On August 19, 1812, the Constitution and HMS Guerriere fought a battle about 400 miles (650 Km) southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The captains were Isaac Hull of U.S. andJames Richard Dacres of U.K. At around 2:00pm the USS Constitution found the HMS Guerriere, and attacked and damaged the Guerriere. One American officer was killed and another wounded by musket fire. Captain Dacres was also wounded. A shot to the cabin set fire to the USS Constitution. The HMS Guerriere was also severely burned and damaged. While Dacres was preparing to set sail and continue the battle against the Americans, it became obvious the that the ship was about to sink. Dacres was asked if he was ready for surrender. He said he didn't know but that they could no longer fight. Later, he surrendered and the HMS Guerriere sank.
The battle with "Guerriere" earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She continued to serve the nation as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, and circled the world in the 1840s.
During the American Civil War she served as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy and carried artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878. Retired from active service in 1881, she served as a receiving ship until designated a museum ship in 1907 and in 1934 she completed a three-year, 90-port tour of the nation. "Constitution" sailed under her own power for her 200th birthday in 1997, and again in August 2012, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over "Guerriere".
Grant's Tomb
General Grant National Memorial or Grant's Tomb is a memorial and resting place of 18th President of the United States and Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia Grant.
The tomb is in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The tomb was constructed by the United States Congress. The tomb was constructed in 1890 (five years after Grant's death) and was finished on April 22 1897 (Grant's 75th birthday).
In 1902, Julia Grant died and was later buried in the tomb. The tomb was decaying or falling apart and was vandalised during the 1980s until the tomb was fixed and restored in 1994. The tomb was rededicated in April 27, 1997. It was later named an United States National Landmark.
Adlai Stevenson II
Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician. He ran against Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1952 and 1956 elections, but he lost. He was the grandson of Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson. He was also the 31st Governor of Illinois from 1949-1953. He became United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965.
Stevenson was born in Los Angeles, California to Lewis Stevenson and Helen Davis Stevenson. His maternal great-grandfather Jesse W. Fell was a close friend and campaign manager for Abraham Lincoln. His oldest son Adlai Stevenson III became a United States Senator from Illinois from 1970 until 1981. He grew up in Bloomington, Illinois. He studied at Bloomington High School until his junior year. After that he went at University High School in Normal, Illinois. Then he studied at Princeton University and Northwestern University Law School.
He ran for president six times which were 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960, lost the Democrat primaries to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy. He also lost the 1952 and 1956 elections to Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. Stevenson was Governor of Illinois from January 10, 1949-January 12, 1953.
He married Ellen Borden in 1928 and divorced in 1949. Stevenson is a second cousin, once removed of actor McLean Stevenson. His son is former Illinois Senator Adlai Stevenson III.
In 1953, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 1957 he went back to law practice. He was employed part-time by Encyclopædia Britannica.
Stevenson tried to run for the nomination in the 1960 election. He lost to Senator John F. Kennedy. Stevenson refused to give the nomination address to John F. Kennedy. After Kennedy won the nomination, Stevenson campaigned for him.
He was appointed Ambassador to the United Nations in 1961.
Stevenson's most well-known moments happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis when he gave a presentation at an emergency session of the Security Council on October 25, 1962.
Stevenson suffered a heart attack on the afternoon and died later on July 14, 1965 in London of heart failure. The funeral in Bloomington, Illinois Unitarian Church was attended by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Allan Ohata
Allan Masaharu Ohata (September 13, 1918-October 17, 1977) was a United States Army soldier. He received the Medal of Honor because of his actions in World War II.
Ohata was born in Hawaii to Japanese immigrant parents. He was a "Nisei", which means that he was a second generation Japanese-American.
One month before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Ohata joined the US Army in November 1941.
Ohata volunteered to be part of the all-"Nisei" 100th Infantry Battalion. This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland.
For his actions in November 1943, Ohata was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). In the 1990s, there was a review of service records of Asian Americans who received the DSC during World War II. Ohata's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, his family was presented with his medal by President Bill Clinton. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, but only seven of them were still alive. According to the story he shared with his brother, "[H]e held a hill by himself and a lot of people died except him. He said the enemy came from both sides, and [at] one point he came from one side and the enemy soldier came from the other end. The only reason he lived was because he saw the guy first."
Ohata's Medal of Honor recognized his conduct in fighting in central Italy in 1944. With the help of one rifleman, he held back an attack by a large force of enemy soldiers.
The words of Ohata's citation explain:
Sergeant Allan M. Ohata distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 29 and November 30, 1943, near Cerasuolo, Italy. Sergeant Ohata, his squad leader, and three men were ordered to protect his platoons left flank against an attacking enemy force of 40 men, armed with machine guns, machine pistols, and rifles. He posted one of his men, an automatic rifleman, on the extreme left, 15 yards from his own position. Taking his position, Sergeant Ohata delivered effective fire against the advancing enemy. The man to his left called for assistance when his automatic rifle was shot and damaged. With utter disregard for his personal safety, Sergeant Ohata left his position and advanced 15 yards through heavy machine gun fire. Reaching his comrades position, he immediately fired upon the enemy, killing 10 enemy soldiers and successfully covering his comrades withdrawal to replace his damaged weapon. Sergeant Ohata and the automatic rifleman held their position and killed 37 enemy soldiers. Both men then charged the three remaining soldiers and captured them. Later, Sergeant Ohata and the automatic rifleman stopped another attacking force of 14, killing four and wounding three while the others fled. The following day he and the automatic rifleman held their flank with grim determination and staved off all attacks. Staff Sergeant Ohatas extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
Kazuo Kitai
Ville Nieminen