Today in Ranger history

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Re: Today in Ranger history

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Today is National Medal of Honor Day! The first Medals of Honor were presented on March 25, 1863. To commemorate this date and all Medal of Honor recipients, Congress declared March 25th as National Medal of Honor Day. The Medal of Honor is reserved for those who have distinguished themselves “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity.” This National Medal of Honor Day, we remember the courage and selfless sacrifice of those incredible individuals. 3,498 have been awarded the Medal of Honor and today there are 75 Living Recipients of the Medal of Honor.
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On this day in 1982, a groundbreaking ceremony is held for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It had been 9 years since the last American combat troops left South Vietnam.

The Memorial was the culmination of a three-year project, spearheaded by a group of Vietnam veterans. These veterans wanted to encourage Americans to remember their support for the U.S. military who had served in that conflict, even if they disagreed with the U.S. policies that had led Americans to Vietnam in the first place.

The organization raised more than $8,000,000, all from private sources. Did you know that more than 275,000 Americans contributed to the cause? The design for the Memorial itself came from the winner of a national design competition, hosted by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. A 21-year old college student won the contest. More than 1,400 designs had been submitted!

If you’ve seen it, then you know that the memorial is made from polished black granite, and it lists the names of our lost men and women. A symbol is inscribed before each name: A diamond means that the individual’s death was confirmed. A cross means that the individual was missing (or possibly imprisoned) at the end of the war and remains unaccounted for. More than 58,000 names are inscribed on the Memorial.

Designs and plans for the Memorial were approved by Congress on March 11, 1982. The groundbreaking occurred at a site near the Lincoln Memorial on March 26.

Today is a good day to remember the many sacrifices that have been made by the men and women in our military. A big Thank You to everyone who serves our great country!
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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The last United States combat troops left Vietnam on this date in 1973. Troop strength in the country had peaked at over half a million soldiers in 1969, which was also the year when war protests at home were reaching their highest levels. In the early 1970s, Nixon began to withdraw troops to aid the transfer of the responsibility over to South Vietnam. At the same time, he increased U.S. bombing of the North and expanded American troops into Cambodia and Laos to try to cut off supply lines. In January 1973, the United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Vietcong signed a peace agreement in Paris. Although this agreement ended the United States' direct involvement in the war, the cease-fire didn't hold; within weeks, it was broken by North Vietnam, and the war was back in full force by 1974.

The war was so unpopular, and the anti-war protests so widespread, that returning soldiers were advised to change into civilian clothes before getting off the plane, for their own safety. One soldier, Howard Kern, blamed the public hostility on the media for focusing on the negative. "[They] showed the bad things the military was doing over there and the body counts," he recalled. "A lot of combat troops would give their C rations to Vietnamese children, but you never saw anything about that — you never saw all the good that GIs did over there."

After the U.S. ground forces withdrew, 7,000 civilian personnel remained in Saigon to help South Vietnam with the war effort. The last Americans were evacuated in 1975, when Saigon fell to the communists.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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Today in Infantry History – April 2, 1944 – Merrill’s Marauders were heavily engaged at Nhpum Ga, Burma. The U.S. Army’s 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) was organized and trained for long-range penetration behind enemy lines in Japanese-held Burma. Commanded by BG Frank D. Merrill, its 2,997 officers and men became popularly known as "Merrill's Marauders." From February to May 1944, the operations of the Marauders were closely coordinated with those of the Chinese 22nd and 38th Divisions in a drive to recover northern Burma and clear the way for the construction of the Ledo Road, which was to link the Indian railhead at Ledo with the old Burma Road to China. The Marauders were foot soldiers who marched and fought through jungles and over mountains from the Hukawng Valley in northwestern Burma to Myitkyina on the Irrawaddy River.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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On this day in 1740, a future American patriot was born in Leszno, Poland. Yes, you heard me right. An American patriot born in Poland!

One of the things that has always made our country great is the wonderful diversity of the people who have made their way to our shores and fought for freedom and opportunity.

This particular patriot’s name was Haym Salomon. He was a Jewish man (probably) of Portuguese descent. He’s another of those patriots who fought for our freedom, but have somehow failed to gain too much attention in our schools’ textbooks.

