2017 July 31

Colonel Vasanth Venugopal AC (P)
death: 31 Jul 2007 in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Indian army officer (9 MLI), he personally led a commando team in a CI operation (29-30 July 2007) to neutralise Pak trained terrorists at the LOC, and while all eight militants were killed, his martyrdom was recognised with the Ashok Chakra (posthumous).

His wife Subhashini (m: 1993), is a Classical Dancer. She authored and published – Forever Forty (2011), and is the founder of Vasantharatna Foundation for Art, based in Bangalore. She has two daughters Rukmini (10) and Yeshodha (7) – age in 2007.

PIB release dated 23 January 2008:

Col Vasanth V of 9 Maratha Light Infantry laid down his life in a fire fight when he was personally leading an operation to flush out militants near Uri town in Jammu and Kashmir. He succumbed to his injuries before he reached the hospital. He is survived by his wife Subhashini, two daughters Rukmini and Yeshodha and parents Mr and Mrs Venugopal.

Col Vasanth went to school at many places in Karnataka as his father was working with the LIC. His schooling took him to Mangalore, Ooty, Udupi, Shimoga, Bangalore etc. He graduated from MES College, Bangalore. He was an ardent NCC Cadet and had also participated in a Republic Day parade at Delhi. He also visited Canada on exchange programme through the NCC.

Even as a youngster, he had expressed a desire to be in the army. Being a bright student, he had got selected to do an MBA in the prestigious IIM, but he chose to go to IMA, Dehradun as a Gentleman Cadet.

Col Vasanth – a true idealist and a man of peace – was proud to be an officer of the Indian Army till the very end. He was no armchair idealist. He read widely about military histories and strategy and would take great care to analyse the inscrutable choices that armies have made in history. He attended many seminars and talks, and listened with care to the many different voices of our nation. He was genuinely motivated by sacrifice. He was excited about commanding the 9 Maratha LI and thrilled that he would be joining them on the frontline. For Vasanth, his lifetime commitment was simple – his word and his honour. His personal life always came second.

In 1997, during a discussion with his wife, Subhashini, a Bharatnatyam dancer, Vasanth expressed that there are a lot of people speaking about the soldiers but not many who try to depict the life of the women in their lives. He felt that she should use her talent and her experiences to tell the story of the army wife. This gave the birth to The Silent Front, an organization dedicated to the widows of martyrs. Mrs Suhasini (original text) will receive the award bestowed on the gallant officer from the President.
—-END

Note – the CI Operation was on 29-30 July, when he was wounded (30 Jul) and evacuated to a hospital where he died on 31 July.

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2017 July 30

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Birth: 30 July 1947 in Thal bei Graz, Austria
Austrian-born American body-builder and World Champion, he rose to fame as an actor in Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Terminator (1984), and was elected Governor (2003-11) of California.

He was married (1986-2011) to Maria Shriver, a niece of US President John F Kennedy.

BODYBUILDING

Junior Mr. Europe in 1965
Mr. Europe in 1966
Universe Championships – organised by NABBA.
– Mr. Universe (amateur) – 1967
– Mr. Universe (pro) – 1968, 1969, 1970
Mr. Olympia – organised by IFBB
– Mr. Olympia (Overall) – 1970 to 1975, and 1980

NABBA – National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association
IFBB – International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness

PARTIAL LIST OF FILMS:

1969: debut in Hercules in New York
1976: Stay Hungry
– Golden Globe (New Star of the Year)
1982: Conan the Barbarian
1984: The Terminator
1987: Predator
1990: Kindergarten Cop
1997: Batman & Robin – as Mr Freeze
2010: The Expendables
2017: Aftermath
2017: Killing Gunther (October)

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2017 July 29

USS Forrestal (CV-59) Fire – 134 Dead
Event: 29 July 1967 in Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam
(USA) An accidental firing (1050 hrs) of a rocket pod mounted on an F-4B Phantom started a fire on the 80,000 ton aircraft carrier USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War which raged for 12 hours and led to the death of 134 sailors.

Senator John McCain, then a Lieutenant Commander was on a Skyhawk, adjacent to the Skyhawk which was hit, and managed to escape with minor injuries from the bomb explosion. Read his bio in the comment section.

