CAMOCHO SCAN
U.S. Army Pfc. Robert Camocho scans a simulated improvised explosive device lane while training at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, April 30, 2008. Camocho is assigned to the 6th Infantry Regiment's Company B, 2nd Battalion. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Michael Schuch

Labels: 6th Infantry, Camp Buehring, Kuwait, photos, US Army

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2008 – With growing recognition of the toll post-traumatic stress disorder has taken on U.S. forces, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the Defense Department may consider awarding Purple Heart medals to combat veterans afflicted with it.
“It’s an interesting idea,” Gates said when asked about the concept during a May 2 media availability at Red River Army Depot, Texas. “I think it is clearly something that needs to be looked at.”

Gates’ comment followed his visit the previous day to Fort Bliss, Texas, where he toured the post’s Recovery and Resilience Center, which is using a holistic approach to treating troops with PTSD.

John E. Fortunato, who conceived of and runs the center, told reporters that awarding the Purple Heart to PTSD sufferers would go a long way toward chipping away at prejudices surrounding the disease. Because PTSD affects structures in the brain, it’s a physical disorder, “no different from shrapnel,” Fortunato said. “This is an injury.”

The Army classifies PTSD as an illness, not an injury, so troops with PTSD don’t qualify for the Purple Heart. That distinction is limited to troops killed or wounded in a conflict.

“I would love to see that changed, because these guys have paid at least as high a price, some of them, as anybody with a traumatic brain injury, as anybody with a shrapnel wound,” Fortunato said.

Not recognizing those with PTSD with a Purple Heart “says that this is the wound that isn’t worthy,” Fortunato said. “And it is.”

Fortunato said he’d also like to see a regulation prohibiting harassment of troops with PTSD, similar to regulations banning racial or sexual harassment. “Until there are sanctions that make a superior pay a price for harassing a soldier with mental health problems, I don’t know that it will change that much.”

Soldiers still get laughed at for seeking mental-health services or told that it will ruin their careers, he said. Some in the force view people with PTSD as weak, believing that if those with the disease “just sucked it up and soldiered on, [they would] could get over this,” Fortunato said.

“The Army is making a lot of strides toward changing that, but it’s a slow go, because it has to happen at the grassroots level,” he said. “Like any other prejudice, it’s hard to die.”

During his visit to Fort Bliss, Gates announced a new policy in which combat veterans no longer have to acknowledge on their federal security clearance forms that they have received mental health care for combat stress. Gates said he hoped the policy would eliminate troops’ concerns that seeking mentalhealth care can cause them to be denied a security clearance and threaten their careers. He also expressed hope it would take the stigma away from seeking treatment.

Gates called on senior noncommissioned officers to encourage their soldiers who need it to get care, and to let them know that doing so is a sign of strength, not weakness.

“All of you have a special role in encouraging troops to seek help for the unseen scars of war -- to let them know that doing so is a sign of strength and maturity,” Gates told soldiers attending the Army Sergeants Major Academy, at Fort Bliss. “I urge you all to talk with those below you to find out where we can continue to improve.

“Those who have sacrificed for our nation deserve the best care they can get,” he continued. “As I have said before, there is no higher priority for the Department of Defense, after the war itself, than caring for our wounded warriors.”


Biographies:
Robert M. Gates


Related Articles:
Gates Asks Senior NCOs to Encourage Troops to Seek Mental Health Care
Special Report: Question 21

Labels: PTSD, Supporting Our Heroes, Wounded Heroes

MILITARY 'MAHALO'
The battleship USS Missouri Memorial is illuminated in red, white and blue for the 23rd annual Hawaii Military Appreciation Month opening ceremony, April 24, 2008. The ceremony kicked off a month-long celebration to express appreciation and "mahalo" or thank-you to Hawaii's troops for their everyday sacrifices here and abroad. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Paul D. Honnick

Labels: Pearl Harbor, photos, ships, US Navy, USS Missouri

FALLUJAH, IRAQ -- Sgt. Natalie Cespuglio, a Sisters of Fallujah trainer with Regimental Combat Team-1, assists an Iraqi women in firing an M9 pistol on the firing range here, April 21. The Sisters of Fallujah undergo several days of security training to certify and work alongside Iraqi Police at entry control points (ECP) throughout Fallujah. (OFFICIAL U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Chris Lyttle)


Story by Cpl. Chris Lyttle

FALLUJAH, Iraq – Entry control points (ECP) throughout Fallujah are designed to protect the city from harm and prevent people from transporting illegal contraband such as weapons and explosive materials. Coalition forces discovered the enemy exploiting the cultural sensitivity precluding the search of females by having females carry contraband into the city.