Little is known of Salomon’s early life except that he apparently traveled Europe a bit and become fluent in many languages. (This skill would become valuable later.) Salomon made his way to America in the early 1770’s. Once in America, he became a well-respected and successful financial broker. But he would eventually risk everything that he had in the fight for independence.

At this point, I should tell you that Salomon’s story has become distorted over time, and it can be difficult to separate fact from the fiction. So, we could dismiss Salomon’s story, I suppose, because it is hard to figure out which part is mythology and which part is true. But that would do him a real disservice. One thing about his life seems very obvious: He was dedicated to the cause of the Revolution, and he risked an awful lot to help.

The grand myth is that Salomon personally financed all or part of the war, but that is surely an exaggeration. What he **did** do was to help Founders whose personal affairs were suffering while they served in the war. For instance, he apparently made personal loans to members of the Continental Congress who could not tend to their affairs at home. James Madison wrote in September 1782 that the “kindness of our little friend in Front Street near the Coffee House is a fund which will preserve me from extremities, but I never resort to it without great mortification, as he obstinately rejects all recompense.”

Salomon was active with the Sons of Liberty and was arrested by the British for being a spy. He was later pardoned and released from jail because the British wanted him to act as a translator for their German troops. Salomon, however, began aiding and abetting those Germans that wanted to dessert! He was arrested and imprisoned again. This time, he was sentenced to death, but he managed to escape. When he escaped, he wrote the Continental Congress that he had “most irrecoverably lost all his effects and . . . left his distressed wife and a child of a month old at New York . . . .” Later, he helped to sell U.S. government securities, which were needed to finance the war. Such a job had to be much harder than it sounds! He was selling government securities for a government that (to some) did not exist. Maybe not the best investment? But his personal reputation enabled him to accomplish this difficult task.

When Solomon died unexpectedly in 1785, he had no assets.

The abundant (and obviously not quite true) mythology may have made it impossible for us to ever fully know Haym Salomon’s story. But we should at least know that there **is** a story to tell about him.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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On April 11, 1951, President Harry S. Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of his command in the Far East. MacArthur, who had made public statements contradicting the Truman administration’s policies in Korea, is replaced by Lieutenant General Mathew B. Ridgway.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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12 April 1861, the day the American Civil War began.

http://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/04 ... source=ktp
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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This Day In History: The Bay Of Pigs Invasion Began

http://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/04 ... source=ktp
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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On this day in 1775, Paul Revere makes his famous ride. I am so sorry to tell you that he did not really yell “the British are coming!” as he rode. wink emoticon;) But he did accomplish his important goal: He warned Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming, apparently with the intent to arrest them.

During the spring of 1775, the state of Massachusetts was in turmoil. The British had appointed a military governor and British soldiers had been dispatched to the state. Their task? Enforce the Coercive Acts and suppress rebellion among the colonists.

The Patriots formed a committee to keep an eye on the British soldiers and to gain intelligence about their movements. Revere himself later said that the committee was very careful to keep its existence a secret. “[E]very time we met,” he wrote, “every person swore upon the Bible, that they would not discover any of our transactions, But to Messrs. Hancock, Adams, Doctors Warren, Church, & one or two more.”

One Saturday night in April 1775, committee members noted unusual movements among the British boats and soldiers. They figured something was afoot. By April 18, the movements of the soldiers were becoming even more suspicious. Dr. Joseph Warren sent for Paul Revere at about 10:00 p.m. He asked Revere to take off immediately for Lexington. Revere was to warn Hancock and Adams about the soldiers; it was believed that they were about to be arrested.

Warren had already dispatched another man, William Dawes, with the exact same message. The two men took different routes. The logic was that, if the same message traveled by two different routes, then surely at least one of the messengers would arrive safely. (See April 6 history post.)

Revere had previously helped to arrange for a signaling system, just in case a warning could not be delivered in person. If the British were coming “by Water, we would shew two Lanthorns in the North Church Steeple; & if by Land, one, as a Signal.” He ensured that this signal would be sent, then he set off on his journey. Two friends rowed him across the Charles River. On the other side of the river, he was able to get a horse and set off at about 11:00 p.m.

