Today marks the 92nd anniversary of Armistice Day formerly known to many as Veterans Day. The origins date back to November 11, 1918 when the Allies and Germany signed a temporary peace treaty at Compiegne, France during World War I (the final peace treaty was signed in 1919 at Versailles). It took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month but some pockets of hostility persisted in parts of Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
On November 11, 1919, the first anniversary of Armistice Day, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed, "To us in America, the reflections of armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations." All businesses that day were required to close and observe two minutes of silence.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, several States made Armistice Day a legal holiday. On May 13, 1938, Congress passed legislation declaring the day as a federal holiday. After World War II and the Korean Conflict, President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation on June 4, 1954 that formally changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor those vets from the recent wars.
Unfortunately, many citizens often times forget about this day, except when they check their mailboxes and find no mail. However, for our living veterans, they make an effort to remember this holiday by hosting various parades throughout the nation's cities, including here in Milwaukee that held its parade on November 6. So, what makes this day different from Memorial Day? On that day, we remember those veterans who were killed in the defense of the country but today, we give thanks to both the living and deceased vets. Finally, let us take the time, today, to thank our Veterans for their brave services in defense of our freedoms.
Sources: http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/holidays/vetsday/vetshist.html
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Why is the electorate divided?
We just completed the 2010 Election Cycle and one of the questions I have pondered for the last couple of years was what divided the electorate? There are countless answers to that question but one of the biggest reasons might be how the media became innovative in providing political news to the American people. About 40 years ago, Americans only received it from the Big Three Networks (NBC, ABC, and CBS) along with their local newspapers. That changed as the Internet exploded with political blogs, online news websites, the emergence of cable news channels, and the popularity of talk radio.
Over the course of the last ten years, the 5:30 network news and newspapers started to decline when it came to delivering political news to the American public. Beginning with the 2000 Election Cycle, saw the growth of countless political blogs published by both professionals and amateurs. They both took the conservative or the liberal side when discussing political issues and allowed the average citizen to post their comments that often times sparked further debate.
Today, most of us receive political news through the Internet or the cable news channels of our choice. If you are conservative, then you tune into Fox News. If you are liberal, you tune into MSNBC and in between then CNN would be your choice. Instead of quick hits like the Big Three Networks of years past, these news outlets provide in-depth coverage along with their opinions on the current hot button political issues that draw large audiences on any given day. Finally, do not forget about AM radio. Originally, it started out with entertainment programs that replaced Vaudeville and then started to play music with news coming only at the top of the hour. When FM took over the music, AM replaced it with conservative talk radio that continues today. It provides in-depth coverage of the hot button issues and allow audience members to have direct participation.
As you can see, the media became more sophisticated over the years that spark the great electoral divide in our nation. No longer do we see the media just giving the “who, what, where, when and why's” of the news but also their opinions as well. The way Americans get their news depends solely on their political perspective. Finally, the best way to become a well-balanced and informed citizen is to receive political news from various sources that contain different opinions and then you can form your own conclusions.
Monday, June 7, 2010
D-Day, Sixty-Six Years Later
June 6, 2010 marked the 66th anniversary of the Allied invasion, code name Operation Overlord, that started the end of World War II. Although this year’s anniversary did not have any significant remembrances, but each year on this date, it is important to remember those who gave their lives on the Beaches of Normandy that brought freedom to Europe. This post will tell a brief history of the D-Day invasion that took place on Tuesday, June 6, 1944 and how it led to the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Also, how the invasion is remembered historically through museums, movies and books.
At the beginning of World War II, before the United States entered, France fell quickly to the Nazis early in the conflict. In addition, the Soviet Union faced a fierce battle with Germany on their border and for the next couple of years, kept pressuring the U.S. and Great Britain to open a second front to alleviate pressure from the German forces. After years of debate, the Allies agreed the summer of 1944 was the best time to launch a massive invasion of Western Europe. The invasion was scheduled to start June 4 but constant weather problems delayed the operation and finally it began in the early hours of June 6. That morning, paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division landed behind enemy lines in France. It started out poorly as they over shot their landing zones, got stuck on rooftops of buildings, crashed into residential homes, and instantly killed by the Germans. Days leading up to the invasion, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower even acknowledged that he would take full responsibility if it failed. That changed as U.S. and British forces slammed into the Beaches of Normandy at dawn.
