1 October
1768 – English troops under General Gage landed in Boston. Soldiers drawn chiefly from the 14th and 29th Infantry Regiments, and numbering about 700 men, landed at Boston without opposition.
1781 – The youngest of eleven children, James Lawrence was born in Burlington, NJ. His parents were Tories who had entertained the Hessian commander as a dinner guest at their home during the Revolution, but when the war ended, they remained in America. James was sent to study law at the age of 13, but proved an uncooperative student. Eventually, he was permitted to join the Navy as a midshipman in 1798, and gained experience in action against the Barbary pirates. Commissioned a Lieutenant in 1802, he was a member of Stephen Decatur’s raiding party which destroyed the U.S.S. Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor after it was captured by the Tripolitans in 1804. During the War of 1812, Lawrence commanded the U.S.S. Hornet, which captured the H.M.S. Peacock, and was promoted to Captain as a result. On June 1, 1813, commanding a new and untrained crew on the 49-gun frigate U.S.S. Chesapeake off Boston, Lawrence accepted a challenge from Philip Bowes Vere Broke, captain of the 38-gun H.M.S. Shannon. Four years Lawrence’s senior, Broke had commanded the Shannon for six years, and had the best trained crew in the Royal Navy. In less than 15 minutes, Lawrence’s crew was overwhelmed. Mortally wounded, Lawrence shouted, “Tell the men to fire faster and not to give up the ship; fight her till she sinks!” True to his words, every officer in the Chesapeake’s chain of command fought until he was either killed or wounded. Even so, the battle was lost in under an hour, the Chesapeake was captured, and Lawrence died four days later, leaving his wife and a daughter. In honor of Captain Lawrence, a group of women stitched the words “Don’t Give Up The Ship” into a flag. The flag was presented to Oliver Hazard Perry, commander of the U.S.S. Lawrence – named for Captain Lawrence – in the summer of 1813. Perry went on to capture an entire squadron of British ships in the battle of Lake Erie, on September 13, though not before every officer on the Lawrence – except for Perry and his 13-year-old brother – was either killed or wounded. Lawrence’s words became the motto of the U.S. Navy, which has named numerous ships in his honor, and Perry’s flag now hangs in a place of honor at the United States Naval Academy. Copies may be seen at other Navy installations and, of course, in Burlington. Far less well known is Lawrence’s last command to his crew – “Burn her!”
1800 – Spain cedes Louisiana to France via the Treaty of San Ildefonso.
1800 – U.S. Schooner Experiment captures French Schooner Diana.
1832 – Texian political delegates convened at San Felipe de Austin to petition for changes in the governance of Mexican Texas.
1837 – A treaty was made with the Winnebago Indians. The Winnebago people call themselves Ho-Chunk, “People of the First Voice.” They trace their origins to modern-day Kentucky, where groups speaking a common Siouan tongue emerged in about a.d. 200, ancestors of the Winnebagos, Otos, Iowas, and Missouris began to move northward. The Winnebagos’ forerunners arrived in Wisconsin about a.d. 700. When the Black Hawk War broke out in 1832, most Winnebagos remained neutral. However, because some members of the tribe aided Blackhawk, the tribe had to sign a cession treaty in 1832, ceding land between the Wisconsin and Rock Rivers to Lake Winnebago. In 1837, through government trickery, the tribe signed its last cession treaty and lost all its homeland east of the Mississippi.
1844 – Naval Observatory headed by LT Matthew Fontaine Maury occupies first permanent quarters. Founded in 1830 as the Depot of Charts and Instruments, the Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the country. As a service organization, one of its first tasks was the calibration of ship’s chronometers, which was accomplished by timing the transit of stars across the meridian. In 1855 the astronomical and nautical almanacs were started. From these service-oriented beginnings, USNO continues to be responsive to the fleet, DoD, and national needs through provision of applied astrometry and timing products and services.
1864 – The Condor ran aground at the mouth of the Cape Fear River near Wilmington, North Carolina. A Union gunboat had been pursuing the ship.
1874 – Supply Corps purser, LT J. Q. Barton, given leave to enter service of new Japanese Navy to organize a Pay Department and instruct Japanese about accounts. He served until 1 October 1877 when he again became a purser in the U.S. Navy. In 1878, the Emperor of Japan conferred on him the Fourth Class of Rising Sun for his service.
