If you haven't seen this yet, you really, REALLY need to:

A vet gives Murtha and Moran heck. Happened a while ago, but has been in the news again recently.

And the response? Simply that the dose of whup-you-know-what this Hero opened wasn't in the form of a question.

More at Mudville and Michelle Malkin

What court heard on Flight 93

Partial transcript of the cockpit voice recorder aboard United Airlines Flight 93. All times are in EDT on Sept. 11, 2001. Text in parentheses was translated from Arabic. "Unintelligible" indicates that the tape couldn't be transcribed.

09:31:57 — Ladies and gentlemen: Here the captain, please sit down keep remaining seating. We have a bomb on board. So sit.

09:32:09 — Er, uh ... Calling Cleveland center ... You're unreadable. Say again slowly.

09:32:10 — Don't move. Shut up.

09:32:13 — Come on, come.

09:32:16 — Shut up.

09:32:17 — Don't move.

09:32:18 — Stop.

09:32:34 — Sit, sit, sit down.

09:32:39 — Sit down.

09:32:41 — Unintelligible ... (the brother.)

09:32:54 — Stop.

09:33:09 — No more. Sit down.

09:33:10 — (That's it, that's it, that's it), down, down.

09:33:14 — Shut up.

09:33:20 — Unintelligible

09:33:20 — We just, we didn't get it clear ... Is that United 93 calling?

09:33:30 — (Jassim.)

09:33:34 — (In the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most compassionate.)

09:33:41 — Unintelligible.

09:33:43 — Finish, no more. No more.

09:33:49 — No. No, no, no, no.

09:34:00 — Go ahead, lie down. Lie down. Down, down, down.

09:34:06 — (There is someone ... Huh?)

09:34:12 — Down, down, down. Sit down. Come on, sit down. No, no, no, no, no. No.

09:34:16 — Down, down, down.

09:34:21 — Down.

09:34:26 — No more. Down.

09:34:27 — Please, please, please ...

09:34:28 — Down.

09:34:29 — Please, please, don't hurt me ...

09:34:30 — Down. No more.

09:34:31 — Oh God.

09:34:32 — Down, down, down.

09:34:33 — Sit down.

09:34:34 — Shut up.

09:34:42 — No more.

09:34:47 — Unintelligible.

09:34:57 — (One moment, one moment.)

09:35:03 — No more.

09:35:06 — Down, down, down, down.

09:35:09 — No, no, no, no, no, no ...

09:35:10 — Unintelligible.

09:35:15 — Sit down, sit down, sit down.

09:35:18 — (What's this?)

09:35:19 — Sit down. Sit down. You know, sit down.

09:35:24 — No, no, no.

09:35:30 — Down, down, down, down.

09:35:35 — Down in the airport.

09:35:39 — Down, down.

09:35:40 — I don't want to die.

09:35:41 — No, no. Down, down.

09:35:42 — I don't want to die. I don't want to die.

09:35:44 — No, no. Down, down, down, down, down, down.

09:35:47 — No, no, please.

09:35:57 — No.

09:37:06 — (That's it. Go back.)

09:37:06 — (That's it.) Sit down.

09:37:36 — (Everything is fine. I finished.)

09:38:36 — (Yes.)

09:39:11 — Ah. Here's the captain. I would like to tell you all to remain seated. We have a bomb aboard, and we are going back to the airport, and we have our demands. So, please remain quiet.

09:39:21 — OK. That's 93 calling?

09:39:24 — (One moment.)

09:39:34 — United 93. I understand you have a bomb on board. Go ahead.

09:39:42 — And center exec jet nine fifty-six. That was the transmission.

09:39:47 — OK. Ah. Who called Cleveland?

09:39:52 — Executive jet nine fifty-six, did you understand that transmission?

09:39:56 — Affirmative. He said that there was a bomb on board.

09:39:58 — That was all you got out of it also?

09:40:01 — Affirmative.

09:40:03 — Roger.

09:40:03 — United 93. Go ahead.

09:40:14 — United 93. Go ahead.

09:40:17 — Ahhh.

09:40:52 — (This green knob?)

