https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/11/05/november-5/5 November
1639 – 1st post office in the colonies opened in Massachusetts.
1653 – The Iroquois League signed a peace treaty with the French, vowing not to wage war with other tribes under French protection.
1768 – William Johnson, the northern Indian Commissioner, signed the Treaty of Fort Stanwix with the Iroquois Indians to acquire much of the land between the Tennessee and Ohio rivers for future settlement.
1780 – French-American forces under Colonel LaBalme are defeated by Miami Chief Little Turtle.
1782 – The Continental Congress elected John Hanson of Maryland its chairman, giving him the title of “President of the United States in Congress Assembled.” Hanson was born in Charles county, Maryland, in 1715; died in Oxen Hills, Prince George County, Maryland, 22 November, 1783. He received an English education, and was a member of the Maryland house of delegates nearly every year from 1757 till 1781. He removed to Frederick county in 1773, was an active patriot, and in 1775 was treasurer of the county. About that time he was commissioned by the Maryland convention to establish a gun-lock factory at Frederick. On 9 October, 1776. he was one of a committee to go to the camp of the Maryland troops in New Jersey, “with power to appoint officers and to encourage the re-enlistment of the Maryland militia.”, he was a delegate to the United States in Congress Assembled from 1781 till his death. President Hanson served one year as the US President and in that capacity gave Washington the thanks of congress for the victory at Yorktown. President Hanson was the first to utilize the title President of the United States in Congress Assembled. As the President of United States in Congress Assembled, Hanson was responsible for initiating a number of programs that helped American gain a world position. During his tenure the first consular service was established, a post office department was initiated, a national bank was chartered, progress was made towards taking the first census, and a uniform system of coinage was adopted. As “President,” Hanson also signed a treaty with Holland affirming the indebtedness of the United States for a loan from that country. In addition, he signed all laws, regulations, official papers, and letters.
1814 – Having decided to abandon the Niagara frontier, the American army blew up Fort Erie and withdrew to Buffalo.
1818 – Benjamin Franklin (“Beast”) Butler (d.1893), Maj. General (Union volunteers), was born. American politician and Union general in the Civil War, b. Deerfield, N.H. He moved to Lowell, Mass., as a youth and later practiced law there and in Boston. He was elected to the state legislature in 1852 and 1858 and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1859 and 1860. Butler was a Democrat but a strong Unionist. At the beginning of the Civil War his contingent of Massachusetts militia was one of the first to reach Washington. He restored order (May, 1861) in secessionist Baltimore and was given command at Fort Monroe. He commanded the troops that accompanied Admiral Farragut in taking New Orleans and was made military governor of the city. There his highhanded rule (May–Dec., 1862) infuriated the people of New Orleans and the South and earned him the name “Beast.” The government, severely criticized both at home and abroad for his actions, finally removed him. In May, 1864, as commander of the Army of the James, Butler was defeated by Beauregard at Drewry’s Bluff and was bottled up at Bermuda Hundred until Grant crossed the James in June. After he failed to take Fort Fisher in Dec., 1864, he was removed from active command. From 1867 to 1875 Butler, by then a rabid radical Republican, was in Congress. He was one of the House managers who conducted the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson, and he ardently advocated the party’s Reconstruction policy. He was said to have great influence with President Grant. Butler was (1877–79) an independent Greenbacker in Congress. After several unsuccessful attempts to secure the governorship of Massachusetts, he was elected by the Greenbackers and Democrats in 1882. In 1884 he received the nominations of the Anti-Monopoly and Greenback parties for President. Regarded by many as an unprincipled demagogue of great ability, Butler aroused intense antagonisms and was nearly always in controversy.
1831 – Nat Turner, American slave leader, is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in Virginia.
