https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/11/02/november-2/2 November
1675 – Plymouth Colony governor Josiah Winslow leads a colonial militia against the Narragansett during King Philip’s War.
1772 – The first Committees of Correspondence were formed in Massachusetts under Samuel Adams.
1783 – Gen. George Washington issued his “Farewell Address to the Army” near Princeton, N.J.
1795 – James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States, was born in Mecklenburg County, N.C. The career of the eleventh U.S. President reflected and fulfilled the young nation’s commitment to westward expansion. The son of a North Carolina farmer and surveyor, James Knox Polk was ten years old when his family moved across the Appalachian Mountains. Growing up on the Tennessee frontier, he inherited his neighbors’ work ethic, resourcefulness, and democratic ideals. Although young James was accustomed to the rigors of frontier life, he lacked physical stamina. Shortly before his seventeenth birthday, he needed surgery for stones in his urinary bladder. The successful operation, performed by noted Kentucky surgeon Ephraim McDowell, enabled James to pursue an education with renewed enthusiasm. After only two and a half years of formal schooling in Tennessee, James K. Polk was admitted to the University of North Carolina as a sophomore. His college studies and his membership in a debating society helped nurture his growing interest in law and government. He graduated with top honors in mathematics and the classics, and returned to Tennessee determined to become a lawyer. To receive legal training, he worked in the office of renowned Nashville trial attorney Felix Grundy and served as clerk of the Tennessee Senate. Diligent and ambitious, James soon established a law practice in Columbia, Tennessee. Encouraged by his early professional success, he turned his attention to politics. At age twenty-seven, he defeated an incumbent for a seat in the Tennessee Legislature. While serving as a State Representative, he courted and eventually married Sarah Childress, the daughter of a prominent Murfreesboro merchant and planter. An educated lady whose intellect and social grace impressed contemporaries, Sarah became James K. Polk’s personal and political confidante. Her active involvement in her husband’s campaigns helped ensure his victories. Fervently supporting the policies of fellow Tennessee Democrat Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk was elected to the U.S. Congress at age twenty-nine. His Congressional career lasted fourteen years and included two terms as Speaker of the House. While working in Washington, he remained keenly interested in state politics. Concerned that the Whig Party was becoming increasingly popular in Tennessee, he returned home and successfully ran for the governorship. After one two-year term, he twice failed to be re-elected. Although rivals reasonably assumed that his political influence had peaked, James K. Polk stayed active in Democratic politics and shrewdly sought opportunities to revive his career. Despite James K. Polk’s political frustrations in Tennessee in the 1840’s, nationally prominent Democrats had not forgotten his partisan dedication. Delegates to the 1844 Democratic Convention viewed him as a possible Vice President. When the party’s leading Presidential contenders Martin Van Buren and Lewis Cass failed to attract sufficient support to win the nomination, the deadlocked convention needed a compromise candidate. The Democrats’ “dark horse” nominee was James K. Polk. Challenging the well-known Whig candidate Henry Clay in the 1844 Presidential election, Polk promised to actively encourage America’s westward expansion. He favored Texas statehood and the acquisition of the Oregon Territory. Although critics expressed concern that aggressive expansionism might lead to a war with Great Britain or Mexico and might destroy the tenuous balance between free states and slave states, a majority of Americans accepted Polk’s vision of a continental nation. With political forcefulness and savvy, President Polk tirelessly pursued his ambitious goals. Tense negotiations with Great Britain concluded with American annexation of the Oregon Territory south of the 49th Parallel. Following a controversial two-year war, Mexico ceded New Mexico and California to the United States. During Polk’s term of office, the United States acquired over 800,000 square miles of western territory and extended its boundary to the Pacific Ocean. The Polk Administration also achieved economic objectives by lowering tariffs and establishing an independent Federal Treasury. True to his campaign pledge to serve only one term as President, James K. Polk left office and returned to Tennessee in March, 1849. The nation’s expansionist aims had been realized. When Polk died of cholera three months later, thousands of Americans were rushing west in search of California gold.
