Today in Ranger history

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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1902, a political cartoon is published. It prompts the creation of the teddy bear! Did you know that teddy bears are named after President Teddy Roosevelt? And, if so, do you know why?

It all began when Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino invited Roosevelt on a hunting trip. Roosevelt loved to hunt, but this particular hunt wasn’t going so well for him. He didn’t see a bear for days, whereas the other hunters in the group were doing much better. The details of what happened next are a bit murky, but it seems that the others wanted to help the President get at least one bear.

A few versions of the story are told: Perhaps the hunters found and tied up a bear for the President. Or maybe some of the hunting dogs cornered a bear. Or perhaps the bear was cornered, but only because he’d killed one of the hunting dogs and had been stopped by one of the other hunters. That hunter clubbed the bear, rather than shoot it, saving the final kill for the President.

Whichever way it happened, a bear was trapped and the President was invited to get his prize. All versions of the story agree on what came next: Roosevelt refused to shoot a captured animal. It was unsportsmanlike! He believed in the “fair chase” and would only shoot an animal under those conditions.

Unsurprisingly, the story got out. Within days, a political cartoon was published, depicting the scene. It showed a cute little bear cowering, even as Roosevelt stood with his back to the bear, refusing to shoot it.

The story could have ended there, but . . . this is America, so it didn’t. smile emoticon:) Two entrepreneurs saw an opportunity and grabbed it—although they took extra care to respect their President as they did it.

Two candy shop owners in New York, Rose and Morris Michtom, were inspired to create a stuffed bear. They expected “Teddy’s bear” to sit in the front window of their shop. But on the very first day, at least a dozen people asked if they could buy it! The Michtoms began to wonder if they might need the President’s permission to proceed with their new enterprise, so they mailed him a request: Would the President mind if they named their bears after him?

Along with their request, they sent the original stuffed bear as a gift for the President’s children.

“I don’t think my name is likely to be worth much in the toy bear business,” Roosevelt reportedly replied, “but you are welcome to use it. I wish you great luck with your toy bear business.”

Roosevelt must have been surprised by what followed?

Before too long, the Michtoms were selling so many bears that they shut down their candy shop and opened a toy company, the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. Other entrepreneurs were soon following suit, making their own versions of the teddy bear. The Republican Party even adopted the bear as a mascot of sorts for a while.

And that’s how teddy bears became a staple of American life.
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
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Re: Today in Ranger history

Post by Jim »

From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1902, a political cartoon is published. It prompts the creation of the teddy bear! Did you know that teddy bears are named after President Teddy Roosevelt? And, if so, do you know why?

It all began when Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino invited Roosevelt on a hunting trip. Roosevelt loved to hunt, but this particular hunt wasn’t going so well for him. He didn’t see a bear for days, whereas the other hunters in the group were doing much better. The details of what happened next are a bit murky, but it seems that the others wanted to help the President get at least one bear.

A few versions of the story are told: Perhaps the hunters found and tied up a bear for the President. Or maybe some of the hunting dogs cornered a bear. Or perhaps the bear was cornered, but only because he’d killed one of the hunting dogs and had been stopped by one of the other hunters. That hunter clubbed the bear, rather than shoot it, saving the final kill for the President.

Whichever way it happened, a bear was trapped and the President was invited to get his prize. All versions of the story agree on what came next: Roosevelt refused to shoot a captured animal. It was unsportsmanlike! He believed in the “fair chase” and would only shoot an animal under those conditions.

Unsurprisingly, the story got out. Within days, a political cartoon was published, depicting the scene. It showed a cute little bear cowering, even as Roosevelt stood with his back to the bear, refusing to shoot it.

The story could have ended there, but . . . this is America, so it didn’t. smile emoticon:) Two entrepreneurs saw an opportunity and grabbed it—although they took extra care to respect their President as they did it.

Two candy shop owners in New York, Rose and Morris Michtom, were inspired to create a stuffed bear. They expected “Teddy’s bear” to sit in the front window of their shop. But on the very first day, at least a dozen people asked if they could buy it! The Michtoms began to wonder if they might need the President’s permission to proceed with their new enterprise, so they mailed him a request: Would the President mind if they named their bears after him?

Along with their request, they sent the original stuffed bear as a gift for the President’s children.

“I don’t think my name is likely to be worth much in the toy bear business,” Roosevelt reportedly replied, “but you are welcome to use it. I wish you great luck with your toy bear business.”