1862 – In Minnesota, more than 300 Santee Sioux are found guilty of raping and murdering Anglo settlers and are sentenced to hang. A month later, President Abraham Lincoln commuted all but 39 of the death sentences. One of the Indians was granted a last-minute reprieve, but the other 38 were hanged simultaneously on December 26 in a bizarre mass execution witnessed by a large crowd of approving Minnesotans. The Santee Sioux were found guilty of joining in the so-called “Minnesota Uprising,” which was actually part of the wider Indian wars that plagued the West during the second half of the nineteenth century. For nearly half a century, Anglo settlers invaded the Santee Sioux territory in the beautiful Minnesota Valley, and government pressure gradually forced the Indians to relocate to smaller reservations along the Minnesota River. At the reservations, the Santee were badly mistreated by corrupt federal Indian agents and contractors; during July 1862, the agents pushed the Indians to the brink of starvation by refusing to distribute stores of food because they had not yet received their customary kickback payments. The contractors callously ignored the Santee’s pleas for help. Outraged and at the limits of their endurance, the Santee finally struck back, killing Anglo settlers and taking women as hostages. The initial efforts of the U.S. Army to stop the Santee warriors failed, and in a battle at Birch Coulee, Santee Sioux killed 13 American soldiers and wounded another 47 soldiers. However, on September 23, a force under the leadership of General Henry H. Sibley finally defeated the main body of Santee warriors at Wood Lake, recovering many of the hostages and forcing most of the Indians to surrender. The subsequent trials of the prisoners gave little attention to the injustices the Indians had suffered on the reservations and largely catered to the popular desire for revenge. However, President Lincoln’s commutation of the majority of the death sentences clearly reflected his understanding that the Minnesota Uprising had been rooted in a long history of Anglo abuse of the Santee Sioux.
1862 – President Abraham Lincoln relieved General George McClellan of command of the Union armies and named Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside commander of the Army of the Potomac. A tortured relationship ends when President Lincoln removes General George B. McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan ably built the army in the early stages of the war but was a sluggish and paranoid field commander who seemed unable to muster the courage to aggressively engage General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. McClellan was a promising commander who served as a railroad president before the war. In the early stages of the conflict, troops under McClellan’s command scored several important victories in the struggle for western Virginia. Lincoln summoned “Young Napoleon,” as some called the general, to Washington to take control of the Army of the Potomac a few days after its humiliating defeat at the Battle of First Bull Run in July. Over the next nine months, McClellan capably built a splendid army, drilling his troops and assembling an efficient command structure. He also developed extreme contempt for the president, and he often dismissed Lincoln’s suggestions out of hand. In 1862, McClellan led the army down Chesapeake Bay to the James Peninsula, southeast of the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. During this campaign, he exhibited the timidity and sluggishness that later doomed him. During the Seven Days’ battles, McClellan was poised near Richmond but retreated when faced with a series of attacks by Lee. McClellan always believed that he was vastly outnumbered, though he actually had the numerical advantage. He spent the rest of the summer camped on the peninsula while Lincoln began moving much of his command to General John Pope’s Army of Virginia. After Lee defeated Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run in late August, he invaded Maryland. With the Confederates crashing into Union territory, Lincoln had no choice but to turn to McClellan to gather the reeling Yankee forces and stop Lee. On September 17, 1962, McClellan and Lee battled to a standstill along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg. Lee retreated back to Virginia and McClellan ignored Lincoln’s constant urging to pursue him. For six weeks, Lincoln and McClellan exchanged angry messages, but McClellan stubbornly refused to march after Lee. In late October, McClellan finally began moving across the Potomac in feeble pursuit of Lee, but he took nine days to complete the crossing. Lincoln had seen enough. Convinced that McClellan could never defeat Lee, Lincoln notified the general on November 4 of his removal. A few days later, Lincoln named General Ambrose Burnside to be the commander of the Army of the Potomac. After his removal, McClellan battled with Lincoln once more-for the presidency in 1864. McClellan won the Democratic nomination but was easily defeated by his old boss.
1872 – Ulysses S. Grant was re-elected US president. Incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant was easily elected to a second term in office despite a split within the Republican Party that resulted in a defection of many key Republicans to opponent Horace Greeley. On November 29, 1872, after the popular vote but before the electoral college was convened, Greeley died. As a result, electors previously committed to Greeley voted for four different candidates for President, and eight different candidates for Vice President. Despite the absence of life, Greeley himself still received three electoral votes, but these votes were disallowed by Congress. Henry Wilson, who was chosen by the Republicans to succeed Schuyler Colfax as Vice President, died on November 22, 1875.
