Yep, I'm on vacation this week. Hubby and I are heading out on a little late season camping trip. Taking the dogs, too - they love travelling as much as we do.

I'll be back to blogging as normal on Friday.


In the meantime, don't forget to pause and remember what week this is -


The forward magazines of USS Arizona (BB-39) explode after she was hit by a Japanese bomb, 7 December 1941.Frame clipped from a color motion picture taken from on board USS Solace (AH-5).Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.




The United States of America had been very clear on its position regarding Japanese aggression in Manchuria - Get out. Now. The U.S. (with the U.K.) had imposed a boycott of scrap metal and oil on the Japanese, too. Japan saw one method to deal with the issue. Even while they entered into negotiations, they were planning to attack.

That attack came early in the morning on December 7, 1941. Unfortunately, although the attacking planes were spotted on radar, that system was new, and the planes were thought to be a flight of B-17s due in that day. The radar operator reported the contacts, but was told, "Don't worry about it."

The first wave of planes hit at 7:53 a.m., with Japanese midget subs also on the attack. Just a little over an hour later, the second wave of planes hit. And an hour after that, it was over. At least, the immediate attack was over. By the time the Japanese planes were gone, they had left inconceivable death and destruction in their wake, and turned a harbor in paradise into a war zone - literally.

"I was about three quarters of the way to the first platform on the mast when it seemed as though a bomb struck our quarterdeck. I could hear shrapnel or fragments whistling past me. As I reached the first platform, I saw Second Lieutenant Simonson lying on his back with blood on his shirt front. I bent over him and taking him by the shoulders asked if there was anything I could do. He was dead, or so nearly so that speech was impossible. Seeing there was nothing I could do for the Lieutenant, I continued to my battle station." -- Marine Cpl. E.C. Nightingale, aboard the USS Arizona

2,403 were dead. Nearly 200 American planes were destroyed, and 8 battleships were destroyed or damaged. But Japan had missed the opportunity to hit what they wanted to - the aircraft carriers they saw as the U.S.' most dangerous assets. The Lexington, the Saratoga, and the Enterprise were all away when the attack came. And the U.S., largely reluctant to enter into the conflict raging in Europe, knew one thing - we were at war.

The Americans got a few small pieces of luck in the midst of all the chaos. The fuel oil storage, right next to the harbor, was unscathed. This was, in part, due to the fact that in those days, they were painted an aqua color that made them appear to be pools of water from the air. The submarines were also undamaged.

"With a quick glance to the right, I noticed the Arizona was a mass of flames and one of the AA guns was blasting away. Just about that time a plane was passing by very low and close. I saw the pilot looking over the Arizona, and as he pulled up, I noticed the red ball on the wing. Yes, I could have hit it with a stone if I had one to throw." -- Paul P. Urdzik, aboard the USS Vestal

But Japan had also seriously underestimated the Americans. Most of the Japanese command, many of whom had been educated in the States, believed the Americans would be unable to mobilize for a year or two - unable to replace what had been lost - and by then, Japan would have secured its interests in Asia. They believed they had rendered the Americans powerless to stop them.

They were wrong.

There has been a great deal of discussion in the decades since about what contributed to the attack. If the planes hadn't been parked the way they were. If the sailors hadn't been given a day off after the music competition. If we'd recognized the radar blips for what they were... In hindsight, it's easy to criticize, easy to blame, easy to divert attention from what matters - thousands of American heroes died that day, in an attack that shattered American innocence, and reminded them that war wasn't always far away - it could come right into one's front yard. The outrage, the horror, the undeniable need to strike back, would only be rivaled one other time in American history - on a sunny September morning in 2001.

"The first Japanese plane flew over us about 0755 and banked to the right toward Battleship Row. Just prior to this pass, we had heard large explosions coming from Ford Island. We did observe planes in the air, and to a man questioned the Army flying on Sunday. Very unusual to say the least.

By the time a second plane made a pass, we were at General Quarters, and one of our gunners was fortunate enough to get a direct hit off our starboard quarter. The plane went up in one large ball of fire, and immediately dropped into the water." -- Roy Cella, aboard the USS Sumner

One day after the attacks, this is what Americans heard from their President:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.