Roosevelt must have been surprised by what followed?

Before too long, the Michtoms were selling so many bears that they shut down their candy shop and opened a toy company, the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. Other entrepreneurs were soon following suit, making their own versions of the teddy bear. The Republican Party even adopted the bear as a mascot of sorts for a while.

And that’s how teddy bears became a staple of American life.
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1970, the United States tries—and fails—to rescue POWs being held near Hanoi, Vietnam. What a disappointment! Preparations had been ongoing for months. But, in the end, more than 70 prisoners would remain behind, still captives in Vietnam.

“[E]very man involved in Operation Ivory Coast brought home a broken heart,” one POW would write many years later. “The raid had failed to free American prisoners. Their disappointment was deep.”

Preparations had begun months earlier, with the help of Air Force Brigadier General LeRoy J. Manor and Army Colonel Arthur D. “Bull” Simons. At the time, men were being recruited for a “classified mission with considerable risk involved.” The potential volunteers were also told that there would be no extra pay. Normally, that might be a disincentive? Not for our military! More than 500 men volunteered to help anyway.

Ultimately, a much smaller group of men were chosen for the mission. They would spend months training at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. A replica of the prison camp had been built there, allowing the troops to rehearse their rescue over and over again.

You won’t be surprised to hear that the replica wasn’t just any ol’ replica. wink emoticon;) It was made of wood and cloth and could be assembled and torn down quickly. After all, Russian satellites flew overhead once a day, and secrecy was of the utmost importance.

The Special Forces team practiced its mission 170 times! By the time it was finished, everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do. The men had worked and worked (and worked) until they’d gotten their total time for the raid down to a mere 26 minutes.

Finally, on November 20, the team gathered in Thailand and learned where they were going. The news prompted “thunderous applause,” at least according to one account. Operation Ivory Coast was headed to Son Tay, just outside Hanoi. Intelligence indicated that about 70 POWs were being held in a camp there.

“We could get caught in a firefight and never come back,” Colonel Simons told the room. “If there is anybody who doesn’t want to go, get out now!”

No one moved a muscle.

Instead, the Special Forces team got ready for its raid. Naval forces nearby began a diversionary attack along the coasts of North Vietnam. Everything was going according to plan—until it didn’t.

Special Forces arrived at the prison camp, only to discover that the POWs weren’t there. There was no one left to rescue.

They couldn’t then know it, but the POWs hadn’t been moved too far away. In fact, some American captives were close enough to hear the attack and wonder if their country was trying to find them.

Naturally, their captors worked hard to squash that hope. They wanted our POWs to believe that we’d forgotten them.

Why didn’t American intelligence know that the POWs had been moved in the first place? Well, some people probably did know—or at least wonder. But, as one participant later summarized: “The raid was allowed to take place because those who had the correct intelligence information were not aware that someone was contemplating a POW rescue.”

Operation Ivory Coast had several positive effects, despite the initial failure: Many Americans were relieved to have solid evidence that their military and President were committed to bringing the POWs home. They’d been losing confidence, but now morale was restored.

This day so long ago had a sad ending, but it wasn’t the end of the story, either. The POWs were finally released in 1973.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On or around this day in 1621, the Pilgrims enjoy a three-day feast! They are grateful for their harvest after a long, hard first year in the New World.

You already know that the Pilgrims fled England because they feared religious persecution. Their voyage on the Mayflower began in September 1620—and it was a rough one!

“In many of these storms the winds were so fierce, and the seas so high, as they could not bear a knot of sail, but were forced to heave to for many days together,” the future Governor of the colony later wrote. “And in one [mighty storm] . . . a strapping young man (called John Howland) was, with a lurch of the ship thrown into the sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the ropes which hung overboard.”

Howland was pulled back into the boat and survived!

Can you imagine how grateful the Pilgrims must have been when they finally arrived in America? Almost all of them had made it—including a baby born during the journey! Unfortunately, the Pilgrims would not be as fortunate in the year that followed.

They had arrived in the midst of winter: For months, they would face problems on several fronts. How to build shelters? How to get food? How to nurse the many people who were falling ill during the harsh winter months? How to make peace with local Indian tribes? Some of these tasks they accomplished on their own, but they also owed much to an Indian named Squanto. Fortunately for the Pilgrims, Squanto spoke English. (The skill had not come easily for Squanto, who learned the language because he’d spent time in captivity in England.)

