Norfolk and New York before returning San Diego 22 May. Kennedy sailed once again 9 April 1928 for large scale maneuvers in Hawaiian waters, resuming operations out of San Diego 2 months later.

After training cruises for reserves during the summer of 1929, Kennedy arrived San Diego 27 September and decommissioned there 1 May 1930. Her hulk was sold 19 March 1931 and scrapped in accordance with the terms of the London Treaty limiting naval armament.

[ladtx]

Picture of a kamikaze hit on the Maryland in 1944. My dad was aboard when this happened.

[Valin]

GOOOOOD MORNING Foxhole!!!
On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on May 23:
1598 Claude Mellan French engraver/cartoonist/painter, baptized
1617 Elias Ashmole antiquary
1620 Pieter Neefs the Younger, Flemish painter, baptized
1644 Thomas Eisenhut composer
1696 Johann Caspar Vogler composer
1707 Carolus Linnæus Swedish botanist/"Father of Taxonomy" (naming plants & animals)
1710 François-Gaspard Adam French sculptor (garden sculptures)
1718 William Hunter obstetrician/medal writer
1729 Giuseppe Parini Italian priest/poet (Il Giorno)
1734 Friedrich Anton Mesmer Austria, physician/hypnotist (Mesmerism)
1735 Charles Joseph prince the Ligne, Belgian fieldmarshal/author
1737 Louis François Chambray composer
1741 Andrea Lucchesi composer
1753 Giovanni Battista Viotti violonist/composer
1754 Andrea Appiana Italian royal painter (Napoleon)
1756 Nicolas-Joseph Hullmandel composer
1759 Antoinio da Silva Leite composer
1790 Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville explorer
1794 Isaak-Ignaz Moscheles composer
1795 Charles Barry architect
1799 Thomas Hood English poet/composer (Song of the Shirt)
1810 Margaret Fuller writer/critic 1st pro book review column (New York Tribune)
1812 Henri A Esquiros French poet/writer (Les Vierges Folles)
1813 Mason Brayman Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1895
1820 James Buchanan Eads US, engineer/inventor (Eads Bridge-St Louis)
1824 Ambrose Everett Burnside Major General (Union volunteers)
1828 Edward Hitchcock America's 1st professor of physical ed (Amherst College)
1832 Pieter van der Aa Leyden Holland, Dutch Indologist/geographer
1837 James Sanks Brisbin Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1892
1843 Pedro Miguel Marques y Garcia composer
1844 'Abdu'l-Bahá early Bahá'í leader ('Azamat 7, 1)
1848 Helmuth J L von Moltke German general/chief of staff (WWI)
1848 Otto Lilienthal pioneer aviator
1849 Károly earl Khuen-Héderváry Premier of Hungary (1910-12)
1851 Antoni Stolpe composer
1862 William "Dummy" Hoy professoressional baseball player who lived to 99
1864 Louis Glass composer
1866 Gustav Aschaffenburg German psychiatrist/criminalologist
1871 Sigurd Lie composer
1873 Leo Baeck rabbi/president (World Union for Progressive Judaism)
1882 James Gleason New York NY, writer/actor (Bishop's Wife, Flying Fool)
1883 Douglas Fairbanks Denver CO, actor (Zorro/3 Musketeers/Robin Hood)
1886 Hermann Neiße writer
1888 Adrian Roland Holst Dutch poet (Raged & Tired)
1890 Herbert Marshall London, actor (Murder, Razor's Edge, Little Foxes)
1890 Virginia Eames Fort Davis TX, entertainer
1891 Pär Lagerkvist Sweden, novelist/poet/dramatist (Barabbas, Nobel 1951)
1898 Frank McHugh actor (Front Page, Gold Diggers 1935, Mighty Joe Young)
1898 Joseph Hazen lawyer
19-- Bill McCutcheon Russell KY, actor (Dom Deluise Show, Ball Four)
19-- Charytin Santo Domingo Dominican Republic, TV entertainer (El Show de Charytin)
19-- Lucia Galan Argentina, singer (Pimpinera)
19-- Phil Allocco rocker (Law & Order-Whiskey Song)
1901 Edmund Rubbra Northampton England, composer (Morning Watch)
1902 Mark Lothar composer
1903 Walter Reisch US, screenwriter (Ninotchka, Gaslight, Titanic)