1895 – George B. Selden received a patent for his gasoline-powered automobile, first conceived of when he was an infantryman in the American Civil War. After 16 years of delay, United States Patent No. 549,160 was finally issued to Selden for a machine he originally termed a “road-locomotive” and later would call a “road engine.” His design resembled a horse-drawn carriage, with high wheels and a buckboard, and was described by Selden as “light in weight, easy to control and possessed of sufficient power to overcome any ordinary incline.” With the granting of the patent, Selden, whose unpractical automotive designs were generally far behind other innovators in the field, nevertheless won a monopoly on the concept of combining an internal combustion engine with a carriage. Although Selden never became an auto manufacturer himself, every other automaker would have to pay Selden and his licensing company a significant percentage of their profits for the right to construct a motor car, even though their automobiles rarely resembled Selden’s designs in anything but abstract concept. In 1903, the newly created Ford Motor Company, which refused to pay royalties to Selden’s licensing company, was sued for infringement on the patent. Thus began one of the most celebrated litigation cases in the history of the automotive industry, ending in 1909 when a New York court upheld the validity of Selden’s patent. Henry Ford and his increasingly powerful company appealed the decision, and in 1911, the New York Court of Appeals again ruled in favor of Selden’s patent, but with a twist: the patent was held to be restricted to the particular outdated construction it described. In 1911, every important automaker used a motor significantly different from that described in Selden’s patent, and major manufacturers like the Ford Motor Company never paid Selden another dime.
1912 – Democrat Woodrow Wilson is elected the 28th president of the United States, with Thomas R. Marshall as vice president. In a landslide Democratic victory, Wilson won 435 electoral votes against the eight won by Republican incumbent William Howard Taft and the 88 won by Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt. The presidential election was the only one in American history in which two former presidents were defeated by another candidate. Highlights of Wilson’s two terms as president included his leadership during World War I, his 14-point proposal to end the conflict, and his championing of the League of Nations–an international organization formed to prevent future armed conflict.
1913 – After pleas for help from city leaders following continued rioting on Election Day, Governor Samuel Ralston called out the Indiana National Guard and put the city of Indianapolis under martial law. The Indianapolis Streetcar Strike of 1913 and the subsequent police mutiny and riots was a breakdown in public order in Indianapolis, Indiana. The events began as a workers strike by the union employees of the Indianapolis Traction & Terminal Company and their allies on Halloween night, October 31, 1913. The company was responsible for public transportation in Indianapolis, the capital city and transportation hub of the U.S. State of Indiana. The unionization effort was being organized by the Amalgamated Street Railway Employees of America who had successfully enforced strikes in other major United States cities. Company management suppressed the initial attempt by some of its employees to unionize and rejected an offer of mediation by the United States Department of Labor, which led to a rapid rise in tensions, and ultimately the strike. Government response to the strike was politically charged, as the strike began during the week leading up to public elections. The strike effectively shut down mass transit in the city and caused severe interruptions of statewide rail transportation and the 1913 city elections. A riot that lasted four days broke out on November 2 when strikebreakers attempted to restart transit services. At its height, eight to ten thousand rioters flooded downtown Indianapolis and vandalized the city’s main business district. Numerous workers, strikebreakers, policemen, and bystanders were injured. Two strikebreakers and four union members were killed. The city police were unable to control the situation and refused orders to combat the rioters as the violence worsened.
1915 – In AB-2 flying boat, LCDR Henry C. Mustin makes first underway catapult launch from a ship, USS North Carolina, at Pensacola Bay, FL.
1915 – Marines under Major Smedley D. Butler captured the stronghold at Fort Capois, Haiti. Butler led a reconnaissance force of twenty-six volunteers in pursuit of a Caco force that had killed ten Marines. Like the Cacos in the mountains, he and his men lived for days off the orange groves. For over a hundred miles they followed a trail of peels, estimating how long before the Cacos had passed by the dryness of the peels. A native guide they picked up helped them locate the Cacos’ headquarters, a secret fort called Capois, deep in the mountain range. Studying the mountaintop fort through field glasses, Butler made out thick stone walls, with enough activity to suggest they were defended by at least a regiment. He decided to return to Cape Haitien for reinforcements and capture it. On the way back they were ambushed by a force of Cacos that outnumbered them twenty to one. Fortunately it was a pitch-black night, and Butler was able to save his men by splitting them up to crawl past the Cacos’ lines through high grass. Just before dawn he reorganized them into three squads of nine men each. Charging from three directions as they yelled wildly and fired from the hip, they created such a fearful din that the Cacos panicked and fled, leaving seventy-five killed. The only Marine casualty was one man wounded. When he was able to return with reinforcements, spies had alerted the Cacos, and Butler took a deserted Fort Capois without firing a shot.