Soon after he took off, by his own account, he “saw two men on Horse back, under a Tree. When I got near them, I discovered they were British officer. One tryed to git a head of Me, & the other to take me. I turned my Horse very quick, & Galloped towards Charlestown neck, and then pushed for the Medford Road. . . . I got clear of him . . . .”

Revere arrived in Lexington in time to warn Hancock and Adams. Then he and Dawes set off for Concord to help secure the weapons and supplies there. They were soon joined by another rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott. Unfortunately, the trio was stopped by British officers. Prescott and Dawes escaped, but Revere did not. One of the British officers, Revere later wrote, “Clapped his pistol to my head, called me by name, & told me he was going to ask me some questions, & if I did not give him true answers, he would blow my brains out.”

Revere ended up getting away when one of the British soldiers needed his horse. Although then on foot, he managed to get back in time to see part of the Battle on Lexington Green.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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On this day in 1775, the “shot heard round the world” occurs at Lexington Green!

It had been mere hours since Paul Revere ended his famous ride from Boston to Lexington (see yesterday’s post). Seven hundred British soldiers were en route to Concord. Their goal? They wanted to seize the weapons and supplies that Americans had stored at Concord, Massachusetts.

In the early morning hours of April 19, the British troops ran into about 70 American minutemen on Lexington Green. These men were led by Captain John Parker, a veteran of the French and Indian War. As the British approached, the Americans stood firm. But then someone heard a British officer shout: “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!” Others heard similar variations of the same comment: “Throw down your arms, ye villains, ye rebels” or “Ye villains, ye rebels, disperse, damn you, disperse!”

In the meantime, Parker later testified that he “immediately ordered our Militia to disperse, and not to fire.” Most of the men began to disperse, as ordered, but some never heard the order. And NONE of the Americans put down their arms.

No one really knows who fired the first shot that followed . . . the “shot heard round the world”!

Some British officers were certain that it was a provincial hidden behind a hedge. Others thought the shot came from a nearby tavern. Some of the militia at Lexington were certain that British officers fired at them.

Regardless, the first shot WAS fired. The British began firing at Americans, leaving eighteen Americans killed or wounded. Some Americans returned fire, but only one British soldier was mildly wounded.

The British troops continued toward Concord. They searched for weapons without finding anything of note. Potentially, the British could have simply returned to Boston at that point but for one thing: A fire broke out. The source of that fire is unknown, but the American militia thought that the British were burning down buildings. They ran for North Bridge and a brief skirmish ensued, leaving 3 British and 2 Americans dead. The British began their retreat toward Boston.

Americans fired upon British soldiers the entire way back to Boston, where they cornered them in the city. In all, nearly 300 British soldiers were killed or wounded during the retreat. By contrast, Americans lost less than 100.

The Library of Congress summarizes: “By the end of the day, the colonists were singing ‘Yankee Doodle’ and the American Revolution had begun.”
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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On this day in 1775, Benedict Arnold and his company of foot guards demand the keys to the New Haven powder house. They’d heard about the action at Lexington and Concord, and they wanted to join the fight!

Yes, this is the same Benedict Arnold who later became a traitor to the American cause. During the early stages of the American Revolution, he was anything but a traitor. To the contrary, he was a genuine American hero! If he’d been killed early in the war, his reputation would undoubtedly be quite different from the one you are used to hearing.

Arnold was commanding the Second Company, Governor’s Foot Guard when news of the Battle of Lexington reached New Haven on April 21. Fifty-eight of his Guard immediately voted to march to Massachusetts to help the Patriot effort outside Boston. The next day, April 22, the men gathered on the New Haven Green. They were ready to go!

The assembled men received a blessing from the Reverend Jonathan Edwards. They were in full dress and prepared to depart, except for one thing: They needed gunpowder and other supplies. Unfortunately, the town selectmen had already voted not to offer military assistance in Massachusetts. Arnold would need to get around these timid town leaders! He marched to the door of Beer’s Tavern, where the town selectmen were then gathered.