The Allies assembled the invasion in Great Britain with tremendous amounts of men and supplies, including hundreds of ships and thousands of landing crafts. Before they set out on the fateful, ninety mile mission across the English Channel, President Franklin Roosevelt urged Americans to pray for the safety and success of the troops. When the mother ships reached a couple of miles off the shores of France, the soldiers boarded the landing crafts that would take them as close as possible to the beaches. Nerves ran through the men along with uncontrollable shaking and some even coughed up their breakfast . When the doors flapped down, instant death struck the first wave as the Germans opened fire on top of the ten to twenty foot high cliffs. Their forces anticipated for the last couple of years that the Allies would open a separate front and prepared extensively by placing land mines, machine guns, and obstacles up and down the beaches and cliffs. When the first Allied wave became ineffective, they still pressed on with wave after wave to crack the German line. Then, by late morning to early afternoon, United States and Great Britain finally broke it and either captured or killed thousands of German soldiers.
The invasion worked and changed the course of World War II as France was liberated. In the following year, Allies marched towards Berlin engaging the German Army in battle after battle until it surrendered unconditionally in May of 1945. The D-Day invasion cost over 100,000 lives of the Allied forces. The historical importance of the invasion proved how it initated the beginning of the end of World War II and if it failed, Europe would have suffered severely for the next couple of years.
Historical memory has not strayed from remembering this significant event in history. In the 1960s, the film, The Longest Day, was the first movie that showed the story of the invasion. On the 40th anniversary, President Ronald Regean gave a resounding speech about the invasion and how it changed the course of history. He believed that the Allies where not conquerors but liberators that provided freedom to Europe. The late military historian, Stephen Ambrose, wrote a bestseller of the D-Day Invasion and founded the national D-Day Museum located in New Orleans. The film maker, Steven Spielberg, produced two movies that included the invasion, Saving Private Ryan and the Band of Brothers which showed the 101st Airborne's role at Normandy and the rest of the War. I hope everybody takes the time every June 6 to remember the allies who gave their lives in the most important invasion in the twentieth-century that brought freedom to millions of Europeans after they were denied it for the last painful six years.
At the beginning of World War II, before the United States entered, France fell quickly to the Nazis early in the conflict. In addition, the Soviet Union faced a fierce battle with Germany on their border and for the next couple of years, kept pressuring the U.S. and Great Britain to open a second front to alleviate pressure from the German forces. After years of debate, the Allies agreed the summer of 1944 was the best time to launch a massive invasion of Western Europe. The invasion was scheduled to start June 4 but constant weather problems delayed the operation and finally it began in the early hours of June 6. That morning, paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division landed behind enemy lines in France. It started out poorly as they over shot their landing zones, got stuck on rooftops of buildings, crashed into residential homes, and instantly killed by the Germans. Days leading up to the invasion, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower even acknowledged that he would take full responsibility if it failed. That changed as U.S. and British forces slammed into the Beaches of Normandy at dawn.
The Allies assembled the invasion in Great Britain with tremendous amounts of men and supplies, including hundreds of ships and thousands of landing crafts. Before they set out on the fateful, ninety mile mission across the English Channel, President Franklin Roosevelt urged Americans to pray for the safety and success of the troops. When the mother ships reached a couple of miles off the shores of France, the soldiers boarded the landing crafts that would take them as close as possible to the beaches. Nerves ran through the men along with uncontrollable shaking and some even coughed up their breakfast . When the doors flapped down, instant death struck the first wave as the Germans opened fire on top of the ten to twenty foot high cliffs. Their forces anticipated for the last couple of years that the Allies would open a separate front and prepared extensively by placing land mines, machine guns, and obstacles up and down the beaches and cliffs. When the first Allied wave became ineffective, they still pressed on with wave after wave to crack the German line. Then, by late morning to early afternoon, United States and Great Britain finally broke it and either captured or killed thousands of German soldiers.
The invasion worked and changed the course of World War II as France was liberated. In the following year, Allies marched towards Berlin engaging the German Army in battle after battle until it surrendered unconditionally in May of 1945. The D-Day invasion cost over 100,000 lives of the Allied forces. The historical importance of the invasion proved how it initated the beginning of the end of World War II and if it failed, Europe would have suffered severely for the next couple of years.