1917 – German submarine torpedoes USS Alcedo off French coast. Alcedo, a 981 gross ton steam yacht built in 1895 at Glasgow, Scotland, was purchased by the U.S. Navy in June 1917 and placed in commission as USS Alcedo (SP-166) late in July. She crossed the Atlantic the next month to join the patrol forces fighting enemy U-boats in the waters off western Europe. In the early hours while she was escorting a convoy en route to Brest, France, Alcedo was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UC-71. Twenty-one of her crew were lost with their ship.
1918 – Americans cross Meuse at Brieulles and Clery-le-Petit and take Beaumont.
1918 – Leading US units reach the hills overlooking Sedan. The First Army boundary is ordered to be shifted to the east to allow the French 4th Army the honor of capturing Sedan site of a defeat in 1870 and redirect 1st Armies route of advance.
1923 – Tests designed to prove the feasibility of launching a small seaplane from a submarine occur at Hampton Roads Naval Base. A Martin MS-1, stored disassembled in a tank on board USS S-1, was removed and assembled. Then the submarine submerged allowing the plane to float free and take off.
1939 – After plotting with General Franz Halder, Chief of the German General Staff, and retired General Ludwig Beck, former Chief of the General Staff, to arrest Hitler, unless he relents on the plan for a western offensive, the Commander in Chief of the German Army, Field Marshall Walter von Brauchitsch, meets Hitler to discuss the plans for an attack in the west. He argues very strongly that it should not take place as scheduled on November 12th because of weaknesses in the army. Hitler loses his temper during the meeting but is unconvinced by the arguments. Brauchitsch loses his nerve and returns to OKH (Army High Command) headquarters at Zossen, where the conspiracy collapses. Meanwhile, Colonel Hans Oster of the Abwehr (German Military Intelligence) — one of the Zossen conspirators — warns Colonel Sas, the Dutch military attache in Berlin, of the impending invasion of the Low Countries. Sas informs the Belgian military attache.
1939 – The German government lodges a protest against the release of the interned US merchant ship City of Flint and the German prize crew. The protest is rejected.
1940 – President Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office, beating Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie along with Surprise Party challenger Gracie Allen. Roosevelt was elected to a third term with the promise of maintaining American neutrality as far as foreign wars were concerned: “Let no man or woman thoughtlessly or falsely talk of American people sending its armies to European fields.” But as Hitler’s war spread, and the desperation of Britain grew, the president fought for passage of the Lend-Lease Act in Congress, in March 1941, which would commit financial aid to Great Britain and other allies. In August, Roosevelt met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to proclaim the Atlantic Charter, which would become the basis of the United Nations; they also drafted a statement to the effect that the United States “would be compelled to take countermeasures” should Japan further encroach in the southwest Pacific. Despite ongoing negotiations with Japan, that “further encroachment” took the form of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor-“a day that would live in infamy.” The next day Roosevelt requested, and received, a declaration of war against Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. Certain wartime decisions by Roosevelt proved controversial, such as the demand of unconditional surrender of the Axis powers, which some claim prolonged the war. Another was the acquiescence to Joseph Stalin of certain territories in the Far East in exchange for his support in the war against Japan. Roosevelt is often accused of being too naive where Stalin was concerned, especially in regard to “Uncle Joe’s” own imperial desires.
1941 – Japanese marine staff officers Suzuki and Maejima left Pearl Harbor.
1941 – The Japanese government decides to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the United States, setting a deadline of the end of November. The US rejects the offer because the Japanese will not repudiate the Tripartite Agreement with Italy and Germany and because the Japanese wish to maintain bases in China. The US code breaking service continues to intercept all Japanese diplomatic communication.
1942 – Admiral Tanaka takes command of the “Toyko Express,” the destroyer flotilla supplying Japanese forces on Guadalcanal.
