SeaWaves Today in History February 5, 2007 ********************************************************************* February 5 Finland - Johan Ludvig Runeberg Day (Finnish poet laureate and composer of national anthem.) Visiting warships Dress Ship with Masthead Flags 1631 - Founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, and his wife arrived in Boston from England 1782 - Spain captured Minorca from the British 1810 - British troops under Sir George Beckwith, supported by a fleet commended by Vice Admiral Cochrane, captured Guadeloupe 1854 - Dedication of first chapel built on Navy property, Annapolis, MD 1856 - Queen Victoria institutes the military Order of the Victoria Cross (VC) 1882 - The schooner Mary L. Vankirk, bound for Philadelphia from South Creek, Pamlico Sound, NC carrying a crew of five men, encountered heavy weather. She lost sails and sprung a leak, so that before long she became waterlogged and almost unmanageable. In this condition it was determined to run to leeward and seek refuge in Hatteras Inlet. Matters, however, became worse and it was decided to beach the vessel. She was discovered heading for the land by the crew of Station No. 18, Sixth District (Chicamicomico, NC. The surfboat was run out, but the life-saving crew returned to the station for the breeches-buoy apparatus. The latter arrived abreast of the schooner at 8 -15, fifteen minutes after she struck the bar about half a mile north of the station. The schooner was so close that the keeper was able to wade out into the water and cast a heaving-line to those huddled in the rigging. As quickly as possible, the men in the rigging hauled off the whip-line. The breeches buoy was soon rigged and went spinning out to the vessel. All five men were safely landed 1885 - The column of British troops moving up the Nile River to relieve Khartoum halts today after news is received of the city's fall. Amongst the relief force is a contingent of 400 Canadian voyageurs who have been employed in maneuvering the supply boats through the various river hazards. The only casualties suffered are those from tropical diseases 1915 - Tug HMCS Rival commissioned 1916 - Battlecruiser HMS Courageous launched 1917 - Congress passed, over President Wilson's veto, an immigration act severely curtailing the influx of Asians 1917 - Mexico's constitution was adopted 1919 - Minesweeper HMS Fermoy launched 1919 - Destroyer USS Bailey launched 1919 - Minesweeper USS Cormorant launched 1930 - Soviet submarines SC-301, SC-302 & SC-303 laid down 1931 - Tug HMS Perseverence launched 1935 - Sloop HMS Deptford launched 1938 - Soviet submarine K-23 laid down 1938 - Minesweeper HMCS Comox laid down North Vancouver BC 1938 - Britain, France, and the United States asked Japan's naval building plans 1940 - US freighter SS Exford is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities 1940 - US Maritime Commission announces that Britain & France are buying 113,000 tonnes of old American cargo ships 1940 - U-652 laid down 1940 - At 0332, the unescorted & unarmed Dutch tanker Ceronia was hit by a torpedo, but made it to Rotterdam under her own power. The attacker must have been U-41, which was herself lost during a second attack on Convoy OA-84 the same day 1940 - SS Beaverburn (9,874 GRT) Canadian Pacific Steamships Line, Capt Thomas Jones, Master, was sunk in the Western Approaches, in position 49.20N, 010.07W, by torpedoes from U-41, OLtzS Gustav-Adolf Mugler, CO. She was proceeding outbound from Southampton in the 11-ship Convoy OA-84. Despite being in an outbound convoy she was fully loaded with general cargo. One other ship from this convoy was damaged before it was dispersed to proceed to its various ports, the normal procedure in the early days of the war. Only one crewmember was lost in this incident. The American tanker Narragansett picked up the remaining 76 survivors. Beaverburn was one of five state-of-the-art Beaver-class cargo-liners operated by the CPR. She was a fast & roomy ship that made her useful for wartime service. Two of Beaverdales's lifeboats were used to rescue British soldiers during the evacuation of Dunkirk. None of the Beaver-class ships survived the war. U-41 was a long-range Type IX U-boat built by AG Weser, at Bremen. Commissioned on 22 Apr 39. U-41 conducted three patrols & quickly compiled a