The FReeper Foxhole Remembers the Second Battle of the Marne (July - Sept, 1918) - June 15th, 2003

http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/2marne.htm ^ | Thread work by SAMWolf

[snippy_about_it]

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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Second Battle of the Marne

Background

The Second Battle of the Marne marked the turning of the tide in World War I. It began with the last German offensive of the conflict and was quickly followed by the first allied offensive victory of 1918. The American Expeditionary Force with over 250,000 men fighting under overall French command played key roles both in the initial defense and the later advances. In the Second Battle of Marne with 30,000 killed and wounded, the United States started suffering casualties on the enormous scale usually associated with the battles of the Great War.

In late May, the German high command had ordered a major offensive from the Chemin des Dames northeast of Paris towards the River Marne threatening both Paris and the Paris - Verdun rail link. The 2nd and 3rd divisions of the AEF helped defend along the Marne on either side of the river town of Chateau Thierry. What resulted was a rounded bulge in western front thirty miles wide at the base, extending south about 25 miles to its apex right at Chateau Thierry. With American encouragement, a plan evolved to eliminate this salient with a two pronged assault from the west and south.



In July, when it became clear that the Germans would renew their assault in the area, a decision was made to absorb the assault, let the enemy tire themselves, and then counterattack soon afterwards.

There were three distinct parts to the battle of the Marne and they will be discussed separately in this article. Since this piece was produced for the Doughboy Center, the emphasis will be on the American participation. French, British and Italian forces fought hard and in great numbers in this huge operation as well. Here is a summary of those three phases with some key dates:

Phase I: THE 5TH LUDENDORFF OFFENSIVE,
July 15-17, 1918

July 15
Three and one-half German Armies attack in the early morning. The 3rd Division of AEF makes a strategically important stand on the left end of the Marne River line.



July 17
German units occupy southern bank of Marne between Epernay and Chateau Thierry and advance their line 7 miles east of Reims.

Phase II: THE AISNE-MARNE COUNTER OFFENSIVE,
July 18 - August 17, 1918

July 18
French 10th and 6th Armies attack the salient from the west Tanks are used effectively and four American divisions lead a rapid advance. German high command decides to reinforce the salient to avoid a route.



July 19
American units south of Soissons start meeting fanatical resistance. German air force commands the air.

July 21
Second assault against the salient from the south. Five more AEF divisions would eventually be committed.

July 30-Aug 1
Battle before Sergy; Ourcq River line crossed.

Aug 4-22
Tenacious battle before Vesle River at Fismes and Fismette as German Army defends vigorously on the Vesle.

Phase III: THE OISE-AISNE OFFENSIVE,
AUGUST 18 - SEPTEMBER 16, 1918

Aug 18
French 10th Army launches major offensive near Soissons

Aug 28-Sep 2
US 32nd Division captures key town of Juvigny cutting the Soissons-St. Quentin road. Germans find Vesle line untenable and withdraw before River Aisne.



Sep 4
Vesle River crossed; US 28th & 77th Divisions advance.

Sep 16
Last full American division in sector [77th] relieved as the axis of the French and American offensive operations shifts east to the Champagne and Verdun sectors.

Phase I:

The 5th Ludendorff Offensive,
July 15-17, 1918

At midnight, July 14/15 the artillery crashed and the last German push of the war started. As predicted, it was a drive to get across the Marne [east of] Chateau-Thierry...[From Chateau-Thierry east were] the Third American Division...where they'd been ever since their machine gunners had come charging up the riverbank six weeks before. Then came another French outfit and next the pea-green Pennsylvania National Guard -- The 28th Division -- which had no line time even in a quiet sector. They were fed in by companies to fight with the French. Farther east {of Reims] there was the veteran 42nd Division, the Rainbow...That night and the next day the 38th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Division, made a stand that deserves to rank with the famous ones, and it won.



The 38th was in line just west of where the Surmelin River flows north into the Marne. The Surmelin runs northwest and down either side of its gentle valley there ran two good roads which went south into the main Paris highway. This was to be the main German track, the route by which guns were to move south and help exploit a breakthrough.

