USS McCall (DD-28)-- Part 1

This month I am writing about American War of 1812 hero Edward R. McCall in my Not So Forgotten:  War of 1812 blog.  He received a Congressional Gold Medal and had a special medal made for him for his actions on board the brig USS Enterprise in its battle with the British brig HMS Boxer off the coast of Maine in 1813.

He had two ships named after him.  The first one which I am writing about here, took part in World War I and was one of the U.S. Navy's earliest destroyers.  The second one fought in the World War II and I am writing about that in my Tattooed on Your Soul: World War II blog.

World War I and World War II with a War of 1812 connection.

--Cooter

How 25 Christmas Traditions Started-- Part 5: Saint Nicholas, Luminaras, Twelve Days, Poinsettias, Salvation Army

Again, for more information, go to the site (listed in Part 1.)

21.  A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS

Best known as "The Night Before Christmas."  The classic by poet Clement Moore was written on Christmas Eve 1822.  He was embarrassed by it and it wasn't released until the following year.

22.  LUMINARIAS

Simple, folded brown bags filled with sand and lit by votive candles.  One of my favorite things to see, but very rare.

23.  TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

This spans the 12 days between the birth of Jesus and the visit of the Magi, December 2 to January 6.  The cost to do this in 2019 would be $38, 993.59.

24.  POINSETTIAS

America's Christmas flower.  They were brought to America by our first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinset.  (I have two big ones that are now 25 years old.)

25.  SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGERS

What would the holidays be without these folks.  This started in  San Francisco in 1891.  

--RoadMas

How 25 Christmas Traditions Started--Part 4: Wonderful Life, Lights, Santas, Fruitcakes & Cookies

16.  IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Frank Capra's Christmas classic debuted in 1946 with Jimmy Stewart playing George Bailey, a suicidal man who was shown what life would have been like if he had never been born.  It wasn't nice.  It was a flop at the  box office when it premiered, but did get five Academy award nominations, but no wins.

It wasn't until the owner neglected to renew the copyright that statins started showing it and that's when it took off.

My 3rd favorite Christmas movie and favorite non-comedy one.

17.  CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Edward Hibbard Johnson, a friend of Thomas Edison, came up with the idea of stringing lights around a Christmas tree in New York in 1882.  Now over 150 million sets are sold in the U.S. each year.  (I still want to know why I usually have one half of the lights go out in a string and then can't get them relit.)

18.  DEPARTMENT STORE SANTA

Dates back to 1890 when James Edgar of Brockton, Massachusetts, had a Santa suit made for himself  at his dry goods store.  Some say Macy's has had one since 1862.  (Still my favorite department store Santa was the one at Higbee's.)

19.  MAKING FUN OF FRUITCAKE

A favorite of the British (and me), but the subject of a long-running American joke.  Manitou Springs in Colorado has an annual Fruitcake Toss Day.

20.  COOKIE SWAPS

For over a hundred years in America.  I don't exchange.  I want them ALL!!!!

Ho, Ho, Ho!!  --RoadDog

In 1985, Johnny Carson joked:  "The worst Christmas gift is a fruitcake.  There is only one fruitcake in the entire world and people keep sending it to each other."

How 25 Christmas Traditions Started-- Part 3: Cookies, Candy Canes, Egg Nog, Wreaths & Cards

11.  COOKIES AND MILK FOR SANTA

Dates back to ancient Norse mythology, but Americans started it during the Great Depression.

12.  CANDY CANES

Whether eaten or hung from the tree.  Candy canes are the #1 non-chocolate candy seller during December.  The white and red candy arrived in the U.S. in 1847 from a German-Swedish immigrant in Wooster, Ohio. By the 1950s, the automated candy cane making machines had been developed and it really took off.

13.  BOOZY EGG NOG

This yuletide  cocktail stems from posset, a drink made of hot curdled milk and ale or wine in Medieval Europe.  Even George Washington had a special recipe.

14.  DOOR WREATHS

Have been around since ancient Greek and Roman times but took on a Christian meaning, but mostly seen as a secular winter tradition.

15.  CHRISTMAS CARDS

The first Christmas card was in England in 1843. The idea of a mailed  winter holiday greeting caught on with the Kansas City-based Hall Brothers (now Hallmark) in 1915.  According to the Greeting Card Association, today, more than1.6 billion of them are sold.  That's a lot of stamps.

--Cooter

How 25 Christmas Traditions Started-- Part 2: Logs, Calendars, Houses, Nutcracker and Sweaters

6.  YULE LOG

Part of ancient solstice celebrations.  But, airing on TV of a fire blazing away was 1966 on WPIX-TV in New York City.

7.  ADVENT CALENDARS

Early versions started in Germany in 1903.  Children open one small door or window each day in the countdown and get something.

8.  GINGERBREAD HOUSES

Queen Elizabeth I gets  credit for decorating it, but started in Germany

9.  THE NUTCRACKER

Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and originally choreographed by  Marius Petipa.    Premiered  December 18, 1892, in St. Petersburg, Russia.

10.  UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

Sounds like a Canadian thing. Hosers!!

--DaCoot

How 25 Christmas Traditions Started-- Part 1: Trees, Rockettes, Charlie, Pickles & Elves

From the History site.

1.  CHRISTMAS TREES

Started in Germany  It is believed the first Christmas tree lot in the U.S. opened in 1851.

2.  ROCKETTES

First called the  Missouri Rockets back in 1925.  Officially became the  Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in 1934.  Give me one of those great line kicks!!!!!!!!!!!

3.  A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

First aired December 9, 1965

4.  CHRISTMAS PICKLES

Hide one and te first child to find it gets something.  As a shareholder with the Mount Olive Pickle Cp. I like this one.  But growing up, I never had this.  Bah!! Humbug!!

5.  ELF ON THE SHELF

Since 2005.  We didn't have them growing up, but that was quite a ways before us.  My brother and sister are quite old.

Twenty to Go.  --CootChris

Ten Facts About the Battle of Princeton: Sneaking Away and That 'Intelligent Young Gentleman'

From George Washington's Mount Vernon.

The American victory at the Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777)  was one of the most consequential f the American Revolution.  George Washington and his soldiers marched north from Trenton and attacked a British force south of Princeton.

Washington's victory  bolstered American  morale and provided  great confidence to his soldiers.

1.  WASHINGTON ESCAPED ONE ENEMY TO ATTACK ANOTHER AT PRINCETON.

The Americans had been able to repulse several attacks on January 2 at the Battle of Assunpink Creek (Battle of Second  Trenton), but still had the prospects of an all-out attack by  Gen. Charles Cornwallis' 8,000 man British Army the next day.

They were able to slip away through deceptive campfires and quietness to attack Princeton.

2.  "A VERY INTELLIGENT YOUNG GENTLEMAN" PROVIDED WASHINGTON WITH INTELLIGENCE.

Col. John Cadwalader was able to get detailed information and a map from this "intelligent young gentleman."  They didn't say who he was, though. But Washington had a detailed map of the British defenses and positions at Princeton.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Princeton-- Part 2: From Defeat, Washington Gets a Victory

When the Americans spotted the British troops around William Clarke's farm, Washington detached Hugh Mercer's brigade to investigate.  Mercer ran headlong into the 17th Foot Regiment, firmly stationed behind a fence at the end of Clarke's orchard.  In the ensuing volleys,  Mercer was wounded and his men routed by a bayonet charge.

With the British on the verge of splitting his army, Washington quickly detached  John Cadwalader's  Philadelphia Associatiors (militia) to plug the gap.  These green troops fought valiantly, but were also broken by British bayonets.

With the battle, and the war, hanging in the balance, Washington personally led fresh troops onto the field while grapeshot and canister battery from Joseph  Moulder's artillery forced the British back towards Clarke's farmhouse.  Washington's counterattack broke the British line, which quickly turned into a route.

Further nearer the town, two smaller engagements at Frog Hollow and on the grounds of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), also resulted in a British retreat.

Washington had won a great victory, defeating a smaller force of British regulars, but British Colonel Mawhood was also praised for delaying the Americans long enough to rescue most of his supplies.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Princeton-- Part 1

From American Battlefield Trust.

I was  aware of the Battle of Trenton, one great surprise attack, but really didn't know what happened afterwards.  Now, I know.

After crossing the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, and surprising the British at Trenton the next morning, George Washington embarked on a ten-day campaign  that would change the course of the war.  Culminating in the Battle of Princeton on on January 3, 1777, Washington snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and proved his amateur army could defeat the British.

