Author Topic: October 14 : This Day in U.S. Military History  (Read 452 times)

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October 14 : This Day in U.S. Military History
« on: October 14, 2018, 04:36:31 am »
14 October
1734 – Francis Lightfoot Lee, US farmer and signer of the Declaration of Independence), was born. His father for several years held the office of president of the king’s council of the provincial government of Virginia. He had several sons, all of whom were highly distinguished for their talents, and for the services which they rendered their country. Philip Ludwell, a member of the king’s council; Thomas Ludwell, a member of the Virginia assembly; Richard Henry, as the champion of American freedom; William, as a sheriff and alderman of London, and afterwards a commissioner of the continental congress at the courts of Berlin and Vienna; and Arthur as a scholar, a politician, and diplomatist. Francis Lightfoot, the subject of the present memoir, was perhaps not less distinguished, although he had not the advantages, which were enjoyed by the elder sons, of an education at the English universities. His advantages, however, were not of a moderate character. He was placed under the care of a domestic tutor of the name of Craig, a gentleman distinguished for his love of letters, and for his ability to impart useful knowledge to those of whom he had the care. Under such a man, the powers of Francis Lightfoot rapidly unfolded. He acquired an early fondness for reading and mental investigation, and became well acquainted with the various branches of science and literature. The fortune bequeathed him by his father rendered the study of a profession unnecessary. He, therefore, devoted himself for several years to reading, and to the enjoyment of his friends. He was a man, however, in whom dwelt the spirit of the patriot, and who could not well be neglected, nor could he well neglect his country, when the political troubles of the colonies began. In 1765, he was returned a member of the House of Burgesses from the county of Loudon, where his estate was situated. In this situation, he proved himself to be a gentleman of strong good sense and discriminating judgment; and to this office he was annually re-elected until 1772; when having become connected by marriage with a daughter of Colonel John Tayloe, of the county of Richmond, he removed to that county, the citizens of which soon after elected him a member o[ the house of burgesses. In 1775, Mr. Lee was chosen a member of the continental congress, by the Virginia convention. This was an eventful period in the annals of America. It was the year in which was shed the first blood in the revolutionary struggle. It was emphatically the year of “clouds and darkness,” in which indeed the hope of better days was indulged, but in which, notwithstanding this hope, “men’s souls were tried.” Mr. Lee continued a member of congress until the spring of 1779. During his attendance upon this body, he seldom took part in the public discussions, but few surpassed him in his warmth of patriotism, and in his zeal to urge forward those measures which contributed to the success of the American arms, and the independence of the country. To his brother, Richard Henry Lee, the high honor was allotted of bringing forward the momentous question of independence, and to him, and his associates in that distinguished assembly, the not inferior honor was granted of aiding and supporting and finishing this important work. As already noticed, Mr. Lee retired from congress in the year 1779. It was his wish to be exempted from public care, and in the pleasures of home to seek those enjoyments which were consentaneous to his health and happiness. This seclusion, however, he was not permitted long to enjoy. The internal condition of Virginia, at this time, was one of much agitation and perplexity. His fellow citizens, justly appreciating the value of such a man, summoned him by their suffrages to represent them in the legislature of Virginia. Although reluctantly, he obeyed the summons, and took his seat in that body. He was fond of ease, and of the pleasures of domestic life; still he was conscious of his obligations, and most faithfully discharged them. While a member of the continental congress, he had been characterized for integrity, sound judgment, and love of country. In his present office, he was distinguished for the same virtues. He could not content himself, however, long in this situation. He became wearied with the duties of public life; and at length, relinquished them for the pleasures of retirement. In this latter course of life, he not only enjoyed himself highly, but contributed greatly to the happiness of many around him. The benevolence of his disposition, and the urbanity of his manners, recommended him both to the old and the young, to the gay and the grave. The poor shared in his benevolence and advice. In his intercourse with his particular friends, he was uncommonly pleasing and instructive. Mr. Lee, having no children to require his care and attention, devoted much of his time to the pleasures of reading, farming, and the company of his friends. His death was occasioned by a pleurisy, which disease about the same time, also, attacked his beloved wife, and terminated the life of both, within a few days of each other. It is said, that he had embraced the religion of the gospel, and that under its supporting hope and consolation, he made his exit in peace from the world.