[Westpointer, Colonel Ulysses Grant McAlexander commanded the 38th.] Down by the [Marne] river he put Major Guy Row's 2nd Battalion. The 1st Battalion, only half strength, was farther back in the support, and the 3rd Battalion even deeper in reserve.

Along the river Row's men had three companies in line...from left to right -- each with two platoons dug in down on the riverbank, two more about three hundred and fifty yards back behind the embankment of the east-west Metz-Paris railroad. The railroad was raised up on a constructed embankment about nine feet high and so wide it was very difficult to fight from behind it.

The story continues with a firsthand description of the defense along the River Marne by Captain Jesse Woolridge of Major Rowe's battalion:

...Newly captured prisoners began to give real information - a grand offensive was to be made [where] the Marne was only about 50 yards wide...We had 600 yards of [this] front all to ourselves...[When it began] it seemed [the Germans] expected their artillery to eliminate all resistance...French Officers attached to our Brigade stated positively there was never a bombardment to equal it at Verdun.



At 3:30am the general fire ceased and their creeping barrage started - behind which at 40 yards only, mind you, they came - with more machine guns than I thought the German Army owned...

The enemy had to battle their way through the first platoon on the river bank - then they took on the second platoon on the forward edge of the railway where we had a thousand times the best of it - but the [Germans] gradually wiped it out. My third platoon [took] their place in desperate hand to hand fighting, in which some got through only to be picked up by the fourth platoon which was deployed simultaneously with the third...By the time they struck the fourth platoon they were all in and easy prey.

It's God's truth that one Company of American soldiers beat and routed a full regiment of picked shock troops of the German Army...At ten o'clock...the Germans were carrying back wounded and dead [from] the river bank and we in our exhaustion let them do it - they carried back all but six hundred which we counted later and fifty-two machine guns...We had started with 251 men and 5 lieutenants...I had left 51 men and 2 second lieutenants...

Capt. Jesse Woolridge, 38th Inf., 3rd Division

The German Commander quoted:

...All [German] divisions [along the Marne] achieved brilliant successes, with the exception of the one division on our right wing. This encountered American units! Here only did the Seventh Army, In the course of the first day of the offensive, confront serious difficulties. It met with the unexpectedly stubborn and active resistance of fresh American troops.



While the rest of the divisions of the Seventh Army succeeded in gaining ground and gaining tremendous booty, it proved impossible for us to move the right apex of our line, to the south of the Marne, into a position advantageous for the development of the ensuing fight. The check we thus received was one result of the stupendous fighting between our 10th Division of infantry and American troops...

Erich von Ludendorff, Quartermaster General

[snippy_about_it]

Phase II:

The Aisne-Marne Counter Offensive
July 18 - August 17 1918

In the first days of July, 1918, it became apparent that the Germans would be unable to launch more than one other great attack, and towards the 10th of the month it was believed certain that if the enemy attacked the blow would fall in Champagne. Thanks to the arrival of American troops, the Allied reserves were now sufficiently numerous to justify a counterattack, and if, as every High Command was confident, the Champagne front could hold with the troops already allotted to it, the Allied Command retained complete freedom in the selection of the front upon which the counterattack should fall. The selection by the Germans of Champagne and the eastern face of the Marne salient, as the fronts on which they were to make their last effort was fortunate for the Allies; for this decision of the enemy allowed an Allied counterattack which, while affording immediate relief to the enemy's thrust, would also obtain other advantages for the Allied cause.

Paris is still France, and the approach of the German lines along the Marne toward Paris had caused apprehension throughout France; it was essential that the threat on Paris be relieved at the earliest possible moment. Aside from reasons of morale, purely material reasons also demanded the reduction of the Marne salient as the first task of the Allies when the offensive should pass to their hands. Paris contained a multitude of essential war industries, and so long as the Germans maintained their lines these industries were seriously hampered by the constant long range bombardments and air raids. The great east and west railroad through Chateau-Thierry must also be regained by the Allies as a first necessity in the troop movements required in any general offensive.

But while with each day there came increased certainty that the Allied counterattack could be properly launched to the north of Chateau-Thierry, and while the French armies on that front began to plan accordingly, the Allied resources were not sufficiently great to permit a final decision until after the actual launching of the hostile attack; it thus happened that only on the 16th could many of the actual preparations be commenced.

