Good Morning & God Bless To Everyone !!!
Today Is January 9, the 9th day of 2014 and there are 356 days left this year where it is another blessed day to be in the work for our Lord here at:
For God’s Glory Alone Ministries !!!
It is another beautiful morning this morning at about 3 a.m. We’re enjoying 19 wonderful degrees of heat outside with absolutely no wind chill. It’s suppose to be getting into upper 40’s again, however, today we’ll have partly cloudy skies and a 20% chance of precipitation and we can sure use that.
So, What Happened Today In 1945:
In World War Two, the United States Invades Luzon In The Philippines
On this day, General Douglas MacArthur & the American 6th Army land on the Lingayen Gulf of Luzon, another step in the capture of the Philippine Islands from the Japanese.
The Japanese controlled the Philippines from May 1942, when the defeat of American forces led to General MacArthur’s departure & General Jonathan Wainwright’s capture. But in October 1944, more than 100,000 American soldiers landed on Leyte Island to launch one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific war & herald the beginning of the end for Japan.
Newsreels captured the event as MacArthur waded ashore at Leyte on October 20, returning to the Philippines as he had famously promised he would after the original defeat of American forces there. What the newsreels didn’t capture were the 67 days it took to subdue the island, with the loss of more than 55,000 Japanese soldiers during the two months of battle & approximately 25,000 more soldiers killed in smaller-scale engagements necessary to fully clear the area of enemy troops. The U.S. forces lost about 3,500.
The sea battle of Leyte Gulf was the same story. The loss of ships & sailors was horrendous for both sides. That battle also saw the introduction of the Japanese kamikaze suicide bombers. More than 5,000 kamikaze pilots died in this gulf battle, taking down 34 ships. But the Japanese were not able to prevent the loss of their biggest & best warships, which meant the virtual end of the Japanese Imperial Fleet.
These American victories on land & sea at Leyte opened the door for the landing of more than 60,000 American troops on Luzon on January 9. Once again, cameras recorded MacArthur walking ashore, this time to greet cheering Filipinos. Although the American troops met little opposition when they landed, they lost the light cruiser Columbia & the battleship Mississippi, to kamikazes, resulting in the deaths of 49 American crewmen.
The initial ease of the American fighters’ first week on land was explained when they discovered the intricate defensive network of caves & tunnels that the Japanese created on Luzon. The intention of the caves & tunnels was to draw the Americans inland, while allowing the Japanese to avoid the initial devastating bombardment of an invasion force. Once Americans reached them, the Japanese fought vigorously, convinced they were directing American strength away from the Japanese homeland. Despite their best efforts, the Japanese lost the battle for Luzon & eventually, the battle for control over all of the Philippines.
Other Memorable Or Interesting Events Occurring On January 9 In History:
1349 – 700 Jews of Basel Switzerland are burned alive in their homes;
1493 – Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, sailing near the Dominican Republic, sees three “mermaids” which were actually manatees & describes them as “not half as beautiful as they are painted.”;
1776 – Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet “Common Sense,” setting forth his arguments in favor of American Independence;
1788 – Connecticut becomes the 5th state of the Union;
1793 – Jean Pierre Blanchard takes off from Philadelphia Pennsylvania in the 1st hot-air balloon flight in the United States;
1799 – Income tax is introduced in the United Kingdom;
1806 – Lord Horatio Nelson, the British naval hero credited with saving Britain from an invasion by France, is buried at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London England;
1861 – Mississippi becomes the 2nd state to secede;
1861 – The Union merchant ship, the Star of the West, is fired upon as it tries to deliver supplies to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. This was the 1st shot fired between the North & the South but was not the trigger for the Civil War;
1887 – On one of the worst days of the “worst winter in the west”, nearly an inch of snow every hour fell for 16 hours impeding the ability of already starving cattle to find food;
1912 – Colonel Theodore Roosevelt announces he will run for president if asked;
1913 – Richard Milhous Nixon, who would later become the 37th President of the United States is born in California;
1915 – Pancho Villa signs a treaty with the United States halting border conflicts;
