14 January 1960
Elvis showing off his new sergeant stripes in 1960
14 January
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
ANDERSON, EVERETT W. Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company M, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Place and date: At Crosbys Creek, Tenn., 14 January 1864. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: Louisiana. Date of issue: 3 December 1894. Citation: Captured, single-handed, Confederate Brig. Gen. Robert B. Vance during a charge upon the enemy.
ELISE, WILLIAM Rank and organization: First Sergeant, Company K, 3d Wisconsin Cavalry. Place and date: At, Ark., 14 January 1865. Entered service at: Little Rock, Ark. Birth: England. Date of issue: 8 March 1865. Citation: Remained at his post after receiving three wounds, and only retired, by his commanding officer's orders, after being wounded the fourth time.
HOWARD, SQUIRE E. Rank and organization: First Sergeant, Company H, 8th Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Bayou Teche, La., 14 January 1863. Entered service at: Townshend, Vt. Birth: Jamaica, Vt. Date of issue: 29 January 1894. Citation: Voluntarily carried an important message through the heavy fire of the enemy to bring aid and save the gunboat Calhoun.
PALMER, WILLIAM J. Rank and organization. Colonel, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Place and date: At Red Hill, Ala., 14 January 1865. Entered service at. Philadelphia, Pa. Born. 16 September 1836, Leipsic, Kent County, Del. Date of issue. 24 February 1894. Citation: With less than 200 men, attacked and defeated a superior force of the enemy, capturing their fieldpiece and about 100 prisoners without losing a man.
*WARREN, JOHN E., JR. Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company C, 2d Battalion, (Mechanized), 22d Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Tay Ninh Province, Republic of Vietnam, 14 January 1969. Entered service at: New York, N.Y . Born: 16 November 1946, Brooklyn, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Warren, distinguished himself at the cost of his life while serving as a platoon leader with Company C. While moving through a rubber plantation to reinforce another friendly unit, Company C came under intense fire from a well-fortified enemy force. Disregarding his safety, 1st Lt. Warren with several of his men began maneuvering through the hail of enemy fire toward the hostile positions. When he had come to within 6 feet of one of the enemy bunkers and was preparing to toss a hand grenade into it, an enemy grenade was suddenly thrown into the middle of his small group. Thinking only of his men, 1st Lt. Warren fell in the direction of the grenade, thus shielding those around him from the blast. His action, performed at the cost of his life, saved 3 men from serious or mortal injury. First Lt. Warren's ultimate action of sacrifice to save the lives of his men was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
14 January 1968
OPERATION NIAGRA:
Operation Niagara launched to support the US Marine base at Khe Sanh. The Khe Sanh base was the westernmost anchor of a series of combat bases and strongholds that stretched from the Cua Viet River on the coast of the South China Sea westward along Route 9 to the Laotian border. Intelligence sources revealed that the North Vietnamese Army was beginning to build up its forces in the area surrounding Khe Sanh. Operation Niagara was a joint U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps air campaign launched in support of the marines manning the base. Using sensors installed along the nearby DMZ and reconnaissance flights to pinpoint targets, 24,000 tactical fighter-bomber sorties and 2,700 B-52 strategic bomber sorties were flown between the start of the operation and March 31, 1968, when it was terminated. This airpower played a major role in the successful defense of Khe Sanh when it came under attack on January 21 and was subsequently besieged for 66 days until finally broken on April 7.
TODAY IN MILITARY HISTORY
14 January
◆1659 Battle of Elvas: Portuguese defeat Spanish.
◆1741 Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut; died in London, England, 14 June, 1801.
◆1766 The English Parliament convenes and immediately begins to reconsider the repercussions of the Stamp Act. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Greenville advocates enforcement of the act by military force, while William Pitt supports the repeal of the Stamp Act, citing the principle of taxation without representation.
◆1784 The United States ratified a peace treaty with England, the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.
◆1797 Battle of Rivoli Veronese: Massena's French defeat the Austrians.
◆1861 Union forces under General William T. Sherman occupy Meridian, Mississippi. His forces destroy supplies, bridges and railroads.
◆1911 The USS Arkansas, the largest U.S. battleship, is launched from the yards of the New York Shipbuilding Company.
◆1920 Caco insurrectionists were defeated in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
◆1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all U.S. aliens to register with the government.
◆1942 A small group of Japanese reinforcements lands near Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, to prepare positions in that area to cover the planned evacuation.
◆1944 On New Britain, the fighting around the Cape Gloucester bridgehead continues. While the Japanese can score no positive success, they do manage to hold up the US advance.
◆1944 The major rail unions accept terms suggested by President Roosevelt, avoiding a threatened strike. The railroads have, in fact, been run under the authority of Secretary of War Stimson since 27 December. They will be returned to private ownership and operation on 18 January.
◆1945 The US 1st Army achieves an advance 2 miles toward St. Vith in continuing attacks. British forces attacking southward from Laroche link up with elements of US 3rd Army advancing northwest from Bastogne
◆1945 The US 8th Air Force resumes strategic operations after a month-long pause caused by the Battle of the Bulge. Some 600 B-17 and B-24 bombers strike oil targets and encounter heavy resistance from Luftwaffe fighters.
◆1951 Chinese Communist forces reached their furthest extent of advance into South Korea with the capture of Wonju.
◆1953 Fifth Air Force F-86 Sabres destroyed eight MiG-15s, the most since Sept. 4, 1952. Fighters and light bombers continued to pound Sinanju while B-29s hit the rail yard at Chonguyong-ni and an ore processing area at Kajanbaeji.
◆1960 Elvis Presley was promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army.
◆1968 U.S. joint-service Operation Niagara is launched to support the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh. The Khe Sanh base was the westernmost anchor of a series of combat bases and strongholds that stretched from the Cua Viet River on the coast of the South China Sea westward along Route 9 to the Laotian border. Intelligence sources revealed that the North Vietnamese Army was beginning to build up its forces in the area surrounding Khe Sanh. Operation Niagara was a joint U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps air campaign launched in support of the marines manning the base. Using sensors installed along the nearby DMZ and reconnaissance flights to pinpoint targets, 24,000 tactical fighter-bomber sorties and 2,700 B-52 strategic bomber sorties were flown between the start of the operation and March 31, 1968, when it was terminated. This airpower played a major role in the successful defense of Khe Sanh when it came under attack on January 21 and was subsequently besieged for 66 days until finally broken on April 7.★
◆1993 Operation Condor Ratchet. 6 UH-60 Blackhawks from the 10th Mountain Division, carrying Alpha Co. 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, Air-Assaults in and surrounds Abu Airfield next to village of Afgoy, Somalia.
◆2002 US warplanes began to seal caves near Khost, Afghanistan.