1810 – Andrew Atkinson Humphreys (d.1883), Maj. Gen. (Union volunteers), was born. American soldier and engineer, was born at Philadelphia on the 2nd of November 1810. He was the son of Samuel Humphreys (1778-1846), chief constructor U.S.N., and grandson of Joshua Humphreys (1751-1838), the designer of the Constitution and other famous frigates of the war of 1812, sometimes known as the father of the American navy. Graduating from West Point in 1831, he served with the 2nd Artillery in the Florida war in 1835. He resigned soon afterwards and devoted himself to civil engineering. In 1838 he returned to the army for survey duties, and from 1842 to 1849 was assistant in charge of the Coast Survey Office. Later he did similar work in the valley of the Mississippi, and, with Lt. H. L. Abbott, produced in 186i a valuable Report on the Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River. In connection with this work he visited Europe in 1851. In the earlier part of the Civil War Humphreys was employed as a topographical engineer with the Army of the Potomac, and rendered conspicuous services in the Seven Days Battles. It is stated that he selected the famous position of Malvern Hill, before which Lees army was defeated. Soon after this he was assigned to command a division of the V. corps, and at the battle of Fredericksburg he distinguished himself greatly in the last attack of Maryes heights. General Burnside recommended him for promotion to the rank of major-general U.S.V., which was not however awarded to Humphreys until after Gettysburg. He took part in the battle of Chancellorsville, and at Gettysburg commanded a division of the III. corps under Sickles. Upon Humphreys division fell the brunt of Lees attack on the second day, by which in the end the III. corps was dislodged from its advanced position. His handling of his division in this struggle excited great attention, and was compared to Sheridans work at Stone river. A few days later he became chief of staff to General Meade, and this position he held throughout the Wilderness campaign. Towards the end of the war General Humphreys succeeded General Hancock in command of the famous II. corps. The short campaign of 1865, which terminated in Lees surrender, afforded him a greater opportunity of showing his capacity for leadership. His corps played a conspicuous part in the final operations around Petersburg, and the credit of the vigorous and relentless pursuit of Lees army may be claimed hardly less for Humphreys than for Sheridan. After the war, now brevet major-general, he returned to regular engineer duty as chief engineer of the U.S. army, and retired in 1879. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society (1857) and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1863), and received the degree of LL.D. from Harvard University in 1868. He died at Washington on the 27th of December 1883. Amongst his works may be mentioned From Gettysburg to the Rapidan (1882) and The Virginia Campaigns of 1864-1865 (1882).
1811 – Battle of Tippecanoe: Gen William Henry Harrison routed Indians. Following the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in summer 1795, relative peace prevailed between the white settlers and the natives of the Old Northwest. The Washington and Adams administrations at least paid lip service to the terms of the treaty, but Jefferson (the great agrarian philosopher) sought additional lands for American farmers through a series of purchases from the tribes. Not all the frontiersmen bothered with the niceties of treaties and simply occupied Indian lands illegally. Not without reason, resentment among the tribes ran high. In 1808, Tecumseh, a Shawnee chieftain, and his brother Tenskwatawa (known to the Americans as The Prophet) launched a reform movement among their people. They attempted to end the sale of additional lands to the whites and to resist alcohol and other troublesome temptations of the competing culture. A new native settlement was built at the confluence of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers (north of present-day Lafayette, Indiana) and became known as Prophet’s Town. The village became the focal point of Tecumseh’s effort to rally the tribes east of the Mississippi River in the hope of halting the spread of white settlements. William Henry Harrison was governor of the Indiana Territory and superintendent of the Northwest Indians. Fearing the growing strength of Tecumseh’s confederacy, Harrison decided to strike quickly. He marched an army of 1,100 men along the Wabash toward Prophet’s Town. Tecumseh was temporarily out of the area on a recruiting venture among the Creeks in the south, but his brother prepared the men for battle with fiery oratory—including promises that they could not be harmed by the white men’s bullets. Shortly before dawn on November 7, 1811, Harrison’s soldiers were attacked. After a two-hour battle, the natives were forced to flee and their village-the gathering spot of the confederacy-was destroyed.
1820 – The Revenue cutter Louisiana captured five pirate vessels during a cruise from Florida to Cuba.
