Newfound Tech Finds Vietnam War Navigator-- Part 4: Amazing Technology

Still, investigators pursued potential leads about the wreckage of the two B-52s for decades.

In February of last year. scientists from Project Recover helped the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) continue the search for the B-52s where previous ones had failed.  The target of their survey vessel's two week expedition was the seafloor area measuring about eight square miles.

In the past, such expeditions would have relied on divers or "fairly rudimentary" sonar.  But this time they were using three 6-foot-long robots with the ability to scan up to 229 feet on either side and produce high-resolution imagery of the seafloor.

The wreckage of one of the B-52s came into view.  Then the team saw human remains on the seabed.  Before recovering them, the crew obtained permission from military officials in Vietnam and the United States by satellite phone.

About 24 hours later, the remains were brought to the surface.  A lab in Hawaii eventually identified them as belonging to Major Paul A. Avolese.

The remains of two other men who were on the same B-52 have yet to be found.  A full excavation to cover them would typically be the next step in such a case, and the DPAA would make that decision.

In September, the Pentagon said a ceremonial pin would be placed next to his name at the Courts of the Missing, in the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu to indicate that he had been found.

Newfound Tech Finds Lost Vietnam War Navigator-- Part 3: A 'Fireball'

 

The mission to find Major Paul A. Avolese's B-52 bomber was the first time that the defense agency had allowed a nongovernmental partner to conduct work in Vietnam.

Paul Avoles3 was born June 12, 1932 and was from New York.  he served in the Air Force's 4133rd Bomb Wing in Vietnam.

On July 7, 1967, he an his crew were flying from a U.S. base on Guam Island alongside other B-52s to bomb a target in South Vietnam.  As two of the bombers maneuvered into place about 65 miles southeast of what was then Saigon, the South Vietnamese capital, they collided, igniting a "fireball."

Eight days after the crash, Col. Mitchell Cobeaga of the Air Force notified Avoles's parents in a letter that the exact cause of the explosion was unknown.

Avolese, who was 35 at the time, was declared dead a few days afterwards.  The U.S. government later classified his remains, as well as those of five others missing, as "nonrecoverable."

Newfound Tech Finds Lost Vietnam War Navigator-- Part 2

The use of robotic underwater and surface vehicles are rapidly becoming indispensable tools for ocean science and exploration according to Rear Admiral Nancy Hann, who manages a fleet of nine aircraft and sixteen research and survey vessels for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"They have proven to be a force multiplier when it comes to mapping the seafloor, locating and surveying wrecks and other sunken objects, and collecting data in places not easily accessed by ships and other vehicles," Hahn said.

Much of this new technology is being directed at the Vietnam War's undersea crash sites.

As of late July, 1,584 U.S. personnel were still missing from the Vietnam War according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).  Some 420 of that number were believed to have been lost along the Vietnam coastline or within its territorial waters.

Most of them, however, were in places too deep for recovery  operations.

Newfound Tech Finds Lost Vietnam War Navigator, Paul A. Avolese-- Part 1

From the August 5, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Newfound tech finds lost navigator" by Mike Ives, New York Times.

On a July morning in 1967, two American B-52 bombers collided over the South China Sea as they approached a target in what was then South Vietnam.

Seven crew members escaped, but rescue units from the Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard were unable to find six other men, including a navigator from New York, Major Paul A. Avolese.

It was not until last year that scientists scanning the sea floor found one of the B-52s and recovered Avolese's remains.

Scientists say the recovery highlights a shift in the Pentagon's ability to search for personnel still missing from the Vietnam War.

For decades, such efforts have mainly been focused on land in former conflict zones.  But in this case, American investigators looked at an underwater site near Vietnam's long coastline using high tech robots.

Camp Perry in Ohio

I wrote about this camp in my Not So Forgotten:  War of 1812 blog earlier today.  Camp Perry is named after War of 1812 naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry and has received a $271,000 federal funding to redo its historical lighting system.

From the September 21, 2021, Sandusky (Ohio) Register "Camp Perry receives federal funds" by Andy Ouriel.

**********************

HISTORY:

**  Camp Perry was the primary training center for the Ohio National Guard for much of the 20th century.

**  It is located close to Port Clinton, Ohio, and consists of 640 acres.

**  Established in 1907, it is named for Oliver Hazard Perry.  The main reason it is located where it is is to allow the Ohio National Guard to practice rifle and artillery firing into Lake Erie.

**  The camp has the largest outdoor rifle range in the world.

**  While originally intended for use by the Ohio National Guard, during World War I to train officers and marksmen.  During World War II, Italian and German  prisoners were held at the camp.