The general plan for the Allied counterattack of July 18th involved attacking the entire west face of the Marne salient. This main attack was first to pivot on Chateau-Thierry; later the Allies in the region of Chateau-Thierry were to take up the attack. The Allies were also to attack that part of the German salient south of the Marne and to the southwest of Reims. The plan then really involved attacking the entire Marne salient, the principal blow falling at first on the west face, with the critical point, at which eventual success or failure would be determined, southwest of Soissons. The three divisions selected to break the most sensitive part of the German line were the 2nd American, the 1st Moroccan (French) and the 1st American. If these three divisions could seize and hold the heights south of Soissons the German position in the salient proper became untenable and it's ultimate reduction was assured.

At 4:35a.m., July 18th, after some of the American infantry had double-timed into line and when some of their guns had barely gotten into position, the 1st and 2nd American Divisions and the 1st Moroccan Division jumped off. Notwithstanding their desperate resistance the Germans were driven back and the results upon which ultimate success depended were secured.

The 2nd Division advanced 8 kilometers in the first 26 hours, took about 3,000 prisoners, 2 batteries of 150mm guns, 66 light guns and 15,000 rounds of 77 mm ammunition, besides much other property. This Division suffered some 4,000 casualties and, as it had made exhausting marches to reach the battlefield, and having recently been withdrawn from it's desperate fighting at Chateau-Thierry, the Division was relieved after the second day.

The 1st Division suffered 7,000 casualties, of whom it is believed that not one was a prisoner. Sixty per cent of it's infantry officers were killed or wounded, in the 16th and 18th Infantry all field officers were casualties except the colonels, were casualties. Notwithstanding it's losses, the 1st Division, by constant attacks throughout four days and nights, had broken through the entrenchment's in the German pivot to a depth of 11 kilometers, had captured 68 field guns and quantities of other material, in addition to 3,500 prisoners taken from the seven separate German divisions which had been thrown against the 1st United States Division in the enemy's desperate effort to hold ground which was essential to his retaining the Marne salient.

Never again could friend or enemy question the fighting qualities of the American soldier!

But while the work of the 1st and 2nd Divisions attracted most attention because of the special importance of their attack, they were not the only American divisions to participate in the July 18th offensive. [A little south of the 2nd Division, units 4th Division had been separated and were in line with French divisions. They joined in the attack and continued to advance until July 22nd. The 4th Division was subsequently re-assembled as a division and would relieve the 42nd Division in the salient on August 2nd.] The 26th Division was just northwest of Chateau-Thierry and together with the 167th French Division formed the 1st American Corps, which was the first American corps to exercise tactical command. This corps acted as a pivot in the beginning and later had to advance under peculiarly difficult conditions. For the 26th Division maneuver was much complicated in order that the front of the division might conform to the general plan; not only was it necessary for the division to pivot during attack, but at one time, the right half of the division had to attack simultaneously in two directions.

Notwithstanding the difficult nature of it's task, and the fact that it lost 5,300 officers and soldiers, the 26th remained in the attack until July25th; some of the elements having been continuously fighting for eight days and nights. The division had advanced more than 17 kilometers against determined enemy resistance, had taken the villages of Torcy, Belleau, Givry, Epieds, and Trugny, and had captured large quantities of enemy material. On July 25-26 the 26th Division was relieved by the 42nd Division, which, after having taken some part in the successful resistance to the German attack of July 15th in Champagne, had been brought round to the Chateau-Thierry region.

Just east of Chateau-Thierry and south of the Marne the 3rd Division had broken up all efforts made against it on July 15th. Now on July 20th the 3rd Division received orders to join the counterattack. By skillful work of the command and staff the division had gotten well across the Marne by the 22nd and without having encountered serious resistance. From the 22nd to 25th the division was engaged in bitter fighting in wooded slopes leading up to the village of le Charmel, which was taken on the evening of July 25th. Constantly fighting it's way forward, the division took Roncheres, and finally on July 30th was relieved by the 32nd Division [which had just been transported into the sector from Belfort]after having suffered a total loss, in the defense of the Marne and in crushing the German resistance , of about 7,900.

