Daily Archives: 12/23/2011
Been There
This weekend as we gather with friends and family in our homes, celebrating the Christmas Season, it might be a time to stop and mouth a prayer to the thousands of young men and women in the service of our country, stationed in places away from home.
I’ve been there. The first Christmas I ever spent away from Mom & Dad’s, I spent in Camp Rose, Korea, a few miles south of the DMZ.
Oddly enough, some of the youngsters who followed me into the ranks of the 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor (2d Infantry Division) in Korea have a picture of a ‘pet tank’ suitable decked out for the season. We did what we could with what we had. these guys obviously have a little more.
To all my brothers and sisters, thank you for your service. I only hope we can keep the country we fought for.
Today in History – December 23
1913 – The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve.
1938 – Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa. Recipe book follows. Goes good with rice…
1941 – World War II: Japanese Imperial Army occupies Wake Island. It’s a heroic battle that the Marines, Navy, Army and US civilians lost. Out of 2080 Americans on the island, 120 were killed and two were MIA in the battle. The rest became POW’s. Five military and 98 civilian POW’s were deliberately killed and another fifteen military and 82 civilian POW’s died as a result of imprisonment.
1947 – The PNP point-contact germanium transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories by Bardeen, Brattain & Shockley.
1972 – The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism. Recipe book to follow…
1986 – Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without refueling. 3 B-52’s flew around the world non-stop in 1957 but they did several in-flight refuelings.