1906 Hellmuth Christian Wolff composer
1907 Kenneth Allen engineer
1907 Matthew Campbell British senior civil servant
1908 Christian GK Baëta Togolese chairman (International Mission Council)
1908 John Bardeen US, physicist (transistor, Nobel 1956, 1972)
1908 Max Abramovitz US architect (Lincoln Center, UN Building)
1909 Edwin Arrowsmith diplomat
1910 Artie Shaw [Arthur Jacob Arshawsky] New York NY, bandleader (Come'on my House)
1910 Franz Jozef Kline US expressionist painter
1910 Hugh Casson architect
1910 Scatman Crothers [Benjamin], Terre Haute IN, actor (Zapped, Shining)
1911 Boris Kremenliev composer
1911 Melvin M Payne president (National Geographic Society)
1912 David Barran CEO (Midland Bank, England)
1912 Jean Françaix Le Mans France, composer (Le Rui Nu)
1912 John Payne Roanoke VA, actor (Restless Gun)
1912 Marius Goring Isle of Wight, actor (Herr Palitz-Holocaust)
1912 Samuel Curran vice chancellor (Strathclyde University)
1913 Ian Graeme Major-General
1914 Alec Dickson founder (VSO)
1914 Barbara Ward economist/writer (Only One Earth)
1914 Leo Lerman actor/manager/critic (Dance Magazine)
1914 Travis Kemp dancer/teacher
1915 Clyde Wiegand physicist
1916 Margaret Hayden Rector playwright (living legacy award 1995)
1918 Bulent Arel composer
1918 Bumps Blackwell rocker
1918 Denis Compton cricketer (England batsman 1938-56 & Arsenal forward)
1919 Betty Garrett St Joseph MO, actress (Irene-All in the Family)
1919 Robert Antonissen South African literary
1920 Helen O'Connell Lima OH, singer (Green Eyes, Amapola)
1920 Sid Melton Brooklyn NY, actor (Alf-Green Acres, Charlie-Danny Thomas)
1921 Humphrey Lyttelton jazz musician/actor (It's Great to Be Young)
1921 James [Benjamin] Blish US/UK, sci-fi author (Hugo, Star Trek Reader)
1921 Loren Tindall Oklahoma, actor (Meet Me on Broadway, Girl of Limberlost)
1921 Montague Modlyn broadcaster
1921 Sanderson Temple circuit judge
1922 Dennis Compton author/crickleter
1923 Alicia de Larrocha Copenhagen Denmark, pianist (Orquesta Sinfonica)
1923 Nirode Chowdhury Indian cricket pace bowler (1949-52)
1924 Desmond Carrington British radio host (Jim-Calamity the Cow)
1924 Michael McCrum master (Corpus Christi College Cambridge)
1924 V N Swamy cricketer (one Test India vs New Zealand 1955, DNB, 0-45)
1928 Nigel Davenport Cambridge England, actor (Without a Clue, Masada)
1928 Nina Otkalenko USSR, 800 meter runner (9 world records)
1928 Rosemary Clooney Maysville KY, singer/Coronet paper towels spokeswoman
1929 Joe Modise South African commandant of Umkhonto we Sizwe (1965- )
1929 Ulla Jacobson Swedish actress (One Summer of Happiness)
1930 Richard Anuszkiewicz Erie PA, painter
1931 Barbara Barrie Chicago IL, actress (Breaking Away, Barney Miller)
1931 José Telles Da Conceiçao Brazil, high jumper (Olympics-bronze-1952)
1932 James Lester MP
1932 John Lyons Cambridge England, Master (Trinity Hall)
1932 Mary Fickett Bronxville NY, actress (Ruth Martin-All My Children)
1933 Bruce A Peterson US test pilot (M2, HL-10)
1933 Gerrit J M Braks Dutch minister of agriculture & land & fishing (CDA)
1933 Joan [Henrietta] Collins London England, actress (Alexis Carrington Colby-Dynasty)
1934 Malcolm Gill deputy head (Bank for International Settlements)
1934 Robert Moog inventor (the Moog Synthesizer)
1935 Juliet Campbell British ambassador (to Luxembourg)
1935 Lord Grenfell head of External affairs European office, world bank
1936 Charles Kimbrough actor (Murphy Brown)
1936 Douglas John Gorman businessman
1936 Robert Sangster horse owner/trainer
1937 John Mazza horse trainer
1938 John R Miller (Representative-R-WA, 1985- )
1938 Peter Preston editor (Guardian)
1939 Ron Stevens horse trainer
1941 Jackson Hill composer
