Mr. Mojo

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<a target=new href="http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/today/0608.html"><b>1967 Israel attacks USS Liberty</b></a> - During the Six-Day War, Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attack the USS Liberty in international waters off Egypt's Gaza Strip. The intelligence ship, well-marked as an American vessel and only lightly armed, was attacked first by Israeli aircraft that fired napalm and rockets at the ship. The Liberty attempted to radio for assistance, but the Israeli aircraft blocked the transmissions. Eventually, the ship was able to make contact with the U.S. carrier Saratoga, and 12 fighter jets and four tanker planes were dispatched to defend the Liberty. When word of their deployment reached Washington, however, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered them recalled to the carrier, and they never reached the Liberty. The reason for the recall remains unclear.

Back in the Mediterranean, the initial air raid against the Liberty was over. Nine of the 294 crewmembers were dead and 60 were wounded. Suddenly, the ship was attacked by Israeli torpedo boats, which launched torpedoes and fired artillery at the ship. Under the command of its wounded captain, William L. McGonagle, the Liberty managed to avert four torpedoes, but one struck the ship at the waterline. Heavily damaged, the ship launched three lifeboats, but these were also attacked--a violation of international law. Failing to sink the Liberty, which displaced 10,000 tons, the Israelis finally desisted. In all, 34 Americans were killed and 171 were wounded in the two-hour attack. In the attack's aftermath, the Liberty managed to limp to a safe port.

Israel later apologized for the attack and offered $6.9 million in compensation, claiming that it had mistaken the Liberty for an Egyptian ship. However, Liberty survivors, and some former U.S. officials, believe that the attack was deliberate, staged to conceal Israel's pending seizure of Syria's Golan Heights, which occurred the next day. The ship's listening devices would likely have overheard Israeli military communications planning this controversial operation. Captain McGonagle was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic command of the Liberty during and after the attack.




Also Today...
<a target=new href="http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/wwii.html"><b>1941 Allies invade Syria and Lebanon</b></a> - With Australian and Indian support, as well as that of Free French forces, Britain invaded both Syria and Lebanon, fighting Vichy French garrisons loyal to Germany. Resistance lasted five weeks before an armistice was finally signed on July 14, giving the Allies control of both Syria and Lebanon.

<a target=new href="http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/coldwar.html"><b>1949 FBI report names Hollywood figures as communists</b></a> - Hollywood figures, including film stars Frederic March, John Garfield, Paul Muni, and Edward G. Robinson, are named in a FBI report as Communist Party members. Such reports helped to fuel the anticommunist hysteria in the United States during the late-1940s and 1950s.

<a target=new href="http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/"><b>632 Founder of Islam dies</b></a> - Born in Mecca of humble origins, Muhammad married a wealthy widow at 25 years old and lived the next 15 years as an unremarkable merchant. In 610, in a cave in Mount Hira north of Mecca, he had a vision in which he heard God, speaking through the angel Gabriel, command him to become the Arab prophet of the "true religion." Thus began a lifetime of religious revelations, which he and others collected as the Qur'an. These revelations provided the foundation for the Islamic religion. Muhammad regarded himself as the last prophet of the Judaic-Christian tradition, and he adopted the theology of these older religions while introducing new doctrines. His inspired teachings also brought unity to the Bedouin tribesmen of Arabia, an event that had sweeping consequences for the rest of the world.

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When I jerk off I feel good for about twenty seconds and then WHAM it's right back into suicidal depression

The_Dude

that pisses me off.........

American lives were in danger and we PULLED OFF BACKUP??

gimme a break! the men and women were dying, and we just let them out to dry?? that's bull shit.

and isreal attacking the life boats, that pisses me off too.

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"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

MikeyChalupa

On a prouder Naval history note, June 4, 1942 is the anniversary of the Battle of Midway. This battle is universally considered to be the turning point in the war in the Pacific. It was the first American victory, and a decisive one, in the war that up until that point had seen almost unchecked Japanese expansion.

Here's the link to the US Navy's History page that discusses this battle in depth. Had the United States lost this battle, the war might have ended very differently. The Hawaiian Islands would almost certainly have been invaded and occupied, threatening the west coast of the United States.

-Mikey

Edit: Oops, This is the June 8 post, I was fooled by the error in the subject line. Still good reading above.

-Mikey