The Battle of Princeton was a classic meeting engagement, with both sides stumbling into each other, and neither expecting to fight on the ground where the battle raged.  Initially, the British commander, Charles Mawhood, marched his force south towards Trenton to meet the main British Army, when he spotted the American column.

Washington had stolen a march on Charles Lord Cornwallis, slipping away  from the British forces along Assunpink Creek the night before.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Princeton (New Jersey)

From the December American Battlefield Trust 2021 Calendar.

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

24 acres saved.

On January 3, 1777, General George Washington personally led a daring charge against British regulars and reinvigorated the spirit of America's War for Independence at Princeton.

In one of the most high-profile victories, the Trust worked with the State of New Jersey, Mercer County, the Princeton Battlefield Society and other local partners to save 14.85 key acres of the battlefield, valued at a stunning $4 million.

This occurred a short time after the surprise he gave the British at Trenton on December 26, 1776.

Thanks Trust.  Glad I Belong.  --Cooter

10 Everyday Things That Came From Military Technology-- Part 2: Canned Food, Synthetic Rubber, Virtual Reality

Again, for much more information, go to the site.

5.  CANNED FOOD:  French Army.  Nicholas Appert invented it.    Good other than when you cut your hand in the lid.

4.  BAGGED SALAD:   German Karl Busch during WW II.

3.  SYNTHETIC RUBBER:  After the Japanese stopped our supply of rubber in WW II.

2.  VIRTUAL REALITY:  A whole lot of military training involves this.

1.  ROOMBA:  Military robotic mine sweepers.

--Cooter

10 Everyday Things That Grew Out of Military Technology-- Part 1: Duct Tape, Microwave Oven, Super Glue

 From Listverse December 9, 2021, by Jon F.

I am just listing these interesting items.  For much more information, go to the site.

10.  DUCT TAPE:  What would I do without Duct tape.  Invented by Vesta Stout.

9.  MICROWAVE OVEN:  Again, what would I do without the microwave.  To improve radar.

8.  SUPER GLUE:  Create clear gun sights.  By far best for gluing my fingers together.

7.  GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM:    Began as a way to track submarines during the Cold War.  O hate when mine calls me names in its "polite" way.

6.  THE INTERNET:    What would these blogs do without it.

--Cooter

10 Christmas Themes from the Roaring 20s Compared to Today-- Part 2

Remember, if you want to fond out more about any of these items, go to the site.  A whole lot more information there.

5.  Caroling   

4.  Fruitcake humor   Prohibition took away a key ingredient --  whiskey.  I don't care what folks say, I really like fruitcakes.

3.  The on-going Jesus vs.  Santa arm wrestling  match.  Politically correct, you know.

2.  The Christmas  Tree.    Trees much nicer today

1.  Putting up decorations   Mist homes back in the 20s didn't even put up the tree until right before Christmas.  Very little decorations, especially lighted ones.  But, today we have the Great Christmas Wars to see who can outdo their neighbors.

--DaCoot

10 Christmas Themes from the Roaring 20s Compared to Today-- Part 1

From the December 9, 2021, ListVerse site by Joseph Dupree.

Go to the site and read a whole lot more.

10.  Santa hasn't aged a day.

9.  What about Santa's crew?  Mrs. Santa the same, but Rudolph didn't join until 1939.

8.  The Season of Giving     Definitely different gifts.

7.  What the Dickens!   The idea of a huge Christmas dinner was already here.

6.  Holiday Broadcasting  Well, no television.

--Cooter

USS Montgomery (C-9)-- Part 3: Commissioned and Decommissioned a Whole Bunch

In April 1899, the Montgomery transferred  to the South Atlantic Squadron and operated along the Atlantic coast of South America. In July 1900, she was import to Uruguay with Commander John Merrill as her commanding officer.

 Decommissioned at New York City 15 September 1900 and recommissioned  15 May 1902 and assigned to the Caribbean Division, North Atlantic Squadron and operated in the West Indies until decommissioned again at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 15 September 1904.

The Montgomery was recommissioned yet again 2 January 1908 and  operated in the Fifth Naval District as a torpedo experimental ship.  From 1914 to  1918, she was with the Maryland  Naval Militia.  Renamed the Anniston  14 March 1918, she was assigned to  Division 2, American Patrol Detachment, for patrol and escort duty along the  Atlantic coast and the Caribbean.

Decommissioned at Charleston, South Carolina, for a last time on 16 May 1918,  the Anniston was struck from  the Navy List 25 August 1919 and sold 14 November 1919.

--Cooter

USS Montgomery (C-9)-- Part 2: Took Part in the Spanish-American War

The USS Montgomery was launched 5 December 1891 by Columbian Iron  Works in Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Miss Sofia Smith; and commissioned at Norfolk  Navy Yard (Virginia)  21 June 1894, Commander Charles Henry Davis, Jr. in command.

Assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron and operated along the eastern edge of the U.S. as far south as the Caribbean Sea.

During the Spanish-American War she  cruised near Cuba and Haiti in April 1898 and in May joined the blockade of Havana.  She took two prizes, the Lorenzo and Frasquito, on 5 May, and shelled the Spanish forts  a week later.

On 13 June a 280 Krupp gun at the Santa Clara  Battery fired on the Montgomery at a range of 9,000 meters, apparently without effect.

--Cooter

USS Montgomery (C-9): Spanish-American War and WW I

There was also a USS Montgomery in the Spanish-American War which also was still afloat during World War I, although it did not see action.

From Wikipedia.

The 4th USS Montgomery (C-9) was the lead ship of its class and what was termed an unprotected cruiser  It served during two wars and was named after the capital city of Alabama.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

BUILDER:  Columbian Iron Works and Dry Dock Co. of Baltimore, Md.

COST:  $1,037,923 (Hull and Machinery)

COMMISSIONED:  21 June 18 1894

DECOMMISSIONED:  16 May 1918

LENGTH:  269 feet 10 inches

BEAM:  37 feet

DRAFT:  14 feet 6 inches

SPEED:  17 knots

COMPLEMENT:  30 officers, 249 enlisted

ARMAMENT:

Two 6-inch guns

Eight 5-inch guns

Six 6-pounder  guns

Two 1-pounder guns

Two Gatling guns

Three 18-inch torpedo tubes

--Cooter

There Was a USS Montgomery in the American Revolution

Earlier this month, I wrote about the current USS Montgomery (LCS-8).  I found out there were also USS Montgomerys in the War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War II.

I will write about them in my blogs.

From Wikipedia.

USS MONTGOMERY (1776)

Was a three-masted, wooden sailing frigate and one of the first 13 ships authorized by the Continental Congress on 13 December 1775.  

She was built by Lancaster Burling at Poughkeepsie, New York, and launched late in October 1776.  But because the British captured New York City after the Battle of Brooklyn, the Hudson River was closed.  Because of this, the ship was never completed and later destroyed.

It was probably built to the standards of Joshua Humphry's design for a 24-gun frigate mounting twenty-four 9-pounder guns.

It was named in honor of fallen general Richard Montgomery, who had been a British soldier but sided with  the Americans and was appointed  a brigadier general by George Washington  he was later killed in a failed assault on  Quebec,  31 December 1775.

To prevent capture by the British,  the USS Montgomery was burned on 6 October 1777.

--Cooter

101-Year-Old USS Oklahoma Survivor Returns for 80th "Let 'Em Puff the Cigarettes'

I will be writing about Pearl Harbor in seven of my eight blogs today.  This story began in my Saw the Elephant: Civil War blog and my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog.

After the attack, David Russell, 101, and two others went to Ford Island in search for a bathroom.  While there,  they found a dispensary and  enlisted quarters that had been turned into  a triage center and a place  of refuge for hundreds of wounded.  They found  horribly burned sailors lining the walls. Many would die in the hours an d days ahead.

"Most of them wanted a cigarette, and I didn't smoke at the time, but, I got a pack of cigarettes and some matches.  I lit their cigarettes for them," said Russell.  "You feel for these guys, but I couldn't do anything.  Just light a cigarette for 'em and let 'em puff the cigarettes."

Russell still thinks about how lucky he was.  He ponders why he decided to go topside on the Oklahoma, knowing that most of the men who remained behind likely were unable to get out after the hatch was closed.