09:40:54 — (Yes, that's the one.)

09:41:05 — United 93, do you hear the Cleveland center?

09:41:14 — (One moment. One moment.)

09:41:15 — Unintelligible.

09:41:56 — Oh, man.

09:44:18 — (This does not work now.)

09:45:13 — Turn it off.

09:45:16 — (... Seven thousand ... )

09:45:19 — (How about we let them in? We let the guys in now.)

09:45:23 — (OK.)

09:45:24 — (Should we let the guys in?)

09:45:25 — (Inform them, and tell him to talk to the pilot. Bring the pilot back.)

09:45:57 — (In the name of Allah. In the name of Allah. I bear witness that there is no other God, but Allah.)

09:47:40 — (Allah knows.)

09:48:15 — Unintelligible.

09:48:38 — Set course.

09:49:37 — Unintelligible.

09:51:35 — Unintelligible.

09:52:31 — Unintelligible.

09:53:20 — (The best thing: The guys will go in, lift up the) ... Unintelligible ... (and they put the axe into it. So, everyone will be scared.)

09:53:27 — (Yes.)

09:53:28 — (The axe.)

09:53:28 — Unintelligible.

09:53:29 — (No, not the.)

09:53:35 — (Let him look through the window. Let him look through the window.)

09:53:52 — Unintelligible.

09:54:09 — (Open.)

09:55:06 — You are ... One ...

09:56:15 — Unintelligible.

09:57:55 — (Is there something?)

09:57:57 — (A fight?)

09:57:59 — (Yeah?)

09:58:33 — Unintelligible. (Let's go guys. Allah is greatest. Allah is greatest. Oh guys. Allah is greatest.)

09:58:41 — Ugh.

09:58:43 — Ugh.

09:58:44 — (Oh Allah. Oh Allah. Oh the most gracious.)

09:58:47 — Ugh. Ugh.

09:58:52 — Stay back.

09:58:55 — In the cockpit.

09:58:57 — (They want to get in here. Hold, hold from the inside. Hold from the inside. Hold).

09:59:04 — Hold the door.

09:59:09 — Stop him.

09:59:11 — Sit down.

09:59:13 — Sit down.

09:59:15 — Sit down.

09:59:16 — Unintelligible.

09:59:17 — (What?)

09:59:18 — (There are some guys. All those guys.)

09:59:20 — Let's get them.

09:59:25 — Sit down.

09:59:29 — (What?)

09:59:36 — Unintelligible.

09:59:37 — (What?)

09:59:39 — Unintelligible.

09:59:42 — (Trust in Allah, and in him.)

09:59:45 — Sit down.

09:59:47 — Unintelligible.

09:59:53 — Ahh.

09:59:55 — Unintelligible.

09:59:58 — Ahh.

10:00:06 — (There is nothing.)

10:00:07 — (Is that it? Shall we finish it off?)

10:00:08 — (No. Not yet.)

10:00:09 — (When they all come, we finish it off.)

10:00:11 — (There is nothing.)

10:00:14 — Ahh.

10:00:15 — I'm injured.

10:00:22 — (Oh Allah. Oh Allah. Oh gracious.)

10:00:25 — In the cockpit. If we don't, we'll die.

10:00:29 — (Up, down. Up, down, in the) cockpit.

10:00:33 — (The) cockpit.

10:00:37 — (Up, down. Saeed, up, down.)

10:00:42 — Roll it.

10:00:55 — Unintelligible.

10:00:59 — (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)

10:01:01 — Unintelligible.

10:01:08 — (Is that it? I mean, shall we pull it down?)

10:01:09 — (Yes, put it in it, and pull it down.)

10:01:10 — Unintelligible.

10:01:11 — (Saeed.)

10:01:12 — ... engine ...

10:01:13 — Unintelligible.

10:01:16 — (Cut off the oxygen.)

10:01:18 — (Cut off the oxygen. Cut off the oxygen. Cut off the oxygen.)

10:01:34 — Unintelligible.

10:01:41 — (Up, down. Up, down.)

10:01:41 — (What?)

10:01:42 — (Up, down.)

