On this day in..........

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nortex97
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9:53a, 7/16/26
AG

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July 15, 1916. A timber businessman named William Boeing started a little airplane company in a boathouse in Seattle, and he did not even call it Boeing.

He named it Pacific Aero Products. Boeing had made his money in lumber and got obsessed with flying after taking a ride in a rickety early plane and deciding, with real confidence, that he could build a better one himself.

So he did. He teamed up with a Navy engineer, used his knowledge of wood to build seaplanes, and sold the first ones to the military. This was only about a decade after the Wright brothers got off the ground. Airplanes were still basically a stunt.

That boathouse operation grew into the company that built the bombers of World War II, the 747 that let regular families fly across oceans, and the rockets that helped put Americans on the moon. It all traces back to a lumber guy in Seattle who thought he could do it better, on this day.

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Gunny456
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In reply to nortex97 • 12:57p, 7/16/26
AG
Very awesome. Thanks for sharing!
TAMU Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences

Boat racing is like a beautiful woman.......expensive, high maintenance, but well worth the fun!
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KentK93
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9:59a, 7/18/26
AG
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#OTD in 1943, K-74 became the only U.S. blimp lost to enemy action when it was shot down by German submarine U-134 in the Straits of Florida. The crew survived except for one sailor who died after being attacked by a shark. U-134 was sunk a month later by HMS Rother.

“If you think you can do it better, go ahead. We will step aside.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio
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ABATTBQ87
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10:20a, 7/18/26
AG
The flag draped body of "The Major of St Lo" Major Thomas Howie, lies in the rubble of the St Croix Cathedral in Saint-L, Normandy - July 18, 1944

Major Howie was serving with the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division when he came ashore at Omaha Beach on DDay, June 6, 1944.
He was placed in command of 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment on July 13, 1944.

Three days later on July 16th, the 3rd Battalion was assigned to rescue the soldiers of 2nd Battalion who had been encircled by German forces.
Using hand grenades & bayonets, Howie's Soldiers broke through the German lines in less than two hours to rescue 2nd Battalion with Major Howie personally leading the attack and eliminating two enemy machine gun nests.

On the morning of July 17th, Howie phoned Major General Charles Gerhardt, the 29th ID commander, saying "Yes, we can do it" in regards to entering Saint-L and "See you in St. Lo!".
Moments later he was killed by shrapnel from a mortar barrage.

The next day as 3rd Battalion entered Saint-L, his soldiers placed Major Howie's flag draped body on the hood of a jeep at the head of the column so he could be the first US soldier to enter the city, his flag-draped body was then placed in the rubble of the St Croix Cathedral. Local citizens came out and placed flowers at the site.

The photo of Major Howie's flag-draped body in the rubble of the Cathedral was widely circulated and became one of the most iconic images of the war. Because of wartime security, his name could not be revealed at the time and it was announced that the flag draped body in the picture was "a US Army Major."

Famed New York Times correspondent Drew Middleton nicknamed Howie "The Major of St. Lo"

Major Thomas Howie was later buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France - Plot G Row 14 Grave 12.

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ABATTBQ87
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10:44a, 7/18/26
AG
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KentK93
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4:10p, 7/18/26
AG
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A US senator killed a 28 year old woman, left her to drown, spent zero days in jail, and then served 40 more years in the Senate. 57 years ago tonight. Almost nobody remembers her name.

57 years ago tonight, July 18 1969, on a tiny island called Chappaquiddick that most Americans could not find on a map, the most infamous car accident in US history happened while the entire world was staring at the sky waiting for men to walk on the moon.

Senator Ted Kennedy left a cottage party for the "Boiler Room Girls," the young women who had worked themselves to exhaustion on his brother Bobby's campaign the year before Bobby was shot, and he drove off with 28 year old Mary Jo Kopechne around 11:15 pm. He said he was taking her to the ferry.

Instead the car went off the Dike Bridge, a narrow wooden bridge with no guardrail, and flipped upside down into the black tidal water of Poucha Pond. Kennedy got out. Mary Jo did not.

And here is the part history never forgave: he did not knock on the lit up house just yards away that had a phone, he did not call police, he walked back to the party and then he went to bed.

He reported it roughly 10 hours later, the next morning, only after two fishermen had already found the car and her body. The diver who pulled her out, John Farrar, said she had likely survived for a while inside an air pocket and might be alive today if anyone had simply called for help that night.

Two days later Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, and so the greatest achievement in human history shared the front page with a drowned woman and a senator who waited until sunrise.