By September 1621, only half of the original 102 Pilgrims had survived, but they’d also learned much about how to live in the New World. They owed a debt of gratitude to Squanto, who taught them how to raise crops in the New England soil and climate. They’d also worked out treaties and were living in peace with many of the local Indian tribes.

As the first harvest came in, the Pilgrims were surely happy to enjoy a feast with their new Indian friends. They shared deer, ducks, and turkey. A recently harvested barley crop meant that it would have been possible to (finally) brew beer at about this time!

For many reasons, the feast was welcome after the long, difficult year. But, despite the good meal and happy times, the overall harvest was not as plentiful as you might imagine. Nor was it plentiful the next year. In fact, the Pilgrims were still really struggling until 1623 when their governor, William Bradford, made an interesting decision.

He changed from a communal system of growing crops to a more private one. Each household was given its own private plot of land. In essence, he changed from a socialist-type system to a more capitalist one.

“[T]hey began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could,” Bradford later explained, “and obtain a better crop than they had done. . . . And so assigned to every family a parcel of land . . . . This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been . . . . The women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn; which before would allege weakness and inability . . . .”

Historian Nathaniel Philbrick concludes: “The Pilgrims had stumbled on the power of capitalism.” They still faced struggles in the New World, but they never again faced starvation.

Capitalism! The second half of the Pilgrims’ story, which is rarely discussed these days. Food for thought as you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal. wink emoticon;)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Ranger Class 13-71
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42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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On this date in Ranger History: November 25, 1950

1st Lt. Ralph Puckett and his men captured Hill 205, a strategic point overlooking the Chong Chon River, Korea. Initially, they had to brace for attack from all sides, as the company of only 51 Rangers strong was more than a mile from the nearest friendly unit and vulnerable to being completely surrounded.

Fortunately for the Rangers, they had artillery support for parts of the night. Earlier in the evening, Lt. Puckett had coordinated a series of increasingly more dangerous fire missions with the artillery, in order to allow the Rangers artillery support to rapidly adjust to new attacks.

At 10 p.m., the Chinese began their attack by firing a mortar salvo against Lt. Puckett and his Rangers. Six waves of Chinese forces assaulted the Hill for the next four and a half hours. Several times, Lt. Puckett was forced to call in artillery fire, "danger close," placing the Rangers within the danger radius of the friendly artillery fire.

During the course of the battle, Lt. Puckett was wounded several times, once by grenade fragments and then twice more when two mortars landed in his fox hole. After his wounds rendered him barley conscious, and ordering the withdrawal of his forces, two of Lt. Puckett's Rangers, Pfc. David L. Pollack and Pfc. Billy G. Walls dragged him down the hill, as they received small arms fire. Lt. Puckett was medically evacuated from the hill and was hospitalized for a year for the wounds suffered that night.

Rangers Lead the Way!
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1782, a preliminary peace treaty is signed by British and American representatives. It was just one of many steps in the long, hard road to negotiate a peace between Britain and America after the Revolution.

We all hear about George Washington’s victory at Yorktown! But we hear much less about the two years that followed: We weren’t really at war anymore. But we weren’t really at peace, either.

You may recall that the American victory at Yorktown occurred on October 19, 1781. Yet peace talks did not begin until months afterwards. Americans hoped that British General Charles Cornwallis’s surrender would be respected, but what if King George III refused to accept the situation? Fortunately, by April 1782, American and British representatives were meeting in Paris to begin the process. A preliminary peace treaty was signed by British and American representatives in November 1782. That treaty reached American shores in March 1783.

Do you think that people gave a huge sigh of relief when the preliminary agreement finally arrived?

Congress acted quickly. It declared a cessation of hostilities against Great Britain on April 11. A few days later, it approved the preliminary articles of peace. George Washington received word of these actions, and he had the cessation of hostilities formally declared in his camp on April 19.

It had been exactly 8 years, to the day, since the “shot heard round the world” at the Battles of Lexington and Concord!

Yet, even then, the peace still was not final. Several months later, the official Treaty of Paris was (finally) signed. Congress approved that Treaty in January 1784.

During all this time, George Washington faced a bit of a challenge: The army could not be disbanded. Some American cities were still occupied by the British. And what if the peace fell through and the army was needed again? On the other hand, the soldiers were restless and worried about whether they would get paid. Washington somehow, amazingly, managed to hold his army together throughout 1782. He ran drills and kept them organized, despite the fact that they really had no official purpose—except to wait and see if they were needed.