1943 General George Norman Johnson US singer (Down at the Beach Club)
1943 John "Poli" Palmer rocker (Family)
1943 John Newcombe Australia, tennis pro (Wimbledon 1967, 70, 71)
1943 Lars-Ake Nilsson diplomat
1943 Peter Kenilorea PM Solomon Islands
1944 Giles Smith TV journalist
1944 Olga Maitland MP
1944 Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood US drummer (Funkadelic, Knee Deep)
1945 Elliott Bernerd English broker/multi-millionaire
1945 Lauren Chapin actress (Kathy-Father Knows Best)
1945 Misty Morgan country keyboardist (duo with Jack Blanchard)
1946 Tom Dorris horse trainer
1947 Ann Hui director (Boat People)
1947 Jonathan Pryce North Wales, stage actor (Miss Saigon)
1948 Reggie Cleveland baseball player
1949 Alan García Pérez President of Peru (1985-90)
1950 Linda Thompson Memphis TN, actress (Hee Haw)
1951 Anatoliy Karpov USSR, world chess champion (1975-85)
1951 Judy Rodman Riverside CA, country singer (Girls Ride Horses Too)
1952 Deborah Adair actress (Tracey-Dynasty, Kate-Day of Our Life)
1952 James Mankey rocker (Concrete Blonde)
1954 "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler New Jersey, middleweight boxing champion (1982-83)
1955 John Stevens MEP
1957 Jimmy McShane Pop singer (Baltimora-Tarzan Boy)
1958 Shelly West Cleveland OH, country singer (Red Hot, West by West)
1958 Thomas Reiter Germany, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-22)
1959 Linden Ashby actor (Mortal Kombat)
1959 Marcella Mesker Netherlands, tennis star
1960 Theo Vogelaars pop bassist (Tröckener Kecks/Paid Love)
1961 Dave Babych Edmonton, NHL defenseman (Vancouver Canucks)
1961 Drew Carey Cleveland OH, actor/comedian (Drew-Drew Carey Show)
1961 Kevin Romine baseball player
1962 Karen [Duff] Duffy New York NY, MTV VJ/actress (Meet Wally Sparks)
1962 Keith Brantley Scott Air Force Base IL, marathoner (Olympics-96)
1964 Kenny Gattison NBA forward (Orlando Magic)
1964 Staci Greason Denver CO, actress (Isabella Toscando-Days of Our Lives)
1965 James Hasty NFL cornerback (Kansas City Chiefs)
1965 Lilian Drescher Venezuela, tennis star
1965 Woorkeri Venkat Raman cricketer (Indian slow left-arm all-rounder)
1966 Gary Roberts North York, NHL left wing (Calgary Flames)
1966 Graeme Hick cricketer (in Zimbabwe Massive run-scorer for Worcestershire)
1966 Helena Bonham Carter London, actress (Fort Worth, Howards End)
1967 Craig John Monk Auckland New Zealand, finn class yachter (Olympics-96)
1968 Daryl Hobbs NFL wide receiver (Oakland Raiders)
1968 Tiffany Rochelle-Anderson Laguna Beach CA, WPVA (Nationals-13th-1995)
1969 Pat Hurst San Leandro CA, LPGA golfer (1995 Rolex Rookie of the Year)
1969 Ramon Caraballo baseball player
1970 Grahae Hick cricketer
1970 Ricky Gutierrez Miami FL, infielder (Houston Astros)
1971 Issac Booth NFL cornerback/safety (Cleveland Browns)
1971 Joseph Rogers CFL receiver (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1971 Marshall Boze San Manual AZ, pitcher (Milwaukee Brewers)
1972 Isabelle Fijalkowski WNBA center/forward (Cleveland Rockers)
1972 Marco van Hoogdalem Dutch soccer player (Roda JC)
1972 Rene Ingoglia running back (Buffalo Bills)
1972 Shannon Brown NFL defensive tackle (Atlanta Falcons)
1973 Verna Vasquez Miss Universe-best swimsuit (Curacao, 1997)
1974 Duane Clemons linebacker (Minnesota Vikings)
1974 Jewel [Kilcher] St George UT, folk/rock vocalist (Pieces of You)
1974 Kimber West Atlanta GA, playmate (Feb 1997)
1975 Vincent Goossens soccer player (Dordrecht '90)
1976 Kelly Marie Monaco Philadelphia PA, playmate (April, 1997)
1976 Melanie Joyce Bell Vernon NJ, Miss America-New Jersey (1997)
1980 Sarah Louise Catherwood Christchurch New Zealand, 4x200 meter swimmer (Olympics-96)
1984 Adam Wylie actor (Picket Fences)

