https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/october-22/22 October
1777 – British General William Howe requested that he be relieved. This request will be accepted.
1777 – American defenders of Fort Mercer on the Delaware River repulse repeated Hessian attacks in the Battle of Red Bank. The Battle of Red Bank was a battle of the American War for Independence in which a Hessian force was sent to take Fort Mercer on the left bank (or New Jersey side) of the Delaware River just south of Philadelphia, but was decisively defeated by a far inferior force of Colonial defenders. Although the British did take Fort Mercer a month later, the victory supplied a sorely-needed morale boost to the American cause, delayed British plans to consolidate gains in Philadelphia, and relieved pressure on General Washington’s army to the north of the city.
1790 – Warriors of the Miami tribe under Chief Little Turtle defeat United States troops under General Josiah Harmar at the site of present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the Northwest Indian War. The Harmar Campaign was an attempt by the United States to subdue Native Americans in the Northwest Territory in the Autumn of 1790. It was led by General Josiah Harmar and was part of the Northwest Indian War. The campaign featured a series of battles that were all overwhelming victories for the Native Americans, and the losses are sometimes referred to as Harmar’s Defeat.
1824 – The Tennessee Legislature adjourned ending Davy Crockett’s state political career. Crockett died at the legendary siege of the Alamo in 1836.
1836 – Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first constitutionally elected president of the Republic of Texas.
1846 – Miss Lavinia Fanning Watson of Philadelphia christens the sloop-of-war Germantown, the first U.S. Navy ship sponsored by a woman.
1861 – The 1st telegraph line linking West & East coasts was completed.
1862 – Battle at Old Fort Wayne, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt and his troops attacked Col. Douglas H. Cooper and his Confederate command on Beatties Prairie near Old Fort Wayne at 7:00 am on October 22, 1862. The Confederates put up stiff resistance for a half hour, but overwhelming numbers forced them to retire from the field in haste, leaving artillery and equipage behind. This was a setback in the 1862 Confederate offensive that extended from the tidewater in the east to the plains of the Indian Territory of the west.
1916 – Congress passed the National Defense Act which provided for the establishment of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).
1917 – U.S.A. seized raw material for war that had been purchased and stored by Germans in the U.S.A. during the first two years of the war.
1917 – 5th & 6th Marines and 6th Machine Gun Battalion become part of the AEF.
1918 – Fierce fighting by the Americans on both banks of Meuse, north of Verdun and in the Woevre in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. III and V Corps had secured the Bois de Foret and Bois des Rappes and had pushed to the norther and westen limits of the Bois de Bantheville. First Army prepares for final assault on Sedan.
1918 – The new Army Air Service (forerunner of the U.S. Air Force) was organized. Calling for volunteers, First Lieutenant Reed Chambers, who was mobilized with a Tennessee National Guard unit, joined up. He was assigned to the newly organized 94th “Hat-in-the-Ring” Pursuit Squadron, soon to become nationally famous for the headlines some of its members, including Chambers, would generate by their combat exploits over “no man’s land” in France. Among the men serving in this squadron was Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, who would earn numerous awards for valor, including the Medal of Honor. Chambers, while not receiving the Medal of Honor, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross with an Oak Leaf Cluster (2nd Award) for his success in shooting down enemy aircraft. His most remarkable feat occurred on this date when he downed two German Folker D-VII’s (often regarded as the best airplane used in the war) in less than five minutes. He ended the war as an ‘ace’ with a total of five kills, and remained in the Air Service at least as late as 1920.
1942 – On Guadalcanal, the Japanese attack again over the Matanikau River with a strong force of tanks and infantry. They are thrown back with heavy losses due mainly to the effectiveness of the American artillery.
1942 – To safeguard this Allied nation against a possible Japanese attack, the Guard’s 43rd Infantry Division (CT, ME, RI, VT) arrives to act as a garrison and to begin its jungle training before later deployments to combat in the Northern Solomon Islands, New Guinea and the Philippines.
1944 – On Leyte, US 10th and US 24th Corps both record advances. The US 7th Division, on the right flank, approach Abuyog. The Japanese fleet assembled at Brunei sets sail for the Philippines with the intention of destroying the American invasion fleet. The Center Force (Admiral Kurita) includes 5 battleships (including Yamato and Musashi), 12 cruisers and 15 destroyers. The Southern Force (Admiral Nishimura) includes 2 battleships, 1 cruiser and 4 destroyers. It is to rendezvous with the 2nd Striking Force (Admiral Shima) from Japan.