 1773 – Britain’s East India Company tea ships’ cargo was burned at Annapolis, Md.
 1801 – Secretary of the Treasury Gallatin announced the decision to reduce “Revenue Cutter Establishment” as near as circumstances will permit within its original limits.
 1832 – Blackfeet Indians attacked American Fur Company trappers near Montana’s Jefferson River, killing one.
 1863 – Battle of Bristoe Station between Union forces under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. The Union II Corps under Warren was able to surprise and repel the Confederate attack by Hill on the Union rearguard, resulting in a Union victory.
 1890 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States (1953-1961), was born in Denison, Texas, third of seven sons of David Jacob and Ida Elizabeth Stover Eisenhower. The family returned to Abilene, Kansas, in 1892. Graduated from Abilene High School, 1909. Worked at Belle Springs Creamery, 1909-1911. Entered United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, June 14, 1911, and graduated June 12, 1915. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant, September 1915. Married Mamie Geneva Doud of Denver, Colorado, July 1, 1916. First son, Doud Dwight, born September 24, 1917, and died January 2, 1921. Second son, John Sheldon Doud, born August 3, 1922. Served with the Infantry September 1915 to February 1918 in Ft. Sam Houston, Camp Wilson and Leon Springs, Texas and Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia. Served with the Tank Corps, February 1918 to January 1922 in Camp Meade, Maryland, Camp Colt, Pennsylvania, Camp Dix, New Jersey, Ft. Benning, Georgia, and Ft. Meade, Maryland. Promoted to First Lieutenant on July 1, 1916; Captain on May 15, 1917; Major (temporary) on June 17, 1918; and to Lieutenant Colonel (temporary) on October 14, 1918. Reverted to permanent rank of Captain on June 30, 1920 and was promoted to Major on July 2, 1920. Volunteered to participate as a Tank Corps observer in the First Transcontinental Motor Convoy from July 7, 1919 to September 6, 1919. Assigned as executive officer to General Fox Conner, Camp Gaillard, Panama Canal Zone, January 1922 to September 1924. Served in various capacities in Maryland and Colorado until August 1925. Entered Command and General Staff School, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, August 19, 1925, graduated first in a class of 245, June 18, 1926. Served as battalion commander, 24th Infantry, Ft. Benning, Georgia, August 1926 to January 1927. Next assigned to American Battle Monuments Commission, directed by General John J. Pershing. January to August 1927 served in Washington, D.C. office, writing a guidebook to World War I battlefields. In charge of guidebook revision and European office, Paris, France July 1928 to September 1929. August 27, 1927, entered Army War College, Washington, D.C. and graduated June 30, 1928. Served as executive officer to General George V. Moseley, Assistant Secretary of War, Washington, D.C., November 1929 to February 1933. Served as chief military aide to General Douglas MacArthur, Army Chief of Staff, until September 1935. September 1935 to December 1939 assigned to General MacArthur as assistant military advisor to the Philippine Government. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, July 1, 1936. Assigned to General DeWitt Clinton, Commander, 15th Infantry, for a short term in Ft.Ord, California, and then permanently to Ft. Lewis, Washington as regimental executive, February 1940 to November 1940. Chief of Staff for General Thompson, Commander, 3rd Division, Ft. Lewis until March 1941. Served as Chief of Staff to General Kenyon Joyce, Commander 9th Army Corps, Ft. Lewis, until June 1941. Designated Chief of Staff to General Walter Kreuger, Commander 3rd Army, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, June 1941 to December 1941. Promoted to Colonel (temporary), March 11, 1941, and to Brigadier General (temporary), September 29, 1941. Assigned to General Staff, Washington, D.C., December 1941 to June 1942. Named Deputy Chief in charge of Pacific Defenses under Chief of War Plans Division, General Leonard Gerow, December 1941. Designated as Chief of War Plans Division, February 1942. In April 1942, appointed Assistant Chief of Staff in charge of Operations Division for General George Marshall, Chief of Staff. March 27, 1942, promoted to Major General (temporary). Conducted mission to increase cooperation among World War II allies, London, England, May 1942. Designated Commanding General, European Theater, London, England, June 1942. Named Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces, North Africa, November 1942. Promoted to Lieutenant General (temporary), July 7, 1942 and to General (4 stars) (temporary), February 11, 1943. He was appointed Brigader General (permanent) on August 30, 1943 and was promoted to Major General (permanent) on the same