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Of Grand Forks • East Grand Forks November 12, 2020
Published by: Wick Publications
701-740-0968
Issue # 1,194
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VIETNAM WALL by Kathy Wolfe
Every year, about 3 million visitors stop to pay their respects to Vietnam veterans at the Vietnam Veterans National Memorial in Washington, D.C. In honor of Veteran’s Day, Tidbits presents the facts about what is commonly referred to as “The Wall.” • The inspiration for the wall came from decorated Army veteran Jan Scruggs. Scruggs, who had been wounded in the Vietnam jungle, was inspired by the 1978 film “The Deer Hunter,” and wanted his fellow soldiers to be honored for their service and sacrifice. He established a fund in 1979 for a suitable memorial. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation to provide a 2-acre site in the Constitution Gardens on the previous site of the World War I Munitions Building, demolished in 1970. • The wall was entirely funded by private donations, a total of $8.4 million, from corporations, foundations, veterans, and more than 275,000 individual Americans. No federal government money used for the project.
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• A design competition was launched and by the end of 1980, 2,573 had registered for the competition, which would award a cash prize of $50,000 to the winner. When the entry period ended on March 30, 1981, 1,421 designs had been submitted. Turn the page for more!
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Quiz Bits
1. 2. 3. 4.
5. Which 1980s sitcom featured the characters Mrs. Garrett, Tootie and Jo? By 1969, there were 500,000 6. Who is the mascot of the troops in Vietnam. Who was snack brand Cheetos? the U.S. President at this time? 7. How much blood does the In 1976, the name of Saigon average human have? was changed. What is the city 8. Name the capital of Delaware. known as today? What city became the capital of 9. What was the name of the 1993 movie in which actor North Vietnam in 1954? Tom Hanks plays a Who was U.S. President when lawyer with HIV? the first American casualties TRIVIA occurred in Vietnam? SPONSORED BY:
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VIETNAM WALL (continued):
• Of these, entry number #1026 was chosen as the winner, a 21-year-old Yale University undergraduate, Maya Ying Lin. The Ohio-born young woman was the daughter of Chinese immigrants who had fled China in 1949 when Mao-Tse-Tung took control of the country. Her design was part of her college architecture class, on which, ironically, she only received a “B,” beating out her professor in the competition. • Ground was broken for the memorial one year later on March 26, 1982. It was completed seven months later, followed by a week-long national salute to Vietnam veterans when thousands of veterans of the conflict marched to the site. It was officially dedicated on November 13, 1982. • Two 246-ft- 9-inch-long black granite slabs form the foundation of the wall. The two sections are divided into 140 panels of horizontal rows, etched with the names of 58,320 servicemen. With a portion sunk into the ground, the highest above-ground tip is 10.1 feet high, tapering to a height of 8 inches at their outer points. Support for the massive structure is provided by 140 concrete pilings driven about 35 feet down to bedrock. Did You Know Vacuums Require Regular Maintenance?
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• The black granite came from Bangalore, India, one of just three places in the world where granite of this size is available. (The others are Sweden and South Africa.) The cutting and forming of the pieces were completed in Barre, Vermont. The names of the veterans were typeset by an Atlanta, Georgia firm, with each name slightly over half an inch high. The stones were shipped to Memphis, Tennessee, where the names were etched into the granite using a photo-emulsion and sandblasting process. The stones originally contained 57,939 names of those killed or still missing in action. ...continued
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SPORTS QUIZ 1. How many double stitches are hand-sewn on the cover of an official Major League baseball— 96, 108, or 116? 2. What mixed martial arts fighter won a major upset at UFC 193 in 2015 and gave Ronda Rousey her first loss? 3. Nick Nolte and country music artist Mac Davis starred in what 1979 football comedy film?
4. What team selected goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck with their first pick in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft? 5. What is the name of the fuzzy blob that serves as mascot for the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers? 6. Who did unheralded boxer Hasim Rahman knock out to win the unified heavyweight championship in April 2001?
