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Today in Military History (January)
MWH
MWH
Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
Post what you know happened on This Day in Military History during the month of January.

1/3/2009 11:04:59 AM | Edit


1/3/2009 11:24:17 AM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 3, 1990

Manuel Noriega surrenders to the United States on this day after holding up for 10 days at the Vatican embassy in Panama City. He would go to face charges of drug trafficking where he would be convicted and sentenced to 40 years in Miami. When he was flown to out of Panama crowds of citizens on the streets of Panama City rejoiced.

1/4/2009 4:19:10 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 4, 1965

On this day President Johnson during his State of the Union message affirms his convections in Vietnam and sets the pace to support South Vietnam against communist aggression. Every day after the Vietnam war would become more of a struggle and mark Johnson’s legacy.

1/5/2009 6:55:51 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 5th, 1945

On this day with Japan losing the war and trained pilots dead; the kamikaze was born. The pilot’s needed little training and could create a lot of damage by flying planes full of explosives into the Allies. Kamikaze's sank 30 ships and killed nearly 5,000 Americans at Okinawa alone.

1/6/2009 6:05:24 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 6th, 1945

Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union address delivers his four freedoms speech. He explained the four freedoms everyone in the world should enjoy.

Freedom of speech and expression
Freedom of religion
Freedom from want
Freedom from fear

1/7/2009 7:04:30 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 7th, 49BC

The Roman Senate ordered Caesar to return to home alone without his army. Caesar feared that his enemies would attack him unarmed so he marched his army across the Rubicon River anyway. When he crossed the river it was the point of no return, Caesar knew Pompey would bring his army to battle. This is where “crossing the Rubicon,” saying came from.

1/8/2009 5:58:27 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 8th, 1918

President Woodrow Wilson delivers his 14 Points speech to congress for World War I peace nearly 10 months before the end of the war. The "14 points" became the basis for peace but had little to do with the Treaty of Versailles which would spark World War II and was never ratified by the United States.

1/9/2009 6:26:18 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 9, 1936

The United States Army adopts the now infamous .30 caliber M1 Garand rifle. The M1 was the primary rifle used during World War II. The early M1 model gave the Garand a very bad reputation but it was redesigned by 1940 allowing it to be one of the best rifles of all time.

1/10/2009 6:03:25 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 10, 1861

The first shot was fired of the Civil War. After South Carolina had succedded in December of 1860 tensions were high and Fort Sumter became a focal point. When the Union ship Star of the West tried to reinforce Fort Sumter the Confederates fired upon her thus marking the first shot of the Civil War.

1/11/2009 2:13:56 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 11, 1988

Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington died at age 75 he was World War II ace who shot down 26 planes. Boyington flew with the AVG Flying Tigers in China Air Force before the US entered the war. He later led the US Marine Corps squadron, VMF-214 The Black Sheep Squadron where he became infamous as a pilot and known for not following the rules. Boyington became a prisoner of war after being shot down. He was awarded the Medal of Honor.

1/13/2009 6:44:53 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 12, 1737

John Hancock was born on this day. It is a common misconception is that Hancock singed the Declaration of Independence so that King George could read it without his spectacles. John Hancock was the President of the 2nd Contintental Congress therefore his signature was printed on the original document from the printer. It was not until later when a handwritten copy was made was the infamous signature signed on August 2nd by John Hancock and delegates present.

1/13/2009 6:56:10 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 13, 27 BC

Octavian Caesar restores the republic and rules from 27BC through 14AD (41 years). Through negotiations with the senate, a deal is made where Octavian maintains certain powers while the senate still rules. Octavian becomes known as "Augustus."

1/14/2009 6:03:40 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 14, 1784

United States Congress ends the Revolutionary War by ratifiying the Treaty of Paris. The Revolutionary War was between England and the United States. The war had started when the 13 colonies had rebelled against British rule in 1775.

1/15/2009 10:49:51 AM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 15, 1943

The United States Pentagon was dedicated and constructed during World War II. It is one of the largest office buildings in the world and houses more 23,000 civilian and military employees. It has five sides, five floors above ground and two basement levels, The Pentagon also includes a five acre central plaza.

1/16/2009 4:28:10 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 16, 1941

War Department allows black cadets to join the Army Air Corps in a segregated squadron. African Americans had long served in the Army but the Air Corps resisted because of the belief black airmen lacked the to be military pilots. Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 mandated that a percentage of blacks would were to be in the Air Corps. The Tuskegee Airmen was the most legendary group of black pilot's who flew the P-51 Mustang (Some of the best pilot's in the Army Air Corps) and once and for all proved that race has nothing to do with anything.

1/20/2009 6:47:35 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 17, 1966

B-52G collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refuelling. The bomber was carrying four hydrogen when it crashed off Spanish coast. The crash killed the KC-135 crew and 3 of 7 B-52 crew members. Three were quickly found on land but it took nearly 3 months to find the one in the sea.