date. Appointed Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces, December 1943. Commanded forces of Normandy invasion, June 6, 1944. December 20, 1944, promoted to General of the Army (5 stars). Shortly after the German surrender, May 8, 1945, appointed Military Governor, U.S. Occupied Zone, Frankfurt, Germany. On April 11, 1946, wartime rank of General of the Army converted to permanent rank. Designated as Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, November 19, 1945. Inaugurated as President, Columbia University, New York City, June 7, 1948. Named Supreme Allied Commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Europe, and given operational command of Treaty Organization, Europe and given operational command of U.S. Forces, Europe, December 16, 1950. Retired from active service, May 31, 1952 and resigned his commission July 1952. Announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for President on June 4, 1952 in Abilene. Was nominated at the Republican convention and elected on November 4, 1952. Served two terms as President of the United States, January 20, 1953 to January 20, 1961. Saw end of Korean War, promoted Atoms for Peace, and dealt with crises in Lebanon, Suez, Berlin, and Hungary in foreign affairs. Saw Alaska and Hawaii become states. Was concerned with civil rights issues and the interstate highway system in domestic affairs. In March 1961, by Public Law 87-3, signed by President John F. Kennedy, returned to active list of regular Army with rank of General of the Army from December 1944. Maintained office at Gettysburg College and residence at his farm near Gettysburg, PA, January 1961-March 1969. General Dwight D. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969 at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was buried in the Place of Meditation at the Eisenhower Center, Abilene, Kansas on April 2, 1969.
 1912 – Theodore Roosevelt, former president and the Bull Moose Party candidate, was shot at close range by anarchist William Schrenk while greeting the public in front of the Hotel Gilpatrick in Milwaukee while campaigning for the presidency. He was saved by the papers in his breast pocket and still managed to give a 90 minute address in Milwaukee after requesting his audience to be quiet because “there is a bullet in my body.” Schrenk was captured and uttered the now famous words “any man looking for a third term ought to be shot.”
 1917 – Marines 1st Aeronautic Co. prepared for Azores duty at Cape May, New Jersey.
 1918 – Naval Aviators of Marine Day Squadron 9 make first raid-in-force for the Northern Bombing Group in World War I when they bombed German railroad at Thielt Rivy, Belgium.
 1918 – The second phase of the US-French Meuse-Argonne Offensive begins. The intervening time has been used in reorganize.  US forces are now divided into two new armies.  The First under General Hunter Liggett and the Second commanded by General Robert Lee Bullard with General Pershing in overall command.  Liggett’s First Army advances northward at a steady pace in the face of intense German resistance, while Bullard’s Second Army moves to the northeast between the Meuse and Moselle Rivers.  The Germans are forced to rush still more reinforcements from other threatened sectors of the Western Front.
 1933 – The Geneva disarmament conference broke up as Germany proclaimed withdrawal from the disarmament initiative, as well as from the League of Nations, effective October 23.
 1938 – Nazis planned Jewish ghettos for all major cities.
 1938 – The first flight of the Curtiss Aircraft Company’s P-40 Warhawk fighter plane. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s main production facilities at Buffalo, New York. P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants. P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941. No. 112 Squadron Royal Air Force, was among the first to operate Tomahawks in North Africa and the unit was the first Allied military aviation unit to feature the “shark mouth” logo, copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters. The P-40’s lack of a two-stage supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. Between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40’s performance at high altitudes was not as important in those theaters, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter bomber. Although it gained a postwar reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons, indicates that the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses but also taking a very heavy toll of enemy aircraft, especially when flown against the lightweight and maneuverable Japanese fighters like the Oscar and Zero in the manner recommended in 1941 by General Claire Chennault, the AVG’s commander in southern China. The P-40 offered the additional advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground-attack aircraft long after it was obsolete as a fighter. In 2008, 29 P-40s were still airworthy.
