WORLD OF ALL

On this day in 1892, Kathryn Card was born in Butte, Montana. American radio, television, and film actress who may be best remembered for her role as Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy's mother on I Love Lucy. On February 8, 1954, Card made her first television appearance in an episode of I Love Lucy. The installment, entitled "Fan Magazine Interview", featured Card playing a slatternly woman named Minnie Finch.  The following year, she was cast as a totally different character, Mrs. MacGillicuddy, Lucy's bird-brained mother.  She joined the Ricardos and the Mertzes in Hollywood when Lucy's husband, Ricky Ricardo, was given the opportunity to star in a motion picture.  Mrs MacGillicuddy would frequently annoy Ricky immeasurably by mistakenly calling him "Mickey" or mistaking him for his fellow bandleader Xavier Cugat.  She portrayed that character in five episodes during the 1954-1955 season, and appeared in three more installments during the 1955-1956 season when ...

The Terrible Story of how Germany Conducts First Successful V-2 Rocket Test! On October 3, 1942, German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun’s brainchild, the V-2 missile, is fired successfully from Peenemunde, as island off Germany’s Baltic coast. It traveled 118 miles.  It proved extraordinarily deadly in the war and was the precursor to the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) of the postwar era. German scientists, led by von Braun, had been working on the development of these long-range missiles since the 1930s. Three trial launches had already failed; the fourth in the series, known as A-4, finally saw the V-2, a 12-ton rocket capable of carrying a one-ton warhead, successfully launched. The V-2 was unique in several ways. First, it was virtually impossible to intercept. Upon launching, the missile rises six miles vertically; it then proceeds on an arced course, cutting off its own fuel according to the range desired.  The missile then tips over and falls on its targ...

**** Medal of Honor Monday! 🇺🇸🇺🇸 **** At about this time in 1931, a hero is born. Wesley L. Fox would go on to lead a company of men through the so-called “Valley of Death” in Vietnam, even after other platoon leaders had been kılled or wounded.   In many ways, Fox was an unlikely hero. He’d always meant to be a farmer. He’d grown up on a farm and enjoyed it. “If it had not been for the Korean War, I probably would not have gotten away from farming,” he later concluded.  Nevertheless, that war started, and it prompted Fox to join the Marines. He thought he would stay for a few years, then retire.  Except that’s not what happened. In the end, Fox spent 43 years in the Marines. The action for which Fox received a Medal of Honor occurred in February 1969, shortly after he’d extended a tour of duty in Vietnam.  Then-First Lieutenant Fox was commanding a Marine rıfle company near A Shau Valley. His mission, in his own words, was to “see if an enemy unit was where it w...

The terrible story of Alexander the great - the leader who didn't defeat in any battle.  Alexander III of Macedon (Ancient Greek) was born 20/21 July 356 BC and died 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20, and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia and Egypt.  By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he campaigned in the Balkans and reasserted control over Thrace and parts of Illyria before marching on the city of Thebes, which was subsequently destroyed in b...

The terrible story of Cpl. William Tamantini, Washoe County, Nevada, Serial Nº 39909434 of the 85th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron Mechanized, 5th US Armored "Victory" Division . Checking his snow-covered M1919 Browning . 30 caliber medium machine gun, set up to guard the road in a position near Sourbrodt, Belgium January 1st 1945. (William Tamantini, 1923 - 2003) The 5th Armored Division was activated on 10 October 1941, was organized, equipped and trained until they sailed for Great Britain in February 1944 to participate in World War II. On 24 July the Division landed on Utah Beach and was thrust into combat on 2nd August where they drove through Coutances, Avranches and Vitre and Le Mans. The 5th then turned north moving to Argentan before the closing of the Argentan-Falaise Gap. The 5th entered the Hurtgen Forest in November and pushed toward the Roer River. They crossed the Roer at the end of February 1945 and drove to the Rhine crossing it March 30th at Wesel.  In Apr...

2 – 7 OCTOBER 1918 – BATTLE OF THE "LOST BATTALION" #WWI  On 2 October, the First Army continued its attack in the Argonne Forest, a critical part of the titanic Meuse-Argonne Offensive at the end of World War I.  The 77th Division, advancing on the left flank of the I Army Corps, had made little progress except in the zone of the 308th Infantry Regiment.  A motley array of elements from that regiment led by Major Charles Whittlesey were ordered to advance without heed to the progress of the units on their flanks, eventually finding themselves half a mile ahead of their comrades-in-arms. German troops quickly surrounded the American position, cutting off communications and resupply to the miniature salient by the morning of 3 October.  For five harrowing days, the men of what became known as the "Lost Battalion" suffered intense bombardment (including misdirected "friendly fire") and repeated infantry assaults.  The Lost Battalion held their position again...