---

Deaths which occurred on May 23:
1125 Hendrik V Roman catholics German king/emperor (1098/1111-25), dies
1153 David I king of Scotland (1124-53), dies at about 68
1423 Benedict XIII [Pedro the Luna] Spanish Pope (1394-1423), dies
1498 Girolamo Savonarola dictator of Florence (1494-98), tortured & executed in Florence at 45
1568 Adolf van Nassau German son of Willem the Rich, dies in battle at 27
1627 Luis de Góngora y Argote poet/writer, dies
1648 Luis de Nain painter, dies
1668 Philips Wouwerman Haarlems painter, buried
1684 Adriaen Backer Amsterdams painter buried at about 48
1701 William Kidd Scottish pirate, hanged at London's Execution Dock
1754 John Wood architect/town planner, dies
1783 James Otis American lawyer, dies
1785 William Woollett engraver, dies
1834 Charles Wesley composer, dies at 76
1838 John W Janssens Governor-General (Cape Colony), dies at 75
1841 Franz Xaver von Baader German philosopher/theologist, dies at 76
1842 José de Espronceda y Delgado Spanish revolutionary/poet, dies at 34
1851 Lucas Pieter Roodbaard architect, dies at 69
1860 Albert Richard Smith author/lecturer, dies
1867 Archibald Alison Scottish historian, dies at 74
1875 Johann Wilhelm Mangold composer, dies at 78
1881 Kit Carson frontiersman, dies
1881 Leopold von Ranke historian, dies
1883 Cyprian K Norwid Polish painter/poet/playwright (Wanda), dies
1887 Ludwig Mathias Lindeman composer, dies at 74
1891 Ignace Xavier Joseph Leybach composer, dies at 73
1895 Franz E Neumann German mineralogist/physicist, dies at 96
1897 Aleko Konstantinov Bulgarian writer (To Chicago & Back), dies at 34
1905 Martinus W van AA Meerbeke head-editor (Time), dies at 75
1906 Henrik Johan Ibsen Norwegian playwright (Doll House), dies at 78
1908 François Coppée French poet, dies
1926 Hans Koessler composer, dies at 73
1934 Bonnie & Clyde bank robbers killed in shoot-out with police in Shreveport LA
1934 Bonnie Parker outlaw (Bonnie & Clyde), killed in police ambush
1934 Clyde Barrow outlaw (Bonnie & Clyde), killed in police ambush
1937 John Davison Rockfeller industrialist, dies at 97 in Ormond Beach FL
1938 Philip Kleintjes republic leader, dies at 70
1940 Andrej N Rimsky-Korssakov Russian musicologist/son of Nikolai, dies
1940 Paul Nizan French journalist/writer (Ce Soir/Aden Arabia), dies at 35
1941 Lord Herbert Austin motor manufacturer, dies
1941 Slavko Osterc composer, dies at 45
1945 Heinrich Himmler Nazi/Gestapo leader, commits suicide while in prison at Luneburg, Germany at 44
1947 C F Ramuz writer, dies at 68
1952 Georg Alfred Schumann composer, dies at 85
1954 H R Bromley-Davenport cricketer (batted in 4 Tests for England), dies
1960 Georges Claude engineer/inventor, dies
1961 Joan Davis comedic actress (I Married Joan), dies at 53
1965 David Smith sculptor, dies
1966 Ruth Gates Denton TX, actress (Aunt Jenny-Mama), dies at 79
1967 Philip Coolidge actor (I Want to Live, Tingler), dies at 58
1967 Sanne Sannes photographer, dies at 30
1968 James Burke actor (Ellery Queen, Army Surgeon), dies at 81
1968 Merle Kendrick orchestra leader (Window on the World), dies at 72
1969 Diane Aubrey actress (Haunted Strangler), dies of heart attack at 79
1969 Jimmy McHugh composer (Can't Give You Anything But Love), dies at 74
1969 Peter Alma painter/graphic artist, dies at 83
1970 Nydia Westman actress (Going My Way, Young Mr Bobbins), dies at 68
1973 Athena Lorde actress (Judith-One Man's Family, Fuzz, Skin Game), dies at 57
1974 Kathleen Cannell writer, dies
1975 Jackie "Moms" Mabley comedienne (Amazing Grace), dies at 81
1979 Hubert van Doorne auto manufacturer (DAF), dies at 79
1982 Louis J N Gérardin bicyclist (world champion sprint 1930), dies at 69
1983 Albert Claude Belgian biologist (Nobel 1974), dies at 84
1986 Sterling Hayden actor (Blue & Gray), dies at 70
1987 Karel Albert Flemish composer (Marieken van Nymeghen), dies at 86
1988 David Schoenbrun CBS broadcast bureau head (Washington, Paris), dies at 73
1990 Rocky Graziano boxer/writer/actor (Mr Rock & Roll), dies
1991 Jean van Houte Belgian premier, dies
1991 Peter T Thwaites British Brigadier-General/playwright (Love or money), dies
1991 William Sinnot Scottish pop musician (Shamen), dies at 30
1992 Atahualpa Yupanqui Argentine singer/composer/poet/guitarist, dies
1992 Giovanni Falcone anti-mafia judge (Palermo), murdered
1993 James Millhollin actor (Anston Foster-Grindl), dies at 77
1994 Carl Althoff German circus director, dies at 82
1994 Joe Pass US jazz guitarist (The Trio), dies at 65
1996 Dorothy Hyson actress (Spare a Copper, Sing as We Go), dies at 81
1996 Kronid Arkadyevich Lyubarsky human rights activist, dies at 61
1996 Patrick Cargill actor (Up Pompeii, Magic Christian), dies at 77

