Every Day Is Special: military

Showing posts with label military. Show all posts

August 4 - Coast Guard Day

Posted on August 4, 2021

This is an update of my post published on August 4, 2010:

This holiday commemorates the founding of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1790 by Alexander Hamilton, then serving as Secretary of Treasury.

It wasn't called “Coast Guard” back then, but rather the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. The U.S. was a brand-new nation, and it needed funds to function. The new Congress had passed tariffs (fees) on imported goods (items brought to the U.S. from other nations). But there was a lot of smuggling to avoid these tariffs. The young country needed a way to enforce the tariffs, and that meant military force. In other words, the ships and crews that made up the Revenue Cutter Service were armed.

The Revenue Cutter Service was asked to provide wintertime cruises to assist any sailors who needed help, as well as to enforce tariff laws. Eventually a separate service called Life Saving Service was formed to rescue shipwrecked sailors and travelers as well as to protect them from hurricanes and to provide safe refuge for survivors.

A Revenue Cutter Service ship interdicting
a merchant vehicle during the Civil War,
around 1861.

In 1915, the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life Saving Service were joined together by President Woodrow Wilson to form one organization: the Coast Guard.

Did you know...?

Like the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, the Coast Guard is an armed and uniformed service—the oldest U.S. seagoing service.

The Coast Guard motto is “Semper Paratus,” or “Always Prepared.”

Nowadays the Coast Guard is made up of around 42,000 active-duty men and women (plus some reserves, auxiliarists, and civilian employees).

Learn more about the U.S. Coast Guard with this coloring book.

Also on this date:

National Eisteddfod of Wales

(canceled for 2021)

National Chocolate Chip Day

Mathematician William Rowan Hamilton's birthday

Child artist Kieron Williamson's birthday

Geologist Johann Gottlob Lehmann's birthday

Constitution Day in Cook Islands

U.S. President Barack Obama

Birthday of sharpshooter Lillian Frances Smith

Birthday of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

September holidays
September birthdays
Historical anniversaries in September

March 13 - National K9 Veterans Day

Posted on March 13, 2020

I try to thank every active member of the military and every veteran for their service. But I never thought about THESE veterans:

On this date in 1942, the U.S. Army began a new War Dog Program called the K9 Corps. For the first time, dogs were officially a part of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Of course, dogs have been buddies and helpers of soldiers forever - but when the arrangement is official, there is more assurance of good treatment, of adequate training, of acknowledgment of their contributions, and of honors.

Now military dogs have their own retirement ceremonies, awards, medals, and memorial services! So of course we need a Veterans Day particular to them.

If you are wondering why dogs are a part of the military, wonder no more:

Dogs have superhuman olfactory abilities (in other words, they smell things way way way better than humans), with 10 to 20 times the number of receptors in their noses and a much larger part of the brain dedicated to smell. That means that they can track people or animals far better, and they can detect intruders up to 200 meters away - or even 1,000 meters away if aided by wind! They can detect explosives or narcotics using their super noses, and they can be used in search and rescue operations.

Also, dogs can get into and out of places an adult human can't. And when trained, they can travel silently and can take advantage of natural cover. For these reasons they are used as messenger dogs and tunnel dogs (used to detect and explore tunnels).

Yikes! Military dogs get high marks for courage and loyalty!

This working dog monument is in San Antonio, Texas.

Also on this date:

Thailand Elephant Day

Ken Day

Decoration Day in Liberia

Donald Duck's birthday

Look Up at the Night Sky Day

Scientist Joseph Priestly's birthday (he “discovered” oxygen!)

Open an Umbrella Indoors Day

L. Ron Hubbard Day

Earmuff Day

Kasuga Matsuri (Monkey Festival) in Japan

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

December 13 - Birthday of the U.S. National Guard

Posted on December 13, 2019

The United States National Guard began before there was a nation, let alone a nation called the United States.

Before I give you whiplash trying to re-read that sentence, of course the militia that formed on this date in 1636 was not called the U.S. National Guard. Instead, three permanent regiments of soldiers were organized in the British colony of Massachusetts.

The descendants of those early regiments are now the 181st Infantry, the 182nd Infantry, the 101st Field Artillery, and the 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts National Guard.

These are considered the oldest units in the U.S. military.

Now the National Guard, which is the "reserve" forces of the U.S. military, is made up of 54 different organizations, one for each state, plus one for each of the territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, and one for the District of Columbia.

Above, New York guardsmen.
Below, Wisconsin guardsmen.

And within each of the 54 organizations are more divisions: the Army National Guard and the Air Force National Guard are made up of part-time soldiers and airmen who also hold full-time civilian jobs. There are also full-time guardsmen in both the Army National Guard and the Air Force National Guard. Whew! That makes, like, maybe 216 different titles for guardsmen?