The punishment for all of it: a guilty plea to leaving the scene, a two month suspended sentence, not a single day served. He kept his Senate seat for 40 more years until he died in 2009, one of the most powerful men in the country.

Strip away the famous last name and you are left with something painfully simple. A young woman trusted the wrong man to drive her home, and he chose himself.

Say her name tonight. Not his. Mary Jo Kopechne.



“If you think you can do it better, go ahead. We will step aside.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio
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12th Man
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In reply to KentK93 • 6:23p, 7/18/26
AG
I clearly remember the late '70's saying: "More people died at Chappaquiddick than Three Mile Island,"
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KentK93
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7:25p, 7/18/26
AG



Quote:
On the morning of 18 July 1994, a van pulled up to the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) headquarters in Buenos Aires. It was packed with what is suspected to be approximately 275 kilograms of fertilizer and TNT. The subsequent explosion destroyed the seven-story building, killed 85 people and wounded 300. The AMIA was a Jewish community institute that included employment services and contained a library of rare books. The facility also hosted meetings for an organization called Project Witness, a group examining Argentine collaboration with Nazis in the aftermath of World War II. The driver, who was killed in the explosion, was tentatively identified as Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a Lebanese citizen with ties to Hezbollah. In May 2013, the General Prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, charged with investigating the bombing, issued an indictment directly implicating Iran in the attack. In early January 2015 he accused then president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and other top officials, of covering up Iranian involvement in the AMIA bombing in exchange for lucrative trade deals involving grain and oil with Iran. Days later, and just hours before he was to present lawmakers with evidence implicating Kirchner in obstructing the investigation, Alberto Nisman's body was found in his apartment with a single gunshot to the head. A pistol was by his side.

“If you think you can do it better, go ahead. We will step aside.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio
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KentK93
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9:13a, 7/19/26
AG
Quote:
1545 | Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, sinks off the coast of Portsmouth

1941 | Winston Churchill launches his "V for Victory" campaign

1954 | Elvis Presley's debut single, a cover of Arthur Crudup's That's All Right, is released

1969 | Apollo 11 goes into lunar orbit (and our front page the following day below)

Birthdays: Benedict Cumberbatch (50), David Lammy (54), Vitali Klitschko (55), Sir Brian May (79)

“If you think you can do it better, go ahead. We will step aside.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio
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Smeghead4761
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1:10a, 7/20/26
OTD in 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

Less than an hour later, future HoF pitcher Gaylord Perry hit the first home run of his career.

Giants manager Alvin Dark had once remarked that humans would walk on the moon before Perry, a notoriously poor hitter, hit a home run. Dark was right.
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ABATTBQ87
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5:45p, 7/20/26
AG
* The Historical Baseline: When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon at 10:56 PM EDT on July 20, 1969, the Moon was a waxing crescent with roughly 35% illumination.
* Tonight's Sky: On July 20, 2026, the Moon is once again a waxing crescent at roughly 3540% illumination hanging in the evening sky.
* The Metonic Cycle: This alignment happens because of a mathematical rhythm in our solar system documented by the Greek astronomer Meton around 430 BC.
Because 235 lunar cycles take about 6,939.69 days and 19 solar years take about 6,939.60 days, the Moon's phases realign with the exact same calendar dates every 19 years, off by only about two hours.
Exactly 57 years have passed since the Apollo 11 landingwhich is precisely 3 Metonic cycles (19 \times 3).
If you step outside tonight and look up at the waxing crescent in the evening sky, you are seeing the exact same lunar phase and terminator line across the craters that 600 million viewers looked up at on July 20, 1969.
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nortex97
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10:14a, 7/22/26
AG
1937 New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
1942 The United States government begins compulsory civilian gasoline rationing due to the wartime demands.
1944 The Polish Committee of National Liberation publishes its manifesto, starting the period of Communist rule in Poland. This is possible because the Russians had slaughtered thousands of Polish intellectuals, leaders and army officers in the Katyn Forest Massacre after splitting the country with the Nazis in 1939.
1983 Temperature drops to -128.6 degrees F at Vostok, Antarctica as global warming takes hold. This is the world record low temperature.
1994 OJ Simpson pleads "Absolutely 100% Not Guilty" of murder.
2003 Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay. And peace broke out in the middle east and everyone lived happily ever after.
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BQ78
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12:09p, 7/22/26
AG
1864: Battle of Atlanta and Army of the Tennessee Commander James B. McPherson KIA.
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to BQ78 • 12:41p, 7/22/26
AG
BQ78 said:
1864: Battle of Atlanta and Army of the Tennessee Commander James B. McPherson KIA.