Throughout this long two-year period, Washington stayed with his Army. You have to wonder how often he simply wanted to go home. But he had to have known that the army would fall into disarray and/or revolt without him. Indeed, in March 1783, when the Newburgh Conspiracy cropped up, only Washington’s presence saved the day.

In October 1782, Washington wrote: “The patience, the fortitude, the long, & great sufferings of this Army is unexampled in history; but there is an end to all things, & I fear we are very near one to this. Which, more than probably, will oblige me to stick very close to my flock this Winter, & try like a careful physicion, to prevent, if possible, the disorder’s getting to an incurable height.”

Washington would finally be able to resign and return home to Mt. Vernon at the end of 1783. He had been away for more than 8 years, with only a few brief exceptions before and after Yorktown. Can you imagine being away from home for so long?

What a joy it must have been to arrive home just in time for Christmas that year.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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On this date in #RangerHistory: December 7, 1944

2nd Rangers, while participating in the Battle of the Huertgen Forest (Germany), were ordered to attack and hold Hill 400 for 24 hours, or until duly relieved. On December 7th, Dog and Fox Companies launched an assault on Hill 400 at 7:30 a.m.

After a #Ranger patrol had reconnoitered the height in the predawn darkness, one company took a position to provide fire support, while the others charged up the slope. Catching the Germans by surprise, the Rangers seized control of the crest and captured 28 prisoners with only slight losses.

Hill 400 was the predominate hill in the area of the Huertgen Forest; approximately one kilometer east of the village center of Bergstein, Germany. From the heights of Hill 400, it would give anyone a commanding view over the entire forest area. It was a strategically important as a vantage point and Germany Artillery Station during the battle of the Huertgen Forest.

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Re: Today in Ranger history

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Operation Red Dawn, Saddam Hussein Captured 13 December 2003


http://specialoperations.com/32136/oper ... mber-2003/
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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George Washington died 14 December 1799.


https://armyhistory.org/general-of-the- ... ashington/
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1944, big band leader Glenn Miller disappears over the English Channel. He and his plane were never found.

Miller was a much-loved and successful musician of the era. He had a string of big hits, such as “Moonlight Serenade” and “In the Mood.” He’d worked on a few successful movies. He was married to his college sweetheart! He had two kids.

In short, he was a man with A LOT to lose. But that didn’t stop him from putting everything on the line for his country.

Miller was in his late 30s when World War II began. Because of his age, he didn’t have to volunteer. He could have simply stayed home in America throughout the war. Nevertheless, Miller tried to sign up for the Navy. When the Navy rejected him, he tried the Army. He ultimately persuaded the Army to take him so he could “put a little more spring into the feet of our marching men and a little more joy in their hearts.”

As a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Force, he had a special task. He would use his talent and fame to boost morale.

Miller put together his Army Air Force Band, which traveled and performed for the troops. Many of these performances were even broadcast back home. Miller had a weekly radio show and was in high demand for much of the long war.

In December 1944, Miller was in England, planning for a Christmas concert in Paris. It was time to celebrate! The French capital had been liberated a few months earlier. He’d arranged to hitch a ride with Lt. Col. Norman Baessell, who was taking a small plane to Paris on December 15. When Miller arrived at the airfield, the weather was less than stellar. Reportedly, Miller expressed concern about the lack of parachutes in the plane. “What’s the matter with you, Miller?” Baessell asked. “Do you want to live forever?”

No one knows exactly what happened next. Miller never arrived in Paris, but his disappearance wasn’t immediately noticed. (The Battle of the Bulge began at about the same time, so attention was focused elsewhere.) Miller’s disappearance finally came to light after a 72-hour delay

Unfortunately, the long delay hindered the investigation. Rumors took root and grew. Was he assassinated? Was he the victim of friendly fire? On the night of his disappearance, an aerial attack had been planned into Germany. The weather had forced the Allies to abort the mission. Some of their bombs had to be jettisoned over the English Channel. Had one of these bombs inadvertently landed on Miller’s plane?

Other stories flew around, too, including one in which he made it to Paris but had a heart attack in somewhat unsavory circumstances.

