CARLATA BRADLEY
During World War II on this day in1943, the remainder of Nazi forces
from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered to the Soviets. Stalingrad
has since been renamed Volgograd.
On this day in 1971, Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda after a coup
that ousted President Milton Obote.
Often portrayed as a “monster in disguise”, Idi Amin was the third President of Uganda.
CARLATA BRADLEY
On this day in 2003, NASA’s space shuttle Columbia exploded while
re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. All seven astronauts on board
were killed.
Helmet found in a field after the space shuttle Columbia disaster.
Memorial at the Columbia Debris Site.
During the Vietnam War on this day in 1968, South Vietnamese
National Police Chief Brig. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan executed a
Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head. The scene was
captured in a news photograph shown above.
Vietcong officer Nguyen Van Lem minutes prior to his execution.
MIKE GRACIA
On this day in 1958, Explorer 1 became the United States’ first
satellite in space. The launch of the satellite — twice the size
of a basketball — was an important moment for the country,
as the Space Race with the Soviet Union was just beginning.
The three men responsible for the success of Explorer 1, at left is Dr. William H. Pickering, former director of JPL, which built and operated
the satellite. Dr. James A. van Allen, center, of the State University of Iowa, designed and built the instrument on Explorer that discovered
the radiation belts which circle the Earth. At right is Dr. Wernher von Braun, leader of the Army’s Redstone Arsenal team which built the
first stage Redstone rocket that launched Explorer 1.
On this day in 1945, Private Eddie Donald Slovik became the only
U.S. soldier since the American Civil War to be executed for
desertion.
Bonnie and Jim Ed Brown (top) with Maxine Brown in the late 1950s.
Ella Maxine Brown (April 27, 1931 – January 21, 2019)
(AP) – Maxine Brown Russell, who together with her brother Jim Ed Brown and sister Bonnie Brown formed the country trio The Browns, has died.
Martha Moore, a publicist working with the family, said Brown died from complications of heart and kidney disease. She was surrounded by her family
on Monday in hospice care in Little Rock, Arkansas.
A songwriter and singer, Russell and her siblings launched their careers on
the "Louisiana Hayride" in the 1950s and had a several chart-topping songs
’50s and ’60s, including "The Three Bells," ”The Old Lamplighter," ”Scarlet
Ribbons (For Her Hair)"and "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On."
They appeared on TV on shows like "The Ed Sullivan Show," ”American Bandstand" and "The Jerry Lewis Show."
The Browns were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
MIKE GRACIA
Henry Kissinger (seated center) signs the Paris Peace Accords on
this day in 1973 in Paris. The war ended on April 30, 1975, when
Saigon surrendered almost without fighting to the communist
forces, ending the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.
Nguyen Duy Trinh (center) heads the delegation from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
At Cape Kennedy, FL, on this day in 1967, astronauts Virgil I.
"Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died
in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo I spacecraft.
The charred remains of the Apollo 1 cabin interior.