1951 – First of seven detonations, Operation Buster-Jangle nuclear test. This was a test of the Petite Plutonium fission bomb, designed by Ted Taylor. It consisted of a standard 60 inch, 10,000 lb. implosion system with the plutonium core reduced to what was estimated to be close to the minimum amount of fissile material for an appreciable yield. This was the lowest yield design yet tested, with a predicted yield of only 200 tons. It was a fizzle – the first actual failure of any U.S. nuclear device (the 18th exploded by the U.S.), and the first known failure of any nuclear device. Rather than being a sign of ineptness, this failure was indicative of the increasingly aggressive (and thus risky) U.S. experimental approach to weapon development. It established a close lower bound on the minimum amount of plutonium that could be used in a weapon to produce a significant yield, an important benchmark in weapon design. This was inadvertently a “zero yield” test. The device achieved supercriticality and produced detectable nuclear output, but the energy produced was negligible compared to the high explosive used. The tower was damaged but largely intact from the test. The first attempt to fire this device (on 19 October) was a true failure – nothing happened. The problem was traced to the control circuitry.
1952 – USAF ace Major Robinson “Robbie” Risner, flying an F-86 Sabre out of the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, claimed his sixth MiG-15 of the war.
1954 – As a result of the Geneva accords granting Communist control over North Vietnam, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized a crash program to train the South Vietnamese Army.
1955 – The prototype of the F-105 Thunder Chief made its maiden flight. Republic Aircraft’s F-105 Thunderchief, better known as the ‘Thud,’ was the Air Force’s war-horse in Vietnam. In 1951, a design team under Alexander Kartveli at Republic Aircraft began work as a company venture on a new high-performance, single-seat low-level nuclear strike aircraft. The new aircraft, which was given the company designation of “AP-63”, where “AP” stood for “Advanced Project”, was to replace the Air Force’s Republic F-84F Thunderstreak. Many different design concepts were considered, gradually evolving towards something along the lines of a “stretched” F-84F with a bombbay for a nuclear weapon. The aircraft was to be fitted with an Allison J71 engine, though as it turned out, this powerplant would not prove powerful enough for the aircraft that finally flew and was never actually used. The AP-63 would also be able to carry air-to-surface missiles (ASMs) and air-to-air missiles (AAMs) on underwing pylons. It was to have a top speed of Mach 1.5 and would be capable of defending itself against enemy fighters. The aircraft would have sophisticated combat avionics and mid-air refueling capability. Initial contracts were awarded to Republic in 1952 and 1953 for what at first was a total of 199 aircraft, with initial delivery in 1955. In reality, the USAF requirements were shifting at the time, and the company did not receive a solid contract until February 1955, for 15 aircraft. These 15 aircraft were finally completed as two “YF-105A” evaluation aircraft; three “RF-105B” reconnaissance aircraft, which were later redesignated “JF-105B” and used for “special tests”; and ten production “F-105Bs”.
1957 – US military personnel suffer their first mass casualties of the Vietnam War when 13 Americans are wounded in three insurgent bombings of MAAG and US Information Service installations in Saigon.
1962 – President John F. Kennedy announced that missile bases had been discovered in Cuba and they had the potential to attack the United States with nuclear warheads. Kennedy ordered a naval and air blockade on further shipment of military equipment to Cuba. The Russians had previously agreed not to bring new offensive weapons into Cuba, but after hearing Kennedy’s announcement, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev refused to cooperate with the quarantine. Following a confrontation that threatened nuclear war, Kennedy and Khrushchev agree on October 28 on a formula to end the crisis. On November 2 Kennedy reported that Soviet missile bases in Cuba are being dismantled.
1968 – Apollo 7 returned safely, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. Apollo 7 accomplished what it set out to do- qualifying the command and service module and clearing the way for the proposed lunar-orbit mission to follow. And its activities were of national interest. A special edition of NASA’s news clipping collection called “Current News” included front page stories from 32 major newspapers scattered over the length and breadth of the nation. Although the postmission celebrations may not have rivaled those for the first orbital flight of an American, John Glenn in 1962, enthusiasm was high- and this fervor would build to even greater heights each time the lunar landing goal drew one step closer.
1972 – In Saigon, Henry Kissinger and South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu meet to discuss a proposed cease-fire that had been worked out between Americans and North Vietnamese in Paris.
