The United States Military Academy at West Point, which
has trained generations of American leaders to serve
from the battlefield to the White House, was established
on this day in history, March 16, 1802.
The academy’s creation was part of the Military Peace
Establishment Act, introduced by Massachusetts
Congressman Joseph Varnum, and signed into law
by President Thomas Jefferson.
President Thomas Jefferson.
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Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was a lawyer,
planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh
president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before his
presidency, he gained fame as a general in the U.S. Army and
served in both houses of the U.S. Congress.
General Jackson
Andrew Jackson Monument Statue in Nashville,
Tennessee.
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 1880 – 5 April 1964)
After struggling against great odds to save the Philippines
from Japanese conquest, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur
abandons the island fortress of Corregidor under orders
from President Franklin Roosevelt. Left behind at Corregidor
and on the Bataan Peninsula were 90,000 American and
Filipino troops, who, lacking food, supplies and support,
would soon succumb to the Japanese offensive.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his family left the Philippine
island of Corregidor on this day in history, March 11, 1942.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to
leave the island after it became clear it was no longer safe
for MacArthur to remain with his troops, notes the History
Channel website.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945)
On this day in 1970, the U.S. Army accused Capt. Ernest Medina
and four other soldiers of committing crimes at My Lai (also
known as Songmy) in March 1968. The charges ranged from premeditated murder to rape and the “maiming” of a suspect
under interrogation. Medina was the company commander of
Lt. William Calley and other soldiers charged with murder and
numerous crimes at My Lai 4 in Song My village.
Ernest Lou Medina
(August 27, 1936 – May 8, 2018)
On March 7, 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first
woman to win an Academy Award for best director,
for her movie “The Hurt Locker,” about an American
bomb squad that disables explosives in Iraq in 2004.
Prior to Bigelow, only three other women had been
nominated for a best director Oscar: Lina Wertmueller
for 1975’s “Seven Beauties,” Jane Campion for 1993’s
“The Piano” and Sofia Coppola for 2003’s “Lost in
Translation.”
Bigelow was born in San Carlos, California, in 1951
and is a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute
and earned a master’s degree in film from Columbia
University.
She made her feature film debut with 1982’s “The
Loveless,” which she co-wrote and co-directed.