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VIETNAM WALL (continued):
• The shiny black granite slabs are arranged in a “V” shape, with one wall pointing toward the Lincoln Memorial and the other toward the Washington Monument. • The Department of Defense has determined the criteria for inclusion on the wall. “Only the names of service members who died of wounds suffered in combat zones” may be added to the memorial. Although many veterans have died prematurely from noncombat injuries, (such as Agent Orange exposure) and emotional suffering from the war, they are not eligible for inclusion. The wall of names is not a complete list of the eligible, as some families requested that the name be omitted.
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• Each name is marked with either a diamond or a cross, with the diamond denoting that the soldier’s death was confirmed. About 1,300 names are marked with a cross, signifying that the person was either missing in action or a prisoner at the end of the war, remaining unaccounted for. If a person marked as MIA is found, a circle is placed around the cross. The soldiers are listed chronologically in the order in which they were lost.
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• Although Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr. was the first casualty of the war on June 8, 1956, his name was not the first to be added to the wall. The first two names entered on the wall are Dale Buis and Dale Ovnand, who were both killed on July 8, 1959 by Viet Cong guerrillas. Fitzgibbon was actually murdered by another American, a soldier he had reprimanded for an incident earlier in the day. The U.S. Government did not classify his death as a war casualty until 1999, when his name was finally added to the wall. Nine years after the death of Fitzgibbon, his 22-year-old son was killed in action by an explosive device. The wall contains the name ...continued of three sets of fathers and sons.
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• More than 33,100 of the names on the wall belong to 18-year-olds, including that of Sgt. Robert G. Davison. The Muskegon, Michigan native joined the Marines at age 14, and had put in four years of service before being shipped to Vietnam at age 18. He was killed in action in 1966, just one day before his 19th birthday. • The final casualty of the war was another 18-yearold, Marine Kelton Turner, killed in a helicopter crash while on a rescue mission over Cambodian waters in May, 1975, two weeks after the evacuation of Saigon. • The name of Dan Bullock is located on Panel 23W, honoring the youngest person killed in Vietnam. Bullock joined the Marines at age 14, altering the date on his birth certificate from 1953 to 1949. He arrived in Vietnam on May 18, 1969, and was killed in action just 20 days later at age 15. • Five names belong to 16-year-olds, and another 12 were just 17 years old.
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• On Veteran’s Day, 1984, an addition to the memorial was added 150 feet away, a bronze statue named “The Three Servicemen.” It was created by Frederick Hart, a Washington, D.C. sculptor who had had placed third in the Wall’s design competition. The figures portray the major ethnic groups of the U.S. military who served – a European-American, an African-American, and a Latino-American, all modeled after actual young soldiers. The statue was placed so that the soldiers are looking at the names of the fallen soldiers. • On Veteran’s Day, 1993, yet another sculpture was added just south of the wall, dedicated to the 265,000 American women who served in the war, most of whom were nurses. Designed by sculptor Glenna Goodacre, the 2,000-lb. bronze sculpture features three women in uniform tending to a wounded soldier.
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• On Nov. 18, 1883, American and Canadian railroads begin using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times. Most Americans and Canadians quickly embraced their new time zones, however, it was not until 1918 that Congress officially adopted the railroad time zones. • On Nov. 19, 1915, British airman Richard Bell Davies performs a daring rescue, swooping down in his plane to whisk a downed fellow pilot from behind the Turkish lines. The British government awarded him the Victoria Cross. • On Nov. 21, 1934, teenager Ella Fitzgerald wins Amateur Night at Harlem's Apollo Theater. Putting her name in the hat on a bet, she'd originally planned a dance number. History was made when she changed her mind and sang "The Object of My Affection."