1972 – Operation Linebacker I, the bombing of North Vietnam with B-52 bombers, ended. The U.S. ended all tactical air sorties into North Vietnam above the 20th parallel and brought to a close Linebacker I operations. This “gesture of good will” in terminating the bombing above the 20th parallel was designed to help promote the peace negotiations being held in Paris. US tactical air sorties during Linebacker I operations helped to stem the flow of supplies into NVN, thereby, limiting the operating capabilities of North Vietnam’s invading army. During the five and one-half month period of Linebacker I, the Navy contributed more than 60 percent of the total sorties in North Vietnam, with 60 percent of this effort in the “panhandle”, two large regions between Hanoi and the DMZ. Tactical air operations were most intense during the July-September quarter with 12,865 naval sorties flown. Most attack sorties in North Vietnam fell into two classes–armed reconnaissance and strike. The former was usually directed against targets of opportunity with three main areas proscribed–near Hanoi, Haiphong and the Chinese border. Strike operations were preplanned and usually directed at fixed targets. Most types of fixed targets, not associated with armed reconnaissance, required approval by the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, or by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, prior to attack. Principal Navy aircraft were the A-7 and A-6, which accounted for roughly 60 and 15 percent of the Navy’s attack sorties, respectively. About 25 percent of the Navy’s effort was at night. Carriers participating in the initial May-June operations from Yankee Station were Constellation, Coral Sea, Hancock, Kitty Hawk, Midway and Saratoga.
1975 – Leonard Matlovich, who appeared in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine, challenged the ban against homosexuals in the US military. He was given a “general” discharge by the Air Force after publicly declaring his homosexuality.
1978 – Negotiators for Egypt and Israel announced in Washington they had reached tentative agreement on the main points of a peace treaty.
1979 – The U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment — a decision that precipitated the Iran hostage crisis.
1992 – The space shuttle Columbia was launched on a 10-day mission that included deployment of an Italian satellite. Primary mission objectives were deployment of the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS-II) and operation of the U.S. Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1). LAGEOS-II, a joint effort between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), was deployed on day 2 and boosted into an initial elliptical orbit by ASI’s Italian Research Interim Stage (IRIS). The spacecraft’s apogee kick motor later circularized LAGEOS orbit at its operational altitude of 3,666 miles. The USMP-1, activated on day one, included three experiments mounted on two connected Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structures (MPESS) mounted in the orbiter’s cargo bay. USMP-1 experiments were: Lambda Point Experiment; Materiel Pour L’Etude Des Phenomenes Interessant La Solidification Sur Et En Orbite (MEPHISTO), sponsored by the French agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales; and Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS).
1993 – It was announced President Clinton would fly to Moscow the following January for a summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
1993 – Withdrawal of 750 Rangers from Somalia is complete. The move reflected the administration’s effort to shift the focus in Somalia toward pursuing a political settlement following the deaths of 18 Americans in the Ranger raid on Aidid loyalists Oct. 3.
1996 – In Bosnia municipal elections were postponed till the spring because Bosnian Serbs clung to their decision to boycott the vote.
1996 – In Canada the Godfrey-Milliken bill was introduced in response to the US Helms-Burton bill. It said that 3 million Canadian descendants of 80,000 uprooted loyalists from the time of the American Revolution have a right to compensation for their confiscated property.
1997 – Two US Air Force jets collided over Edwards Air Force Base in Ca. and two men in one of the planes, a T-38 trainer, were killed. The other jet, an F-16, managed to land safely. It was later determined that one pilot had attempted to avoid hitting birds.
1998 – In Kosovo 4 refugees, that included 3 children, were killed trying to cross the Albanian border. Pres. Milosevic claimed that he had met NATO demands to pull Serb forces out of Kosovo.
2000 – US Sec. of State Madeleine Albright arrived in North Korea to pave the way for a possible visit by Pres. Clinton.
2001 – Team Alpha, TF DAGGER, traveling on horseback in support of Dostum’s cavalry, decisively demonstrated to the Afghans the U.S. commitment to their cause. From an OP near the villages of Cobaki and Oimatan, team members began systematically calling in CAS missions. In one eighteen-hour period they destroyed over twenty armored and twenty support vehicles using close air support. At first the Taliban responded by reinforcing its troops, sending reserves into the area from Sholgara, Mazar-e Sharif, and Kholm. All that did was provide more targets for the CAS aircraft circling overhead and called into action by the SF team on the ground. Numerous key command posts, armored vehicles, troop concentrations, and antiaircraft artillery pieces were destroyed.
2001 – Team Bravo TF DAGGER, also mounted on horseback, moved south into the Alma Tak Mountain range to link up with one of Dostum’s subordinate commanders in the southern Darya Suf Valley and prevent the enemy from assisting its forces in the north. They would continue to interdict and destroy Taliban forces in these mountains until 7 November, destroying over sixty-five enemy vehicles, twelve command bunker positions, and a large enemy ammunition storage bunker.
2001 – A second Washington DC postal worker, Joseph P. Curseen (47), died of inhalation anthrax.
2001 – Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams urged the Irish Republican Army to begin disarming to save Northern Ireland’s peace process.
2001 – Pakistan reached an agreement with the Taliban to accept the return of thousands of refugees. The Taliban agreed to set up 2 refugee camps inside Afghanistan.
