On May 28th, 1949, a party of Scouts, aged between 11 and 15 years, visiting Sully Island were cut off by the rising tide from a causeway which led to the mainland. Most of the boys got safely across, but two of them were forced off the causeway by the strong tide. The leader of the party returned to help the elder boy but in the struggle he too became exhausted. Margaret Vaughan (aged 14 years) saw from the beach the difficulties they were in. She undressed and swam towards them over a distance of some 30 yards in cold, rough water and against strong currents due to the rising tide. On reaching them she towed the boy to the shore while he supported himself by grasping the straps of her costume and his leader's coat. At about ten feet from the shore a life belt was thrown in which the boy was placed by the other two and the three reached the shore safely. Margaret Vaughan's action probably saved the life of the Scout leader as well as that of the elder boy.
Meanwhile, John Howard Davies (aged 13 years) had safely reached the mainland when he saw that his friend, who was unable to swim, was being forced away from the causeway into deep water. He stripped to the waist and went back along the causeway to help him. By swimming out he was able to grasp his friend, and hold him up in the water. Both boys shouted for help and it was obvious that they would not get ashore unaided. By this time a rescue boat had put out from the shore but Davies became exhausted by his efforts and before the boat could reach them he was forced to release his hold on his friend and they drifted apart. The boat rescued the friend but no further sign of Davies was seen. His body was subsequently recovered. There is no doubt that in returning to the aid of his friend after he himself had reached safety Davies gave his life in this rescue attempt.
1952 United States presidential election
This election was between Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson and General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower won the election by 442 electoral votes. Adlai Stevenson got only 89 electoral votes.
Incumbent President Harry S. Truman was eligible to run again because the newly passed 22nd amendment did not apply to the incumbent president at that time. Truman chose not to run, so the Democratic Party nominated Adlai Stevenson.
Eisenhower was 62 when he won the election. This was the first time an older candidate was elected since James Buchanan was elected in 1856 at 65, something that wouldn't happen again until 69-year old Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election.
Democratic candidates:
Barkley was 74 years old and not accepted by labor union leaders because of his age.
Truman's running mate was going to be Senator Estes Kefauver, but he did not choose to run in the election. Truman's presidential disapproval rating was 66% at the end of his presidential term.
Republican candidates:
Election results in these states were less than or ten percentage points. Colors represent the winning party, using the present-day convention in which red indicates Republican and blue indicates Democrat.
Bill Apiata
Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata VC (born 28 June 1972-  ) is a New Zealand soldier. He is best known for receiving the Victoria Cross because of his actions in the war in Afghanistan.
Apiata was born in Mangakino, New Zealand. He is Maori
Apiata was a soldier in the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS). For his actions in July 2004, Apiata became the first New Zealand soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross since World War II. He is the 22nd New Zealander to receive the honour since 1856. He is the first to be conferred with the Victoria Cross for New Zealand which was established in 1999.
He became one of the very few living holders of the Victoria Cross.
Apiata's Victoria Cross recognized his conduct in fighting in Afghanistan.
In a 2004 firefight, a grenade explosion blew Apiata off the bonnet of his vehicle. At the same time, two other soldiers were wounded by shrapnel. Apiata carried the more seriously wounded solder to safety. Then he rejoined the fighting.
The words of Apiata's citation explain:
In total disregard of his own safety, Lance Corporal Apiata stood up and lifted his comrade bodily. He then carried him across the seventy metres of broken, rocky and fire swept ground, fully exposed in the glare of battle to heavy enemy fire and into the face of returning fire from the main Troop position. That neither he nor his colleague were hit is scarcely possible. Having delivered his wounded companion to relative shelter with the remainder of the patrol, Lance Corporal Apiata re-armed himself and rejoined the fight in counter-attack.
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme (Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, born 18 October 1960) is an Belgian martial artist, actor, and director. Nicknamed "The Muscles from Brussels", he is very well known for his action films.
He is known for his roles in "The Expendables 2", "JCVD", "Bloodsport", "Kickboxer", "Hard Target", "Timecop", "Sudden Death", "Universal Soldier", "Cyborg" and in "Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning".
Van Damme was born on October 18, 1960 in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium. He was married to Maria Rodriguez from 1980 until they divorced in 1984. Then he was married to Cynthia Derderian from 1985 until they divorced in 1986. Then he was married to Darcy LaPier from 1994 until they divorced in 1997. Then he was married to Gladys Portugues from 1987 until they divorced in 1992 then remarried in 1999. He has three children. He lives in Los Angeles, California. Van Damme has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
United Liberation Front of Assam
The United Liberation Front of Assam is a separatist group from Assam, among many other such groups in North-east India. It seeks to establish a sovereign Assam via an armed struggle in the Assam conflict.
Tamil Nadu Liberation Army
The Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA) is a small militant separatist movement in Tamil Nadu. It seeks an independent nation for the Tamil people. It began about 1985 as the military part of the Tamil Nadu Communist Party Marxist-Lenisist. It began a campaign of murders and bombings which it said were aimed at enemies of the people. They always put up posters to explain their reasons for these attacks. The leader of the group, Thamizharasan, was killed when he and a small group tried to rob a bank in Ponparappi.
Their next leader, known as Lenin, increased the number of members in the group. They began to bomb police stations and steal police weapons. Lenin was killed when one of his bombs exploded while being taken to an attack on a police station in 1994. The group took a movie actor, Dr. Rajkumar, prisoner in July 2000.
The TNLA is believed to get support from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The TNLA was listed as a terrorist organization in 2002 by the government of Tamil Nadu. The TNLA has said it wants a Greater Tamil Homeland which would include all of Tamil Nadu, the Laccadive Islands, Minicoy Island, the 'Tamil Eelam' in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Singapore, and Mauritius.
John Sparkman
John Jackson Sparkman (December 20, 1899 - November 16, 1985) was an American politician from Alabama. He ran in the 1952 United States Presidential election.
Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren (born Hans Lundgren on November 3, 1957) is a Swedish actor, martial artists, and director who is known for his roles in "Universal Soldier", "Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning", "Rocky IV", "The Expendables", "The Expendables 2" and in "The Expendables 3". He is notable for playing the Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky film.
Lundgren will appear as King Nereus in the upcoming DC Comics-Warner Bros. movie "Aquaman" (2018).