1824 – Popular presidential vote was 1st recorded; Jackson beat J.Q. Adams. Gen. Jackson won the popular vote followed by John Quincy Adams, William Crawford and Henry Clay. Jackson won 99 electoral votes, Adams won 84, Crawford won 41 and Clay won 37. Crawford, Treasury secretary, was accused of malfeasance. Henry Clay was denounced for passing days gambling and nights in a brothel. Clay convinced his supporters in congress to vote for Adams. The House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams, who chose Clay for vice president. A furious Jackson proceeded to help found the Democratic Party.
1852 – Franklin Pierce was elected US president over Gen’l. Winfield Scott, who ran as a Whig. In 1852, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution giving Scott the pay and rank of a lieutenant general. Scott was the first to hold this rank since George Washington.
1861 – Controversial Union General John C. Fremont is relieved of command in the Western Department and replaced by David Hunter. Fremont was one of the most prominent Union generals at the start of the war. Born in Georgia and raised in South Carolina, he joined the military in 1838 and helped map the upper Mississippi River. He made a significant career move in 1841 when he married Jesse Benton, the daughter of powerful Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton. At first, the senator objected to the marriage, but he soon became Fremont’s staunchest supporter. With his father-in-law’s help, Fremont secured leadership of two famous expeditions to the West in the 1840s. He became involved in politics in the 1850s and was the fledgling Republican Party’s first presidential candidate in 1856. When the war started in 1861, Fremont became a major general in command of the Western Department based in St. Louis. In August 1861, the Union suffered a stunning defeat when an army under General Nathaniel Lyon was routed at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in southwestern Missouri. Many criticized Fremont for failing to provide proper support for Lyon, who was killed in the battle. In response, Fremont took action to demonstrate his control over the region. He declared martial law and proclaimed freedom for all slaves in Missouri. In doing so, he placed the Lincoln administration in a difficult position. Lincoln was trying to keep the Border States (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri) from seceding from the Union. With the exception of Delaware, these states contained substantial numbers of slaveholders, and opinion over the issue of slavery was evenly divided. Fremont’s freeing of slaves threatened to destroy the balance and send these states into the hands of the Confederacy. Of particular concern was Kentucky, Lincoln’s native state. It was of vital strategic importance and the movement for secession there was very strong. Fremont’s actions in Missouri fueled secessionist spirit and alienated many Northerners who were unwilling to wage a war to end slavery. Lincoln requested privately that Fremont rescind the order, but he refused. Lincoln had no choice but to negate the order of emancipation and remove Fremont from command in the west. Fremont still had many supporters, so Lincoln placed him in charge of a small army in Virginia. He had little success in the Shenandoah Valley, where he was pitted against the brilliant Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. Fremont resigned in 1862 after Jackson defeated his force, and Fremont’s army was merged with the command of General John Pope, a longtime rival. Some Republican allies urged Fremont to challenge Lincoln for the 1864 presidential nomination, but Fremont declined. After the war, he served as territorial governor of Arizona and died in New York in 1890.
1865 – Warren Gamaliel Harding, the 29th president of the United States (1921-1923), was born near Corsica, Ohio. After attending Ohio Central College, Harding became interested in journalism and in 1884 bought the Marion (Ohio) Star. In 1891 he married a wealthy widow, Florence Kling De Wolfe. As his paper prospered, he entered Republican politics, serving as state senator (1899–1903) and as lieutenant governor (1904–06). In 1910, he was defeated for governor, but in 1914 was elected to the Senate. His reputation as an orator made him the keynoter at the 1916 Republican convention. When the 1920 convention was deadlocked between Leonard Wood and Frank O. Lowden, Harding became the dark-horse nominee on his solemn affirmation that there was no reason in his past that he should not be. Straddling the League question, Harding was easily elected over James M. Cox, his Democratic opponent. His cabinet contained some able men, but also some manifestly unfit for public office. Harding’s own intimates were mediocre when they were not corrupt. The impending disclosure of the Teapot Dome scandal in the Interior Department and illegal practices in the Justice Department and Veterans’ Bureau, as well as political setbacks, profoundly worried him. On his return from Alaska in 1923, he died unexpectedly in San Francisco on Aug. 2.
