POW/MIA Flag

During the Vietnam war, a surprising amount of American soldiers were taken captive in almost all battlefields of the war. While some of these soldiers were freed or escaped, there are still over 1,500 soldiers officially listed as ‘Missing In Action’ or considered a possible ‘Prisoner of War’ from the Vietnam War. It is still unknown how many POW soldiers died in captivity as most of their identities were never documented by their captors over time, or the information was lost/destroyed. In the early 70s, many family members of POW/MIA soldiers were part of the ‘National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia’, and to represent the group and their cause, the POW/MIA flag was created by the request of specific members. It was created to increase awareness of the families struggling to find answers of their lost loved ones who were serving in combat and had been forgotten by the rest of the world, including their own government. The flag, created by Newt Heisley in 1972, was officially recognized by the United States Congress and flown at the White House starting a decade later in 1982. While that may sound like a long time to wait, the POW/MIA flag is the ONLY flag to ever be flown over the White House besides the American Flag. 

In 1998, the 105th Congress passed the Section 1082 part of the Defense Authorization Act which designated specific days on which this flag would be flown at federal buildings: Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day. 

As of 2020, there are 1,585 Americans remaining unaccounted for in war, of which 1,007 of them are still being investigated to find answers. The rest are not being investigated for multiple reasons. Regardless of numbers stated, all of these people were Americans and not just a statistic. While their fate could be assumed as fallen soldiers, it is important to find out their full stories not only for history, but for their family members at home. It is also important to research them, to bring transparency to their possible abductors, torturers, and killers and the flags they served under. The DPMO, Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office is responsible for investigating and managing the status of all POW/MIA Americans.

First person in space…

We all know who the first person was to step on the moon (unless you’re a moon landing doubter). Few people know however, who the first person to visit space was. This accomplishment goes to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On April 12th, 1961, 8 years before the moon landing, Yuri made a 108 minute orbital flight in space, in his Vostok 1 spacecraft at the young age of 27. Yuri did not actually pilot the spacecraft because at the time, the human impact of gravity loss was somewhat unknown, so scientists weren’t even sure if he could pilot such a thing in space, so the craft had autopilot configured in advance. For other engineering reasons, the spacecraft never landed back on soil in one piece, and Yuri had to eject after re-entering the atmosphere. Folklore claims Yuri said when entering space, “I don’t see any God up here…” however that was never copied on any communication transcript, and was a false story created by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. To recognize him for being the first man to explore space, Neil Armstrong left a medal honoring Yuri on the moon during their moonwalk.

Sadly, Yuri died only a few years later in 1968 when his MiG-15UTI fighter jet crashed, also killing his flight instructor. He would not live long enough to see the moon landing. He was only 34 at the time of his death, and was extremely accomplished, including creating and defending his engineering thesis, helping him graduate cum laude from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. He had graduated only a month before his plane crash. His death is a conspiracy in Russia as people believe he was intentionally killed, while the KGB claims it was due to outdated weather information and external fuel tanks that were not removed before flight that should have been. In the 2000’s, a new theory emerged that a vent was left open which caused oxygen deprivation, causing the pilots to pass out and lose control of the plane. His remains are kept at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow, Russia.

Artificial Reef

What if I told you that some governments purposely sink their own ships to create habitats for marine life? I wouldn’t be lying. This is done in an attempt to help create new artificial reefs, which are underwater ridges naturally made of rock or minerals, that provide an ecosystem for some of the worlds most interesting marine life to survive from. It creates a surface for algae to spread, and for barnacles, oysters, and other marine marine invertebrates to prosper. Unfortunately due to multiple circumstances, natural reefs are dying off. One way that humans have figured out how to create more, if by taking large vessels that are no longer of proper use, and sinking them in specific bodies of water. Over time, the ocean will naturally use the surface of these ships to create underwater life, refuge, hunting grounds, and growing space; a blank slate. All ships have parts removed that could pollute or contaminate the waters, that would defeat the entire purpose of reusing these ships.

The largest ship made artificial reef is from the U.S.S. Oriskany (shown below), a 44,000 ton Aircraft Carrier that was sunk off the Florida coast in 2006. This ship is often referred to by skuba divers as ‘The Great Carrier Reef’. The Oriskany (aka Mighty O) once sailed with 2,600 men and women aboard, carrying roughly 95 aircraft.

Shown below, the Oriskany sinking to its final resting place.