I have a question for you. Since you are our resident civil war historian, are there any indications of deaths in combat due to heat stroke/exhaustion during Southern summer battles?

I watched a Revolutionary war documentary about how the British had excessive casualties due to heat and humidity plus their uniforms were not designed for this environment
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BQ78
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 1:21p, 7/22/26
AG
Absolutely, the Battle of Perryville comes to mind quickly (also impacted by an acoustic shadow. 1862 was a La Ninia year and drought conditions prevailed after a very wet and cold winter. All the water sources were drying up in Kentucky during the campaign and the battle resulted in part because Doctor's Creek next to the battlefield was one of the few available water sources in the area. Temperatures were high and many men dropped out with heat exhaustion and stroke during the entire campaign and that carried on to the battlefield. Soldiers fought each other over mud holes with some water. Needless to say dysentery was a resulting problem too.
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ABATTBQ87
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7:12a, 7/25/26
AG
On July 25, 1944, the Allies launched the full-scale aerial bombardment for Operation COBRA, aimed at breaking the stalemate in Normandy a few miles west of Saint-L.
Here is a summary of the actions and outcome from that day:
1. The Massive Air Strike
The Attack: Shortly before noon, roughly 1,500 B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers dropped over 3,000 tons of high explosives, while medium bombers delivered another 1,000 tons of bombs and napalm.
Target Area: A narrow sector along the Saint-LPriers road intended to obliterate German defense positions and communications.
2. Tragic Friendly Fire (Short Drops)
American Casualties: Because bombers flew perpendicular to the line of departure, many bombs fell short into U.S. positions. The errant drops killed 111 American soldiers and wounded nearly 500 others.
Key Loss: Among the dead was Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, commander of Army Ground Forces and the highest-ranking U.S. officer killed in the European Theater of Operations. War correspondent Ernie Pyle was also caught in the barrage.
Command Reaction: Deeply shaken by the fratricide, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower declared he would not use heavy strategic bombers in direct tactical ground support again.
3. Destruction of German Defenses
Devastation: Despite the short drops, the bombardment achieved its tactical goal. It virtually wiped out Gen. Fritz Bayerlein's Panzer Lehr Division, killing roughly 1,000 German troops, destroying armor, severing communications, and leveling command posts.
4. The Ground Exploitation
VII Corps Attack: U.S. infantry divisions pressed forward through the smoke and craters into the shattered line.
Commitment of Armor: Recognizing that the German defenses were unhinged, VII Corps commander Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins made the critical decision late in the afternoon to send his armored exploitation forces through the breach.
This breakthrough blew the German Seventh Army's left flank wide open over the next 48 hours, paving the way for the rapid Allied pursuit across France.
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BQ78
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 7:37a, 7/25/26
AG
Fire the air planners for not going west to east. East to west would have been okay maybe even better except for being too close to interceptors.
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jkag89
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12:11p, 7/25/26
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to BQ78 • 4:29p, 7/25/26
AG
BQ78 said:
Fire the air planners for not going west to east. East to west would have been okay maybe even better except for being too close to interceptors.

The breakdown of communication and operational planning during Operation Cobra (July 1944) led to the heavy bombing "short-rounds" near Saint-L, France. While multiple commanders were involved, primary responsibility fell on the command breakdown between Lieutenant General Omar Bradley (Commander, U.S. First Army) and the top Allied air leadershipspecifically Lieutenant General James "Jimmy" Doolittle (Commander, U.S. Eighth Air Force) and General Carl "Tooey" Spaatz (Commander, U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe).

The Core Cause of the Failure
The tragedy, which killed over 100 U.S. soldiersincluding Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair, the highest-ranking U.S. officer killed in the European Theaterstemmed directly from a fundamental misunderstanding about the axis of approach for the heavy bombers.