USS Forrestal (CV-59)

Named after James Forrestal – the first ever Secretary of Defense (1947-49), and a former Secretary of the Navy (1944-47). His death at the National Naval Medical Center remains a mystery.
Popularly known as FID – ‘First In Defense’, she was also known as ‘USS Zippo’ (cigarette lighter) after a number of fire accidents on board.
In service: 1955 to 1993

Specifications:
– Displacement: 80,000 tons
– Length: 1,067 ft (325 m)
– Propulsion: Steam turbines
– Speed: 33 knots (61 kmph)
– Complement: 552 officers, 4,988 enlisted
– Aircraft: mix of 80-90 aircraft

INCIDENT – During the Vietnam War:
The flight-deck was busy preparing for a strike.
At 10:50 AM, a ‘Zuni’ rocket mounted on an F-4B Phantom activated due to an electrical surge.
The rocket slammed into a fully loaded A-4 Skyhawk, struck the external fuel-tank, ruptured it and started a fire.
Two 1000-lb bombs dislodged from the Skyhawk, ‘cooked-off’, and soon exploded creating a crater on the armoured flight-deck.
Another 7 bombs exploded and 12 hours passed, before the fire was brought under control.

Damage:
– 134 dead
– 161 wounded
– 21 aircraft destroyed, some of which were pushed over board.

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2017 July 28

B-25 Bomber Strikes Empire State Building
event: 28 July 1945 in New York, USA
(USA) A US Army B-25 bomber flown by Lt Col William Franklin Smith crashed (0940 AM) into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building, which was probably hidden by thick fog. Three crew members and eleven in the building died, but the building was opened for business on Monday morning (30 July).

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING:

102-story skyscraper
Height:
– 1,250 feet (381 m)
– 1,454 feet (443.2 m) with the antenna included
Construction (March 1930 to April 1931) – it was the tallest building in the world for nearly 40 years, until over taken by the World Trade Center in 1970.

B-25 MITCHELL BOMBER

Aircraft:
– Length: 52 ft 11 in (16.13 m)
– Wingspan: 67 ft 7 in (20.60 m)
– Empty weight: 19,480 lb (8,855 kg)
– Max. take-off weight: 35,000 lb (15,910 kg)

Crew:
– LtCol William Franklin Smith
– Christopher Domitrovich and
– Albert Perna

Flight: Bedford Army Air Field to Newark Airport, on a Saturday morning.

Incident: Coming in to land in zero visibility due fog, Smith became disoriented and turned right after passing the Chrysler Building – crashed into the 79th floor, on the North side of the Empire State Building at 09:40 AM.

– One engine zipped across the floor, and dropped down on the South side. The 2nd engine, was stopped by the elevator, and plummeted down the shaft. Smith’s body was also found at the bottom of the shaft.

– Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver was injured, was moved by the rescue-team using the elevator, but the cables snapped and the cabin fell 75 stories. She however survived – accepted as the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall.

– Fatalities: 3 crew members and 11 in building.

– The Building was opened for business on the following Monday (30 July), on the lower floors.

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2017 July 27

Emil Theodor Kocher – Death Centenary
Nobel Prize for His Work on Thyroid Gland
death: 27 Jul 1917 in Bern, Switzerland
Swiss surgeon, he is a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1909) for ‘his work on the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid gland’, and is remembered for a number of innovations that bear his name.

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2017 July 26

Kargil War – Vijay Diwas
event: 26 Jul 1999 in Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir, India
(India) Celebrated as Victory Day, for the successful completion of Operation Vijay – a limited war with Pakistan in Kargil Sector (May to July). India lost 527 men, and 1,363 were wounded in the bloody battles to capture occupied positions in the mountainous terrain – freezing cold conditions at heights of 16,000 – 18,000 feet.

THE FULL POEM

For the Fallen
BY LAURENCE BINYON
(Published in 1918)

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England’s foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

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2017 July 25

Colonel Jatinder Kumar Bajaj SM, VSM, FRGS
Birth: 25 July 1942 in Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Indian army officer (EME), a veteran of 1965 and 1971 wars, and a renowned mountaineer, he was the first Indian to reach the South Pole and plant the National Flag (2215 GMT on 17 Jan 1989), after a 1,200 km Ski expedition.