10:01:42 — Ahh.

10:01:54 — Unintelligible.

10:01:55 — Ahh.

10:01:59 — Shut them off.

10:02:03 — Shut them off.

10:02:14 — Go.

10:02:15 — Move.

10:02:16 — Move.

10:02:17 — Turn it up.

10:02:18 — (Down, down.)

10:02:23 — (Pull it down. Pull it down.)

10:02:25 — Down. Push, push, push, push, push.

10:02:33 — (Hey. Hey. Give it to me. Give it to me.)

10:02:35 — (Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me.)

10:02:40 — Unintelligible.

10:03:02 — (Allah is the greatest.)

10:03:03 — (Allah is the greatest.)

10:03:04 — (Allah is the greatest.)

10:03:06 — (Allah is the greatest.)

10:03:06 — (Allah is the greatest.)

10:03:07 — No.

10:03:09 — (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)

10:03:09 — (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)

Silence.




Have you forgotten? I haven't...and never will.

Weapons competition
Staff Sgt. Jason Murphy and Senior Airman Andrew Littleton load weapons during a crew competition at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., on Friday, April 7, 2006. Each crew is rated on their time and efficiency when loading bombs onto the armament systems trainer. Both are aircraft armament systems specialists with the 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Angela Ruiz)

In war-torn Al Anbar, Marines, Iraqi soldiers keep city streets safe

Submitted by: Regimental Combat Team7
Story Identification #: 200641263443
Story by Sgt. Roe F. Seigle

HADITHA, Iraq (April 12, 2006) -- The windswept streets of Haditha are lined with stores and houses pocked with bullet holes that tell a story of a community once plagued by fear from insurgents and terrorists.

Now, those stories are fading memories and new memories are being formed. The buildings in the city of approximately 30,000 are being rebuilt and children are free to play safely in the streets guarded by United States Marines.

“The Marines are our friends and have been a gift from God,” said “Josem," speaking in French, a language he learned while studying at a university in France. Josem has seen first-hand the damage insurgents can do to a family’s life. He lost his brother in an explosion caused by insurgents in Haditha.

“They (Marines) have made life here much more peaceful for us since they arrived last year,” he said.

Sgt. Jody Stroud, 28, a machinegun section leader assigned to the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, strongly believes in the mission he and his Marines are accomplishing everyday in Haditha. Known as “three-three” for short, the battalion provides security to the thousands of Iraqis who live in this region along the Euphrates River in western Al Anbar Province.

“We (the Marines and Coalition Forces) gave our word to the Iraqi people that we would free them from insurgency and help them build a new government,” Stroud said as he washed his camouflage utilities in a mop bucket in India Company’s forward operating base in the heart of Haditha. During moments like this, Stroud thinks about his father who served in the battle of Iwo Jima and received a Purple Heart for injuries he received in the Korean War while wearing a Marine Corps uniform.

“My dad would never talk about the wars he served in,” said Stroud. “All I remember him telling me is there are two ribbons I do not want you to have to earn; those are the Purple Heart for injuries and the Combat Action Ribbon.”

Now Stroud is in a situation where both of those ribbons can be earned, he said.

A hotbed of insurgent activity less than a year ago, Haditha’s streets are now patrolled daily by the Marines and Iraqi soldiers to maintain order and disrupt would-be insurgent attacks. The constant presence, along with several key counterinsurgency operations last year to quell insurgents’ ability to run amuck here, has helped calm the region in recent months. Now, it is bustling with Marines and Iraqi soldiers that serve side-by-side with the Marines from India Company as they learn the tactics and techniques necessary to conduct operations on their own.

“The American people need to know that they are not seeing the whole story on TV,” said Stroud. “They do not see the schools being built and a new and fair government being established.”

Stroud, a native of Annapolis, Md., says the Marines are treated with hospitality by the citizens of Haditha, which in turn leads to trust between troops and the Iraqis.

In Haditha, India Company Marines have been patrolling the streets daily with the Iraqi soldiers, and say the uniformed Iraqis are becoming more proficient with operating on their own. The Marines’ mission is two-fold in the Al Anbar Province – protect the Iraqi people by suppressing any remaining insurgents and continue to build the capabilities of the Iraqi Army unit here to eventually relieve Coalition Forces in this area.