Historical memory has not strayed from remembering this significant event in history. In the 1960s, the film, The Longest Day, was the first movie that showed the story of the invasion. On the 40th anniversary, President Ronald Regean gave a resounding speech about the invasion and how it changed the course of history. He believed that the Allies where not conquerors but liberators that provided freedom to Europe. The late military historian, Stephen Ambrose, wrote a bestseller of the D-Day Invasion and founded the national D-Day Museum located in New Orleans. The film maker, Steven Spielberg, produced two movies that included the invasion, Saving Private Ryan and the Band of Brothers which showed the 101st Airborne's role at Normandy and the rest of the War. I hope everybody takes the time every June 6 to remember the allies who gave their lives in the most important invasion in the twentieth-century that brought freedom to millions of Europeans after they were denied it for the last painful six years.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Kent State, Forty Years Later
Several years ago, on the way to Washington, D.C. with my brother, I noticed an exit sign pointing to Kent State University. I told my brother to pull off because of the historical significance of that University and explained to him that back in May of 1970 National Guard troops killed four students and wounded nine during an anti-war rally. We drove around the campus to look for any memorials about that fateful day and found a small stone plaque with the names of the deceased under a tree. After we finished touring Kent, the idea of a massacre that occurred in this small Ohio town struck both of us as we continued our road trip. Today, May 4, 2010, marks the fortieth anniversary of the Kent State Massacre and in this post I will provide a brief history of that infamous day.
On April 30, 1970, President Richard Nixon shifted course in the long Vietnam War ordering American troops to be stationed in neutral Cambodia to conduct attacks against Vietcong sanctuaries. This policy sparked new protests from the anti-war forces especially in the tiny small Ohio city, Kent. The next day, students staged a peaceful protest on campus but that evening protesters displayed civil disobedience inthe city's downtown which prompted Ohio Governor James Rhodes to call out the National Guard to restore order. On May 2, arsonists burned down the ROTC building on the campus of Kent State University and the following day, authorities decided to ban a noon rally planned for Monday, May 4.
About two thousand students showed up to the banned rally that Monday afternoon anyway and first the guardsmen used tear gas to disperse the crowd. For un-explained reasons, after that unsuccessful method, they fired about sixty shots into the crowed which killed four students, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, Allison B. Krause, William K. Schroeder, and Sandra Lee Scheuer and wounded nine others. In a statement, Nixon said, “This should remind us all once again that when dissent turns to violence it invites tragedy. It is my hope that this tragic and unfortunate incident will strengthen the determination of all the nation’s campuses, administrators, faculty, and students alike to stand firmly for the right which exists in this country of peaceful dissent and just as strongly against the resort of violence as a means of such expression” feeling terribly of what took place at Kent. (quoted from the NYT article dated May 5, 1970). Sylvester Delcorso, one of the Generals of the Ohio National Guard, defended the guardsmen said “that the guardsmen had been force to shoot after a sniper opened fire against the troops from a nearby rooftop” (Ibid) but the students denied there was a sniper.
The shootings sparked a national outrage and Nixon appointed an investigative commission that found the shootings to be “unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable.” In 1979, the victims’ families filed a lawsuit against twenty-eight members of the Ohio National Guard and Governor Rhodes. The suit settled and the families received $675,000, collectively. Also, both the National Guard and the Governor accepted responsibility for the deaths and injuries that occurred. Marking the fortieth anniversary, Elaine Holstein, the mother of one the students (Jeffery Miller) killed in the massacre wrote her reflections (in the hard copy edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 4, 2010) on the events and speculates what kind of person he would become if he did not die an unjust death.
History showed that the guardsmen overreacted when they killed these students for exercising their freedom of speech rights cherished under the Constitution. The appropriateness of the National Guard and the Governor to show remorse by taking full responsibility displayed professionalism. Also, let us never forget the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam defending our freedoms, one of them the right to dissent government policy. Finally, if you travel to Washington, D.C. be sure to visit Kent State University on the way and say a pray for the victims of the massacre.
Here is the picture of John Filo's Pulizer Prize Winning Photo of a student grieving one of the dead students.
On April 30, 1970, President Richard Nixon shifted course in the long Vietnam War ordering American troops to be stationed in neutral Cambodia to conduct attacks against Vietcong sanctuaries. This policy sparked new protests from the anti-war forces especially in the tiny small Ohio city, Kent. The next day, students staged a peaceful protest on campus but that evening protesters displayed civil disobedience inthe city's downtown which prompted Ohio Governor James Rhodes to call out the National Guard to restore order. On May 2, arsonists burned down the ROTC building on the campus of Kent State University and the following day, authorities decided to ban a noon rally planned for Monday, May 4.