The truth is probably much more simple, according to researcher Dennis Spragg of the Glenn Miller Archive. In all likelihood, Miller’s disappearance can be attributed to simple mechanical failure. Miller was on a plane that was known to have problems with its carburetor heater. The weather conditions that evening were the sort that could have prompted a mechanical issue related to that problem. The plane most likely crashed into the ocean, killing its passengers quickly.

Miller was a man who could have stayed safely at home in America. Instead he risked—and lost—everything.
Ranger Class 13-71
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1777, George Washington’s army marches into Valley Forge. The army would stay there for a long winter encampment. When you think of Valley Forge, you probably think of half-clothed and starving men, suffering through a long (long!) winter, barely surviving. But Valley Forge was so much more than that.

For one thing, the mood in Valley Forge was significantly better than you might imagine. Yes, some men were not well-clothed and suffered hardships accordingly. But the men who were more fully outfitted took the difficult outdoor tasks. And everyone pitched in, finding supplies in the area around them. Did you know that they built a small city of huts to house themselves? The National Park Service website describes the scene: “The sound that would have reached your ears on approaching the camp was not that of a forlorn howling wind, but rather that of hammers, axes, saws, and shovels at work.”

Yes! The men were self-sufficient! And determined! THIS is the ethic that our country was founded upon.

Other good things happened at Valley Forge, too.

Washington used the time to do two things: First, he used the long months to better train his men. Baron Von Steuben, a Prussian, arrived in February 1778. He ran training drills and generally helped the men to evolve into a more professional army.

Second, Washington used the time to reestablish his credibility with Congress. (His credibility was suffering after a few recent losses and A LOT of bad-mouthing.) In late January, a five-member delegation from Congress came to visit the army. Washington won this delegation over; the members of that committee became his allies and helped him to implement some of the reforms that he wanted.

Yes, the winter was long in many respects. Many men died from the flu, typhus, and other diseases. Yet, at the same time, the army improved. It emerged from its winter encampment better able to take on the British.

One final note: Did you know that George Washington literally never returned home from 1775 all the way until 1781? Throughout his life, Mount Vernon was the single most important possession that he owned. Yet for all the years of the Revolution, he did not return to his home. In 1777, this meant that he joined his men in a difficult winter encampment just outside Philadelphia.

Valley Forge is often painted as a time of despair—a low point—in our country’s history. Such a picture covers up the more inspiring story of what really happened there that winter.
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1943, a German ace bypasses an opportunity to shoot down a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot. Second Lt. Charles “Charlie” Brown was struggling just to keep his crippled B-17 in the air!

“I look out the right window,” Brown would later describe, “and there parked on my right wing is a German BF-109 . . . . I closed my eyes and shook my head as you would with a nightmare. If I close my eyes and open them again, he’ll be gone. Well, I opened them again and he was still there.”

Inexplicably, Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler never fired on Brown. Instead, he escorted the Americans out of German air space, enabling the B-17 to continue on to a safe landing in England.

Both men survived and would find each other many decades after World War II. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Brown and Stigler would spend the last years of their lives as dear friends.

It all started one cold day in December 1943. Brown was returning from a bombing run on a German factory. Brown’s plane was badly damaged during the effort and was trying to return home. One of his crew was dead and several more were injured. At one point, Brown himself had lost consciousness, sending the plane into a deep nose dive. Brown had recovered just in time to save the plane.

When Stigler caught up to the plane, he thought it the “most heavily damaged aircraft I ever saw that was still flying.”

Stigler was in an odd position. He’d already downed two bombers that day. One more would earn him one of his nation’s highest awards: the Knight’s Cross. Perhaps even more persuasively, a decision not to attack the American plane would have been considered such a terrible offense that he could be executed for it. Yet he looked at the plane, saw the wounded men struggling to survive, and he found that he simply couldn’t take action against them.

“I cannot kill these half-dead people,” he thought. “It would be like shooting at a parachute.”

Stigler wanted Brown to land his plane, but Brown had no intention of landing in German territory. Stigler tried to wave Brown toward Sweden, which would have been neutral territory. Stigler didn’t think Brown had any chance of making it to England. For his part, Brown was mostly terrified. Why was the German pilot waving at him like that? Did he want Brown to surrender? Before too long, he’d had enough. He was limited in his ability to fire on Stigler, but he motioned at his gunner to try.

By then, Stigler was getting worried that he’d either be shot by the Americans or discovered by another German plane. He looked at Brown, saluted and turned around. Safely out of German airspace, Brown would make it back to England, but just barely.

