LBJ’s SILVER STAR – When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Congressman Johnson was determined to go to war. He enlisted in the Navy and became a Lieutenant Commander. FDR decided to send him to the South Pacific to tour bases to assess morale and strength. Johnson decided his political career would be boosted by a combat mission so he went aboard a B-26 Mitchell for a bombing raid. The bomber developed engine trouble and had to return to base, but it was jumped by some Japanese fighters. Although it was hit a few times, the pilot was able to escape through some dodging and weaving. It was Johnson’s only combat mission, but he was awarded the Silver Star for bravery. None of the bomber crew were acknowledged. Johnson returned to Washington after seven months as a war hero and resumed his political career. Whitcomb p. 20
PT-109 – In WWII, John Kennedy enlisted in the Navy and was a Commander on a patrol torpedo boat. PT-boats were fast moving wooden warships that were used patrol the waters of the south Pacific and attack Japanese ships with torpedoes. On August 2, 1943, his PT-109 was on patrol in the Solomon Islands. Around 2:30 in the morning, the patrol boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. (It is possible the Japanese did not even know they did it due to the darkness of the night.) PT-109 was split in half. The survivors spent the rest of the night clinging to the damaged, but floating hulk. After daylight, it was decided to swim to a nearby island. It took four hours and Kennedy swam towing a wounded crewman by putting his life jacket strap between his teeth. That night, Kennedy swam out into the passage to try to signal any American craft, but without success. He returned with feet badly cut from traversing a coral reef. Four days later, a native canoe arrived on the island and Kennedy wrote a note on a coconut shell for the natives to bring to the nearest American base. Soon after, the men were rescued. Kennedy was awarded a Navy Cross. Later, when a boy asked him how he became a war hero, he said: “It was involuntary. They sank my boat.” Whitcomb p. 21-2
BARBIE – Ruth and Eliot Handler founded Mattel after WWII. One day, Ruth noticed that her daughter Barbie preferred to play with curvy paper dolls instead of baby dolls. That gave her an idea for a plastic doll that she named after her daughter. (Ken is named after their son.) The idea was for the doll to exemplify a young girl’s dreams of her future, including having breasts. The designers combined the curves of Brigitte Bardot and the blond sophistication of Grace Kelly. It debuted at the 1959 New York Toy Fair and was an instant hit. It sold for $3. Mattel representatives visited Parisian fashion shows to develop the clothes for Barbie. Barbie’s last name is Roberts and she graduated from State College. Uncle 1 p. 45-47
ELVIS THE NARC – Even though he died from drug abuse, Elvis was very anti-drug. He had an arsenal of weapons at his Memphis home and talked of taking out drug dealers. He had gotten names from friends on the Memphis police force. In 1970, he visited the White House and met President Nixon. Nixon gave him a badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Drugs. He then went on to the FBI headquarters. He wanted to meet J. Edgar Hoover. He was a huge fan. Hoover’s aides decided a photo-op with the flamboyant rock n’ roller was not a good look for Hoover, so Elvis was told Hoover was not around. He was given a tour of the Bureau. In conversations with FBI personnel, Elvis proclaimed that the Beatles were partly to blame for the youth drug culture. He also criticized the Smothers Brothers and Jane Fonda for poisoning the views of youth toward the Nixon Administration. Uncle 1 pp. 129-132
KENNEDY’S AFFAIRS – Kennedy had quite a reputation as a womanizer. The press corps kept things quite because back then they respected the President’s privacy. They did nickname him “Jack the Zipper”. Personal secretary Evelyn Lincoln was responsible for sneaking women into the White House. The Secret Service would abet Kennedy by removing evidence from his hotel rooms. They also facilitated the arrival of “guests” when he was on Presidential trips. Kennedy liked a variety of women. He slept with members of the secretarial pool at the White House. Sometimes he hosted nude parties at the White House pool when Jackie was away. It was not unheard of for naked women to be seen running through the halls of the residence. Kennedy hooked up with some famous actresses like Marilyn Monroe and Angie Dickenson. More alarming was his affair with Judith Campbell Exner. Exner was the girlfriend of mob boss Sam Giancana which means the President left himself open to black mail. Did Jackie know? Of course. She took it hard at first, but later learned to accept her husband’s infidelities. According to once witness, she once confronted Jack with a pair of panties that she had found in their bed. She asked him who they belonged to. Uncle pp. 429-432