About two thousand students showed up to the banned rally that Monday afternoon anyway and first the guardsmen used tear gas to disperse the crowd. For un-explained reasons, after that unsuccessful method, they fired about sixty shots into the crowed which killed four students, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, Allison B. Krause, William K. Schroeder, and Sandra Lee Scheuer and wounded nine others. In a statement, Nixon said, “This should remind us all once again that when dissent turns to violence it invites tragedy. It is my hope that this tragic and unfortunate incident will strengthen the determination of all the nation’s campuses, administrators, faculty, and students alike to stand firmly for the right which exists in this country of peaceful dissent and just as strongly against the resort of violence as a means of such expression” feeling terribly of what took place at Kent. (quoted from the NYT article dated May 5, 1970). Sylvester Delcorso, one of the Generals of the Ohio National Guard, defended the guardsmen said “that the guardsmen had been force to shoot after a sniper opened fire against the troops from a nearby rooftop” (Ibid) but the students denied there was a sniper.
The shootings sparked a national outrage and Nixon appointed an investigative commission that found the shootings to be “unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable.” In 1979, the victims’ families filed a lawsuit against twenty-eight members of the Ohio National Guard and Governor Rhodes. The suit settled and the families received $675,000, collectively. Also, both the National Guard and the Governor accepted responsibility for the deaths and injuries that occurred. Marking the fortieth anniversary, Elaine Holstein, the mother of one the students (Jeffery Miller) killed in the massacre wrote her reflections (in the hard copy edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 4, 2010) on the events and speculates what kind of person he would become if he did not die an unjust death.
History showed that the guardsmen overreacted when they killed these students for exercising their freedom of speech rights cherished under the Constitution. The appropriateness of the National Guard and the Governor to show remorse by taking full responsibility displayed professionalism. Also, let us never forget the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam defending our freedoms, one of them the right to dissent government policy. Finally, if you travel to Washington, D.C. be sure to visit Kent State University on the way and say a pray for the victims of the massacre.
Here is the picture of John Filo's Pulizer Prize Winning Photo of a student grieving one of the dead students.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Waukesha Water War Revisited
For the last couple of years, the City of Waukesha is attempting to find new sources of fresh drinking water to comply with the federal standards of radium since its existing wells contain high levels of the potential cancer-causing element. The plan is to pipe water from Lake Michigan. In order to do so, it needs permission under the Great Lakes Compact where each of the eight states bordering the lakes have to approve Waukesha's plans since it straddles outside the Lake Michigan drainage basin. Before radium entered the Waukesha water system, shortly after the Civil War, the city entered the famous era of its young existence, the Springs Era (1868-1914), known nationally for its clean spring water that had miraculous effects.
The Springs Era of Waukesha started with an Irish immigrant who reluctantly travelled with his wife to the city to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law, Bridget Clarke, in August 1868. Colonel Richard Dunbar, who suffered from incurable diabetes, travelled one hot summer day with his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Clarke, to some real estate she recently purchased. Noticing some springs on her property, he took a tumbler and drank a couple rounds of spring water. Suddenly, he felt "a most grateful and refreshing sensation" as the water travelled throughout his body and declared "the most delicious, the most grateful beverage that entered my mouth in years." Did the water have any effect on his diabetes?
After he drank from the spring and surprisingly refreshed, Dunbar walked without discomfort to a nearby oak tree and thirty minutes later, drank another six tumblers of water. He sense that there was some sort of magic element in the spring water and perhaps help cured his diabetes. Dunbar returned to the East Coast and his diabetes relapsed so he returned to Waukesha to drink more of the water. Finally, he decided to move his family to the city in order to be close to the springs.
