Today In History; December 5

At 2:10 p.m., five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned.

Two hours after the flight began, the leader of the squadron, who had been flying in the area for more than six months, reported that his compass and back-up compass had failed and that his position was unknown. The other planes experienced similar instrument malfunctions. Radio facilities on land were contacted to find the location of the lost squadron, but none were successful. After two more hours of confused messages from the fliers, a distorted radio transmission from the squadron leader was heard at 6:20 p.m., apparently calling for his men to prepare to ditch their aircraft simultaneously because of lack of fuel.

By this time, several land radar stations finally determined that Flight 19 was somewhere north of the Bahamas and east of the Florida coast, and at 7:27 p.m. a search and rescue Mariner aircraft took off with a 13-man crew. Three minutes later, the Mariner aircraft radioed to its home base that its mission was underway. The Mariner was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion seen at 7:50 p.m.

The disappearance of the 14 men of Flight 19 and the 13 men of the Mariner led to one of the largest air and seas searches to that date, and hundreds of ships and aircraft combed thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and remote locations within the interior of Florida. No trace of the bodies or aircraft was ever found.

Although naval officials maintained that the remains of the six aircraft and 27 men were not found because stormy weather destroyed the evidence, the story of the “Lost Squadron” helped cement the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, an area of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are said to disappear without a trace. The Bermuda Triangle is said to stretch from the southern U.S. coast across to Bermuda and down to the Atlantic coast of Cuba and Santo Domingo.

 Other Memorable Or Interesting Event On This Day In History:

771 – Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman;

1360 – The French Franc is created;

1349 – 500 Jews of Nuremberg massacred during Black Death riots;

1456 – Earthquake strike Naples Italy killing an estimated 35,000;

1492 – Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti);

1496 – Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I;

1766 – London auctioneer’s Christie’s hold their 1st sale;

1776 – Phi Beta Kappa is founded in Williamsburg Virginia;

1782 – Martin Van Buren who would become America’s 8th president is born in Kinderhook, New York;

1839 – Union General George Armstrong Custer is born in Harrion County Ohio;

1861 – Gatling Gun is patented;

1871 – Rodeo Star Bill Pickett is born in Texas. Along with Will Rogers & Tom Mix, he played a major role in the evolution of small local rodeo’s into the larger entertainment productions they are today;

1873 – The Boston Belfry murderer kills his 1st victim. Eventually apprehended, he confessed to 4 killings and was hanged in 1876;

1876 – Fire at the Brooklyn Theater in New York kills nearly 300 and injures hundreds more;

1879 – 1st automatic telephone switching system is patented;

1893 – 1st electric car (built in Toronto) could go 15 miles between charges;

1915 – Siege of British-occupied Kut, Mesopotamia, (modern day Iraq), begins during WWI. Kut eventually fell in April of 1916;

1933 – Prohibition ends when the 21st amendment to the constitution is ratified repealing the 18th amendment;

1941 – USS Lexington heads to Midway Island to defend against an anticipated attack on the island. The Lexington never reached Midway and arrived back at Pearl Harbor Hawaii on December 13th, 6 days after the infamous Japanese attack;

1955 – Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery, Alabama following Rosa Parks’ recent arrest;

1964 – 1st Medal of Honor awarded to U.S. serviceman for action in Vietnam is presented to Capt. Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York;

1978 – USSR & Afghanistan sign “friendship treaty” which lead the Russians another step closer to their disastrous involvement in the Afghan civil war which began in 1979;

1988 – 1st nuclear-was-fighting satellite launched by shuttle Atlantis.

Today’s Witticism:

If at first you succeed, try not to look too astonished.

Today’s Word To The Wise:

The second mouse gets the cheese.

Today’s Question Of Faith:

If going to McDonald’s does not make you a good hamburger, does just going to church make you a good Christian ?

Today’s Founders Quote:

“No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.” –Samuel Adams, Letter to James Warren, November 4, 1775

Today’s Children’s Advice:

When your mom is angry at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair !

Today’s Irrelevant definition:

‘Kemo Sabe’ means ‘Soggy Shrub’ in Navajo. (How bout that Lone Ranger !)

Today’s Witty Quote:

The wise man has long ears and a short tongue.

Today’s Amazing ‘Useless’ Fact:

A Goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

Today’s Faithful Quote:

“All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today’s Do Your Remember These?

(Speakers at an outdoor drive-in movie theater)

Today’s Silly Sign:

(seen at a conference) FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN’T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR.

Today’s Funny Doggie Picture:

Today’s Inspirational Picture:

Until Tomorrow – God Bless to All !!!