In the first two days after the attack, a civilian crew from the shipyard rescued 32 men trapped  inside the ship by cutting holes in its upturned hull.  But the rest perished.  Most of those who died in the Oklahoma were buried anonymously in Honolulu graves and listed as unknowns because their remains were too degraded  to be identified by the time they were removed from the ship between 1942 and 1943.

--GreGen

Current U.S. Warships: The USS Montgomery (LCS-8)

From the December 2021 Paralyzed Veterans of America calendar.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

An Independence-class  littoral combat ship.

BUILDER:  Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama

LAUNCHED:  August 6, 2014

HOMEPORT:  San Diego

LENGTH:  418 feet

BEAM:  104 feet

DRAFT:  13 feet

CREW: Ship:  8 officers, 32 enlisted and up to 35 mission crew.

ARMAMENT:  One Mk-110 57mm gun, One SeaRam CIWS

AIRCRAFT:  Two MH-60 helicopters.

--Cooter

Seneca Falls, New York and 'It's a Wonderful Life'

From Wikipedia.

Seneca Falls is reportedly the inspiration for the fictional city of Bedford Falls in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

The census of 2010 put the population at 9,040.

The town is on the northern part of the Finger Lakes District.

At the conclusion of the American Revolution, this area was part of the Central New York Military Tract of some 2 million acres of land set aside to  compensate New York soldiers for serving in the war.  The land would be given to the soldiers in lots of 600 acres in size.  This caused a lot of growth in the area's population.

In 1818, a canal was completed connecting  Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake an d these were later connected to the Erie Canal in 1828.

The Seneca Falls Convention was held there July 19-20, 1848, and was the first women's rights convention organized by women explicitly to discuss the subject.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton was involved with this.

--Cooter

'It's a Wonderful Life' Returning-- Part 4: There's a Tear in My Eye

Jimmy Hawkins, who played 4-year-old Tommy Bailey, said people have come up to both of them and said that watching the film kept them from killing themselves.  It's message is about how important you are to those around you even if you don't think so.

And, even at the age 79, he said he feels like he's 4 all over again when he thinks about the movie.  "When people ask us questions about being on the set, you clock back into it," Hawkins said.  "It's so vivid.  It seems like a million years ago or just yesterday."

The movie itself is pretty dark on multiple levels, and Karolyn Grimes thinks people coming out of World War II, weren't quite ready for it yet.

Jimmy Stewart himself wasn't sure he wanted to even act again after flying naval planes over Germany but, as Hawkins said, actor Lionel Barrymore, who plays the miserly Mr. Potter, convinced Stewart to do it.

I don't know about you, but I have never been able to watch the movie's conclusion without getting a tear in my eye.

And remember, you can see the movie on NBC on December 4 and 24.

--Cooter

'It's a Wonderful Life' Returning-- Part 3: How Each Person's Life Touches Another

And, I see my local Walgreen's has one of those 100-page memory magazine/books for sale in honor of this movie's longevity.  I will be buying one.

In 1980, Karolyn Grimes had no idea how journalists tracked her down because her name had changed and there was no Google.  But the publicity enabled her to reunite with Steward and Reed, and she then became an unofficial ambassador of the movie.

Over the past four decades, she has attended countless screenings, benefits and conventions.  She helped create a museum for the film and returns each December to Seneca Falls, New York, the model for the movie's small-town Bedford Falls, for the "It's a Wonderful Life" Festival.

For grimes, the film's message is timeless:  "How each person's life touches another, and we're given an opportunity to make a difference. That's so important."

Again, my third all-time favorite Christmas movie.

--Cooter

'It's a Wonderful Life' Returning-- Part 2: Little Tommy and Zuzu

The movie is also a treasure to two surviving cast members.  Jimmy Hawkins, who played 4-year-old Tommy Bailey and Karolyn Grimes who played 6-year-old Zuzu Bailey and uttered the famous line, "Look, Daddy.  Teacher says, 'Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.' "

The movie, however, was just a footnote in their lives until the late 1970s.  Jimmy Hawkins said, "I started hearing more about it then.  People were holding trivia parties."  He remained an actor in the 1950s and 1960s and worked with Reed on the "Donna Reed Show" from 1958 to 1966.

Karolyn Grimes got out of show business in her teens after her mother died from early-onset Alzheimer's disease and her father was killed in a car accident.  She didn't even ever see the movie until she was 40 years old.

"I was enthralled with the messages from that movie when I first saw it,"  Grimes said.  "I knew then it was very special, and I could understand why I started getting fan mail and people wanted to have interviews with me."

And, remember, it will be on NBC December 4 and December 24.

--CooterOldManPotter

'It's a Wonderful Life' Set to Return-- Part 1: Didn't Renew the Copyright

From the November 24, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Magic still resonates for two actors in 'It's a Wonderful Life" by Rodney Ho of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"It's a Wonderful Life," Frank Capra's story about redemption and a life fulfilled, bombed at the box office when it was released in early 1947.

For decades it was largely forgotten until 1974 when Republic Pictures failed to renew copyright protection and the film lapsed into the public domain, meaning that anyone could show the film without obtaining permission or paying royalties.  

As a result, it was shown a whole lot on TV and its growing popularity gave it a second life.

Now, it is hard to imagine American life without it.  It was ranked No. 20 of the 100 greatest films in 2007 by the American Film Institute.  Frank Capra and stars Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart said it was their favorite film they ever worked on.

It is my third all-time favorite Christmas movie.

And, It Will be Shown on TV This Coming December 4 On NBC.  --Cooter

Arlington National Cemetery Marks Centennial of Tomb of the Unknowns-- Part 2

 On November 11,  -- the anniversary of the war's end, celebrated as veterans Day in the United States -- the anonymous remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, in the newly built Tomb of then Unknown Soldier, dedicated to all unidentified Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.

In 1931-32  a craved marble superstructure was placed atop the tomb, completing the memorial familiar to  present-day visitors.

Since then Arlington burial details have interred American unknowns from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, though in 1998 the last one was exhumed, identified and returned to his family for reburial.

Guarding the memorial around the clock are select sentinels of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard").

Arlington National Cemetery plans several events to mark the centennial of the tomb, leading up to a formal ceremony on Veterans Day.  It invited the public to visit, pay silent respect and recall the men whose names remain a mystery but whose sacrifice must never be forgotten.

 

Arlington Marks Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknowns-- Part 1

From the July 2021 Military History magazine.

Arlington National Cemetery

Four identical caskets lay abreast in the room at City Hall in Chalons-en-Champagne, France, on October 24, 1921.  Each held the remains if an unidentified American soldier.  U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger had the solemn task of selecting one of them.

Approaching the caskets with a spray of white roses in hand, the decorated, twice-wounded Younger circled them, then set the flowers down on the third coffin from the left.  He had chosen America's Unknown World War I soldier.

Thus began the long journey home for one of hundreds if American soldiers killed in Europe during World War I whose names are "known but to God."

The casket chosen by Younger was transported by caisson and train to the port of Le Havre and placed aboard the protected cruiser USS Olympia for transport across the Atlantic to the Washington Navy Yard.  (The USS Olympia was Admiral Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War where he gave the famous order, "You may fire when ready, Gridley.")

USS Gridley (DD-92)-- Part 2: Aided the First Transatlantic Seaplane Flight

The Gridley was launched by Union Ironworks of San Francisco, California , om 4 July 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Francis P. Thomas, daughter of Captain  Charles Vernon Gridley, for whom the vessel was named.  (Find-a-Grave lists just one daughter, Katherine V. Gridley Buddy (1873-1957).

After fitting out at Mare Island Navy Yard, she departed San Diego on  14 March 1919, and transited the Panama Canal for maneuvers in Cuban waters then to Norfolk, Virginia, for repairs and then to New York City on 22 April 1919.

Its first assignment was with a group of destroyers posted along the route of the Navy's first transatlantic seaplane flight.  The Gridley and other destroyers used smoke and flares to guide the intrepid flyers and with the help of other surface ships, the N4 was successfully able to fly across the Atlantic and land in the Azores on 17 March  1919.

--Cooter

USS Gridley (DD-92)-- Part 1

Last month's featured U.S. warship was the USS Gridley (DDG-101).  There were  three other USS Gridleys in the Navy.

They were all named after Charles V. Gridley of USS Olympia/Dewey "You may fire when ready, Gridley" fame.  I have also written a lot about him in this blog and my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog.

This was the first of the four USS Gridleys.

From Wikipedia. 

