James T. “Tom” Davis was sent to the Republic of Vietnam in May 1961 with the US Army Security Agency (ASA) to pinpoint enemy radio transmitters. (Images: Davis family via Mark Raab)
In a tortured experience known as the Vietnam War which would eventually cost American families 58,220 of their brave sons and daughters, the very first US Army Soldier to die in ground combat was Specialist James T. “Tom” Davis 63 years ago today, on 22 Dec 1961.
James T. “Tom” Davis was a Tennessee native like Medal of Honor awardee Alvin Cullum York (immortalized by Gary cooper in the 1941 film Sergeant York),
James Davis enlisted in the US Army after high school, becoming a signals intercept specialist with the Army Security Agency (ASA).
The ASA was formed in 1945 to intercept and monitor enemy and friendly radio communications (AKA SIGINT). The ASA operated covertly in Vietnam as “radio research units.” Coriolanus is proud to write that one of his military instructors in university served with the ASA during the Vietnam War.
Excerpts from Mark Raab’s excellent article:
“The 3rd Radio Research Unit arrived at Tan Son Nhut on 13 May 1961 and was the first entire US Army unit to deploy to Vietnam. The men who got off the plane wore civilian clothes, a reflection of their secretive assignment. Previously, members of the military arrived as individuals and were placed in units after they were in-country. US personnel in Vietnam in May 1961 were assigned to Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam, formed in November 1955. The US had approximately 3,000 military personnel in Vietnam at the time.”
“Tracking a Viet Cong radio signal west of Saigon on 22 Dec 1961, Specialist Davis and a contingent of ten South Vietnamese soldiers headed to meet the enemy. But their vehicle struck a powerful mine, killing nine ARVN soldiers. Specialist Davis pulled his surviving ARVN driver out of the disabled truck and fired upon the attacking Viet Cong guerillas with his carbine. Some 50 feet away from the vehicle, Davis was hit by enemy fire and fell.”
“The Viet Cong, no longer receiving any return fire, rushed to the wounded Davis. They shot the Soldier in the head and rifled through his pockets searching for anything valuable. The guerillas didn’t recover his watch which Davis kept in his breast pocket away from his electronic devices.” But Specialist Davis’ efforts weren’t in vain.
“Using fresh intelligence from the 3rd Radio Research Unit, US and ARVN personnel headed west to attack the Viet Cong at the Thieng Quang pineapple plantation in Operation Chopper on 24 Dec 1961, the first helicopter assault of the Vietnam War and the birth of the Air Cavalry.”
Specialist James “Tom” Davis was buried in his hometown at Livingston’s Good Hope Cemetery on 3 Jan 1962. On 10 Jan, less than three weeks after his death, the ASA officially named the 3rd Radio Research Unit’s Tan Son Nhut compound “Davis Station.”
Historical Footnotes:
Major Dale Buis (L) and Sergeant Chester Ovnand (R) courtesy of The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
In 1959, the first American soldiers to die in Vietnam were Major Dale Buis and Sergeant Chester Ovnand when their compound was attacked by Viet Cong guerillas.
The first American personnel to die in Vietnam were two CIA pilots supporting the French military during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954: James McGovern and Wallace Buford.
(Undated photo of CIA pilot James Bernard McGovern Jr)
Endnotes:
During the Cold War, Airman John Cash was a SIGINT specialist. As a crack Morse code interceptor, he deciphered Soviet signals for USAF intelligence.
While monitoring the Soviet Morse Code chatter on 5 Mar 1953, Airman Cash became the very first American to hear of the death of the Soviet supreme leader, Joseph Stalin. The “Man in Black” then relayed the important information to his superiors, a secret Johnny Cash wouldn’t reveal for many years and the rest is history.
Sources:
https://www.historynet.com/first-us-soldier-killed-vietnam/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alvin-Cullum-York
Kiev In Flames After Massive Russian Attack:
“A Tale of Two Cities”
Ukrainian rescuers extinguishing a fire at the site of a 20 Dec Russian missile attack in Kiev. (Photo: Roman Pilipey /AFP via Getty Images)
This undated but highly appropriate photo below was taken in the closed Russian city of Yekaterinburg:
ICC-indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin continued his Nakba against Ukrainians with a massive drone attack against Kiev as winter begins to set in. This is the man that President-elect Donald Trump admires. Casualty counts are still being tabulated.