Coalition forces then employed female search teams from units such as Combat Logistics Battalion-1 to alleviate the threat of women being used to sneak contraband such as electrical devices, wires, and other bomb making material. This still posed a problem as the female Marines could only be pulled away from their primary duties for short periods.

To rebalance the shift in Coalition manpower and further transition the role of security from Coalition forces to Iraqi Police, last year 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment began the Sisters of Fallujah, a program designed to train local Iraqi women in security operations to search other Iraqi women entering the city through ECPs. The trained Iraqi women were employed throughout the city and have proven themselves to be an effective security element in the prevention of dangerous items entering the city.

3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment returned to Iraq this year as part of Regimental Combat Team-1 and continued the program with the help of female Marines from CLB-1 and instructors from the International Police Advisors (IPA) as they recently graduated several new recruits to work at ECPs throughout the city.

“Their main goal is to check the females, check bags and search the children as well,” said Anna Bailey, an IPA who is leading the sisters’ program for her first time. “In (Iraqi culture), the men are not allowed to touch the women (in routine searches). There’s a safety issue there that needs to be addressed, and that’s when the community chose to step up”

Fallujah follows cities such as Baghdad and Ramadi in the societal changes allowing women to serve a law enforcement role. Although the Sisters of Fallujah solely perform their duties at ECPs, the training to become a member covers an array of relevant topics. The women participated in lectures on police ethics, human rights, torture, women’s issues, working in a terrorist environment, small-arms training and first aid.

Bailey said the IPA’s and Marines do not intend to make the women IPs, but to give them the training for their current duties and prepare them if the city were to one day promote women with more responsibilities.

The new sisters came from areas in and away from the city to take part in this program and they are doing their part to restore the security of Iraq.

29-year-old ‘Ruby,’ a newly graduated Sister of Fallujah, said she moved from Baghdad to work here after her mother, who is a fellow sister, told her about this job opportunity.

“She said she was willing to work with Coalition forces after she realized they were not the enemy,” Ruby said through an interpreter. “Her feelings before are opposite from now. She said she feels closer (to Marines), she is very serious about her job and she feels stronger.”

The Marines and IPAs reinforced their new sense of empowerment when the sisters fired AK-47 rifles and pistols on the firing range during training day three. It was weapons training that they may not use at ECPs at the moment, but it instilled a higher level of confidence within the women.

Most of the sisters admitted they had never handled a weapon before. That was evident when they stepped up to the firing line at 25 yards. With hands trembling, and reluctant to be the first to pull the trigger on the line, the sisters each paired up with CLB-1 Marines to ensure the weapons were handled properly and the rounds were landing on the targets, or at least safely in the right direction. Nearing the end of the shoot, the nervousness disappeared along with the rounds as the Marines and Iraqi women opened up and became more at ease with each other.

“I’m scared the first time, but after I feel better,” Ruby said.” “I feel better about everything, the searches and the shooting, everything. I feel different. I’m happy about this job because I feel like I’m important with the people when I search them. I feel important to my family now because I have this job. This is good for me.”

After the shooting, the Iraqi women were tasked with performing on-the-job training at the ECPs. This gave the women the opportunity to see what their duties will entail, to include personal searches, item searches and effective questioning.

Sgt. Natalie Cespuglio, an on-the-job trainer from CLB-1, has worked with the sisters in-classroom and at ECPs for three months and explained why the success of the sisters’ program is not only important for the security of Iraq, but for the women who are standing up in a security role here for the first time.

“We can’t give up on them because if we give up on them, they’ll give up on themselves,” Cespuglio said. “They really do look up to us. They want to know everything about us. They want to know how we live and what we do. They tell us their situations or problems they have at home with their spouse or their kids and ask us for advice. We try to point them in the right direction and tell them the different options that they have and we compare. They say yeah we can do this, we can’t do that. Even though they’re older than us, we’re like their older sisters.”