The first Gridley was a Wickes-class destroyer commissioned after World War I.  Ships of this class were often called Four Stackers for the four smokestacks on each one.

It was launched  4 July 1918 and commissioned 8 March 1919.  Decommissioned  22 June 1922 and sold for scrap  19 April 1939.

315 feet long, 

 31 foot beam,  four 4-inch guns and  twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.

--Cooter

John H. Russell, Jr. 16th USMC Commandant-- Part 3

Then, he was at Marine Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and then back to Haiti where he first commanded Marines, but then became American High Commissioner in that country from 1922  to 1930.

Returning to the States, he was the commander of the Marine Base at San Diego and then Marine Barracks in Quantico, Virginia, and in February 1933 he was made the Assistant Commandant USMC  On March 1, 1934, he was appointed 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps and held that position until he retired on December 1, 1936.

During his tenure as Commandant, Russell changed the old system of promotion from seniority to  advancement by selection and withdrew the 1st Marine Brigade from Haiti.  Also, the Fleet Marine Force assumed new responsibilities; the Marine Reserves were given more attention and the number of ships carrying Marine detachments increased.

Major General Russell retired after 42 years of commissioned service and continued afterwards as a military journalist.  He died in Coronado, Colorado, on March 6, 1947, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

He was a hereditary member of the Military  Order of the Loyal Legion in succession to his father who was a Union Navy officer during the Civil War.

--Cooter

John H. Russell, Jr., 16th USMC Commandant-- Part 2: Service All Over

Next, Russell had duty at Guam and several navy yards back in the United States.  Then Hawaii and the Panama Canal Zone.  From 1908 to 1910, he was at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Then, from 1910 to 1913, he was at the American  Legation in Peking, China.  During this time there were disturbances in China as the country moved from an empire to a republic.  Upon returning to the U.., her was assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence until 1917 with the exception of eight months commanding a Marine group at Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1914.

From 1917 to 1918 he had several commands in Latin America.  During this time he made repeated requests to transfer to France for service in the war.  He finally got his wish, but delays in relieving him caused him to be able to do so until the Armistice was signed.

--Cooter

John H. Russell, Jr., 16th Commandant USMC-- Part 1: Son of Navy Mexican and Civil War Officer

From Wikipedia.

Earlier this month, I was writing about the USS Russell (DDG-59) which was the November featured U.S. warship in the 2021 Paralyzed Veterans of America calendar.

This ship was named after John H. Russell, Sr. and John H. Russell, Jr..  John H. Russell, Sr. was a U.S. Navy officer in the Mexican War and Civil War.  I wrote about him in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog thus month.

John Jr., followed his father into military service, only with the U.S. Marines.

Born November 14, 1872.  Died March 6, 1947.

He was born at Mare Island, California, and the son of Rear Admiral John Henry Russell (1827-1897) and appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy by President Grover Cleveland in May 1888.  Graduated in June 1892, spent two years at sea, passed his final examinations and transferred to the USMC as a second lieutenant  on July 1, 1894.

In 1896, he joined the USS Massachusetts of the North Atlantic Squadron and served on that ship until after the end of the Spanish-American War.  The Massachusetts operated in waters off Cuba and Puerto Rico during the conflict, but was not at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

--Cooter

The Wars of the United States-- Part 3: Gulf War, Iraq War and Afghanistan

**  GULF WAR  (1990-1991)

In January 1990, the United States and its Allies launched Operation Desert Storm, a ground assault to liberate Kuwait which had been occupied the year before by Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein.  The war itself did not last very long.

In this conflict, 2,322,000 Americans served.

There were 1,948 deaths and 467 wounded.

**  IRAQ WAR (2003-2011)

This led to a lengthy engagement, first with soldiers loyal to Hussein and then with various insurgent factions.

During the war, 4,431 Americans died.

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

**  AFGHANISTAN WAR  (2001-2021)

The United States and its Allies launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001, with the aim of overthrowing the Taliban, believed to be protecting members of the al Qaeda terrorist group responsible for 9/11.

U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, and within hours the Taliban had taken back the country.

The U.S. was there for 19 years and ten months.

2,442 Americans died.

--DaCoot

These Are the Wars the U.S. Has Fought-- Part 2: The World Wars, Korea and Vietnam

**  WORLD WAR I (1917-1918)

The U.S. declared war on Germany April 6, 1917.

A total of 4,734,991 Americans served.     There were 116,516 killed and 204,002 wounded.

**  WORLD WAR II   (1941-1945)

16,112,566 Americans were called into service.  

405,339 were killed and 670,846 wounded.

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

**  KOREAN WAR   (1950-1953)

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) versus the Democratic  People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).  The United States and United Nations countries supported South Korea and China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea.

The war ended with an armistice that persists to this day.

5,720,000 Americans fought.

54,246 died and 103,284 were wounded.

**  VIETNAM WAR  (1955-1975)

There is some discussion as to when the war began for the United States.

It was North Vietnam (Communists) versus South Vietnam supported by the United States.

It really picked up for the U.S. after what was called the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

In this war, 8,744,000 served and 90,220 died and 153,303 were wounded.

--Cooter

These Are the Wars the U.S. Has Fought-- Part 1 (With Casualties)

From the November 12, 2021, CVBJ.biz.

**   WAR OF INDEPENDENCE  (1775-1783) 

Estimated 184,000 to 250,000 Americans    4,435 killed, 6,188 wounded

**   ANGLO-AMERICAN WAR  (War of 1812)  (1812-1815)

286,730 Americans served   2,260 deaths, 4,505 wounded

**   MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR   (1846-1848)

78,718 Americans served   13,283 died, 4,152 wounded

**   CIVIL WAR  (1861-1865)

2,213,363 Americans served in Union forces   364,511 dead    Between 600,000 and 1,500,000 Americans fought for the Confederacy    133,821 died

**   SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR   (1898)

306,760 Americans served   2,446 killed, 1,662 wounded

--Cooter

In Honor of Veterans Day 2021: The Last Spanish-American War Survivors, Jones Morgan,

From the Spanish-American War  Centennial Website.

The last surviving veteran of the war was a black man named Jones Morgan who passed away in Richmond, Virginia,  on August 29, 1993, at the incredible age of 110.  His records, however, were lost in a fire.

He was born on October 23, 1882, in Newberry County, South Carolina, and ran away from home at age 15 to join the Army which he did in 1897, signing up with the  9th U.S. Cavalry, known as the "Buffalo Soldiers, an all-black unit.

He served for two years before his family located him  and had him discharged.  Since he had runaway and was underage, it is likely that he used an alias when he originally enlisted, making his records nearly impossible to find.

He served as a cook and as a horse wrangler and was in Cuba and at the assault on San Juan Hill although he apparently did not take part in it.  He also indicated that he helped  wrangle horses for the Rough Riders.

He was buried in Section 16 of Forest Lawn Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, Section 16.

The Al Capone Auction-- Part 2: A Watch, a Money Clop and His Favorite Pistol

The Chicago Mob items were selling very well at the recent auction.

Some more items:

**  AL CAPONE'S INITIALED 'AC' MONEY CLIP  Estimate $2,500-$5,000  Sold for:  $45,000

**  Capone's diamond 'AC' pendant   Estimate $2,500-$5,000   Sold for $60,000

**  AL AND MAE CAPONE'S BED  Estimate $2,500-$5,000   Sold for $70,000

**  Capone's platinum diamond monogrammed pocket knife  Estimate $2,500-$5,000  Sold for $75,000

**  CAPONE'S MONOGRAMMED PATEK PHILLPE POCKET WATCH   Estimate $25,000-$50,000  Sold for $190,000

**  Capone's favorite Colt .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol   Estimate: $100,000-$150,000  Sold for $860,000

Somewhere, there are auctioneers really, really smiling.

They Still Love Al.  --Cooter

So, What'd Ya Get at the Al Capone Auction?-- Part 1: Madonna Bust, Cigar Humidor and a Letter

From the October 17, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Al Capone auction:  Top 10 highest winning bids" by Kori Rumore.

An auction of Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone's possessions brought in more than $3 million earlier this month.  