 1942 – On Guadalcanal, despite the damage from the night’s shelling by the Japanese, American aircraft take off from Henderson Field. They damage three Japanese transports unloading at Tassafaronga.
 1943 – The American 8th Air Force conducts a raid on the German ball-bearing works at Schweinfurt. The force of 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses does considerable damage to the target but lose 60 planes with others damaged. The loss rate is too high to maintain so the USAAF abandons long-range, unescorted daylight raids.
 1943 – Along the Volturno River in Italy, the US 5th Army offensive continues. The 6th Corps continues to advance while elements of the British 10th Corps cross the river and continue to push forward. In the east, the Canadian 1st Division (part of British 13th Corps, 8th Army) captures Campobasso.
 1944 – German Field Marshal Rommel (52), suspected of complicity in the July 20th plot against Hitler, was visited at home by two of Hitler’s staff and given the choice of public trial or suicide by poison. He chose suicide and it was announced that he died of wounds.
 1944 – On Peleliu, the US 81st Infantry Division replaces the US 1st Marine Division in the front line on the island. American authorities announce that the occupation of Angaur has been completed but Japanese remnant forces continue to resist in the north of the island.
 1944 – US Task Group 38.4 conducts air strikes on Aparri Airfield on Luzon.
 1944 – One group from US Task Force 38 (Admiral Mitscher) continues to launch air strikes on Japanese positions. The 246 American planes engaged suffer 23 aircraft lost. The cruiser USS Houston is also crippled in a torpedo attack. Meanwhile, American B-29 Superfortress bombers, operating from bases in China, bomb the island.
 1944 – CGCs Eastwind and Southwind captured the Nazi weather and supply vessel Externsteine off the coast of Greenland after a brief fire-fight. There were no casualties. The Coast Guardsmen christened their prize-of-war USS Eastbreeze and placed a prize crew on board. The prize crew was commanded by LT Curtiss Howard and consisted of 36 men, including some from Southwind. After sailing with the Greenland Patrol for three weeks, Eastbreeze sailed on to Boston where the Navy renamed it as USS Callao. The Externsteine/Eastbreeze/Callao was the only enemy surface vessel captured at sea by U.S. naval forces during the war. The Eastwind and Southwind had gone farther north and returned under their own power than any vessel ever before. Finally, this naval battle had taken place farther north than any previous battle, laurels enough for the Greenland Patrol.
 1947 – Air Force test pilot Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager (24) flew the experimental Bell X-1 [Bell XS-1] rocket plane aircraft and broke the sound barrier to Mach 1.07 for the first time over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., which was then called Muroc Army Air Field. The area has the largest dry lake bed in the world, a 44-square mile area known as Rogers Lake. Suspended from the belly of a Boeing B-29, Glamorous Glennis was dropped at 10:26 a.m. from a height of 20,000 feet. Yeager (who had broken two ribs in a riding accident the night before) fired the four rocket motor chambers in pairs, breaking through the sound barrier as he increased airspeed to almost 700 mph and climbed to an altitude of 43,000 feet. The XS-1 remained at supersonic speeds for 20.5 seconds, with none of the buffeting that characterized high-speed subsonic flight. The 14-minute flight was Yeager’s ninth since being named primary pilot in June 1947. The Air Force and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the forerunner of NASA) did not make the event public until Jun 10, 1948.