Cespuglio said the sisters expressed a positive attitude in that they are doing their jobs for a greater cause.

“They’re very happy. They feel like they’re serving their country- they’re very patriotic,” Cespuglio said. “They feel like they’re making a difference because they want to catch the ‘bad people’ too.”

At the end of the training, the new Sisters of Fallujah were honored through a graduation ceremony and given certificates for their training. Lt. Col. James Zientek, the battalion commander of 3rd Bn. 6th Marines, addressed the sisters and thanked them for their willingness to take part in the program.

“I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for your participation in this program and for doing your part to ensure a safe and secure Fallujah,” Zientek said to the new Sisters of Fallujah. “I speak for my Marines and I know (Faisal Isma’il Husayn a L-Zobai, Fallujah chief of police) Colonel Faisal’s police all look forward to working with you for the greater security (of Fallujah).”

Bailey described the overall challenge of teaching through cultural barriers and how, after her first class, the benefit for Iraqi women comes through employing them beyond their conventional occupations.

“The training through an (interpreter) is kind of difficult, but once the concepts were understood it was good,” Bailey said. “Also to see the females open up with the hands-on training, it was good for them get involved and know that they can do the job. This is the beginning, so this is all history in the making. Hopefully over time, the men of the area will catch on and realize that these women are needed for their safety and for the families of this community and hopefully they’ll realize that they can do other jobs as well.”


More Photos

Labels: Camp Fallujah, Good News, Iraq, photos, Sisters of Fallujah

MP DELIVERY - U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Valley speaks with the first of many Iraqi children to arrive during a food distribution mission in the Zuwerijat district of Al Kut, Iraq, April 30, 2008. Valley is assigned to the 511th Military Police Company.U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel T. West

Labels: 511th Military Police, Al Kut, children, Iraq, photos, US Army, Zuwerijat

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iran Suspends Talks With U.S. on Security in Iraq
Ex-Gitmo Detainee Suspected in Iraq Bombing (But they're all innocents who deserve to be handled with kid gloves, right?)
Report: Saddam Feared STDs From U.S. Guards
Ten Iraqi soldiers slain in checkpoint attack
Iraqi Army stops SVBIED attack against post (Mosul)

Other Military News
Top US commando says strain of war limits forces elsewhere
Experts Say Red Square Parade Masks Weakened Russia Military

Worldwide Wackos
U.S. says Iran will get incentives "very quickly"

Politics / Government
Sprint to the Finish
Obama Addresses Indiana Rally: WATCH LIVE
BRIEFING BOOK: North Carolina and Indiana (pdf)
Obama Denies Pledge to Teamsters
Obama and Clinton clash on gas tax before big votes - Video
McCain woos Hispanics and launches Spanish web site
Obama, Clinton hunt votes before key races - Video
Obama damaged by Wright flap: poll
Blog: "Move on" from Wright: Clinton
Bush to discuss prices on Saudi trip
Republican evangelical support has peaked: analyst
Tom Hanks announces support for Obama's presidential bid
McCain criticizes Obama on national security
On eve of Indiana, N.C., Clinton, Obama duel on gas prices
More than 3.5 million new voters, AP survey finds

Illegal Immigration / Border Control
Texas, Feds Agree to Border Fence, Levee Project

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Man Shoots, Kills Fetus by Mistake While Showing Handgun to Pregnant Teenager
Police Chief Shoots Self at Gun Training Session
Teen Arrested After Chemical Bomb Explodes in Class
Man, Teen Wanted in Senior Citizen's Murder Arrested
Three Babies Found Dead in Freezer in Germany, Mother Arrested
Suicide Notes of Deborah Jean Palfrey Reveal 'D.C. Madam' Hanged Herself to Avoid Jail
Body Floats in N.J. Canal, Gnawed by Turtles, for Nearly 24 Hours After Police Got Call
Priest Gets Prison Time for Having Sex With Inmates
Police: 'Horror Dad' Made Secret Dungeon Plans in 1978
Racial disparities persist in drug arrests
Los Angeles man wins right to use wife's last name
Police: Motorcyclist flipped bird, popped wheelie, crashed (Sometimes, Karma just kicks you in the butt)
Ga. board denied killer's clemency bid