1942 – American General Eisenhower arrives in Africa from Gibraltar to set up his headquarters for Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa. American General Doolittle and British Air Marshall Welsh will command the air forces. British General Anderson will lead the British 1st Army which comprises the main ground force.
1943 – US Task Force 38 (Admiral Sherman) with the carriers Saratoga and Princeton launches an attack on the Japanese naval squadron led by Admiral Kurita. A total of 107 American planes attack, resulting in damage to 4 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 2 destroyers. Only 10 American planes are lost. Later in the day, land-based Liberator bombers of the US 5th Air Force strike Rabaul and the Japanese squadron.
1943 – On Bougainville, the US 3rd Marine Division defeats a counterattack by the Japanese 23rd Regiment. Few of the large Japanese garrison (17th Army) oppose the landing because it is believed to be another diversion.
1943 – In Italy, the US 5th Army launches an assault on the German-held Reinhard Line. The German 14th Panzer Corps (Hube) defending here prevents significant gains. The defense is made easier by the difficult terrain and poor weather. Nonetheless, the offensive continues.
1944 – Three groups of US Task Force 38 (Admiral McCain) strike Japanese targets on Luzon and in the nearby waters. American losses are listed as 25 planes and the aircraft carrier USS Lexington is badly damaged by Kamikaze attacks. The Japanese losses are estimated at about 400 planes, 1 cruiser sunk (by an American submarine) and another cruiser badly damaged and beached.
1945 – Ensign Jake C. West (VF-41) makes first jet landing on board a carrier, USS Wake Island (CVE-65).
1949 – First Marine Corps enlisted pilots to fly “Shooting Star” begin training at El Toro.
1950 – General Douglas MacArthur ordered a heavy air offensive over North Korea, including the Yalu River bridges at Sinuiju. This order was in violation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff directive forbidding bombing within five miles of the Yalu River.
1950 – The 452nd Bombardment Wing (Light) sent its B-26s on their first combat mission. The 452nd was the first all-reserve Air Force unit to enter combat in Korea.
1950 – The 3rd Infantry Division, joined by the Puerto Rico’s famed 65th Infantry Regiment already in Korea, landed at Wonsan on the East Coast.
1961 – In the wake of the Soviet Union’s continued construction of the Berlin Wall which they started in August 1961, and a fear of possible conflict in Germany, on October 1st President John F. Kennedy mobilized selected reserve components units including elements of the Army and Air National Guard. To prove his determination to protect Germany along with the other NATO allies, he authorized the deployment of eleven Air Guard fighter squadrons to bases in Germany, France and Spain (a non-NATO ally). The first of these squadrons arrived in late October, less than a month after mobilization. By this date several, including Missouri’s 110th and New Jersey’s 141st tactical fighter squadrons, had their ground service personnel join them and they became fully operational. They soon began flying patrols along the border dividing East from West Germany. No Army Guard units were deployed overseas although two divisions and numerous non-divisional units were on active duty in the U.S. Fortunately, no war erupted and by the summer of 1962 all the Guard units were released from active duty.
1968 – Winning one of the closest elections in U.S. history, Republican challenger Richard Nixon defeats Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Because of the strong showing of third-party candidate George Wallace, neither Nixon nor Humphrey received more than 50 percent of the popular vote; Nixon beat Humphrey by less than 500,000 votes. Nixon campaigned on a platform designed to reach the “silent majority” of middle class and working class Americans. He promised to “bring us together again,” and many Americans, weary after years of antiwar and civil rights protests, were happy to hear of peace returning to their streets. Foreign policy was also a major factor in the election. Humphrey was saddled with a Democratic foreign policy that led to what appeared to be absolute futility and agony in Vietnam. Nixon promised to find a way to “peace with honor” in Vietnam, though he was never entirely clear about how this was to be accomplished. The American people, desperate to find a way out of the Vietnam quagmire, were apparently ready to give the Republican an opportunity to make good on his claim. During his presidency, Nixon oversaw some dramatic changes in U.S. Cold War foreign policy, most notably his policy of detente with the Soviet Union and his 1972 visit to communist China. His promise to bring peace with honor in Vietnam, however, was more difficult to accomplish. American troops were not withdrawn until 1973, and South Vietnam fell to communist forces in 1975.