Initially, people were skeptical about Dunbar's claim that the spring water actually cured his diabetes. However, the Waukesha Freeman worked eagerly "to transform Dunbar's discovery into an event of mythic proportions." (David McDaniel, Spring City and the Water War of 1892).For the next twenty years, hundreds and then thousands of people, including the former President Abraham Lincoln's wife Mary, visited the springs and filled jugs of spring water. In addition, the city experienced a boom in population, the rise in new hotels and industries and turned this once quiet village west of Milwaukee into a thriving resort town. Then in 1891, a Chicago entrepreneur named James E. McElroy travelled to Waukesha and tried to win approval from the Village Board to lay pipes towards the site of the upcoming 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
McElroy arrived at Waukesha in July of 1891 as supposedly the "manager" of the Hygeia Mineral Springs Company that would be in charge of the project. The Waukesha Village Board granted approval to lay pipes from one of its springs to the site of the Expo. When news reached the Village, the citizens became outrage and the Board reconsidered his pipeline. With the first unsuccessful attempt, he then proceeded to buy Hygeia Spring and its hotel in September 1891 for $30,000. In another hearing about the project that took place on February 3, 1892, citizens flocked the meeting room with fierce opposition. Knowing that he will not get permission from the Board, McElroy's team secretly arrived by train late on May 7 and suddenly they were greeted by the locals. Fire bells began to toll and hundreds of citizens grabbed any weapons they could and threaten the workers, which abruptly boarded a train back to Chicago. Finally, despite many setbacks, James McElroy was able to sell spring water from Waukesha County at the World's Fair by trucking it from a pipeline that ended on land that he purchased in Big Bend.
The Springs Era ended around the time World War I broke out. Local Historian John Schoenknecht, author of the book, "The Great Waukesha Springs Era: 1868-1918," believed that fecal bacteria contaminated the springs but some of them are still flowing today with water but none are used for drinking. For the majority of the twentieth century, Waukesha received its drinking water from three large wells but they began to contain larger and larger amounts of radium that potentially causes cancer. In 2006, then Mayor Larry Nelson negotiated an extension of its December 2009 deadline to find new sources of water until 2018. I hope that Waukesha can begin a new era in obtaining fresh drinking water. If they do receive permission, the significance may not be as dramatic like the Springs Era but will be a good step forward to reduce the risk of cancer to its citizens. The residents of Waukesha deserve quality drinking water, a part of their heritage.
Sources:
"Spring City and the Water War of 1892," by David P. McDaniel
"Spring City no More," by Don Behm of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 20, 2010
http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/91565334.html
The Springs Era of Waukesha started with an Irish immigrant who reluctantly travelled with his wife to the city to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law, Bridget Clarke, in August 1868. Colonel Richard Dunbar, who suffered from incurable diabetes, travelled one hot summer day with his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Clarke, to some real estate she recently purchased. Noticing some springs on her property, he took a tumbler and drank a couple rounds of spring water. Suddenly, he felt "a most grateful and refreshing sensation" as the water travelled throughout his body and declared "the most delicious, the most grateful beverage that entered my mouth in years." Did the water have any effect on his diabetes?
After he drank from the spring and surprisingly refreshed, Dunbar walked without discomfort to a nearby oak tree and thirty minutes later, drank another six tumblers of water. He sense that there was some sort of magic element in the spring water and perhaps help cured his diabetes. Dunbar returned to the East Coast and his diabetes relapsed so he returned to Waukesha to drink more of the water. Finally, he decided to move his family to the city in order to be close to the springs.
Initially, people were skeptical about Dunbar's claim that the spring water actually cured his diabetes. However, the Waukesha Freeman worked eagerly "to transform Dunbar's discovery into an event of mythic proportions." (David McDaniel, Spring City and the Water War of 1892).For the next twenty years, hundreds and then thousands of people, including the former President Abraham Lincoln's wife Mary, visited the springs and filled jugs of spring water. In addition, the city experienced a boom in population, the rise in new hotels and industries and turned this once quiet village west of Milwaukee into a thriving resort town. Then in 1891, a Chicago entrepreneur named James E. McElroy travelled to Waukesha and tried to win approval from the Village Board to lay pipes towards the site of the upcoming 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
McElroy arrived at Waukesha in July of 1891 as supposedly the "manager" of the Hygeia Mineral Springs Company that would be in charge of the project. The Waukesha Village Board granted approval to lay pipes from one of its springs to the site of the Expo. When news reached the Village, the citizens became outrage and the Board reconsidered his pipeline. With the first unsuccessful attempt, he then proceeded to buy Hygeia Spring and its hotel in September 1891 for $30,000. In another hearing about the project that took place on February 3, 1892, citizens flocked the meeting room with fierce opposition. Knowing that he will not get permission from the Board, McElroy's team secretly arrived by train late on May 7 and suddenly they were greeted by the locals. Fire bells began to toll and hundreds of citizens grabbed any weapons they could and threaten the workers, which abruptly boarded a train back to Chicago. Finally, despite many setbacks, James McElroy was able to sell spring water from Waukesha County at the World's Fair by trucking it from a pipeline that ended on land that he purchased in Big Bend.
