Unknown America Page 8

  After Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, nations in western Europe and the Americas feared an influx of Jewish refugees. About 85,000 Jewish refugees reached the United States between March 1938 and September 1939, but this number was far below the number seeking refuge. In 1938, 125,000 applicants applied for the 27,000 visas under the existing immigration quota. And the refugees kept coming to escape Hitler.

  In a highly publicized event in the Spring of 1939, the United States refused to admit over 900 Jewish refugees who had sailed from Hamburg, Germany on the St. Louis.

  After Cuban authorities canceled the refugees' transit visas and denied entry to most of the passengers, the St. Louis sailed for America. Many on board were still waiting to receive visas to enter the United States.

  But the US denied permission for the St. Louis to make port and the ship was forced to return to Europe. The governments of Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, already taxed with their own influx of refugees, agreed to accept some of the passengers. But of the 908 St. Louis passengers who were denied entry into the US, 254 are known to have died in the Holocaust.

  During the second half of 1941, even as unconfirmed reports of the mass murder perpetrated by the Nazis made their way to the West, the US Department of State placed even stricter limits on immigration based on national security concerns. So the total number of Jews that perished due to these restrictions is likely considerably higher.

  IBM and NAZI Death Camps

  When Adolph Hitler came to power a central Nazi goal was to identify and destroy Germany's roughly half million Jews. To Nazis, Jews were not just those who practiced Judaism, but those of Jewish blood, intermarriage, religious activity, or even conversion to Christianity. Only after Jews were identified could they be targeted for asset confiscation, ghettoization, deportation, and ultimately extermination. To search generations of communal, church, and governmental records all across Germany, and later throughout Europe, was a cross-indexing task so monumental, it called for a computer. But in 1933, no computer existed.

  However, another invention did exist; the IBM punch card and card sorting system which was a precursor to the computer. This technology was invented by Herman Hollerith who was an American inventor of German descent. Hollerith developed an electromechanical punch card tabulator to assist in summarizing information. He was the founder of the Tabulating Machine Co. that was consolidated in 1911 with three other companies to form the Computing Tabulating Recording Co., later renamed IBM.

  IBM, primarily through its German subsidiary, made Hitler's program of Jewish destruction possible. IBM Germany, designed, executed, and supplied the technological assistance Hitler's Third Reich needed. More than 2,000 such multi-machine sets were dispatched throughout Germany, and thousands more throughout German-dominated Europe. Card sorting operations were established in every major concentration camp. People were moved from place to place and their remains cataloged with icy automation.

  Although historians, Holocaust experts and WWII buffs have debated for decades the extent of IBM's knowledge and complicity. It is commonly accepted that had it not been for IBM's punch card technology, Hitler's “final solution” would not have been nearly as horrifically successful as it was.

  The “Boo” Battalion

  The Ghost Army was a US Army tactical deception unit during the Second World War. Officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, the 1,100-man unit was given a unique mission; to impersonate other US. Army units to deceive the enemy. From a few weeks after D-Day when they landed in France until the end of the war, they put on a “traveling road show” utilizing inflatable tanks, sound trucks, and fake radio transmissions. The unit staged more than 20 battlefield deceptions, often operating very close to the front lines. Their story was kept secret for more than 40 years after the war, and elements of it remain classified to this day.

  The Exercise Tiger Disaster

  Exercise Tiger was one of the many full scale rehearsal exercises conducted by the Allies in preparation for Operation Overlord, which was the codename for the Battle of Normandy. Tiger was developed to provide training for the American troops scheduled to invade France at Utah Beach.

  In the dawn hours of April 28, 1944 a flotilla of eight LSTs (Landing Ship Tanks, which were designed to carry tanks, vehicles, cargo, and troops directly onto shore with no docks or piers) loaded with American troops, combat engineers, and equipment were operating in Lyme Bay when they were attacked by nine German E-Boats.

  Four of the eight LSTs sustained damage in the attack. One was damaged by friendly fire as the Americans attempted to engage the Germans. One was hit but managed to make it to shore however over 100 sailors were lost on that vessel. A third was sunk by a torpedo killing over 400. The fourth vessel sunk during the attack taking 202 soldiers and sailors with it. (Many dying from hypothermia and others drowning from the weight of their gear).

  All the survivors of Exercise Tiger were forced to stay mum to make certain word of the disaster was not leaked before the actual invasion. The disastrous military rehearsal Exercise Tiger took the lives of 749 US Navy and Army personnel. By comparison, 197 American servicemen were killed in the actual invasion at Utah Beach.

  Don't forget to change your password...

  Is a constant reminder in this day of cyber security. The bane of many, keeping up with passwords to protect our most personal data, is an ongoing task. However the US Government has not always shared that concern. For over 20 years the launch code for all Minute Man Nuclear missiles was the same; 00000000. Steven Bellovin a computer science professor at Columbia University, uncovered the startling fact after finding a 2004 paper by Dr. Bruce G. Blair, a former Air Force officer who manned Minuteman silos.