Here's a look at the eight lots that brought the highest winning bids:

8.  Al and Mae (his wife) Capone's marble Madonna bust.  Estimate $5,000-$10,000   Sold for $55,000.

7.  Al and Mae Capone's decorative cigar humidor    Estimate:  $5,000 -$10,000   Sold for $120,00

6.  Personal letter from Capone to his son, Sonny, from Alcatraz   Estimate:  $25,000-$50,000   Sold for $45,000.

--CootCapone

James O'Leary's Life (You Know, That O'Leary as in Great Chicago Fire O'Leary)

From the September 19, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Chicago's history is punctuated with devastating fires" by Rick Kogan.

Only, this was O'Leary, the son of Kate and Patrick O'Leary who had the famous cow, Daisy, who supposedly kicked over the lantern and started it all.

He was only two when the fire took place.  His parents and he moved south to the rough-and-tumble neighborhood around the stockyards.  His parents became virtual hermits, shamed by their connection to the fire, he became one of the city's first big-time crime figures.

In the early 1890s, he built a palatial gambling mecca at 4183 Halstead Street which included a billiards room, several bowling alleys, a saloon, a barbershop and a sauna.  He had his name- O'Leary- set in giant electric letters proudly emblazoned across the massive ironbound oak door.

Steel plates covered the outer walls, and the inner walls were made from heavy oak covered with zinc.  It was, O'Leary said proudly, "fire-proof, bombproof and police-proof."

"Big Jim," as he was known, died in 1925, but his gambling house continued to operate.  It was destroyed May 19, 1934, when the second-biggest fire in Chicago history blazed, taking out nearly 90% of the Union Stock Yards, injuring 50 firefighters and killing hundreds of cattle.

A large crowd stood watching the blaze, and one insensitive fellow was heard to say, "Them cows, they had it coming."

Steak Tonight, Fellows!!  --Cooter

Chicago's Devastating Fires-- Part 3: Our Lady of Angels School Fire

On December 1, 1958, there was a fire at the Lady of the Angels Catholic School in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.

On that day, shortly before classes were to be dismissed, a fire broke out at the foot of the stairway.  Even though it took firefighters only four minutes to arrive, there was only so much they could do as 92 students and three nuns died.

The Tribune devoted eight pages to the tragedy.  Every parent of school-aged children were terrified.  The severity of the fire shocked the nation and surprised educational administrators of both public and private schools.

My wife was a second grader at Our Lady of the Angels' sister school, Our Lady of Grace, and her father ran a deli in the Humboldt Park area so she knew some of the families  who lost children.  She still gets upset every December 1.

Some solace can be found as this fire sparked major improvements in standards for school design and safety codes.  Particularly fire drills.

USS Russell (DDG-59)-- Part 3: A Whole Lotta Don't Mess With Me Ship

MORE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

(From Wikipedia)

RANGE:  4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots

COMPLEMENT:  33 commissioned officers, 38 chief petty officers, 210 enlisted

SENSORS AND PROCESSING SYSTEMS:  8 systems

ELECTRONIC WARFARE AND DECOYS:  5 systems  (I don't now about you, but with this and the above, I wouldn't want to mess with this ship.

ARMAMENT:  

Two missile-launching  systems with 90 missiles

2 Harpoon missile launchers

1 Mark  45 gun

2  25 mm chain guns

4 50-caliber guns

2  20mm Phalanx CIWS

2 MK 32 triple torpedo tubes

AIRCRAFT:  2 Sikorski helicopters can be embarked

Again, Bad Guys, Stay Away from This Ship.  --CootDon'tMessWithMe

USS Russell (DDG-59)-- Part 2:

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

ORDERED:   22 February 1990

LAID DOWN:  24 July 1992

LAUNCHED:  20 October 1993

COMMISSIONED:  20 May 1995

HOMEPORT:  San Diego

MOTTO:  "Strength in Freedom"

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

LENGTH:  505 feet

BEAM:   59 feet

DRAFT:  31 feet

SPEED:  30 knots

--Cooter

U.S. Warships: USS Russell (DDG-59)

From the Paralyzed Veterans of America November 2021 Calendar.

Each month, this calendar features a U.S. Navy warship that is currently in service.

This month's ship is the guided missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG-59).

It is an Arleigh Burke-class ship, commissioned 20 May 1995 and home ported in San Diego.  It is the second ship in the U.S. Navy by the name of John Henry Russell.  John Henry Russell was a rear admiral in the Navy who fought in the Mexican War and the Civil War.  His son, John Henry Russell, Jr. was the 16th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

It was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

--Cooter

Chicago's Devastating Fires-- Part 2: The Iroquois Theatre Fire

In one of the most famous fires in Chicago's history, a packed house waited to see America's favorite comedian, Eddie Foy, star in the comedy "Mr. Bluebeard" at the Iroquois Theatre on December 30, 1903.

Touted as being "completely fireproof," the Iroquois had opened earlier that year and a crowd estimated at 1,700 was there for a Christmas week matinee.  The audience watched the second act curtain rise and, as an arc light shorted, ignite.

In minutes, the scenery was aflame, even as Foy ordered the orchestra to strike up a tune and shouted to the crowd, "Please be quiet.  There is no danger."

But soon the theater was roaring with flames.  Men, women and children howled as they rushed to the exits, many of which were locked.

Some people died from the fire itself, others were trampled and smothered to death.  More than 600 were killed, hundreds more injured.

The exterior of the Iroquois was largely intact and later reopened as the Colonial Theater, which was demolished in 1925 to make way for the Oriental Theater.  The Iroquois Theatre  fire was and remains the deadliest theater fire and the deadliest single-building fire in U.S. history.

Chicago's History Is Punctuated with Devastating Fires-- Part 1: Burning Down Fort Dearborn in the War of 1812

From the September 19, 2021, Chicago Tribune by Rick Kogan.

Earlier last month Chicago commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago fire on October 8.  That fire literally reshaped the landscape of the city that had grown so fast that little was done with planning.

But, there have been more fires in the city's history.

The first took place even before the city was here.  It happened the day after Potawatomi Indians killed more than 60 soldiers, women and children as they evacuated Fort Dearborn, moving south along the lakefront.  That day, the Indians burned down Fort Dearborn.

This fort had been called "the neatest and best garrison in the country."

A History of Halloween-- Part 3: A Depression, A War and a Baby Boom

In the United States, by the 1920s, pranks had become the Halloween activity of choice for rowdy young people.

The Great Depression seemed to make this pranking even worse.  Some people say this pranking led to  the current community-based traditions of trick-or-treating in the United States starting in the 1930s.  However, World War II  meant sugar rationing  and there were fewer treats to hand out.

At the height of the Baby Boom after the war. Halloween activities came back stronger than ever.  It quickly became standard practice of millions of children in America's cities and booming suburbs. No longer constrained by sugar rationing, candy makers capitalized  on the lucrative ritual.

Today. Americans are estimated to spend $2.5 billion on candy during Halloween.

And, the day itself has become the nation's second-largest commercial holiday.

--CootCandy

A History of Halloween-- Part 2: From 'Souling' to Jack-O-Lanterns

The All Saints' Day celebration was also called the All-hallows or All-hallowmas and, the night before it, the traditional Samhain in the Celtic religion, became All hallows  Eve, and eventually, Halloween.  Over the centuries, the three holidays --  All Saints Day, All Souls' Day and Samhain --  essentially merged into just one day, Halloween.

In England and Ireland during the Middle Ages during All Saints; Day and All Souls' Day celebrations, poor people would visit the homes of wealthier  families and receive pastries called soul cakes in exchange for  a promise to pray for the homeowners dead relatives.

This was known as "souling" and became a practice later taken up by children, who would go door-to-door asking for gifts such as food, money and ale-- an early form of trick-or-treating.

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

The practice of carving  faces into vegetables became associated with Halloween in Ireland and Scotland around the 1800s.  Jack-o-lanterns originated from an Irish myth about a man named "Stingy Jack" who tricked the devil and was forced to roam the earth with only a burning coal in a turnip to light his way.

People began making their own versions by carving scary faces into vegetables and especially pumpkins and placing them near doors and windows to scare  "Stingy Jack" away.

Like, Boo!!!  --DaCootScary

A History of Halloween: Samhain to All Souls' Day

From the October 25, 2021, History.com. "Halloween Timeline:  How the holiday has changed  over the centuries" by Erik Freeland.

Halloween's origins can be traced back to antiquity.  Most point to Samhain, a Celtic celebration commemorating the end of harvest season and the blurring of the spirit and physical worlds.

Over the ages, Halloween has taking on Christian influences, European myth and American consumerism.

