John Glenn was a member of the Mercury Seven, the first group of U.S. astronauts. Glenn was the first member of the group to orbit the earth (on the Mercury mission Friendship 7 in 1962), as well as the last member of the group to orbit the earth (on STS-95, aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998).
Only two MLB
Only two players were recalled to active duty in the Korean war after also serving in WWII. They ere Red Sox star Ted Williams and Yankee infielder Jerry Coleman. Williams was replaced in the Boston outfield by Faye Throneberry, brother of the Mets’ Marvellous Marv. Faye himself was then sent off to war when Ted came back. Coleman’s absence opened a space for Billy Martin, who went on to an illustrious career of controversy as a player and manager…
Cool trivia. Earlier this year I was at ANC, Arlington National Cemetery and paid respects at John Glenn’s grave.
In play —
About the Marine Corps, Ted Williams said, “ It’s a funny thing, but, as years go by, I think you appreciate more and more what a great thing it was to be a United States Marine… People will tell me what a shame it was I had to go back into the service a second time, but I’m kinda glad I did… Besides, I am a U.S. Marine and I’ll be one till I die.”
In the Marine Corps, Ted Williams flew the Vought F4U Corsair and the Grumman F9F Panther.
Grumman F9F ‘Panthers’ appear as the aircraft in the movie “The Bridges at Toko-Ri”; however, in the original novel by James Michener, the aircraft involved were McDonnell F2H ‘Banshees’.
To a casual observer both aircraft are visually similar, which probably explains why the F9Fs were used; however, the ‘Panther’ was a single-engine day-fighter with some capability for air-to-ground missions (but not heavy bombing), while the ‘Banshee’ was a twin-engined fighter/bomber that would have been the carrier-based aircraft of choice for a mission to destroy bridges.
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A mockup of the McDonnell F2H Banshee was made available in April 1945, four months before World War II ended in the Pacific, but it did not make its maiden flight until a year and a half later, in January 1947. The US Navy and Marine Corps flew the McDonnell F2H Banshee from 1948 to 1961.
A banshee is a female spirit in Irish mythology who heralds the death of a family member, usually by wailing or shrieking. According to legend, a banshee has long streaming hair and wears a grey cloak over a green dress, and her eyes are red from continual weeping.
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band. The band was originally formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin, who were strongly inspired by the punk movement and the Sex Pistols.
The band soon moved past their initial punk phase, and explored other sounds and genres, including post-punk and new wave over the course of the 1980s and 1990s.
Sioux Falls SD, population 182,000, ranks at #140 in US cities by population. It is the most populous city in South Dakota, and about the same size as Fort Lauderdale FL and Worcester MA. Its waterfalls, on the Big Sioux River, is not dramatically high, as seen in these pictures, https://is.gd/boiAn8 and https://is.gd/x2VFWk. The Big Sioux River is a tributary of the Missouri River, and the two rivers join in Sioux City, about 90 miles south of Sioux Falls.
There have been three warships named the USS Sioux to serve in the United States Navy, the last of which, a Navajo-class fleet tug, served from 1942-73, at which time it was sold to Turkey and renamed the Gazal. As of 2017, it was still in service.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe live on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Oglala Lakota County, contained entirely within the boundaries of the Reservation, has the lowest per capita income ($8,768) in the country, and ranks as the “poorest” county in the nation.
Sault Ste. Marie, although pronounced the same as Sioux, has a different origin. The word Sault means waterfall or rapids in French. The rapids have been bypassed by locks, enabling shipping through the Great Lakes and making the two cities a major border transportation hub.
Ironic.
So sad.
In play:
The Lakota people, also known as the Teton Sioux, with the Dakota and the Nakota, together form the Great Sioux Nation of the Great Plains states of what is now Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
The state flag of Wyoming is the only non-municipal flag in the world to feature an American bison.
^^^ What about Manitoba? Is that a Canadian Bison?
The flag of Nepal is the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular.
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The ratios of height to width vary among national flags, but none is taller than it is wide except for the flag of Nepal. The flags of Switzerland and the Vatican City are the only national flags that are exact squares.
“A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”, “The White Cliffs of Dover”, and “We’ll Meet Again” are among the best-known songs connected with Dame Vera Lynn, who was known as “the Forces’ Sweetheart” in World War II. At age 103 she is still alert and healthy, and sent out a message of hope 2 days ago, on the eve of VE Day.
The White Cliffs of Dover are not easily seen from land. They are more readily seen from on the water, on the English Channel. Just to their west, though, are the Seven Sisters in East Sussex county, between the towns of Seaford and Eastbourne. Here is a map, Google Maps, and here is a picture of them, https://is.gd/f8bgk2.
A few years back, I stood near the spot where that picture was taken.
In Northern India, a native bird is known as the Seven Sisters, because of its propensity to gather in groups of six to ten individuals. This bird is also known as the Jungle Babbler.