U.N. News
Ban discussing U.N. help for Zimbabwe re-run - Video

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
FOXBusiness Exclusive: Buffett, Gates on Yahoo Fallout
Yahoo CEO open to more Microsoft talks
Yahoo shares fall 15 pct after Microsoft withdraws bid

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Government Report Answers Who Lives, Who Dies in Flu Pandemic
Wal-Mart Begins Offering 90-Day Prescriptions for $10
Breast-fed children found smarter
Obese moms have long pregnancies
Hospital ERs overwhelmed, one-day study finds
Needle-free device delivers pain-free analgesia
"Grand Theft Auto" publisher sues over pulled ads
Samsung, Intel, TSMC to work on next-gen chip format
T-Mobile eyes 25 U.S. high-speed markets in '08
Nokia to offer "a lot" of new phones in the U.S.

Mother Nature
Volcanic Smog Blankets Hawaii in Toxic Gas - PHOTOS
Official: More Than 10,000 May Have Died in Myanmar Cyclone
Laura Bush Urges Junta to Accept Aid
Cyclone kills 10,000 in one Myanmar town - Video
Myanmar believes 13,000 dead, missing - Slideshow
Video: Deaths "run into thousands"
Blackouts, shortages plague Yangon
Timeline: Major Asian cyclones
Climate change could hit tropical wildlife hardest
Ethanol waiver seen spiking gasoline $1/gallon
Shimon Peres sees eco-fuel fighting "terror"
Exxon to test new technology to remove CO2 from gas
Alberta puts C$55 million into pine beetle fight
Crackdown on plastic bags in China
Idaho team readies artificial beak for wounded bald eagle

News from My Neck of the Woods
Conn. boy finally takes off Packers jersey after 1,581 days

Oddities
Illinois Man Orders Custom Beer-Can Coffin
Mystery deepens over German poet Schiller's skull
China drivers fined for slow-drive on scenic bridge

Other News of Note
Dalai Lama envoy upbeat on China talks
Oil hits record over $120
Why oil prices are at a record high
Full Coverage: Oil in Spotlight
Gasoline price hits new high
AP Interview: Eight Belles' trainer defends jockey's conduct

Fox News
Fed Frets Over Foreclosures
Good Deed Gets Rewarded
Pop Tarts: Wedding Bells on the Way for Jessica Simpson?
Latvia Coast Guard Rescues Nearly 700 Stranded Cruise Passengers; 322 Remain

Reuters
Parents, unite! Ban birthday party blowouts
Jack in the Green
Full Coverage: Images from celebrations around the world
Stocks fall on Countrywide fears, record oil - Video
Dwindling population
Singapore banks on derivatives
Small Business:"Mompreneurs" tap into babies, parenting
Bernanke: High foreclosure rates hurt broad economy
Sprint in M&A play, shares surge
Chrysler tries fuel-price guarantee to boost sales
More big losses expected from Fannie, Freddie
Dark pool volume figures may be overhyped
Gearing up for EU, Croatia's shipyards face reform
BofA may lower Countrywide deal price: analysts
Buffett's Berkshire to look at RBS insurance unit
Jury deliberations begin in Thurman stalker trial
Tom Cruise tells Oprah he wants more challenges
Lindsay Lohan rebounds with "Ugly Betty" guest role
Kylie Minogue gets French cultural honor
Talk of the Town: Iron Man sequel
Simply Red becomes a "prison" for Hucknall
Canadian students break out in song for Music Monday
Air races get ready, get set and go
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant poised to be named MVP
Tigers cut outfielder Jacque Jones
Yankees-Red Sox argument ends in murder
Roger Federer to face bogeyman Canas in Rome
Maturing Henin sets sights on leisurely retirement

AP World News
Study: Restaurant tobacco bans influence teen smoking
'Sex and the City' director addresses death rumor
Billups scores 28 as Pistons edge Magic 100-93 for 2-0 lead
Mildred Loving, matriarch of interracial marriage, dies
Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds engaged
Roger Clemens apologizes for 'mistakes in personal life'

