TODAY IN MILITARY HISTORY
20 September
◆451 Roman General Flavius Aetius defeats Attila the Hun at The Battle of the Catalaunian Plainsat (Chalons-sur-Marne) halting Hun invasion of Roman Gaul
◆1066 Battle of Fulford, Yorkshire: Harald III Hardrada of Norway defeats Northern Saxon Earls Edwin and Morcar
◆1187 Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.
◆1519 Ferdinand Magellan starts 1st successful circumnavigation of the world
◆1565 Spaniards capture Fort Caroline Fla & massacre the French
◆1604 Spanish army under Spinola recaptures Oostende
◆1620 Battle at Jassy: Turks beat king Sigismund III of Poland
◆1643 First Battle of Newbury (English civil war): King Charles I's forces beaten by a parliamentary army led by the Earl of Essex and Philip Stapleton
◆1688 French troops occupies Palts
◆1697 Peace of Saki (ends 9 years war)
◆1737 Runner Edward Marshall completes his journey in the Walking Purchase forcing the cession of 1.2 million acres of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony.
◆1777 Battle of Paoli; British forces under Major General Charles Grey attacked Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's encampment. Claims that the British gave no quarter led to the engagement becoming known (from an American perspective) as the "Paoli Massacre."
◆1792 French defeat Prussians at Valmy
1793 British troops under Major-general Williamson lands on (French) Haiti
◆1797 US frigate Constitution (Old Ironsides) launched in Boston
◆1814 "Star Spangled Banner" published as a song, lyrics by Francis Scott Key, tune by John Stafford Smith
◆1854 Battle of the Alma: first major battle of Crimean War. British and French alliance defeat the Russians
◆1861 Battle of Lexington, MI-captured by Union
◆1863 Battle of Shepardstown VA
◆1863 Civil War Battle of Chickamauga, near Chattanooga Tenn, ends
◆1870 Italian army under Victor Emmanuel II seizes Rome from the French
◆1870 Mayor William Tweed accused of robbing NY treasury
◆1870 Pope Pius IX surrenders to King Victor Emmanuel
◆1871 Bishop John Coleridge Patteson martyred on the island of Nukapu, a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands. He was the first bishop of Melanesia.
◆1873 Panic sweeps NY Stock Exchange (railroad bond default/bank failure) NY shut banks for 10 days due to a bank scandal
◆1879 Ulysses S. Grant and family go to SF for elaborate extended visit
◆1881 Chester A. Arthur sworn in as 21st president
◆1891 The first gasoline-powered car debuts in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
◆1914 John Redmond urges Irish Volunteers to enlist in the British Army
◆1917 British assault on Polygon Forest, France
◆1920 Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
◆1926 Bugs Moran attempts to assassinate Al Capone in a drive-by shooting but fails
◆1939 British navy captures German U-27 boat
◆1943 Liberator bomber sinks U-338
◆1944 Nijmegen is liberated from German occupation
◆1944 Polish forces free Terneuzen Neth
◆1945 German rocket engineers begin work in US
◆1946 Churchill argues for a 'United States of Europe'
◆1958 Ferhat Abbas forms Algerian government in exile (Cairo)
◆1958 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
◆1960 UN General Assembly admit 13 African countries & Cyprus (96 nations)
◆1961 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
◆1963 JFK proposes a joint US-Soviet voyage to the moon
◆1966 US Surveyor B launched toward Moon; crashed Sept 23
◆1967 Benin separates from Nigeria
◆1967 Hurricane Beulah hits Texas-Mexican border, kills 38
◆1970 Luna 16 lands on Moon's Mare Fecunditatis, drills core sample
◆1978 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
◆1979 Coup in Central African Rep: David Dacko overthrows emperor Bokassa I
◆1979 NASA launches HEAO
◆1983 Cryptographic Communications System & Method (RSA) patented
◆1984 Suicide car bomb attacks US Embassy annex in Beirut, kills 23
◆1990 Both Germanys ratify reunification
◆1990 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
◆1992 Space shuttle STS-47 (Endeavour 2) lands
◆1994 Space shuttle STS-64 (Discovery 20), lands
◆2000 Patent on RSA cryptograph algorithm ends
◆2000 The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by a Russian-built Mark 22 anti-tank missile.
◆2001 In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a "war on terror".