1878 – General Lew Wallace was sworn in as governor of New Mexico Territory. He went on to deal with the Lincoln County War, Billy the Kid and wrote Ben-Hur.
1880 – John Philip Sousa started his 12-year tour as director of the US Marine Band. He premiered many of his marches and produced the first commercial phonograph recordings.
1890 – Congress created the Weather Bureau, moving the Weather Warning Service from the US Army Signal Corps to the Department of Agriculture.
1924 – Jimmy Carter (James Earl), 39th president of the U.S. (1977-1981), was born in Plains, Georgia. He grew up nearby in the community of Archery. His father, James Earl Carter, Sr., was a farmer and businessman; his mother, Lillian Gordy, a registered nurse. He was educated in the Plains public schools, attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. He later did graduate work in nuclear physics at Union College. During his naval career he lived in many parts of the United States and served around the world, including the Far East. He rose to the rank of lieutenant (senior grade), working under Admiral Hyman Rickover in the development of the nuclear submarine program. When his father died in 1953, he resigned his commission and returned to Plains. In addition to working his own farm, he continued a small business of his father’s, selling fertilizer and farm supplies. He did the manual labor while his wife Rosalynn kept the books. Carter’s Warehouse grew into a profitable general-purpose seed and farm supply operation. Soon after his return to Plains, he became involved in the affairs of the community. He was chairman of the county school board and the first president of the Georgia Planning Association. In 1962 he was elected to the Georgia Senate. He waged his first gubernatorial campaign in 1966. In 1971 he became Georgia’s 76th governor. While in office, his fellow governors selected him to serve as chairman of the Southern Regional Education Board, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Coastal Plains Regional Action Planning Commission, and the Southern Growth Policies Board. In 1973 he became the Democratic National Committee campaign chairman for the 1974 congressional elections. He announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on December 12, 1974, and won his party’s nomination at the 1976 Democratic National Convention on the first ballot. He was elected President on November 2. 1976. Jimmy Carter served as President from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981. Noteworthy foreign policy accomplishments of his administration included the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, the treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel, the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. He championed human rights throughout the world. On the domestic side, the administration’s achievements included new Department of Energy; deregulation in energy, transportation, communications, and finance; a new Department of Education; and major environmental protection legislation, including the Alaska Lands Act.
1928 – First class at school for enlisted Navy and Marine Corps Radio intercept operators (The “On the roof gang”)
1934 – Adolph Hitler expanded the German army and navy and created an air force, violating Treaty of Versailles.
1936 – General Francisco Franco was proclaimed the head of an insurgent Spanish state.
1938 – Germany annexed Sudetenland (1/3 of Czech Republic) as a result of the Munich Conference between Germany, England and France.
1942 – Bell P-59 Airacomet fighter, 1st US jet, made its maiden flight. Development of the P-59, America’s first jet-propelled airplane, was ordered personally by General H. H. Arnold on September 4, 1941. The project was conducted under the utmost secrecy, with Bell building the airplane and General Electric the engine. The first P-59 was completed in mid-1942 and it made its initial flight at Muroc Dry Lake (now Edwards Air Force Base), California. One year later, the airplane was ordered into production, to be powered by I-14 and I-16 engines, improved versions of the original I-A. Bell produced 66 P-59s. Although the airplane’s performance was not spectacular and it never got into combat, the P-59 provided training for AAF personnel and invaluable data for subsequent development of higher performance jet airplanes.
1942 – In New Guinea, GEN MacArthur issues orders for the Allied advance on Gona and Buna. Australian forces have already begun to move forward along the Kokoda Trail. A US force is to move over the parallel Kapa Kapa Trail to join the Australians in cutting off the Japanese retreat at the Kumusi River. There are also to be landings along the north coast between Milne bay and Cape nelson, especially in Wanigela.
1942 – USS Grouper torpedoes Lisbon Maru not knowing she is carrying British PoWs from Hong Kong
1942 – Fuel oil is now rationed in most parts of the US.