News Blaze
MND-B Soldiers Detain 15 Suspects, Seize Bomb-Making Materials
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Read about Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Security in Abu Shemsi offers new opportunities
Iraqi Police regional training center opens in Diyala
Soldiers patch roads after bomb blasts
Maliki unifies Iraqi government in stand against insurgents
EPRT facilitates Mada’in ag expo
Refurbished school opens in Salman Pak

USJFCOM
Druid's Dance exercise yields major training milestone
USJFCOM signs agreement with Old Dominion University Research Foundation
Learn more about CRADAs - podcast
Joint Knowledge Online earns prestigious award for distance learning
Learn more about Joint Knowledge Online
Joint Knowledge Development and Distribution
Interoperability assessment begins - podcast
Learn more about JSIC

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Iraqi Police Station Opens in Yusifiyah
Government Officials Meet with Qarghuli Sheikhs
Wholesale Farmers’ Market Reopens in Yusifiyah
PRT Facilitates Mada’in Agricultural, Technology Expo
Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces, U.S. Special Forces kill seven Special Groups criminals in Baghdad
Weapons cache found in Wardia
MND-B soldiers kill criminals emplacing IED, seize weapons caches (Baghdad)
‘Surge’ Brigade redeploys (Baghdad)

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
President's Proclamation Honors Troops' Spouses
Congress Urged to Act Quickly on Supplemental
Iraq to Document Iranian Support of Insurgency

IRAQ NEWS
Coalition Brings Medical Aid to Outlying Villages
Tank Crew Kills Attackers in Baghdad Fighting

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Troops Fight Enemy in Helmand, Khowst Provinces

MILITARY NEWS
Civilian Agencies Must Help Overseas, Mullen Says
Mullen Urges Academy Cadets to Become Leaders

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Chrysler Strengthens Ties To Guard, Reserves

FACE OF DEFENSE
Military Led to Civilian Success for Miss Utah
Mom Stays ‘Army Strong’