2001 – It was reported that Yemen had partially shut down its port of Aden after the breakup of a big anti-US protest. Militants were commandeering boats to ferry fighters out of the country and to Afghanistan.
2002 – The US added Jemaah Islamiyah of Indonesia to its list of terrorist organizations.
2002 – Allied planes bombed a military air defense site in the northern no-fly zone over Iraq after taking fire from Iraqi forces.
2002 – Special Forces in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia had captured 15 Arab militants linked to al Qaeda.
2002 – The Yugoslav government released a statement saying it had dismissed Jovan Cekovic, a former army general, and chief of Yugoimport following NATO evidence that it had engaged in exporting and refurbishing military equipment for Iraq.
2003 – President Bush praised Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, for battling terrorism.
2011 – North Korea agrees, for the first time in 6 years, to let the United States search for the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War.
2014 – Nineteen days after the first known patient in the United States is diagnosed and isolated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces that there will be a 21-day monitoring period for all travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
RINGOLD, EDWARD
Rank and organization: Coxswain, U.S. Navy. Born: 1827, Baltimore, Md. Accredited to: Maryland. G.O. No.: 17, 10 July 1863. Citation: Served as coxswain on board the U.S.S. Wabash in the engagement at Pocataligo, 22 October 1862. Soliciting permission to accompany the howitzer corps, and performing his duty with such gallantry and presence of mind as to attract the attention of all around him, Ringold, knowing there was a scarcity of ammunition, went through the whole line of fire with his shirt slung over his shoulder filled with fixed ammunition which he had brought from 2 miles to the rear of the lines.
DALY, DANIEL JOSEPH (Second Award)
Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: Glen Cove, Long Island, N.Y., 11 November 1873. Accredited to: New York. Other Navy awards: Second Medal of Honor, Navy Cross. Citation: Serving with the 15th Company of Marines on 22 October 1915, G/Sgt. Daly was one of the company to leave Fort Liberte, Haiti, for a 6-day reconnaissance. After dark on the evening of 24 October, while crossing the river in a deep ravine, the detachment was suddenly fired upon from 3 sides by about 400 Cacos concealed in bushes about 100 yards from the fort. The marine detachment fought its way forward to a good position, which it maintained during the night, although subjected to a continuous fre from the Cacos. At daybreak the marines, in 3 squads, advanced in 3 different directions, surprising and scattering the Cacos in all directions. G/Sgt. Daly fought with exceptional gallantry against heavy odds throughout this action.
HAJIRO, BARNEY F.
Private Barney F. Hajiro distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 19, 22, and 29 October 1944, in the vicinity of Bruyeres and Biffontaine, eastern France. Private Hajiro, while acting as a sentry on top of an embankment on 19 October 1944, in the vicinity of Bruyeres, France, rendered assistance to allied troops attacking a house 200 yards away by exposing himself to enemy fire and directing fire at an enemy strong point. He assisted the unit on his right by firing his automatic rifle and killing or wounding two enemy snipers. On 22 October 1944, he and one comrade took up an outpost security position about 50 yards to the right front of their platoon, concealed themselves, and ambushed an 18-man, heavily armed, enemy patrol, killing two, wounding one, and taking the remainder as prisoners. On 29 October 1944, in a wooded area in the vicinity of Biffontaine, France, Private Hajiro initiated an attack up the slope of a hill referred to as “Suicide Hill” by running forward approximately 100 yards under fire. He then advanced ahead of his comrades about 10 yards, drawing fire and spotting camouflaged machine gun nests. He fearlessly met fire with fire and single-handedly destroyed two machine gun nests and killed two enemy snipers. As a result of Private Hajiro’s heroic actions, the attack was successful. Private Hajiro’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit, and the United States Army.
*OLIVE, MILTON L. III
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade. Place and date: Phu Cuong, Republic of Vietnam, 22 October 1965. Entered service at: Chicago, Ill. Born: 7 November 1946, Chicago, Ill. C.O. No.: 18, 26 April 1966. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Olive was a member of the 3d Platoon of Company B, as it moved through the jungle to find the Viet Cong operating in the area. Although the platoon was subjected to a heavy volume of enemy gunfire and pinned down temporarily, it retaliated by assaulting the Viet Cong positions, causing the enemy to flee. As the platoon pursued the insurgents, Pfc. Olive and 4 other soldiers were moving through the jungle together with a grenade was thrown into their midst. Pfc. Olive saw the grenade, and then saved the lives of his fellow soldiers at the sacrifice of his by grabbing the grenade in his hand and falling on it to absorb the blast with his body. Through his bravery, unhesitating actions, and complete disregard for his safety, he prevented additional loss of life or injury to the members of his platoon. Pfc. Olive’s extraordinary heroism, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