1970 – U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam reports the lowest weekly death toll in five years. Twenty-four Americans died in combat during the last week of October, the fifth consecutive week that the U.S. death toll was under 50. Although the numbers of American dead were down, 431 were wounded during the reported period, mostly from mines, booby traps, and mortar and sniper fire. The reduced number of U.S. casualties reflected the gradual transfer of the responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese under President Nixon’s Vietnamization program. While U.S. troops were still conducting combat operations, more and more of them were being withdrawn from Vietnam and the nature of their operations became more defensive.
1979 – Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini declared US “The Great Satan.”
1986 – USS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao (Tsing Tao) China – the first US Naval visit to China since 1949.
1990 – Meir Kahane, an American-born rabbi and founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead in New York City. Egyptian El Sayyid Nosair was later charged with the murder but acquitted in a state trial. The federal government later decided that the killing was part of a larger terrorist conspiracy and thus claimed the right to retry Nosair. In 1995, he was convicted of killing Kahane during the conspiracy trial of Brooklyn-based Arab militants led by Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. Nosair was sentenced to life imprisonment. Kahane, a charismatic Jewish leader who advocated expelling all Arabs from Israel, found followers in Israel and the United States. He formed the Jewish Defense League in the United States in the 1960s and in 1971 moved to Israel, where he founded the Kach Party. Because of its racist platform, Kach was forbidden from participating in Israeli elections after 1988, but it continued to be supported by extremist Jewish settlers in Israel’s occupied territories. In 1994, after a Jewish settler once affiliated with the Kach movement gunned down more than 30 Arabs worshipping in a mosque in the West Bank town of Hebron, Israel completely outlawed the organization.
1994 – Space probe Ulysses completed its 1st passage behind the Sun.
1996 – Pres. William Jefferson Clinton was re-elected in the US but voters kept Congress in Republican control. Without meaningful primary opposition, Clinton was able to focus on the general election early, while Dole was forced to move to the right and spend his campaign reserves fighting off challengers. As a result, Clinton could run a campaign through the summer defining his opponent as an aged conservative far from the mainstream before Dole was in a position to respond. Throughout the runup to the general election, Clinton maintained comfortable leads in the polls over Dole and Perot. The televised debates featured only Dole and Clinton, locking out Perot and Nader from the discussion. Perot, who had been allowed to participate in the 1992 debates, would eventually take his case to court, seeking damages from not being in the debate, as well as citing unfair coverage from the major media outlets. In the end, Clinton won with a clear lead over Dole and Perot won less than half as many votes as he had in 1992, although Clinton was narrowly denied the absolute majority of votes he had hoped for.
1997 – A UN inspector claimed that Iraq was taking advantage of the inspection halt and had moved sensitive machinery out of camera view at certain weapons sites.
1998 – The UN Security Council unanimously demanded that Iraq resume cooperation with UN weapons inspectors.
2000 – In Iraq passenger flights resumed in the no-fly zones in a challenge to US and British imposed sanctions.
2001 – US bombing continued to hit Taliban front lines and attacks concentrated on caves and tunnels. About 2 dozen US commandos were reported to be in Afghanistan.
2001 – Six U.S. Navy Cyclone-Class patrol coastal warships were assigned to Operation Noble Eagle on 5 November 2001. This was the first time that U.S. Navy ships were employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect our nation’s coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack.
2004 – The US government said intelligence agencies had tripled their estimate of shoulder fired surface-to-air missile systems to be at large worldwide. At least 4,000 of the weapons from Iraq’s pre-war arsenal could not be accounted for.
2004 – In Afghanistan Islamic militants holding 3 UN workers hostage set a new, fifth deadline for their execution.
2004 – US warplanes pounded Fallujah in what residents called the strongest attacks in months, as more than 10,000 American soldiers and Marines massed for an expected assault.