1880 – James A. Garfield was elected 20th president. During the Civil War, Garfield was a commander at the bloody fight at Chickamauga. The election was close, with Republican James Garfield getting 48.27% to Democrat Winfield Hancock‘s 48.25% and a difference of less than 2,000 vote. Garfield was shot by a disgruntled office seeker four months into his presidency.
1889 – North Dakota was made the 39th state. It is located in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north, the states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. The state capital is Bismarck, and the largest city is Fargo.
1889 – South Dakota is made the 40th state. South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as “East River” and “West River”. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state’s population, and fertile soil in this area is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are located in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is located there.
1892 – Lawmen and soldiers surrounded outlaws Ned Christie and Arch Wolf near Tahlequah, Indian Country (present-day Oklahoma). It would take dynamite and a cannon to dislodge the two from their cabin.
1917 – In the Lansing-Ishii Agreement the US recognized Japan’s privileges in China. Relations between the United States and Japan worsened during the early years of World War I. The U.S. regarded itself as a Pacific power, having acquired territory there in the years following the Spanish-American War. Japanese actions in the area were regarded as heavy-handed and threatening to American interests, particularly the following: Shortly after the outbreak of war, Japan had seized German holdings on the Shantung Peninsula in China. In early 1915, Japan issued Twenty-One Demands that imposed heavy burdens on China and posed a threat to the continuance of the Open Door Policy; Wilson’s secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, sharply protested this Japanese action. In 1915, Japan concluded a secret treaty with the British that established a plan for dividing German holdings in the Pacific between the two powers. Not surprisingly, the Japanese viewed matters differently. They felt that the Far East was their sphere of influence and resented the American presence in the Philippines and elsewhere in the Pacific. They also were sensitive to the blatant racial discrimination their citizens were exposed to in the United States. In September 1917, Viscount Kikujiro Ishii was sent to Washington to engage Secretary of State Robert Lansing in talks to improve relations. The ensuing agreement provided the following: The United States recognized that Japan had “special interests” in China. Unfortunately, when the Lansing-Ishii Agreement was translated into Chinese, the word special became paramount, which caused future confusion and disagreement. Japan stated its “respect” for the Open Door Policy and Chinese territorial integrity. This ambiguous understanding brought much criticism to Lansing, perhaps unfairly so. He regarded the agreement as the first step in an on-going process and anticipated that more meaningful terms would be negotiated in the future. He also was facing the sobering reality that Japan was being courted by Germany, which hoped to detach Japan from the other Allies; the secretary dared not press Japan too hard. As a result of the Lansing-Ishii talks, Japan believed that their political control of China had been recognized by the U.S. and that their hands were free to take any necessary actions. The United States, to the contrary, believed that they had recognized only economic rights for Japan in China. Tensions were further heightened at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, when the U.S. refused to include a condemnation of racial discrimination the Covenant of the League of Nations. Adding fuel to the fire was the Allied intervention in Russia (1917-22), in which Japan dispatched a huge military force, prompting fears of Japanese territorial expansion. Efforts would later be made to improve the relationship between the two countries in the postwar Washington Conference (1921-22). The Lansing-Ishii Agreement was formally annulled in April 1923, but Japan and the U.S. continued to disagree on their respective roles in the Pacific.
1918 – Americans capture Buzancy. The 2nd Division marches right through the enemy positions and advances another five miles.
1920 – Warren G. Harding was elected 29th president. He defeated James Cox. The election campaign was primarily a referendum on the Wilson presidency and the League of Nations. Cox supported it fully, while Harding did not make his position clear. Harding supported prohibition and Cox opposed it. Cox ran a vigorous campaign, while Harding ran a mostly a front porch campaign. Cox’s efforts and that of his hard campaigning Vice Presidential candidate had little effect. Ultimately, the weariness of the nation determined the election in favor of Harding, who obtained an overwhelming victory.
1920 – Pittsburgh radio station KDKA broadcast the results of the 1920 presidential race between Warren G. Harding and James M. Cox. This was the first significant public radio news broadcast. The following year, Americans spent $10 million on radios. By 1922, some 500 radio stations were broadcasting programs, and the era of electronic entertainment had begun.
1923 – US Navy aviator, H.J. Brown, set new world speed record of 259 mph in a Curtiss racer.
