A Brief History On June 3, 2017, radical Islamist terrorists once again struck London, England, with an attack that killed 8 people and injured another 48, as well as costing all 3 terrorists their lives. The weapons used in the attack were a delivery van and knives. The unarmed public and the 4 unarmed police officers on the scene were helpless to stop the attackers, though armed police that finally responded shot the 3 terrorists dead. It took armed police 8 minutes to arrive, which undoubtedly seemed much longer to the victims. All 3 terrorists were also found to be…
Browsing: June 3
A Brief History On June 3, 1861, in the first organized land battle (barely a battle in reality) of the American Civil War, the Union Army with 3000 men routed an untrained force of 800 Confederate volunteers in what it now West Virginia at Philippi, a small town that today has only about 3000 residents. Touted as a huge victory for the Union, the “battle” would be fairly inconsequential except for the wounding of 2 Confederate soldiers that both required battlefield amputations, one of which fashioned his own homemade artificial leg that proved so successful the wounded soldier founded a…
A Brief History On June 3, 1969, off the coast of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, an Australian aircraft carrier, the HMAS Melbourne, hit the port side of the US destroyer, USS Evans, cutting the smaller ship in half. Digging Deeper In the early morning darkness at 3 am (0300 hours) the ships were running without lights when the carrier changed course for air operations. Though the message was sent to the USS Evans to take up position as rescue destroyer (traveling behind the carrier), the order was misinterpreted and the destroyer crossed in front of the turning carrier,…
A Brief History On June 3, 1932, New York Yankee greats Lou (Henry Louis) Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri made history with their batting prowess. Gehrig became the first major league baseball player in the modern era (after 1900) to hit 4 home runs in one game, while Lazzeri became the first and only major leaguer to hit for the “natural cycle” and finish it off with a grand slam. Digging Deeper Gehrig, born in 1903 (and weighing almost 14 pounds!) was no stranger to records. Known as the Iron Horse, he played in 2130 consecutive games, a record that stood…
A Brief History On June 3, 1839, Chinese agents under Lin Zexu (various spellings) seized an incredible 1210 ton cache of opium (2.66 million pounds, or 1.2 million kilos), later destroying the drug. Digging Deeper Incredibly, the opium was being forcibly imported into China by British drug merchants with the complicity of the British government. China at the time had no need for Western goods, but was producing silk and other products bought in large amounts by the West, resulting in a gross trade imbalance. (Sound familiar?) British opium (poppy) farmers in India sent their drug to China where opium…