-- President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941

Fifteen ships were named in honor of Sailors, to pay tribute to the heroism they displayed that horrible day.



Links for more information:
Attack At Pearl Harbor, 1941
Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941 (U.S. Navy website)
Pearl Harbor: Remembered
Wikipedia: Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor Attack, 1941
December 7, 1941 - Japanese Bomb Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Remembering Pearl Harbor
FDR's "Day of Infamy" Speech
USS Arizona (BB-39)
Air Raid Pearl Harbor
My Story: Pearl Harbor Battleship Row
Days of Infamy: December 7 and 9/11
USS Utah (BB31/AG16)
Pearl Harbor Attack, 1941
Pearl Harbor Documents
Naval Institute: Pearl Harbor
Ginger's Diary (account of a 17-year-old American girl living at Hickam Field, Hawaii, at the time of the Pearl Harbor bombing)
Pearl Harbor Survivors Association
The Pearl Harbor Attack Hearings
USS West Virginia (BB-48)@
TIME Magazine: The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Naval History Magazine: Pearl Harbor - Attack from Below
Japanese Navy Ships -- Midget Submarines
USS California (BB-44)
National Geographic: Expedition Pearl Harbor
The Day After Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor Operations
USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
What the Chaplains Were Doing at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941
Imperial War Museum: Pearl Harbor
USS Arizona Memorial

Pictures from my recent visit to Pearl Harbor:
Pearl Harbor: of Horror and Heroes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 27, 2006
SR# 112806

By Sgt. Serena Hayden
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

BALAD RUZ, Iraq (Nov. 28, 2006) -- What started as a leaders' reconnaissance mission turned into a 96-hour operation Nov. 12-16 in Turki Village, Iraq, near Balad Ruz.

After moving from Forward Operating Base Warhorse to FOB Caldwell, commanders from the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division conducted an over watch flight to become familiar with their new area of operation.

While flying over the Turki Village area, the leadership identified a truck along side a canal that was concealed in thick brush -- a significant sign that showed it was meant to be hidden from aircraft, said 1st Sgt. Tim Metheny, Troop A, 5-73 Cav. first sergeant.

Although the truck was suspicious, it wasn't until a senior NCO with the group noticed a hole on top of a dike that the 5-73 Cav. commander, Lt. Col. Andrew Poppas, decided to land and get a closer look at the area, Metheny said.

"We went with hand grenades and rifles prepared to clear the area," he said. "We had eight guys on the ground."

The leaders were fortunate and did not come into contact with enemy forces; however, their suspicions became reality when they discovered both the truck and the hole contained weapons caches.

The hole was covered with a lid leading to a buried container filled from the floor to the ceiling with weapons and ammunition, Metheny said.

Shortly after, Poppas called for forces and the operation began with Soldiers from 5-73 Cav. and their counterparts from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division.

As part of Alpha Troop's mission, Metheny's Soldiers were responsible for securing the southern route and providing base fire for the western portion of the area, he said.

The teams also continuously maneuvered around the area to assist other units who were involved in small-arms fire attacks, fighting an enemy prepared and willing to fight to the death, Metheny added.

"They chose to fight to the death instead of surrender," Metheny said. "This isn't your standard enemy. They had training -- you could tell they weren't the average farmer that picked up a gun."

One 5-73 paratrooper and his team quickly realized the enemy was not your "average farmer."

Staff Sgt. Clint Keely, a Troop A section sergeant, said he was driving in a convoy responding to an attack on Charlie Troop when the lead vehicle spotted two men hiding in a cement dike.

As the vehicle approached the area and stopped, the men put their hands in the air to show they were friendly, Keely said as he explained the situation.

His crew dismounted and began walking toward the men, fully prepared to engage if necessary, he said.

"We just thought they were farmers over there," Keely said.

Unfortunately, the men were not farmers, and as Keely's team was within approximately 25 meters, a third individual appeared and began firing an AK-47. One of the original two men dropped his hands, grabbed a weapon and also began to fire, he said.