1931 – VS-14M on the USS Saratoga and VS-15M on the USS Lexington were the first Marine carrier-based squadrons.1942 – Lt. General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in Gibraltar to set up an American command post for the invasion of North Africa, Operation Torch.
1936 – Italian dictator Benito Mussolini proclaims the Rome-Berlin Axis, establishing the alliance of the Axis powers.
1942 – On Guadalcanal, the “Tokyo Express,” the flotilla of Japanese destroyers supplying their forces, begins to be very active. The American advance in the west continues slowly with some successes.
1943 – The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay in Bougainville ended in U.S. Navy victory over Japan. US Task Force 39 detects the approach of the Japanese cruiser squadron led by Admiral Omori (steaming from Rabaul in New Britain Island to Bougainville), shortly after midnight. In the engagement that follows the Japanese lose 1 cruiser and 1 destroyer and most of the other ships are damaged. The Americans suffer damage to 2 cruisers and 2 destroyers. However, the Japanese force abandons its mission. On Bougainville, the US 3rd Marine Division expands its beachhead. During the day, Japanese aircraft attack the ships of US Task Force 39 without success. Aircraft from US Task Force 38 raid Buna and Buka. Meanwhile, the US 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion on Choiseul continues to engage Japanese forces. This is a diversion from the attack on Bougainville.
1943 – The Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain is raided by about 160 land-based aircraft of the US 5th Air Force. About 20 planes on each side. Three ships are sunk in the harbor.
1943 – On the west coast of the Trigno River in Italy, the US 5th Army continues its slow advance. Elements of the British 10th Corps reach Garigliano.1944 – Auschwitz began gassing inmates.
1944 – Elements of the US 5th Army take Casseta, south of Bologna.
1944 – During the day, the US 8th Air Force attacks the Leuna synthetic oil plant at Merseburg. The Americans claim 183 German fighters (including 4 jets) destroyed for the loss of 40 bombers and 28 fighters (including losses to antiaircraft defenses). During the night, Bomber Command attacks Dusseldorf with 992 bombers as well as sending smaller forces to strike other targets. A total of 20 planes are reported lost in all operations.1948 – President Truman was elected 33rd president in an upset for prognosticators. During the presidential election campaign in 1948, almost everyone expected New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey to win and few had faith in a victory for incumbent Harry S. Truman. While Truman went on a “whistle stop” tour across the United States, giving more than 350 speeches, Dewey’s confident campaign was more reserved. The Chicago Daily Tribune had been so sure of Dewey’s victory that they had printed front-page “Dewey Defeats Truman” articles before the final results were in. Truman defeated Dewey by 2.2 million popular votes and 114 electoral votes. Prof. Frank Kofsky later wrote “Harry Truman and the War Scare of 1948.” Henry Wallace was the candidate for the Progressive Party.
1950 – After offering stiff resistance to troops of the 7th Marines south of the Chosin (Changjin) Reservoir, the Chinese 124th Division withdrew into the mountains.
1957 – The Levelland UFO Case in Levelland, Texas, generates national publicity. The Levelland UFO Case occurred in and around the small town of Levelland, Texas. Levelland, which in 1957 had a population of about 10,000, is located west of Lubbock on the flat prairie of the Texas panhandle. The case is considered by ufologists to be one of the most impressive in UFO history, mainly because of the large number of witnesses involved over a relatively short period of time. However, both the US Air Force and UFO skeptics have labeled the incident as being caused by either ball lightning or a severe electrical storm.
1962 – Pres. Kennedy reported that Soviet missile bases in Cuba were being dismantled.
1962 – LtCol John H. Glenn (first American to orbit the earth and the world’s only septuagenarian astronaut) became first recipient of the Alfred A. Cunningham Trophy for outstanding Marine pilots.