**  Beginning in the 1960s, use of Camp Perry began to decline.

**  Today, several units continue to be housed at the camp.  They include the  213th Ordnance Company, the 200th Civil Engineering  Squadron, the 372nd  Missile Maintenance Company (DS) and the Ohio Naval reserve.

**  In addition to military usage, Camp Perry has also been  the site of the World Series of the Shooting Sports since 1907.  This event is sponsored by the National Rifle Association, and marksmen and women from around the world participate in the competition.

--Cooter

Family of First Enslaved Africans in America Marks 400 Years-- Part 2

The men and women who came from what is now Angola in Africa arrived on two ships and were traded for food and supplies from the English colonists in Virginia.  The landing is considered a pivotal moment in American history, setting the stage for a system of race-based slavery that continues to haunt the nation.

Many of the first Africans in America are known only by their first names.  That included Anthony and Isabella, who became servants for a Captain William Tucker.

They had a son named William Tucker who many believe was the first documented African child born in English-occupied North America.

"We're still here," Wanda Tucker shouted in her family's shaded cemetery, which included many worn gravestones, as well as white crosses where ground penetrating radar had recently found unmarked graves.

The Africans were just 12 years after the founding of Jamestown, England's first permanent colony, and weeks after the first English-style legislature was convened there.

Family of First Enslaved Africans in America Marks 400 Years Back in 2019-- Part 1

From the August 24, 2019, Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph Herald by Ben Finley, AP.

Hampton, Virginia --  A family that traces its bloodline to America's first enslaved Africans said Friday that their ancestors endured unimaginable toil and hardship -- but they helped forge the nation.

"Four hundred years ago, our family started building America, can I get an Amen?" Wanda Tucker said before a crowd in the Tucker Family Cemetery in Hampton, Virginia.

"They loved," she continued.  "They experienced loss.  They worked.  They created.  They made a way out of no way, determined that their labor would not be in vain."

Tucker, a college professor in Arizona, spoke at one of several events in Virginia this weekend that will mark the anniversary of the arrival of more than 30 enslaved Africans at a spot on the Chesapeake Bay in August 1619.

It is amazing that any family can trace its roots back so far,  Congratulations Tucker family.  And, it is so good to see Virginia commemorating its history these days.

Ten Famous Figures Whose Graves Have Not Been Found

From the September15, 2021, ListVerse by Katie Chilton.

In 2013, the remains of England's King Richard III were found under a parking lot in Leicester, England.   Here are ten fames whose burial sites are not known.

Go to the site for pictures and much more information.  I am only giving a little information about the ones I don't know.

10.  Genghis Khan

9.  Cleopatra & Marc Antony

8.  Alexander the Great

7.  Attila the Hun

6.  Leonardo  Da Vinci

5.  Harold II, English king killed at Battle of Hastings.

4.  Queen Boudicca  Celtic queen who fought the Romans in England.

3.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

2.  Alfred the Great   British king.

1.  Nefertiti  Queen of Egypt

9/11 Timeline-- Part 5: Flight 93, Collapse of the North Tower and the Seven World Trade Center Building

All times are Eastern.

**  10:07 am:  After passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked Flight 93 contact friends and family and learn about the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., they mount an attempt to retake the plane.  In response, the hijackers deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania., killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.

**  10:28 am:  The World Trade Center's North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

**  11 am:  New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls for the evacuation of Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street, including more than one million residents,  workers and tourists, as efforts continue throughout the afternoon to search for survivors.

**  1 pm;  At Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, President Bush announces that U.S. forces are on high alert throughout the world.

**  2:51 pm:  The U.S. Navy dispatches missile destroyers to New York and Washington, D.C.

**  5:20 pm:  The 47-story Seven World Trade Center building collapses after burning for hours; the building had been evacuated in the morning, and there are no casualties., though the collapse forces rescue workers to flee for their lives.

A Sad Day in U.S. history.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 4: Flight 77 Crashes Into the Pentagon and South Tower Collapses

Times are Eastern.

**  9:21 am:  The New York Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area.

**  9:24 The FAA notifies NEADS of the suspected  hijacking of Flight  77 after some passengers and crew aboard the aircraft are able to contact family members on the ground.

**  9:31:  Speaking from Florida, President Bush calls the events in New York City an "apparent terrorist attack on our country."

9:37:  Terrorists aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western facade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 civilian and military personnel inside the building.