The details of what happened next have become a little muddled over time, but the selectmen apparently decided to send David Wooster, the head of the New Haven militia, out to meet with Arnold (his fellow Mason).

Wooster would later die a hero during the war. But at this point in 1775, he was not yet ready to give the powder house keys to Arnold. He thought that Arnold should wait for regular orders.

Of course, Arnold was never one to wait around. He reportedly shouted at Wooster: “None but the Almighty God shall prevent my marching!” He insisted that he would break down the door in five minutes if Wooster did not hand him the keys. The town leaders finally relented. Arnold’s men let themselves into the Powder House, where they armed themselves before embarking upon their three-day march to Cambridge.

The anniversary of Arnold’s action is still celebrated in New Haven, Connecticut. Happy Powder House Day to those of you in the Elm City!
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On this day in 1781, the battle of Petersburg is fought in Virginia. Some history books list the event as a “skirmish,” but it was surely more than that. The battle was fought by roughly 3,500 men and lasted for 3 hours!

The British had not really focused on Virginia for most of the Revolutionary War, but things changed in December 1780. The British Commander-in-Chief, Sir Henry Clinton, asked one of his new officers to gain a foothold in Virginia. That new officer was none other than the American turncoat, Benedict Arnold.

Arnold was aggressive! Maybe he thought he had something to prove? He promptly marched toward Richmond and burned it in January 1781. By April, he was working with Major General William Phillips. Together, their forces numbered between 2,300 and 2,500 British soldiers. Newly in charge of all the British forces in Virginia, Phillips decided to attack the town of Petersburg, Virginia, which held many military supplies and tobacco.

Fortunately, at least one American anticipated the plan. Remember Baron Von Steuben? He was the Prussian-born officer who helped train Washington’s men at Valley Forge. Von Steuben recognized the value of Petersburg as a target. There were no Continental Army regulars in the state, but he sent for Virginia militia to help defend Petersburg. He also began moving supplies away from the city.

The militia were led by a Lutheran minister turned soldier: Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg. Muhlenberg had once stood in front of his congregation and declared: “There is a time to pray and a time to fight, and that time has come now.” He promptly removed his preacher garments to reveal a military uniform. Hundreds of men were recruited to the cause on the spot.

At this juncture, Muhlenberg led between 1,000 and 1,200 men. No one really expected the militia to defeat the more experienced British soldiers, but Von Steuben thought it was important to make a stand. Virginians would be demoralized if they gave up the town of Petersburg without a fight.

And make a stand, they did! Muhlenberg’s men held the British at bay for hours. Thomas Jefferson later reported to George Washington that although the “Enemy were 2300 strong [the militia] disputed the Ground very handsomely two Hours during which time the Enemy gained one mile only & that by inches.” Finally, after three hours of fighting, the Americans made an orderly retreat across the Pocahontas Bridge, close to Petersburg. They removed planks from the bridge as they left, complicating the British pursuit.

Benedict Arnold must have been super irritated. He never had an especially high opinion of militia, but now a motley crew of them were holding the experienced British soldiers at bay!

When the British finally entered Petersburg, they discovered that most of the military stores were gone. Maybe even better, Muhlenberg’s men delayed the British for an extra day, thus giving Americans time to better fortify the heights near Richmond. A second sacking of Richmond was prevented.

The Battle may not technically have been a victory, but Von Steuben had certainly achieved his goal.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1776, Lord George Germain informs British General William Howe that Hessian troops are on their way to America.

What are Hessians? And why on earth would they be headed to American shores?

The answer may not be what you expect. When the American Revolution began, the British had trouble recruiting sufficient numbers of soldiers from their own population, at home. As early as 1775, they sought to hire mercenaries from Russia or Germany. These efforts were unsuccessful in Russia, but the British had an easier time in Germany. Did you know that Germany then consisted of more than 300 different principalities? Some of these principalities were willing to hire out their soldiers.

The term “Hessian” is shorthand. Most of the Germanic people who came to America were from the German states of Hesse-Cassel (or Hesse-Kassel) and Hesse-Hanau. However, German soldiers were hired from other states as well.