"By the time I was in shouting distance of them, they opened up with AKs," Keely explained. "By the grace of God, they missed."

Keely and his team returned fire, taking cover behind the vehicles, he said. Moments later, the third individual threw a grenade by the trucks.

The world was now silent -- both of Keely's eardrums were damaged and he temporarily lost all hearing, he said. Keely also suffered a minor concussion.

Although he wasn't able to hear, Keely said he and his Soldiers continued to suppress fire, allowing Sgt. 1st Class Mitchell Gonzales to approach the enemy with a grenade.

The two terrorists attacking the Soldiers were killed. The man who did not fire was detained, said Metheny.

"Their fire held [the enemy] in the trench while the grenade went off," said Metheny. "The only reason [the Soldiers] are still alive right now is because they were able to lay down a base of fire."

"I felt betrayed because as I was walking up, they both had their hands up and we thought they were surrendering," Keely said as he looked back on lessons learned.

"Until you know the local national is not a threat, don't assume they are friendly until you know they are," he said.

"Keep your gloves up until the bell sounds," Metheny added.

After the bell sounded in Turki Village, Metheny said his heroes are his platoon and section sergeants.

"If I had to pick heroes, they'd be Staff Sgt. Keely, Sgt. 1st Class Shane Bates and Sgt. 1st Class Mitch Gonzalez," Metheny said. "Those guys are the ones on the ground. Those guys make decisions every day that affect the outcome of the conflict."

The Turki Village conflict was very successful and the numbers speak for themselves, Methany said. Over 70 terrorists were killed, about 15 detained, and more than five caches were discovered.

Metheny credited the mission's success to the rigorous training the unit received before deployment, he said.

"They are integrated -- well trained across the battle systems," he said. "Nobody is spectacular by themselves, but you put them all together and they make a very effective team."



Staff Sgt. Clint Keely (left), and 1st Sgt. Tim Metheny, both members of Troop A, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, contributed to the disruption of violence in Turki Village, an area near Balad Ruz, Iraq, during a 96-hour operation beginning Nov. 12. Keely suffered a mild concussion and temporarily lost all hearing when a grenade was thrown near his vehicle. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Serena Hayden, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division)



During operations which began Nov. 12 in Turki Village near Balad Ruz, Iraq, Soldiers from the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, discovered over five weapons caches. (U.S. Army photo by the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division)



While conducting a familiarization flight, leadership from the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, discovered a camouflaged vehicle containing weapons. The discovery of the vehicle and an underground cache led to a 96-hour joint operation to rid the Turki Village, Iraq area of anti-Iraqi forces, Nov. 12-16. (U.S. Army photo by the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division)

SOLDIERS REACH OUT — Iraqi children collect school supplies during a humanitarian mission at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, Nov. 27. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Geoffrey P. Ingersoll

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq Shia leader seeks tougher U.S. action
U.S.-Iraq summit put off until Thursday
Bush says Iraq progress too slow
4 Marines die in Iraq emergency landing

Homeland Security / War on Terror
American Arrested in Egypt on Terror Charges

Other Military News
Boeing, Lockheed in Saudi fighter jet talks, newspaper says
U.S. predicts bumper year in arms sales
No WTO in tanker contest: Air Force
Reuters Aero & Defense Summit

Worldwide Wackos
U.S. praises Venezuela's democracy
Chavez's Venezuela "red, really red" - Video
Russia declines comment on reported N. Korea offer
Powers seek to break Iran impasse
U.S. rejects talking to Cuba's "dictator-in-waiting"

Homegrown Moonbats
Paltrow: I Never Said Anything Anti-American

Politics / Government
Host of Trouble Over Koran - Oath-of-office commentary sparks Islamic backlash
Government issues new privacy guidelines
Brownback moves toward White House bid

Immigration / Border Control
Trucker convicted in immigrants' deaths

U.N. News
Bolton seen as bully and highly skilled diplomat

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News
Yahoo partners with Reuters on eyewitness pictures

Science / Nature
Going to the Moon — And Staying
Philippines fears 1,000 killed in typhoon's wrath - Video
Vietnam braces for powerful typhoon
Deaths mount in Midwest days after snow storm
Chill slows storm recovery in Midwest

Oddities
Stars face court action over kiss
Try wearing white at this wedding..