1. The Disagreement Over Flight Approach
  • Bradley's Plan: General Bradley explicitly requested that the heavy bombers (B-17s and B-24s) approach the bombing zone parallel to the front lines (east-to-west or west-to-east). By flying along the Saint-LPriers road, any bombs that dropped early or late would land in enemy territory or neutral zones rather than on friendly lines.
  • The Air Commanders' Decision: Doolittle and his air planners determined that a parallel approach was dangerous and impractical. Moving over 1,500 heavy bombers along a narrow corridor would cause traffic bottlenecks, expose the aircraft to prolonged anti-aircraft fire, and take too much time. Instead, they decided to fly perpendicular (north-to-south)directly over friendly troops toward the target box.
2. The Communication Failure
During the July 19 meeting in England with Allied Air Chiefs (including Spaatz and Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder), Bradley left believing his requirement for a parallel run was understood and accepted. Air Force planners, however, designed the operational orders for a perpendicular approach. Because no formal, written agreement resolved the conflict, the Eighth Air Force flew perpendicular to the front lines on both July 24 (the aborted attempt) and July 25 (the main strike).
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BQ78
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 4:54p, 7/25/26
AG
But flying over Germany was infinitely safer. Like I said, fire the planners. As it turned out the Germans would have had to shoot down 60 heavies to get the casualties self inflicted.
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to BQ78 • 5:40p, 7/25/26
AG
BQ78 said:
But flying over Germany was infinitely safer. Like I said, fire the planners. As it turned out the Germans would have had to shoot down 60 heavies to get the casualties self inflicted.


Cant fire Doolittle, he's a hero for the Tokyo bombing in 1942
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BQ78
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 5:59p, 7/25/26
AG
Which did nothing to win the war other than raise civilian morale for a time.
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to BQ78 • 6:06p, 7/25/26
AG
BQ78 said:
Which did nothing to win the war other than raise civilian morale for a time.


For some reason they placed a statue of Doolittle at the LaFiere bridge where the 82nd airborne had a 3 day fight.
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ABATTBQ87
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7:14p, 7/26/26
AG
Sam Houston passed away 163 years ago today, on July 26, 1863, in Huntsville. Jeff Hamilton wrote about tending to Houston in his final days in the Steamboat House.

"I slept on my pallet in his sick room, but was up and down nearly all night giving him his medicine. In the daytime, I fanned him to keep him cool and to keep the flies from bothering him. One day, as I was fanning him, I fell asleep and the fan struck him in the face. He stirred and said, 'Margaret, you and that boy go and get some rest. There's no use in both of you breaking yourselves down.' Before I went to get some sleep, I heard him say, 'My country! O, my country!'"

Margaret read to him from the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. "Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you."

Dr. Ashbel Smith and Dr. Pleasant Kittrell both diagnosed Houston's case as severe pneumonia, and his soul slipped away at 6:15pm. Union prisoners in Huntsville from the captured U.S.S. Harriet Lane constructed a coffin for him to be buried in and his Huntsville lodge brothers provided a Masonic ceremony.

Judge Joab Banton gave the eulogy:

"I was with General Houston in his last illness and in his last moments on earth. He who was Sam Houston in life was emphatically and characteristically Sam Houston in death. The same reverence-inspiring form, the same piercing eye, the same gigantic mind. There is something majestic, magnificent, and yet instructive and beautiful in such a life and such a death. And now that the war of faction is over with him, and the tongue of envy is hushed, all can see and acknowledge his great worth, and honor his immortal memory. We might say of Texas that she was his handiwork. And I doubt not that as long as there are those who love Texas, the name of Houston will be honored and revered."
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jkag89
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4:56p, 7/28/26

Quote:
The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day is a Texas history tidbit I'll bet you didn't know: 220 years ago today, on July 28, 1806, Spanish troops under Lt. Francisco Viana intercepted a scientific party conducting the American Red River Expedition, which President Thomas Jefferson called "The Grand Excursion." The American party was led by Thomas Freeman and Peter Custis and Viana and his soldiers confronted the Americans at Spanish Bluff, on the Red River in what is now Bowie County, just northeast of present-day New Boston, Texas.

At the time, the expedition had traveled about 615 miles upstream from the Mississippi River. President Thomas Jefferson had sent Freeman, Custis, and a military escort under Capt. Richard Sparks to explore the Red River, map the country, study its plants and animals, and determine the river's source. Spain, however, considered the upper Red River to lie within its territory and said "no way, Jose!" The Spanish had no intention of allowing an armed American expedition to proceed.

Viana arrived overland with a substantial Spanish force, vastly outnumbering the Americans. He informed Freeman that he had orders to prevent the expedition from advancing farther. Thomas Jefferson had anticipated such a possibility and had instructed his explorers not to risk an international incident if confronted by a superior force. After a standoff lasting several days, the Americans complied and turned back downriver on August 1.

