A Brief History On October 25, 1999, American golfing professional Payne Stewart was on a Learjet chartered to fly from Florida to Texas, when the jet apparently lost pressurization (air rapidly leaked out of the plane) causing all on board, including the pilots, to pass out. Or the jet failed to ever properly pressurize in the first place. The pilot-less jet continued on a 1500 mile flight with no one on board regaining consciousness. When the jet ran out of fuel over South Dakota, it fell uncontrolled out of the sky and crashed. All aboard the Learjet were dead, probably…
Browsing: October 25
A Brief History On October 25, 1944, SS Chief Heinrich Himmler of the German Third Reich ordered a crackdown against the youth culture anti-Nazi government resistance group known as “Edelweisspiraten,” or “Edelweiss Pirates.” This group of teenagers had dodged mandatory induction into the Hitler Youth organization and worked to help others hide from government authorities, whether those avoiding service in the Hitler Youth, draft dodgers, or army deserters. A German produced film, Edelweiss Pirates, detailed the exploits of these resisters in 2004. Digging Deeper Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was an early associate of Adolf Hitler and was with Hitler for the…
A Brief History On October 25, 1957, notorious mob boss Albert Anastasia, known as “Lord High Executioner” and “Mad Hatter” for his role in ruling the mob assassination team known as “Murder, Incorporated” or “Murder, Inc,” was himself gunned down, a fitting end to a violent life. Digging Deeper Born in Italy in 1902, Anastasia (originally “Anastasio”) came to the US illegally in 1919, deserting the merchant ship he was serving on. Working as a longshoreman, Albert (born “Umberto”) made his first known “kill” in 1921, and was sentenced to death. Lucky for Albert, he was granted a retrial in…
A Brief History On October 25, 1415, the Battle of Agincourt was fought between the English personally led by King Henry V and the French, led by representatives of King Charles VI, resulting in a history changing victory by the English over the greater numbers of the French. Digging Deeper The English army was manned by a preponderance of bowmen armed with the famed English longbow. A weapon much more powerful than the hunting bows of today, the longbow required a strong man trained over a long period of time to employ it properly. Designed for mass volleys rather than…
A Brief History On October 25, 1944, the U.S. submarine USS Tang (SS-306), commanded by ace submarine skipper Richard O’Kane, was sunk when a torpedo that it had fired malfunctioned, turned around, and struck the hapless submarine. Digging Deeper You may have read the History and Headlines article “There is No Such Thing as Friendly Fire!” Friendly fire is the accidental coming of harm to one’s own troops through one’s own weapons. As military instructors are quick to point out, however, no fire is “friendly fire,” as bullets, bombs and shells will kill you no matter who launched them in the first place. Weapons of…