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 WALKER ORIEN JUDSON BOSTON MA.
(02/01/66 PROB DEAD)
1967 HOMUTH RICHARD W. SPRING VALLEY CA.
(SAR FOUND RAFT RADIO CONTACT)
1967 PETTIS THOMAS E. MOBILE AL.
(SAR FOUND RAFT RADIO CONTACT)
1967 SCHMITTOU EUREKA LAVERN RINGGOLD TX.
(SAR FOUND RAFT RADIO CONTACT)
1967 SOUCY RONALD PHILIP WHITTING LAKE IN.
(SAR FOUND RAFT RADIO CONTACT)
1968 COCHRAN ISOM CARTER JR. HOUSTON TX.
1968 LANE GLEN O. ODESSA TX.
1968 OWEN ROBERT D. CHATHAM VA.
1968 SCHRUMP RAYMOND C. TOMAHAWK WI.
(02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED, ALIVE IN 96)
1969 BENTON GREGORY R. VALLEJO CA.
(FAMILY STATES NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN)
1969 RAMIREZ ARMANDO WILLCOX AZ.
1972 BYRNS WILLIAM G. ST. LOUIS MO.
(03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 1996/98)
1972 BEAN WILLIAM R. JR. FT PAYNE AL.
(03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98)
1972 BARNETT CHARLES E. HOUSTON TX.
(BODY FELL IN FIELD-NHAN DAN, REMAINS RETURNED 02/22/89)