1941 – 6,000 Jews are exterminated in pogrom in Bucharest Romania;
1942 – U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff is created;
1947 – French General Leclerc breaks off all talks with Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh;
1951 – The United Nations officially opened their new headquarters in New York;
1952 – President Harry Truman, in his State of the Union Address warns Americans that they are “moving through a perilous time,” & calls for vigorous action to meet the communist threat;
1956 – “Dear Abby”, Abigail Van Buren’s advice column 1st appears in newspapers;
1965 – In the Vietnamese War, under pressure from United States officials, Gen. Nguyen Khanh & the newly formed Armed Forces Council–generals who participated in the bloodless coup on December 19, 1964–agree to support the civilian government of Premier Trran Van Huon;
1967 – In the Vietnamese War, the Agency for International Development (AID) attempts to respond to reports in the American media of widespread corruption & thievery of commodities sent to South Vietnam by the United States. In a report to the president, AID officials asserted, “No more than 5-6 percent of all economic assistance commodities delivered to Vietnam were stolen or otherwise diverted.”;
1972 – The ship Seawise University, formerly the RMS Queen Elizabeth, sinks in Hong Kong harbor despite a massive firefighting effort for over two days;
1979 – Supreme Court strikes down, (6-3), Pennsylvania law requiring doctors performing an abortion to try to preserve lives of potentially viable fetuses;
1984 – Angelo Buono, one of the Hillside Stranger’s, is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the rape, torture, & murder of 10 young women in Los Angeles. Buono’s cousin & partner in crime, Kenneth Bianchi, testified against Buono to escape the death penalty;
2007 – Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone—a touchscreen mobile phone with an iPod, camera & Web-browsing capabilities, among other features—at the Macworld convention in San Francisco. Jobs, dressed in his customary jeans & black mock turtleneck, called the iPhone a “revolutionary & magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone.”;
2009 – The Illinois House voted 114-1 to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who defiantly insisted again that he had committed no crime. (The Illinois Senate unanimously voted to remove Blagojevich from office 20 days later.);
2013 – It was one year ago today!
Now, Off To The Fun Stuff:
Today’s Cute Faces:
Today’s Patriotic Thought:
“NBC’s chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman, proudly declared that she had forced her own kids to sign up for Obamacare as their patriotic duty.” Remember back when patriotism meant protecting people’s right not to be forced? – Fred Thompson
Today’s Word Of The Day:
Vex – means to annoy, disturb or torment. Usually the distress is a mental one, but vex can also mean to cause physical pain.
Today’s Inspirational Video:
Watch a forest transition the 4 seasons in 2.47 minutes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfa29pq6NFs&feature=player_embedded
Today’s Computer Theory:
To err is human…to blame your computer for your mistakes is even more human, its downright natural.
Today’s Joke Of The Day:
A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn’t find a space with a meter. So he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: “I have circled the block 100 times. If I don’t park here, I’ll miss my appointment. FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES.”
When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note. “I’ve circled this block for 10 years. If I don’t give you a ticket, I’ll lose my job. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.”
Today’s Military Combat Tip:
The problem with taking the easy way out is that the enemy has already mine’d it.
Today’s Funny Sign:
Today’s ‘You might be living in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots’ IF:
If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or to take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion!
Today’s Inspirational Music Video:
Indescribable – https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tE1clC37T4w
Today’s Verse & Prayer:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:19-20
Majestic Father, I pray that out of the riches of your grace, you may help me find my treasure in you and nothing else. Today, I want to offer you all that I am and have, so that my life will be lived for your glory. In the name of Jesus, my example and treasure I pray. Amen.
Today’s Christian Quote:
As the winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory. – Richard Sibbes
Today’s Funny Church Sign:
Until Tomorrow – GOD BLESS To Everyone !!!