1942 – First flight of the Bell XP-59 “Airacomet”. The Bell P-59 Airacomet was the first American jet fighter aircraft, designed and built by Bell Aircraft during World War II. The United States Army Air Force was not impressed by its performance and cancelled the contract when fewer than half of the aircraft ordered had been produced. Although no P-59s went into combat, it paved the way for another design generation of U.S. turbojet-powered aircraft and was the first turbojet fighter to have its turbojet engine and air inlet nacelles integrated within the main fuselage.
1943 – Allied forces captured Naples during World War II. British troops in Italy entered Naples and occupied Foggia airfield. In response Hitler orders Kesselring to hold a line south of Rome during the coming months rather than retire farther north.
1943 – At 0836 on 30 September 1943, LST-203 beached at Nanomea Island and started to unload cargo. At 0115 having completed unloading she began maneuvering to get off the beach. With her ramp raised, her starboard door did not close fully, being slightly sprung, and the LST attempted to re tract without success. She was apparently held fast by a coral reef which caused her to pivot on the bow. 6 to 8 foot surf pounded her against the fingers of the reef. At 0600 water was entering the shaft alley and engine room which pumps ware unable to handle. The USS Manley (APD-1) assisted with boats and line but by 0725 the deck plates on the port side of the main engine room were reported breaking through. At 0815 Manley’s cable snapped and further unloading began, with lowered ramp, awaiting next high tide. At 1632 new attempts were made to pull the vessel off but at 1950 Manley’s cable parted a second time. Unloading continued and at 1900 on the 2nd new attempts to float her by both Manley and YMS-53 were unsuccessful. Other unsuccessful attempts on the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th were hampered by lack of power, heavy swells and water entering the engine room faster than pumps could handle it. Attempts to float her were thereupon abandoned as a stranded vessel and was stripped of all material and equipment.
1944 – The U.S. First Army began the siege Aachen, Germany.
1945 – The 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment landed and occupied Chinwangtao, China.
1946 – Twelve Nazi war criminals were sentenced to be hanged at Nuremberg trials– Karl Donitz, Hermann Goring, Alfred Jodl, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachin von Ribbentrop, Fritz Saukel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Julius Streicher, and Alfred Rosenberg. Karl Donitz was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
1946 – Daegu October Incident occurs in Allied occupied Korea. The Autumn Uprising of 1946 in Korea was a peasant uprising throughout the southern provinces of Korea against the policies of the United States Army Military Government in Korea and in favor of restoration of power to the people’s committees that made up the People’s Republic of Korea. The uprising also called as Daegu Riot or Daegu Resistance Movement. Thousands of workers gathered the Daegu Station in order to protest against the U.S. They stoned the police and yelled out “Kill the police!” In response to the raid, police shot and killed Hwang Mal-yong, a factory worker.
1947 – The North American F-86 Sabre flies for the first time. The North American F-86 Sabre — sometimes called the Sabrejet — was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States’ first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War (1950-53). Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war, the F-86 is also rated highly in comparison with fighters of other eras. Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by the end of the ’50s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable, and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces until the last active operational examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994. Its success led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956, in the U.S., Japan and Italy. Variants were built in Canada and Australia. The Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with total production of all variants at 9,860 units.
1949 – 5th Marines became part of 1stMarDiv under Col. Victor H. Krulak.
1950 – The ROK 3rd Infantry Division crossed the 38th parallel in pursuit of the retreating In Mun Gun, the North Korean Army. The U.S. Army’s Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment arrived in Korea and was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. The USS Magpie struck a mine while sweeping a channel two miles off Chuksan, becoming the first U.S. Navy vessel to be sunk during the war. Twenty-one members of her 33-man-crew were lost.
1951 – The all-African-American 24th Infantry Regiment and 159th Field Artillery Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, were disbanded and the personnel reassigned to formerly all-white units. Other formerly all-African-American units were infused with white soldiers, thus beginning racial integration in the Army.