1/20/2009 6:58:37 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 18, 1991

Iraq launches scuds at Israel. A direct descendant of the German World War 2 V2, SCUD was first deployed by the Soviets in the 1960s. It was originally designed to carry a 100 kiloton nuclear warhead. Through the decades it was redesigned until the Iraqis got it. Iraqis modified it for greater range but due to poor construction and materials it was very inaccurate which made it hard for the patriot missiles to shoot it down.

1/20/2009 7:05:03 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 19, 1915

Germans begin raids on Great Britain using Zeppelins which were extremely vulnerable to attack and weather. British downed 77 of the total 115 Zeppelins that were used by the Germans. By 1917 Zeppelins were no longer used.

1/20/2009 7:12:21 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 20, 1887

Pearl Harbor was approved by the US Senate as a naval base in order to establish a permanent presence in the Pacific. The Spanish-American War of 1898 also contributed to this decision.

1/21/2009 6:19:08 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 21, 1855

Born on this day John M Browning creator of numerous guns some which are still used today. Browning is one of the most important figure in the development of semi-automatic and automatic firearms and is credited with numerous patents. The FN Model 1910 browning handgun was used to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand of Austria which caused the start of Wolrd War I.

1/22/2009 8:18:17 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 22, 1440

Ivan III "The Great" born in Russia. He tripled the size of the Russian territory.

1/23/2009 4:29:07 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 23, 1944

The European strategy of the Allies was developed at the "Casablanca Conference" in Morocco. . Present were Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Stalin was invited but was unable to attend beacuse Stalingrad was under attack. The strategy was to invade Sicily and go through Italy and not the English channel.

1/24/2009 10:58:22 AM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 24, 76

Hadrian, Roman Emperor was born.The Roman empire reached its zenith in territory size under Hadrian. Hadrian succeeded Trajan another well known emperor but it was Trajan's wife who named his successor as Trajan never publicly did before he died. Hadrian may have owed Trajan's wife for this.

1/24/2009 10:58:23 AM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 25, 1787

Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Massachusetts made up of mostly poor farmers who were angered by crushing debt and taxes led by Daniel Shays non the federal Springfield Armory. There was a lack of an government response to the uprising which later led to the Constitutional Convention.

1/26/2009 6:38:20 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 26, 1934

The German Poland Non Aggression Pact was signed. They pledged to resolve their problems through negotiations to avoid war for a period of ten years. It settled relations between Germany and Poland, which were strained by the Treaty of Versailles but it also allowed the Nazis to build up its miilitary. The Nazis would then invade Poland in just 5 years.

1/27/2009 5:30:56 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 27, 1943

B-17 and B-24 conduct the first bombing runs on German targets part of the 1st and 2nd Bomb Wings on Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

1/28/2009 2:23:17 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 28, 1915

On this day the United States Coast Guard was formed. Previously there was a Life Saving and Revenue Cutter Services which were separate services. President Woodrow Wilson signed this into law. Later the Coast Guard would go onto absorb the Lighthouse Service and the Navigation and Steamboat Inspection Service.

1/29/2009 5:56:32 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 29, 1944

USS Missouri launched in Brooklyn. BB-63 is a U.S. Navy Iowa class battleshipand was the last battleship built by the United States. She was the site of the surrender of Japanese in World War II. She served through the wars until 1992 when the Persian Gulf War exposed the lack of need for battleships in the modern Navy. The Missouri is now a museum in Pearl Harbor 500 yards from the Battleship Arizona.

1/30/2009 5:13:22 PM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January, 30 1882

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born. He was the first and only president to server over two terms from 1933-1945. George Washington set the tradition for two terms but FDR broke it. Later congress would create a two term limit for a president. FDR was the president during the Great Depression and World War II.

1/31/2009 10:42:44 AM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 31, 1981

Robert K. Jones retires being the last enlisted pilot on active duty. In 1916 Naval Aviation Pilots (NAP) were enlisted men then after WW2 in 1948 Congress ends the requirement for enlisted aviators so the era ends.

1/1/2010 9:40:30 AM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 1, 1735

Patriot Paul Revere is born on this day. Revere is known for his midnight ride during the American Revolution alerting that the British are coming. Revere was a prominent Boston citizen and was instrumental in organizing a early warning system on the British military. Paul Revere rode through towns at night alerting citizens of the coming danger but specifically rode to notify Samuel Adam and John Hancock that the British were marching from Boston to the towns of Lexington and Concord to take them out.

1/2/2010 10:02:14 AM
MWH
MWH

Joined: 02/12/2008
Posts: 346 Ohio
January 2, 1967

One of the largest air battles of the Vietnam War occurred on this day. The United States F-4 Phantom shot down seven enemy MIG-21’s. The dogfight also saw the only World War II and Vietnam aces Robin Olds. The North Vietnamese often times tried to include engagement when superior numbers were present as they had very few planes.