 1949 – Leaders of the American Communist Party were convicted of conspiracy to advocate the violent overthrow of the US government under provisions of the Smith Act. They were sentenced with fines and imprisonment. The trial, held in New York in 1949, was one of the lengthiest trials in American history. Large numbers of supporters of the defendants protested outside the courthouse on a daily basis. The trial featured twice on the cover of Time magazine. The defense frequently antagonized the judge and prosecution, and five defendants were jailed for contempt of court because they disrupted the proceedings. The prosecution’s case relied on undercover informants who described the goals of the CPUSA, interpreted communist texts, and testified that they believed the CPUSA advocated the violent overthrow of the US government. While the trial was under way, events outside the courtroom influenced public perception of communism: the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon, and communists prevailed in the Chinese Civil War. Public opinion was overwhelmingly against the defendants. After a 10 month trial the jury found all 11 defendants guilty and the judge sentenced them to terms of up to five years in federal prison, further sentencing all five defense attorneys to imprisonment for contempt of court. Two of the attorneys were subsequently disbarred. Prosecutors – encouraged by their success – prosecuted over 100 further CPUSA officers for violating the Smith Act. Some were tried solely because they were members of the Party. Many of these defendants had difficulty finding attorneys to represent them. The trials decimated the leadership of the CPUSA. In 1957, eight years after the first trial, the US Supreme Court’s decision in Yates v United States and Dennis v. United States brought an end to similar prosecutions, holding that defendants could be prosecuted only for their actions, not for their beliefs.
 1950 – North Korean aircraft bombed Kimpo Airfield and Inchon Harbor.
 1950 – Nine Chinese armies, totaling over 300,000 men, began to cross the Yalu River. By traveling at night and hiding during the day, the largely foot-mobile Communist Chinese Forces avoided detection by U.N. aerial surveillance.
 1952 – Operation SHOWDOWN commenced as the 7th Infantry Division and the ROK 2nd Infantry Division attempted to seize the Sniper Ridge complex and improve IX Corps’ defensive line north of Kumwha. The Battle of Triangle Hill, also known as Operation Showdown was a protracted military engagement during the Korean War. The main combatants were two United Nations infantry divisions, with additional support from the United States Air Force, against elements of the 15th and 12th Corps of the People’s Republic of China. The battle was part of American attempts to gain control of “The Iron Triangle”, and ran until November 25, 1952. The immediate American objective was a forested ridge of high ground 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) north of Gimhwa-eup near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The hill was occupied by the veterans of the People’s Volunteer Army’s 15th Corps. Over the course of nearly a month, substantial American and South Korean forces made repeated attempts to capture Triangle Hill and the adjacent Sniper Ridge. Despite clear superiority in artillery and aircraft, escalating American and South Korean casualties resulted in the attack being halted after 42 days of fighting, with Chinese forces regaining their original positions.
 1958 – The American Atomic Energy Commission, with supporting military units, carries out an underground nuclear weapon test at the Nevada Test Site, just north of Las Vegas.
 1961 – After US Air Force B-52G [serial number 58-196??] with eight persons aboard was reported overdue and possibly down in the Atlantic Ocean somewhere off Newfoundland, the Coast Guard commander, Eastern Area, coordinated the extensive search that resulted. Participating in it were 79 US Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, and Canadian aircraft, 5 US Coast Guard cutters, and 2 merchant ships. Despite this search that lasted through 18 October and covered 286,225 square miles, no trace of the missing B-52 or its crew was found.
 1962 – A U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and its pilot fly over the island of Cuba and take photographs of Soviet missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads being installed and erected in Cuba. Major Richard Heyser took 928 pictures on a path selected by DIA analysts, capturing images of what turned out to be an SS-4 construction site at San Cristóbal, Pinar del Río Province (now in Artemisa Province), in western Cuba.
 1966 – 175 US airplanes bombed North Vietnam.
 1968 – The first live telecast from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.
 1969 – Race riots took place in Springfield, Mass.
 1970 – The Harvard University Center for international Studies in Cambridge Massachusetts was bombed by a group calling itself the “Proud Eagle Tribe.” Weather Underground would take direct credit four years later.
