BAY OF PIGS RANSOM – In 1961, the Bay of Pigs Invasion was a fiasco. The Kennedy administration green-lighted an invasion by anti-Castro Cuban exiles trained by the CIA. Castro’s military quickly defeated the invaders and about 1,000 were taken captive. Castro demanded $60 million for their release and ended up accepting $53 million in food and medicine in 1962. Kennedy and 40,000 greeted them in the Orange Bowl. The survivors presented the President with the brigade flag. He responded: “I can assure you that this flag will be returned to this brigade in a free Havana.” So far, no good. Whitcomb p. 238
LSD TESTING – During the Cold War, the U.S. military experimented with chemical warfare and drugs to be used against America’s enemies. Scientist Frank Olson worked for the Special Operations Division which tested the use of bacterial agents in things like shaving cream cans and bug spray. Meanwhile, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb headed MK-ULTRA which worked on drugs that could be used as weapons. They started with cocaine and mescaline, but moved on to LSD. Gottlieb and his crew experimented on volunteers at universities and prisons and even on themselves. They would slip the colorless, tasteless drug into each other’s drinks and watch the results. In 1953, Gottlieb decided that they needed totally unwitting subjects so at the annual brainstorming meeting with their colleagues in SOD, the drug was surreptitiously put in their drinks. All the recipients went on trips, but one did not come back. Frank Olson became paranoid, thinking their was a CIA plot against him. The next day, when Gottlieb sent him home, he was still suspicious and depressed. He didn’t get better so Gottlieb made arrangements to put him in a psychiatric hospital in New York. The night before, Olson jumped out of his tenth story hotel room window. His widow was told he died of a “classified illness”. Gottlieb was reprimanded, but allowed to continue his experiments for another ten years. Sometimes they used prostitutes. In 1974, the New York Times exposed the story behind Olson’s death. The family was compensated with $750,000 and President Ford made a formal apology. Plunges Again pp. 53-55
BERLIN WALL ESCAPES – The Berlin Wall was 10-13 foot high concrete wall that separated West Berlin from East Berlin and sealed the city off from East Germany. It featured 293 watchtowers and searchlights, guard dogs, land mines, and self-firing machine guns. Before the more substantial concrete wall went up, an East German butcher covered himself with hams, roasts, and sausages that absorbed bullets as he made it through the barbed wire. Another pole vaulted over the temporary wall. Some people jumped out of buildings adjacent to the border and landed on mattresses. People escaped through the sewer system until the authorities cemented the manhole covers shut. A family built a homemade balloon and floated to freedom. A brave man was driven through Check Point Charlie strapped under his girlfriend’s car. Tunnels were dug under the wall. One took six months to dig and was 430 feet long. 57 people escaped. It is estimated that between 5,000 to 16,500 people escaped over the years. More than 200 people were shot trying to escape. Plunges Again pp. 180-183
THE REAL MASH – In WWII, military hospitals were located far behind the lines. Ambulances were used to bring the wounded the long distances to the doctors. Things improved in the Korean War. The Army created Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals. They were located near the front and moved with it. They could be on the move in only 24 hours. This was because the structures were tents. There were living quarters, the operating room, the x-ray room, offices, a cafeteria, the nurses’ station, and the scrubbing room. Most of the doctors were draftees who served a one year tour of duty. The workload was heavy and there was little time for the shenanigans seen on the TV series. Helicopters were used to quickly bring the wounded to the hospital. The doctors were skilled at saving soldiers with grievous wounds, but also were credited with innovations like early ambulatory movement – getting patients moving early to support blood circulation. They also made improvements in blood-loss shock and vascular surgery. Plunges Again pp. 427-430
THE BIKINI – In 1946, the U.S. scheduled the first announced atomic bomb test at the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. There was a lot of publicity. The Soviets spread the rumor that the explosion might cause a chain reaction that could end the world. This sensationalism was particularly popular in Paris. People hosted “Bikini” parties to celebrate the end of the world. A Parisian fashion designer promoted his fashion show by advertising a “Bikini costume” that would be scandalously two-piece. When Micheline Bernardini walked the runway, everyone agreed the “bikini” was the bomb. Uncle 1 p. 85
NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS –
– 1957 – a hydrogen bomb was accidentally dropped when a bomber crewman grabbed the release mechanism to stop from falling. The bomb landed near Albuquerque, N.M. and the conventional part exploded, leaving a twelve foot deep crater and killing a cow, but the nuclear part of the bomb did not explode. Luckily, because it would have had the power of 625 Hiroshima bombs! There was a little radiation that was emitted, but the Air Force did not admit to the accident until 1981.
– in July, 1956, a B-47 crashed into a storage facility in Great Britain causing a fire which thankfully did not cause three nuclear bombs in the building to explode
– in 1958, a B-47 dropped a nuclear bomb into a garden in Mars Bluff, South Carolina. It did not explode.
– in 1961, a B-52 dropped two 24 megaton bombs on a farm in North Carolina. Neither exploded.