The 28th Division also had elements with French and American divisions during the attack and won great credit. As has been mentioned, the 42nd Division relieved the 26th on July 25th. On the next day the 42nd Division attacked, and by the 28th it had crossed the Ourcq and taken Sergy. Here the enemy offered desperate resistance, launching counterattack after counterattack, the village of Sergy changing hands four times. But the 42nd definitely occupied Sergy on the morning of July 29th and continued to press forward until August 2nd when the enemy withdrew.

[In late] July three American divisions, the 3rd, 28th and 42nd were in line there, side by side with [another], the 4th, in close support [and the 26th and 32nd preparing to deploy]...By August the Germans had taken up a position behind the Vesle and Aisne Rivers, where they held fast...On 5 August the entire front of the French Sixth Army was held by two American Corps...

The 4th Division now relieved the 42nd, and on August 6th ... the battle front stabilized on the line of the Vesle (our 4th and 32nd Divisions being in line). The 42nd had lost some 5,500 officers and men.

...Now eight American divisions (the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 26th, 32nd, and 42nd) had been indispensable in the reduction of the Marne salient. We had lost over 30,000, but the results were commensurate--not only was the Marne salient [greatly] reduced, but the initiative had been gained by the Allies and was never to be lost--the value of the American soldier, which had first been demonstrated by the 1st and 2nd Divisions, had been verified by the conduct of six other divisions.

>From the beginning the Commander-in-Chief had never varied from his determination to bring the American forces together. The German offensive, however, had interrupted the execution of this plan, forcing us to utilize all our efforts to the end that the war might not be lost. Now, however, the initiative had passed into the Allied hands and there appeared to be no good reason for longer delay. On the contrary, the Chateau-Thierry operations had involved such difficulties in the way of supply and the evacuation of sick and wounded (in all of which we were largely dependent upon the action of French staffs) that it was apparent that our troops must be assembled. A few divisions might be properly cared for when dispersed under foreign command, but our forces had increased to the point where it became imperative to begin assembling them. [Preparations began for the American led St. Mihiel Offensive and the AEF Divisions started shifting from the Marne to the Verdun sector. More action, however, was to follow in the Marne region.]

TWO FUTURE MARINE COMMANDANTS CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF THE CORPS AND THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE MARNE IN A LEGENDARY BATTLEFIELD MESSAGE:

>From Co. "H"
At: ?
Date: July 19. Hour 10:45 am
To: Major [Thomas] Holcomb.

I am in an old abandoned French trench bordering on road leading out from your P.C. and 350 yds. from an old mill. I have only two men out of my company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try and get here as we are swept by machine-gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold.

[Clifton] Cates
2nd Lt. 96 Co.

[snippy_about_it]

Phase III:

The Oise-Aisne Offensive
August 18 - September 16, 1918

For a month, from the first week in August to early September, the Germans stalled the French and Americans on the Vesle lines. The Americans held roughly six kilometers from St. Thibaut to Fismes and bitterly fought the Germans in seesaw actions for the possession of bridge heads at Bazoches, Chateau du Diable, and Fismette...Afterwards Bullard commented: " I have rarely, if ever, seen troops under more trying conditions... they were on the spot and they stayed there..." Any movement by day brought down fire, as the Germans used cannon to snipe at careless soldiers. They were also lavish with mustard gas... Throughout most of the month in "Death Valley," a name the Pennsylvanians [28th Div.] gave the Vesle Front, the 28th Division under portly Charles H. Muir shared the sector with the 77th Division [made up] of draftees from New York City and its suburbs...



What finally broke the deadlock on the Vesle was an attack by the French Tenth Army north of Soissons in late August. Although understrength and not yet recovered from the rigors of their fighting on the Ourcq and Vesle lines, the 32nd Division took part in this operation. In fact their capture of Juvigny on August 30th was a crucial blow against the German Defenders.

The French used the nickname "Les Terribles" to praise this division's prowess in battle... Their battles of late July and early August had been hard, but the Juvigny fight was much tougher. The German Defenders fought hard and made effective use of the caves in the are to protect their machine guns but "Les Terribles" were stubborn in their determination to force the Germans back. They succeeded in capturing the ruins of the village of Juvigny and in advancing some two and a half miles in five days of constant battle. The division historian referred to this period as "five days of hell on earth."