COMMON SENSE BABY CARE – In 1946, Pocket Books approached New York pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock about writing a baby care book. Spock was reluctant, but the publisher insisted it didn’t have to be particularly good. By the time of his death in 1998, The Pocket Book of Baby and Child Care had sold 50 million copies. Second only to the Bible. It was translated into 39 languages. The book was revolutionary because every other book before it took the approach that if you didn’t follow specific rules, your child was in danger. Some of the rules were to have a strict schedule for feeding and toilet training. Excessive affection was bad for the baby in the long run. Only kiss the forehead and limit your hugging. Spock started his book with the basic theme: “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” In other words, use your common sense. Some specific advise included: 1. Be firm, but gentle. Don’t spank. 2. Routines are nice, but babies should not have strict schedules. 3. Don’t worry if your baby acts funny. 4. Have family discussions before making family decisions like where to go on vacation. 5. Most importantly, babies need love. It is okay to coddle them. (Spock’s mother would put her children in a dark closet for them to think over what they had done.) Sales were helped by the fact that Lucy and Desi referenced it on “I Love Lucy”. Spock became controversial in the 1960’s for protesting against the Vietnam War. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but did not serve the time. He was also blamed by conservatives for being responsible for the counter-culture because that generation had been brought up without discipline. Spock did not back down on this, but he was willing to evolve. Later editions accepted that “mothering” included the father, for instance. Uncle 10th Anniversary 312-313 / Time Magazine>healthland>2011/07/14 / BBC.com>world>us>Canada-14534094
KILLING CASTRO – Here are some ideas the CIA had for getting rid of Fidel Castro:
- Convince the Cuban people that Christ was returning and Castro was anti-Christ.
- An exploding sea shell placed on a beach he frequented.
- Put chemicals in his shoes or cigars when he made an appearance on “The David Susskind Show” that would cause his hair and beard to fall out.
- Put itching powder in his scuba suit and breathing mouthpiece to drive him crazy and he would drown.
- Slip him an exploding cigar.
- Put a machine gun in a TV camera.
- Spray his broadcasting booth with hallucinogens.
Uncle 10th Anniversary 354 -355
JOHN GLENN PROBLEMS – Here are some problems Glenn faced on his mission around the Earth:
- a small jet meant to keep the capsule steady malfunctioned causing it to move right 20 degrees
- he had to fly it himself
- the gyroscope went out and the capsule started rolling, but he was able to control it
- on the second orbit, a red light on the control board indicated the heat shield had come loose – if so he would have burned up on reentry
- the heat shield broke lose on reentry. When the glowing capsule hit the water, steam came up. maroon 76
1960’s FIRSTS
1960 – birth control pill (Enovid 10 – $.55 per pill) / laser / CPR / astro-turf / canned coke / Ken doll / first primetime animated series – The Flintstones / soul music (“Spanish Harlem” by Ben E. King) / OPEC meeting / Andy Griffith Show
1961 – Sprite / Lego / electric toothbrush / The Fantastic Four comic / monkey to orbit Earth (Enos) / first disco (Le Club in NYC)
1962 – WalMart / K-Mart / Easy Bake Oven / Incredible Hulk comic / The Beverly Hillbillies / first black in the Baseball Hall of Fame (Jackie Robinson) / Tab
1963 – zip codes / Ironman comic / X-Men comic / “General Hospital” / human lung transplant
1964 – Pop Tarts / G.I. Joe / Lucky Charms / Mustang / Jeopardy / Beatles in America / Gilligan’s Island / Jeopardy / The Munsters and The Addams Family on TV / Bewitched
1965 – Gatorade / Spaghetti-Os / Gomer Pyle / Apple Jacks / Get Smart / I Dream of Jeanie / Hogan’s Heroes / miniskirt / domed stadium (Astrodome) / Diet Pepsi
1966 – Surgeon General’s warning on cigarettes / National Organization for Women / Star Trek TV series / The Hollywood Squares / Batman TV series / Catholics can eat meat on Fridays (except during Lent) / Endangered Species list
1967 – Super Bowl / heart transplant / SST / The Carol Burnett Show / coed dorms
1968 – movie ratings / Calvin Klein clothes / Big Mac / water beds / hot tubs / 60 Minutes / Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In / first heart transplant (Dr. Christiaan Bernard) / woman on the “Ten Most Wanted” list (Ruth Eisemenn-Schier – kidnapping for ransom)
1969 – Sesame Street / The Brady Bunch / Hee Haw / Frosted Mini-wheats
HISTORY OF FOOTBALL
– 1869 Princeton and Rutgers play a “soccer football” game; 25 men per side; final score 6-4
– 1875 rugby shaped ball introduced; 15 players per side
– 1876 H-shaped goal posts
– 1880-85 5 yards in downs to get a first down; 11 men per side; field goal is worth 5 points, touchdown = 4 conversion = 4
– 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt insists on rule changes to reduce deaths. This leads to a Rules Committee that evolves into the NCAA. The forward pass is legalized. No more locking of arms.