THE HORRIBLE AFTERMATH AT CORINTH, MISS. ON OCTOBER 4, 1862 Two of the gruesome images recorded on October 4, 1862, by St. Louis photographer Nicholas Brown, depicting Confederate dead at Corinth, MS in front of Battery Robinette the morning after the Second Battle of Corinth, appear below. They probably will be covered -- so click on the covers if you wish to see them.  Bob Zeller, President of The Center for Civil War Photography, wrote in his essential book -- THE BLUE AND GRAY IN BLACK AND WHITE -- that in the first image, below, Col. William P. Rogers of the 2nd Texas Infantry is visible on the far left.  The man leaning on his shoulder is said to be either Col. William H. Moore of the 43rd Mississippi Infantry or Capt. George W. Foster of the 42nd Alabama Infantry.  Historian Bruce Catton, in his landmark work GRANT MOVES SOUTH, writes “A Union officer watched, fascinated, as a Texas colonel led his men straight up to the battery.  He looked neither right nor l...

Jagdpanthers and Panthers mid-construction at a factory in Hannover.   There is a lot to see in this image, including 6 Jagdpanthers and three Panthers. Between the rows of vehicles, we can see plenty of road wheels. In front of them are two transmissions, one of which is on a stand. Closer, there are eight Maybach HL 230 V12 engines that powered the Panther and Jagdpanther.  A ninth engine can be seen installed in the Panther on the right, and the stack of pallets near the bottom of the image suggests others are fitted with engines too. Looking through the gun opening in the closest Jagdpanther, we can just see some torsion bars, the top of the transmission and the drive shaft coming from the engine at the rear.  At the back, the engine cooling fans are fitted. Can you spot anything's else?

A Sherman tank fitted with a T1E3 mine exploder. These rollers were developed from a series of similar types, that used the weight of heavy metal discs to detonate mines.  The T1E3 consisted of 10 steel rollers, each weighing 2100 kg (4600 lbs), that were driven by the tank's sprockets via chains. Each side could articulate to follow the contours of the ground. In total, the system weighed more than 22,200 kgs (59,000 lbs).  A few hundred were built, and the type was used successfully in the latter portions of the Second World War.  However their enormous size and weight limited their practicality, and severely reduced the Sherman's mobility. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below 

Born in Sunderland on this day in 1916, James Alfred Wight OBE FRCVS (1916-1995), better known by his pen name James Herriot, was a British veterinary surgeon and author of a series of books about his experiences working as a rural veterinarian in the Yorkshire Dales set in the 1930s-1950s. His first book, "If Only They Could Talk," was published in 1970. This book, along with several sequels, including 'All Creatures Great and Small', 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', and others, chronicled his adventures and the colourful characters he encountered while working in the Yorkshire Dales. From 1933, James attended veterinary school at Glasgow Veterinary College, qualifying in 1939. Shortly after graduating, #ww2 began.  His veterinary license exempted him from having to enlist. However, following the German bombings of Sunderland and Glasgow, the cities where he was raised and grew up, James volunteered for the Royal Air Force in November 1942.  As a pilot, he ...

In the early hours of 3 October 1943, Nos. 3 and 40 (RM) Commandos and elements of the Special Raiding Squadron (SAS) landed behind the German lines under cover of darkness at Termoli, a seaport town on the Adriatic coast of Italy. Operation Devon was the codeword given to an amphibious landing by British Commandos at Termoli on the Adriatic coast of Italy during the Italian Campaign of #ww2. 40 Commando penetrated well into the town before the Germans were alerted, and brisk close-quarter fighting with German paratroopers from 1 Fallschirmjäger Division ensued. By 08:00 hours, the commandos had captured the town and controlled the approaches. So complete was the surprise that the kampfgruppe commander - Major Rau - was captured in his pyjamas and German vehicles and motorcyclists still drove into a commando ambush position until noon. German infantry counter-attacked in strength, later supported by tanks and panzergrenadiers from 16 Panzer Division, but the commandos, together with re...

The painful dead of Folk Icon Woody Guthrie  On October 3, 1967, Woody Guthrie, godfather of the 1950s folk revival movement, dies. In 1963, Bob Dylan was asked by the authors of a forthcoming book on Woody Guthrie to contribute a 25-word comment summarizing his thoughts on the man who had probably been his greatest formative influence.  Dylan responded instead with a 194-line poem called “Thoughts on Woody Guthrie,” which took as its theme the eternal human search for hope. “And where do you look for this hope that yer seekin’?” Dylan asks in the poem, before proceeding to a kind of answer: You can either go to the church of your choice You’ll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, whom Dylan would later call “the true voice of the American spirit,” was a native of Okemah, Oklahoma, who was born in 1912 and thus entered adulthood just as America entered the Great Depression.  Already an accomplished, self-taught musician, Woody Guthrie bega...

