Today’s post is in honor of Air Force Capt. David I Lyon, who was killed on this day in 2013 by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Kabul, Afghanistan. The 28-year-old native of Sandpoint, Idaho was a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy (Class of 2008) and was serving with the 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron.
1846: Although heavily outnumbered, a force of Missouri militia led by Col. Alexander W. Doniphan called the “Doniphan Thousand” defeats the Mexican army at El Paso (Texas) and captures the city in one of the major battles of the Mexican-American War. By the time Doniphan and his men return to Missouri, they have undertaken what could be the longest military march (some 5,500 miles) since Alexander the Great.
1935: When a volcanic eruption threatens Hilo, Hawaii, Army Air Corps planes drop bombs in order to divert the lava flow.
1942: (Featured Image) 2nd Lt. (future Maj.) Richard I. Bong, flying a P-38 Lightning over Buna, scores his first of 40 kills against Japanese aircraft. Bong will become the United States’ top ace of World War II and is awarded the Medal of Honor.
1943: With railroad workers threatening a wartime strike, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt seizes the critical infrastructure, putting the railroads under the supervision of the War Department.
1944: During savage urban combat in the fortress town of Sigolsheim, France, 1st Lt. Eli Whiteley’s platoon was charged with clearing fanatical Germans out of their strong points. Whiteley charged through a street swept by heavy mortar and machinegun fire, which wounded him severely. Although he only had one functioning arm, he rushed into a house and killed its two defenders. Whiteley then hurled grenades into the next house and charged inside. When Whiteley walked out, two more Germans lay dead and he had captured 11 others. A bazooka blasted a hole in the next building, which Whiteley charged through, and into a hail of enemy bullets. This time, five more enemy soldiers were killed and another 12 captured. Whiteley was received another agonizing wound, and incredibly, was attempting to lead his men into yet another building when he was forcibly evacuated.
For his daring role in breaking the back of the enemy defenses in Sigolsheim, Lt. Whiteley was awarded the Medal of Honor.
1950: Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway takes over as commander of the retreating Eighth Army and immediately travels to the front lines, where he reorganizes the command structure and restores his men’s morale. The Chinese offensive soon grinds to a halt and Ridgway will lead a counteroffensive in the spring.
1992: When two Iraqi MiG-25 fighters violate the “no-fly” zone over Southern Iraq, Lt. Col. Gary North and his wingman, flying F-16 Fighting Falcons, intercept the MiGs and North kills his target with an AIM-120A missile. Not only did this mark the first victories for the F-16 and the AIM-120, it was also the first time a U.S. fighter shot down another warplane beyond visual range.
