On October 10, 1985, the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille
Lauro reached a dramatic climax when U.S. Navy F-14 fighters intercepted an Egyptian airliner attempting to fly the Palestinian
hijackers to freedom and force the jet to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily. American and Italian troops surrounded the plane,
and the terrorists were taken into Italian custody.

On October 7, four heavily armed Palestinian terrorists hijacked
the Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of
Alexandria, Egypt. Some 320 crewmembers and 80 passengers,
including 11 Americans, were taken hostage. 

Identifying themselves as members of the Palestine Liberation
Front, a Palestinian splinter group–the gunmen demanded the
release of 50 Palestinian militants imprisoned in Israel. If their
demands were not met, they threatened to blow up the ship and
kill all the Americans and British passengers on board.

The Achille Lauro cruise ship leaves Egypt’s Port Said harbor after being released from terrorist hijackers.

   
JOHN BELMONT

John Winston Lennon
(9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980)

Lennon was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace
activist who achieved worldwide fame as the founder, co-
songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the
Beatles. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney
remains the most successful in history,

MIKE GRACIA

Singer John J. (Cougar) Mellencamp is 71 years old today. 

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, followed by an induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 2018.

A hijacker calling himself D.B. Cooper parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 into a raging thunderstorm over Washington
State. He had $200,000 in ransom money in his possession.

Cooper commandeered the aircraft shortly after takeoff, showing a
flight attendant something that looked like a bomb and informing
the crew that he wanted $200,000, four parachutes, and “no funny
stuff.” The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport,
where authorities met Cooper’s demands and evacuated most of
the passengers. Cooper then demanded that the plane fly toward
Mexico at a low altitude and ordered the remaining crew into the
cockpit.

At 8:13 p.m., as the plane flew over the Lewis River in southwest Washington, the plane’s pressure gauge recorded Cooper’s jump
from the aircraft. Wearing only wraparound sunglasses, a thin suit,
and a raincoat, Cooper parachuted into a thunderstorm with winds
in excess of 100 mph and temperatures well below zero at the 10,000
foot altitude where he began his fall. Most authorities assumed he
was killed during his apparently suicidal jump. No trace of Cooper
was found during a massive search.

TIM MAGUIRE

After months of maintaining his innocence, Agnew pleaded no 
contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion and resigned
from office. Nixon replaced him with House Republican leader
Gerald Ford. Agnew spent the remainder of his life quietly,
rarely making public appearances.    
    
    
    
    
   
    
Gerald Ford (center) was sworn in as Vice President. Ford, the longtime
House Minority Leader, was selected as VP by Richard Nixon (far right)
after the resignation of Spiro Agnew.  Ford would become president
eight months later when Nixon himself resigned.