The Never Forget Ship: USS New York

MoonHowler

 

Monday the USS New York came home, for the first time.  Forged from the steel recovered from the Word Trade Center, the New York sailed up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge, turned around, and saled back down to pier 88.  Crowds of onlookers watched,  including dignitaries and families of survivors.

 

 

According to NPR:

Families of September 11th victims as well as first responders gathered at a viewing area where they could see the crew on the deck of the battleship. Shots were fired in three bursts in a 21-gun salute

There are 361 sailors serving aboard the ship at present and about 13 percent are from New York State. There were many requests from Navy personal to serve on the ship. Rosaleen Tallon, who lost her brother, a firefighter, said she was proud the military was using the steel, transforming something twisted and ugly.

After the ceremony, the USS New York headed up the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge. An official commissioning ceremony will take place Saturday. It will remain in New York until after Veterans day and will then go to Norfolk, Va. for about a year of crew training and exercises


 

 

Click here to see a video of the making of the USS New York and her sister ships.  It is truly amazing to see this ship arise from the ashes.

WASPS Award…60 Years Later

MoonHowler

Tonight’s Cold Case was pretty interesting. It was the story of a WASP (Women’s Airforce Service Pilot) in 1944 whose plane and remains were found when a pond was being emptied. The Cold Case crew discovered that she had been murdered. The rest is history, or so I thought. At the end of the show, mention was made of the fact that on July 1, 2009, President Obama and Congress presented 1,073 WASPs with the Congressional Gold Metal.

Like most things dealing with honoring WWII vets, this award was a long time coming. If you recall, the WWII Memorial was only dedicated a little more than five years ago. These women were highly resented as women in uniform. The fact that they could fly only added insult to injury. Their service was seen as doing men’s work back in those days. They only flew non-combatant flights yet 38 were killed in the line of duty.

This service branch started in 1942 and between 1942 and the end of the war more than 1000 women joined up. Today, only about 300 are still alive. Still, they must have been thrilled to finally have their efforts formally acknowledged.

According to the U.S. Airforce website:

Women’s Airforce Service Pilots Elaine Danforth Harmon, Bernice Falk Haydu and Lorraine H. Rodgers were joined by five female current Air Force pilots in the White House Oval Office to witness the president sign into law a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the WASP.

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Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds–Dead at Age 46

MoonHowler

The real Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds has died of the ravages of lupus at age 46.
Lucy Vodden died in London after a long battle with the chronic disease.

Many people have always thought that ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ was a tribute to LSD. Actually Lucy, age 4, was a friend of John Lennon’s son, Julian, in pre-school. He came home one day from school with a drawing and told his dad that it was ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.’ Thus, the song came in to being. John Lennon was gathering material for the Sgt. Pepper Album.

Julian and Lucy lost track of each other over the years. They reunited after Julian found out about her illness.

According to Huffington Post:

He sent her flowers and vouchers for use at a gardening center near her home in Surrey in southeast England, and frequently sent her text messages in an effort to buttress her spirits.

“I wasn’t sure at first how to approach her,” Julian Lennon told the Associated Press in June. “I wanted at least to get a note to her. Then I heard she had a great love of gardening, and I thought I’d help with something she’s passionate about, and I love gardening too. I wanted to do something to put a smile on her face.”

In recent months, Vodden was too ill to go out most of the time, except for hospital visits.

She enjoyed her link to the Beatles, but was not particularly fond of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”

“I don’t relate to the song, to that type of song,” she told the Associated Press in June. “As a teenager, I made the mistake of telling a couple of friends at school that I was the Lucy in the song and they said, ‘No, it’s not you, my parents said it’s about drugs.’ And I didn’t know what LSD was at the time, so I just kept it quiet, to myself.”

Vodden is the latest in a long line of people connected to the Beatles who died at a relatively young age

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So the mystery is solved. Just as ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ was a kid’s song, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ was about a 4 year old playmate of Julian Lennon. 

R.I.P. Lucy. It is also wonderful to read of Julian’s kindness towards an old school mate. It shows there is still much decency in the world.

Full story is at:

 Huffington Post
Wall Street Journal

Mail Online  (includes pictures)

Enlarge picture

The video is from Cirque du Solei -Love- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

The Eagle Has Landed–One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

MoonHowler

Forty years ago today we heard those words that we will never forget:

“The Eagle has landed” and  “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Those now-famous words by Neil Armstrong will always be remembered as what’s good about the 60’s and what was good about America.

