APRIL 14 — 1918 Aero Squadron take down Germans; 1865 Lincoln is shot; 1968 1st NBA game at Madison Square Garden; 2014 Kaiwi records the world’s largest earlobe flesh tunnel
APRIL 14
1918-First Aero Squadron takes down two German two-seater planes in France.
Douglas Campbell from San Francisco was one of the pilots, born 1896 was part of the Hat in the Ring gang for 94th Aero, and fellow aviator Lt. Alan Windlow were the first Americans in the dogfight. According to mationmuseum.af.mil, On Sunday morning, April 14, 1918 they were on alert at Gengoult Aerosdrome near Toul, France, when German planes were spotted in the area. Lts Campbell and Winslow took off in their Nieuport 28s and almost immediately they saw two German aircraft and attacked them directly over the flying field at less than 1,000 feet altitude, in full view of not only the Americans at Gengoult Aerodrome, but of the French citizens of Toul.
Them Germans were sweating harder than Lindsey Lohan at a liquor store! Windlow and Campbell shot down two German airplanes and were back on the ground in a matter of minutes. This initial fighters combat by the US Air Service, althoguu probably successful due as much to luck as skill, convinced the French people that the Americans were super-human. Liike a boss!
1865- John Wilkes Booth assassinates President Lincoln.
As an actor, Lincoln used to enjoy watching his performance at Ford’s theater. In fact he was so impressed with Booth’s performance in Marble Heart in 1863 he sent a note backstage inviting Booth to the White House. Booth of course declined without saying why but later told his friends “I would rather have the applause of a Negro to that of the president!”
Wow! Hater.
The assassination was an attempt to overthrow the entire US government by Booth and his co-conspirators Lewis Powell and David Herold, were assigned to kill Secretary of State William H> Seward, and George Atzerodt who was tasked to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson. This would essentially break the stability of the US government and refresh the Confederate cause.
On this night, Lincoln told his bodyguard William H. Crook his continuous dreams every night about being assassinated, and Crook told him not to go. But Honest Abe had promised the first lady they would. Then something happened that Crook would never forget: Lincoln said goodbye to him. That was the first time he ever said that to Crook, normally he said Goodnight.
The play he and Mrs. Lincoln were watching, Our American Cousin, and it took place at Ford’s Theater in Washington DC. His bodyguard, John Parker, got bored with the play and left to go get a beer, leaving Lincoln wide open. Booth easily got in, shot Lincoln in the head, and escaped to the stage, as he screamed Sic Semper Tyrannis, ever thus to tyrants.
Lincoln died the next morning. The rest of the government overthrow plot pretty much failed; Lewis Pained forced his way into William Seward’s house, but only managed to stab him before fleeing. Atzerodt backed out of the deal to kill the vice president.
The authorities eventually caught up to Booth in Virginia, holed up in his friend’s barn, and refused to surrender. As the barn was set on fire and burnt down, Booth went down with it after being shot. Almost all the rest of the co-conspirators were hanged.
1968-First NBA game at Madison Square Garden,
…with the Knicks beating the San Diego Clippers. Speaking of San Diego…1965 Happy birthday Charger QB Stan Humphries. In other sports, Happy Birthday also to Pete Rose.
1935-Happy birthday Loretta Lynn. Loretta was instrumental in bringing feminine strength and independence to country music after WWII, and the first recipient of the Femaie vocalist of the year at the Country Music Association in 1967. She’s 83 years old.
2014 Kaiwi wins the biggest earlobe flesh tunnel in the world.
It’s just a shy over 4 inches. Good God, man! Hawaiis’ very own Kala Kaiwi, can squeeze in an earring the size of a human hand in that thing. To make a flesh tunnel, you start with a typical earring sized puncture in the middle of the earlobe. Every six to eight weeks, you get another plug in there that’s 1 millimeter larger than the last fitting. In time, you too can have a tunnel through your earlobe large enough for a golf ball, or in Kala’s case, a tennis ball. Way to go dude! USA! USA! USA!