Today, Spanish Bluff is recognized as the turning point of the Freeman-Custis Red River Expedition. Although the expedition failed to reach the river's headwaters, Freeman's surveys and Custis's scientific observations remain valuable records of the Red River valley as they found it in 1806.

How was that for a tasty Tuesday Texas tidbit?

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ABATTBQ87
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7:39a, 7/31/26
AG
On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sank within minutes in shark-infested waters. Only 316 of the 1,196 men on board survived. However, the Indianapolis had already completed its major mission: the delivery of key components of the atomic bomb that would be dropped a week later at Hiroshima to Tinian Island in the South Pacific.

The Indianapolis made its delivery to Tinian Island on July 26, 1945. The mission was top secret and the ship's crew was unaware of its cargo. After leaving Tinian, the Indianapolis sailed to the U.S. military's Pacific headquarters at Guam and was given orders to meet the battleship USS Idaho at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines to prepare for the invasion of Japan.

Shortly after midnight on July 30, halfway between Guam and Leyte Gulf, a Japanese sub blasted the Indianapolis, sparking an explosion that split the ship and caused it to sink in approximately 12 minutes, with about 300 men trapped inside. Another 900 went into the water, where many died from drowning, shark attacks, dehydration or injuries from the explosion. Help did not arrive until four days later when an anti-submarine plane on routine patrol happened upon the men and radioed for assistance.

In the aftermath of the Indianapolis, the ship's commander, Captain Charles McVay, was court-martialed in Nov. 1945 for failing to sail a zigzag course that would have helped the ship to evade enemy submarines in the area. McVay, the only Navy captain court-martialed for losing a ship during the war, committed suicide in 1968. Many of his surviving crewmen believed the military had made him a scapegoat. In 2000, 55 years after the Indianapolis went down, Congress cleared McVay's name.
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Gunny456
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 8:50a, 7/31/26
AG
My dad was stationed in Guam in the AAC when she came into port.
He said it hit a lot of guys in the gut when they learned of it being sunk.
Thank you for always posting these stories.
I really enjoy them and usually forward them on to some other friends and family members.
TAMU Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences

Boat racing is like a beautiful woman.......expensive, high maintenance, but well worth the fun!
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nortex97
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9:12a, 7/31/26
AG
1917 World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium. By the time it's over in three or so months, there's between half and three quarters of a million casualties on both sides.
1919 German national assembly adopts the Weimar constitution (which comes into force on August 14). It's a pretty good Constitution, too. For example, Germans are entitled to free expression of opinion in word, writing, print, image, etc. This right cannot be obstructed by job contract, nor can exercise of this right create a disadvantage. Censorship is prohibited. And we all know how this turned out.
1941 Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question." This is a lesson in incrementalism, among other things.
1945 Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
1970 Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
1971 Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
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Cinco Ranch Aggie
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 10:08a, 7/31/26
AG
* To add to this, 30 years later a gruff survivor of the sinking and the sharks would himself be gobbled down by a Great White Shark soon after regaling his companions with the tale of those terrifying days in the water.
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jkag89
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In reply to nortex97 • 10:30a, 7/31/26
nortex97 said:
1971 Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.