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• On Nov. 20, 1947, Princess Elizabeth marries distant cousin Philip Mountbatten, former prince of Greece and Denmark, who renounced his titles to marry the English princess. Mountbatten was made the duke of Edinburgh. • On Nov. 16, 1959, the smash musical "The Sound of Music" opens on Broadway to the consternation of the real Maria von Trapp and her stepchildren. Nearly all of the particulars she related in her 1949 book, "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers," were ignored by the creators of the musical. • On Nov. 17, 1973, in the midst of the Watergate scandal that eventually ended his presidency, President Richard Nixon tells a group of newspaper editors that he is "not a crook." • On Nov. 22, 1988, the Northrop B-2 "stealth" bomber is shown publicly for the first time at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. Although the aircraft had a wingspan of nearly half a football field, its radar signal was as negligible as that of a bird. The B-2 also successfully evaded infrared, sound detectors and the visible eye.
by Lucie Winbourne
• In March 1980, multiple female students at Southern California universities complained that someone had surreptitiously painted their toenails while they studied in the library. The perp, dubbed "Leonardo da Toenail," was caught but released, since police hadn't discovered him in the act. Apprehended again a year later, he was ordered to a hearing at the city attorney's office but didn't show up and was never seen again. • There are 12 times more trees on earth than there are stars in the Milky Way. • Academically gifted actress Sharon Stone skipped both kindergarten and first grade, entering second grade at age 5. • In the early '90s, Pepsi owned 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate and a destroyer, due to a deal with the Soviet Union in which they exchanged soda for military equipment. • The oldest known pet cat existed 9,500 years ago. • Ever find yourself nodding off in a boring meeting? You might want to invest in a box of "Sleep Safe Tape," a half-inch roll of transparent tape with pictures of eyes along its length that, as one source put it, allows users to "get the shuteye they need while appearing to be wide awake." Of course, the game is up if you start to snore ... . • Abraham Lincoln was a skilled wrestler and was honored with an award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992. • At least six ravens are kept at the Tower of London at all times, due to an old superstition that says: "If the ravens leave the Tower, the Kingdom will fall." The birds even have part of a wing clipped so if they do decide to fly around, they won't get very far.
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• This was Meryl Streep’s first starring role in a movie, after being spotted by Robert De Niro in a stage production. Her role as Angela, Nick’s bride, earned Streep her first Academy Award nomination. The 1978 war drama “The Deer Hunter” inspired Army veteran • One of the buddies on the deer-hunting trip was played by 42-year-old John Cazale, who Jan Scruggs to pursue an avenue to honor his fellow Vietnam had appeared in two of the “Godfather” films veterans. This week, Tidbits explores the making of this motion and “Dog Day Afternoon.” Cazale, who was picture. dating his co-star Meryl Streep, had been diag• Although labeled as a war movie, actual war scenes are actunosed with cancer prior to starting “The Deer ally just a small part of the movie. Rather, it’s the story of how Hunter.” Deemed “uninsurable” by the studio, the trauma of the Vietnam War changed the lives of a group of moves were made to replace him, but Robert small-town, middle-class friends. Steven, Nick, and Michael De Niro personally paid for the insurance. Caare steelworkers in Clairton, Pennsylvania, and as the film zale passed away shortly after the filming was opens, they are attending Nick’s wedding shortly before the completed and never saw the finished product. three head off to war. Nearly the first half of the movie takes place at the wedding and on a deer-hunting trip with the trio • The budget for the film was initially set at $7 million, but when director Michael Cimino inand another three of their buddies. sisted on filming the Vietnam scenes in Thai• The second section of the film moves to Vietnam, where the land, the cost more than doubled. The threethree friends are taken prisoner. This sequence contains one of hour long saga, which grossed $49 million, the movie industry’s most disturbing scenes when the friends was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and are forced to play Russian roulette by their captors. took home five, including Best Picture and an • The final segment of the movie covers their post-war experiOscar for Christopher Walken. ences, including discovering that Nick has not returned home, • Although deemed as one of the century’s greatMichael’s return to attempt to bring him home, and and Steest films, the director was criticized for claimven’s coping with the loss of his legs. ing to have drawn from his own experiences • As research for his role as Michael, actor Robert De Niro socialized with many steelworkers, none of whom recognized him. The steel mill scenes were filmed inside a Cleveland mill owned by U.S. Steel, who secured a $5 million insurance policy to cover the actors working on the furnace floor. • In preparation for his role as Nick, then-35-year-old Christopher Walken ate just water, rice, and bananas in order to attain a hollow, gaunt look for his character. Walken’s salary was originally $17,000 for the role, but raised $25,000 when filming went long.
