1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León sights Florida
1599 - Robert Devereux becomes Lieutenant-General of Ireland
1625 - Charles I, King Of England, Scotland & Ireland, ascends to throne
1668 - English King Charles II gives Bombay to East India Company
1708 - English pretender to the throne James III flees to Dunkerk
1709 - Dike at Hardinxveld breaks (Alblasserwaard flooded)
1713 - Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar
1721 - France & Spain sign Treaty of Madrid
1758 - Battle at Emmerich: British army floats around France the Rhine
1790 - The shoelace invented
1794 - Congress authorizes the President "to provide a naval armament" (US Navy)
1802 - Treaty of Amiens-French Revolutionary War ends
1814 - Battle at Horseshoe Bend: General Andrew Jackson beats Creek-Indians
1841 - 1st US steam fire engine tested, New York, NY
1848 - John Parker Paynard originates medicated adhesive plaster
1849 - Joseph Couch patents steam-powered percussion rock drill
1855 - Abraham Gesner patents kerosene
1860 – M. L. Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew)
1865 - Siege of Spanish Fort AL: captured by Federals
1866 - Andrew Rankin patents the urinal; President Johnson vetoes civil rights bill; it later becomes 14th Amendment
1884 - 1st long-distance telephone call, Boston-New York
1912 - 1st Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in Washington DC
1914 - 1st successful blood transfusion (in Brussels)
1920 - Hermann Müller becomes German chancellor (SPD)
1924 - Canada recognizes USSR; New French government of Poincaré begins
1930 - 1st US radio broadcast from a ship at sea
1931 - Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor
1933 - Farm Credit Administration (US) authorized; Japan leaves League of Nations; Polythene discovered by Reginald Gibson & Eric William Fawcett
1940 - Himmler orders building of Auschwitz concentration camp, at Katowice
1941 - Britain leases defense bases in Trinidad to US for 99 years; Hitler signs Directive 27 (assault on Yugoslavia); Yugoslavian coup gets rid of pro-German Prince Paul
1942 - Allies raid German submarine base in St. Nazaire; Japan forces Java to use "Tokyo time" 1½ hour forward
1943 - Assassination attempt on Van de Peat at Amsterdams census bureau; US begins assault on Fondouk-pass, Tunisia
1944 - 1,000 Jews leave Drancy France for Auschwitz Concentration Camp; 2,000 Jews are murdered in Kaunas, Lithuania; 40 Jewish policemen in Riga Latvia ghetto are shot by the Gestapo; Children's Aktion-Nazis collect all the Jewish children of Lovno
1945 - British premier Churchill sails to eastern banks of Rhine; General Eisenhower declares German defenses on Western Front broken; Iwo Jima occupied, after 22,000 Japanese & 6,000 US killed; US 20th Army corps captures Wiesbaden
1950 - Netherlands recognizes People's Republic of China
1952 - Failed assassination attempt of German Chancellor Adenauer; Sun Records of Memphis begins releasing records
1953 - 21 die in a train crash in Conneaut OH
1956 - French commandos land in Algeria; US seizes US communist newspaper "Daily Worker"
1958 - Havana Hilton opens; Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet premier & 1st Secretary of Communist Party
1961 - Belgian government of Eyskens resigns; Failed assassination attempt on King Saif al-Islam Achmad of Yemen
1964 - Earthquake strikes Anchorage AK, 9.2 on Richter scale, 131 die from earthquake and resulting tsunami - most violent eathquake in US history; Great Train Robbers sentenced to a total of 307 years behind bars; UN troops arrive on Cyprus
1966 - Anti Vietnam war demonstrations in US, Europe & Australia
1968 - Suharto succeeds Sukarno as President of Indonesia
1969 - Launch of Mariner 7, flies 2,190 miles above southern Mars
1972 - Venera 8 launched to Venus
1976 – Washington, DC underground Metro opens
1977 - 583 die in aviation's worst disaster KLM-Pan Am 747 crash, Tenerife
1979 - Supreme Court rules, 8-1, cops can't randomly stop cars
1980 - Elevator in Vaal Reef South Africa gold mine crash 1900 meter down (23 die); Mount St. Helens becomes active after 123 years
1987 - President Habré's troops reconquer Faya Largeau Chad
1990 - Bus accidentally touches high voltage wire in Karagpur India; 21 die
1994 - Church in Piedmont AL collapses in tornado, 19 killed
1997 - 39 cult memebers in California commit mass suicide (Hale-Bopp); Martin Luther King's son meets with James Earl Ray
2134 - 32nd recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

