SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1945, the 28th Regiment of the Fifth Marine Division of
the U.S. Marines reached the top of Mount Surabachi. A photograph
of these Marines raising the American flag was taken by American
photographer Joe Rosenthal. He received the Pulitzer Prize for his
iconic World War ll photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. it
became one of the best-known photos of the war and was actually
the second flag raised on that day in 1945.

U.S. Marines with the first flag raised on Iwo 
Jima.The smaller flag was replaced with a
larger one (below). These photos were by
Navy photographer Louis Lowery.

Joseph John Rosenthal (October 9, 1911 – August 20, 2006)

On this day in 1959, Lee Petty defeats Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish at
the just-opened Daytona International Speedway in Florida to win the first-ever Daytona 500. The race was so close that Beauchamp was initially named the
winner by William France, the owner of the track and head of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). However, Petty, who was
driving a hardtop Oldsmobile 88, challenged the results and three days later,
with the assistance of news photographs, he was officially named the champ.

There was speculation that France declared Beauchamp the winner in order to intentionally stir up controversy and generate publicity for his new race track.

Today, the 200-lap, 500-mile Daytona 500 is one of auto racing’s premiere
events and the first race of the NASCAR season. France, a gas station owner
and racing promoter, officially co-founded NASCAR in Daytona Beach in
1948.

Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)

Johnny Beauchamp
(March 23, 1923 – April 17, 1981)

   
William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992)

Lee Petty’s 1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

ROSS SIMPSON

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)

George Washington, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States,
served as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the
Revolutionary War, then was inaugurated as the first U.S. President
on April 30, 1789.

Washington’s legacy as a commander at Valley Forge, Yorktown, and
Boston was honored in 1917 when an asteroid was named after him:
the 886 Washingtonia asteroid.

General George Washington (left) and French military leader Marquis
de Lafayette at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777–78 (AP)

Washington praying at Valley Forge.

A reproduction of Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 oil painting ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware." (Associated Press)

Peter Tork (Peter Halsten Thorkelson)
(February 13, 1942 – February 21, 2019)

(Fox News) – Peter Tork, keyboardist and bass guitarist of ‘60s pop group
The Monkees, has died Thursday.

The Washington Post reported His death was confirmed by his sister Anne Thorkelson.

In 1999 Tork had been diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare
cancer affecting his tongue. He died at a family home in Connecticut.

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City at
the age of 39 by assassins identified as Black Muslims. He was about
to address the OAAU in Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom when a man
in the 400-person audience rushed forward and shot him once in the 
chest with a sawed-off shotgun as two other men charged the stage
firing semi-automatic handguns. Malcolm X was pronounced dead at
3:30 pm, shortly after arriving at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

The Audubon Ballroom stage after the murder. Circles on backdrop
mark bullet holes.

Malcolm X (Little) (1925–1965)

On this day in 1972, President Richard M. Nixon arrived in China for
an official trip. He was the first U.S. president to visit the People’s Republic of China since it was established in 1949. This was an
important event because the United States was seeking to improve relations with a Communist country during the Cold War.         

    
    
    
   

President and Mrs. Nixon visit the Great Wall of China.      
   

President Nixon and Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, left, in Shanghai at
the end of Nixon’s visit.