as an Army soldier in Vietnam, but in fact had never deployed. In addition, the screenwriter, who was a carpenter by trade, was given one month to do the job, and failed to interview a single veteran for research, relying on what he saw on the news to write the script. In spite of the Russian roulette scene being a fundamental part of the film, there was not a single recorded case of Russian roulette during the Vietnam War.
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• Yard sales sponsored by churches and other charities can be a great source of bargains, especially at this time of year. Since they are a fundraiser, usually with donated items, they are motivated to sell, even if it’s at a lower price. Oftentimes you can get items that still have tags, which make great gifts. • “If your toothpaste is almost done, just snip off the top and dip your brush in the container. There’s usually more in the tube.” — T.D. in Kentucky • If someone has written on your dry erase board with a permanent marker, try writing over it with a dry erase marker. Sometimes this works to remove the permanent marker. • Wrap a bit of tape sticky side out around a straightened-out paper clip. You can GENTLY put it in the headphone jack to get out lint that is otherwise inaccessible. Also, keep a lint-free cloth that comes with glasses handy to clean the screen of your smartphone. • “If you are inundated by paper, here are some things you can do to at least stem the tide: First, if you can’t bear to shred something because you think it might be important, scan it first. If you’re the kind of person who prints out and saves things like online bill payment receipts, print to PDF and save it electronically.” — W.L. in Illinois • “It’s really annoying when I put a shirt on or take one off and I get foundation on the collar. When that happens, I use shaving cream to remove it. After removing the garment, I squirt a dollop of shaving cream on the stain and rub it in. Sometimes I try to use a paper towel to remove some of it before I put it in the washer. Always check it before you put it in the dryer!” — L.M. in Washington Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.
by Matilda Charles
Social Security Increase for 2021
The news is out. Our Social Security benefit increase starting in January 2021 will be less than it was for 2020. Instead of the 1.6% increase we received this year, they're cutting us back to 1.3% for Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income. For the average recipient, this comes to a whopping $20 per month. The average benefit will be $1,543 per month and $2,596 for a couple. The retirement earnings test exempt amount will change in 2021 as well. If you're not yet at full retirement age, the annual exempt amount will be $18,960 per year. During the first year you reach full retirement age, the limit will be $50,520 per year (before the month you reach that age). The way this is supposed to work is that when the annual inflation rate goes down, our cost of living adjustment also goes down. We allegedly don't need as much money to get through the month. (Although the cost of our groceries has gone up, the price of gas has gone down because no one is going anywhere now.) The Senior Citizens League guesstimated correctly a few months ago that our increase would be 1.3% -- the second lowest increase ever. Meanwhile our Medicare Part B premium continues to climb. The good news there is the "hold harmless" clause in the regulations. If the Medicare premium rises enough that it overtakes our Social Security increase, the dollar amount of the Part B premium will be reduced so we don't end up with fewer Social Security dollars than we received this year. This applies to most but not all of us. Keep an eye on the Senior Citizens League (seniorsleague.org). They fight for us when it comes to drug costs, veterans benefits, Medicare, Social Security and more. They're in Alexandria, Virginia, right across the river from Washington, D.C., and the halls of Congress.