The Springs Era ended around the time World War I broke out. Local Historian John Schoenknecht, author of the book, "The Great Waukesha Springs Era: 1868-1918," believed that fecal bacteria contaminated the springs but some of them are still flowing today with water but none are used for drinking. For the majority of the twentieth century, Waukesha received its drinking water from three large wells but they began to contain larger and larger amounts of radium that potentially causes cancer. In 2006, then Mayor Larry Nelson negotiated an extension of its December 2009 deadline to find new sources of water until 2018. I hope that Waukesha can begin a new era in obtaining fresh drinking water. If they do receive permission, the significance may not be as dramatic like the Springs Era but will be a good step forward to reduce the risk of cancer to its citizens. The residents of Waukesha deserve quality drinking water, a part of their heritage.
Sources:
"Spring City and the Water War of 1892," by David P. McDaniel
"Spring City no More," by Don Behm of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 20, 2010
http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/91565334.html
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
"Houston, We Have a Problem"
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial Earth-orbiting satellite, Sputnik, and suddenly, the United States was behind their Cold War rival in space exploration. In reaction to the embarrassment, the country mandated that every high school student enroll in physics courses to help close the science gap between the United States and the USSR. Also, one year later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to get America into space.
The first space flight program called Project Mercury (1958-1963) and according to NASA, its three primary goals were to orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, to investigate man's ability to function in space, and to recover both man and spacecraft safely. The most famous astronaut was Alan Shepherd who became the first American to orbit the Earth. The program flew six manned missions before the next program took over.
The second space flight program called Project Gemini (1965-1966) and it flew ten manned flights. The goals according to NASA were to subject man and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration; to rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the docked combination by using the target vehicle's propulsion system; to perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land. Its goals were also met, with the exception of a land landing, which was cancelled in 1964. Also, many of the astronauts who flew during this mission went on to NASA's famous Apollo program including Wisconsin's very own James Lovell who was part of the Gemini VII and XII missions.
With the success of both the Mercury and Gemini programs, the United States believed that it could achieve the unthinkable, to be the first country to land on the Moon and return home safely. President John F. Kennedy made it the nation's priority of landing on the Moon before the end of the 1960s concluded in his speech before a Joint Session of Congress on May 25, 1961. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_JlSdRCg7g&feature=related You can see how it received bipartisan support.
The Apollo program began shortly after Kennedy's speech and the early missions leading up to the Moon landing focused primarily on studying the its outer-surface. Also, it was a test to see if the astronauts were able to handle the confines of outer space for extended periods of time. Then, on July 16, 1969, Apollo 11, commanded by Neal Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collings, launched and four days later Armstrong became the first American to land on the Moon, finally beating the Russians. Here is the link of CBS News' live coverage of the moon landing anchored by Walter Cronkite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJv5_y2l5as The video is very remarkable for that time and you can tell how Walter was enjoying every moment of the landing.
For some humans, the number 13 is portrayed as a bad luck number especially the occasional Friday the 13th. The number even provided a bad curse for the Apollo 13 crewmembers (James Lovell, Jack Siwgert who replaced Ken Mattingly after being exposed to the German measles, and Fred Haise), as they would try to be the third spacecraft to land on the moon. The mission started on Saturday, April 11, 1970 with a beautiful afternoon launch at Cape Canaveral in Florida at 2:13 (EST). Things went well for the astronauts and after a prime time show to the nation on Monday, April 13, Jack Swigert did a routine procedure that unfortunately caused a massive explosion of the oxygen tank in the Service Module that had a ripple affect into the Command Module Odyssey. This link is a breaking news bulletin by ABC News and now the nation turned to their TV sets for the next couple of days to see if NASA could somehow pull out of this disaster. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCHOxY5RYps&feature=PlayList&p=508B3EE3083D9225&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=1
Anxiety began to set in with both the crewmembers and Mission Control in Houston. Obviously, the mission turned from landing on the Moon to bringing back the astronauts home alive, a daunting task. Since the Service Module was inoperable, and the Command Module (CM) crippled with limited power, the only thing that the crew had left to survive was the Lunar Module Aquarius (specifically design to land on the moon and nothing else). They used it as a lifeboat and for the next couple of days, did numerous course trajectory corrections around the Moon and able to aim it back at Earth. Finally, on the last day of the mission, Friday, April 17, the astronauts transferred to the CM and jettisoned the Aquarius. The whole World watched to see if the crippled Command Module would hold up the intense heat through re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Then, after several minutes of blackout, longer than normal, a miracle happened, the crew landed in the South Pacific at 1:08PM. Thanks to the talented Mission Control led by Gene Kranz and the NASA agency, they were able to bring back the crew alive when many doubted that could have been possible.