◆2003 Maldives civil unrest: the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem sparks a day of rioting in Malé.
◆2011 The United States ends its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.
◆2012 50 people are killed and dozens injured after a gas station is bombed by the Syrian Army in Ain Issa
◆2012 14 people are killed in a cafe suicide bominbg in Somalia
◆2013 46 soldiers are killed in army-base attacks in Shabwah Governorate, Yemen
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BURKE, DANIEL W.
Rank and organization: First Sergeant, Company B, 2d U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Shepherdstown Ford, Va., 20 September 1862. Entered service at: Connecticut. Birth: New Haven, Conn. Date of issue 21 April 1892. Citation: Voluntarily attempted to spike a gun in the face of the enemy.
CADWELL, LUMAN L.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company B, 2d New York Veteran Cavalry. Place and date: At Alabama Bayou, La., 20 September 1864. Entered service at:------. Birth: Broome, N.Y. Date of issue: 17 August 1894. Citation: Swam the bayou under fire of the enemy and captured and brought off a boat by means of which the command crossed and routed the enemy.
CHAMBERLAIN, ORVILLE T.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, Company G, 74th Indiana Infantry. Place and date: At Chickamauga, Ga., 20 September 1863. Entered service at: Elkhart, Ind. Birth: Kosciusko County, Ind. Date of issue: 1 I March 1896. Citation: While exposed to a galling fire, went in search of another regiment, found its location, procured ammunition from the men thereof, and returned with the ammunition to his own company.
CILLEY, CLINTON A.
Rank and organization: Captain, Company C, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Chickamauga, Ga., 20 September 1863. Entered service at: Sasioja, Minn. Birth: Rockingham County, N.H. Date of issue: 12 June 1895. Citation: Seized the colors of a retreating regiment and led it into the thick of the attack.
PALMER, GEORGE H.
Rank and organization: Musician, 1st Illinois Cavalry. Place and date. At Lexington, Mo., 20 September 1861. Entered service at: Illinois. Birth: New York. Date of issue. 10 March 1896. Citation: Volunteered to fight in the trenches and also led a charge which resulted in the recapture of a Union hospital, together with Confederate sharpshooters then occupying the same.
PORTER, HORACE
Rank and organization: Captain, Ordnance Department, U.S. Army. Place and date: At Chickamauga, Ga., 20 September 1863. Entered service at: Harrisburgh, Pa. Born: 15 April 1837, Huntington, Pa. Date of issue: 8 July 1902. Citation: While acting as a volunteer aide, at a critical moment when the lines were broken, rallied enough fugitives to hold the ground under heavy fire long enough to effect the escape of wagon trains and batteries.
TAYLOR, ANTHONY
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Company A, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Place and date: At Chickamauga, Ga., 20 September 1863. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Born: 11 October 1837, Burlington, N.J. Date of issue: 4 December 1893. Citation: Held out to the last with a small force against the advance of superior numbers of the enemy.
WHITNEY, WILLIAM G.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company B, 11th Michigan Infantry. Place and date: At Chickamauga, Ga., 20 September 1863. Entered service at: Quincy, Mich. Born. 13 December 1840, Allen, Mich. Date of issue: 21 October 1895. Citation: As the enemy were about to charge, this officer went outside the temporary Union works among the dead and wounded enemy and at great exposure to himself cut off and removed their cartridge boxes, bringing the same within the Union lines, the ammunition being used with good effect in again repulsing the attack.
POPE, EVERETT PARKER
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps, Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Peleliu Island, Palau group, 19-20 September 1944. Entered service at: Massachusetts. Born: 16 July 1919, Milton, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as commanding officer of Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu Island, Palau group, on 19-20 September 1944. Subjected to pointblank cannon fire which caused heavy casualties and badly disorganized his company while assaulting a steep coral hill, Capt. Pope rallied his men and gallantly led them to the summit in the face of machinegun, mortar, and sniper fire. Forced by widespread hostile attack to deploy the remnants of his company thinly in order to hold the ground won, and with his machineguns out of order and insufficient water and ammunition, he remained on the exposed hill with 12 men and 1 wounded officer determined to hold through the night. Attacked continuously with grenades, machineguns, and rifles from 3 sides, he and his valiant men fiercely beat back or destroyed the enemy, resorting to hand-to-hand combat as the supply of ammunition dwindled, and still maintaining his lines with his 8 remaining riflemen when daylight brought more deadly fire and he was ordered to withdraw. His valiant leadership against devastating odds while protecting the units below from heavy Japanese attack reflects the highest credit upon Capt. Pope and the U.S. Naval Service .