 1993 – U.S. helicopter pilot Michael Durant and a Nigerian peacekeeper were freed by Somali fighters loyal to Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
 1993 – In Haiti, gunmen assassinated Justice Minister Guy Malary, a supporter of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
 1998 – The UN for a 7th year called for an end to the US economic embargo against Cuba. Only the US and Israel cast negative votes.
 1998 – In Serbia police shut down the Danas newspaper, as well as the independent Dvevni Telegraph in Belgrade. NATO positioned warplanes in Italy for a possible attack.
 1999 – At Cape Canaveral, Florida, Launch Complex 41, built in 1945, was destroyed to make way for Atlas V rockets. Demolished was the Launch Complex 41 Umbilical Tower (UT) and the Launch Complex 41 Mobile Service Tower (MST), which was the largest moving vehicle in the world. Both had most recently been used to support launches of Air Force Titan IVB rockets, the largest and most powerful unmanned rockets in the United States. Launch Complex 41 was being leased from the Air Force by Lockheed Martin, to be refurbished to support the company’s yet-to-be-launched Atlas V rocket, expected to make its debut by the end of 2001. The complex supported its first launch — an Air Force Titan III-C rocket — on December 21, 1965. The most recent launch, prior to demolition, had been an Air Force Titan IVB rocket on April 9, 1999. There had been 27 launches from Launch Complex 41. Launch Complex 41 represents hallowed ground for NASA. The NASA Viking 1 and 2 Mars landers were launched from the complex in 1975, as were the NASA Voyager 1 and 2 deep space probes in 1977. These remain among the most popular missions in NASA history.
 1999 – In Bosnia 4 NATO soldiers were injured as they attempted to seize weapons in the divided city of Mostar.
 2001 – President George W. Bush sternly rejected a Taliban offer to discuss handing over Osama bin Laden to a third country, saying, “They must have not heard. There’s no negotiations.”
 2001 – US warplanes hit Afghanistan targets around Kabul and knocked out the overseas telephone exchange. Bombs also hit the cities of Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Heart. Abu Baseer al-Masri, al Qaeda fighter and Egyptian militant, was killed near Jalalabad.
 2002 – President Bush called recent attacks in Kuwait, Indonesia and Yemen part of a grim pattern of terror, and said, “We’ve got a long way to go” to defeat Osama bin Laden’s global network.
 2002 – Linda Franklin (47) of Arlington, Va., was shot in the head and killed as she and her husband loaded packages into their car outside a Home Depot at the Seven Corners Shopping Center. She had worked as an analyst for the FBI.
 2003 – It was reported that Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers proposed an elevator reaching 62,000 miles into the sky to launch payloads into space.
 2003 – Afghan soldiers backed by U.S. troops and helicopters killed 7 Taliban and captured 12 others during a 2-day raid in southern Afghanistan.
 2003 – In St. Marc, Haiti, protesters hurled rocks at police and blocked streets with flaming tire barricades for a 2nd day, demanding President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s resignation.
 2003 – In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, hundreds took to the streets demanding reforms, the first large-scale protest in this conservative kingdom where demonstrations are illegal.
 2004 – The US Army announced that up to 28 U.S. soldiers face possible criminal charges in connection with the deaths of two prisoners at an American-run prison in Afghanistan two years ago.
 2004 – Insurgents struck deep inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, setting off bombs at a market and a popular cafe that killed at least 10 people.
 2004 -In Iraq up to 19 members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company were detained for refusing to deliver fuel under conditions that they deemed unsafe.
 2004 – Pakistani special forces attacked kidnappers holding two Chinese engineers near the Afghan border, killing all five of the al-Qaida-linked militants. One of the hostages was killed in the raid, while the other survived.
 2005 – A high ranking undercover Central Intelligence Agency officer, Jose A Rodriguez, Jr., will coordinate CIA, FBI, and State Department spying operations as the new director of the National Clandestine Service.
 2010 – The Obama administration asks United States District Court for the Central District of California judge Virginia A. Phillips to stay her ruling in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America that the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is unconstitutional while it appeals the decision.
 2011 – U.S. President Barack Obama authorizes the deployment of up to 100 American soldiers to Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to assist in operations against the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.
Congressional medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

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