Birthdays
1746 - Carlo Bonaparte, Corsican attorney/father of emperor Napoleon
1780 - August L. Crelle, German inventor/mathematician (1st Prussian Railway)
1785 - Louis XVII, pretender to the throne during the French Revolution (1793-95)
1797 - Alfred V Comte de Vigny, French musketeer/writer (Moïse, Chatterton)
1823 - Samuel Kosciusko Zook, Brevet Major General (Union volunteers)
1844 - Adolphus Washington Greely, Arctic explorer, US Army General / Medal of Honor recipient, Greely was a Medal of Honor recipient / Chief Signal Officer (1887-1906)
1845 - Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, discovered X-rays (Nobel 1901)
1847 - Otto Wallach, German (Nobel 1910)
1863 - Sir Henry Royce, automobile founder (Rolls-Royce)
1871 - Petrus J M Aalberse, Dutch minister of Labor (1918-25)
1893 - Dragoljub "Draza" Mihailovic, Yugoslavian General/Nazi collaborator
1897 - Carlo Mierendorff, German politician/anti-fascist
1901 - Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (SPD); Sato Eisaku, Japanese Prime Minister (1964-72) (Nobel 1974)
1912 - James Callaghan, British Prime Minister (1976-79)
1917 - Cyrus R. Vance, US Secretary of State (1977-80); Harry West, Unionist party leader (Unionist)
1921 - Tom Bevill (Representative- AL)
1927 - Anthony Lewis, newspaper columnist (New York Times)/author (Gideon's Trumpet); Lord Fanshawe of Richmond, MP
1928 - Douglas Applegate (Representative- OH)
1931 - R. P. Bauman, CEO (British Aerospace)
1938 - Jock Slater, Admiral
1939 - Jay C. Kim (Representative- CA)
1941 - Charles Pashayan, Jr. (Representative- CA)
1942 - Raymond J. McGrath (Representative-NY)
1943 - M. Robert Carr (Representative-MI)
1958 - Susan Molinari (Representative- NY)

Passings
0922 - Al-Hallaj al-Mughith-al-Hsayn Mansur, Persian mystic, beheaded at 64
0965 - Arnulf I the Elder/the Great, count of Flanders (918-65)
1211 - Sancho I King of Portugal (1185-1211), dies at 56
1378 - Gregory XI [Pierre R the Beaufort], last French Pope (1370-78)
1482 - Maria duchess of Burgundy/countess of Holland, dies at 25
1625 - James I Stuart, King of Scotland (1567)/England (1603-25), dies at 58
1701 - Anne Hilarion de Cotentin, count of Tourville/French Admiral, dies at 58
1850 - Wilhelm Bear German, banker/astronomer (Moon Map), dies at 53
1898 - Sajjid Ahmad Chan, co founder (Pakistan), dies at 80
1900 - Pieter J. Joubert [Smart Piet], South African General, dies at 69
1956 - Frans Beelaerts van Blokland, minister of Foreign affairs, dies at 84
1992 - James E. Webb, head of NASA (1961-68), dies at 84
1993 - Wilhelmus M. J. Russell, Dutch MP (KVP, CDA), dies at 74
1994 - Dennis Hartas, flier, dies at 69

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Palenscar, Alexander J. III, USN (NY); A4C shot down

1968
Badley, James Lindsday, USAF (OR); F4D shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Calhoun, Johnny C., US Army SF (GA); missing after ground action

Whitteker, Richard Lee, USAF (PA); F4D shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1969
Czerwiec, Raymond G., US Army (IL); disappeared on reconnaissance mission (w/Kerns)

Kerns, Gail M., US Army; disappeared on reconnaissance mission (w/Czerwiec), released by PRG March, 1973 (injured) – alive as of 1998

1972
The following USAF personnel reported MIA when their HH53C crashed:
Crow, Raymond J., Jr. (UT)

Dreher, Richard E. (OH); pilot

Manor, James (FL); pararescue

Pannabecker, David E. (PA); pararescue

Wagner, Raymond A. (IN); pararescue

Also reported missing this day in 1972:
Wong, Edward Puck Kow, US Army (CA); UH1H shot down (door gunner)

First Lt. Brian Cooper stands in the middle of fellow Sabre Drill Team members Airmen 1st Class Dallas Smith and Jacob McCarty, left and right, respectively, at a practice session at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, on Tuesday, March 21, 2006. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. John E. Lasky)

From Cathy of the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team:

We have a fallen SA hero, Brock Beery.