In Hesse-Cassel, young boys signed up for military service when they were only 7 years old. They could be called to military service anytime between age 16 and 30. The training and discipline was generally harsh, yet morale was apparently pretty high. The families of soldiers received tax breaks, and the soldiers were able to keep plunder as part of their compensation.

Okay, so they weren’t really **supposed** to keep the plunder, but somehow their officers managed to look away at just the right times. wink emoticon;)

For their part, Americans were furious that the British had hired Hessians. It would have been normal practice to hire mercenaries and auxiliaries to help fight a war against another country. But at this point, Americans still considered themselves to be British citizens! Why would their own government hire Hessians to fight against them? The hiring of the Hessians, one historian explains, was “irrefutable proof to the colonists that they were to be treated as foreigners.”

In short, the British decision to hire Hessians was yet another domino that fell, pushing the American colonists one step closer to a declaration of independence. Indeed, when the formal Declaration was approved in July 1776, the issue even merited a line. Have you ever focused on it?


The sixth to last paragraph in the Declaration of Independence declares:

“[The King] is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.”

Given all this history, perhaps it is ironic that some of the Hessians eventually decided to stay and make their home in America? The German-American community in America was quite strong at the time of the Revolution: Some 200,000 people resided in the country. The Hessians noticed this fact and up to 5,000 of them decided to remain in America when the war was over.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1789, George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States.

The inauguration occurred in New York: There was no such thing as Washington, D.C. back then! Thus, on the morning of April 30, citizens in New York awoke to a salute of thirteen guns and the peal of church bells. Some citizens began their day by attending prayer services. In the meantime, Washington was getting ready for his day.

An inaugural procession to Federal Hall began at half past noon. Washington left the presidential residence accompanied by members of Congress, department heads, and other military figures. He was wearing a relatively simple suit, which he’d had made from cloth manufactured in Connecticut. At the time, most textiles were imported, but Washington wanted to wear something American! “I hope it will not be a great while, before it will be unfashionable for a gentleman to appear in any other dress,” Washington wrote the Marquis de Lafayette at about that time. “Indeed,” he concluded, “we have already been to long subject to British prejudices.” As a result, the suit that Washington wore on that important day was a modest brown woolen suit.

Washington traveled to Federal Hall past throngs of people in a coach drawn by four horses. Once he arrived, Vice President John Adams addressed Washington: “Sir, the Senate and the House of Representatives are ready to attend you to take the oath required by the Constitution. It will be administered by the Chancellor of the State of New York.” Washington’s answer was simple: “I am ready to proceed.” He followed Adams to a balcony overlooking Wall and Broad Streets, where he could see the huge crowds of people. They were in the streets, on rooftops, and watching out windows!

Washington simply bowed to them, with his hand on his heart.

A Bible had been obtained for the occasion, and it lay on a table nearby. The Secretary of the Senate picked up the Bible, and Washington placed his hand on it as he took the oath of office. Once Washington had repeated the oath, he bent forward and kissed the Bible. One eyewitness reported that the conclusion of the oath “was communicated to the crowd by proclamation” and the crowd “gave three cheers, and repeated it on the President bowing to them.” More gun salutes were given. More church bells pealed.

Washington returned to the Senate Chamber, where he delivered his inaugural address.

From a technical standpoint, Washington’s inaugural address was (much) less than perfect. His voice trembled, and he seemed nervous. One Senator wrote: “This great man was agitated and embarrassed more than ever he was by the leveled cannon or pointed musket. He trembled, and several times could scarce make out to read, though it must be supposed he had often read it before.” And yet it was an emotional moment. Congressman Fisher Ames later reported that he “sat entranced” during the speech. Washington’s imperfections served only to highlight his sincerity, and his audience loved him all the more for it.

After the inaugural speech, Washington left Federal Hall with members of Congress. They walked to a nearby chapel, where divine service was performed by the Chaplain of Congress. The day concluded with a display of fireworks.

The man who could have been King was now something much more humble: a President.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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Today in History
Today, in 1975, Vietnam fell. And with that the purpose of the 52,000 names on The Wall. Those of us that were there, lost a lot more than memories.
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