Other ships resting peacefully under water and creating habitats for marine wildlife include the U.S.S. Massachusetts, U.S.S. Indra, U.S.S. Yancey, and the USNS Hoyt. S. Vendenberg, a World War 2 transport ship, along with dozens of other large vessels across the world. This obviously does not include the hundreds of 20th/21st century ships that sank in combat with life aboard, however the remains of these ships are likely to create the exact same effect, assuming their pollutants and HAZMAT discharges dissipate over time. UNESCO claims that over an astounding 3 million vessels of some sort, are lying on the sea floor, including small wooden ships and vessels dating back to early military navy’s that sailed over 1,000 years ago.

Hiroo Onoda

Born March of 1922 in Japan, Hiroo Onoda grew up to define military loyalty and patience. At 18 he joined the Imperial Japanese Army, eventually becoming an intelligence officer. Just after Christmas of 1944, he was sent to serve in the Philippines in the middle of World War 2. The direction given to him included securing an area known as Lubong Island. As seen regularly in Japanese military culture, he was told to not stand down until ordered to by his commander, even if staying meant certain death, even if all his enemies were defeated. Suicide was considered his only other option of leaving his post if not relieved of command.

Hiroo stayed on Lubong even as Allied Forces took the island in 1945. Hiroo, now being one of very few surviving members of Japanese commandos on the island, took the mountains as refuge to create a defense. After Japan officially surrendered in that same year, leaflets were dropped on the islands telling the soldiers to stand down and come home, but Hiroo and his remaining officers did not believe the news. Over time, the others would leave or die, but Hiroo never gave up on his orders, not even for 29 years after the war ended. In 1974, still hiding out in the jungles, he was contacted by a Japanese civilian searching for him, but Hiroo refused to leave. The Japanese government tracked down his old commander, who now sold books for a living, as Hiroo said he was not to stand down until told to do so by his commander. His commander then gave the order for Hiroo to leave, dismissing him of his orders. He still had his functioning rifle, leftover ammo, and his officer sword, all which were turned over to the Japanese Army. Hiroo later wrote a book on his history, titled No Surrender: My Thirty Year War. He lived all the way to 2014, where he died from pneumonia in Toyko.

Capsaicin

Have you ever bit into a hot chili and felt the tingling sensation in your mouth turning into a salivating inferno? This is the result of Capsaicin coming into contact with your saliva. Capsaicin is a chemical irritant from chilis/peppers that is designed to prevent mammals from wanting to consume it; a defense mechanism. When it comes into contact with tissue, especially moist tissue, it causes a burning sensation. This defense mechanism has been used to create a defense for humans, known as pepper spray. Pepper spray contains different levels of Capsaicin and when sprayed into the eyes (moist), it creates an acidic burning sensation. Capcaisin levels in pepper spray can be anywhere from 2,000,000-5,000,000 Scoville Heat Units.

Capcaicin in peppers and chili’s is calculated and listed based off the Scoville Heat Units it produces, the higher the number the hotter the pepper. This does not have anything to do with the size of the pepper, simply how concentrated the Capsaicin is. For example, an average jalapeno is in the 3,000-5,000 SCU region. A Carolina Reaper, which happens to be a smaller pepper, is the world’s hottest pepper at over 2,000,000 Scoville Heat Units, although the average Carolina Reaper produced in a garden is around 1.5 million. This pepper was selectively bred from other hot peppers that were cross pollinated with other hot peppers,with this process going back years and years. The cycle continues until an ultimate hot pepper is created. Peppers this hot do not occur ‘naturally’ in the wild and are purely created by man.

Horses in North America

While horses are kept by Americans and are considered such an important part of our history, few people understand that for a period of time, the existence of horses in North America came to an abrupt halt. Digs and studies have found horses and their close relatives to had lived on the North American continent as long as 3.5 million years ago, but about 10,000-13,000 years ago the North American horses died off for unknown reasons. Some believe this was due to climate change, disease, or a combination of both. Some scientists speculate that their food availability changed due to many areas becoming colder and having less plant life to support them. It is more likely that some type of infectious disease became widespread and killed them off, due to many other species of 4 legged animals thriving during this same time period. Regardless of the cause, horses went extinct for thousands of years.

The first horses to run on North American soil again were from foreign lands. Christopher Columbus brought horses with him in the late 1530s when he landed on what is now Florida. However, Hernán Cortés let the first horses run on North American land about 12 years earlier. Over the decades many explorers brought much larger quantities of horses, but almost all the horses came from Spain in one respect or another. Eventually horses from other countries made their way in, and through cross-breeding and trade, many other breeds became common.

While Natives made contact with some early explorers, it is unknown exactly when Native Americans obtained and learned to care for horses. One can only imagine the reaction of a Native American, who has seen all their land has to offer, then coming face to face with these large hoofed beasts for the first time. Native Americans heavily utilized horses as they were able to obtain them. Horses allowed Natives to hunt faster, fight more effectively, and trade with greater ease. The horse completely changed the way buffalo hunting was executed, in ways that were good for the horses population, but bad for the buffaloes.