Other News of Note
Militias clash with ex-rebels in Darfur town

Fox News
Was Actor Drunk During Fatal Crash?
Click to Read Press Release on Accident Police Report
Report: New York Cops Charge Torn 'Ripped' Again
3 of 4 Members of Missing S.F. Family Found
Cops Kill N.C. Student Accused of Stealing PS3s
Woman Suspect in 1-Month-Old's Fla. Abduction
Fiji's PM: Military Lockdown Is 'Virtually a Coup'
Stocks to Watch: Novell, Sirius Satellite Radio
Jessica Simpson Botches Kennedy Center Tribute to Dolly Parton

Reuters: Top News
Taco Bell closes 4 outlets in E.coli scare
Sony said U.S. holiday sales better than expected
Popular baldness drug could mask prostate marker
USDA disputes claim that U.S. chicken unsafe
Britney Spears tops Yahoo's searches
CBS extends "Late Show" contract with Letterman
Asia stocks rebound
Stocks gain on takeovers - Video
Pfizer shares plunge after cholesterol drug fails - Video
Henry Schein stock down on outlook
Baidu shares up on Japan search market news
BAE Systems eyes U.S. buys
On the radar: Synovus
Icahn sold KT&G shares for $460 million, say sources
DoCoMo sees op profit gain in next fiscal year
BP submits revised spill plan for Prudhoe Bay
Bank of New York to buy Mellon for $16.5 billion

AP World News
Blige, Chesney receive Billboard Awards
Poll voters explain why Gators in BCS
Stocks surge, shrug off Pfizer drug halt
Carpenter staying with Cardinals
Diabetes drug's benefits come at a price
Red-letter day: Rutgers' Schiano staying
Blair unveils plan for nuclear missiles
CNBC relaunches own site with more video
Harris fired as Stanford football coach
Mariners sign outfielder Jose Guillen

Military.com
Portable Nuke Power Plant for the Army?
Military.com's Holiday Gift Guide
Sarah Smiley Blasts John Mayer Song
Play Trivia and Win an iPod
Blog: Battlefield Lasers One Step Closer
Access our Benefits Calculator
Gear in the News: CH-46

CENTCOM: News Releases
IRAQI SECURITY FORCES CAPTURES INSURGENT, DETAINS SEVEN SUSPECTS

TWO TERRORISTS KILLED, SIX DETAINED IN N. BAGHDAD RAID

HELICOPTER MAKES EMERGENCY WATER LANDING

JOINT STATEMENT BY AMB. ZALMAY KHALILZAD AND GEN. GEORGE CASEY REGARDING RECENT SECTARIAN VIOLENCE

BUILDING DESTROYED AFTER GUNFIRE ATTACKS

IRAQI, COALITION FORCES PROVIDE SECURITY FOR SINIYAH

CARING FOR TROOPS: $2.4M LIVING SUPPORT AREA COMPLETED

SEARCH FOR MISSING SERVICEMEMBERS COMPLETE

IRAQI POLICE, ARMY TEAM UP WITH PARATROOPERS, DISCOVER THREE WEAPON CACHES SUNDAY

SALAH AD DIN SHEIKS MEET TO DISCUSS PEACE, STABILITY IN PROVINCE

MND-B SOLDIERS RESPOND TO MOSQUE EXPLOSION

USJFCOM
C4 program to deliver joint training set to begin - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Bush Meets With Iraqi Shiite Leader - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Record Fuel Delivery Keeps Gas Flowing - Story
Reconstruction Team Brings Supplies to Orphans - Story
Water Treatment Plant Brings Fresh Water, Jobs - Story

IN IRAQ
Marines, Sailors Transport Personnel, Cargo
Army Engineers Aid Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
'Port Dawgs' Limit Ground Convoys, Save Lives
U.S., Coalition Forces Train, Support Iraqi Airmen

IN AFGHANISTAN
Infantry Soldiers Help to Rebuild Afghanistan
Operation Season's Greetings Stops at Bagram
Florida Guard Delivers Donations to Orphanage
U.S. Units Steadily Secure, Rebuild Afghanistan
Military Missions Change as Afghan Army Evolves

IN SOUTHWEST ASIA
Sibling Tanker Pilots Connect Miles from Home

IN BAHRAIN
U.S. Navy Assumes Maritime Security Operations

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
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

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Air Force Casualty - Story

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

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1349 - 500 Jews are massacred at Nüremberg in the Black Death riots.
1456 - An earthquake strikes Naples, killing approximately 35,000.