Staff Sgt. Brock A. Beery, 30, of White House, Tenn., died in Habbaniyah, Iraq on March 23, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his LMTV followed by enemy small arms fire during combat operations.

Beery was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 123rd Armor Regiment, Bowling Green, Ky.
He is survived by his wife, Sara and daughter, Elissa (age 7).

Thank you for supporting the families and Angels of our fallen heroes.
Cathy

Our hearts are with the friends, family, comrades, and Angels of this fallen Hero.

DoD release

Other Links:
He gave his best,' dad says of soldier
Kosciusko County mourns a fallen hero - March 25, 2006
Bomb in Iraq kills GI from Warsaw
Kentucky Guardsman Killed In Iraq
White House, Tenn. soldier killed in Iraq
Native Hoosier Killed In Iraq

H/T to Soldiers' Angels Germany

WASHINGTON (March 23, 2006) Adm. Thomas H. Collins gives his fourth and final "State of the Coast Guard" address as commandant of the Coast Guard to an audience at Bolling AFB today.USCG photo by PA1 Barry Lane

A lot to see over at Soldiers' Angels Germany - among the don't miss posts are:

If there is any way you can get him a backpack

Soldiers Angels support DWMMC

Soldiers Angels support the Ramstein Inn

This week in the Information War

by Airman David J. Hewitt
March 24, 2006A CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 52nd Aviation Regiment, Camp Humphreys, South Korea, lands aboard the Seventh Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge, during an Army-Navy training exercise off the coast of Korea. This photo appeared on www.army.mil.

NAVY 'DOCS' — U.S. Marines and sailors with Al Asad Surgical, 1st Marine Logistics Group, work with the Army’s 82nd Medical Company to provide expedient medical care and transportation for an injured Marine March 22, 2006 at Al Asad Air Base. Since they took command a month ago, the unit has treated close to 200 patients, including Iraqi Security Forces soldiers and civilians, as well as several insurgents. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Daniel J. Redding


Story by Cpl. Daniel J. Redding

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (March 26, 2006) -- Saving lives. These two simple words sum up one vital endeavor for the sailors of the Al Asad Surgical unit here.

Whether it’s injured U.S. service members, Iraqi Security Forces or civilians from the local populace, this medical unit in western Iraq is fully prepared to provide treatment to those in need.

Al Asad Surgical is usually the first stop for Marines who are seriously wounded fighting insurgents in places like Hadithah, Husaybah and Al Qaim - towns in the northwest corner of Iraq that continue to be hotspots of insurgent activity.

Since they assumed command in late February, the unit has handled nearly 200 patients including members of the ISF and several insurgents.

The majority of injuries the unit has treated have been from improvised explosive devices, said Lt. Cmdr. Ben A. Powell, an en route care nurse with the unit.

In the surrounding area, Al Asad Surgical is the primary provider of extreme and timely care, said Powell, a 38-year-old native of St. Libory, Neb.

If Al Asad Surgical was not here, a patient’s chances of survival would diminish exponentially, he said.

There are five levels of medical care for service members in Iraq, beginning with level one, which is provided by battalion-level aid stations and ending with level five care that is provided back in the States.

Al Asad Surgical provides level two medical care, the highest level of care outside of the Combat Army Surgical Hospitals at Baghdad and Ballad.

The flow for such vital care was uninterrupted as the current crew that just arrived in Feruary had a seamless transition with the staff they replaced, said Navy Lt. Joseph A. Gomez, a critical care nurse with the unit.

Even with the guidance from those who have been here for the past seven months, and their intense medical schooling, the new medical personnel here know they still have much to learn.

“Nothing prepares you for this environment; experience is what is getting us through,” said Ensign Maria G. Kennedy, 29, who recently helped a 10-year-old boy from a near-by village who had suffered a serious head trauma.

With each additional case the nurses are getting more proficient at providing care not only on the ground, but in the air as well.

Al Asad Surgical provides a service that no other medical unit in the surrounding area can offer – patient stabilization during helicopter medical evacuations from Al Asad to higher-level medical facilities elsewhere in Iraq, Powell said.