Still, this city in Al Anbar Province bordering one of the country’s larger lakes, remains a combat zone. Frequent reminders plague the Marines and Iraqi soldiers in the form of improvised explosive devices and small-arms fire attacks.

The remaining insurgents in Haditha test the Hawaii-based Marines’ tactics and responses to attacks, cited by at least one Marine officer here as to why Coalition Forces have seen a slight increase in attacks recently.

“They want to test us and see if we will over-react,” said Capt. Andy Lynch, one of the Marines’ company commanders here.

The battalion arrived in Iraq about a month ago.

Most recently, insurgents ambushed Marines near a high school here in a drive-by style shooting. Though no one was injured, Marines or civilians, Marine leaders here say the act was typical of insurgents.

Lynch believes the insurgents attacked the Marines in front of the high school in hopes the Marines would fire indiscriminately and injure non-combatants. The 30-year-old from Chicago has commanded India Company since June of last year, and is serving his second tour in Iraq. In his opinion, the Marines used “discipline and good judgment” when they returned fire on the insurgents – they avoided civilian casualties by thinking before pulling the trigger and returning fire, he said.

The recent attacks and ambushes against the Marines are also ways for the insurgents to probe the Marines’ tactics and techniques – a way to test the waters of the new unit, who arrived in Iraq last month, said Lynch.

In another incident, insurgents ambushed a Marine patrol with small-arms fire – AK-47s, pistols and other weapons. Though one Marine was injured, he was treated and “back in the fight” within hours, a sign to insurgents that “three-three” will not be deterred by the insurgents’ attacks, according to the Marines here.

“The attacks against India Company really do not have any effect on the Marines,” said 1st Sgt. Chuong Nguyen, India Company’s senior enlisted advisor and 12-year Marine Corps veteran.

“The Marines are going to fight back,” said Nguyen, a native of Santa Ana, Calif. “When they go out on patrol, they are taking … Iraqi soldiers out with each squad and they (Iraqi Soldiers) are learning all the tricks the insurgents try to pull as well.”

Nguyen, who served in Afghanistan with the unit last year, says his Marines are well aware of the dangers they face everyday in the area, but are still pressing hard to stop the remainder of the insurgency by maintaining a consistent presence in local communities.

“The Marines are giving their max effort everyday and are quickly learning how the insurgents are operating,” said Nguyen, who added that the Marines’ and Iraqi soldiers’ vigilance are key to keeping insurgents at bay.

During patrols through this town of 30,000, Marines and their counterparts in the Iraqi Army are welcomed into homes of citizens and are told of atrocities committed by insurgents. Offered tea, food, sometimes even cigarettes, the Marines kindly thank the Iraqis for their hospitality, but decline the invitations.

Instead, the Marines seem more interested in assessing the town’s security environment by seeing what locals have to say about insurgent activity, and to find out if insurgents are intimidating the local populace.

Back inside their fortified base, the Marines try to put the day’s work behind them, and take a few hours to sleep, eat and chat about home life before going “outside the wire” again.

Though they are half a world away from their loved ones, the Marines have plenty of amenities here to help make life a little easier during the deployment, said Lynch.

“Things like the gym and the cable TV take the sting out of the physical discomforts of hours of patrolling,” said Lynch. “All the Marines are going through it (deployment) together and they have their brothers right there with them.”

Lynch’s calm demeanor turns a little more serious as conversation turns from talks about the creature comforts on the Marines’ base to talks about the insurgency in the region. The insurgents, he said, have no chance of success against “a company of well-trained infantry Marines.”

For the remainder of their deployment, the Marines from India Company say they look forward to making history here by helping Iraq develop a well-trained police force and military capable of maintaining law and order on their own.

These Marines see the progress their Iraqi counterparts are making every day, and say they want the rest of the world to know it, too.

“There is still a threat out here and we are going to eliminate it,” said Stroud. “We gave our word to these people to help them and this is what we are going to (do). We have to keep our word.”