– 1910 you have to have 7 men on the line of scrimmage
– 1912 TD = 6 / a fourth down is added
– 1921 first radio broadcast
– 1922 the American Professional Football Association becomes the NFL
– 1934 the current shape of the football
– 1939 first TV game / helmets required in college football, several years later in the pros
– 1958 two point conversion in college (1994 in the pros)
– 1961 the AFL is created
– 1967 the first Super Bowl (Green Bay Packers defeat Kansas City Chiefs)
– 1970 the merger of the AFL and the NFL
Amazing 518-521
UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED – Ralph Nader got the idea for his book Unsafe at Any Speed when he read an article about a little girl who almost was decapitated when her car was in an accident and the glove compartment door flew open and her throat hit it. The collision was at 15 mile per hour. Whitcomb and Whitcomb 125
TALKING G.I. JOE – In 1967, Hasbro put out a talking version of the popular G.I. Joe doll. Here are the phrases that were deemed to be typical soldier talk:
– G.I. Joe, U.S. Army, reporting for duty
– Enemy planes, hit the deck!
– All units, commence firing!
– Medic, get the stretchers up here.
– Take the jeep and get some ammo fast!
– This is Charlie Company, send reinforcements.
– Cover me. I’ll get that machine gun.
– Take Hill 79. Move out. Uncle Salutes the Armed Forces 245
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS FIRST FLIGHT VS. APOLLO 11
– cost $1,000 $355 million
– duration 12 seconds 195 hours
– altitude 15 feet 242,000 miles
– distance 120 feet 952,700 miles
– horsepower 12 192 million
– weight 605 pounds 6.4 million lbs.
– speed 10 feet / second 35,000 ft / sec
– witnesses 5 500 million (est.)
Uncle 8
RFK ASSASSINATION – On June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy won the California primary and was heading to the Democratic Convention with a lot of momentum. He gave a victory speech in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and then headed to the press area with his entourage. They passed through a narrow, crowded passageway and then into the kitchen area. Sirhan Sirhan pushed his way forward and opened fire with an eight shot .22 pistol. Kennedy was hit by three bullets. The first two hit him in the armpit and the third entered his head behind his right ear. This was the shot that was mortal. Although he was being grabbed, Sirhan managed to empty his pistol and five other people were wounded. Someone put a rosary in Kennedy’s hand and he stayed conscious long enough to smile at his wife. He whispered “don’t lift me” before he lost consciousness. They were his last words. He died 26 hours later at the hospital. Sirhan was a Jordanian refugee who come to America when he was thirteen. He became radicalized a few years before the assassination. His motivation was anger at the Kennedy family’s support for Israel. Sirhan was a Palestinian. Sirhan was sentenced to death, but in 1972 his sentence was reduced to life in prison. The trial had seemed to be merely a formality. However, there were some suspicious aspects of the assassination that still bother people. Sirhan fired eight shots and had no time to reload, but there is evidence that more than eight shots were fired. Witnesses reported a woman in a polka dot dress accompanied by a man who rushed from the scene and more than one person claimed they heard them say “we got him”. Probably the official conclusion is correct, but… People’s I 603-605
USS LIBERTY: ACCIDENT OR DELIBERATE ATTACK?
