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,…
Read More
A Brief History On June 2, 1835, American showman and huckster Phineas T. Barnum began his first tour of the US with his circus, later called “The Greatest Show on Earth,” and then “Barnum and Bailey’s Circus,” “Barnum and Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth,” and finally “Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus.” Digging Deeper The legacy of perhaps America’s greatest showman of all time finally went out of business on May 21, 2017, when the last performance of Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus ended at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Barnum ran a variety of businesses…
A Brief History On June 1, 1918, the Battle of Belleau Wood began in France near the River Marne. The United States Army 2nd and 3rd Divisions reinforced by a brigade of US Marines consisting of the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments (with smaller units of French and English soldiers) faced off against 5 German divisions determined to continue their advance into Belleau Wood. This action produced real evidence that United States soldiers and Marines had the guts to fight on the biggest stage in the world. Digging Deeper The Germans were determined to advance as far as possible into…
A Brief History On May 31, 1866, Irish nationalists known as Fenian Brotherhood invaded Canada in an attempt to force Britain into granting Ireland independence. This invasion was not the first raid into Canada by the Fenians, an American based Irish Republican group, nor would it be the last, with raids starting in April of 1866 and continuing until 1871. Digging Deeper As many as 10,000 Irish Americans were involved in the Fenian movement, a movement motivated by the British crushing of the Irish Independence movement in 1865. Those Fenians involved with the raids were mostly battle hardened veterans of…
A Brief History On May 30, 2017, we had the opportunity to preview the DC Comics major motion picture, Wonder Woman, at Cleveland, Ohio’s historic Capitol Theatre (built in 1921!). Without building any suspense, we will tell you right off the bat that the audience stood up and clapped at the end! Digging Deeper Yes, we enjoyed the movie, too. Lots of action, lots of beautiful Gal Gadot in the title role, and for the ladies an “above average” Chris Pine as the male lead. (You have to watch the film to get that reference.) Some critics, such as Molly…