Iraqi children walking home from school exchange glances with patrolling Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment April 1, 2006, in Haditha, Iraq. The Hawaii-based Marines patrol the streets of Haditha day and night with Iraqi soldiers. The city was a hot bed of insurgent activity less than a year ago. Now, the city is bustling with Marines and Iraqi soldiers who serve side-by-side with Coalition Forces here to maintain security in this Euphrates River city of 30,000. The Marines say they look forward to making history here by helping Iraq develop a well-trained police force and Iraqi military capable of maintaining law and order on their own. “The American people need to know that they are not seeing the whole story on TV,” said Sgt. Jody Stroud, a 28-year-old machine gunner from Annapolis, Md. “They do not see the schools being built and a new and fair government being established.”Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle


Pfc. Christopher L. Vaden, a Marine rifleman with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, communicates with other Marines during a three-hour patrol in the streets of Haditha, Iraq, April 1, 2006. The Hawaii-based Marines patrol the streets of Haditha day and night with Iraqi soldiers. The city was a hotbed of insurgent activity less than a year ago. Now, the city is bustling with Marines and Iraqi soldiers who serve side-by-side with Coalition Forces here to maintain security in this Euphrates River city of 30,000. The Marines say they look forward to making history here by helping Iraq develop a well-trained police force and Iraqi military capable of maintaining law and order on their own. “The American people need to know that they are not seeing the whole story on TV,” said Sgt. Jody Stroud, a 28-year-old machine gunner from Annapolis, Md. “They do not see the schools being built and a new and fair government being established.” Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle


At the end of a school day, children swarm around their town’s visitors - Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, April 1, 2006, in Haditha, Iraq, during one of the Marines’ patrols through the city. The Hawaii-based Marines patrol the streets of Haditha day and night with Iraqi soldiers. The city was a hot bed of insurgent activity less than a year ago. Now, the city is bustling with Marines and Iraqi soldiers who serve side-by-side with Coalition Forces here to maintain security in this Euphrates River city of 30,000. The Marines say they look forward to making history here by helping Iraq develop a well-trained police force and Iraqi military capable of maintaining law and order on their own. “The American people need to know that they are not seeing the whole story on TV,” said Sgt. Jody Stroud, a 28-year-old machine gunner from Annapolis, Md. “They do not see the schools being built and a new and fair government being established.” Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle


Children pose for the camera during an encounter with Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, April 1, 2006, in Haditha, Iraq, during one of the Marines’ patrols through the city. The Hawaii-based Marines patrol the streets of Haditha day and night with Iraqi soldiers. The city was a hot bed of insurgent activity less than a year ago. Now, the city is bustling with Marines and Iraqi soldiers who serve side-by-side with Coalition Forces here to maintain security in this Euphrates River City of 30,000. The Marines say they look forward to making history here by helping Iraq develop a well-trained police force and Iraqi military capable of maintaining law and order on their own. “The American people need to know that they are not seeing the whole story on TV,” said Sgt. Jody Stroud, a 28-year-old machine gunner from Annapolis, Md. “They do not see the schools being built and a new and fair government being established.” Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle


“Complacency kills” is a common phrase among Coalition Forces serving in Iraq, especially while patrolling in Al Anbar Province. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment patrol the streets of Haditha – one of several more populated cities in the region – April 1, 2006, to speak with locals and disrupt any insurgent activity. The Hawaii-based Marines patrol the streets of Haditha day and night with Iraqi soldiers. The city was a hot bed of insurgent activity less than a year ago. Now, the city is bustling with Marines and Iraqi soldiers who serve side-by-side with Coalition Forces here to maintain security in this Euphrates River city of 30,000. The Marines say they look forward to making history here by helping Iraq develop a well-trained police force and Iraqi military capable of maintaining law and order on their own. “The American people need to know that they are not seeing the whole story on TV,” said Sgt. Jody Stroud, a 28-year-old machine gunner from Annapolis, Md. “They do not see the schools being built and a new and fair government being established.” Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle

AL-SINIYA, IRAQ — U.S. soldiers assigned to C Company, 1/187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, conduct a fact-finding mission to the village of Al-Siniya, Iraq, April 3, 2006. During the mission, the soldiers also provided medical care to the village residents. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika

Iraq Violence Escalates
Coast Guard Cadet to be Court-Martialed
Watch List Delays Reservist's Homecoming
New Questions Raised on Bush, WMDs
Afghan Shops Search for Stolen Files
Pentagon Eyeing Google, Blogs

CENTCOM: News Releases
TERRORIST ROCKET KILL 7 ASADABAD CHILDREN, WOUND 34

ANA GRADUATES FIRST RADIO OPERATOR, MAINTENANCE CLASS

PHOTOGRAPHS OF RESPONSE TO ROCKET ATTACK POSTED

AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES KILL SIX INSURGENTS, LAUNCH OPERATION MOUNTAIN LION

AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES DISCOVER WEAPONS CACHES

LEADERS DISCUSS SECURITY AT FIRST-EVER NORTHERN GOVERNORS CONFERENCE

LOCAL NATIONAL LEADS PATROL TO CACHE SITE

Department of Defense
Rice Urges U.N. to Act Against Iran - Story
Pace Speaks on Fighting the Tough Fight - Story - Iraqi Freedom Day Special
Coalition Forces Launch 'Mountain Lion' - Story
Afghan, Coalition Troops Find Weapons
Officials Revise Toll in Afghan School Attack
No-Fly Zone Duty Prepared Pilots for OIF - Story

IRAQIS TAKE THE LEAD
Iraqi Soldiers Gather Intel on Insurgents - Story
Iraqi Police Bolster Strength in Ramadi - Story

REBUILDING IRAQ
U.S. Marines, Iraqis Keep Streets Safe - Story

ON THE GROUND
Afghan Army Graduates Radio Operator Class - Story
Company C Aid Station Soldiers On Call 24/7 - Story

IN IRAQ
Iraqis Take Lead in Tactical Ops With Vehicles
Iraqi Soldiers Learn Humvee Maintenance
Forts Part of Iraqi Path to Self-Governance
3 Electrical Substations Completed in Najaf
Coalition Trains Iraqi Police to Protect Leaders

IN AFGHANISTAN
Riggers Prepare Supplies for Afghans in Need
Afghan, Coalition Forces Train Together
Governor, Khost Residents Celebrate Project

FACE OF DEFENSE
Refueling Mission Over Afghanistan Reunites Siblings - Story

AMERICA SUPPPORTS YOU
PGA Honored for Troop Support - Story
Army Children Launch Web Site - Story
NFL Players Visit Reagan Sailors

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Rice Welcomes Ambassador to U.S.
Synthetic Clothes Off Limits
IEDs Kill Three U.S. Soldiers
Iraq on 'Cusp of Greatness'
Troops Find Weapons Caches
Bush: Iraqis Determined to Be Free
Zarqawi, al Qaeda Threaten Security
Casey Commentary: Government
Strategy Preserved Infrastructure
Joint Effort Targets Insurgents
Khalilzad Emphasizes Progress
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
Forces Respond to School Attack
Police Secure Border Crossing
Leaders Urge Close Cooperation
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Rumsfeld, Bush Support Diplomacy
Rumsfeld Topic: Recruiting
Defense Backs Down in Teen's Case
Commission Argues Representation
Proceedings Begin Despite Boycott
Supplemental Funds Security
Defense Chiefs: Time to Stand Firm
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
DoD to Set Up Joint Intel Centers
Dental Specialists Train to Deploy
Nassau Group Transits Suez Canal
OEF, OIF Vets Get Job Preference
England Named Deputy Secretary
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualties - 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