Ukrainians take shelter in a metro station during the 20 Dec attack on Kiev.
This poor child was heard calling “Mama!” as a woman led her briskly to safety, away from the burning car behind them, following Russian air strikes on Kiev on 20 Dec.
St. Nicholas Church was among the buildings damaged in Kiev.
More than 600 residential buildings in the capital were left without heating as a result of the attacks.
A Ukrainian woman appears shocked, cradling her terrified dog, in the wake of the attack.
A Tale of Two Cities
Just as ICC indicted war criminal Russian President Vladimir Putin is cruelly immiserating the people of Ukraine this winter, so too is similarly indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu cruelly immiserating the people of Gaza. Ukrainian lives matter, and so do Palestinian lives.
Do either of these ten-year-old girls below look like terrorists?
The visibly emotional Nadine (10) questioned why she and the people around her were being pitilessly attacked by the IDF. (Photo: Social media)
After losing her eye in an IDF attack, Areej Asaliya (10) said “My life will never be the same again.” But what future would poor Areej have had anyway in the impoverished devastated ghetto of Gaza? (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
One of the major differences between Putin’s Nakba against the Ukrainians and Netanyahu’s pogrom against the Palestinians: Funding.
The hard-working American taxpayer is rightfully funding the defense of one people from suffering while wrongfully funding the suffering of another. Since Feb 2022, the US has allocated $113.4 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine. Meanwhile, the US committed over $3.3 billion in foreign assistance to Israel in 2022, the most recent year for which data exists. About $8.8 million of that went toward the country’s economy, while 99.7% of the aid went to the IDF. From 1951 to 2022, US aid to Israel totaled $317.9 billion.
Sources:
https://www.rferl.org/a/air-raid-warning-attacks-kyiv-ukraine/33248178.html
https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-strikes-kyiv-ukraine-/33246699.html
https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-money-has-the-us-given-ukraine-since-russias-invasion/
https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-military-aid-does-the-us-give-to-israel/
https://archive.is/Vr1wz
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/20/russia-ukraine-ballistic-missiles-drones-cyberattack-putin/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-winter-cold-power-1.6661362
Will US Make an Example of Luigi Mangione?
Luigi Mangione escorted by an army of police officers as if he was a nefarious and dangerous super combination of Hannibal Lecter and Osama Bin Laden.
After the murder of Mammonish UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, a wealthy man who proudly put profits over people, NYPD detectives began the nationwide manhunt for his alleged killer. After being identified by a fast-food worker in Altoona, PA, Luigi Mangione was arrested and readied for extradition to NYC where he would be prosecuted by Manhattan County District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
On 17 Dec, a Manhattan County Grand Jury indicted Luigi Mangione (full indictment linked below):
Mangione Charged with one count of Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Murder in the Second Degree
But two days later on 19 Dec, the federal government (through the SDNY AUSA) charged Luigi Mangione with a litany of charges that includes death (by lethal injection).
From the official AUSA statement:
“As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country.“
Why would the federal government pursue charges when a Manhattan County Grand Jury already indicted Luigi Mangione?
Luigi Mangione’s defense counsel questioned conflicting federal charges she described as “highly unusual.”
“Is there one case? Two cases? Two investigations? Is it a joint investigation?” Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked US Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.
“There are a lot of factors here that I think are very confusing, highly unusual,” she added.
Perhaps because the Empire State does not have capital punishment and the federal government may want to make an example of Luigi Mangione.
When you re-read the AUSA statement, the US Attorney admits the USG wants to quash the “grossly misguided” message, as well as the messenger.
Put another way, the American elites simply won’t tolerate attacks on capitalism or the murder of one of their own. Some people have to be made examples of. Uncle Sam has a history of making examples. First, in 1953 two alleged “atom spies” were executed:
In June 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the only American civilians executed for espionage during the Cold War, a case prosecuted by the notorious Roy Cohn.
The funeral services were held in Brooklyn on 21 Jun 1953. The Rosenbergs were buried at Wellwood Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Pinelawn, NY. The Times reported that 500 people attended and some 10,000 stood outside.