What had happened? It would be nearly 50 years before Brown got a real answer to his question. In 1986, he began looking for the mysterious German pilot who’d spared his life. In 1990, he finally found him.

The two men were friends practically before they met. “It was like meeting a family member, like a brother you haven’t seen for 40 years,” Stigler would later say. A video of him meeting Brown for the first time shows him fighting back tears. “I love you, Charlie,” he says.

The two men ended up collaborating on a book together. And they would end up passing away within months of each other in 2008.

“The war left them in turmoil,” observed a co-author of their book. “When they found each other, they found peace.”
Ranger Class 13-71
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Re: Today in Ranger history

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From Tara Ross

On this day in 1861, Congress authorizes a medal of honor for the Navy. Several months later, a medal of honor for the Army would also be established.

Did you know that different versions of the Medal are awarded to each branch of the military? And do you know about the Army officer who hoped that the Medal would never be established in the first place?

The Navy, Army, and Air Force each have their own Medal, although the Air Force version is a fairly recent addition. (It was authorized in 1965). The Marines and Coast Guard don’t have separate Medals; instead, their members receive the Navy one.

Those Medals wouldn’t have been established at all if Winfield Scott, general-in-chief of the Union Army, had had his way! Scott thought that the tradition of awarding such medals was too European. Perhaps you won’t be surprised to hear that when the Army established its Medal in 1862, it was after Scott’s retirement. wink emoticon;)

More than 3,500 recipients have been awarded the Medal of Honor since 1861, but nearly half of these were awarded to Civil War veterans. Those statistics sound odd at first, but it’s worth remembering that the criteria for the Medal have changed over time.

When the Medal was first authorized in 1861-62, it was the only medal available for valorous military conduct. Thus, the criteria for receiving the Medal wasn’t quite as strict as it was today. It sounds odd to modern ears, but in the 1800s, veterans could simply petition Congress for the award. Other soldiers received the Medal for relatively simple actions, such as extending their tours of duty when called upon to do so.

Today, of course, the requirements are much tougher. A potential recipient must be nominated by someone else. Medals are awarded for an act of “personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades.” It must involve “risk of life” and “ncontestable proof” of the act.

Perhaps one simple statistic reflects how much things have changed:

From the Civil War until World War II, only 3 percent of Medals were awarded posthumously. Things changed drastically after the Greatest Generation went off to war! Since then, more than 60 percent of Medals have been awarded posthumously.

Today’s anniversary is about more than just a medal. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the many good men and women who have fought, bled, and died for our liberty.

That liberty is still worth fighting for today.
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
75th RRA Life Member #867
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Jim
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Re: Today in Ranger history

Post by Jim »

On December 21, 1864, after marching 300 miles in just over a month and leaving a trail of destruction, MG William Tecumseh Sherman’s army reaches Savannah, Georgia. The city falls after Confederates withdraw.
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
75th RRA Life Member #867
User avatar
Jim
Rest In Peace Ranger
Posts: 21935
Joined: March 8th, 2005, 10:48 am
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Today in Ranger history

Post by Jim »

From Tara Ross:

On this day in 1783, General George Washington resigns his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the American army.

Okay. So we’ve all heard this story about Washington before. We’ve heard it so often, perhaps it is easy to gloss over the astonishing nature of Washington’s action.

Let me emphasize: What Washington did on this day 234 years ago is almost unheard of. Other military leaders have seized power and refused to let it go. But Washington would not be one of these men. When he could have been a King, he decided that he did not want the position. He wanted to go home to Mt. Vernon. He wanted to resume his life with Martha. His decision was not a foregone conclusion—and it was astounding! It enabled our republic to get off the ground.

Many at the time compared Washington to a great Roman figure, Cincinnatus. Cincinnatus, too, was compelled into public service; he was plowing a field and literally left the plow standing in the field to join the Roman army when it needed him. Having led the Romans to victory, he then returned home and resumed his life as a farmer without trying to obtain more power.

Our ancestors would have known this story. Thus, when Washington was compared to Cincinnatus, they knew exactly what it meant.

“You have often heard him compared to Cincinnatus,” a French traveler wrote in 1788. “The comparison is doubtless just. The celebrated General is nothing more at present than a good farmer, constantly occupied in the care of his farm and the improvement of cultivation.”

Yes, Washington was the “American Cincinnatus.” Don’t you wish that our schools would emphasize this aspect of his service?
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
75th RRA Life Member #867
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