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

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

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Today in History
1527 - Spanish & German Imperial troops sack Rome; ending the Renaissance
1529 - Battle at Gogra: Mogol emperor Babur beats Afghans & Bengals
1536 - King Henry VIII, orders bible be placed in every church
1598 - Arch duke Albrecht & Isabella become monarch of Southern Netherlands
1626 - Dutch colonist Paul Minuit buys Manhattan for $24 in trinkets
1642 - Ville Marie (Montréal) forms
1644 - Johan Mauritius resigns as Governor of Brazil
1648 - Battle at Zólty Wody-Bohdan Chmielricki's Cossaks beat John II Casimir
1672 - Brandenburgs monarch Frederik Willem signs treaty with Netherlands
1753 - French King Louis XV observes transit of Mercury at Mendon Castle
1757 - Battle at Prague: Frederik II of Prussia beats emperor army
1794 - Haiti, under Toussaint L'Ouverture, revolts against France
1804 - Suriname sold to English (until February 1816)
1840 - 1st postage stamps (Penny Black) issued (Great Britain)
1851 - Dr. John Gorrie patents a "refrigeration machine"; Linus Yale patents Yale-lock; New slave regulations go into effect in Suriname
1853 - 1st major US rail disaster kills 46 (Norwalk, CT)
1856 - U.S. Army troops from Forts Tejon and Miller prepare to ride out to protect Keyesville, California, from the Yokut Indians
1860 - San Fransisco Olympic Club, 1st US athletic club, founded
1861 - Arkansas & Tennessee become 9th & 10th states to secede from US; Jefferson Davis approves a bill declaring War between US & Confederacy
1864 - Battle of Port Walthall Junction, VA; Battle of Wilderness-General Longstreet seriously injured; General Sherman begins advance to Atlanta, GA
1877 - Chief Crazy Horse, who defeated Custer, surrenders to U.S. troops in Nebraska
1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act: US Congress ceases Chinese immigration; Epping Forest England dedicated by Queen Victoria
1889 - Universal Exposition opens in Paris France; Eiffel Tower completed
1890 - Mormon Church renounces polygamy [1006-Truth Restored (Morman pub)]
1891 - Conductors on London General Omnibus Company go on strike
1902 - British SS Camorta sinks off Rangoon - 739 die; Zulu assault at Holkrantz South-Africa
1910 - King George V ascends to British throne
1913 - King Nikita I of Montenegro vacates Skoetari, North-Albania
1914 - British House of Lords rejects women suffrage
1915 - Allies attack Cape Helles, Hellespont
1915 - German U-20 sinks Centurion SE of Ireland
1916 - Belgian troop march into Kigali, German East-Africa
1919 - Paris Peace Conference disposes of German colonies; German East Africa is assigned to Britain & France, German Southwest Africa to South Africa
1933 - Italy & USSR sign trade agreement
1935 - British King George & Queen Mary celebrates silver jubilee
1937 - Dirigible Hindenburg explodes in flames at Lakehurst, NJ (36 die)
1938 - Dutch writer Maurits Dekker sentenced to 50 days for "offending a friendly head of state" (Hitler)
1941 - Joseph Stalin became premier of Russia; Bob Hope gives his first USO show at March Field, in CA
1942 - Corregidor & Philippines surrender to Japanese Armies
1943 - British 1st Army opens assault on Tunis
1945 - General J. Blaskowitz surrenders German troops in Netherlands; Axis Sally makes her final broadcast to Allied troops.
1955 - West Germany joins NATO
1957 - Italian Government of Segni resigns; Last broadcast of "I Love Lucy" on CBS-TV
1959 - Iceland gunboats shoot at British fishing ships
1960 - President Eisenhower signs Civil Rights Act of 1960; Students attack Dutch embassy in Djakarta; Trotsky's murderer Jacques Mornard (Ramón Mercader), freed in México
1961 - Omer Vanaudenhove chosen chairman of Belgium Liberal Party
1962 - 1st nuclear warhead fired from Polaris submarine (Ethan Allen); Antonio Segni elected President of Italy; Pathet Lao breaks cease fire/conquers Nam Tha Laos
1966 - Canadian Minister of Finance announces a $20 Centennial gold coin
1967 - 400 students seize administration building at Cheyney State College; Zakir Hussain elected 1st Muslim President of India
1968 - Battle between students & troops in Paris, France, 1000 injured; Spain closes border to Gibraltar except to Spaniards
1970 - Yuchiro Miura of Japan skis down Mount Everest
1972 - South Vietnam's 5th Division at An Loc, under daily artillery battering, continue to hold their ground as reinforcements fight their way north up Highway 13
1974 - West German chancellor W. Brandt resigns
1975 - Early warnings provided by REACT (ham radio operators) means only 3 people die in tornado that strikes Omaha, NE
1978 - South Africa military goes into Angola
1981 - US expels Libyan diplomats
1984 - José Napoleon Duarte wins El Salvador presidential election
1985 - 17th Space Shuttle Mission (51-B)-Challenger 7 lands at Edwards Air Force Base
1987 - Gary Hart denies affair with model Donna Rice; PTL's Jim Bakker & Rich Dortch dismissed from Assemblies of God
1988 - Doughnutgate incident: New Jersey Devils' coach Jim Schoenfeld tells referee Don Koharski to 'eat another doughnut you fat pig!,' he is suspended
1990 - Former President PW Botha quit South Africa's ruling National Party
1991 - Space Shuttle STS 39 (Discovery 12) lands
1993 - STS-55 (Columbia) lands
1994 - Chunnel linking England & France officially opens; House passes the assault weapons ban; Nelson Mandela & his ANC, finally confirmed winners in South Africa
1996 - Alvaro Arzu aimed at ending 35 years of civil war; Guatemala's leftist guerrillas sign key accord with government of President
1997 - Army Staff Sergeant Delmar Simpson gets 25-year sentence for rape
2012 - Transit of Venus