Today in Television History: On this day in 1960, “The Andy Griffith Show" began airing on CBS.  It ran four eight seasons and 249 episodes came starring Andy Griffith, Ronny Howard, Dob Knotts, Frances Bavier, Jim Nabors, and George Lindsey. The series originated partly from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show.  The Show follows Andy Taylor, a widower sheriff of the small, sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry. Andy and son Opie live with Aunt Bee, who takes care of the family.  Andy's deputy is his bumbling but neurotically hilarious cousin, Barney Fife. Among Andy's Mayberry friends is the town's resident barber, Floyd. The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings, ending its final season at number one.  The only other shows to end their runs at the top of the ratings are I Love Lucy (1957) and Seinfeld (1998). The series spawned its own spin-off-- Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964-1969) and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry (1986). After the ...

The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Hollywood between October 3, 1942, and November 22, 1945 (Thanksgiving Day), as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen, who were usually on their way overseas.  Even though most visitors were US servicemen, the canteen was open to servicemen of allied countries as well as women in all branches of service. A serviceman's ticket for admission was his uniform, and everything at the canteen was free of charge. The East Coast counterpart was the New York City-based Stage Door Canteen, which featured Broadway stars and was also celebrated in a film, Stage Door Canteen. Picture: Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth serve food to soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen in 1942. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

 On this day in 1887, Bernard Law Montgomery was born in London, United Kingdom. Senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the Second World War. Montgomery first saw action in the First World War as a junior officer of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.  At Méteren, near the Belgian border at Bailleul, he was shot through the right lung by a sniper, during the First Battle of Ypres. On returning to the Western Front as a general staff officer, he took part in the Battle of Arras in April–May 1917.  He also took part in the Battle of Passchendaele in late 1917 before finishing the war as chief of staff of the 47th (2nd London) Division. During the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, Montgomery commanded the British Eighth Army from August 1942, through the Second Battle of El Alamein and on to the final Allied victory in Tunisia in May 1943.  He subsequently commanded the British Eighth Army during the ...

2 SEPTEMBER 1945 - VICTORY OVER JAPAN (V-J DAY). On 2 September 1945, the Empire of Japan formally surrendered to the Allies, or "United Nations," in a ceremony conducted aboard the battleship USS MISSOURI in Tokyo Harbor.  Although the Japanese  government notified the Allies of its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender Accord on 15 August, the instrument of surrender documents were not signed until this date.  Designated as the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in the Pacific (SCAP) for the occupation of Japan, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur signed the "instrument of surrender," on behalf of the United Nations, and declared, "It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past.”  Ten more signatures were made, by representatives of the United States, China, Britain, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, Fra...

 Battle of Hat Dich Begins On the 3rd of December 1968, Australians from the 1st Australian Task Force participated in the Battle of Hat Dich as part of Operation GOODWOOD.  This operation involved the clearing of Hat Dich and its surrounding areas in a three month operation which would involve Australian, New Zealand, American and South Vietnamese forces. The battle was marked by sustained Australian patrols throughout the Hat Dich area and ambushes on tracks used by the enemy. American, South Vietnamese and Thai forces also operated in direct support of the ANZACS as part of the division-sized action. Under the codename Operation GOODWOOD, the battle of Hat Dich lasted 78 days, and saw 21 Australians, one New Zealander and 31 South Vietnamese killed.  The Royal Australian Regiment, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and 1st Armoured Regiment were subsequently awarded the battle honour award “Hat Dich”, one of only five presented to Australian units during the war. don't forget to...

Emmanuel Ifeajuna: First Nigerian Commonwealth Games Gold Winner Who Was Executed By The Firearm. Nigerian sportsmen and women have always been history makers right from colonial time. Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna is not just a history maker in Nigerian sports but in the entire continent of Africa.  He was the first Black African to win a gold medal at an international sports event when he won at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.  His winning mark and personal best of 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) was a games record and a British Empire record at the time However, his involvement in politics and later military activities have made many people forget that Emmanuel Ifeajuna was the first ever Black African to win a gold medal. Born in Nigeria in 1935, Ifeajuna was a high jumper, a skill he learnt while still in school.  He participated in national competitions including the 1954 Nigerian Athletics Championships that saw him establish his name as a prolific high jumper. ...

World War II: During the Beisfjord massacre in Norway, 15 Norwegian paramilitary guards help members of the SS to kill 288 political prisoners from Yugoslavia. The Beisfjord massacre was a massacre on 18 July 1942 at Beisfjord Camp No.1 in Beisfjord, Norway of 288 political prisoners. The massacre had been ordered a few days earlier by Josef Terboven, the Reichskommissar for Nazi-occupied Norway. In order to build defences in Norway against the Allies, the Germans brought in around 5,000 Yugoslavian political prisoners and prisoners-of-war—in addition to prisoners of other nationalities—to work as forced labour on infrastructure projects.   In the summer of 1942 a number of prisoners started arriving in North Norway as a result of the transfer of prisoners from the new Croatian puppet regime to German authorities who needed manpower for projects in Norway. On 24 June 1942, 900 Yugoslav prisoners arrived at the Fagernes Pier in Narvik.  "They start to walk the ten kilomete...