Today in History
0837 - Best view of Halley's Comet in 2000 years
0989 - Battle at Abydos - Byzantine emperor Basilius II beats Bardas Phocas
1055 - Bishop Gebhard van Eichstätt named Pope Victor II
1111 - Pope Paschalis II crowns Roman catholic-German King Hendrik II
1204 - Crusaders occupy Constantinople
1241 - Battle at Theiss - Mongols beat Hungarian King Béla IV
1346 - Pope Clemens VI declares German emperor Louis of Bavaria, envoy
1367 - Battle at Nájera Spain Castilië & England beat Aragón & France
1517 - Osmaanse army occupies Cairo
1556 - Portuguese Marranos who revert back to Judaism burned by order of Pope
1598 - Edict of Nantes grants political rights to French Huguenots
1640 - English Short Parliament forms (- May 5)
1741 - Royal Military Academy forms at Woolwich
1759 - French beat European Allies in Battle of Bergen
1796 - 1st elephant arrives in US from Bengal, India; Battle at Millesimo, Italy - Napoleon beats Austrians
1808 - William Henry Lane ("Juda") perfects the tap dance
1829 - English Emancipation Act grants freedom of religion to Catholics
1834 - HMS Beagle anchors at river mouth of Rio Santa Cruz, Patagonia
1849 - Hungarian Republic proclaimed
1860 - 1st Pony Express reaches Sacramento, CA
1861 - After 34 hours of bombardment, Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederates
1863 - Battle of Irish Bend, LA (Fort Bisland); Hospital for Ruptured & Crippled in New York is 1st orthopedic hospital
1865 - Battle of Raleigh, NC
1873 - Colfax Massacre in Grant Parish, LA (60 blacks killed)
1882 - Anti-Semitic League forms in Prussia
1883 - Alfred Packer convicted of cannibalism
1902 - J.C. Penney opens his 1st store in Kemmerer, WY
1904 - Congress authorizes Lewis & Clark Expo $1 gold coin; Battle at Oviumbo, Africa - Hereros chase away German army
1906 - Mutiny on Portuguese battleships Dom Carlos & Vasco da Gama
1912 - Royal Flying Corps forms (later RAF)
1918 - Electrical fire kills 38 mental patients at Oklahoma State Hospital
1919 - Amritsar Massacre - British Army fires on hundreds of Indian Nationalist rioters in India
1920 - 1st woman US Civil Service Commissioner, Helen Hamilton, appointed
1923 - Army wins the 1st college three-weapon fencing championship
1926 - Bicyclists without bicycle-tax-stamp rounded up in Amsterdam
1928 - 1st trans atlantic flight Europe-US (Fitzmaurice-von Hünefeld-Köhl)
1933 - 1st flight over Mount Everest (Lord Clydesdale)
1934 - 4.7 million US families report receiving welfare payments; US Congress passes Johnson Debt Default Act
1936 - Metaxas proclaims himself dictator of Greece
1940 - 2nd battle of Narvik-8 German destroyers, destroyed
1941 - Heavy German assault on Tobruk; Russian-Japan no-attack treaty goes into effect
1943 - FDR dedicates Jefferson Memorial; Nazis discover mass grave of Polish officers near Katyn
1944 - South Carolina rejects black suffrage; Transport nr 71 departs with French Jews to Nazi-Germany
1945 - Allies occupy Wien (Vienna); Canadian army liberates Teuge & Assen Netherlands from Nazis; US marines conquer Minna Shima off Okinawa
1946 - Eddie Klepp, a white pitcher signed by defending Negro League champion Cleveland Buckeyes, is barred from field in Birmingham, AL
1948 - 75 scientists ambushed on way to Mount Scopus
1954 - Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist
1957 - Due to lack of funds, Saturday mail delivery in the US is temporarily halted
1959 - Vanguard SLV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed); Vatican edict forbids Roman Catholics from voting for communists; USAF launches Discoverer II into polar orbit
1960 - France becomes the 4th nuclear nation, exploding an A-Bomb in the Sahara; Transit 1B, 1st navigational satellite, placed in Earth orbit
1961 - UN General Assembly condemns South Africa for apartheid
1964 - Ian D. Smith becomes premier of Rhodesia
1966 - Pan Am places $525,000,000 order for 25 Boeing 747s
1970 - Apollo 13 announces "Houston, we've got a problem!" as Beech-built oxygen tank explodes en route to Moon
1975 - Chad military coup by General Odingar; Christian Falange kills 27 Palestinians, begins Lebanese civil war
1976 - Federal Reserve begins issuing $2 bicentennial notes
1979 - Christian Turks occupy St. Jansbasiliek; Yusuf Lule becomes premier of Uganda
1980 - "TASS" denounces US boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics
1981 - Washington Post's Janet Cooke wins Pulitzer Prize for "Jimmy's World" (later admits story was a hoax and returns prize)
1984 - 11th Space Shuttle Mission (41C)-Challenger 5-returns to Earth
1985 - Ramiz Alia succeeds Enver Hoxha as party leader of Albania
1987 - Portugal signs agreement to return Macau to China (in 1999)
1988 - Italy government of De Mita forms
1992 - Great Chicago Flood - Chicago's underground tunnels flood; 5.5 earthquake hits Netherlands
1994 - President guard at Kigali Rwanda, chops 1,200 church members to death; Target date for Israeli complete withdrawal, doesn't occur