Birthdays
0973 - Henry II, Roman Catholic German king/emperor (1002/14-24)
1501 - Marcellus II [Marcello Cervini], humanist/Pope (1555, 22 days)
1758 - Maximilien Robespierre Arras, French revolutionary/avocat (1781)
1769 - Ferdinand III archduke of Austria/ruler of Toscane
1801 - George Sears Greene, Union Brevet Major General
1812 - Martin Robinson Delaney Charlestown VA, 1st Black Major in US Medical Corps
1813 - Joseph Tarr Copeland, Union Brigadier General
1825 - Joseph Bailey, Union Brevet Major General
1829 - Phoebe Ann Coffin, 1st female ordained minister in New England
1856 - Robert Edwin Peary, arctic explorer (North Pole-April 6 1909); Sigmund Freud, cigar smoker, father of psycho-analysis
1875 - William Daniel Leahy, 5-star Admiral/Chief of Staff (1949)
1888 - Emmanuel Celler (Representative-NY, 1923-73)
1902 - Walter Dawson, British Air Chief marshall
1912 - Hugh Martell, British Vice Admiral
1915 - John Arnold, British high court judge
1922 - Carlos J. Moorhead (Representative-CA)
1926 - John Hamilton-Jones CEO (Richmond Enterprises)/British Major-General
1931 - Marvin Leath (Representative-TX)
1934 - Richard C. Shelby (Representative-AL /Senator-AL)
1939 - Zhanna Dmitriyevna Yerkina, Russian cosmonaut
1941 - Fred J. Eckert (Representative-NY, 1985-87)
1946 - Jim Ramstad (Representative-MN)
1949 - David Cornell Leestma, USN/astronaut (STS 41-G, 28, 45)
1952 - Chiaki Naito-Mukai, astronaut (STS 65, 95)
1953 - Tony Blair, British PM (Labour, 1997- )
1954 - Sergei Nikolayevich Tresvyatsky, cosmonaut
1955 - Donald A. Thomas, PhD/Astronaut (STS 65, 70, 83, 94); John Hutton, MP
1959 - Charles Hendry, MP; Eric D. Fingerhut (Representative-OH)

Passings
0523 - Thrasamunde, King of Vandalen
0988 - Dirk II West Frisian, Count of Holland
1085 - King Alfonso VI of León, conquerer of Toledo
1124 - Balak Emir of Aleppo, murdered
1527 - Karel van Bourbon, military governor (Lombardije), dies at 37
1727 - Catharina I Latvia, Tsarina of Russia, dies at about 42
1862 - Henry David Thoreau, US writer/pacifist (Walden Pond), dies at 44
1864 - Henry Livermore Abbott, Union Brigadier-General, dies in battle; Micah Jenkins, Confederate Brigadier-General (friendly fire), dies at 28
1882 - Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke, assassinated by Fenian Invincibles, in Dublin
1910 - Edward VII King of England (1901-10), dies at 68
1916 - Dirk Bos, Dutch MP (Liberal), dies at 53
1919 - Frank Lyman Baum, author (Wizard of Oz), dies at 62
1987 - William J. Casey, Director of CIA (1981-87), dies at 73
1995 - Dona Maria Pia de Braganca pretender to Port throne, dies at 88
1996 - Geoffrey Hodges bomb disposal expert, dies at 87

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Stubberfield, Robert A., USAF (NC); RF101C shot down - remains returned June, 1989

1966
Dodson, James, USAF; RF101C shot down - escaped June, 1966 - deceased

Lamar, James L., USAF (AR); F105D shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

1967
Wideman, Robert Earl, USN (OH); A4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive in 1998

1968
Aldrich, Lawrence L., US Army (TX); KIA / BNR

Baird, William A., US Army (OH); released by PRG (injured) March, 1973 - alive in 1998

Branch, Michael P., US Army (KY); released by PRG March, 1973 - accused of collaboration

1969
Billipp, Norman K., USMC (WI); O1G shot down (w/Hagan) - remains ID'd November, 1996

Hagan, John Robert, USMC (GA); O1G shot down (w/Billipp) - remains returned, ID'd November, 1996

1970
Hernandez, Frank S., US Army (CA); Killed when UH1H collided with another helicopter and crashed (w/Worthington)

Kier, Larry Gene, US Army (NE); disappeared after ground action (w/Teran)

Teran, Refugio T., US Army (MI); disappeared after ground action (w/Kier)

Worthington, Richard C., US Army (WA); Killed when UH1H collided with another helicopter and crashed (w/Hernandez)

1972
Wiles, Marvin B., USN (CA); A7E shot down

Labels: Headlines, History