1955 – Commissioning of USS Forrestal (CVA-59), first of postwar supercarriers. Forrestal (CVA-59) was launched 11 December 1954 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. Newport News, Va.; sponsored by Mrs. James V Forrestal, widow of Secretary Forrestal; and commissioned 1 October 1955, Captain R. L. Johnson i n command. From her home port, Norfolk, Va., Forrestal spent the first year of her commissioned service in intensive training operations off the Virginia Capes and in the Caribbean. An important assignment was training aviators in the use of her advance d facilities, a duty on which she often operated out of Mayport, Fla. On 7 November 1956, she put to sea from Mayport to operate in the eastern Atlantic during the Suez Crisis ready to enter the Mediterranean should her great strength be necessary. She returned to Norfolk 12 December to prepare for her first deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, for which she sailed 15 January 1957. On this, as on her succeeding tours of duty in the Mediterranean, Forrestal visited many ports to allow dignitaries and the general public to come aboard and view the tremendous power for peace she represented. For military observers, she sta ged underway demonstrations to illustrate her capacity to bring air power to and from the sea in military operations on any scale. She returned to Norfolk 22 July 1957 for exercises off the North Carolina coast in preparation for her first NATO Operation, “Strikeback,” in the North Sea. This deployment, between 3 September and 22 October, found her visiting Southampton England, as well as drilling in the highly important task of coordinating United States naval power with that of other NATO nations. The next year found Forrestal participating in a series of major fleet exercises, as well as taking part in experimental flight operations. During the Lebanon Crisis of summer 1958, the great carrier was again called upon to operate in the ea stern Atlantic to back up naval operations in the Mediterranean. She sailed from Norfolk 11 July to embark an air group at Mayport 2 days later, then patrolled the Atlantic until returning to Norfolk 17 July. On her second tour of duty in the Mediterranean, from 2 September 1958 to 12 March 1959, Forrestal again combined a program of training, patrol, and participation in major exercises with ceremonial, hospitality and public visiting. Her guest list during this cruise was headed by Secretary of Defense N. H. McElroy. Returning to Norfolk, she continued the never ending task of training new aviators, constantly maintaining her readiness for instant reaction to any demand for her services brought on by international events. Visitors during the year included King Hussein of Jordan. Forrestal was decommissioned September 11, 1993.
1958 – Inauguration of NASA. Formed as a result of the Sputnik crisis of confidence, NASA inherited the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and other government organizations, and almost immediately began working on options for human space flight. NASA’s first high profile program was Project Mercury, an effort to learn if humans could survive in space, followed by Project Gemini, which built upon Mercury’s successes and used spacecraft built for two astronauts. NASA’s human space flight efforts then extended to the Moon with Project Apollo, culminating in 1969 when the Apollo 11 mission first put humans on the lunar surface. After the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz Test Projects of the early and mid-1970s, NASA’s human space flight efforts again resumed in 1981, with the Space Shuttle program that continues today to help build the International Space Station. Building on its NACA roots, NASA has continued to conduct many types of cutting-edge aeronautics research on aerodynamics, wind shear, and other important topics using wind tunnels, flight testing, and computer simulations. NASA’s highly successful X-15 program involved a rocket-powered airplane that flew above the atmosphere and then glided back to Earth unpowered, providing Shuttle designers with much useful data. The watershed F-8 digital-fly-by-wire program laid the groundwork for such electronic flight in many other aircraft including the Shuttle and high performance airplanes that would have been uncontrollable otherwise. NASA has also done important research on such topics as “lifting bodies” (wingless airplanes) and “supercritical wings” to dampen the effect of shock waves on transsonic aircraft. Additionally, NASA has launched a number of significant scientific probes such as the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft that have explored the Moon, the planets, and other areas of our solar system. NASA has sent several spacecraft to investigate Mars including the Viking and Mars Pathfinder spacecraft. The Hubble Space Telescope and other space science spacecraft have enabled scientists to make a number of significant astronomical discoveries about our universe. NASA also has done pioneering work in space applications satellites. NASA has helped bring about new generations of communications satellites such as the Echo, Telstar, and Syncom satellites. NASA’s Earth science efforts have also literally changed the way we view our home planet; the Landsat and Earth Observing System spacecraft have contributed many important scientific findings. NASA technology has also resulted in numerous “spin-offs” in wide-ranging scientific, technical, and commercial fields. Overall, while the tremendous technical and scientific accomplishments of NASA demonstrate vividly that humans can achieve previously inconceivable feats, we also are humbled by the realization that Earth is just a tiny “blue marble” in the cosmos.