To accomplish such a feat was thought to be almost impossible. America gained world-wide respect. Millions around the world watched our accomplishments. Today, space travel is much more global. In those days it was a race between 2 nations: USA and USSR. Regardless, to most of us back then, the journey seemed impossible, unbelievable; we stared in disbelief as we heard those words when two Americans walked on the surface of the moon. It left us filled with pride but also feeling numb.

Here are the highlights of the Apollo 11 Mission. In it you will see and hear the famous words as well as see Walter Cronkite’s reaction to the lunar landing. He was like a school boy.

 

There are 3 videos. The first shows the highlights of the Apollo 11 Mission.

 

 
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Apollo 11– 40 Years Ago Today

MoonHowler

Forty years ago, Americans who had access to a television all held their collective breath as Apollo 11, launched from Cape Kennedy carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins. The destination? The Moon, over 218,000 miles away from earth.

This destination had been in the works for nearly a decade, since President Kennedy boldly announced:

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”

Ironically, tonight Space Shuttle Endeavor finally launched, after 5 or so delays because of bad weather or equipment issues. As it climbed its way into space, leaving the constraints of earth, gravity and all the thing we know, I was reminded of how fearful and frightening these space ventures still are. While much has changed in 40 years, some things remain the same. The trip is still extremely risky. Escaping earth is death-defying. Returning to earth, even more so. Since those early space pioneers first left earth for the Moon, America has lost 2 missions and entire crews.

The fact that those brave men accomplished their mission and returned to earth is a miracle in itself. I am still in awe of their accomplishments and will never forget the fear we all felt every time there was a rocket launched. In addition to fear, we all felt a tremendous amount of pride in America’s accomplishments.

The space race all took place during the Cold War. America had lost face in 1959. It had not been first. The Russians had beaten us by having the first satellite, Sputnik, orbit the earth. Now, a decade later, as Apollo 11 lifted from Earth, we all waited with baited breath, glued to our televisions. Would they land on the moon, or would they overshoot their target? Would they keep on going, never to be heard from again? Would they be able to land the craft? Would they meet some unexpected horror outside the Eagle? Would they be able to escape the Moon’s gravity? Would they be able to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere?

Notice the faces of the the onlookers. The expressions show the fear, the pride, the uncertainty of the mission. Did those faces we see in the video from 40 years ago look the same as those who watched the Endeavor launch last night?

This Apollo thread is dedicated to all of us who remember that day:

Second Alamo, Censored, Marie, Ivan

Leave me a note if I left you out because I thought you were too young 😉

Adding the following youngsters: Gainesville Resident

 

Operation Overlord — 65 years Ago Today

MoonHowler

Sixty-five years ago today, over one hundred fifty-thousand allied troops charged the beaches of Normandy, many getting sliced down in the prime of their lives by 6 foot waves, a salvo of enemy fire, and anything else that the Germans could throw at them. The amphibious assault was a miracle in itself. The open beaches were lined with concertina wire, land mines, and barricades of all sorts. Towering cliffs hid the enemy and the barrage of shells that came raining down. There was nowhere to hide. No where to run. Some troops came in by parachute behind enemy lines. Many of those young men were cut down as they drifted to earth.

The landing included 5,000 ships and 11,000 airplanes. The casualty rates were horrendous. According to Memorial History:

When it was over, the Allied Forces had suffered nearly 10,000 casualties; more than 4,000 were dead. Yet somehow, due to planning and preparation, and due to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the Allied Forces, Fortress Europe had been breached

One town in Virginia was hit especially hard with casualties: Bedford. Bedford, Virginia is a small town in southwest Virginia. It is also the site of the world-famous World War II D-Day Memorial.

Why was Bedford, Virginia chosen as the site of a D-Day Memorial? According to the official D-Day Memorial website:

Bedford, Virginia
Like eleven other Virginia communities, Bedford provided a company of soldiers (Company A) to the 29th Infantry Division when the National Guard’s 116th Infantry Regiment was activated on 3 February 1941. Some thirty Bedford soldiers were still in that company on D-Day; several more from Bedford were in other D-Day companies, including one who, two years earlier, had been reassigned from the 116th Infantry to the First Infantry Division. Thus he had already landed in both Northern Africa and Sicily before coming ashore on D-Day at Omaha Beach with the Big Red One. Company A of the 116th Infantry assaulted Omaha Beach as part of the First Division’s Task Force O. By day’s end, nineteen of the company’s Bedford soldiers were dead. Two more Bedford soldiers died later in the Normandy campaign, as did yet another two assigned to other 116th Infantry companies. Bedford’s population in 1944 was about 3,200. Proportionally this community suffered the nation’s severest D-Day losses. Recognizing Bedford as emblematic of all communities, large and small, whose citizen-soldiers served on D-Day, Congress warranted the establishment of the National D-Day Memorial here.