...The Germans gave up the Vesle line only to fall back a few kilometers nearer the Aisne River where they again stabilized the front. They could be proud of their defensive actions since the collapse of their last offensive. The attack at Soissons had surprised them, but, after a couple of anxious days the German commanders had regained control of the situation. True, they had to give up the Marne salient, but they succeeded in withdrawing their forces to pre-planned phase lines on the Ourcq and the Vesle on schedule... Significantly, [however,] the German definition of success changed in July from how many kilometers they advanced to how well they conducted a retreat.



The results of the Aisne-Marne operation were far out of proportion to its size...the initiative [on the Western Front] had passed to Allied hands, where it would remain, and Ludendorff would be compelled to postpone indefinitely his cherished Flanders offensive. With German morale sagging, it was clear that Ludendorff's hope of crushing the Allies before the United States could put a large force in the filed would not be realized.

Even as the Second Battle of the Marne was winding down the AEF had begun its first major offensive as an independent force at St. Mihiel.



BY SUMMER OF 1918 MANY AMERICAN HOMES WERE STARTING TO RECEIVE LETTERS SUCH AS THIS:

Mrs. Ackerman -

Your husband, Sergeant Lloyd C. Ackerman, was in my company, and was the best sergeant I ever had. I thought a lot of him, and was greatly grieved when he was killed. He was right at my side when he was killed. We were in a wheat field about five miles northwest of Chateau-Thierry, and your husband is buried right there. Your husband died a hero. He was right in the front line advancing on the Germans, when some machine guns opened up on us and killed many of our men.

Sgt. Ackerman was the best drill sergeant I ever had, and was cool under fire. The company and regiment lost a very valuable man when he was killed, and I personally feel it very deeply. I cannot speak too highly of him...

Captain W.F. Marshall, 318th Inf., 4th Division



Additional Sources:

www.ngb.army.mil
www.irondivision.org
www.warfoto.com
i.timeinc.net
www.cnn.com
www.rockingham.k12.va.us
www.co.brown.wi.us
www.ga.k12.pa.us

[snippy_about_it]

Quick Facts

Where: The Aisne-Marne Sector, 75 Miles Northeast of Paris In a Triangular Area Bounded by Chateau-Thierry, Soissons and Reims

When: July 15 - September 16, 1918

AEF Units Participating: Nine U.S. Divisions Under French Command, Coordinated by Marshal Ferdinand Foch

Opposing Forces: German First, Third, Seventh and Ninth Armies

Memorable For: Starting with the Last German Offensive of the Great War and Becoming the Allies' First Victorious Offensive of 1918

[snippy_about_it]

[snippy_about_it]

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[CholeraJoe]