He was also associated with India’s Antarctic research station from 1980’s onwards, and served as Principal at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi.

SOUTH POLE

South Pole is the point where the Earth’s axis of rotation intersects its surface in the Southern Hemisphere. It is fully described as the Geographic South Pole, to separate it from the South Magnetic Pole, which is approximately 2860 km from the former.

The coordinate position is 90 degree South, without any longitude value, since all longitudinal lines converge to this point.

The spot is at an altitude of 2,835 metres (9,301 ft) above sea level, and the ice-cover is estimated to be 2,700 metres (9,000 ft) thick at the Pole. The average temperature in January is minus 25 degree Centigrade.

The Bay of Whales is the nearest sea-port, located about 1,300 km from the South Pole.

HISTORY – DISCOVERY OF SOUTH POLE:

Roald Amundsen of Norway, and his team were the first to reach here – on 14 Dec 1911. And was soon followed by Robert Falcon Scott and his four companions on 17 Jan 1912. But Scott and his team died of starvation and extreme cold on their way back.

His website: http://www.jkbajaj.com (will take you to a new page)

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2017 July 24

Manoj Kumar
birth: 24 Jul 1937 in Abbottabad, Pakistan
Indian film actor, director and producer, credited with a number of patriotic films, and popularly known as ‘Mr Bharat’, he is a recipient of Padma Shri (1992) and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2016).

original name: Harikishan Giri Goswami
1947: family moved to Delhi, India
Hindu College, Delhi
1957: debut in Fashion

PATRIOTIC FILMS

Shaheed (1965) – life of Bhagat Singh
Upkaar (1967) – Jai Jawan Jai Kissan
Purab Aur Paschim (1970) – conflict with East-West culture
Kranti (1981) – independence movement
Jai Hind (1999) – Army in Kashmir

AWARDS

National Film Awards:
– Upkaar (1967)

Filmfare Awards:
Upkaar (1967) – 6 awards
– Best Movie
– Best Director
– Best Story
– Best Dialogue
Be-Imaan (1972) – 7 awards
– Best Actor
Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974) – 3 awards
– Best Director

Lifetime Achievement Awards
– Padma Shri (1992)
– Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (1999)
– Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2016)

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2017 July 23

IAF C-119 Packet Landing at Daulat Beg Oldi
Event: 23 July 1962 at Daulat Beg Oldi, India
(India) A locally modified IAF C-119 Packet aircraft landed at Daulat Beg Oldi airfield, carrying 32 battle-ready soldiers to counter a Chinese incursion at the border – a Guinness Record. At 16,700 ft (5,100 m), DBO is the highest airfield in the world.

A Brief History of Fairchild C-119 Packet in the IAF:

1954: Packet was inducted into the IAF – No 12 Squadron “Bisons”.
1956: A modified Packet flew PM Jawaharlal Nehru to Tashkent and Moscow.
1960: A 2nd batch of 29 Packets were received – No 19 Squadron was formed.
1962: First landing in Daulat Beg Oldi (23 July).
1962 (October) Packets airlifted men and equipment to reinforce the 114 Infantry Brigade at Chushul, and followed up with moving 20 Lancers and AMX-13 tanks.
1962-63: post China War – another 25 aircraft were acquired – No 48 Squadron.
1971: Packets over at Tangail during Bangladesh War – first-ever airborne assault launched by the Indian Army.
1986: Packet was phased out after 32 years. The last aircraft was flown to the Palam airport for the Air Force Museum (IK-450 in the photograph).

THE JET PACK:

The two piston-engine powered and propeller driven Packet was rated for 14,000 feet altitude, but, DBO is at 16,700 ft (5,100 m). Additional power was required – from a rocket-pod or jet engine.

First Modification was with a Stewart Davis J-34 Jet Pack in Nov 1961, but, the aircraft was still considered under-powered for a sortie to DBO.

Second Modification with an Orpheus engine from the Gnat fighter aircraft was found to be satisfactory.

