Happy 244th USMC!!!

Today marks the 244th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.  I am sure it will be celebrated all over the world, wherever they're stationed, also all retired Marines.

Once a Marine, always a Marine.

The United States Marine Corps traces its origins to the Continental Marines of the American Revolution.  They were formed by Captain Samuel Nicholas, by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress on 10 November 1775, to raise two battalions of Marines.

That date is regarded and celebrated as the date of the Marine Corps' birthday.

I can remember that MASH episode of the Marines celebrating their birthday during the Korean War and Norm getting the pool ball stuck in his mouth.

Happy Birthday, Jarheads!!  --CootRine

May 24-- Part 2: Brooklyn Bridge Opens 1883

1883--  The Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was opened to traffic.

1935--  Major League Baseball's first night game was played in Cincinnati.  The Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.

1941--  In World War II, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British battle cruiser HMS Hood in the North Atlantic.  Only three aboard survived.

1941--  Bob Dylan born.

1943--  Actor Gary Burghoff (MASH) born.

1951--  Cooter / RoadDog born.

--Cooter

Honor Flights Extended to Korean War Veterans-- Part 3: History of the War

In 1950, communist North Korea, supported and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded democratic South Korea.  The United Nations, using mostly U.S. troops, struck back.  The fighting ceased after much back and forth movement, three years later and a buffer area, the Demilitarized Zone, was created between the two countries.

For the U.S. military, it was the first integrated war where blacks and whites fought alongside each other and had the first widespread use of helicopters and jets.  It also had new frontline army hospitals known as Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, or MASH units.  these saved countless lives and were featured in the famous TV show "M.A.S.H."

--Cooter

Loss of Two Favorite Actors: Trapper John and Schneider

WAYNE ROGERS, 82.  Played Trapper John on MASH for just three years.  I was surprised at how short this was.  I always thought he was on the show for a lot longer.  Died December 31, 2015.

PAT HARRINGTON, JR., 86.  Best known for his role as handyman and building superintendent Dwayne F. Schneider on the TV sitcom "One Day at a Time."  Died Jan. 6,2016.

This series starred Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother raising two teenage girls.  Schneider was a self-styled ladies man with a trim mustache and an ever present tool belt with a gut pressed up against his white tee shirt.  He got the paunch by drink mass quantities of water before each filming.

The series lasted from 1975 to 1984.

Two of my favorite-ever shows.

TV Stars Who Died in 2013-- Part 2

ALLAN ARBUS, 95-- Dr. Freedman on "MASH"

FRANK BANK, 71-- Lumpy on "Leave It to Beaver"

JONATHAN WINTERS, 87-- The baby on "Mork & Mindy." Between Mork and him it's a wonder how anybody kept a straight face.

ANNETTE FUNICELLO, 70-- "Mickey Mouse Club" and movies. I'd have married her even if I had to wear mouse ears. My first crush.  Marry me, Annette!!

ROGER EBERT, 70-- Movie critic on "Siskel & Ebert," Thumbs Up!!

MALACHI THRONZ, 84-- False Face on "Batman."

LOU MYERS, 76-- Restaurant owner Mr. Gaines on "A Different World"

BONNIE FRANKLIN, 69--Mother on "One Day At a Time." I liked her and Schneider.

NED WERTIMER, 89-- Ralph the doorman on "The Jeffersons."

I'll Miss Them.