by Freddy Groves
Blue Water Sailors and Agent Orange
Blue Water sailors, heads up. The Department of Veterans Affairs has now made it easier for you to file a claim for Agent Orange exposure. Starting Jan. 1, 2020, The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (PL 116-23) extends coverage to those who weren't inland but were shipboard. The difficulty has been gathering all the records and logs required to prove your location. Now the National Archives and Records Administration has digitized declassified Navy and Coast Guard deck logs (aka ship or captain's logs) from 1956-1978 and put them online to make it easier for veterans to validate their claims. This includes the hospital ship USS Sanctuary. Some particulars: * If you were within 12 nautical miles of the coast of Vietnam from Jan. 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975, or in the Korean Demilitarized Zone between Jan. 1, 1967 and Aug. 31, 1971, you qualify. * If you have any of these medical conditions, you qualify: AL amyloidosis, chronic B-cell leukemias, chloracne, diabetes mellitus Type 2, Hodgkin's disease, ischemic heart disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Parkinson's disease, peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers and soft tissue sarcomas. * If you've never filed, go ahead and do it quickly. Use VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits. If you did file and were turned down, try again, and use VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim. Payment is retroactive to when you first filed. Priority is given to those with a terminal condition. For more information, go online to www.benefits.va.gov/ benefits/blue-water-navy.asp and click on everything. Go to va.gov (put blue water navy in the search box). See the digitized records at catalog.archives.gov. Remember: Agent Orange was in the water you drank onboard and the shower water you stood under. It was in your coffee, your laundry ... even if your ship had a water supply system to convert seawater.
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THE LUSITANIA
When we think of sinking ships, the Titanic is usually the first to come to mind. However, just as tragic was the sinking of the Lusitania, three years after the Titanic went down. If you don’t know much about this vessel, you’ve come to right place to learn more. • The RMS Lusitania’s maiden voyage was September 7, 1907, and like the Titanic, she was the world’s largest passenger ship at the time. The ship was designed by Cunard Line’s architect and built by a Scottish shipbuilding company. The vessel took her name from the ancient Roman province of Lusitania, which was modernday Portugal and part of western Spain. • The Lusitania only held the honor of largest passenger ship for two months when another Cunard Line ship, the Mauretania, designed by the same architect, grabbed the honor. • Lusitania was the first passenger ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean in less than five days, (another record broken by the Mauretania), and made 202 crossings on the Liverpool-New York route.
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• On May 7, 1915, as the Great War spread across Europe, the Lusitania set sail from New York on the return journey of the ship’s 101st round-trip voyage. Although President Woodrow Wilson had declared the United States a neutral nation, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the British ocean liner. • With a crew of 696 and 1,266 passengers, the total number of people aboard on that day was 1,959, including 128 Americans and a large number of Canadians. Of this number, 1,195 perished. There were 48 lifeboats on board, but only six were launched successfully. The 32,000-ton ship sank within 18 minutes after being struck off the southern coast of Ireland. ...cont'd
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THE LUSITANIA
• Although the Lusitania was a passenger liner, it had been officially declared an Armed Merchant Cruiser, and about 173 tons of war munitions were hidden aboard. Just days before the torpedo attack, New York City newspapers had published a warning issued from the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. stating that Americans traveling on British or Allied ships in war zones did so “at their own risk.” The seas around Britain had been declared a war zone by the Germans three months prior to the attack.
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• The British Admiralty warned the Lusitania’s captain to stay out of the area or to pursue a zigzag course to confuse enemy ships tracking their course. Captain William Turner did not adhere to the Admiralty’s instructions, despite having been given two warning messages the night before. • Turner escaped the sinking ship, swam to a floating chair, and managed to hold on to it for three hours when he was rescued. He was charged with negligence for failure to comply with Admiralty instructions. However, in the end, the German government received all of the blame, and Turner, Cunard Line, and the British Navy were absolved. In 1916, Turner was assigned to another ship, carrying troops for the British government. Ironically, that ship was also torpedoed by a German U-boat, this time in the Mediterranean Sea, with a loss of 120 souls. Turner was once again saved, but remained at the helm until the last lifeboat was lowered. • With relations between the U.S. and Germany already strained following the sinking of the Lusitania, the United States declared war on Germany in April, 1917 after a German U-boat sank the American ship Housatonic. Information in the Tidbits® Paper is gathered from sources considered to be reliable but the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed.
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