FIRST EXPERIMENTAL LANDING AND TAKE-OFF (23 JULY 1962)

Aircraft: BK-511
Flight: Srinagar to DBO and back

Air crew:
Sqn Ldr CKS Raje – retired as Air Marshal
Sqn Ldr John Philipose – received a VM
Wg Cdr Mukherjee – navigator
Warrant Officer Surat Singh Yadav (Flight Engineer) – received a VM

Passengers:
AVM Pinto – AOC-in-C WAC
Air Cmde A Ananthanarayanan – AOC J&K
32 fully equipped Soldiers

The Team that made it possible:
Air Marshal AM Engineer – Chief of the Air Staff
Sqn Ldr Jacob Chakko – retired as Gp Capt in 1969, immigrated to the USA and worked for Stewart-Davis, as Chief Engineer in Long Beach. He later settled in Bangalore, and passed away in 2010.
Sergeant John Moses Venkatachalam
Sergeant Balakrishnan
Corporal Kannaswamy Sukumaran
Corporal Paul

The details are from a book written by Gp Capt Jacob Chakko – MEMOIRS (privately published).

WHO BUILT THE AIR FIELD?
I have no details of the army unit, and names of people involved. Any inputs on the subject will be appreciated.

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Daniel Radcliffe – Harry Potter
birth: 23 Jul 1989 in London, England, UK
English actor, immortalised as Harry Potter, he made his screen debut in ‘David Copperfield’ in BBC One TV (1999), followed by a Hollywood debut in ‘The Tailor of Panama’ (2001), and was cast as Harry Potter in the first film – Philosopher’s Stone (2001), and continued in the role until Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). He has since attempted a break-away from being type-cast with roles in Horns (2013) – a dark fantasy horror film directed by Alexandre Aja, and Swiss Army Man (2016) – portraying a talkative corpse.

Screen debut: ‘David Copperfield’ in BBC One TV (1999).
Hollywood debut: ‘The Tailor of Panama’ (2001).

How Daniel Radcliffe Became Harry Potter?

Daniel and his parents went to a play – ‘Stones in the Pockets’ where his father introduced him to David Heyman, the producer of the Harry Potter films. Heyman was so impressed with the young boy, that he immediately called him for an audition. The film’s director Chris Columbus said, “This is what I want. This is Harry Potter”.

His favourite Harry Potter book is The Prisoner of Azkaban.
His favourite character is Hagrid.

He plays the bass guitar and once took a lesson from Harry Potter co-star Gary Oldman.

CRICKET: Daniel Radcliffe is a great fan of Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian legend with 100 international centuries to his credit. They met for the first time at Lord’s in July 2007.

THE FILMS:
Philosopher’s Stone (2001)
Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Goblet of Fire (2005)
Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

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2017 July 21

Don Henley
birth: 22 Jul 1947 in Linden, Texas, USA
American singer, songwriter, drummer and guitarist, he was a founding member and lead vocalist of the ‘Eagles’, and is known for ‘Desperado’ (1973) and ‘Hotel California’ (1977). In 1980 he went solo, after the Eagles disbanded (1980-94).

Full Name: Donald Hugh Henley

EAGLES
1971: Eagles formed
– by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner.
– debut album, Eagles (1972) with Witchy Woman (1972)
was followed by:
Desperado (1973)
Best of My Love (1974)
One of These Nights (1974)
Hotel California (1977)
Life in the Fast Lane (1977)
Get Over It (1980)

1980: disbanded in July
1994: reunited
2016: Glenn Frey passed away in January

The Eagles has sold 150 million records, won six Grammy Awards, had five #1 singles, 17 Top 40 singles, and six #1 albums.

DON HENLEY SOLO

debut album I Can’t Stand Still (1982)
– Dirty Laundry (1982)
Building the Perfect Beast (1984)
– The Boys of Summer
– All She Wants to Do Is Dance
– Not Enough Love in the World
The End of the Innocence (1989)
– The Heart of the Matter
– The Last Worthless Evening

He has won two Grammy Awards and five MTV Video Music Awards, and has eight Top 40 singles.

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