Happy Birthday Dwight Eisenhower 🇺🇸, born #OTD 1890 in Denison, Texas!

Dwight Eisenhower was the last General to become President.

@SicilianGorillian2

Via U.S. Naval Institute

"#OTD in 1943, the destroyer USS William D. Porter accidentally launched a live torpedo at the USS Iowa which was carrying President Franklin Roosevelt to the Tehran Conference. The Iowa avoided disaster by making a hard turn. The torpedo detonated after hitting the ship's wake. The entire crew was arrested and a young sailor later admitted that he had forgotten to remove the primer from a torpedo tube during a drill. The sailor was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor but FDR ordered that no crew members be punished. After the incident, other ships would greet the William D. Porter with "Don’t shoot! We’re Republicans!""

Speaking of nuclear, Harry Truman 🇺🇸 lays a wreath in the tomb of George Washington 🇺🇸 who died #OTD 1799.

@SicilianGorillian2

John F. Kennedy 🇺🇸 arrives at Mount Vernon (the home of George Washington 🇺🇸 who died #OTD 1799) via the Potomac River for a state dinner (1961).

@SicilianGorillian2

Via U.S. Naval Institute

"#OTD in 1981, Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, DC. Dr. Benjamin Aaron of George Washington University Hospital saved Reagan's life by removing a bullet from the President's lung. Dr. Aaron had served as a Navy physician for 22 years. Upon learning of the assassination attempt, Soviet ballistic missile submarines moved closer than usual to the East Coast."

#OTD in 1942, sixteen B-25B Mitchell bombers led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle launched from USS Hornet to attack Tokyo. The daring raid boosted US morale while causing panic in Japan. The mission was also a significant achievement in joint Army-Navy operations.

🔗 U.S. Naval Institute

#OTD in 1976, RIck Monday of the Chicago Cubs snatched a U.S. flag away from two protestors who were attempting to burn it after invading the field during a game at Dodger Stadium. Monday, who had served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, still has the flag.

🔗 U.S. Naval Institute

May 10, 2022 - U.S. Naval Institute

"#OTD in 1945, Marine pilot Bob Klingman used the propeller of his F4U Corsair to chop off the tail of a Japanese reconnaissance plane. Because his guns had frozen due to the high altitude, he turned his fighter into a buzzsaw to down the enemy. He then managed to fly back to base even though 6" had broken off one propeller blade while the other two blades were bent back. Chunks of the Japanese plane were also stuck in the Corsair's engine cowling. Klingman was awarded the Navy Cross and the Air Medal with Gold Star for his actions."

#OTD in 1995, CRIMSON TIDE was released. The Navy declined to assist in the production because of problems with the script, so the director got the shots he needed by hiring boats and helicopters to chase down USS Alabama (SSBN-731) when the sub was spotted leaving Pearl Harbor.

https://twitter.com/NavalInstitute/status/1657106804839534610?s=20

#OTD in 1945, a bomb-laden kamikaze dove straight through five decks on USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the Battle of Okinawa. The resulting explosion blew the 15-ton forward elevator 400 feet into the air. Swift damage control extinguished all fires within 30 minutes.

https://twitter.com/NavalInstitute/status/1657769521904492544?s=20

#OTD in 1944, USS Missouri (BB-63) became the last new battleship commissioned by the U.S. Navy. This is the "Mighty Mo" at SINKEX in 1989, jabbing with the 5-inch guns and then unleashing haymakers with the 16-inchers.

https://twitter.com/NavalInstitute/status/1668042879934029825?s=20

#OTD in 1998, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) was commissioned. The carrier was laid down in 1993 as the USS United States but was changed to honor Democrat Harry Truman as part of a political compromise to name CVN-76 for Republican Ronald Reagan.

https://twitter.com/NavalInstitute/status/1684285077256036352?s=20

"#OTD in 1779, 300 Continental Marines commanded by Captain John Welsh led an amphibious assault to drive back British forces from the Bagaduce Peninsula in Penobscot Bay, Maine.

Disembarking from ships from the Continental Navy, the Marines were accompanied by around 200 militiamen.

Under naval bombardment from the supporting Colonial fleet, the combined Marine and militia group made their way up the steep and heavily forested cliffs of Dyce's Head of the peninsula, intent on ridding the immediate area of British redcoats. In 20 minutes of combat with the British, the Continental Marine force sustained 35 casualties, but were successful in forcing the British to retreat to positions inside the nearby Fort George.

While the Marine and militia landing itself was a success, the Penobscot Expedition failed to meet its major military objectives. After two weeks of skirmishes, American forces were forced to retreat as a large British relief squadron from New York had been dispatched to reinforce the British..."

We honor the 38 fallen #OTD in 2011. The air crewmembers, SEALs, PJ and CCT, enablers, Afghan commandos, interpreter and multi-purpose canine were killed when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was downed by a Taliban RPG fire in Afghanistan’s Tangi Valley.

https://twitter.com/USSOCOM/status/1688168088020086785?s=20

Via U.S. Naval Institute

"#OTD in 1943, the destroyer USS William D. Porter accidentally launched a live torpedo at the USS Iowa which was carrying President Franklin Roosevelt to the Tehran Conference. The Iowa avoided disaster by making a hard turn. The torpedo detonated after hitting the ship's wake. The entire crew was arrested and a young sailor later admitted that he had forgotten to remove the primer from a torpedo tube during a drill. The sailor was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor but FDR ordered that no crew members be punished. After the incident, other ships would greet the William D. Porter with "Don’t shoot! We’re Republicans!""

#OTD in 1994, CIA case officer Aldrich Hazen Ames, one of the four major moles in the U.S. intelligence community spying for Russia, was arrested for espionage. The #FBI conducted surveillance of Ames during a 10-month investigation leading to his arrest. https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/aldrich-ames

https://x.com/FBI/status/1760333869801234922?s=20

#OTD in 1789, Fletcher Christian seized control of HMS Bounty from William Bligh in perhaps the most famous naval mutiny in history. Most of the mutineers were captured on Tahiti but Christian and several of the crew settled on Pitcairn Island where their descendents still live.

https://x.com/NavalInstitute/status/1784734180556832888