1963 – Following the overthrow of his government by South Vietnamese military forces the day before, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. At about 0600, Diem begins negotiating with the generals, who have assured Lodge that Diem’s life will be spared. Diem finally agrees to surrender, and a US-build M113 armored personnel carrier is sent to pick him up with his brother, Nhu, form St. DFrancis Xavier Church in Cholon. Major Duong Huu Nghia and General Minh’s bodyguard, Captain Nhung, murder Diem and Nhu on their way to staff headquarters, at Minh’s order. President Kennedy is shocked. Saigon rejoices as prisoners are released. In the countryside, peasants demolish the strategic hamlets. Ambassador Lodge calls the insurgent generals to his office to congratulate them, and cables Kennedy that the prospects are for a shorter war. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. The United States subsequently became more heavily involved in Vietnam as it tried to stabilize the South Vietnamese government and beat back the communist rebels that were becoming an increasingly powerful threat. While the United States publicly disclaimed any knowledge of or participation in the planning of the coup that overthrew Diem, it was later revealed that American officials met with the generals who organized the plot and gave them encouragement to go through with their plans. Quite simply, Diem was perceived as an impediment to the accomplishment of U.S. goals in Southeast Asia. His increasingly dictatorial rule only succeeded in alienating most of the South Vietnamese people, and his brutal repression of protests led by Buddhist monks during the summer of 1963 convinced many American officials that the time had come for Diem to go. Three weeks later, an assassin shot President Kennedy. By then, the United States was more heavily involved in the South Vietnamese quagmire than ever. Its participation in the overthrow of the Diem regime signaled a growing impatience with South Vietnamese management of the war. From this point on, the United States moved step by step to become more directly and heavily involved in the fight against the communist rebels.
1967 – President Johnson holds a secret meeting with some of the nation’s most prestigious leaders, who were collectively called “the Wise Men.” This group included former Secretary of State Dean Acheson, General of the Army Omar Bradley, Ambassador-at-Large Averell Harriman, and former Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge. Johnson asked them for advice on how to unite the U.S. in the Vietnam War effort. They reached the conclusion that the administration needed to offer “ways of guiding the press to show the light at the end of the tunnel.” In effect, they decided that the American people should be given more optimistic reports. When Johnson agreed, the administration, which included senior U.S. military commander in Saigon Gen. William Westmoreland, began to paint a more positive picture of the situation in South Vietnam. In early 1968, this decision came back to haunt Johnson and Westmoreland when the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched a major surprise attack on January 30, the start of the Tet New Year holiday. Stunned by the scope of the Communist attack after the administration had painted such an upbeat picture of Allied progress in the war, many Americans began to question the credibility of the president and antiwar sentiment increased significantly.
1968 – Operation Search Turn began in Mekong Delta. The first of the SEA LORDS barrier campaigns was a five-day US and Vietnamese Navy operation to interdict the waterways and canals in Kien Giang Province along the Cambodian border and to secure the canals running between Ha Tien and Rach Gia.
1976 – Former Georgia Gov. (James Earl) Jimmy Carter defeated Republican incumbent Gerald R. Ford. He became the 39th president and the first from the Deep South since the Civil War. The general election campaign began with Ford trailing by over 30 points. Ford managed cut Carters lead after the first debate by 10 points. In the second debate Ford made a major mistake in the second debate by saying that Eastern Europe was free from Soviet domination. Carter got into problems after giving a Playboy interview in which he talked candidly about lust in his heart. Carter campaigned as an outsider intent on cleaning up Washington. Carter won a very narrow victory over Ford.
1986 – Kidnappers in Lebanon released American hospital administrator David Jacobsen after holding him for 17 months.
1988 – The Morris worm, the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention, is launched from MIT. According to its creator, the Morris worm was not written to cause damage, but to gauge the size of the Internet. The worm was released from MIT to disguise the fact that the worm originally came from Cornell. It worked by exploiting known vulnerabilities in Unix sendmail, finger, and rsh/rexec, as well as weak passwords. Due to reliance on rsh (normally disabled on untrusted networks); fixes to sendmail, finger, and rsh; and improved awareness of the dangers of weak passwords, it should not succeed on a recent, properly configured system. A supposedly unintended consequence of the code, however, caused it to be more damaging: a computer could be infected multiple times and each additional process would slow the machine down, eventually to the point of being unusable.
1990 – The White House announced that President Bush planned to spend Thanksgiving with American GI’s in Saudi Arabia.
1997 – Iraq barred two American weapons experts from entering the country, the second such refusal in a week. The UN decided to send a 3-man delegation to Iraq remind Sadam of his obligation to comply with council resolutions.
