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Thread: Today In History July 20th

  1. #1
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    Today In History July 20th

    On July 20th 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The name Operation Valkyrie—originally referring to part of the conspiracy—has become associated with the entire event.


    On July 20th 1969, NASA's Apollo 11 Lunar Module lands 238,855 miles from Earth in the Sea of Tranquility and six hours later astronaut Neil Armstrong
    exits the vehicle, descends a short ladder, and becomes the first human to walk on the moon. Minutes later, astronaut Buzz Aldrin will join Armstrong on the surface. Millions back home tune in to the historic event.

    On July 20th 1976, Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. On July 20, 1976, it became the second spacecraft to soft-land on Mars, and the first soft lander to successfully perform its mission. Viking 1 held the record for the longest Mars surface mission of 2307 days or 2245 Martian solar days, until that record was broken by Opportunity on May 19, 2010.
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 07-20-2019 at 8:10 AM.

  2. #2
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    Today we are going to an IMAX theatre to watch the Apollo 11 movie.

    I remember that as the afternoon progressed fewer and fewer children were on the street, we were inside watching the historic event on black and white tv.

    Regards, Rod

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    My wife and I, fiancee at the time, listened to the landing while driving to meet my parents following our engagement on the side of Kinzua Reservoir near Bradford, PA. The radio reception was going in and out due to the mountains and we stopped in an overlook parking area where we had good radio reception.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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    My wife and I were on Midway Island for this event. U.S. Navy CTR2

  5. #5
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    That week in 1969, I was attending ET-A school and had weekend duty. Myself and others stayed up and watched the landing live in the television lounge on the 3rd deck of barracks 534. It's one of those events that you can experience in life and never forget where you were when it happened.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  6. #6
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    I was in AIT at Ft McClellan we were aloud to watch the landing in the day room

  7. #7
    Listen to the interview with Collins. Said he doesn't really think about it much, but sometimes when he's outside at night
    walking he sees some light and thinks "oh that's the moon; I've been there".

  8. #8
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    "oh that's the moon; I've been there".
    Wouldn't it be neat to be able to say that?? Quietly, as a fact.

    Thanks for sharing.
    Funny, I don't remember being absent minded...

  9. #9
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    On July 20, 2012, 12 people were murdered and 70 others injured in an Aurora, Colorado movie theatre by a twisted person, who I will not name.

  10. #10
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    On the other hand, on July 20, 1968, the first International Special Olympics was held at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois.
    "Don't worry. They couldn't possibly hit us from that dist...."

  11. #11
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    I was in Moulers Bar and Grill in Hampton Virginia playing pool when they landed on the moon.
    I was in Elementary school the day that Kennedy was assassinated.
    I was working in my shop with my Dad on 9-11 when the twin towers came down.
    You never forget where you were on these kinds of events.

  12. #12
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    My brother and I were Aero Eng. undergrads at Michigan in 1969. My parents purchased their first color TV the week before the launch.

    We both had the pleasure of personally viewing the Apollo 14 launch. A group of professors did consulting work for NASA and were able to get us (and about 20+ other students) passes to a VIP viewing area. The day before the launch we got as close to the pad as anyone without security clearance could get. Also had a tour of the Vehicle Assembly Building and got to visit with the crew of Apollo 15 (all of which had U-M ties.)

    The launch was as visually impressive as one would expect. What we didn't expect was seeing the palm trees sway with the pulse of the engines and feeling the heat with each beat! I can't remember the exact distance we were from the pad but the memory is fully ingrained.

    BTW - neither of us ever worked a day in the aerospace industry as it took a downturn around the time of our graduation(s). Both of us entered the automotive field and never looked back.
    "Don't worry. They couldn't possibly hit us from that dist...."

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Outten View Post
    I was in Moulers Bar and Grill in Hampton Virginia playing pool when they landed on the moon.
    I was in Elementary school the day that Kennedy was assassinated.
    I was working in my shop with my Dad on 9-11 when the twin towers came down.
    You never forget where you were on these kinds of events.
    I totally agree with you. However as a tangent to your point, Malcolm Gladwell did an interesting podcast that showcased a university research project on human memory.

    What the researchers did was take advantage of major events like 9/11 because they act as "anchors" in our memory for all the reasons you pointed out.
    In the days after 9/11 they interviewed dozens of people about the exact details of their day on 9/11 i.e. how they heard about it, where they were, what happened to them later that day, etc. Then they went back a few years later and interviewed the same people with the same questions and the results were stunningly inconsistent with the initial interviews. Most people were so certain of their second story that they were speechless when they heard their recorded interview taken on 9/11. Point is, the human memory is incredibly fallible, and not due to anyone's ill intentions. Some of the fallibility is due to psychology, biases, and factors we don't even understand. Think of the issues this raises for courtroom testimony, oral history, etc. The human mind is incredibly interesting.

    Anyway, sorry to be off topic in the Off Topic forum, but your post made me "remember" the podcast. Now I'm wondering if it was anything like I've described it, so I might have to listen to it again......

  14. #14
    I was about 10km WNW of Tam Ky Vietnam in command (as a CPL) of a 35 man mixed Marine and Vietnamese Popular Forces (militia) platoon(Combined Action Platoon). With our bad Vietnamese and our PF's bad English we struggled to make them understand and believe that men had landed on the moon. It was hard enough for the Marines to wrap their heads around the concept, for the Vietnamese it was total disbelief. It was months later back in the states and back in college when I finally got to see film of the landing.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

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