  The codes — known as Permissive Action Links (PALs) — were meant to give only the president of the United States the power to use such weapons. Apparently this security feature was largely symbolic. For two decades, multiple presidents carried around a briefcase that supposedly contained constantly changing launch codes, though it may as well have been filled with shredded newspaper as each knew the not so complex and never changing code by heart.

  A Gay Bomb?

  The “halitosis bomb” and “gay bomb” are informal names for two theoretical non-lethal chemical weapons that the United States Air Force research laboratory speculated about producing. In the case of the gay bomb the theory involved discharging female sex pheromones over enemy forces in order to make them sexually attracted to each other and therefore unlikely to fight since they would be too “busy.”

  That's a lot of wardrobe changes

  Among the first “Germans” captured at Normandy were several Koreans. They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans and forced to fight for the German Army until they were captured by the US Army.

  Hey they stole our Insignia

  For the first 15 years of its existence, members of the 45th Infantry Division wore a swastika on their left shoulders. The symbol was actually an ancient American Indian symbol of good luck. The insignia served as recognition of the large number of Native Americans serving in the 45th Infantry Division.

  The yellow swastika was on a square background of red symbolizing the Spanish Heritage of the 4 Southwestern states that made up the membership of the 45th; Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. A similar symbol was adopted by the Nazi party in the late 1920’s, and as the Nazi's rose to power in 1933 the symbol became so closely associated with German socialism that it was abandoned as the insignia of the 45th Infantry Division.

  K-9 Corps

  Well over a million dogs served on both sides during World War I, carrying messages along the network of trenches and providing some measure of psychological comfort to the soldiers. The most famous was Rin Tin Tin, an abandoned puppy of German war dogs found in France in 1918. After the war “Rin” was taken
to the United States, where he made his film debut in the 1922 silent film The Man from Hell’s River.

  In the United States, the practice of training dogs for military purposes was abandoned after World War I. But when the country entered World War II in December 1941, the American Kennel Association and a group called Dogs for Defense began a movement to mobilize dog owners to donate healthy and capable animals to the Quartermaster Corps of the US Army. Training began in March 1942, and that fall the QMC was given the task of training dogs for the US Navy, Marines and Coast Guard as well.

  There are about 2500 dogs in active service today and about 700 deployed overseas.

  The never ending war

  The Korean war is still “officially” being fought. The Korean Armistice Agreement between the US, North Korea, The Korean People's Army and the Chinese Peoples Volunteer Army was signed on July 27, 1953. It was designed to insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement was achieved. No “final peaceful settlement” has been achieved to date and so in the legal sense the Korean war continues to this day. Although some diplomatic progress has been made in recent years.

  Cold War Kitty

  Operation Acoustic Kitty was a project launched by the CIA's Agency Directorate of Science and Technology, which in the 1960's intended to use felines to spy on the Kremlin and Soviet embassies. So here was the plan; a veterinary surgeon would implant a microphone into a cat's ear canal and a small radio transmitter at the base of its skull and a thin wire into its fur. This would allow the cat to secretly record and transmit audio from its surroundings. Due to problems with distraction, such as the cat's sense of hunger, the project was finally canceled in 1967 after being deemed a failure and complete loss. A former CIA officer, named Victor Marchetti estimated that Project Acoustic Kitty cost US taxpayers about 20 million dollars.

  On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer on Vixen

  On December 24, 1955, a newspaper advertisement told children that they could call Santa and listed a telephone number for the North Pole. However the number in the ad was wrong and the calls instead went to a private line at the US Air Defense Command. The senior officer at the time was Colonel Harry Shoup. Shoup instructed his team to give the kids Santa’s “current location.” Due to that one incident a tradition began. Today a program called “NORAD Tracks Santa” enlists volunteers to track Santa's flight across the world on Christmas Eve to the delight of kids of all ages.

  Vampire Drones

  During the second world war “Bat Bombs” were proposed to the US military by a dental surgeon. Because bats can carry a large amount of weight the plan was to make an army of flying suicide bombers and release them over Japan. The rodent Kamikazes had napalm explosive kits made for them, and then special cases were constructed that would be dropped from B-29s releasing the bats.

  The plan began to draw criticism when some armed bats were accidentally released and set up shop under a fuel tank on an Air Force base, which exploded and burned to the ground.

  But even with the accident, optimism remained considering the bomb casings they'd made for the bats could hold over 1,000 bats. It was estimated just one bomber could hold up to 200,000 little flaming terrors and some initial test data concluded these bat bombs were actually superior to regular fire bombs. But after over two million dollars in funding, the plan was scrapped. It was moving forward too slowly and the bats deemed to be just too unpredictable.

  “D” is for Day!

  In the military D-Day is the day on which any given combat attack or operation is to be initiated. Although many have speculated the “D” stands for Dooms, Disembark, Designated, Decision, and Deliverance, among others, it in fact simply stands for DAY

  The best known D-Day was during World War II, on June 6, 1944—the day of the Normandy landings—initiating the Western Allies effort to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany. However, many other invasions and operations had a designated D-Day, both before and after that operation.