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

---

On this day...
1059 Henri I crowns his son compassionate King Philip I of France
1275 King Edward I of England orders cessation of persecution of French Jews
1420 Jews of Syria & Austria expelled
1421 Jews of Austria imprisoned & expelled
1430 Joan of Arc captured by Burgundians at Compiegne, who sell her to the British
1493 King Charles VIII & Maximilian I of Austria signs Peace of Senlis
1533 King Henry VIII & Catherine of Aragon marriage declared null & void
1536 Pope Paul III installs Portugese inquisition
1544 German emperor Charles V recognizes king Christian III of Denmark
1555 Giampietro Caraffa elected Pope Paul IV
1568 Battle at Heiligerlee: Dutch rebels beat Spanish, 100s killed
1576 Tycho Brahe given Hveen Island to build Uraniborg Observatory
1611 Matthias von Habsburg chosen king of Bohemia
1618 2nd Defenestration of Prague; the beginning of the 30 Years War
1618 Imperial civil servants thrown out a window of Prague Castle
1644 Johan Mauritius van Nassau resigns as head of Civil rights activists
1647 Willem II sworn in as viceroy of Holland
1660 King Charles II returns from exile sails from Scheveningen to England
1667 King Afonso VI of Portugal flees
1701 Captain Kidd hung in London after conviction of piracy & murder
1706 Battle of Ramillies-Marlborough defeats French; 17,000 killed
1750 Carlo Goldoni's "Il Bugiardo" premieres in Mantua
1774 Chestertown tea party occurs (tea dumped into Chester River)
1785 Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals
1788 South Carolina becomes 8th state to ratify US constitution
1844 Declaration of the Báb (Bahá'í festival) ('Azamat 7, 1)
1848 Otto Lilienthal, pioneer aviator
1853 Buenos Aires gains independence from Argentina (reunited 1859)
1861 3 fleeing slaves enter Fort Monroe VA
1861 Virginia citizens vote 3 to 1 in favor of secession
1862 Battle at Front Royal VA
1862 Valley Campaign-Stonewall Jackson takes Front Royal VA
1864 Battle of Dallas GA
1864 Battle of North Anna VA, 1st of 3 days of fighting
1865 Flag flown at full staff over White House, 1st time since Lincoln shot
1865 Grand Review begins in Washington DC
1865 Victory parade in Washington DC (Grand Review)
1867 Jesse James-gang rob bank in Richmond MO (2 die, $4,000 taken)
1873 1st Preakness: G Barbee aboard Survivor wins in 2:43
1873 Canada's North West Mounted Police Force (RCMPF) forms
1873 Postal cards sold in San Fransisco for 1st time
1876 1st National League no-hitter (Joe Borden, Boston)
1878 Attorney John Henry Smyth named minister to Liberia
1882 6" of snow falls in eastern Iowa
1883 9th Kentucky Derby: William Donohue aboard Leonatus wins in 2:43
1883 Baseball game between one-armed and one-legged players
1884 12th Preakness: S Fisher aboard Knight of Ellerslie wins in 2:39½
1887 1st transcontinental train arrives in Vancouver British Columbia
1894 William Love hosts ground breaking ceremonies for Love Canal
1898 1st Philippine Expeditionary Troops sail from San Fransisco
1900 Associated Press News Service forms in New York
1901 35th Belmont Stakes: H Spencer aboard Commando wins in 2:21
1901 Indians score 9 runs after 2 outs in 9th to beat Senators 14-13
1901 Ottawa Mint Act receives Royal Assent
1901 US captures leader of Philippine rebels, Emilio Aguinaldo
1903 1st automobile trip across US from San Fransisco to New York, ended April 1
1903 1st direct primary election law in US adopted, by Wisconsin
1908 Dirigible explodes over San Fransisco Bay, 16 passengers fall, none die
1908 Part of the Great White Fleet arrives in Puget Sound WA
1911 New York Public Library building at 5th Avenue dedicated by President Taft
1915 Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary & Germany during WWI
1916 Heavy battles at Fort Douaumont Verdun
1917 Dutch 2nd Chamber okays 1908 conscription draft
1918 King Oil/Shell refinery on Curaçao officially opens
1920 Pope Benedictus XV publishes encyclical Pacem Dei
1921 "Shuffle Along" 1st black musical comedy, opens in NYC
1922 "Abie's Irish Rose" 1st of over 2,500 performances
1922 Harry Greb gives Gene Tunney his only professional boxing defeat
1922 Walt Disney incorporates his 1st film company Laugh-O-Gram Films
1923 1st flight of Sabena: Brussel-Lympne, Great Britain
1926 Hack Wilson is 1st to hit a homerun off Wrigley Field scoreboard
1926 Lebanese constitution is established under French mandate
1928 Bomb attack on Italians embassy in Buenos Aires, 22 die
1931 Whipsnade Zoo opens in Whipsnade Beds England
1932 Sir Hubert Ferdinand Opperman sets 24 hour record of 860 miles, 367 yards
1934 Wallace Carothers manufactures 1st nylon (polymeer 66)
1935 1st scheduled night game, postponed due to rain (Cincinnati)
1939 British decoration, George Cross, 1st presented
1939 British parliament plans to make Palestine independent by 1949
1939 Dmitri Shostakovich appointed professor at conservatory of Leningrad
1939 Hitler proclaims he wants to move into Poland
1939 Submarine Squalis sinks off Portsmouth NH, 26 die
1940 1st great dogfight between Spitfires
1941 Joe Louis beats Buddy Baer on DQ in 7 for heavyweight boxing title
1941 Rudolf Harbig runs world record 1k (2:21.5)
1943 826 Allied bombers attack Dortmund
1943 In Dr Faustus, Serenus Zeitblom begins his biography of Adrian Leverkühn
1944 British/Canadian troops occupy Pontecorvo Italy
1944 Chinese counter offensive at Hunan front
1944 Operation-Buffalo: Allied jailbreak out Anzio-bridgehead
1944 Polo Grounds host 1st NYC night game since 1941
1945 British military police arrest Admiral Karl Doenitz