3rd Infantry Division
Rock of the Marne
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[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on June 15:
1330 Edward the black prince, prince of Wales (1343-1376)
1767 Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson 1st lady
1843 Edvard Grieg Bergen Norway, composer (Bewitched One)
1888 Maria Dermo–t Java, Dutch novelist (The 10,000 Things)
1894 Robert Russell Bennett Kansas City, composer/arranger (Oklahoma!)
1900 Otto Clarence Luening Milwaukee Wisconsin, composer (Sonority Canon)
1902 Erik H Erickson psychologist (Existentionalist)
1902 Max Rudolf Frankfurt Germany, conductor (G”teberg Symphony Orch)
1910 David Rose London England, orch leader (Red Skelton Show, Stripper)
1914 Saul Steinberg Romania, cartoonist, illustrator (New Yorker)
1922 Morris K Udall (Rep-D-Az)
1932 Mario Cuomo (Gov-D-NY)
1935 Belinda Lee England, actress (Who Done It, Runaway Bus)
1937 Waylon Jennings singer of innumerable country songs (Ramblin' Man)
1941 Harry Nilsson [Johnny Niles], laid-back singer/songwriter
1942 Xaveria Hollander [DeVries], Surabaya Indonesia, auth (Happy Hooker)
1943 Aron Kincaid LA Calif, actor (Warren-Bachelor Father, Ski Party)
1944 Inna Ryskai USSR, volleyball player (Olympic-2 gold/2 silver-1964-76)
1945 Nicola Pagett actress (Oliver's Story, Privates on Parade)
1945 Rod Argent England, keyboardist (The Zombies-She's Not There)
1946 Jim Varney Lexington KY, "Hey Vern", actor (Ernest Goes to Jail)
1946 Judy Pace LA Calif, actress (Young Lawyers)
1947 Lee Purcell NC, actor (Big Wednesday, Mr Majestyk)
1950 Heidi Schller Germany, 1st woman to take olympic oath (1972)
1950 Noddy Holder rock vocalist/guitarist (Slade-Cum On Feel The Noize)
1951 Tom Forzani CFL wide receiver (Calgary Stampeders)
1953 Rita Lee Federic Wisc, playmate (November, 1977)
1954 Jim Belushi Chicago Ill, comedian (Sat Night Live, Trading Places)
1954 Terri Gibbs Augusta Ga, blind singer (Somebody's Knockin')
1955 Tree Rollins Winter Haven Fla, NBA center (Cleve Cavaliers)
1956 Polly Draper Palo Alto Calif, actress (Ellyn-30 Something, Hooters)
1957 Clio Goldsmith Paris France, actress (The Gift)
1958 Wade Boggs Nebraska, Red Sox 3rd baseman (AL bat champ 1985-88)
1959 Eileen Davidson actress (Young & Restless, House on Sorority Row)
1963 Helen Hunt LA Calif, actress (Jill-Amy Prentiss, Lisa-It Takes Two)
1964 Courtney Cox Birmingham Ala, actress (Family Ties, Cocoon II)
1965 Carrie Mitchum LA Calif, actress (Donna-Bold & Beautiful)
1973 Neil Patrick Harris Albuquerque NM, actor (Doogie Howser)

---

Deaths which occurred on June 15:
923 Robert I, King of France, dies in battle
948 Romanus I Lecapenus, Armenian emperor of Byzantium (919-44), dies
1381 Wat Tyler leader of English Peasants' Revolt, beheaded in London
1467 Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy, dies at 76
1849 James Knox Polk the 11th US Pres, dies in Nashville, Tenn
1968 West Montgomery jazz guitarist dies of a heart attack at 48
1982 Neil Fitzgerald Irish actor, dies at 90, in Princeton NJ
1984 Meredith Willson composer (Meredith Willson Show), dies at 82
1984 Ned Glass actor, dies at 78 of heart failure
1985 Meredith Wilson dies
1987 Walter W Heller, US economist (Old Myths & New Realities), dies at 71
1989 Ray McAlly actor, dies in dublin at 63
1989 Victor French actor (Highway to Heaven), dies at 54 of cancer

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 KOPFMAN THEODORE F. KENT OH.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 SWANSON JOHN WILLARD ARLINGTON IL.