1961 – The United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is formed, becoming the country’s first centralized military espionage organization. As one of the principal members of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), DIA informs national civilian and defense policymakers about the military intentions and capabilities of foreign governments and non-state actors, while also providing department-level intelligence assistance and coordination to individual military service intelligence components and the warfighter. The agency’s role encompasses collection and analysis of defense-related foreign political, economic, industrial, geographic, and medical and health intelligence. As part of its national IC responsibilities, DIA regularly provides input for the President’s Daily Brief. Though sometimes compared to foreign military intelligence services, like the Russian GRU or Israeli Aman, DIA is unique in that two-thirds of its 17,000 employees are civilians and the agency’s structure bears resemblance to that of its civilian counterpart. DIA’s intelligence operations in support of U.S. national security extend far beyond the zones of combat – at hundreds of locations and U.S. Embassies in approximately 140 countries. The agency primarily specializes in collection and analysis of human-source intelligence (HUMINT), has its own Clandestine Service and is in charge of American military-diplomatic efforts overseas. DIA is also designated a national manager for the highly technical measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT). The agency has no law enforcement authority, although it is occasionally portrayed so in American popular culture. Established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, DIA has been at the forefront of U.S. intelligence efforts throughout the Cold War and rapidly expanded, both in size and scope, since the September 11 attacks. Due to the sensitive nature of its work, the spy organization has been embroiled in numerous controversies, including those related to its intelligence-gathering activities, its role in enhanced interrogations, as well as attempts to expand its activities on U.S. soil.
1979 – US returned the Canal Zone, but not the canal, to Panama after 75 years.
1979 – President Jimmy Carter awards the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to former naval aviators Neil Armstrong, CAPT Charles Conrad, Jr., USN (Ret.), COL John Glenn, USMC (Ret.), and RADM Alan Shepard, Jr., USN (Ret.)
1980 – USS Cochrane (DDG-21) rescues 104 Vietnamese refugees 620 miles east of Saigon. 1990 – President Bush, addressing the UN General Assembly, again condemned Iraq’s takeover of Kuwait, but also suggested an unconditional military withdrawal could help speed an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
1979 – The United States returns sovereignty of the Panama Canal to Panama.
1990 – Air Force General and VP candidate Curtis E. LeMay died at March Air Force Base, California, at age 83. General Curtis Emerson Lemay was the “Father of the Strategic Air Command.” When he took over as its commander in 1948, it consisted of little more than a few understaffed and untrained B-29 groups left over from World War II. Less than half its aircraft were operational and the crews were next to worthless. He ordered a mock bombing raid on Dayton, Ohio, and most of the bombers missed their targets by one to two miles. That was unacceptable. He subjected his men to vigorous training and long hours of hard work, but fought for additional pay and better housing to make their demanding lives more tolerable. He obtained vast fleets of new bombers, established a vast aerial refueling system, started many new units and bases, began missile development, and established a strict command and control system. When he left the command in 1957 to assume his new job as Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, SAC was the most powerful military force the world had ever seen. But that was only one of his many accomplishments. He was the outstanding air combat leader of World War II. He developed the bombardment tactics and strategies that left Nazi Germany in rubble. He was transferred to the Pacific theater, where he took over command of the B-29’s and led the air war against Japan. He incinerated every major Japanese city and oversaw the dropping of the atomic bombs. After the war, he organized he famous Berlin Air Lift. It was this confrontation that began the Cold War and resulted in Lemay being given the job of whipping the fledging Strategic Air Command into shape. He was always the best pilot, best navigator and best bombardier in ever unit he ever served or commanded. He often demonstrated his courage by personally leading his bombers on the dangerous missions, including what many regard as the most dangerous mission ever flown – the attack on Regensberg, Germany. The Army Air Forces lost half of the 1,000 planes launched that day, which has gone down in Air Force history as “Black Thursday.” If his crews weren’t flying missions, then they were subjected to his relentless training. He believed it was the key to saving their lives and more quickly ending the war. They called him “Iron Ass” because he demanded so much, but they respected him immensely. A popular story that was widely circulated in SAC is that he approached a fully-fueled bomber with his ever-present cigar stuck firmly between his lips. A guard asked him to put it out, as it might blow up the aircraft. Lemay replied, “It wouldn’t dare.” Curtis Lemay served as a general for seventeen years – longer than any other man in the history of the United States military. He received every award his country could bestow, other than the Medal of Honor. He was decorated by many other nations. In 1961, he became the Air Force Chief of Staff, it’s highest position. He was the Cold War’s fiercest warrior. His very first war plan drawn up in 1949, proposed delivering, “the entire stockpile of atomic bombs in a single massive attack.” That meant dropping 133 A-bombs on 70 cities within 30 days. He argued that, “if you are going to use military force, then you ought to use overwhelming military force. Use too much and deliberately use too much.. you’ll save lives, not only your own, but the enemy’s too.” He is buried in the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery at Colorado Springs, Colorado.