Once upon a time, the U.S. lost 34 men in a war that it did not participate in. In 1967, the Israelis launched the pre-emptive 6 Days’ War against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Pres. Lyndon Johnson kept the U.S. neutral even though the U.S. had sympathy for Israel. An American fleet monitored the war and the USS Liberty was sent to the area to conduct signals intelligence. The Liberty was an old WWII Liberty ship repurposed to be a technical research ship (similar to the USS Pueblo which was captured by North Korea). It was ordered to the waters off the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula. Messages to pull back to a safer distance were not received because of faulty Navy communications. On June 8, the ship cruised about 20 miles off the coast. What followed was a series of screwups by the Israeli military, officially. The dominoes began to fall when shelling of an Israeli city was reported. The Israelis assumed it was an Egyptian destroyer and sent several torpedo boats to inspect. They picked up an unidentified ship on radar and reported that it was moving at a crisp 28 knots to the west. The rule was that any unidentified ship moving faster than 20 knots was a target. The Liberty was about as capable of that speed as a fat guy in a rowboat. Two jet fighters passed over and reported no markings or flag, so despite the shakiness of the identification, they were cleared to attack. The ship was totally unprepared for an attack from friendly aircraft. The 30 mm. cannons and rockets did a lot of damage. When they were done, two new fighters took their place and bombed the ship with napalm! At this point, Israeli control made another attempt to identify the ship. The fact that it was not defending itself was suspicious. A quick check proved no Israeli ships were in the area so the green light was once again given. This time, on a strafing pass, one of the fighters spotted markings using Latin numbers. Since Arab ships did not use these numerals, the ship could not be an enemy ship. The fighters were called off. Meanwhile, the crew had put up a large flag. At this point, the torpedo boats arrived. They identified the outline as that of an Egyptian ship. A flag was never spotted by any Israeli, officially. Attempts to signal were unsuccessful due to the Liberty’s communications being all shot up. Captain William McConagle (who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership) signaled using an Aldis lamp, but the Israeli commander remembered the Arabs using that trick before, plus the Liberty briefly opened fire with a machine gun (who could blame them?) before the captain ordered cease fire. Oh, it was on again, said the Israelis, who put a torpedo in the ship’s side and then strafed the damage control attempts. Life boats were fired on! Finally, upon circling the flaming wreck, the Israelis said “oops!” and stopped the assault. 34 sailors were dead and 171 were wounded. Israel sincerely apologized and the Vietnam-burdened Johnson accepted it. Investigations by both countries determined it was an accident. You could never convince the crew of the Liberty of that and several historians have questioned the official findings. Could all of those dominoes have been due to misunderstandings and human error? It seems unlikely. However, Israel would seemingly have had enough on its plate already without adding a kerfuffle with a superpower friend. Considering the fog of war and the desire of some pilots and torpedo boat captains to “get some”, I tend to believe it was a classic example of SNAFU.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/israel-attacks-uss-liberty
THE HISTORY OF BARBIE
Ruth Handler noticed that her daughter Barbara liked playing with adult women paper dolls. In 1956, she and her children Barbara and Kenneth made a trip to Europe. Ruth encountered a doll called Bild Lilli in Germany. The doll was based on a comic character and had been sold as a gag gift for men at tobacco stores. Don’t ask. It caught on with girls. She brought some home to her husband, her co-founder of Mattel, but he and the directors were not interested. But Ruth persevered and Mattel bought the rights to Bild Lilli. Barbara Millicent Roberts was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959. The toy was a smash hit and more than 300,000 were sold at $3 in the first year. The first doll wore a black-and-white zebra-striped swimsuit. The doll for most of its life was equivalent to 5’9” and 110 pounds. Her measurements were a very unrealistic 36-18!-33. How do you get a waist like that? The 1963 Baby-sitter Barbie came with a booklet entitled “How to Lost Weight”. The advice was “don’t eat!” She has had over 200 occupations. Here are some important events in Barbie’s life:
– 1961 – Ken Carson (named after Ruth’s son)
– 1963 – Barbie’s first friend – Midge Hadley
– 1964 – Barbie’s kid sister Skipper
– 1967 – first celebrity – Twiggy
– 1968 – first African-American friend – Christie
