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General John Sullivan's Expediton against the Iroquois, May 24 - August, 1779

23rd Iowa Infantry

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Der Rote Kampfflieger (The Red Battle Flyer)

Incoming Rockets at Cu Chi, RVN

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There are but two powers in the world, the sword and the mind. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the mind.

-- Napoleon Bonaparte

USS Helvetia (SP-3096), 1918-1919

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USS Helvetia, a 499-ton three-masted schooner, was built at Rockland, Maine, in 1905 as the civilian vessel Helvetia. She was purchased by the Navy in July 1918 and subsequently used as a decoy ship. It was expected that her innocent mercantile appearance would draw German submarines to the surface to make an easy gunfire attack. The unsuspecting U-boats would then be easy prey for a U.S. Navy submarine lurking submerged nearby. Helvetia apparently made active patrols for this purpose, but no U-boats rose to the bait. She reportedly was also employed as a submarine stores and mother ship at Norfolk, Virginia, and New London, Connecticut. Helvetia was sold back to her former owner in March 1919.

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This Day in History

1862: Admiral David Farragut captures New Orleans a day after his fleet successfully sailed past two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River.

1864: For the second time in a week, a Confederate force captures a Union wagon train trying to supply the Federal force at Camden, Arkansas.

1898: The United States declares war on Spain.

1915: Australian and New Zealand troops land at Gallipoli in Turkey.

1945: Eight Russian armies completely encircle Berlin, linking up with the U.S. First Army patrol, first on the western bank of the Elbe, then later at Torgau. Germany is, for all intents and purposes, Allied territory.

1952: After a three day fight against Chinese Communist Forces, the Gloucestershire Regiment is annihilated on "Gloucester Hill," in Korea.

1972: Hanois 320th Division drives 5,000 South Vietnamese troops into retreat and traps about 2,500 others in a border outpost northwest of Kontum in the Central Highlands.

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USS Helvetia (SP-3096), 1918-1919

Should National Guard troops be used to secure U.S. borders?