1990 – USS Independence (CV-62) enters Persian Gulf (first carrier in Persian Gulf since 1974)
1991 – President Bush strongly condemned the military coup in Haiti, suspending U.S. economic and military aid and demanding the immediate return to power of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
1991 – The CGC Storis became the oldest commissioned cutter in the Coast Guard when the Fir was decommissioned. The cutter’s crew painted her hull number “38” in gold in recognition of her status.
1992 – The U.S. Senate voted 93-to-6 to approve the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
1993 – US troop strength in Somalia 5,675 (4,228 under UN command and 1,447 in the Quick Reaction Force).
1994 – Palau gains independence from the United Nations (trusteeship administered by the United States of America).
1995 – Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric accused of leading a “war of urban terrorism” against US cities, was convicted with nine other defendants of seditious conspiracy by a federal jury in New York.
1995 – France detonated another nuclear device, 5 times more powerful than the last one, on Fangatouga Atoll in the South Pacific.
1996 – A federal grand jury indicted Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski in 1994 mail bomb slaying of an ad executive.
1996 – NASA began turning over day-to-day shuttle operations to private industry.
1996 – Operation Frontier Shield commences. It is the largest counter-narcotics operation in Coast Guard history. FRONTIER SHIELD was the cornerstone of a strategy and a genuine case study for the regional impact of interdiction. The Coast Guard, in conjunction with interagency partners, conducted a large surge operation in the maritime approaches to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Interagency interdiction forces reduced the flow of cocaine into Puerto Rico approximately 50 percent from the level in1996, and that reduced flow rate was sustained through 1998. Maritime smuggling events in Puerto Rico and the Eastern Caribbean declined from 33 percent to about 20 percent of total events in the Caribbean. As predicted, FRONTIER SHIELD forced drug traffic to shift to the west.
1996 – In Haiti it was confirmed that a plot to undermine the government was squelched. The Committee of Soldiers’ Demands, representing former soldiers, had plotted to destabilize the government. More US trained Haitian-American police officers and money from the IMF was expected before the expiration of the current UN mandate.
1996 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met at the White House.
1997 – US FBI Director Louis J. Freeh warned that Russian organized crime networks were growing and that they posed a menace to US national security. Russian crime syndicates were described to be forging ties with the Italian Mafia and the Columbian drug cartels.
1997 – From Angola it was reported that UNITA was demobilizing its soldiers and getting the UN to return them to UNITA-held territory, where they could again be mobilized.
1997 – In Bosnia NATO seized 4 key Bosnian Serb television transmitters.
1997 – Israel freed Sheik Ahmed Yassin (61), the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas. The ill Yassin was taken to Jordan and hospitalized. As part of the deal an antidote for the chemical used on last week’s Meshaal attack was demanded by Jordan and Israel requested the release of the Meshaal attackers. This secured the release of two Mossad agents arrested in Jordan following a botched assassination attempt against Hamas political leader Khalid Mashaal.
1997 – In Sri Lanka a government clash with Tamil Tigers left at least 70 combatants dead in Puliyankulam.
1997 – The first African-American female colonel in the Marine Corps was promoted to that rank during a ceremony at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. Colonel Gilda A. Jackson, a native of Columbus, Ohio, made Marine Corps history when she achieved the rank of colonel. She was serving as Special Projects Officer, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing at the time of her promotion.