1492 - Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti).
1496 - Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I.
1590 - Niccolò Sfondrati is chosen as Pope (Gregory XIV).
1757 - The Prussian army beats the Austrians at the Battle of Leuthen.
1766 - London auctioneers at Christie's hold their first sale.
1792 - George Washington is re-elected as U.S. President.
1798 - Government troops occupy Hasselt.
1804 - Thomas Jefferson is re-elected as U.S. President.
1813 - Lübeck surrenders to allied armies.
1831 - Former President John Quincy Adams takes his seat as a member of the House of Representatives.
1832 - Andrew Jackson is re-elected as U.S. President.
1837 - Canada faces an uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie.
1846 - C.F. Schoenbein obtains a patent for the cellulose nitrate explosive.
1848 - President Polk triggers the Gold Rush of '49 by confirming the discovery of gold in California.
1854 - Aaron Allen of Boston patents the folding theater chair.
1861 - The Gatling gun is patented.
1862 - Battle of Coffeeville, MS.
1876 - Daniel Stillson of Massachusetts patents the first practical pipe wrench; a fire at the Brooklyn Theater kills 295, either trampled or burned to death.
1879 - The first automatic telephone switching system is patented.
1881 - The 47th U.S. Congress (1881-83) convenes.
1892 - Anti-semite Hermann Ahlwardt is elected to Germany's Reichstag.
1893 - The first electric car, built in Toronto, debuts - it can go 15 miles between charges.
1905 - Henry Campbell-Bannerman becomes PM of England.
1908 - For the first time, numerals appear on football uniforms (University of Pittsburgh).
1918 - An oil refinery on Curaçao opens.
1925 - The German government of Luther falls.
1933 - At 5:32 p.m. EST, the 21st Amendment is ratified; it is the only amendment adopted to repeal an earlier amendment (18th Amendment - Prohibition).
1935 - The first commercial hydroponics operation is established in Montebello, CA.
1936 - The Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kirghiz become constituent republics of the Soviet Union.
1941 - Sister Elizabeth Kenny's new treatment for infantile paralysis is approved; a Russian counter-offensive in Moscow drives out the Nazi army; the U.S. aircraft carrier Lexington and five heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor.
1942 - Seyss-Inquart orders students in Nazi-Germany to go work; the West Indies chocolate/coffee drop occurs above the Netherlands.
1944 - German troops rob all the silver coin in Utrecht.
1945 - The "Lost Squadron" crashes east of Florida, in the Bermuda Triangle.
1946 - President Truman creates the Committee on Civil Rights by Executive Order #9808.
1950 - Sikkim becomes a protectorate of India.
1952 - The worst smog ever in London kills more than 4,000.
1955 - The AFL and CIO merge, with George Meany as president; a historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery, AL.
1957 - NYC becomes the first city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law).
1960 - Ghana cuts diplomatic relations with Belgium.
1967 - Benjamin Spock and Allen Ginsberg are arrested protesting the Vietnam War.
1972 - The Australia Labour party wins the parliamentary election/
1974 - In Tehran, Iran, an airport terminal roof collapses, killing 17; the final episode of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" airs on the BBC.
1975 - NASA launches the space vehicle S-196; it fails.
1977 - Egypt breaks off diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen.
1978 - Pioneer Venus-1 begins orbiting Venus; the European Union establishes the EMS (European Monetary System).
1979 - Irish premier Jack Lynch resigns.
1982 - Seattle University Baptist Church declares sanctuary for Central American refugees
1983 - A car bomb shatters a nine-story building in Beirut, killing 12.
1984 - French colonists kill 10 Kanaken in New Caledonia.
1988 - The Shuttle Atlantis launches the world's first nuclear-war-fighting satellite; A North Carolina federal grand jury indicts PTL founder Jim Bakker on fraud and conspiracy charges.
1989 - The French TGV train reaches a world record speed of 482.4 kph.
1990 - Former Noriega aide Luis del Cid pleads guilty; Salman Rushdie, author ("The Satanic Verses" - he was ordered to death by Iran for blasphemy), appears in public for the first time in two years.
1991 - Charles Keating, Jr. (Lincoln Savings and Loan fraud), is found guilty; the "New York Daily News" files for protection under Chapter 11.
1993 - Astronauts begin the repair of the Hubble telescope in space; Rafael Caldera is elected President of Venezuela.
1997 - STS-87 (Columbia 24) lands.