record of seven ships sunk for a total of 24,987 tons & one ship damaged for a further 8,096 tons. She was sunk on 05 Feb 40, south of Ireland, in position 49.20N, 010.04W by depth charges from destroyer HMS Antelope, one of the escorts for Convoy OA-84, on the same day that she sank Beaverburn. All 49 of her crewmembers were lost. OLtzS Mugler was her only commander. Gustav-Adolf Mugler was born in 1912, at Danzig-Langfuhr. He joined the navy in 1931 but few details on his early career are known. By 1937 he was the Weapons Officer in U-30. One of the commanders of U-30 was Kptlt Fritz Julius Lemp, Knight's Cross, who, although he was a highly competent commander with a score of 20 ships sunk, is notorious as the attacker of the passenger-liner Athenia (13,500 GRT), on 03 Sep 39. Mugler was appointed to the command of U-41 on 22 Jun 39, at the age of 26. He was well on his way to becoming a high-scoring 'ace' when he was lost on 05 Feb 40. Mugler was promoted posthumously to Kapitanleutnant 1940 - AMC HMCS Prince Robert purchased from CNR for $738,310 1941 - Chief Nurse Marion B. Olds and Nurse Leona Jackson USN arrive on Guam 1941 - The Royal Danish Navy is constrained to hand over 6 newer Torpedo Boats to the German Occupation Force. As the Torpedo Boats leave the Naval Dock in Copenhagen, Kong Christian X order the Sovereign Flag at the Naval base lowered to half mast 1941 - ASW trawler HMS Tourmaline sunk by German aircraft off North Foreland, Kent 1941 - Submarine USS Finback laid down 1941 - Boom defense vessel HMAS Karangi laid down 1941 - U-563 launched 1942 - 21 year old Fähnrich zur See Eberhardt Vollmer (Crew 1940) lost overboard from U-585 in the south Barents Sea 1942 - U-105 saved seven men from a crashed German Do-24 aircraft 350 miles off the French coast in the Atlantic 1942 - U-375 underwent a depth charge attack in the Mediterranean from a hunter-killer group, and sustained damage that forced her to return to base 1942 - At 0153, the unescorted & unarmed tanker India Arrow was torpedoed by U-103 about 20 miles SE of Cape May, New Jersey, while steaming a nonevasive course at 10.5 knots. The torpedo struck the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. Only a distress signal without position could be sent before the dynamo failed. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship, but were only able to launch one lifeboat. The explosion destroyed two boats and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it. The U-boat then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section, which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. Only one officer and eleven crewmen survived in the lifeboat, set sail and headed for shore. They were picked up on 6 February by the American 24 foot fishing skiff Gitana 20 miles SE of Atlantic City and taken to the Coast Guard station there 1942 - At 1808, the unescorted & unarmed tanker China Arrow was hit by two torpedoes from U-103, while running on a zigzag course and blacked out off Winter Quarter Shoals. The first struck the starboard side between the #8 and #9 tanks, the other between tanks #9 and #10. The explosion blew fuel oil 125 feet into the air and over the length of the vessel. Fire immediately broke out in these tanks. The live steam firefighting equipment smothered the blaze in tanks #9 and #10 but could not put out the fire in the #8 tank. The nine officers and 28 crewmen on board abandoned ship in three lifeboats 25 minutes after the hits. The U-boat surfaced and fired 15 to 20 shells into the waterline of the burning tanker, which sank by the stern at 1930. A USN aircraft spotted the men in the lifeboats 57 hours after the attack. A USCG Catalina landed near the boats and the men were later picked up by the USCGC Nike, which took them to the Coast Guard Station in Lewes, Delaware 1942 - SS Empress of Asia (16,909 GRT) Canadian Pacific Steamships Line passenger-liner Capt John Bisset Smith, Master, was bombed & sunk off Singapore by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft. Fifteen soldiers & one crewmember were killed from the 2,651 people onboard. Empress of Asia was requisitioned by the British Government as a troopship & was part of a five-liner convoy that was the last attempt to reinforce Singapore & evacuate civilians. Empress of Asia was carrying 2,235 Australian troops & a large quantity of equipment & stores. The other four ships, Aorgagai, Empress of Australia, Empress of Japan, Duchess & Bedford were more modern oil-fired liners whereas the Empress of Asia was coal fired & slower. She fell behind the convoy on the inbound run & as she approached the harbor, was attacked three times by low-flying Japanese bombers. The fires that resulted from at least three direct hits were soon burning out of control. Captain Smith ordered the ship abandoned & the four screening escorts - HMS Danae (light cruiser), HMAS Yarra & HMIS Sutlej (sloops), & HMAS Woolongong (corvette), carried out the evacuation despite the raging fires & continued air attack. Yarra took on 1,804 people; an incredible feat. HMAS Bendigo, Yarra & Woolongong pulled along side to take off survivors, while at the same time fighting off enemy aircraft. On board were troops of the British 18th Division, most of whom at been aboard ship for three months, after an odyssey that took the ship from the UK to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then back to the Pacific via South Africa. Yarra was taking troops off the stern while Bendigo worked her way to the bow, but due to the liners bow flare couldn't get close enough; the Australian sailors told the soldiers to jump, not realizing, that being "poms" most of the soldiers couldn't swim. The medical officer aboard Yarra commented that the surf life saving & resuscitation skills acquired earlier in life by some members of the crew came in handy on this day. During this action Acting Leading Seaman Taylor the captain of No.2 gun aboard HMAS Yarra was Mentioned in Dispatches for keenness, courage and the example he set to all ratings. This was the first of two MIDs for Taylor. After the Yarra took the last two survivors, the Master and the Chief Engineer off the bow of the liner Yarra had on board no less than 1,804 survivors. Yarra's Captain stated "I was becoming a little dubious of the stability of HMAS Yarra, and on getting clear gave orders for all hands to sit." Leading Seaman Ronald Taylor refused to obey the order to abandon ship when HMAS Yarra was sinking on 4 March 1942. As captain of the last operating gun on the ship he continued in action until he was killed and his gun silenced. Although not mentioned in dispatches, his action was not forgotten and his name and deeds were included in the official Australian Navy history of WW2. The commanding officer of HMAS Yarra singled out Taylor for “for keenness, courage and the example he set to all ratings” in the Empress of Asia blaze. On neither occasion was he mentioned in dispatches. HMAS Yarra was a modified Grimsby-class escort sloop HMAS Yarra (II) was constructed as ship number 114. It was laid down on 24 May 1934, launched on 28 March 1935, and completed on 12 December 1935. Its overall length was 266 feet and 3 inches, and full load displacement was 1 339 tons. Commander Rankin the Commander of HMAS Yarra is honored in HMAS Rankin - a Collins Class Submarine Empress of Asia burned for four days before she sank. The ship's doctor & 132 crewmembers volunteered to stay in Singapore & help at the hospital. The others were evacuated when the liner convoy left. Those that stayed behind became prisoners of war when Singapore surrendered on 15 Feb 42. Capt Smith was awarded on 05 Jun 43 the Officer-Order of the British Empire (Civil). 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Kelowna commissioned 1942 - Patrol vessel (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS Howe Sound I, 59ft overall, built in 1941, by Stanley Park Shipyards, owned by Iwakichi Suriyama & Mr. Fukiama of Howe Sound Fisheries. Initially chartered for $260.00 a month. It was noted that the owners became naturalized citizens in 1921, they had only been back to Japan once each for 3 months, one in 1936 & the other in 1939. Nevertheless in Sep 1942 she was appraised at $20.000.00 & ownership transferred to the Crown 1942 - Minesweepers USS Fantome & Fancy laid down 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Alarm launched 1942 - Destroyer USS Herndon launched 1942 - Japanese planes bomb Allied shipping off Soembawa Island. After destroyer USS Paul Jones is damaged by a near miss, she then rescues survivors of a Dutch merchantman, which had run aground in an attempt to avoid Japanese bombs 1942 - Cruisers USS Houston & HNLMS Tromp arrived in Tjilatjap via the Lumbok Straits. Houston has 60 dead & 100 or so wounded and her aft 8-inch gun turret is destroyed after being hit by air attacks while patrolling north of Java. Light cruiser USS Marblehead arrives in the same port just after midnight. She is so badly damaged that she returns to the US via India for repair. The remaining ships in the Strike Force, HNLMS De Ruyter & a squadron of Dutch destroyers continues on to Batavia 1942 - Destroyer HMAS Vampire leaves Batavia for East Indies Station. She escorts freighters Melchior Treub (3,242 tons) & Ophir (4,115 tons) to Colombo. Vampire was the only ship from Admiral Phillip's Force Z to survive the campaign, although she did not survive the war 1942 - Minesweepers HMAS Ballarat & Toowomba rescue survivors of SS Loch Ranza (4,958 Tons) along with radar gear contained within that ship's cargo 1942 - US Naval Operating Base, Londonderry in County Derry is established to serve as a turnaround point for Transatlantic convoys 1942 - Submarine USS Seadragon evacuates 21 Army & Navy personnel; 23 torpedoes; 4,000 pounds of submarine spares and 3,000 pounds of radio equipment. The radio equipment and some of the Navy personnel are from the naval communications/radio intelligence unit on Corregidor; they will set up facilities on Java 1942 - In WW2 a British Commonwealth sailor could be awarded one of four awards for gallantry in action; the Victoria Cross, the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal or be mentioned in dispatches. Only the Victoria Cross or the mentioned in dispatches could be awarded posthumously 1942 - Destroyers HMS Grove & Aldenham commissioned 1942 - U-608 commissioned 1942 - SS West Portal sunk by U-413 at 53N, 33W 1942 - Corvette HMS Arbutus torpedoed & sunk by U-136 in the North Atlantic 1943 - Submarine USS Bream laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Abner Read commissioned 1943 - U-867 laid down 1943 - U-617 shadowed a northbound convoy (probably on the XT or XTG route), consisting of four steamers and four escorts from grid CO92 to CO67. At 0802 hours, the U-boat torpedoed and sunk the Henrik and Corona. Corona was hit by one torpedo and 15 minutes later by another on the starboard side. The forecastle deck line split to keel and from keel to about 15 feet from deckline port side. The collision bulkhead was fractured and forecastle deck dropped 12 inches from aft side windlass to stem. All seven Norwegian officers, 40 Chinese crewmen, the Egyptian messboy, six British gunners and 49 army personnel as passengers abandoned ship. The master, 10 crewmen and 11 passengers were picked up by HMS ML-1012. The master, the 2nd mate and three crewmen returned to the lifeboat with the intention of returning to the ship, but on the way back he came across HMS ML-356 and being uncertain of the condition of the ship they decided to board the motor launch. HMS Erica put a boarding party on the Corona, including one Indian stoker from Henrik and later took the survivors on board and brought them to Tobruk. The next day, the Corona was taken in tow to Tobruk and beached. In the afternoon on 24 February, she sank during a storm. On 17 Oct 1947, the ship was refloated and was taken in tow by the tug Lenamill, but sank two days later 20 miles north of Derna. Henrik (Master Johan Sørlie) was probably hit by two torpedoes and sank within 3 minutes about 30 miles east of Tobruk. The launched lifeboat swapped as the vessel sank, throwing the occupants into the water. The survivors clung to rafts or debris until an escort vessel picked them up. Two Chinese crewmembers died, out of a complement of seven Norwegian officers, 33 Chinese crewmembers and six gunners 1943 - Corvette HMCS Forest Hill (ex-HMS Ceanothus) laid down Port Glasgow, Scotland 1943 - Frigate HMS Ettrick launched Sunderland UK 1943 - U-267 was attacked in the North Atlantic by escorts with depth charges. The boat was damaged so severely that a return to base was necessary 1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Stronsay mined & sunk in the western Mediterranean 1944 - Frigate HMS Labuan commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Lake commissioned 1944 - U-322 commissioned 1944 - Submarine USS Piranha commissioned 1944 - Escort carrier HMS Puncher commissioned Tacoma, Washington 1944 - U-763 shot down an RAF 502 Sqn Halifax 1944 - U-963 shot down an RAF 53 Sqn Liberator 1944 - One man washed overboard from U-450 in the Mediterranean. [Matrosengefreiter Thomas Heneka]. Later that day the boat suffered a fire in the engine room & was forced to return to base 1944 - Submarine USS Segundo launched 1945 - Escort carrier USS Gilbert Islands commissioned 1945 - U-2362, U-2363, U-3029 commissioned 1945 - At 2025, Liberty Ship Henry B. Plant as last ship in the starboard column of Convoy TAM-71 was torpedoed by U-245 about 17 miles east of Ramsgate. The lookouts had spotted the U-boat 300 yards off the starboard side, but it was too late to evade the torpedo which struck at the #4 hold. The explosion ruptured the main deck, severed steam lines, blasted the hatches and beams overboard and probably set off the after magazines. The engines were secured as the vessel rapidly sank, sinking stern first within five minutes. Most of the eight officers, 33 crewmembers, 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and one passenger (an Army security officer) had to jump overboard, they only managed to launch one lifeboat and four rafts. The survivors were picked up by HMS Hazard & armed trawler HMS Sir Lancelot and landed in England. One officer, eight crewmembers and seven armed guards drowned 1945 - Soviet minesweeper T-116 (ex-USS Arcade) sunk by U-992 1945 - Corvette HMCS Brandon arrived St John's to join EG W-5 WEF 1946 - Submarine USS Cusk commissioned 1946 - Frigate HMCS Beacon Hill & Antigonish paid off Esquimalt BC 1946 - U-805 & U-1228 are scuttled on the US East Coast 1951 - Planned date for departure of HMCS Magnificent for her initial '51 southern cruise; had to be delayed due to discovery of sabotage (sand and filings in ship's lubrication pumps and main gear box) 1953 - Submarine HMS Andrew arrived Halifax NS for ASW training 1954 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga departed Sasebo for Taechong Do patrol area 1954 - Destroyer HMCS Haida relieved sister ship Huron in Korean waters 1958 - During the early morning hours, an Air Force B-47 Stratojet bomber was soaring high above the Lowcountry coast on a simulated combat mission, but at approximately 0200 disaster struck at 36,000 ft. A group of Air Force F-86 Saberjet fighters were in the vicinity, and without warning, one of the aircraft slammed into the bomber. The collision destroyed the fighter, with the pilot ejecting safely, but the real concern was the weaponry aboard the crippled B-47: a hydrogen bomb. Though the bomb utilized a removable nuclear capsule, which is required for a nuclear explosion, the weapon was not considered fully armed, but still inherently dangerous. The F-86 crashed after the pilot successfully bailed out, and the B-47 was damaged but flyable. After three landing attempts at then Hunter Air Force Base, Ga., the 400-pound bomb was jettisoned several miles from Savannah, Ga., into the Warsaw Sound area of the Atlantic Ocean 1958 - Gamel Abdel Nasser nominated first president of the new United Arab Republic 1962 - French President Charles De Gaulle called for Algeria's independence 1966 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Subic Bay 1970 - The Minelayer Lindormen is stroked from the navy listing, thereby becoming the last steam driven vessel in the Royal Danish Navy 1971 - Moonwalk by Capt Alan B. Shepherd, Jr. USN, Commander of Apollo 14 and CDR Edgar D Mitchell, USN Lunar Module Pilot. During the 9 day mission, 94 lbs of lunar material was collected and Shepard became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. Recovery was by helicopter from USS New Orleans 1971 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Subic Bay 1974 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Subic Bay 1974 - The island nation of Grenada won independence from Britain 1975 - USS Enterprise port call Mombassa 1991 - DOD announces that to-date, over 284 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched with targeting focused on Republican Guard emplacement 1991 - USS Missouri destroys Iraqi artillery emplacement 1991 - Navy A-6s attacked Silkworm anti-ship missile sites at Uum Qasabah. Hits on two launchers and several control and support vehicles were con firmed 1991 - A Navy F/A-18 is downed. The pilot, LT Robert Dwyer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt's Carrier Airwing 8, is missing 2004 - Retired US Navy Adm. Thomas Moorer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from July 1970 to June 1974 and Chief of Naval Operations from 1967 to 1970, died today at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He was 91 2004 - Amphibious ship USS Guadalcanal reacquired by USN from MARAD for use as a target 2004 - INS Agray badly damaged in accident in Arabian Sea. Engine room flooded & crew evacuated 2005 - The US Navy christens X-Craft as Sea Fighter (FSF 1) during a 1200 PST ceremony at the Nichols Bros Boat Builders yard in Freeland (Whidbey Island), Washington 2005 - Indonesia has dispatched six boats carrying tonnes of rice to the west coast of tsunami-devastated Aceh as part of moves to cut dependency on foreign aircraft to deliver relief aid. A relief official said the mid-sized boats, each carrying some 50 tonnes of rice, were among 20 vessels rented by the Indonesian Government. Jakarta is paying 65 million rupiah ($9,212) for each boat a month 2006 - Stornoway Coastguard were alerted at 0130 to an incident at Mallaig where two people, one male and one female, were reported to be in the water in the inner harbor. A survey vessel called the Coastguard on VHF Radio and reported that they had been alerted to a female who had fallen into the harbor at about 0115 and that there was no sign of her. Stornoway Coastguard immediately alerted the Mallaig Coastguard Rescue Team, Mallaig RNLI Lifeboat and local Police & Ambulance crews. Upon arrival of the Mallaig Lifeboat both people were soon located and recovered from the water by the Lifeboat crew and then taken ashore to the care of Paramedics. The male was reported to be shocked and slightly hypothermic but otherwise unharmed. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the Paramedics and Coastguards, the female was pronounced deceased at the Belford Hospital in Fort William 2006 - A skipper was recovered from his boat this morning after a member of the public reported to Forth Coastguard that his vessel had run aground. Forth Coastguard received a 999 call at 0751 reporting that the vessel was aground at Linkim Bay, south of St Abbs Head. The call was received from an RNLI lifeboatman, who had noticed the vessel with its lights on. Forth Coastguard requested the Eyemouth Coastguard Rescue Team to attend the scene and assess the situation. The St Abbs inshore lifeboat and the Eyemouth all weather RNLI lifeboats were then requested to launch and a helicopter from RAF Boulmer was requested to scramble. Once the lifeboats were on scene, the crew made their way, with some difficulty, to the vessel and discovered the skipper, collapsed in the wheelhouse. The skipper was transferred onto the all weather lifeboat and taken into Eyemouth Harbor, where he was met by an awaiting ambulance. The ambulance took him to the helicopter landing pad and he was then transported by helicopter to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The fishing vessel is now high and dry on the rocks at Linkim Bay and is being assessed for hull integrity. Plans are being made for its removal and it is hoped that possibly it could be towed off the rocks at the next high tide. There is some risk of pollution from the vessel which has 140 gallons of fuel oil onboard. Smoke has been seen rising from the hatch and the fire brigade are currently on scene assessing 2006 - Rescue coordinators are seeking more information following an early morning search and rescue case on the Banana River near the Highway 528 bridge in Brevard County, Fla. Rescue coordinators received a report of two people possibly clinging to the pilings on the east side of the Highway 528 bridge at about midnight. Rescue coordinators are seeking any information from the public that may lead rescue crews to continue their search. During follow-up interviews with the reporting source, the reporting source conveyed the feeling that they may have been mistaken in their initial report to authorities. The reporting source feels they could've seen pelicans splashing near the bridge instead of actual people in distress. Also, Coast Guard rescue crews from Station Port Canaveral, Fla., and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office are confident they thoroughly searched the confined area in favorable weather conditions through the early morning and again at first light. Brevard County Sheriff's Office searched using a helicopter until 0300. Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral, Fla., searched with a rescue boat until 0300 and at first light. The Coast Guard suspended the search pending further developments at 0800 2006 - A man and his two sons were lifted to safety Sunday after their boat sank in Lake Pontchartrain, forcing them to swim to shallow water and await rescue. Leon Powell of Independence, La., and his six- and eight-year-old sons left Madisonville Saturday to fish and camp in the Tangipahoa River. Dispatchers from St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office called the Coat Guard with a report that a 17-foot vessel was taking on water two miles east of the Tangipahoa River. Coast Guard rescue crews from Station New Orleans and Air Station New Orleans were immediately launched. The helicopter crew found the survivors standing in two feet of water and took them to North Shore Regional Hospital to be treated for hypothermia 2006 - Two USN sailors, and one merchant mariner assigned to USNS John McDonnell provided medical assistance to the victim of a knife attack while visiting Singapore. The incident occurred in the early hours while Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Paulryan Judi, USN, Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Gregory Chaney, USN, and merchant mariner and ship’s Third Mate Colin Campbell were enjoying a night out near a popular Singapore tourist district. The ship is making a routine port visit in Singapore for liberty and to pick up supplies. On their way by taxicab, the crewmembers observed a violent altercation between two local men, which involved an 18-inch ‘machete.’ One man was seen fleeing from the scene, and, according to one of the crewmembers, was trying to conceal the weapon in his trousers. The crew asked the taxi driver to stop immediately. They followed a heavy trail of blood and discovered the victim near a local convenience store. Each of McDonnell’s crewmembers described the wounds as very serious and the loss of blood substantial enough they thought his injuries were almost certainly life threatening. He also appeared to show symptoms of shock. Each has completed basic training in first aid. The victim had multiple lacerations to his left forearm including visible flesh and bone wounds. Judy ensured the attacker had not returned to the scene and began to check the victims pulse. At the same time, Chaney applied a tourniquet to the most serious wound by borrowing clothing and a belt from a bystander. Meanwhile, Campbell, a native of Salem, Ore., telephoned police and asked the convenience store to call an ambulance. The victim was rushed to a local hospital where he was scheduled to undergo surgery. His prognosis is not known 2007 - U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen delivers keynote address at the Passenger Vessel Association Annual Convention Charleston Area Convention Center Complex 5001 Coliseum Drive North Charleston, SC ============================================================= Sources: Colton Shipping Report, NOAA, MARAD, Marine Digest, Leo Pettipas, Kommersant, Samuel Loring Morison, Frank Pierce Young, Navy Times, Naval Institute Proceedings, www.uboat.net, Andrew Etherington, John Nicholas, US Naval Historical Center, Ministry of Defense, US Coast Guard, Thomas N. Carlson, Jack Arrowsmith, Allan Snowie, Ken Hansen, Andy Barber, John Weiss, Jack McKillop, Bernard de Neumann, Sympatico Today in History, Washington History Link, Lloyds List, Fairplay, New York Times, I-Newswire and other news sources in the public domain. Additions, submissions and corrections are always welcomed. ============================================================= Today in History Archives at: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/today_in_history_archive.htm Copyright 2007 Seawaves Publishing Inc ISSN 1710-6966 Photos courtesy of US Naval Historical Center, US Coast Guard Historical Center, Wikipedia Encyclopedia or Naval Museum of Manitoba unless otherwise noted. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click.