9:42:  For the first time in history, the FAA grounds  all flights over the continental United States.  Over the next two and a half hours, some 3,300 commercial flights and 1,200 private planes are guided to land in airports in Canada and the United States.

9:45:  Among escalating rumors of other attacks, the White House and U.S. Capitol building are evacuated along with numerous other high-profile buildings, landmarks and public spaces.

9:59:  The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

I conducted my regular class schedule for first period.  It ended at 8:45 am (9:45 Eastern) and that is when I learned about what was going on from another teacher.  I went back inside the room (we had to watch the halls during passing time) and tried to get reception on my 12-inch black and white TV, but couldn't, so turned on the radio.

Second period started at 8:50.  We listened to that radio and talked about what had happened the rest of the day in my next four classes.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 3: The Second Crash

**  8:47 am:  Within seconds after the first crash, NYPD and NYFD dispatch units to the World Trade Center, while Port Authority officers on the site begin immediate evacuation of the North Tower.

**  8:50:   White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card alerts  President George W. Bush that a plane has hit the World Trade Center; the president is visiting a m elementary school in Sarasota, Florida, at the time.

**  9:02:  After initially telling occupants of the WTC's South Tower to remain in the building, Port Authority officials broadcast orders to evacuate both towers via the public address system; an estimated  10,000 to 14,000 are already in the process of evacuating.

**  9:03 am:  Hijackers crash United Airlines175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC's South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds in the tower.

**  9:08 am:  The FAA Bans all takeoffs of flights going to New York City or through airspace around the city.

At 7:50 am I was outside my room supervising the arrival of students.  By 7:55 they were in the room and working on the Daily Challenge questions on the board while I took attendance.  Completely oblivious about what was going on.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 2: Two More Flights Hijacked and the First Crash

**  8:20 am:  American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C.  The Boeing 757 is headed to Los Angeles with 64 people aboard.

**  8:24:  One of the hijackers (name given but I do not honor them with a name) aboard Flight 11 makes one of two accidental transmissions to ground control.  Evidently he was trying to communicate with the plane's cabin.

**  8:40:  Air  traffic controllers at the federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alert  North American Aerospace  Defense Command (NORAD)'s Northeast Defense Sector (NEADS) about the suspected hijacking of Flight 11.  In response, NEADS scrambles two fighter planes located at Cape Cod's Otis Air National Guard Base to locate and tail Flight 11;  they are not yet in the air  when Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower.

**  8:41:  United Airlines Flight  93, a Boeing 757 with 44 people aboard, takes off from Newark (NJ)  International Airport en route to San Francisco.  It had been scheduled to take off at 8:00 am, about the same time as the other hijacked flights.

**  8:46 am:  (Name given, but dishonored) and other hijackers crash Flight 11 into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

By 7:46 am, I am at school preparing for my first class to start at 7:55 am.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 1: Flights 11 and 175

Every September 11 I stop my blogs to remember.

All times Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

On September 11, 2001, on a clear, sunny day, terrorists on board three hijacked  passenger planes carried out coordinated suicide missions against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C..  Everyone aboard the planes were killed and  nearly 3,000 people on the ground.

A fourth plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania,  killing all aboard after the passengers tried to gain control of the plane themselves.

**  7:59 am:  American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767,  with 92 people aboard,   takes off from Boston's Logan International Airport, en route to Los Angeles.

**  8:14 am:  United Airlines Flight  175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people aboard, takes off from Boston; it also is headed for Los Angeles.

**   8:19:  Flight attendants  aboard Flight 11 alert ground personnel that the plane has been hijacked; American Airlines notifies the FBI.

During this time I was at home finishing up my coffee and getting ready to drive from Spring Grove to my teaching job in Round Lake, Illinois.  We are at an hour's difference in Central Time Zone.

The USS New York (LPD-21), The Twin Towers Risen

Earlier this month, I wrote several entries on the USS Green Bay (LPD-20).

I am currently writing about the sister ship of the USS Green Bay (LPD-21), the USS New York (LPD-21) in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog.  This is in commemoration of 9/11 tomorrow.

Today's U.S. Navy ships  are given state names if they are submarines, but this surface ship was given the name New York to honor the New Yorkers who died twenty years ago.  This ship received the name because it is a primary ship used against terrorists and, in addition, has some of the World Trade Center in her.

Separating Caray Facts from Legend-- Part 2: 'Holy Cow!', 'Holy Toledo!' and Disco Demolition

**  Harry Caray had his duels with Milo Hamilton, his sometimes broadcast partner.  Harry had his "Holy Cow!" and Milo his "Holy Toledo."  Beyond this, they really didn't like each other.