– 1980 – first African-American Barbie (and first Latina)
– 1992 – first run for President
– 2004-2011 – Barbie and Ken broke up
– 2018 – first historical figures (“Inspiring Women”) – Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, Katherine Johnson
https://www.history.com/news/barbie-through-the-ages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie
THE STORY OF G.I. JOE
In 1962, producer Gene Roddenberry of “Star Trek” fame was preparing a military series called “The Lieutenant”. He called on marketing consultant Stan Weston to create a tie-in toy. Weston went to Hasbro and proposed a doll for boys. Hasbro’s president laughed at the idea, but head of research and development Don Levine was intrigued. He had sculptor Phil Kraczhowski to design the doll. He came up with a 12-inch figure whose face was supposedly the composite of 20 Medal of Honor recipients. Kraczhowski had done several busts of Kennedy, so it is likely his face had an influence on the doll’s face. A scar was added to differentiate the doll from that wuss Ken. Hasbro liked the look of the doll and decided to introduce it at the 1964 New York Toy Fair. But it couldn’t be called a doll. Someone suggested “action figure”. The toy was named G.I. Joe and had one figure for each of the major branches of the military: Action Soldier (Rocky), Action Sailor (Skip), Action Pilot (Ace), and Action Marine (also called Rocky for some reason). Later Action Nurse and an African-American were added. The toy was a smash success. Weston, who had chosen a one-time $100,000 fee, would have made $20 million if he had taken a 1% deal. The toy lost steam in the 1970’s because of the Vietnam War and the cost of plastic made it cost ineffective. In 1982, Hasbro brought it back as a 3.75” figure to tap into the Star Wars action figure boom. “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” was born, along with his ever-expanding crew and his enemies Cobra. The number of figures reached 500. The toy was the top-selling toy in 1985, bolstered by thirty minutes of advertising every Saturday in the form of an animated series. The classic G.I. Joe was reborn in 1994. In 2004, it entered the National Toy Hall of Fame and in 2017 he was chosen for the Pop Culture Hall of Fame.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe
https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a25994500/gi-joe-history/
The Greatest War Stories Never Told pp. 188-189
WHAT HAPPENED AT CHAPPAQUIDDICK?
On July 18, 1969, Sen. Edward Kennedy attended a cookout at a cottage on Chappaquiddick Island. He was one of six men and there were six young ladies in attendance. The women had all been campaign aides for his brother Robert’s presidential campaign in 1968. They were called the “Boiler Room Girls”. At 11:15, Kennedy and Mary Jo Koppechne left the party in his Oldsmobile. Kennedy claimed he was taking an ill Kopechne back to her hotel room (but she left here purse and hotel room key at the cottage). Instead of taking a left to stay on the blacktop, he took a right onto a dirt road and ended up running off a wooden bridge crossing a tidal pond. The car flipped over, but Kennedy was able to get out. Mary Jo was not able to. Kennedy claimed he dove in several times, but could not reach her. He then headed back to the cottage on foot. He passed several houses, including one just 150 yards from the accident. He did not attempt to find a phone. When he reached the cottage, he enlisted two friends to drive to the accident. His friends tried unsuccessfully to rescue Mary Jo. Then they drove Kennedy back to the ferry that led to his hotel. The trio discussed what to do, with a pay phone nearby. His friends urged him to call the police. Instead, Kennedy suddenly jumped in the water and swam to his hotel. He changed clothes and went to sleep. The next morning he behaved like nothing had happened. Meanwhile, the car was spotted by two fishermen around 8 A.M. A scuba diver recovered the body. Kennedy made several phone calls that morning, but none were to report the accident. He finally went to the police station at 10 A.M., after he heard that the car had been found. He claimed he had been suffering from a concussion which caused shock and confusion. He vehemently denied that he was drunk and claimed that he and Mary Jo were not headed for a romantic liaison. Justice decided to take his word for what happened. The fact that he took a “wrong turn” onto a dirt road that led to a secluded beach with a single woman who had not taken her purse or hotel key with her was not proof enough. He was sentenced to two months in jail (which was suspended) and had his license suspended temporarily. He might have gotten off easy, but the suspicious nature of Kopechne’s death was enough to end Kennedy’s chances of ever being President.
https://www.history.com/news/ted-kennedy-chappaquiddick-incident-what-really-happened-facts
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/incident-on-chappaquiddick-island