Every nurse assigned to the ‘Forward Resuscitative Surgical Suite’ has handled multiple cases of en-route care, said Kennedy, a native of San Diego.

To date they have performed 17 medical evacuation flights.

Sailors like Petty Officer 2nd Class Keith J. O’Brien, an operating room assistant, find a sense of satisfaction in their role in this conflict.

O’Brien also works in the FRSS, which works hand-in-hand with the shock trauma platoon to stabilize patients, prepare them for flight and provide in-flight care.

Unfortunately, that sense of satisfaction only goes so far; the trauma that O’Brien has seen will linger in his mind for a long time to come, he said.

“I’m not going to lie to you, some of the stuff that I have seen here, just in the past month, still haunts me,” he said.

O’Brien’s father, a physician’s assistant and former corpsman, has also seen the horrors of combat and has spoken with his son about what he would see in Iraq.

“He’s been doing it a long time, and he’s told me how to cope with it,” he said. When his father returned from Iraq, O’Brien saw his father cry, a rare occurrence.

For father and son, dealing with the emotions of handling trauma care is something they work on together.

The best thing corpsmen can do is talk it out; getting the experiences off their chests helps the sailors deal with the burden they all carry, O’Brien said.

One Iraqi civilian O’Brien helped treat was a two-year-old boy who had been badly scalded after falling into boiling water his family was using to wash clothes.

The family brought the boy to Al Asad Surgical; his father saying, 'Help me, please,' O’Brien said.

“That’s our job, to help people. We treated and saved his son,” said O’Brien, who has a son roughly the same age.

The child was returned to the family better off than when he arrived, but O’Brien wasn’t sure if the child survived after leaving the base.

“I’d be surprised to hear that he didn’t make it,’ O’Brien said. “The health-care providers here are phenomenal.”

A seasoned operating room assistant, O’Brien said that in light of what he has experienced in Iraq, he feels as if he just arrived out of the Navy’s Field Medical Service School.

“It’s a really different task that we do out here,” he explained, comparing what he does stateside to the care they provide here.

Back in the states, O’Brien was in charge of training for the unit, making sure all the Marines and sailors in Alpha Surgical were properly prepared for their deployment.

One particularly useful course the sailors experienced was the month-long Naval Trauma Training Course with one of the busiest hospitals in the U.S., the Los Angeles County Hospital.

Although it’s next to impossible to truly prepare for experiencing trauma firsthand, the wounds the sailors saw at L.A. County were an eye-opener, O’Brien said.

“A lot of the stuff experienced at L.A. County really equates to what we see here,” he said.

For these sailors, providing such necessary and urgent care is a mission that is never thankless; even if they never get the chance to hear their patients thank them personally.

“There is a lot of self satisfaction and a lot of pride in what everybody does here,” Gomez said. “To see someone leave here in a better condition than they were, it’s a feeling no one can ever explain.”

More Photos

Pacific Ocean (March 25, 2006) - An MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to the "Island Knights" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two Five (HSC-25) lifts from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command (MSC) combat stores ship USNS Concord (T-AFS 5). Lincoln and Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) are currently underway in the Western Pacific for a scheduled six-month deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jordon R. Beesley

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bomb at US-Iraqi base kills 30
Saddam Urges Arab League to Support Iraqi Insurgency
U.S. says no American casualties in Mosul blast
Tensions high as Iraqis bury mosque dead
Jazeera TV airs audio from fugitive Saddam aide
Izzat Ibrahim, Saddam's loyal lieutenant
FACTBOX-Developments in Iraq, March 26 (from Reuters)
U.S. to Probe Russia on Iraq Intel Report

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghan Court Drops Case Against Christian Convert

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Immigration Showdown
Nigerian Rebels Release Remaining Foreign Hostages
Philippine Bombing Kills Nine
Defense Gets Its Say in Moussaoui Trial
Ex-bin Laden aide challenges Bush's power

Other Military News
Reservists fight to keep jobs

Hamas Rising
Olmert Seeks U.S. Support For W. Bank Pullout Plan
Hamas urges talks on "just peace" in Mideast

Politics
Rice Accepts Slur Apology
Immigration Debate Heating Up in Senate
Golfer gushes over game with Condi