Later on, horses became a major part of the movement out west in the United States, especially in cattle herd management, agriculture, transportation, and movement of freight. Eventually with technological advancements like the automobile and trains, horses lost most of the need and their numbers dwindled. It wasn’t until the mid 1900’s that their numbers increased just from people keeping them for hobbies including horseback riding and rodeo.

Banknote

One of my lifelong hobbies has been collecting banknotes (dollar bills) from other countries. I’m going to start featuring essays on some of my notes from time to time.

Peru- 500 Intis- 1987

Featuring the face of Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui Tupac Amaru II, known as simply Tupac Amaru II, who was the leader of a huge Andean uprising against the Spanish in Peru. He died for his cause in the uprising in the summer of 1781, forever immortalized in Peruvian culture as a leader of independence and human rights.

Peru is a South American country bordering Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile. The country has a population of roughly 32 million people. The largest flying bird on Earth, the Giant Andean Condor is found flying above Peru’s lands, with a 14 foot wingspan allowing it to fly for hours without flapping its wings. Peru has two-thirds of its land covered by the Amazon Rain Forest, and believe it or not Penguins are known to hang out on the beaches of Peru in Paracas.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima is a city of an estimated 1.2 million people, located in Western Japan. Founded near the very end of the 1500’s, Hiroshima eventually became a growing area that held a significant military status throughout multiple centuries. Hiroshima is well known most for the actions that took place at 8:15am on August 6th, 1945. At that moment, a United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on the city. The bomb known only as ‘little boy’ was the first atomic bomb to ever be used in war. It is estimated that as many as 150,000 people died within a year due to the blast and its lasting effects. To this day the decision to use atomic weapons is still debated on a worldwide scale due to its immense power to destroy.

Hiroshima was targeted due to Japans involvement in World War 2, after Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. Battles raged in the Pacific Ocean and on countless islands between the two powers, until the United States made the decision to end the war by dropping atomic bombs. This made Hiroshima one of only 2 cities to ever fall victim to a nuclear weapon. The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki only a few days later, effectively causing Japan to surrender for fear that Toyko would be next.

Let’s learn about Iceland

Iceland is a Nordic country that has a population of 360,000, and is one of the most sustainable energy producers by population. 85% of the country’s primary energy comes from hydroelectric and geothermal power creating more electricity per capita than any other country in the world. The landscape of the country is made up of volcanoes, geysers, lava fields, and hot springs. Due to its climate, Iceland almost never gets above 65 degrees (F) all year long. It is the 18th largest island in the world, and is larger than the island of Ireland.

Iceland’s history is heavily rooted in the Vikings, and the horses that still roam Iceland to this day are direct descendants of Viking horses, as no outside horses have ever been allowed to visit the land. Iceland has less than 1,200 documented insects, far less than the 50,000+ most countries have. Prior to human arrival, the only living mammal known to live in Iceland was the Arctic fox, although it is not unheard of for polar bears to visit occasionally before returning to their homes.

Famous for their long words, the longest Icelandic word that holds real meaning is ‘vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúraútidyralyklakippuhringur.’ It’s meaning involves a key ring.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn occurred on June 25th 1876, and lasted less than 12 hours. The battle was fought with forces from the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes battling the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Regiment led by Lieutenant Colonel George Custer. Often referred to as Custer’s Last Stand this battle was a major win for Native warriors, and a huge loss to Army soldiers. The native warriors were led by legendary leaders including Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse that sought to protect the land and their tribes.

Located right next to the Little Bighorn River on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, this war took place due to large amounts of gold being found nearby in the Black Hills, and the American government decided to ignore previous treaties with native tribes in an effort to mine the newfound gold. As word spread the government was marching towards this land, thousands of Natives from countless tribes gathered together to defend it.

Multiple Army columns lined up preparing to take the land if natives didn’t leave. Once Custer’s 600 men entered the area, Custer’s cavalry was told to scout for enemy combatants and to hold for reinforcements before engaging the Natives that were protecting the land. Custer decided to engage before reinforcements would show and the native forces engaged them in combat. Custer’s men were suddenly separated and overwhelmed when an estimated 3,000 native warriors began their defense of the land, Custer and 250 of his men fell to their deaths within an hours time. Many soldiers fled with serious injuries and died later due to their wounds. The Army lost the battle for the land and used this as propaganda to convince Americans that natives were blood thirsty savages that needed to be controlled. While it was a great victory for the natives, within 5-10 years all of the same tribes would be confined to small reservations and lose most of their freedoms they had, taken from them by the US Government.