The Apollo 13 mission was called a “successful failure” because even though they did not land on the Moon but were able to return home safely after that near fatal disaster. For NASA, this mission became the most memorable one in its history and even turned into a movie starring Tom Hanks as James Lovell. It is appropriate to honor these heroic men and all of our astronauts who risk their lives for humankind. Finally, next time when you drive down Lovell Street in downtown Milwaukee, just remember who it was named after and made not just Wisconsin proud but the whole World, too.
The first space flight program called Project Mercury (1958-1963) and according to NASA, its three primary goals were to orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, to investigate man's ability to function in space, and to recover both man and spacecraft safely. The most famous astronaut was Alan Shepherd who became the first American to orbit the Earth. The program flew six manned missions before the next program took over.
The second space flight program called Project Gemini (1965-1966) and it flew ten manned flights. The goals according to NASA were to subject man and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration; to rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the docked combination by using the target vehicle's propulsion system; to perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land. Its goals were also met, with the exception of a land landing, which was cancelled in 1964. Also, many of the astronauts who flew during this mission went on to NASA's famous Apollo program including Wisconsin's very own James Lovell who was part of the Gemini VII and XII missions.
With the success of both the Mercury and Gemini programs, the United States believed that it could achieve the unthinkable, to be the first country to land on the Moon and return home safely. President John F. Kennedy made it the nation's priority of landing on the Moon before the end of the 1960s concluded in his speech before a Joint Session of Congress on May 25, 1961. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_JlSdRCg7g&feature=related You can see how it received bipartisan support.
The Apollo program began shortly after Kennedy's speech and the early missions leading up to the Moon landing focused primarily on studying the its outer-surface. Also, it was a test to see if the astronauts were able to handle the confines of outer space for extended periods of time. Then, on July 16, 1969, Apollo 11, commanded by Neal Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collings, launched and four days later Armstrong became the first American to land on the Moon, finally beating the Russians. Here is the link of CBS News' live coverage of the moon landing anchored by Walter Cronkite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJv5_y2l5as The video is very remarkable for that time and you can tell how Walter was enjoying every moment of the landing.
For some humans, the number 13 is portrayed as a bad luck number especially the occasional Friday the 13th. The number even provided a bad curse for the Apollo 13 crewmembers (James Lovell, Jack Siwgert who replaced Ken Mattingly after being exposed to the German measles, and Fred Haise), as they would try to be the third spacecraft to land on the moon. The mission started on Saturday, April 11, 1970 with a beautiful afternoon launch at Cape Canaveral in Florida at 2:13 (EST). Things went well for the astronauts and after a prime time show to the nation on Monday, April 13, Jack Swigert did a routine procedure that unfortunately caused a massive explosion of the oxygen tank in the Service Module that had a ripple affect into the Command Module Odyssey. This link is a breaking news bulletin by ABC News and now the nation turned to their TV sets for the next couple of days to see if NASA could somehow pull out of this disaster. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCHOxY5RYps&feature=PlayList&p=508B3EE3083D9225&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=1
Anxiety began to set in with both the crewmembers and Mission Control in Houston. Obviously, the mission turned from landing on the Moon to bringing back the astronauts home alive, a daunting task. Since the Service Module was inoperable, and the Command Module (CM) crippled with limited power, the only thing that the crew had left to survive was the Lunar Module Aquarius (specifically design to land on the moon and nothing else). They used it as a lifeboat and for the next couple of days, did numerous course trajectory corrections around the Moon and able to aim it back at Earth. Finally, on the last day of the mission, Friday, April 17, the astronauts transferred to the CM and jettisoned the Aquarius. The whole World watched to see if the crippled Command Module would hold up the intense heat through re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Then, after several minutes of blackout, longer than normal, a miracle happened, the crew landed in the South Pacific at 1:08PM. Thanks to the talented Mission Control led by Gene Kranz and the NASA agency, they were able to bring back the crew alive when many doubted that could have been possible.