1998 – The US Dept. of Defense said that it would spend an estimated $50 million this year to provide Viagra to soldiers, sailors, fliers, retirees and their dependents.
1998 – Seeking to head off threatened NATO attacks, Yugoslavia’s Serb leadership invited foreign experts to investigate massacres in Kosovo.
1998 – The UN sent a new warning to Pres. Milosevic of Serbia over the atrocities in Kosovo.
1999 – South Korean activists thanked the US government for promising to investigate an Associated Press report that US forces allegedly killed several hundred refugees at the start of the Korean War. But the protesters also demanded the US punish some of the veterans involved and compensate the victims’ relatives.
1999 – In Thailand the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors took 38 diplomats as hostages at the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok. Two Thai officials were exchanged for the hostages and 12 students were reported to have flown to the Thai-Burma border by helicopter, where they were released. The students demanded the release of political prisoners, dialogue between the military and Aung San Suu Kyi and an elected parliament.
1999 – Joao da Silva Tavares, a militia leader in West Timor, said he planned to lead 12,000 fighters back to 6 western districts of East Timor.
1999 – In Pakistan gunmen attacked Shiites in Karachi and killed 9 people in a mosque. A retaliatory attack on a Sunni Muslim school left 4 dead. Another 5 people were killed in eastern Punjab.
1999 – In Russia Prime Minister Putin cut ties with the elected government of Chechnya.
2000 – Israeli forces fought Palestinian rioters for a 3rd day and at least 12 Palestinians were killed. The fighting spread from the West Bank and Gaza to towns and cities inside Israel.
2001 – New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, in an impassioned speech to the United Nations, said there was no room for “neutrality” in the global fight against terrorism and no need for more studies or vague directives.
2001 – The US reported that some $6 million and 50 bank accounts were blocked as suspected terrorist assets.
2001 – The US gave NATO “clear and compelling” evidence that Osama bin Laden orchestrated the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.
2001 – Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Masud Al Safarini, jailed in Pakistan for 15 years, arrived in Alaska and was expected to face a 1991 indictment for the 1986 hijacking of a Pan Am jet in which 22 people were killed.
2001 – The opposition Northern Alliance of Afghanistan met in Rome with ex-king Zahir Shah and agreed to form a broad-based government open to cooperation with the West.
2001 – In Srinagar, capital of Jammu and Kashmir, a Pakistani-based suicide squad struck at the Legislative Assembly and 38-40 people were killed.
2001 – Russia claimed to have killed Abu Yakub, a top aide to an Arab commander allied with rebels in Chechnya.
2001 – In Spain suspected Basque militants exploded a car bomb in Vitoria that caused much damage to the city center.
2002 – U.N. inspectors reached agreement with Iraq about a new mission to reassess Saddam Hussein’s alleged arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq said it expected an advance party in Baghdad in two weeks.
2002 – Allied aircraft launched an airstrike in the southern no-fly zone over Iraq after Iraqi aircraft penetrated the restricted area.
2002 – In Indian Kashmir gunmen killed 9 people on a bus and attacked several polling stations as voters shunned the third round of elections in the troubled state’s separatist heartland. 6 paramilitary troopers were killed when their vehicle exploded south of Srinagar.
2003 – US officials identified Abu Hazim al-Sha’ir (29), a Yemeni ex-bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, as al Qaeda’s new terror chief.
2003 – In southern Chechnya gunmen opened fire on a car carrying the mayor of a town, killing the local leader and his son, who was a police officer.
2003 – Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Laurie Chan said an Australian-led force has broken the reign of gangsters and warlords terrorizing the Islands, paving the way for the small South Pacific nation to start battling corruption.
2004 – U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major assault to regain control of the insurgent stronghold of Samarra, trading gunfire with rebel fighters as they pushed toward the city center. The US said over 100 insurgents were killed.
2008 – The United States Senate passes the civilian nuclear agreement with India by a vote of 86–13. India has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but may now undertake nuclear trade to the States.
2013 – The government of Venezuela expels three United States diplomats after accusing them of “economic sabotage”.
2014 – Julia Pierson resigns as the Director of the United States Secret Service following a series of security breaches at the White House.
Congressional Medal of Honor Citations For Actions Taken This Day
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