2005 – Operation Steel Curtain was a military endeavor executed by coalition forces in early November 2005 to reduce the flow of foreign insurgents crossing the border and joining the Iraqi insurgency. The operation was important in that it was the first large scale deployment of the New Iraqi Army. This offensive was part of the larger Operation Sayeed (Hunter), designed to prevent al Qaeda in Iraq from operating in the Euphrates River Valley and throughout Al Anbar and to establish a permanent Iraqi Army presence in the Al Qa’im region. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines and 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines began their assault on insurgent-held Karabilah, and had cleared the city four days later. Then on 6 November the coalition forces began to attack the city of Husaybah and pursue any insurgents who fled Karabilah. After four more days of fighting in Husaybah, the coalition troops launched another phase of the operation into the city of Ubaydi, an insurgent haven and site of the earlier Operation Matador. The fortified city fell to coalition forces after seven days of fighting, bringing a conclusion to Operation Steel Curtain. The assault on Sadah and a small portion of Karabilah was known as “Operation: Iron Fist”. The assault of Husaybah and Karabilah was “Operation: Steel Curtain”. So named because the resident leader of anti-coalition forces, al-Zarqawi, said they would hold onto Husaybah with an “iron fist”. Named by Coalition Commanders, “Operation Steel Curtain”, was a hardened sweep and clear mission hence “steel curtain” because American and New Iraqi Army flooded the two cities, and closed and secured the objective like a curtain made of steel.
2006 – Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, and his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar are sentenced to death in the al-Dujail trial for the role in the massacre of the 148 Shi’a Muslims in 1982. Reactions to the verdicts against Saddam and his compatriots vary with approval from some areas, particularly Iran and Shi’a regions of Iraq, but condemnation of the trial and process from some other quarters of the Muslim world. United States officials called it “a good day for the Iraqi people”. The European Union, while welcoming the guilty verdicts, expresses its opposition to the imposition of the death penalty on humanitarian grounds.
2009 – US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan kills 13 and wounds 29 at Fort Hood, Texas in the deadliest mass shooting at a US military installation.
2010 – The Government of Norway demands an explanation from the US Government on reports that the US embassy in Oslo conducted illegal surveillance on Norwegian citizens for more than ten years.
Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
COMFORT, JOHN W.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company A, 4th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Staked Plains, Tex., 5 November 1874. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 13 October 1875. Citation: Ran down and killed an Indian.
CONDON, CLARENCE M.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Battery G, 3d U.S. Artillery. Place and date: Near Calulut, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 5 November 1899. Entered service at: ——. Birth: South Brooksville, Maine. Date of issue: 11 March 1902. Citation: While in command of a detachment of 4 men, charged and routed 40 entrenched insurgents, inflicting on them heavy loss.
WEAVER, AMOS
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company F, 36th Infantry, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: Between Calubus and Malalong, Philippine Islands, 5 November 1899. Entered service at: San Francisco, Calif. Born: 13 June 1869, Niles Township, Delaware County, Ind. Date of issue: 15 March 1902. Citation: Alone and unaided, charged a body of 15 insurgents, dislodging them, killing 4 and wounding several.
ALLWORTH, EDWARD C.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, 60th Infantry, 5th Division. Place and date: At Clery-le-Petit, France, 5 November 1918. Entered service at: Corvallis, Oreg. Born: 6 July 1887, Crawford, Wash. G.O. No.: 16, W.D., 1919. Citation: While his company was crossing the Meuse River and canal at a bridgehead opposite Clery-le-Petit, the bridge over the canal was destroyed by shell fire and Capt. Allworth’s command became separated, part of it being on the east bank of the canal and the remainder on the west bank. Seeing his advance units making slow headway up the steep slope ahead, this officer mounted the canal bank and called for his men to follow. Plunging in he swam across the canal under fire from the enemy, followed by his men. Inspiring his men by his example of gallantry, he led them up the slope, joining his hard-pressed platoons in front. By his personal leadership he forced the enemy back for more than a kilometer, overcoming machinegun nests and capturing 100 prisoners, whose number exceeded that of the men in his command. The exceptional courage and leadership displayed by Capt. Allworth made possible the re-establishment of a bridgehead over the canal and the successful advance of other troops.
CANN, TEDFORD H.
Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 3 September 1897, Bridgeport, Conn. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 366, 1918. Citation: For courageous conduct while serving on board the U.S.S. May, 5 November 1917. Cann found a leak in a flooded compartment and closed it at the peril of his life, thereby unquestionably saving the ship.