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ABATTBQ87
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7:54a, 8/1/26
AG
80 years ago August 1,1946
The Battle of Athens (sometimes called the McMinn County War) remains one of the most remarkable examples of armed civilian resistance against local political corruption in U.S. history.
The Background: A Corrupt Machine
During the 1930s and 1940s, McMinn County, Tennessee, fell under the tight grip of a political machine led by Democrat E.H. Crump network affiliate Paul Cantrell (who served as sheriff and state senator) and his chief enforcer, Pat Mansfield (the machine's candidate for sheriff).
The political machine built its dominance through systemic corruption:
* Fee System Abuse: Sheriff's deputies were paid per arrest, leading to widespread extortion, bogus arrests of out-of-town travelers, and arbitrary fines.
* Election Fraud: Polling places were rigged, vote counts were altered, and ballot boxes were routinely manipulated to keep machine candidates in office.
* Intimidation: Local citizens and business owners who spoke out faced threats, violence, or financial retaliation.
The Veterans Return
When thousands of young men from McMinn County returned home after serving in World War II, they found their home county under virtual authoritarian rule by the local law enforcement apparatus.
Determined to restore fair government, the veterans organized the non-partisan GI Non-Partisan League to run a slate of candidates in the August 1, 1946 primary election, led by decorated veteran Knox Henry for Sheriff.
Election Day Escalation (August 1, 1946)
On election day, the Cantrell-Mansfield machine deployed dozens of armed deputiesmany brought in from outside countiesto patrol polling places.
* Intimidation at the Polls: Armed deputies beat GI poll watchers and harassed voters. In one precinct, an elderly Black voter named Tom Gillespie was shot by a deputy after attempting to cast his vote.
* Seizure of Ballot Boxes: Realizing the voting turnout heavily favored the GI slate, deputies confiscated key ballot boxes at gunpoint, brought them to the solid-brick McMinn County Jail in Athens, and barricaded themselves inside to count the votes in secret.
The Siege of the County Jail
Refusing to let another election be stolen, several hundred armed veterans assembled. Drawing rifles and shotguns from their personal collections and breaking into the local National Guard armory for additional arms and ammunition, they surrounded the jail.
* The Standoff: Around 9:00 PM, the veterans demanded the release of the ballot boxes and poll watchers held inside. When shots were fired from the jail, the veterans returned fire.
* Nighttime Firefight: An exchange of thousands of rounds of gunfire continued throughout the night.
* Breaching the Fortification: Early on the morning of August 2, veterans used dynamic explosive charges (dynamite) against the jail walls and porch.
Outcome and Resolution
The explosion breached the defenses, and the deputies surrendered at approximately 3:30 AM on August 2.
* The Vote Count: The ballot boxes were safely secured and publicly counted under armed guard. The GI slate won by a decisive margin, placing Knox Henry in office as Sheriff.
* Restoration of Order: To prevent looting or mob retaliation, veterans established a temporary civilian police force and maintained order until the newly elected officers were officially sworn in.
* Legacy: The U.S. Department of Justice investigated the event, but no criminal charges were brought against the veterans. The incident became a landmark historical case study on constitutional rights, local governance, and the Second Amendment.
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ABATTBQ87
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4:29p, 8/1/26
AG
On August 1, 1966, one of the darkest events in Texas history unfolded at the University of Texas at Austin. Charles Whitman climbed to the observation deck of the university's iconic Main Building Tower carrying several firearms and began shooting at people on the campus and surrounding streets. For approximately 96 minutes, the attack terrorized Austin before police officers reached the top of the tower and ended the shooting. Whitman killed 14 people during the tower attack, after having killed his wife and mother earlier that day, and dozens more were wounded. Another victim later died from injuries related to the shooting, bringing the commonly recognized death toll attributed to Whitman to 17. The tragedy profoundly affected the University of Texas and the city of Austin and became one of the most infamous mass shootings in American history.
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BrazosBendHorn
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 6:58p, 8/1/26
ABATTBQ87 said:
On August 1, 1966, one of the darkest events in Texas history unfolded at the University of Texas at Austin. Charles Whitman climbed to the observation deck of the university's iconic Main Building Tower carrying several firearms and began shooting at people on the campus and surrounding streets. For approximately 96 minutes, the attack terrorized Austin before police officers reached the top of the tower and ended the shooting. Whitman killed 14 people during the tower attack, after having killed his wife and mother earlier that day, and dozens more were wounded. Another victim later died from injuries related to the shooting, bringing the commonly recognized death toll attributed to Whitman to 17. The tragedy profoundly affected the University of Texas and the city of Austin and became one of the most infamous mass shootings in American history.

I was 7 years old when that happened, and I can remember the news coverage. 16 years later when I was at grad school at UT, I would occasionally think of it when crossing the area south of the Tower. It was OK with me that the observation deck was closed in those days.
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BQ78
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 9:07p, 8/1/26
AG
60 years today
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ABATTBQ87
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10:48a, 8/2/26
AG
August 2, 1776, was the day the delegates gathered to physically put pen to parchment.
Here is how history actually unfolded:
July 4, 1776: Continental Congress officially approved the text written by Thomas Jefferson.
July 19, 1776: Congress ordered a formal, hand-lettered copy to be created on heavy parchmenta process called "engrossing." A Philadelphia scribe named Timothy Matlack executed the famous calligraphy.
August 2, 1776: The parchment was brought to the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), where the delegates gathered to sign the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock signed firstcentered and boldfollowed by delegates organized by state, moving north to south from New Hampshire to Georgia.
In total, 56 men ultimately signed the Declaration of Independence. Not all were present on August 2ndsome signed weeks later, some who voted on July 4th had already left Congress, and a few who signed on August 2nd weren't even delegates back on the 4th.
Every single signature on that parchment was an act of treason against the British Crown.
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