Birthdays
1661 - Robert Haley, earl of Oxford / English premier (1710-14)
1782 - Martin Van Buren, 8th U.S. President (1837-41)
1824 - Titian James Coffey, Attorney General
1826 - John Benjamin Sanborn, Union Brevet Major General
1839 - George Armstrong Custer, U.S. Major General (of Little Big Horn fame)
1861 - Armando V. Diaz, Italian marshal/minister of War (1922-24)
1863 - Paul P. Painlevé, French PM (1917, 1925) / mathematician
1896 - Willem F.M. Lampe, Dutch ambassador of the Dutch Antilles
1901 - Walter Elias Disney, animator (Mickey Mouse); Werner Heisenberg, German physicist (Nobel 1932)
1902 - (Steve James) Strom Thurmond (Senator-SC)
1903 - Cecil Frank Powell, British physicist, discovered pion (Nobel 1950)
1925 - Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle, President of Nicaragua (1967-79)
1927 - Rama IX (Bhumibol Adulyadej), King of Thailand (1946- )
1932 - Little Richard (Wayne Penniman), rocker (Tutti Frutti, Lucille)
1947 - Jugderdemidiin Gurragcha, first Mongolian space traveler (Soyuz-39)
1949 - Bruce E. Melnick, Commander USCG / astronaut (STS 41, STS 49)

Passings
1212 - Derek II of Are, Bishop of Utrecht (1197-1212)
1244 - Johanna of Constantinople, countess of Flanders (1205-44)
1355 - Jan III, duke of Brabant/Limburg
1560 - King François II of France (1559-60), at age 16
1594 - Gerardus Mercator, Flemish philosopher/cartographer
1791 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer
1870 - Alexandre Dumas writer (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo)
1891 - Pedro II of Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil (1831-89)
1951 - "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, of baseball's black sox scandal
1963 - Herbert H. Lehman (Governor-NY)
1992 - Sergei Aleksandrovich Yemelyanov, Russian cosmonaut
1994 - Ronald Ridout, school textbook author

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Dibble, Morris F., US Army (NY); KIA in ground combat (same incident w/Eisenberger and Upner), body not recovered

Eisenberger, George J., US Army (OK); KIA in ground combat (same incident w/Dibble and Upner), body not recovered

Hyde, Jimmy Don, USN (OK); KIA, body not recovered

Upner, Edward C., US Army (AL); KIA in ground combat (same incident w/Dibble and Eisenberger), body not recovered

1966
Begley, Burris Nelson, USAF (KY); F105D shot down, remains ID'd December, 1993 (disputed)

Warren, Arthur Leonard, USAF (OH); RF101 shot down, remains returned September, 1986

1967
Russell, Donald Myrick, USAF (ME); F105D shot down, remains returned 1994 - ID'd June, 1996

1968
Berry, John A., US Army (CO); OH6A shot down (w/Evans), KIA, body not recovered

Evans, Billy K., Jr., US Army (VA); OH6A shot down (w/Berry), KIA, body not recovered

1969
Clark, John C. II, USAF (TX); F4E shot down (w/Harrold), remains returned November, 1997

Danielson, Benjamin F., USAF (MN); F4C shot down

Harrold, Patrick K., USAF (KS); F4E shot down (w/Clark), remains returned 1997