1945 German island of Helgoland in North Sea surrenders to British
1945 Heinrich Himmler, German Nazi leader & Chief of Police, committed suicide
1945 Lord Haw-Haw arrested at Danish boundary
1945 Winston Churchill resigns as British PM
1947 PC Hooft prize forms for literature
1948 Joe DiMaggio hits 3 consecutive homeruns
1948 Ramat Rahel gateway to Jerusalem is repossessed by Israel
1949 Federal Republic of [West] Germany proclaimed (Republic Day)
1951 Peter Ustinov's "Love of Four Colonels" premieres in London
1953 79th Preakness: Eric Guerin aboard Native Dancer wins in 1:57.8
1953 Schools 1st use Cliff's Notes
1953 WHIZ TV channel 18 in Zanesville OH (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 Presbyterian Church begins accepting women ministers
1956 World Trade Center dedicated in Ferry Building, San Fransisco
1958 Mao Tse Tung starts "Great leap forward" movement in China
1959 "Party with Comden & Green" closes at John Golden NYC after 44 performances
1960 "Finian's Rainbow" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 12 performances
1960 "Got A Girl" by The Four Preps hits #24
1960 Israel announced capture of Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina
1960 WGTV TV channel 8 in Athens-Atlanta GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1960 WKBM TV (now WLII) channel 11 in Caguas/San Juan Puerto Rico 1st broadcast
1960 WRCA radio changes call letters back to WNBC (NYC)
1962 Joe Pepitone 2nd Yankee to hit 2 homeruns in 1 inning (Joe DiMaggio)
1962 OAS leader General Raoul Salan sentenced to life
1962 Scott Carpenter orbits Earth 3 times in US Aurora 7
1963 NBC purchases 1963 AFL championship game TV rights for $926,000
1964 Dale Greig runs female marathon world record (3:27:45)
1965 Franz Jonas elected president of Austria
1965 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Open
1965 Pontoon ferry overturned on Shire River Malawi, kills 150
1966 The Beatles release "Paperback Writer"
1967 Government bans submarines near South Africa
1968 AC Milan wins 8th Europe Cup II in Rotterdam
1968 Beatles open 2nd Apple Boutique at 161 New Kings Road, London
1969 BBC orders 13 episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus
1969 Lauwerszee Dike in Holland closes
1969 The Who release the rock opera "Tommy"
1970 Grateful Dead's 1st perfomance outside of the US (England)
1970 San Diego Padres beat San Fransisco Giants 17-16 in 15 innings
1970 USSR performs nuclear test (underground)
1971 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Suzuki Golf Internationalionale
1971 Rock group Iron Butterfly disbands
1974 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1974 Italian Red Brigade officer Mario Sossi freed
1976 Amy Alcott wins '76 LPGA Golf Classic
1977 Benin adopts its constitution
1977 Moluccan extremists hold 105 schoolchildren & 50 others hostage on a hijacked train in Netherlands, children released May 27, siege ends June 11
1977 Supreme Court refuses to hear appeals of Watergate wrong doers H R Halderman, John Ehrlichman & John Mitchell
1978 American League approves transfer of Red Sox to Jean Yawkey for $15 million
1978 General strike in Peru
1979 "The Kids Are Alright" premieres
1979 1st edition of "Wisden Cricket Monthly"
1979 Borussia Mönchengladbach wins 8th UEFA Cup at Düsseldorf
1979 Rocker Tom Petty files chapter 11 bankruptcy
1979 West-Germany elects Karl Carstens president
1980 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Neil Burton
1981 Barcelona fascists take 200 people hostage
1981 NASA launches Intelsat V
1982 BBC warns Britain will bomb Argentina
1982 Cathy Morse wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Charity Golf Classic
1982 Colin Wilson rides a surfboard 294 miles
1982 Pope John Paul II declares "Peerke" Donders divine
1983 Radio Moscow announcer Vladimir Danchev praises Afghánistán Muslims standing up to Russia; he is removed from the air
1984 Anderlecht wins 13th UEFA Cup at London
1984 Detroit Tigers win American League record tying 16th straight road game
1986 US & West Europeans veto heavier sanctions against South Africa
1988 Maryland stops sale of cheap pistols on Jan 1, 1990
1989 3rd American Comedy Award: Paula Poundstone
1989 Angela Visser, 22, of Holland, crowned 38th Miss Universe
1989 Cleveland loses & drop to 21-22, this is the latest a sub .500 team is in 1st place (American League East)
1989 Lincoln Square in the Bronx is named
1990 A C Milan wins 35th Europe Cup 1 at Vienna
1990 Cost of rescuing savings & loan failures is put at up to $130 billion
1990 Dow Jones average hits a record 2,856.26
1990 New York Yankees hit 6 homeruns to beat Minnesota Twins 12-0
1991 Last Cubans troops leave Angola
1991 Phillie Tommy Greene no-hits Montréal Expos, 2-0
1991 San Diego Sockers win 4th consecutive Major Soccer League championship
1991 US Supreme Court bars subsidized clinics from discussing abortion
1992 New York Yankees play in their 4th straight extra inning game
1992 President Bush orders Coast Guard to intercept boats with Haitian refugees
1993 Val Skinner wins LPGA Lady Keystone Golf Open
1994 270 pilgrims dies in bustle round Mina Saudi-Arabia
1994 Roman Herzog elected President of Germany
1994 Star Trek The Next Generation, finale airs this week in syndication
1995 47th time opposing pitchers hit honeruns, K Foster (Cubs)/M Freeman (Rocks)
1996 Fred Norris of the Howard Stern show changes his name legally to Eric
1997 "King David" closes at New Amsterdam Theater NYC
1997 Mel Karmazin replaces Peter Lund as CEO of CBS TV