– in 1966, a B-52 crashed in Palomares, Spain. One of the unexploded bombs ended up in the Mediterranean Sea. It took the 33 ships of the U.S. 6th Fleet several weeks to locate the bomb. Another landed in the backyard of a home. There was some radiation emitted, so the Air Force burned all the crops near the village, killed the livestock, and removed 2,000 tons of topsoil.
– in 1980, a repairman dropped a wrench in a nuclear missile silo. The wrench punctured the missile resulting in an explosion that blew the top of the silo off and catapulted the warhead 600 feet into the air.
– on June 3, 1980, a computer at Strategic Air Command headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska detected a Soviet submarine missile attack. Before the error was discovered, over 100 B-52s were on their way to the USSR.
Uncle Lost 141 / Weird History 47-8
STALIN’S DEATH – Stalin stayed up late drinking with his henchmen. The 74 year-old dictator went to bed around 4 A.M. Usually he rose around noon, but not that day. His aides were so afraid to awaken him that they did not go into the room until 10:30 P.M. They found him on the living room floor, paralyzed by a stroke and unable to speak. The men, who included some of his top cronies, panicked and could not decide what to do. They finally called a doctor at 8:30 the next morning. It was too late, Stalin died four days later. Uncle 10th Anniversary p. 73
KOREAN WAR SLANG –
– bamboo curtain – the Asian version of the iron curtain; referred to Red China and North Korea
– police action – the U.S. never declared war, Truman referred to U.S. involvement as a “police action”
– bug out – referred to when American units would beat hasty retreats
– chopper – slang for helicopters because of their chopping sounds; choppers were used in Korea to transport the wounded
– buy the farm – many airplane training accidents occurred with trainees crashing on farmland. The government would compensate the farmer for damages. Farmers would usually ask for enough money to pay off their mortgages, hence the term which meant that a pilot had died.
– M.A.S.H. – Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
– hooch – a peasant hut; later became slang for liquor
– brainwashing – the Chinese used mental torture on American prisoners to indoctrinate them and get them to collaborate Uncle Plunges pp. 336-338
– egg beater – helicopter
– brain bucket – helmet
– deep kimchi – in serious trouble Uncle Salutes the Armed Forces 129
EINAR INGMAN – In 1951, his regiment was fighting a series of skirmishes with the Chinese. His squad leader was killed, so Ingman took command. A few hours later, another squad leader was wounded and Ingman took command of it also. He led his men against a machine gun nest. He attacked it by himself when his men got pinned down. Throwing a grenade, he finished off the machine gun crew with his rifle. When another nest opened fire from fifteen yards away, he immediately went after it. A grenade exploded a foot from his head and blew off his left ear. He charged with his bayonet but was hit in the face by a bullet. Dazed, he leaped into the nest and killed ten Chinese with his rifle and bayonet. He staggered away and collapsed. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. maroon book p. 15 and Wikipedia
THOMAS HUDNER AND JESSE BROWN – Jesse Brown was the first black pilot in the US Navy. On Dec. 4, 1950, Marine F4U Corsairs were providing air support for Marines in trouble in the Chosin Reservoir. The mission was uneventful until Brown’s plane began leaking oil. Most likely he had been hit by ground-fire. He was forced to crash-land in a snowy field in North Korea. He was trapped in the burning wreckage. A white comrade named Thomas Hudner saw his predicament and made a belly landing to come to his aid. He rushed to the burning plane despite the chance of an explosion. He couldn’t get Brown out because his leg was trapped in the wreckage, so he tried piling snow around the canopy with his bare hands. Helicopters were on the way, but by the time they arrived it was getting dark and it was not possible to get Brown out. The helicopter was forced to leave with Brown close to death. Brown’s last words to his friend was for him to tell his wife he loved her. Hudner wanted to return the next day to recover the body, but it was deemed too dangerous so planes dropped napalm on the site to cremate Brown. Hudner was awarded the Medal of Honor. Hudner met Daisy Brown to deliver the message and they started a friendship that lasted fifty years. maroon 65 & https://www.warhistoryonline.com/korean-war/thomas-hudner-crashed-plane.html?fbclid=IwAR1U7ok7ZnhDrsnHIquGAz3fqCnHal-Pd3tlWfV3ErztVSDk_aVtSKY46-4
KILLING CASTRO – President Eisenhower approved Operation Mongoose. It was a C.I.A. program to assassinate Castro. At one time there were around 400 C.I.A. agents working on schemes to kill the communist dictator. The most famous plan was the Bay of Pigs Invasion, but there were plenty of plots to assassinate him. Some of them were bizarre. When Castro visited the United Nations headquarters in New York City, an agent was able to slip a poison cigar into his cigar case, but his security detail checked the cigars before he smoked any. An idea involved slipping him a cigar laced with LSD to cause him to hallucinate and embarrass himself. Another plan was to gift him a scuba diving suit with its inside sprayed with tuberculosis germs. The lawyer who was traveling to Cuba to negotiate the release of Bay of Pigs captives decided it was a silly plan. Sillier was the plan to plant an exploding sea shell on a beach Castro liked to stroll. Amazing 318