  The “Bombing” of North Carolina

  On January 24th 1961 near Goldsboro, a B-52 Stratofortress carrying two 3-4 megaton Mark 39 nuclear bombs broke up in mid-air. The incident occurred after an aborted refueling attempt when it was discovered the plane had a massive fuel leak. The pilot in command ordered the crew to eject at 9,000 feet. Five men successfully ejected out of the aircraft and landed safely. Another ejected but did not survive the landing and two died in the crash.

  The gyrating aircraft broke up between 1,000 and 2,000 feet dropping its nuclear payload, two 3-4 megaton 39 nuclear bombs, in the process.

  Three of the four arming mechanisms on one of the two bombs activated. This caused it to execute many of the steps needed to arm itself, such as charging the firing capacitors. However in a twist of extreme luck a 100-foot-diameter retard parachute also deployed. The parachute allowed that bomb to hit the ground with little damage. This averting what could have been a massive military tragedy.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  UNKNOWN SPORTS

  Weird Stats and facts from the playing field

  Quick Sprints

  -Jordan Spieth won just $61,867 less at one Masters PGA Tournament than Arnold Palmer won in his entire career.

  -There are only about 18 minutes of actual play in a regular 9 inning Baseball game.

  -The phrase about winning something “hands down” originally referred to a jockey that won a race without whipping his horse or pulling back on the reins.

  -Only three men have won the NCAA Basketball title as both a player and a coach: Joe B Hall, Bobby Knight and Dean Smith.

  -Horse racing’s Triple Crown has been achieved just three time since 1949, all within a six year span in the mid 1970's. Secretariat in 1973, Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978.

  -To date; only 11 Hockey Goalies have scored a goal in the history of the NHL, with the first happening in 1979 and the last in 2013.

  -The PGA record for the highest score on a par 4 hole is 16, set by Kevin Na in 2011. The historic single collapse happened on the 9th hole at TPC San Antonio during the Valero Texas Open.

  -Only 72 players in NBA History have attempted more free throws in their entire careers then the 5,317 that Shaquille O'Neal missed.

  -The night before the “Miracle on Ice,” American Goalie Jim Craig played the video game Centipede with Soviet Hockey Star Sergei Makarov at the Olympic Village.

  -Four US Presidents have been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated: John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan (Twice) and Bill Clinton.

  -Only one city has won three major sports championships in the same year: Detroit in 1935, when the Lions won the NFL Title, the Tigers won the World Series and the Red Wings took home the Stanley Cup.

  -Wilt Chamberlain won three straight Big Eight titles in the High Jump and was also inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame.

  -While a player at Florida State, Lee Corso had a roommate named Burt Reynolds. Reynolds eventually dropped out of State because he was going “to Hollywood to be a movie star.”

  -Michael Jordan's nickname in high school was “Magic,” after Magic Johnson.

  -The longest recorded point in Tennis history was in a 1984 woman’s match between Vicky Nelson and Jean Hepner in Richmond, VA. It took 29 minutes with the ball crossing the net 643 times.

  -Only 10 Quarterbacks in NFL history have thrown half as many passes as Peyton Manning did during his career.

  -Roger Maris was never intentionally walked the year he hit 61 home runs. Presumably because Mickey Mantle batted next.

  -The Boston Bruins name is spelled “BQSTON BRUINS” on the Stanley Cup for their 1971-72 Title.

  -Janet Hill, the mother of NBA Player Grant Hill, who played for four teams in his pro career including: the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, and Los Angeles Clippers, roomed with Hillary Clinton while attending Wellesley College.

  -In 1991 Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson and Wayne Gretz
ky starred in a short lived Saturday morning cartoon called “Pro Stars.”

  -Major League Baseball umpires are required to wear black underwear while on the job in case they split their pants.

  Rosie doesn't go the distance

  In the 1980 Boston Marathon 23-year-old Rosie Ruiz crossed the finish line with the third-fastest time ever for a female runner. The fact that Rosie appeared to have hardly broken a sweat in the grueling 26 mile event caused some spectators to wonder. That wariness was justified when a few onlookers reported that they saw Ruiz join the race in the final mile, where she sprinted to the finish line. She was stripped of her olive wreath and the rightful winner, Jacqueline Gareau, was crowned the Woman's winner.

  It's Yogi Berra all over again

  In June of 1953 the Boston Red Sox destroyed the Detroit Tigers by a score of 17 to 1. The very next day the Tigers lost the rematch when, again the Sox managed to rack up 17 runs. What makes this story even more interesting is all the runs were scored in one inning in both games.

  Good Luck, Jack

  Jack Nicklaus won his second Masters Tournament in 1965. In that very same year the Montreal Canadians took home the Stanley Cup, the NBA Championship was won by the Celtics, and Willie Shoemaker won the Kentucky Derby. In 1986, Nicklaus won his last Masters and all three of these same events happened again.