Today, we celebrate it with trick-or-treating, costumes, jack-o-lanterns and scary movies and, of course, that Halloween creep in the stores where the stiff starts appearing in early September.

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

In the 7th century, the Catholic Church established November 1 as All Saints' Day, a day commemorating  all the saints of the church..  By the 9th century, Christianity had  come to former Celtic lands with a gradual blending and supplanting of Celtic rites

In 1000 A.D. the church made November 2 All Souls;' Day, a day to honor he dead.

--CootBoo

The GE Monitor Top Refrigerator-- Part 3: To the Basketball and R-12 Freon

In the early 1930s, GE began making an altered version version of the typical Monitor Top known as the Globe Top.  These units featured a round basketball-like  top that hosed a completely enclosed mechanical assembly. The plan was  to offer the housekeeper an easier-to-clean refrigerator.

In late 1936, the new Monitor Top  was unveiled.  Known as the "Flat Top,"  this new model featured a smaller  compressor with a condenser fan motor all mounted in the bottom of the cabinet.

After World War II, General Electric discontinued the use of sulfur dioxide and methal formate and began using R-12 freon, a refrigerant which was widely accepted and used in most every refrigerator manufactured until 1993.

--DaCootFridge

The GE Monitor Top Refrigerator-- Part 2: The First Affordable Refrigerators

With a price tag of $300, these models were considered  the first affordable refrigeration units for the average family.  Many utility companies offered  the GE Monitor Top refrigerator to their customers for as little as $10 a month, simply added to their monthly utility bills.  (But, you have to remember, $300 or $10 was a real lot of money back then.)

Although a few minor  features were added along the way, such as enclosed condenser coils and slide out shelves, the basic design  of the Monitor Top remained the same  from 1927 to 1936.  All of these models were cooled with one of two refrigerants at the time:  sulfur dioxide or methyl formate.

The most popular model of the Monitor Top was the standard  single door unit, offering the customer  5 to 7 cubic feet of food storage.  In addition, GE produced an even larger two-door unit as well as a three-door one.

--Cooter

The GE Monitor Top Refrigerator-- Part 1: It Is Not an Ironclad

Recently I posted about this refrigerator in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog as I had come across the name "Monitor Refrigerator" in an article and, hey, the Monitor was a Civil War shop that really turned naval architecture on its ear.

It had the name because the compressor at the top of it resembled the gun turret of the USS Monitor.  When I found a picture of it, I had to agree with the name.

So, here is some more information about this particular kind of refrigerator.

From the Antique  Appliances.com site.

The GE  Monitor top refrigerator is perhaps the most recognizable of vintage refrigerators.  Built on the principal of a French industrialist concept for a hermetically sealed refrigeration system, the first models available  to the general public, for residential use, were introduced in 1927.  

General Electric committed $18 million to the manufacturing of these units and another million to advertise them to the public.

--CootFrig

A Native American Timeline-- Part 8: Indian Citizenship Act, the Code Talkers, Indian Civil Rights Act

**  JUNE 2, 1924:  U.S. Congress passes Indian Citizenship Act, granting citizenship  to all Native Americans born in the territorial limits of the country.  Previously, citizenship had been limited depending upon what percentage of Indian ancestry the person had, whether they had served in the military, or, of they were women, were married to a U.S, citizen.

**  MARCH 4, 1929:  Charles Curtis serves as the first Native American U.S. vice president under  President Herbert Hoover.

**  MAY 1942:  Members of the Navajo Nation develop a code to transmit messages and radio messages to U.S.  armed forces during World War II.  Eventually, hundreds of  Code Talkers from multiple  Indian tribes serve with the U.S. Marines during he war.

**  APRIL 11, 1968:  The Indian Civil Rights Act is signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, granting Indians many of the benefits guaranteed under the Bill of Rights.

**  MARCH 15, 2021:  Representative  Deb Haaland of New Mexico is confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior, making her the first Native American to lead a cabinet department.

"Growing up in my mother's Pueblo household made me fierce," she tweeted on her confirmation for the post.  "I'll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all our protected land."

--Cooter

A Native American Timeline-- Part 7: Dawes Act, Wounded Knee and the Choctow Telephone Squad in WW I

**  FEBRUARY 8, 1887:  President Grover Cleveland  signs the Dawes Act, giving the U.S. president authority  to divide up land allotted to Indians in reservations to individuals.

**  DECEMBER 15, 1890:  Sitting Bull is killed  during a confrontation with Indian police in Grand River, South Dakota.

**  DECEMBER 29, 1890:    U.S. armed forces  surround Ghost Dancers Big Foot near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, demanding the surrender of their weapons.  An estimated 150 Indians are killed in what became known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. along with 25 men of the cavalry.

**  JANUARY 29, 1907:  Charles  Curtis becomes the first  Indian U.S. Senator.

**  SEPTEMBER 1918:  Choctow soldiers use their native language to transmit secret messages for U.S. troops during  World War I's Meuse-Argonne Offensive on the Western Front.  The Choctow Telephone Squad provide Allied forces with a critical edge over the Germans.

I had heard of the  Navajo Code Talkers, but not these men.  Interesting.

--Cooter

A Native American Timeline-- Part 6: George Armstrong Custer and the Little Bighorn

**  NOVEMBER 27, 1868:  Lt.Col. George Armstrong Custer leads an early morning attack on Cheyenne living with Chief Black Kettle destroying the village and killing more than 100 people, including Black Kettle.

**  1873:  Crazy Horse encounters George Custer for the first time.

**  1874:  Gold is discovered in South Dakota's Black Hills.  U.S. troops ignore a treaty and invade the territory which has been set aside for the Indians.

**  JUNE 25, 1876:  In the Battle of the Little Big Horn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, troops under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer fight Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors, led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, along the Little Bighorn River.

Custer and his soldiers are killed, increasing tensions between the Indians and white Americans.

**  OCTOBER 6, 1879:  The first students attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.   This is the country's first off-reservation school, created by Civil War veteran Richard Henry Pratt.  It is designed to assimilate Indian students into American society.

--Cooter

A Native American Timeline-- Part 5: Indian Removal Act, Cherokees, Reservations, Cochise and the Sand Creek Massacre

**  1836:  The last of the Creek Indians leave their land for Oklahoma as part of the Indian Removal process.  Of the 15,00 who leave for Oklahoma, more than 3,500 don't survive.

**  1838:  With just 2,000 Cherokees having left their land in Georgia to cross the Mississippi River, President Martin Van Buren gets General Winfield Scott and 7,000 troops to speed up the process by holding them at gunpoint and marching them  1,200 miles.

More than 5,000 Cherokees die in this and this became known as the Trail of Tears.

**  1851:  Congress passes the Indian Appropriations Act, creating the Indian Reservation System.  Indians can not leave these reservations without permission.

**  OCTOBER 1860:  A group of Apache Indians attack and kidnap a white American, resulting in the U.S. military falsely accusing the leader  of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, Cochise.  Cochise and the Apaches increase raids on white Americans for a decade afterwards.

**  NOVERMBER 29, 1864:  A 650 Colorado volunteer force attacks Cheyenne and Arapaho encampments along Sand Creek in Colorado, killing and mutilating  more than 150 Indians in what has become known as the Sand Creek Massacre.

--Cooter

A Native American Timeline-- Part 4: Sacagawea, Lewis & Clark, War of 1812 and the Indian Removal Act

**  NOVEMBER 2, 1804:  Sacagawea, six months pregnant,  meets explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their exploration of the territory of the Louisiana Purchase.  The explorers realize her value as a translator.

**  APRIL 7, 1805:  Sacagawea, along with her baby and husband Toussaint Charbonneau, join Lewis and Clark on their expedition.

**  NOVEMBER 1811:    U.S. forces attack War Chief Tecumseh and his younger brother Lalawwethika.  Their community at the juncture of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers is destroyed.

**  JUNE 18, 1812:  President James Madison signs a declaration of war against the British, beginning the War of 1812.  The war was fought between the the United States and the British, Canadians and their Indian allies.  A huge issue for the Indians is American territorial expansion.

**  MARCH 27, 184:  Andrew Jackson and his American force and Indian allies attack Creek Indians opposing American expansion into their land at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.  The Creeks lost and ceded more than twenty million acres of land to the United States.

**  MAY 28, 1830:  President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which gives them land west of the Mississippi River in exchange for land that is taken from them east of the river.