2000 – A US and British air strike in southern Iraq wounded 3 people.
2000 – An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts became the first residents of the international space station, christening it “Alpha” at the start of their four-month mission.
2001 – President George W. Bush, saying the war in Afghanistan was unravelling Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, chided critics for clamoring for more action, and said the U.S. military campaign would not pause for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
2001 – A US helicopter crashed due to weather in northern Afghanistan. 4 crew members were injured and retrieved by another helicopter.
2001 – A 17th case of anthrax was reported in a NY Post employee.
2001 – NYC firefighters and police engaged in a scuffle as firefighters protested a limit to the number of firefighters working to retrieve their dead at the WTC disaster site.
2002 – Pres. Bush called Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a “dangerous man” with links to terrorist networks, and said that UN inspections for weapons of mass destruction were critical.
2002 – Kuwait closed the office of Al-Jazeera, the Arab world’s most popular satellite TV network, claiming it was “not objective.”
2003 – In Havana, Cuba, 71 American firms from 18 states and Puerto Rico opened trade fair displays under an exception in a 42-year US trade embargo.
2003 – In central Iraq insurgents shot down a US Chinook helicopter as it carried troops headed for R&R, killing 15 soldiers and wounding 21. Attacks on US troops reached 33 a day.
2004 – Afghan fighting killed at least 11 as troops tried to disarm southern militias.
2004 – It was reported that some 3,000 Arab intellectuals had signed a petition calling for an int’l. court to try Muslim clerics who encourage terrorism.
2004 – A car bomb exploded near the Ministry of Education in a busy Baghdad commercial area, killing at least eight people and wounding 29 others. A car bomb in Mosul killed 4 civilians. Insurgents blew up a northern oil export pipeline.
Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BOLTON, CECIL H.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company E, 413th Infantry, 104th Infantry Division. Place and date: Mark River, Holland, 2 November 1944. Entered service at: Huntsville, Ala. Birth: Crawfordsville, Fla. G.O. No.: 74, 1 September 1945. Citation: As leader of the weapons platoon of Company E, 413th Infantry, on the night of 2 November 1944, he fought gallantly in a pitched battle which followed the crossing of the Mark River in Holland. When 2 machineguns pinned down his company, he tried to eliminate, with mortar fire, their grazing fire which was inflicting serious casualties and preventing the company’s advance from an area rocked by artillery shelling. In the moonlight it was impossible for him to locate accurately the enemy’s camouflaged positions; but he continued to direct fire until wounded severely in the legs and rendered unconscious by a German shell. When he recovered consciousness he instructed his unit and then crawled to the forward rifle platoon positions. Taking a two-man bazooka team on his voluntary mission, he advanced chest deep in chilling water along a canal toward 1 enemy machinegun. While the bazooka team covered him, he approached alone to within 15 yards of the hostile emplacement in a house. He charged the remaining distance and killed the 2 gunners with hand grenades. Returning to his men he led them through intense fire over open ground to assault the second German machinegun. An enemy sniper who tried to block the way was dispatched, and the trio pressed on. When discovered by the machinegun crew and subjected to direct fire, 1st Lt. Bolton killed 1 of the 3 gunners with carbine fire, and his 2 comrades shot the others. Continuing to disregard his wounds, he led the bazooka team toward an 88-mm. artillery piece which was having telling effect on the American ranks, and approached once more through icy canal water until he could dimly make out the gun’s silhouette. Under his fire direction, the two soldiers knocked out the enemy weapon with rockets. On the way back to his own lines he was again wounded. To prevent his men being longer subjected to deadly fire, he refused aid and ordered them back to safety, painfully crawling after them until he reached his lines, where he collapsed. 1st Lt. Bolton’s heroic assaults in the face of vicious fire, his inspiring leadership, and continued aggressiveness even through suffering from serious wounds, contributed in large measure to overcoming strong enemy resistance and made it possible for his battalion to reach its objective.