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

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On this day...
763 -BC- Assyrians record total solar eclipse event on clay tablet
1215 King John signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, England
1219 King Valdemar brought victory for Denmark
1381 Wat Tyler, leader of English Peasants' Revolt, beheaded in London
1389 Battle of Kossovo; Turks defeat Serbs, Bosnians
1520 Pope threatens to toss Luther out of Catholic Church
1567 Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy
1590 Pope Leo X threatens to ex-communicate Martin Luther
1664 NJ established
1775 George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of American Army
1779 General Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, Bronx
1785 2 French balloonists die in world's 1st fatal aviation accident
1804 12th amendment ratified; deals with manner of choosing president
1836 Arkansas becomes 25th state
1844 Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber
1846 Oregon Treaty signed, setting US-British boundary at 49ø N
1851 Jacob Fussell, Baltimore dairyman, sets up 1st ice-cream factory
1857 SF Water Works organized
1860 1st White settlement in Idaho (Franklin)
1862 Gen JEB Stuart completes his "ride around McClellan"
1864 Battle for Petersburg begins as Gen Grant assaults Confederate line
1864 Robert E Lee's home area (Arlington, VA) becomes a miltary cemetery
1866 C H F Peters discovers asteroid #88 Thisbe
1866 Prussia attacks Austria
1869 Celluloid patented by John Wesley Hyatt, Albany, NY
1869 Mike McCoole (US) defeats Tom Allen (England) in bare-knuckle bout
1871 Phoebe Couzins is 1st woman graduate of a US collegiate law school
1876 Sara Spencer (R) is 1st woman to address a US presidential cconvention
1877 Henry O Flipper becomes 1st black graduate at West Point
1878 1st attempt at motion pictures (used 12 cameras, each taking 1
picture) done to see if all 4 of a horse's hooves leave the ground
1887 NY Giants beat Phila Phillies 29-1
1889 Start of the Sherlock Holmes Adv "The Stockbroker's Clerk" (BG)
1894 Phillies beat Cincinatti Reds, 21-8
1896 Tsunami strikes Shinto festival on beach at Sanriku Japan
27,000 are killed, 9,000 injured, with 13,000 houses destroyed
1902 Canada's Maritime Provinces switch from Eastern to Atlantic time
1902 Justin Clark of Corsicana, Tx minors hits 8 home runs in 1 game
1904 Side-wheeler "General Slocum" burns in NY's East River (1,031 die)
1907 44 nations meet in 2nd Hague Peace Conference
1915 US government mints 1st $50 gold pieces, for Panama Pacific Expo
1918 1" of snow falls in Northern Pennsylvania
1918 50th running of Belmont Stakes (Johren wins)
1919 1st nonstop Atlantic flight (Alcock & Brown) lands in Ireland
1924 Ford Motor Company manufactures its 10 millionth automobile
1924 Native Americans are proclaimed US citizens
1925 B Jekhovsky discovers asteroid #1093 Freda
1929 1st time NY curb stock exchange transacts more business than NY Exch
1933 C Jackson discovers asteroids #1278 Kenya & #1279 Uganda
1934 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1324 Knysna
1934 Great Smokey Mountains National Park dedicated
1934 K Reinmuth discovers asteroid #1322 Coppernicus
1938 1st night game at Bkln Ebbets Field (Reds 6, Dodgers 0) as Cin Red
Johnny Vander Meer hurls unprecident 2nd consecutive no-hitter
1939 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1676 Kariba
1940 French fortress of Verdun captured by Germans
1944 US forces begin invasion of Saipan in Pacific
1947 1st night game at Detroit Briggs Stadium (Tigers 4, Athletics 1)
1950 Itzigsohn discover asteroid 1581 Abanderada, 1582 Martir & 1779 Parana
1951 1st coml electronic computer dedicated Phila
1951 Joe Louis scored his last knock out victory
1956 John Lennon (15) & Paul McCartney (13) meet for the 1st time as
Lennon's rock group The Quarrymen perform at a church dinner
1957 42.01 cm (16.54") of rainfall, East St Louis, Ill (state record)
1957 Yanks trade Billy Martin & Ralph Terry for Ryne Duran
1960 Argentina complains to UN about Israeli illicit transfer of Eichman
1962 Phillies score 10 runs in an inning against Reds en route to 13-8 win
1962 South Africa passes a bill setting death penalty for many crimes
1963 SF Giants Juan Marichal no-hits Houston Colt 45s, 1-0
1967 Gov Reagan signs liberalized California abortion bill
1968 John Lennon & Yoko Ono plant an acorn at Conventry Cathedral
1969 "Hee Haw" with Roy Clark & Buck Owens premiers on CBS TV
1971 Vernon E Jordan Jr, appointed exec director of National Urban League
1972 Rock fall inside Vierzy Tunnel (France) causes 2 train crash; 107 die
1973 "American Graffiti" opens in NYC
1976 Yankees trade May, Martinez, Pagan, MacGregor & Demsey to Baltimore
for Holtzman, Alexander, Grant Jackson, Elrod Henrick & Jim Freeman
1977 Spain's 1st free elections since 1936
1978 Jordan's King Hussein marries Elizabeth Halaby, 26-yr-old American
1978 Soyuz 29 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6; they stay 139 days
1979 1st space shuttle SRB qualification test firing; 122 seconds
1980 Jorge Orta of Cleveland gets 6 hits in a baseball game
1982 Riots in Argentina after Falklands/Malvinas defeat
1983 Supreme Court struck down state & local restrictions on abortion
1984 Thomas Hearns KOs Roberto Duran
1985 En route to Halley's Comet, USSR's Vega 2 drops lander on Venus
1986 Pravda announces high-level Chernobyl staff fired for stupidity
1988 NASA launches space vehicle S-213
1989 Balt Orioles pull their 9th triple play (vs Yankees)
1989 Ronald Reagan is knighted by Queen Elizabeth
1990 "Dick Tracy" with Warren Beatty & Madonna premiers
1991 Philippines volcano Mount Pinatubo errupts
1992 Ghana Airways inaugurates flights to JFK Airport (NYC)