**  "DISCO DEMOLITION"

There was plenty of blame to go around for the White Sox's infamous "Disco Demolition" promotion on July 12, 1979, which turned into an on-field riot and ended with the Sox forfeiting the second game of a double header against the Tigers at Comiskey Park.

Howard Cosell was not fond of Caray's style and placed some of the blame on him, saying:  "There's just too much of a carnival atmosphere, from the very on-air presentation of the White Sox to the front office itself."

Harry Caray  himself had tried to calm the masses by singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" but nothing helped.  Sox owner Bill Veeck later said:  "He was the dance band on the Titanic playing through the disaster."

Of course, Chicago deejay Steve Dahl might have had something to do with it as well as many rock and rollers fed up with the whole disco lifestyle.

--CootDemo

Separating Harry Caray Facts from Legend-- Part 1: How Old Was He?

From the May 5, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Phil Thompson.

Will the real Harry Caray please stand up.  Lots is known about the man, lots is possibly known about the man.  Everybody has their memories.

I sure enjoyed him but WOULD like to point out to Cub fans that he was the White Sox announcer for eleven years.  So we have our claim on him as well.

Author Don Zminda has written the new book "The Legendary Harry Caray:  Baseball's Greatest Salesman.

He also includes lots of anecdotes and stuff about his life that some Harry Caray fans might not know.

1.  WHEN IS HARRY'S BIRTHDAY?

It is difficult to know.  His birthdate has taken place at several different times according to him and according to whatever audience e was speaking to at the time.

Caray died February 18, 1998, and at that time, the Tribune cited "Who's Who in America" saying that he was born in 1919, making him 78.  But Cubs media has the year as 1920  Several other newspapers said he was born in 1919 and 1914.

Zminda wrote that it is fairly certain that he was born March 1, 1914, and that is the date listed according to St. Louis health records.

Always Loved Those Giant Glasses.  --DaCoot

U.S. Warships, USS Green Bay (LPD-20)-- Part 3: The Second Ship with the Name

The amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD-20) and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force amphibious transport ship JS Kunisaki (LST-4003) sail in formation during a training exercise with other U.S. Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force warships.

The Green Bay is underway conducting routine operations as part of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations

The Green Bay is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport  dock ship.

The Green Bay is the second  ship in the U.S. Navy to have that name.  The first was  the USS Green Bay (PG-101) launched in 1969 and transferred to the Hellenic Navy (Greece) and renamed the Tolmi (P-229) in 1989.

--Cooter

U.S. Warships, the USS Green Bay ((LPD-20)-- Part 2

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

WELL DECK CAPACITY:  Two LCAC or one LCU and 14 Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles.

CREW:  Ship:  28 officers, 332 enlisted

Marine detachment:  66 officers 633 enlisted (can be expanded to 800)

ARMAMENT:  2 X Bushmaster II 30 mm Close in Guns; 2 X Rolling Airframe Missile Launchers

AIRCRAFT:  Landing platform for all helicopters and MV-22 Osprey; maintenance facilities for one CH-53E or two CH-46s or one MV-22 or three UH/AH-1s.  (Hunh?)

--Cooter

U.S. Warships, the USS Green Bay (LPD-20)-- Part 1

From the September 2021 Paralyzed Veterans of America calendar.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

BUILDER:  Northrup Grumman Ship Systems, Avondale, New Orleans, Louisiana

LAUNCHED:  August 11, 2006

HOMEPORT:  Sasebo, Japan

DISPLACEMENT:  Approximately 24,900 tons

LENGTH:  684 feet

BEAM:  105 feet

DRAFT:  23 feet

--CooterBay

September 2 Events: Atlanta, the 'Big Stick', George H.W. Bush, USS Missouri, Vietnam, Integration and the Titanic

From "On Sept. 2" from Sep. 2, 2021, Chicago Tribune.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1864--  During the Civil War, Union Gen. William Sherman's army occupied Atlanta, Georgia.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1901--  Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offered the advice:  "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1930--  The first non-stop airplane flight between Europe and the U.S. was completed in 37 hours.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1844--  During WW II, Navy pilot George Herbert Walker Bush was shot down by Japanese forces as he completed a bombing run over the Bonin Islands.  (Bush was rescued by the submarine USS Finback; his two crew members, however, died.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1945--  Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the battleship USS Missouri, ending WW II.

Also this date, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam an independent republic.  And, we know where that led.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1963--  Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1985-- It was announced that a U.S.-French expedition had located the wreckage of the Titanic about 560 miles off Newfoundland.

--Cooter