Birthdays
1519 - Catherine de Médici, Queen of Spain/daughter of Henry II
1545 - Elisabeth van Valois, French Queen of Spain/daughter of Henri II
1593 - Thomas Wentworth London, Earl of Strafford/Viceroy of Ireland
1732 - Frederick Lord North, British PM (1770-82)
1743 - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US President (1801-09)
1749 - Frederik Sigismund van Bylandt, Dutch count/Vice-Admiral
1756 - Louis H. J. Condé, French prince
1771 - Adam F.J.A. van der Duyn, Dutch Governor (South Holland); Richard Trevithick Illogan, inventor (steam locomotive)
1791 - Félix Earl de Merode, Belgian minister of War/Finance
1822 - Leroy Augustus Stafford Confederate Brigadier General; William Stephen Walker, Confederate Brigadier General
1832 - James Wimshurst, British designer/inventor (electricstatic generator)
1847 - Cornelis Pijnacker Hordijk, Governor-General (Netherlands East-Indies)
1892 - Arthur Harris Cheltenham, Marshal of the RAF; Robert A. Watson-Watt, English physicist (radar)
1901 - René-Jean Pleven, French premier (1950-52)
1907 - Harold Stassen, (Governor-MN), perennial presidential candidate
1913 - Bernard Chacksfield, Air Vice-Marshal
1921 - James Wilson, British Lieutenant-General
1922 - John George Vanderbile Henry Spencer-Churchill [11th Duke of Marlborough], English large landowner
1933 - Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Senator-CO)
1935 - Kenneth Hayr, air marshal; Peter Heap, diplomat
1939 - Barbara-Rose Collins (Representative-MI); Wijnie Jabaaij, Dutch MP (PvdA)
1949 - Jean-Jacques Favier Kehl, astronaut (STS 78)
1951 - Jack Quinn (Representative-NY)
1953 - Stephen Byers, MP
1954 - Barbara Roche, MP

Passings
1517 - Tuman Bey, last Mamelukken sultan of Egypt, hanged
1638 - Henri II, Duke of Rohan-Gié, French Hugenot leader, dies at 58
1868 - Theodorus [Kasa], Emperor of Abyssinia, commits suicide
1932 - Johannes T. de Visser, 1st Dutch minister of Education, dies at 75 [or 14th]
1967 - Luis Somoza Debayle, President of Nicaragua (1956-63), dies at 44
1975 - N'garta Tombalbaye, President of Chad
1984 - Christopher Wilder, FBI's "most wanted man", accidentally kills self
1993 - Max Tripels, Dutch attorney/MP, dies at 72
1994 - P. J. Engels, Dutch MP (KVP), dies at 70; Taleb Ali al-Suheil, Iran sheik, murdered in Lebanon at 64
1997 - George Wald, scientist (Nobel), dies at 80

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Mape, John Clement, USN (CA); A1H shot down - remains ID'd March, 1999

1968
Stischer, Walter Morris, USAF (TX); RF4C shot down - released by PL (Laos) March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

1969
Pierson, William C., US Army (WI); AH1G crashed

1972
Christensen, John Michael, USMC (UT); A6A shot down (w/Leet)

Leet, David Laverett, USMC (WI); A6A shot down (w/Christensen)