World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and four fellow conspirators are executed for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The 20 July plot was a failed attempt to assassinate the German dictator Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944.  The plotters were part of the German resistance, mainly composed of Wehrmacht officers.  The leader of the conspiracy, Claus von Stauffenberg, planned to kill Hitler by detonating an explosive hidden in a briefcase.  However, it only slightly injured him. The planner's subsequent coup attempt also failed. As early as 1938, German military officers had plotted to overthrow Hitler, but indecisive leadership and the pace of global events stymied action.  Plotters gained a sense of urgency in 1943, after Germany lost the Battle of Stalingrad and Russian forces began to push towards Germany. Under the leadership of Stauffenberg, plotters tried to assassinate Hitler at least five different times in 1943 and 1944....

The Nazis assassinate Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in a failed coup attempt.  Engelbert Dollfuß (4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian Fatherland Front politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934.  Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government.  In early 1933, the so called "Selbstausschaltung des Parlaments" happened, which made the Austrian parliament unable to govern.  Suppressing the Socialist movement in February 1934 during the Austrian Civil War and later banning the Austrian Nazi Party, he cemented the rule of authoritarian conservatism through the First of May Constitution.  Dollfuss was assassinated on 25 July 1934 by a group of Austrian Nazis, who entered the Chancellery building and shot him in an attempted coup d'état.  During mass trials which took place after the coup, Hudl was sentenced to li...

HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war. HMS Vestal was a turbine-powered Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy.  She was launched in 1943 and saw service in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan.  She was critically damaged by Japanese kamikaze aircraft in 1945 and was subsequently scuttled in waters close to Thailand. Vestal was sunk on 26 July 1945 whilst participating in Operation Livery. At around 18:25, an alarm was sounded as three unidentified planes had been spotted coming over Phuket Island, and were soon followed by several more.   Vestal was hit by a kamikaze, sustaining critical damage and killing twenty men. She was the last Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the Second World War.   As the ship was hit close to Thailand, which was a Japanese ally, the crew were taken off and the ship was scuttled by the destroyer HMS Racehorse. don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Murder of Maximilian Kolbe, Friar, Martyr]. Maximilian Maria Kolbe OFMConv (born Raymund Kolbe; 8 January 1894 - 14 August 1941) was a Polish Catholic priest and Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in the German death camp of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland during World War II.  He had been active in promoting the veneration of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, founding and supervising the monastery of Niepokalanów near Warsaw, operating an amateur-radio station (SP3RN), and founding or running several other organizations and publications. In 1907 Kolbe and his elder brother Francis joined the Conventual Franciscans.  They enrolled at the Conventual Franciscan minor seminary in Lwow later that year.  lIn 1910, Kolbe was allowed to enter the novitiate, where he chose a religious name Maximilian. He professed his first vows in 1911, and final vows in 1914, adopting the additional name of Maria (Mary). Kolb...

Death of Paula Hitler, German-Austrian sister of Adolf Hitler. Paula Hitler, also known as Paula Wolff and Paula Hitler-Wolff, (21 January 1896 – 1 June 1960) was the younger sister of Adolf Hitler and the last child of Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl. She was Adolf Hitler's only full sister and only full sibling who would survive to adulthood. Paula later moved to Vienna. In the early 1920s, she was hired as a housekeeper at a dormitory for Jewish university students.  In 1921, while she worked at the dormitory, she was visited by her brother who she said appeared as if he had "fallen from heaven".   For the most part, she had no other contact with her brother during his struggling years as a painter in Vienna and later Munich, his military service during World War I and his early political activities. She was delighted to meet him again in Vienna during the early 1930s. Paula used the surname "Hiedler", the original spelling of "Hitler"....

Royal Families in WW2 - Belgium. Several European monarchs made significant contributions to the fight against the Axis powers in World War II. When Germany invaded on May 10, 1940, Belgium was also caught off guard.  The Belgian army fought hard, but after a week or so, it was clear that courage alone was not enough, especially when their British and French allies were defeated and seemed on the verge of collapse. In his last meeting with his government ministers, Leopold made it clear he would share the fate of the Belgian army, whatever that fate might be.  This caused consternation among Belgian officials, since they had determined to evacuate to England and form a government in exile.  The king said something to the effect that he would get along with new ministers, which seemed to imply he might turn collaborationist, though that is probably not what he meant. The Belgian government fled to London and, once in the safety of the British capital, denounced Leopold and...