Fly Over In The Western Pacific (WESTPAC)

The above photo shows F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) Two fly over the Republic of Korea destroyers Sejong the Great (DDG 991) and Yang Manchun (DDH 973) and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) as they transit the western Pacific Ocean. 

The U.S. Navy photo was taken by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean M. Castellano.

Note: You can click on the photo to enlarge.

Body Of 19th Century Serial Killer Exhumed Near Philadelphia

The body of serial killer H.H. Holmes will be exhumed to prove to all that he is truly dead, according to a report at usnews.com.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The body of a 19th century serial killer is being exhumed in suburban Philadelphia at the request of his great-grandchildren, who hope identifying his remains will quell centuries-old rumors that he conned his way out of his execution and escaped from prison.

A Delaware County judge gave the go-ahead to exhume the remains of Dr. H. H. Holmes in a court order dated March 9. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which owns Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon where the body was located, confirmed the exhumation was to take place but it wasn't immediately clear when the process started. WCAU-TV in Philadelphia showed footage for a front-end loader removing dirt from a grave at Holy Cross Cemetery on Friday.

Holmes, the pseudonym of New Hampshire-born physician Herman Webster Mudgett, is believed to have killed an undetermined number people at his hotel of horrors during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. It featured a bizarre labyrinth of windowless rooms, secret passageways, false floors, trapdoors, and a vault. Most of the rooms had gas vents, which were controlled from Mudgett's bedroom. Many of the rooms were soundproof and could only be locked from the outside.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2017-05-03/body-of-19th-century-serial-killer-exhumed-near-philadelphia 

You can also read an earlier piece on Holmes via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2016/12/serial-killer-hung-in-south-philly-in.html 

On This Day In History The Battle Of The Coral Sea Begins

As History.com notes, on this day in 1942 the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first modern naval sea engagement in history, began.

You can read about the naval battle via the below link:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-the-coral-sea-begins?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2017-0503-05032017&om_rid=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa&om_mid=179209965&kx_EmailCampaignID=11412&kx_EmailCampaignName=email-hist-tdih-2017-0503-05032017&kx_EmailRecipientID=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa

US Commandos Set To Counter North Korean Nuclear Sites

Veteran national security reporter Bill Gertz offers a piece at freebeacon.com on American special operations in North Korea in the event of a war.

U.S. special operations forces are set to conduct operations against North Korean nuclear, missile, and other weapons of mass destruction sites in any future conflict, the commander of Special Operations Command told Congress Tuesday.

Army Gen. Raymond A. Thomas (seen in the above photo) stated in testimony to a House subcommittee that Army, Navy, and Air Force commandos are based both permanently and in rotations on the Korean peninsula in case conflict breaks out.

The special operations training and preparation is a warfighting priority, Thomas said in prepared testimony. There are currently around 8,000 special operations troops deployed in more than 80 countries.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/us-commandos-set-counter-north-korean-nuclear-sites/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=821f5c6592-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_05_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-821f5c6592-45599609 

Last CIA Evacuee Bitterly Recalls U.S. Embassy Cowardice, Betrayals As Saigon Fell To North Vietnam

Yesterday, April 30th, was the anniversary of the fall of South Vietnam. The country fell to the North Vietnamese communist in 1975, which was a dark day in American history in my view.

All American combat troops had been withdrawn, as agreed to in the Paris Peace Agreement, but of course the communists violated that agreement by invading the South, which every Vietnam vet I knew at the time said would happen.

Had a limited number of American combat troops remained in South Vietnam, the communists would not have invaded the South, just as American troops in South Korea have prevented the North Koreans from invading, and American troops in West Germany have prevented the Soviets from invading.        

Richard C. Ehrlich offers a piece in the Washington Times on former CIA officer James Parker, who was one of the last Americans to bug out of Vietnam.

James Parker also wrote The Vietnam War: Its Ownself,

You can read the piece via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/30/james-parker-cias-last-vietnam-evacuee-holds-bitte/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTm1KbE5XSTRObUZqWkRCaCIsInQiOiJZY1hQRnNrMW1yd1wvakRVeFNFVXNuN2ZYUHJnd0dyOUZZN3Qwdlh6ZHJPbDhjRmpLTk5TdHhOMkpCUDRJUnlLU1FxQ3lQaFQ2XC9nTGJDcDFzc09VMkdWUHFtUWdXcjgxOFJqM0dwOGxGMUlSMDRRKzJ0a1N1V2ZXNkxDRjFkWHpoIn0%3D 

FBI: The Scourge Of Child Pornography

The FBI released a report on child pornography. You can read the report via the below link:

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/the-scourge-of-child-pornography?utm_campaign=email-Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=fbi-top-stories&utm_content=617885

Anniversary Of The Battle Of Manila Bay

The U.S. Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command offers a piece on the Battle of Manila Bay, which took place on this date in 1898.

Commodore George Dewey achieved a crushing naval victory over the Spanish fleet in the waters west of the city of Manila in the Philippines on 1 May 1898 during the Spanish-American War (21 April to 13 August 1898). Although the operation had long been a part of the U.S. Navy's strategic plans in the event of a conflict with Spain, no one, even at the start of the war could foresee the impact Dewey's success would have on the future of the United States.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/battle-of-manila-bay-1-may-1898.html