--DaCoot

A Native American Timeline-- Part 3: New Mexico, Seven Years' War, Treaties and Sacagawea

**  1680:  A revolt of Pueblo Indians in New Mexico threatens Spanish rule there.

**  1754:  The French and Indian War begins, pitting these two groups against the English settlements in North America.

**  MAY 15, 1756:  The Seven Years' War between the French and British begins, with the Indians siding with the French.

**  MAY 7, 1763:  Ottawa Chief Pontiac leads Indians into battle against the British at Detroit.  The British retaliate by attacking Pontiac's warriors in Detroit on July 31, in what is called the Battle of Bloody Run.  Pontiac and his forces  successfully fend them off, but there are several casualties on both sides.

**  1785:  The Treaty of Hopewell is signed in Georgia, protecting  Cherokee Indians in the United States and sectioning off their land.

**  1788/1789:  Sacagawea is born.

**  1791:  The Treaty of Holston is signed, in which the Cherokee give up all their land outside  of the borders previously established.

**  AUGUST 20, 1794:  The Battle of Timbers, the last major battle over Northwest Territory commences and results in an American victory.

--Cooter

A Native American Timeline-- Part 2: Ponce de Leon, De Soto and Jamestown

**  FEBRUARY 1521

Ponce de Leon departs on another voyage to Florida from San Juan to start a colony.    Months after landing, he is attacked  by local Native Americans and killed.

**  MAY 1539

Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto lands in Florida to conquer the region.  He explores the South under the guidance of Indians who had been captured along the way.

**  OCTOBER 1540

De Soto and  the Spaniards plan to rendezvous with ships in Alabama where they are attacked.  Hundreds  of Indians are killed.

**  C. 1595

Pocahontas is born, daughter of Chief Powhatan.

**  1607

Pocahontas' brother kidnaps Captain John Smith from the Jamestown colony.    Smith later writes that after being threatened by Chief Powhatan, he was saved by Pocahontas.  This is debated by historians.

**  1613

Pocahontas is captured by Captain Samuel Argall in the first Anglo-Powhatan War.  While captive, she learns to speak English, converts to Christianity and is given the name "Rebecca."

**  1622

The Powhatan Confederacy nearly wipes out the Jamestown Colony.

--Cooter

A Native American Timeline-- Part 1: Speaking of Indigenous Peoples

From the History.com site.

Long before Christopher Columbus stepped foot on what was to become known as the Americas, the expansive territory was inhabited by  Native Americans.  Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, as more explorers sought to colonize their land,  Native Americans responded   in various ways, from cooperation to indignation to revolt.

After siding with the French in numerous battles during the French and Indian War and eventually being forcibly removed from their homes during Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act, Native American populations were diminished in size and territory by the end of the 19th century.

Here are some of the events that shaped  their history after the arrival of the Europeans:

**  1492: Christopher Columbus lands on a Caribbean Island after three months of traveling.  Believing at first that he has reached the East Indies, he called the natives Indians.  On his first day, he orders six natives  seized to become servants.

**  APRIL 1513:  Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon  lands on continental North America in Florida and makes contact with Native Americans.

--Cooter

Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day?

Of course, today, October 12, is officially Columbus Day, so named for Christopher Columbus coming across the Atlantic Ocean and "discovering" the New World, though he didn't know it at the time.

This is a big day for Italians, since he was sailing for Spain, but born in Italy.

However, I don't think you can "discover" a place when there are already people living in it and there is evidence that Leif Erickson was here before Columbus.

But, Columbus' arrival was noteworthy because it began the long process of the Western Hemisphere becoming Europeanized and the United States being what it is today.

It was a tragedy for the people living here, however.  They ended up essentially losing everything.  To my way of thinking, what happened to the Indians was worse than what happened to the Blacks who came as an enslaved people.

Personally, I would keep Columbus Day and then commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day on another day.

Both Are Very Worthy Observances.

Ten World Engineering Marvels-- Part 4: Netherlands and Da Subways

9.  NETHERLANDS NORTH SEA PROTECTION WORKS

With parts of their country below sea level, a system of floodgates, storm surge barriers and dams to prevent flooding and claim land from the sea, Netherlands constructed this.

The project began in 1927 with the construction of a 19-mile long dike, decades of land reclamation followed.

10.  NEW YORK AND BOSTON SUBWAYS

Horse-drawn carriages clogged the streets (and left behind certain droppings) and then there were the elevated trains with their soot, so leaders in Boston and New York took another way to solve the problem.  And that was to go underground.

Boston opened its subway in 1897 and New York City  seven years later.

--CootSubs

Ten World Engineering Marvels-- Part 3: The Chunnel, Railroad and Liberty

6.  CHANNEL TUNNEL

Opened in 1994 after six years of construction connecting Great Britain with the rest of Europe.  Known as the "Chunnel"  Thirty-one miles long.  Since they built it from both ends don't you know they were kind of hoping they'd come together at the same spot.

7.  TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

Work on it began even as the Civil War was being fought.  Went eastward from Sacramento, California and west from Omaha, Nebraska.  Completed with the Golden Spike in 1869.

Cross-country travel in the United States  was cut from months to under a week.

8.  STATUE OF LIBERTY

A symbol of friendship between France and the United States.  It was dedicated in New York Harbor in 1886.

--CootTun

Ten World Engineering Feats-- Part 2: Interstates, Cable and a Dam

3.  THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM

President Eisenhower  spearheaded the  passage of the Federal-Aid Highway  Act of 1956 which authorized the largest public works project in history.  The construction of 41,000 miles of expressways with controlled ramp access and no at grade intersections, just overpasses.

4.  TRANSATLANTIC CABLE

In 1854, American Cyrus West Field secured a charter to lay a telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean floor.  After four failed attempts, British and American ships succeeded in laying the nearly 2,000 mile cable linking Ireland and Newfoundland in 1858.

5.  HOOVER DAM

Built by over 21,000 workers, the 60 story dam is the world's largest concrete structure at the time it was dedicated in 1935.  It caused the great growth of cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix.

--CootDam

Ten World Engineering Marvels-- Part 1: Panama Canal and Golden Gate Bridge

From the History.com site by Christopher Klein.

These remarkable feats of design and construction transformed the ways that people travel, communicate and live.

For thousands of years, mankind has engineered some remarkable structures such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China.  More recently, engineers have undertaken massive  transportation and communications projects  that have pushed the boundaries of human ingenuity.

I am just listing them and giving one or two facts about each.  The site has pictures and a lot more.

Here is a list of ten of them:

1.  PANAMA CANAL

52 miles long and opened in 1914

2.  GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

1,7 miles long (was the longest suspension bridge for  27 years)  Opened in 1937.  It's been wiped out in more than a few disaster movies so don't drive on it when they are shooting a movie about San Francisco.

--Cooter

USS Gridley (DDG-101)-- Part 3

NATO allied forces transit the Gulf of Cadiz during a photo-exercise as part of Dynamic Mariner 2019 as seen from the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG-101).

The NATO Maritime Command-led Dynamic Mariner/Flotex 19 (DYMR/FL 19) is an exercise that tests NATO's Response Force Maritime Component and enhances the flexibility and interoperability amongst allied nations.

DYMR/FL 19 involves ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from fifteen allied nations converging off the coast of Spain.

There were 18 countries involved, 32 surface ships, 2  submarines and  18 aircraft and took place off the coast of Spain  October 8-18, 2019.

Countries participating were Albania, Bulgaria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,  Spain, Turkey,  United Kingdom and the United States.

--Cooter

USS Gridley (DDG-101)-- Part 2: 'Fire When Ready' (Who Said That?)

 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Well, anybody who has been reading my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog and this blog can probably guess the motto of this ship.

MOTTO:  Go ahead and guess.   Answer below.

COMMISSIONED:  10 February 2007

SPEED:  30+ knots

CREW:  320 to 380

ARMAMENT:

One 5-inch

Two 25mm autocannons

Four .50 caliber  machine guns

One 20 mm Phalanx CIWS

Two Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk 46 torpedoes

96 cell Mk 41 VLS for:

RIM-66 Standard Missile 2

BGM-109 Tomahawk

RUM-139 VL-ASROC missiles

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

AIRCRAFT:   Two SH-60  Seahawk helicopters

Don't Think I'd Mess With This Ship.  --Cooter

In case you're wondering about the ship's motto, it is "Fire When Ready."  Who'd have figured that?