Based on subsequent Russian decryptions, Ethel Rosenberg knew about Julius’ espionage work “but that due to ill health she did not engage in the work herself” and an innocent woman was executed.
Another example was the infamous federal execution of Timothy McVeigh on 11 Jun 2011. Instead of being imprisoned in a Supermax BOP facility for life with other convicted terrorists and murderers, American society demanded vengeance for the 168 people killed (including 19 children) and 684 injured in the 19 Apr 1995 terrorist attack in Oklahoma City, OK.
Execution chamber, USIP Terre Haute, IN.
Since 1976, sixteen people have been executed under federal jurisdiction by the US government. All were executed by lethal injection at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, IN. According to the US BOP, there are 4,982 prisoners incarcerated for Homicide, Aggravated Assault, and Kidnapping Offenses. Not all federally convicted murderers in prison are executed.
And what is this misguided message the US government wants to extinguish? The dangerous and inconvenient truth that unregulated capitalism, particularly in the health insurance industry, doesn’t work for the poor and suffering masses and that seeking private retribution for these injustices simply won’t be tolerated.
Today, the elites seem to be demanding vengeance– not justice– for killing one of their own or else the Manhattan DA would be trying this open and shut murder case. But since Mangione won’t face the death penalty in a NYS court, the US government intervened, giving itself the option of extracting its pound of flesh from Luigi Mangione. Having said that, Coriolanus strongly suspects that should Luigi Mangione be federally convicted, he will face life behind bars in a remote prison in Colorado.
But America’s wealthy elites and CEOs ought to pay attention to the suffering of the masses which will only increase under the imminent Trump-Musk-Putin regime and Project 2025. Nationwide, health industry executives and politicians have been scrambling to secure their homes with infrared robotic cameras, bulletproof glass, and secret doors to safe rooms. A robust phalanx of sinister-looking bodyguards and a medic have been observed accompanying super-oligarch Elon Musk.
A common and daily scene during the French Revolution.
Sources:
https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-murder-indictment-of-luigi-mangione/
https://manhattanda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mangione-Indictment-FINAL-as-filed.pdf
Luigi Mangione’s attorney takes issue with federal, state charges
https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/luigi-mangione-charged-stalking-and-murder-unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-and-use
https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-12/signed_complaint_mangione.pdf
https://manhattanda.org/
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg – Wikipedia
US: Avian Flu Advisory
California Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency to streamline and expedite the state’s response to Avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly known as “Bird Flu.” Tests have confirmed H5 avian flu in two cats that died after drinking recalled raw milk and LA county health authorities are investigating three other possible cases in cats that weren’t exposed to raw milk.
The virus has spread in 16 states among dairy cattle, following its first confirmed detection in Texas and Kansas in March 2024.
In Louisiana, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial backyard flock (non-poultry) in Bossier Parish. This is the first case of HPAI in domestic birds in Louisiana during this outbreak, which began in February 2022.
The Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has detected highly pathogenic avian influenza in an Ottawa County flock, following an investigation from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD)
According to an announcement from the department Monday, this is the first detection of the disease in a Michigan poultry flock since the state worked to manage the largest outbreak of the disease in May 2024 and the second in an Ottawa County commercial facility since the disease was first detected in the state in 2022.
According to the CDC, the public health risk associated with these avian influenza detections in birds remains low. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.
The avian flu will probably be the Trump administration’s first health challenge. The incoming president gained experience during the COVID pandemic and Americans will see how Trump and his cabinet handle this growing emergency which potentially threatens the economy, people, and cats.
Sources:
Highly pathogenic avian influenza detected in Ottawa County, MDARD warns. • Michigan AdvanceLos Angeles County confirms avian flu in cat deaths as more cases suspected | CIDRAP
Germany: Demented Saudi Refugee Rams Car into Crowd Killing Several and Injuring Hundreds
A nine-year-old child and four adults have been killed after a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg.
More than 200 people were injured – at least 41 critically – in the attack on Friday evening.
A black BMW SUV ploughed 400 meters through the crowded market in an attack that lasted about three minutes. The suspect has been named in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had worked as a doctor.
Taleb al-Abdulmohsen (Social media)
Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said that the investigation was ongoing but suggested the background to the crime “could have been disgruntlement with the way Saudi Arabian refugees are treated in Germany”.