KHRUSHCHEV’S SHOE – In 1960, Khrushchev attended a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. When a Filipino delegate made a comment about the Soviet Union “swallowing up” Eastern Europe, he got so mad he banged his fist on the table. In the process, he broke his watch band. When he bent over to pick his watch up from the floor, he noticed his shoes, which he had taken off because they were uncomfortable. Picking up the right one, he proceeded to shake it at the Filipino and then famously bang it on the table. Lists p. 1
WHITE MEAT – One his way to give his Iron Curtain speech in Fulton, Missouri, Churchill spent the night with a rich lady who decided to serve him a typical American meal – fried chicken. At the dinner, when the servant brought a platter of chicken to the guest of honor and asked him what piece he wished, Churchill said: “a breast”. The high society woman gasped and whispered to Churchill: “Mr. Prime Minister, we use the terms ‘white meat’ and ‘dark meat’”. Two days later, a florist delivered a corsage from Churchill to the rich lady. The note read: “Madam, I would appreciate it if you would pin this flower to your white meat.” Humes 37
PROJECT ACOUSTIC KITTY
In 1962, in the Cold War, the CIA was looking for a new way to spy on the Soviets. Someone had the bright idea that innocent-looking animals might be trained to sit next to Soviet officials and record their conversation. But what kind of animal? Believe it or not, they chose the cat. Apparently, no one in research and development had ever owned a cat. Common sense lost and Project Kitty Acoustics got the green light. A listening device was implanted in a cat and a wire antenna was interlaced with its tail. After five years, $20 million, and incomparably frustrating training, the kitty James Bond was ready for its first mission. The mission was to spy on two Soviets sitting in a park across from the Soviet Embassy in Washington. For some reason, the operators felt the cat would wander into the park and sit near the Russians. We’ll never know if this was a pipe dream because when the cat was released from the van with all the listening equipment, it was promptly run over by a taxi. Thus ended Project Acoustic Kitty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_Kitty
https://www.history.com/news/cia-spy-cat-espionage-fail
THE KOREAN WAR MEMORIAL
The Korean War is sometimes called “The Forgotten War”. As an example of that, the Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated in 1982. The Korean War Memorial was not dedicated until July 27, 1995 (the 42nd anniversary of the end of the war). From 1950-1953, over 5 million Americans serve in the war. 54,246 gave their lives. To give some perspective, about the same number died in Vietnam and Korea, and yet the Korean War lasted 3 years and the Vietnam War lasted 9. The Korean War Memorial is a remembrance of those who served and those who died. It was commissioned by Congress in 1986, but it was paid for by private contributions. The main feature is 19 statues of servicemen. Each statue was sculpted by Frank Gaylord. Each is over 7 feet tall. They are made of steel. They march across a rice paddy symbolized by the granite strips and the juniper bushes. The statues are a mix of 13 Army soldiers, 3 Marines, 1 Navy corpsmen, and one member of the Air Force. They are 12 Caucasians, 3 African-Americans, 2 Hispanics, an Asian-American, and a Native American. They carry M-1 rifles, M-1 carbines, BARs, and machine guns. There is also a Mural Wall of black granite designed by Louis Nelson. It is 164 feet long and consists of 41 panels. The panels contain over 2,400 photographs from the National Archives. The wall reflects the statues as though there are 38 of them. The 38 reminds of the 38th Parallel and the 38 months of war. There is a Pool of Remembrance.
https://www.abmc.gov/about-us/history/korean-war-memorial
https://koreanwarvetsmemorial.org/the-memorial/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War_Veterans_Memorial
A COLD WAR TRAGEDY
On Sept. 1, 1983 the passengers and crew of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 were enjoying a peaceful flight across the Pacific Ocean. The flight had begun at New York City and after a stopover at Anchorage, Alaska, was on the last leg to Seoul. Suddenly, there was an explosion that deprived the pilots of control of the plane. Twelve horrifying minutes later, the plane crashed in the ocean with 269 people not knowing what had caused their deaths. For a while, the world did not know either, but the truth eventually came out. It turned out that the jet airliner was the victim of a particularly tense period of the Cold War. President Reagan had turned up the heat and the Soviet’s reacted with some paranoia. We’ll never know for sure why the Boeing 747 was 200 miles off course, which caused it to cross Kamchatka Peninsula. Either the pilots did not set the autopilot correctly or there was a computer malfunction. The peninsula was the location of top secret military installations. A missile test was scheduled for the next day. An American spy plane was monitoring the facilities at the same time KAL 007 was passing over. It was a terrible coincidence. Soviet radar may have mistaken the two. Jet fighters were scrambled. Several made contact and it was clear it was a passenger jet, but those could be disguised as a spy plane and the lead pilot did not bother to report that the plane was a 747. He did try to make radio contact, unsuccessfully. He fired shots in front of the plane, but they were not tracers and could not have easily been seen. Maj. Gennadiy Osipovich did not question the order to open fire. He fired two heat-seeking missiles at point blank range. He could not have missed. The Cold War got colder as the Soviets lied about the circumstances and Reagan called it a “massacre”. As time passed it became clear it was probably just a tragic accident.
A COLD WAR TRAGEDY
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/korean-airlines-flight-shot-down-by-soviet-union