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

Arkansas : Admission Day (1836)
Denmark : Flag Day/Valdemar Day (1219)
Idaho : Pioneer Day (1910)
Korea : Farmer's Day-day to transplant rice seeds
Oregon : Treaty Day (1846)
Paraguay : Chaco Peace Day (1935) - - - - - ( Sunday )
US : Father's Day (Remind the guy how much you care) - - - - - ( Sunday )

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Religious Observances
RC : Commemoration of SS Modestus, Crescentia, martyrs
RC : Commemoration of St Vitus, martyr, protector of epileptics

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Religious History
1520 Leo X issued the papal encyclical 'Exsurge Domine,' which condemned German Reformer Martin Luther as a heretic on 41 counts and branded him an enemy of the Roman Catholic Church.
1649 Margaret Jones of Charlestown became the first person tried and executed for witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts.
1686 In Boston, the King's Chapel was organized. It was the first Anglican church established in colonial New England.
1950 American missionary martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'A man without Christ has his roots only in his own times, and his fruits as well.'
1979 Greater Europe Mission moved its headquarters from Chicago to Wheaton, Illinois. Founded in 1949, GEM is an evangelical missionary agency involved in church planting and evangelism in over a dozen European countries.

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

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Thought for the day :
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease."

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you and Good Morning Joe.

[snippy_about_it]

Good Morning!

[snippy_about_it]

Happy Father's Day to all our Father's out there in FReeper Foxhole land!

Hope you all have a restful Sunday.

[snippy_about_it]

Clic for High Resolution

The World War I Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial lies south of the village of Belleau (Aisne), France six and one-half miles northwest of Chateau-Thierry.

This forty-two acre cemetery with the headstones lying in a sweeping curve at the foot of the hill where stands Belleau Wood. It contains the graves of 2,289 American Dead, most of whom fought in the vicinity and in the Marne valley in the summer of 1918.

Belleau Wood adjoining the cemetery contains many vestiges of World War I. At the flagpole is a monument commemorating the valor of the U.S. Marines who captured much of this ground in 1918.More information

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Clic for High Resolution

The World War I Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial lies one and a half miles east of Fere-en-Tardenois (Aisne), France and about fourteen miles northeast of Chateau-Thierry.

At this cemetery site of thirty six acres, beneath the broad lawn surrounded by stately trees and shrubbery, rest 6,012 Americans who died while fighting in this vicinity during World War I. More information

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning snippy, Sam and Foxhole residents.

[snippy_about_it]

Good Morning feather.

[snippy_about_it]

I received the latest picture of our friend Karl (desertdog) today from his father (BeAllYouCanBe). I'll be sure and add this to the others on my FR page.

For those of you who don't already know, Karl is currently deployed with the Army in Iraq.

Happy Father's Day to you both. It's good to see Karl looking well. We hope he returns soon!

[SAMWolf]

You Made Me Fly

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

I longed for acceptance
You welcomed me with open arms

I longed to be heard
You turned to listen

I felt worthless
You treasured me

I thought I was incapable
You gave me a chance to prove what I can do

I was without talent
You called me gifted

I was trapped in a shell I built for myself
You set me free

I never knew I could do anything that counts
You believed in me

I thought I was limp
You made me fly

And so I did
And I soared high.

J. Samm

[snippy_about_it]

Especially for my Foxhole partner, I hope you have a nice day today SAM.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Snippy.

[SAMWolf]

1983 Supreme Court struck down state & local restrictions on abortion

Another nail in the coffin of the 10th Amendment and State's Rights.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Feather.