Oddities
Is it a football? No, it's an enormous Cypriot lemon

Other News of Note
Feds Hunt Serial Bomber Suspect

Fox News
Six Die in Wyoming Car Pileup
NCAA: 11th Seed George Mason Stuns No. 1 UConn- Florida Knocks Out Villanova
IRL Driver Dies in Crash- Video: Raceway Accident
Survey: Gasoline Up 15 Cents
Seattle Shootout Gunman Described as 'Respectful'
'Sorry for Everything' (Tennessee minister's murder)
Video: Minister Murder Mystery
Tenn. v. Winkler Warrant and Affidavit (FindLaw)

Reuters: Top News
Ukraine 'orange' liberals mull coalition after poll
Israeli army kills Palestinian militant in Gaza
Israeli vote campaign highlights growing poverty
Schiavo's husband, family battle in books
Gutierrez hopes U.S. senators postpone China bill
New Orleans candidates court hurricane evacuees
Activists protesting Canada seal hunt arrested
Cablevision to test network digital video recorder
Sprint to offer local information search on phones
Stocks to Watch: Walgreen
US scientists make pigs with heart-healthy fats
Aspirin equally heart-protective in men and women
Microsoft appeals South Korea antitrust ruling
Sumitomo Electric to take over VW's Bordnetze unit
China is biggest loser from copyright piracy -U.S
French Thomson shares rise on bid speculation
Sprint to offer local information search on phones
Daily Mail announces restructuring, share buyback
Crunch time coming for blank-check companies
Mattress maker Sealy sets IPO at 23.3 mln shares
Goldman consortium says might bid for AB Ports
French Thomson shares rise on bid speculation
Actelion shares soar on rival drug delay
Dutch firm Binck's shares up after business update
Stocks may rise after Fed's rate move

AP World News
Justices Review Prison Disciplinary Rules
Murder-Suicide Shocks Seattle Community
Judge to Hear New Orleans Vote Challenge
Study: Pumping Iron Helps Cancer Survivors
'Inside Man' Tops at Box Office With $29M .
Patriots Stun UConn, Advance to Final Four
With Estate Planning, Plan for Worst
6 Die in Collision During Wyoming Blizzard
Milwaukee Boys Still Missing After a Week
Inmates Moved After Fire at N.Y. Jail

The Seattle Times
Query renews debate on Bush, fundamentalism
Ex-FEMA chief sees no disaster in ridicule
Bird-flu spread: "Nature is in control"
Ex-cops' trial is heavy on theatrics
U.S. shoots for moon to make it to Mars
Trekkers reach North Pole on foot
Judges court fun with band
33 injured in Airbus A380 evacuation drill
Pro-Russian party leads in Ukraine
Myanmar troops accused of attacks

Chicago Sun-Times
A bad marriage could make you ill
Plant: Rain washed tritium into ditch
Medical marijuana goes back to court

Boston Globe: World
UN prosecutor asks Nigeria to arrest Taylor

Military.com
Marines Decline Extra Armor
Pace Tries to Ease Iraq Concerns
Deadlock Over Stealth Project
Retiree Paves Way for Female Soldiers

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES INTERRUPT KIDNAPPING

UPDATE: IRAQI SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES CONDUCT OPERATION IN BAGHDAD

MND-B SOLDIERS FIND CACHES ON ROUTE RECON PATROL

MND-B SOLDIERS DISCOVER MULTIPLE WEAPONS CACHES

IRAQI SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES CONDUCT OPERATIONS IN BAGHDAD

Department of Defense
Rice: New Iraq Will Help Stabilize Region - Story
International Community United on Iran Policy
Operation Scorpion Concludes in Iraq - Story
U.S. Ship, Merchant Vessel Collide in Gulf - Story
Suspects Captured; Weapons Found - Story

ON THE GROUND
Iraqi Special Ops Forces Conduct Raid - Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Company Extends Free Park Visits - Story

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Report Provides Hussein Insights
Soldiers Discover Weapons Caches
Forces Focus on Transition - Video
Iraqis Take Control of Battlespace
Officials Provide Iraq Ops Details
Iraqis Increase Security Role
Iraqi Leaders' Perspective Shown
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (PDF)
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Pace Wraps Up Visit - Special Report
Pace Addresses Iraq Concerns
Report Outlines WMD Plan - PDF
Terror War Requires Partnerships
Pace Discusses Iraq, Iran, Kurdistan
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
U.S. Troop Killed in Afghanistan - Story

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo