1863: Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland narrowly defeats Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Losses were heavy: roughly one-third of the 42,000 Union and 35,000 Confederate soldiers are killed, wounded, or missing. In fact, casualty percentages were higher during the Battle of Stones River than during any other engagement during the Civil War.
1942: In the Philippines, Manila falls to Japanese Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma’s 14th Army, as well as the naval base at Cavite and Clark Field.
Gen. Masaharu Homma
1951: When enemy machine gun fire from an adjacent hill tears into Sgt. 1st Class Junior D. Edwards and his platoon near Changbong-ni, Edwards rushes the nest. He temporarily drives off the enemy gun crew until running out of ammunition and has to cross the kill-zone a second time for additional grenades. Upon returning, he kills the remaining crew, but another machine gun opens fire on his position. Racing through enemy fire again for more grenades, he manages to neutralize the second position. Edwards falls while making yet another assault against the enemy, and will posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor.
1967: (Featured Image) In just one day, Col. Robin Olds’ 8th Tactical Fighter Wing – the “Wolfpack” – wipes out half of North Vietnam’s MiG 21 fighter fleet in Operation “Bolo”. Olds’ advanced F-4C “Phantoms” tricked Communist intelligence into thinking the advanced fighters were just another easy target of F-105 “Thunderchief” fighter-bombers by flying at altitudes, speeds, routes, and using radio callsigns typical to the less maneuverable F-105s. When the MiGs flew into Olds’ ambush, seven “Fishbeds” are shot down in 12 minutes. Col. Olds scores one of the victories, making him the only Air Force ace with kills in both World War II and Vietnam.
Col. Robin Olds (second from right) celebrates with his Airmen after completing Operation Bolo
1994: In the skies over southern Iraq, the F-4G “Wild Weasel V” flies its last combat mission. During Operation “Desert Storm”, the Wild Weasel crews took on the dangerous role of targeting Iraqi air defense networks, destroying some 200 sites.
An F-4G Phantom II