*FEMOYER, ROBERT E. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, 711th Bombing Squadron, 447th Bomber Group, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Over Merseburg, Germany, 2 November 1944. Entered service at: Jacksonville, Fla. Born: 31 October 1921, Huntington, W. Va. G.O. No.: 35, 9 May 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Merseburg, Germany, on 2 November 1944. While on a mission, the bomber, of which 2d Lt. Femoyer was the navigator, was struck by 3 enemy antiaircraft shells. The plane suffered serious damage and 2d Lt. Femoyer was severely wounded in the side and back by shell fragments which penetrated his body. In spite of extreme pain and great loss of blood he refused an offered injection of morphine. He was determined to keep his mental faculties clear in order that he might direct his plane out of danger and so save his comrades. Not being able to arise from the floor, he asked to be propped up in order to enable him to see his charts and instruments. He successfully directed the navigation of his lone bomber for 2 1/2 hours so well it avoided enemy flak and returned to the field without further damage. Only when the plane had arrived in the safe area over the English Channel did he feel that he had accomplished his objective; then, and only then, he permitted an injection of a sedative. He died shortly after being removed from the plane. The heroism and self-sacrifice of 2d Lt. Femoyer are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.
*WILKINS, RAYMOND H. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Near Rabaul, New Britain, 2 November 1943. Entered service at: Portsmouth, Va. Born: 28 September 1917, Portsmouth, Va. G.O. No.: 23, 24 March 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Rabaul, New Britain, on 2 November 1943. Leading his squadron in an attack on shipping in Simpson Harbor, during which intense antiaircraft fire was expected, Maj. Wilkins briefed his squadron so that his airplane would be in the position of greatest risk. His squadron was the last of 3 in the group to enter the target area. Smoke from bombs dropped by preceding aircraft necessitated a last-second revision of tactics on his part, which still enabled his squadron to strike vital shipping targets, but forced it to approach through concentrated fire, and increased the danger of Maj. Wilkins’ left flank position. His airplane was hit almost immediately, the right wing damaged, and control rendered extremely difficult. Although he could have withdrawn, he held fast and led his squadron into the attack. He strafed a group of small harbor vessels, and then, at low level, attacked an enemy destroyer. His 1,000 pound bomb struck squarely amidships, causing the vessel to explode. Although antiaircraft fire from this vessel had seriously damaged his left vertical stabilizer, he refused to deviate from the course. From below-masthead height he attacked a transport of some 9,000 tons, scoring a hit which engulfed the ship in flames. Bombs expended, he began to withdraw his squadron. A heavy cruiser barred the path. Unhesitatingly, to neutralize the cruiser s guns and attract its fire, he went in for a strafing run. His damaged stabilizer was completely shot off. To avoid swerving into his wing planes he had to turn so as to expose the belly and full wing surfaces of his plane to the enemy fire; it caught and crumpled his left wing. Now past control, the bomber crashed into the sea. In the fierce engagement Maj. Wilkins destroyed 2 enemy vessels, and his heroic self-sacrifice made possible the safe withdrawal of the remaining planes of his squadron.
VAN WINKLE, ARCHIE
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Vicinity of Sudong, Korea, 2 November 1950. Entered service at: Arlington, Wash. Born: 17 March 1925, Juneau, Alaska. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a platoon sergeant in Company B, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Immediately rallying the men in his area after a fanatical and numerically superior enemy force penetrated the center of the line under cover of darkness and pinned down the platoon with a devastating barrage of deadly automatic weapons and grenade fire, S/Sgt. Van Winkle boldly spearheaded a determined attack through withering fire against hostile frontal positions and, though he and all the others who charged with him were wounded, succeeded in enabling his platoon to gain the fire superiority and the opportunity to reorganize. Realizing that the left flank squad was isolated from the rest of the unit, he rushed through 40 yards of fierce enemy fire to reunite his troops despite an elbow wound which rendered 1 of his arms totally useless. Severely wounded a second time when a direct hit in the chest from a hostile hand grenade caused serious and painful wounds, he staunchly refused evacuation and continued to shout orders and words of encouragement to his depleted and battered platoon. Finally carried from his position unconscious from shock and from loss of blood, S/Sgt. Van Winkle served to inspire all who observed him to heroic efforts in successfully repulsing the enemy attack. His superb leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and unfaltering devotion to duty in the face of heavy odds reflect the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service.