COMMISKEY, HENRY A., SR.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant (then 2d Lt.), U.S. Marine Corps, Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Near Yongdungp'o, Korea, 20 September 1950. Entered service at: Hattiesburg, Miss. Birth: 10 January 1927, Hattiesburg, Miss. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a platoon leader in Company C, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Directed to attack hostile forces well dug in on Hill 85, 1st Lt. Commiskey, spearheaded the assault, charging up the steep slopes on the run. Coolly disregarding the heavy enemy machine gun and small arms fire, he plunged on well forward of the rest of his platoon and was the first man to reach the crest of the objective. Armed only with a pistol, he jumped into a hostile machine gun emplacement occupied by 5 enemy troops and quickly disposed of 4 of the soldiers with his automatic pistol. Grappling with the fifth, 1st Lt. Commiskey knocked him to the ground and held him until he could obtain a weapon from another member of his platoon and killed the last of the enemy guncrew. Continuing his bold assault, he moved to the next emplacement, killed 2 more of the enemy and then led his platoon toward the rear nose of the hill to rout the remainder of the hostile troops and destroy them as they fled from their positions. His valiant leadership and courageous fighting spirit served to inspire the men of his company to heroic endeavor in seizing the objective and reflect the highest credit upon 1st Lt. Commiskey and the U.S. Naval Service.
*MONEGAN, WALTER C., JR.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company F, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Near Sosa-ri, Korea, 17 and 20 September 1950. Entered service at: Seattle, Wash. Born: 25 December 1930, Melrose, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rocket gunner attached to Company F, and in action against enemy aggressor forces. Dug in on a hill overlooking the main Seoul highway when 6 enemy tanks threatened to break through the battalion position during a predawn attack on 17 September, Pfc. Monegan promptly moved forward with his bazooka, under heavy hostile automatic weapons fre and engaged the lead tank at a range of less than 50 yards. After scoring a direct hit and killing the sole surviving tankman with his carbine as he came through the escape hatch, he boldly fired 2 more rounds of ammunition at the oncoming tanks, disorganizing the attack and enabling our tank crews to continue blasting with their 90-mm guns. With his own and an adjacent company's position threatened by annihilation when an overwhelming enemy tank-infantry force bypassed the area and proceeded toward the battalion command post during the early morning of September 20, he seized his rocket launcher and, in total darkness, charged down the slope of the hill where the tanks had broken through. Quick to act when an illuminating shell lit the area, he scored a direct hit on one of the tanks as hostile rifle and automatic-weapons fire raked the area at close range. Again exposing himself, he fired another round to destroy a second tank and, as the rear tank turned to retreat, stood upright to fire and was fatally struck down by hostile machine gun fire when another illuminating shell silhouetted him against the sky. Pfc. Monegan's daring initiative, gallant fighting spirit and courageous devotion to duty were contributing factors in the success of his company in repelling the enemy, and his self-sacrificing efforts throughout sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country .
*PIERCE, LARRY S.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade. Place and date: Near Ben Cat, Republic of Vietnam, 20 September 1965. Entered service at: Fresno, Calif. Born: 6 July 1941, Wewoka, Okla. G.O. No.: 7, 24 February 1966. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Pierce was serving as squad leader in a reconnaissance platoon when his patrol was ambushed by hostile forces. Through his inspiring leadership and personal courage, the squad succeeded in eliminating an enemy machinegun and routing the opposing force. While pursuing the fleeing enemy, the squad came upon a dirt road and, as the main body of his men entered the road, Sgt. Pierce discovered an antipersonnel mine emplaced in the road bed. Realizing that the mine could destroy the majority of his squad, Sgt. Pierce saved the lives of his men at the sacrifice of his life by throwing himself directly onto the mine as it exploded. Through his indomitable courage, complete disregard for his safety, and profound concern for his fellow soldiers, he averted loss of life and injury to the members of his squad. Sgt. Pierce's extraordinary heroism, at the cost of his life, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.