---

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

Bermuda : Empire Day
German Federal Republic : Republic Day (1949)
Jamaica : Labour Day
Rye, Sussex England : Mayoring Day
South Carolina : Ratification Day (1788)
Canada : Victoria Day (1819) - - - - - ( Monday )

---

Religious Observances
Christ : Feast of St Ives of Chartres, patron of lawyers (or 0519?)
Bahá'í : Declaration of Bab (festival) ('Azamat 7, 1)
Anglican, Roman Catholic : Ember Day

---

Religious History
1633 By French edict, only Catholic settlers were permitted permanent residence within the country known as New France (called "Canada" today), thus ending 30 years of attempted colonization by Huguenots (Protestants).
1862 Birth of Hermann Gunkel, the German Protestant biblical scholar who pioneered the analytical approach to understanding Scripture afterward known as "form criticism." Gunkel applied its formulas primarily to the Old Testament, in his commentaries on Genesis (1901) and on the Psalms (1926-28).
1889 Birth of Mary Susanne Edgar, a Canadian YWCA leader who wrote a number of hymns during her years of leading a Christian camping ministry with girls. Her best-remembered hymn: "God, Who Touchest Earth with Beauty."
1903 Death of American Congregational missionary Henry Blodget, 78. He served 40 years in China (1854-94), and helped translate the New Testament into the colloquial Mandarin language of Peking.
1926 Birth of Wilbur Nelson, Christian broadcast personality and for many years the host of "The Morning Chapel Hour," a radio ministry originating in Paramount, California.

---

Thought for the day :
" Real love stories have no endings. "

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

Whatever you're doing this weekend, freepers, Take it easy on the roads and if you going to party, bring along a designated driver with you.

We want to have everyone back in one piece when this Memorial Day Holiday Weekend is over with.Regards.

[facedown]

An observation from someone, maybe Souza, aboard the Essex that day:

The impact of the kamikaze was so severe that I could see the paint bounce off the bulkheads in the wardroom before smoke filled the room. My immediate thought was, "We have been hit by a torpedo or a bomb!" I looked around the room and noticed that nearly everyone else had ducked under the wardroom tables. I thought, "That seems kind of silly since the explosion is over." Then I thought about delayed-action fuses. "They are expecting a second explosion!" So, I got under a table, too.

YIKES!!!

From 12. Essex Takes a Kamikaze

A chapter from Torpedo Squadron Four: A Cockpit View of World War II By Gerald W. Thomas

[SAMWolf]

Thanks ladtx.

My FIL was on the SAMUEL CHASE and wounded off Okinawa, spent the rest of the was in a hispital in California.

My dad never talked much about his war experiences either until I came back from Vietnam, probably for the same reasons as your did.

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you for your kind reminder! You be careful out there, too.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks aomagrat.

I can't even imagine trying to man one of those un-turreted guns on a DD. no protection from fire or the elements.

[SAMWolf]

1969 The Who release the rock opera "Tommy"

That deaf, dumb and blind kid, sure plays a mean pinball!

[snippy_about_it]

Good Morning Sam.

So much for the 'History Channel'. I thought I saw everything there was to see about this but your reports are much bettter! I had no idea of the numbers of Kamikaze planes used or the other types of suicide missions. Guess this is nothing new to the terrorists we are fighting now what with bombs strapped to themselves.

Seriously, thanks for filling in the blanks.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the timely reminder E.G.C.

Enjoy your holiday weekend.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the links facedown. When I went to see the Missouri right before she left for Pearl Harbor the dent in her armored belt from a kamikaze hit is sill visable.

[SAMWolf]

That has got to be the strangest feeling. Seeing that picture and knowing your dad is part of it.

My thanks to your dad for his service.

[SAMWolf]

Good morning Snippy.

Imagine what the fleet would have faced if the bombs weren't dropped and we had to invade the Japanese home islands.