*RED CLOUD, MITCHELL, JR.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U S. Army, Company E, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Chonghyon, Korea, 5 November 1950. Entered service at: Merrilan Wis. Born: 2 July 1924, Hatfield, Wis. G.O. No.: 26, 25 April 1951. Citation: Cpl. Red Cloud, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. From his position on the point of a ridge immediately in front of the company command post he was the first to detect the approach of the Chinese Communist forces and give the alarm as the enemy charged from a brush-covered area less than 100 feet from him. Springing up he delivered devastating pointblank automatic rifle fire into the advancing enemy. His accurate and intense fire checked this assault and gained time for the company to consolidate its defense. With utter fearlessness he maintained his firing position until severely wounded by enemy fire. Refusing assistance he pulled himself to his feet and wrapping his arm around a tree continued his deadly fire again, until he was fatally wounded. This heroic act stopped the enemy from overrunning his company’s position and gained time for reorganization and evacuation of the wounded. Cpl. Red Cloud’s dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice reflects the highest credit upon himself and upholds the esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army.
BAKER, JOHN F., JR.
Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Pfc.), U.S. Army, Company A, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 5 November 1966. Entered service at: Moline, Ill. Born: 30 October 1945, Davenport, Iowa. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. En route to assist another unit that was engaged with the enemy, Company A came under intense enemy fire and the lead man was killed instantly. Sgt. Baker immediately moved to the head of the column and together with another soldier knocked out 2 enemy bunkers. When his comrade was mortally wounded, Sgt. Baker, spotting 4 Viet Cong snipers, killed all of them, evacuated the fallen soldier and returned to lead repeated assaults against the enemy positions, killing several more Viet Cong. Moving to attack 2 additional enemy bunkers, he and another soldier drew intense enemy fire and Sgt. Baker was blown from his feet by an enemy grenade. He quickly recovered and single-handedly destroyed 1 bunker before the other soldier was wounded. Seizing his fallen comrade’s machine gun, Sgt. Baker charged through the deadly fusillade to silence the other bunker. He evacuated his comrade, replenished his ammunition and returned to the forefront to brave the enemy fire and continue the fight. When the forward element was ordered to withdraw, he carried 1 wounded man to the rear. As he returned to evacuate another soldier, he was taken under fire by snipers, but raced beyond the friendly troops to attack and kill the snipers. After evacuating the wounded man, he returned to cover the deployment of the unit. His ammunition now exhausted, he dragged 2 more of his fallen comrades to the rear. Sgt. Baker’s selfless heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and extraordinary gallantry were directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades, and inflicting serious damage on the enemy. His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
FOLEY, ROBERT F.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company A, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Quan Dau Tieng, Republic of Vietnam, 5 November 1966. Entered service at: Newton, Mass. Born: 30 May 1941, Newton, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Foley’s company was ordered to extricate another company of the battalion. Moving through the dense jungle to aid the besieged unit, Company A encountered a strong enemy force occupying well concealed, defensive positions, and the company’s leading element quickly sustained several casualties. Capt. Foley immediately ran forward to the scene of the most intense action to direct the company’s efforts. Deploying 1 platoon on the flank, he led the other 2 platoons in an attack on the enemy in the face of intense fire. During this action both radio operators accompanying him were wounded. At grave risk to himself he defied the enemy’s murderous fire, and helped the wounded operators to a position where they could receive medical care. As he moved forward again 1 of his machine gun crews was wounded. Seizing the weapon, he charged forward firing the machine gun, shouting orders and rallying his men, thus maintaining the momentum of the attack. Under increasingly heavy enemy fire he ordered his assistant to take cover and, alone, Capt. Foley continued to advance firing the machine gun until the wounded had been evacuated and the attack in this area could be resumed. When movement on the other flank was halted by the enemy’s fanatical defense, Capt. Foley moved to personally direct this critical phase of the battle. Leading the renewed effort he was blown off his feet and wounded by an enemy grenade. Despite his painful wounds he refused medical aid and persevered in the forefront of the attack on the enemy redoubt. He led the assault on several enemy gun emplacements and, single-handedly, destroyed 3 such positions. His outstanding personal leadership under intense enemy fire during the fierce battle which lasted for several hours, inspired his men to heroic efforts and was instrumental in the ultimate success of the operation. Capt. Foley’s magnificent courage, selfless concern for his men and professional skill reflect the utmost credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.
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