USS Gridley (DDG-101)-- Part 1

From the Paralyzed veterans of America 2021 October Calendar.  Each month, the calendar features a ship in the U.S. Navy that is currently serving.

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

GENERAL CHACTERISTICS

BUILDER:  Bath Iron Works, Bath Maine

LAUNCHED:  December 28, 2005

HOMEPORT:  Everett, Washington

DISPLACEMENT:   Approximately 9,200 tons full load

LENGTH:   508.5 feet

BEAM:  67 feet

DRAFT:  30.5 feet

This ship is of particular interest to me because it was named after a naval officer, Charles V. Gridley,  I've written a lot about in this blog and in my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog.

--Cooter

Major Paul A. Avolese-- Part 1

From Find A  Grave.

PAUL ANDREW AVOLESE

BIRTH:  12 June 1932 in Jamaica, New York

DEATH:  7 July 1967 (aged 35) Vietnam War

BURIAL: Springfield Memorial Gardens  Springfield, Oregon

A Vietnam veteran, finally laid to rest after being MIA for over fifty years.

U.S. Air Force Major Paul A. Avolese was killed during the Vietnam War during a maneuver over the South China Sea on July 7, 1967.

The B-52 bomber that he crewed  collided with another B-52 causing both aircraft to fall into the sea.  Four of the crew members from his aircraft were rescued, but Avolese was never recovered.  He was declared dead  on July 24, 1967.

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

Ballpark Stars, Wrigley & Comiskey-- Part 4: Rookies, Weddings and Balki

7.  "ROOKIE OF THE YEAR" (1993)

It's the last game of the season and the Cubs are facing the Mets.  A win and they go to the National League Championship Series.  On the mound is 12-year-old Henry Rowengartner.  After breaking his arm he learned that the healed tendons can allow him to throw 100 mph balls.

But, during this game, he reinjures it and loses the ability.  Lots of shots of worried fans, a manager and announcer, but then mom tells him to "float it."  An underhanded and backhanded pitch.  The Mets slugger strikes out and the Cubs win!!

8.  "MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING"  (1997)

New Comiskey plays itself.  A prewedding gathering brings everyone to a ballpark suite.  That Julia Roberts doesn't spill a tray of beers as she makes her way up and down is movie magic.

9.  "PERFECT STRANGERS"  (1986-1993)

There is no better example of Wrigley Field being used to convey Chicago than in one of the opening credits of the old ABC sitcom.

Week after week Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from faraway Mypos, Balki Bartokomous, could not be more excited to attend a Cubs game.

DaCootRookie

Ballpark Stars, Wrigley Field & Comiskey Park-- Part 3: Chased Across Wrigley and Selling Hot Dogs

5.  THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O'BRIEN (2009)

The very first Conan O'Brien show after he replaced Jay Leno on June 1, 2009.  He discovers that he needs to be in Los Angles instead of New York.  Unable to get a cab, he sprints across the country a la Forrest Gump.  To the tune of Cheap Trick's "Surrender" he runs and goes through Chicago and across the field at Wrigley with security guards in hot pursuit.

Watch the video on You Tube.  Hilarious.

6.  UNDERCOVER BOSS  (2010)

New Cubs owner Todd Ricketts grew a beard and wore fake glasses with the name Mark Dawson (from Cubs players Mark Grace and Andre Dawson) and applied for jobs in and around the ballpark.  Some of the jobs he did was cleaning restrooms and trying to organize a remote parking lot.  He wasn't very good at either job.

But, he really failed at selling hot dogs.  His solution was to buy them all himself and toss them in the garbage.  But, his supervisor caught him.

--CootRicketts

Ball Park Stars, Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park-- Part 2: Ferris Bueller and the Lonely

I should mention that the White Sox play in Comiskey Park, no matter what the new name is.

"FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF"  (1986)

Ferris Bueller, Cameron Frye and Sloane Peterson were in Wrigley Field's lower-deck corner where Ferris caught a foul ball.  This scene was actually shot during a June 5, 1985, Cubs-Braves game.

"You realize," Bueller says, "if we played by the rules, right bow we'd be in gym."

Meanwhile, Ferris' nemesis, dean of students Ed Rooney is at a pizza joint where the game is on TV.  And, guess who he saw?

"ONLY THE LONELY"  (1991)

This romantic comedy featuring John Candy, Maureen O'Hara, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Quinn is the first-date picnic on the field of an empty Comiskey Park.

--DaCoot

Ball Park Stars: Wrigley Field & Comiskey Park-- Part 1: 'Blues Brothers' and 'A League of Their Ow3n'

Sorry, but it will always be Comiskey Park to me, no matter who has paid to put their name on it.  And the Sears Tower still stands.

From the May 5, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Phil Rosenthal and Tim Bannon.

Here are nine memorable movie and TV scenes at Chicago baseball parks over the last 40 years.

"THE BLUES BROTHERS" (1980)

A great cameo for Wrigley Field, even if it is just a fleeting look.  A Nazi group is looking for our boys, Jake and Elwood Blues.  They had the address for Elwood Blues as being at 1060 West Addison.  Cut to the cars with the Nazis pulling up to the famed Wrigley Field outside sign at night.

"A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN" (1992)

The tryout scene for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League with most of the movie's top characters is at Wrigley Field.

--Cooter

He Fired When Ready-- Part 9: Charles Gridley's Legacy

Jackalope did a good job of summing up the life of this true American.

So, what's the appeal of Gridley.  he was well-liked by all, but not particularly regarded for his gallantry, military acumen, or initiative.  He provided years of service to his country, but achieved little  distinction. His only real claim to fame  was that eh was standing next to the man of the hour when that man's moment finally came.

Even the Battle of Manila Bay  was largely a meaningless victory -- the Spanish fleet never really had a chance, and the U.S. lacked the strength to take  and hold the Philippines afterwards.  In fact, they spent the next three months trying to prevent the Germans from taking them.

Yet, Dewey's famous order has secured Gridley's place in the history books for eternity.  In addition to the park in Erie, Pennsylvania, he's also lent his name to four ships in the U.S. Navy, a type of destroyer, and a National Guard training camp in Pennsylvania.

His alma mater, Hillsdale College, added a seashell to their coat of arms to honor his service.  For someone who did relatively little, he made the most of what little he actually did.  (Or he would have had he lived after the battle.)

But maybe that's part of his mystique.  He's a well-regarded heroic figure who died at the peak of his fame.  He never had the chance to disappoint the public or to be revealed as a lucky mediocrity like Dewey.  He's too big to be built up, but too small to bother tearing down.

In hindsight, he's a man who seems to have been destined to be a footnote in history.

Well, that is one big footnote and I'd sure settle for it myself.  A great American in every way.

And to think that just a little over a month ago I had no knowledge of this man other than the quote.  I didn't even know that he fought during the Civil War.

From M.B. to M.B..   From the Battle of Mobile Bay to the Battle of Manila Bay.  And it would have been even better if I had found that he was at the Battles of Fort Fisher, but at least George Dewey was.

You May Stop This Blog When Ready, Cooter.  --DaCoot

Ships on Which Charles Gridley Served

The ships Charles V. Gridley served upon ran the whole history of the U.S. Navy from 1860 (actually back to 1798) to 1898.  A lot of years.

The ships went from wooden to steel, sails to steam.

USS Constitution (USNA)

USS Oneida

USS Brooklyn  (This ship was at the Battle of Mobile Bay and the Battles of Fort Fisher.  Gridley served on it after the war.)

USS Kearsarge

USS Michigan  (1871)

USS Monongahela  (1873)

USS Trenton

USS Marion (his first actual command 1892)

USS Olympia

--Cooter

He Fired When Ready-- Part 8: His Death, Burial and Honors

"The battle of Manila killed me, but I would do it again if necessary," were Charles Gridley's last  words on public record.  He died on June 5, 1898, while the Coptic was anchored in Kobe, Japan.  This was just over a month from the Battle of Manila Bay.

He was cremated in Yokohama and his ashes sent to his widow in Erie, Pennsylvania. Once there, the ashes were interned in the city's Lakeside Cemetery with great fanfare.  The Navy later placed four guns captured from the Spanish arsenal at Cavite by his graveside.

Fifteen years later, the people of Erie once again celebrated Charles Gridley by naming a municipal park after him.  In the center of Gridley Park is a simple Ionic column standing tall.  

At its base are two plaques recounting the details of Gridley's  service and death, made from metal recovered from the wreckage of the USS Maine.

--Cooter