The youngest D-Day and World War II veterans are 82 years old. On the 65th anniversary of D-Day, one only assumes that fewer and fewer of these heroes will be amongst us on future anniversaries. WWII veterans are dying at the rate of a thousand per day. The D-Day Memorial has the following events planned:

The 65th anniversary of D-Day will find our youngest D-Day and WWII veterans turning 82 years of age. The years to come will find ever fewer of them among us, and fewer still able to travel and share their stories. Because that day will arrive all too soon, the National D-Day Memorial will present “Overlord Echoes” June 4-7, 2009 to allow veterans and the public to share information and perspectives on D-Day with the larger purpose of preserving the lessons and legacy of that decisive moment in history.

The D-Day Memorial is in very poor financial health. It is not part of the National Park Service. Donations have dried up. Perhaps it is the economy. Perhaps it is that D-Day was 65 years ago. It is not fresh on our minds. The Memorial doesn’t sit out in the middle of the Mall in D.C. It is not able to sustain itself on gifts alone. Attached is the link if you want to help.

This town’s people have sacrificed more than it seems possible to bear. The D-Day Memorial only seems fitting in this town; the home of so many who made the ultimate sacrifice. It would be a dishonor to those who suffered and died, not just on D-Day but throughout all of WWII, for it to have to close because of lack of funds.

A must-see video: One Soldier’s Longest Day
Very informative! Author Seltzer gives us a first hand recount not only of D-Day but also liberating a concentration camp.

Ghost Busters Proclaim Evidence of Paranormal in PWC

MoonHowler

It seems that here in Prince William County, things can definitely go bump in the night. Every once in a while it’s good to set the politics aside and check out what else is going on in the world around us, or in the netherworld around us in this case. What better on a snowy Sunday than a good ghost story or two!

I have long heard people talk about apparitions and strange occurrences happening out in the battlefield. Stories have been featured on the History Channel and other cable spots about ghostly happenings at the Stone House which served as a hospital during the Civil War. It makes sense that war and death might create the perfect setting for specters and paranormal events.

However, today’s News and Messenger takes us to the other side of the county to the Weems-Botts Museum in Dumfries for our scare of the week. All sorts of tales from the dark side are supposedly happening over there—so much so that a team of ghost busters was brought in last fall to investigate and document some of the paranormal phenomena.
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Middle Eastern Powder Keg: Israel and Hamas

MoonHowler

There is probably no bigger immigration issue than the one involving Israel and Palestine. Currently both of these sides are engaged in open warfare. I have said ‘sides’ because there is no state of Palestine. Obviously, there is a state of Israel, formed May 14, 1948. Much of the deep seated bone of contention is that Israel was formed on former Palestinian lands.
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Museum of American History Reopens: Glimpse of VA History Emerges

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The “whites only” lunch counter that helped to spark the civil rights movement is on display for the reopening of the National Museum of American History in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. Smithsonian staff member Maverick Parker works in the background, preparing the museum for the public when the doors open on Friday, Nov. 21.

Source: Insidenova.com

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The National Museum of American History has reopened after a two-year, $85 million renovation.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell read President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on Friday morning to a crowd of at least 200 people who had gathered on the museum’s steps before the doors opened.

Costumed historic characters portraying George and Martha Washington, among others, are on hand for a three-day festival to celebrate the reopening.

Inside, visitors found favorite exhibits such as Kermit the Frog and a gallery devoted to the American presidency.

A line quickly formed outside the Star-Spangled Banner gallery. The museum opened with the firing of a cannon from that era.

A side note, tonight is the last night for the 4 story light show on the NMAH building. It will be projected from 5 -10 pm.

More Virginia History-

Back in the 50’s and 60’s, the lunch counters at Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers department stores in Richmond both were scenes of protest because of segregated lunch counters. For those of you who missed the lunch counter era of huge department stores, just hearing about it might seem meaningless.

Virginia managed to survive massive resistance and school closings in 4 different localities. To my knowledge, Virginia was never associated with the violence one thinks of during the days of desegregation. Perhaps Virginia is for lover and handles change well. Did we not just turn Virgina blue?

Further reading on Virginia’s Civil Rights history is more important than ever. In 1989 Virginia elected its first black governor since Reconstruction and on November 4, 2008, not only voted Democratic for the first time since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, but also voted Democratic for the first Black President of the United States.