The Apollo 13 mission was called a “successful failure” because even though they did not land on the Moon but were able to return home safely after that near fatal disaster. For NASA, this mission became the most memorable one in its history and even turned into a movie starring Tom Hanks as James Lovell. It is appropriate to honor these heroic men and all of our astronauts who risk their lives for humankind. Finally, next time when you drive down Lovell Street in downtown Milwaukee, just remember who it was named after and made not just Wisconsin proud but the whole World, too.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
A Local Civil War Hero Honored
Waukesha County played an important role during the Civil Era along with the rest of the State of Wisconsin. The City of Waukesha was one of many stops of the "underground" railroad that hid runaway slaves who were escaping to Canada. Also, the City of Delafield was home to one of many heroes in the Civil War and featured in a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article written by Meg Jones. The article is about First Lt. Alonzo Cushing, finally receiving the Medal of Honor posthumously for his brave actions at the Battle of Gettysburg, that took place on July 1,2, 3, 1863. The battle was one of the bloodiest battles in Civil War history and a turning point for the Union Army. After the victory, President Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address.
So, what makes Cushing's story so heroic? During Pickett's charge at Cemetery Ridge on the last day of battle, Alonzo and his men of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery were placed in a confined spot, the so-called "the Angle" because of a stone fence used by the Union troops to protect themselves from the Confederates. Suddenly, a shell fragment pierced Cushing's shoulder and shrapnel tore through his abdomen. Ignoring his superiors recommendation to seek medical treatment, Cushing, who knew that his company had few men left and only two working cannons yelled "I will give them [The Confederate Army] one more shot" and was shot in the mouth that killed him instantly. It shows how Alonzo Cushing became one of the many heroes at the Battle of Gettysburg, fighting to the end and deserving the Medal of Honor.
It is important to remember the life of Alonzo Cushing for his courage. The Waukesha County Historical Society has numerous documents on his life and military career. In 1915, a white monument was dedicated in a park located in Delafield, later name the Cushing Memorial Park. I recently visited the park and you can listen to my brief audio report describing it. Also, there is not a whole lot written about Cushing and his heroic efforts at the Battle of Gettysburg. However, I was able to find one book at the Waukesha County Library called "Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander" by Kent Masterson Brown. Finally, let us never forget the brave men, especially from Wisconsin, who gave their lives in the Civil War to fulfill President Abraham Lincoln's goal of preserving the Union. Please take the time to visit Cushing Memorial Park if you are in the Waukesha County area.
Thank you for reading my blog and you can comment below or email me at daniel.baggott@yahoo.com
The link to my audio report
http://danielbaggott.podbean.com/mf/web/r669up/CushingPark.mp3
The link to the article
http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/88882607.html
So, what makes Cushing's story so heroic? During Pickett's charge at Cemetery Ridge on the last day of battle, Alonzo and his men of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery were placed in a confined spot, the so-called "the Angle" because of a stone fence used by the Union troops to protect themselves from the Confederates. Suddenly, a shell fragment pierced Cushing's shoulder and shrapnel tore through his abdomen. Ignoring his superiors recommendation to seek medical treatment, Cushing, who knew that his company had few men left and only two working cannons yelled "I will give them [The Confederate Army] one more shot" and was shot in the mouth that killed him instantly. It shows how Alonzo Cushing became one of the many heroes at the Battle of Gettysburg, fighting to the end and deserving the Medal of Honor.
It is important to remember the life of Alonzo Cushing for his courage. The Waukesha County Historical Society has numerous documents on his life and military career. In 1915, a white monument was dedicated in a park located in Delafield, later name the Cushing Memorial Park. I recently visited the park and you can listen to my brief audio report describing it. Also, there is not a whole lot written about Cushing and his heroic efforts at the Battle of Gettysburg. However, I was able to find one book at the Waukesha County Library called "Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander" by Kent Masterson Brown. Finally, let us never forget the brave men, especially from Wisconsin, who gave their lives in the Civil War to fulfill President Abraham Lincoln's goal of preserving the Union. Please take the time to visit Cushing Memorial Park if you are in the Waukesha County area.
Thank you for reading my blog and you can comment below or email me at daniel.baggott@yahoo.com
The link to my audio report
http://danielbaggott.podbean.com/mf/web/r669up/CushingPark.mp3
The link to the article
http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/88882607.html
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