The suspected attacker has no known links to Islamist extremism and he appears to be a “lone actor.” His social media and posts appear to suggest he had been critical of Islam.
A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it sent four official notifications known as “Notes Verbal” to German authorities, warning them about what they said were “the very extreme views” held by al-Abdulmohsen.
The source, who asked not to be named, said these notifications were ignored.
However, another experienced counter-terrorism expert said the Saudis may be mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.
Al-Abdulmohsen is thought to have driven into the market through an entry point which was reserved for emergency vehicles.
The suspect is a psychiatrist who lived in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg. Originally from Saudi Arabia, al-Abdulmohsen arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee. He ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands.
Friday’s incident is not the first time people at a Christmas market have been attacked in Germany.
In 2016, Anis Amri, a Tunisian man who failed to gain asylum in Germany and had links to the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, drove a truck into crowds gathered at a church market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring 49 others.
Two years later, a gunman opened fire on a Christmas market in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, killing five and injuring another 11 people. The gunman was shot dead by police two days later.
Only last month, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser talked about the need for “greater vigilance” at the highly popular markets but said there were no “concrete” indications of danger.
She also reportedly pointed to tougher laws on weapons in public spaces following a knife attack in Solingen, west Germany, in August in which three people died.
The RW AfD will gain in the snap elections and auslanders (even innocent ones) will be deported from Germany in 2025.
Elon Musk recently tweeted:
“Only the AfD can save Germany.”
AfD Neo-Nazis spent Election Day at Mar a Lago. The tall man on the left is a reputed porn star. (Image: Social media)
All of this terrorism, discord, and xenophobia in the West makes Vladimir Putin’s day. Elon Musk must be ecstatic that his tweet reached an international audience before news of this callous and brutal attack at Christmas revelers in Germany reached most Americans in the US.
Sources:
German Christmas market attack: Nine-year-old among five killed
December 21, 2024 – Coverage of the Germany Christmas market attack | CNN
China: Seven Alleged Spies Arrested in Guam During US Missile Testing
Seven Chinese citizens have been arrested for allegedly attempting to illegally enter Guam, a US territory, while the military was conducting a key missile defense test.
The incident, which occurred on 10-11 Dec 2024, has raised concerns about potential espionage as four of those detained were found “in the vicinity of a military installation,” Guam’s Customs and Quarantine Agency said. The arrests came as the US Missile Defense Agency conducted an interception test involving advanced radar systems at Andersen Air Force Base on 10 Dec 2024.
“Conducting espionage against US military facilities, especially those with missile launch capabilities, could provide the PRC with potentially valuable intelligence,” US think tank Institute for the Study of War said.
The USN destroyer John Paul Jones launches an SM-6 during a live-fire test of the ship’s Aegis weapons system. The Missile Defense Agency’s first flight tests involving its defense of Guam architecture will include the Aegis series. (Photo: US Navy)
The arrested individuals reportedly arrived on the island by boat from Saipan. Guamanian authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, but there has been no immediate response from China’s foreign ministry to the arrests or the allegations.
Chinese intelligence uses the million grains of sand approach to collect information and China’s satellites and radar can efficiently gather telemetric data, so these seven alleged spies were sent to Guam to pick up any scrap of ancillary information about the missile launch, the vessel, photos of crew members, telephone numbers, or any grain of sand that will help create a mosaic of intelligence in Beijing.
Sources:
First flight test for Guam missile defense planned for end of 2024
Future White House Press Conferences Under Donald J. Trump
Below are the questions the White House Press Corps should be asking President Trump next year:
“Thank you, Sir, for answering my question about deportations. One follow-up, please. Does President Musk agree with you?”
“Sir! Sir!” How long did it take President Putin to select your Cabinet appointments?”
“Sir! Will President Musk be given Air Force Two?”
“Thank you, Sir! Does President Putin email or call you with his instructions?”
“Mr. President, did you run this idea past Elon Musk? And he OK-ed it?”
“Sir, how long does it President Putin to make decisions impacting US national security? And has his English improved when he gives you directions?”
Golden Retriever Gets Puppy Sibling to Grow Up With
Coriolanus 