SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1945, the Russians took Berlin after 12 days of fierce house-to-house fighting. The Allies announced the surrender of
Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1919)

Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was wounded by his
own men in the battle of Chancellorsville, VA. on this day in 1863 and
died 8 days later.

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson
(January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863)

On this day in 1994, Nelson Mandela claimed victory after South
Africa’s first democratic elections.

John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972)

J. Edgar Hoover was the longtime director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He became involved in law
enforcement as a special assistant to the attorney general,
overseeing the roundups and deportations of suspected
communists during the post-World War I Red Scare. He
was named bureau director in 1924, Hoover emphasized
modern investigational techniques and earned renown
for challenging criminal syndicates. He also became
known for secretly monitoring the activities of various
organizations that were considered subversive, including
the Black Panthers, the Socialist Workers Party and the
Ku Klux Klan. Despite his controversial methods, Hoover
remained in power until his death.

Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945)

Adolf Hitler was a German politician who was the leader of the Nazi
Party Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 and Führer ("Leader")
of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. As dictator, Hitler initiated World
War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland in September 1939, and
was central to the Holocaust.

Auschwitz concentration camp, the largest mass murder site in
human history.

It was on this day in 1999.

The "El Dorado" arriving with Cuban refugees during the Mariel
Boatlift which began on this day in 1980.

Ted Williams made his baseball debut on this day in 1939.

Williams played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball career as a left
fielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960, only interrupted by time
in the service during World War ll and the Korean War. Nicknamed "The
Kid", "The Splendid Splinter", "Teddy Ballgame", "The Thumper", and
"The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived", Williams is regarded as one of the
greatest players in baseball history.

Theodore (Ted) Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002)

Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005)

Luther Vandross was a singer, songwriter and record producer. Throughout
his career, Vandross was an in-demand background vocalist for several
different artists including Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana
Ross, David Bowie, Barbra Streisand, Ben E. King, and Donna Summer. He
later became a lead singer of the group Change, which released its gold-
certified debut album, The Glow of Love, in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records.

After Vandross left the group, he was signed to Epic Records as a solo artist
and released his debut solo album, Never Too Much, in 1981. During his
career, Vandross sold over 35 million records worldwide, and received
Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four different
times. He won a total of four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy
Award for Song of the Year for a song recorded not long before his death,
"Dance with My Father”.

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1951, President Harry S.Truman (above) addressed the 
Nation to announce the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur as 
head of United Nations forces in Korea.

From left: President Harry S.Truman shakes hands with General
Douglas MacArthur at the Wake Island Conference in 1950.

Napoleon was forced to abdicate his throne on this day in 1814. The allied European nations had marched into Paris on March 30,

During World War II on this day in 1945, American soldiers liberated
the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald in Germany.

A group of survivors in Buchenwald at liberation.

Free Inmates of the concentration camp Buchenwald near Weimar, Germany, march to receive treatment at an American hospital after
the camp was liberated.

On this day in 1979, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda
as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control.

On this day in 1970, Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon
that was disrupted when an explosion crippled the spacecraft. The astronauts did return safely.

From left to right are mission commander Jim Lovell, command
module pilot John Swigert and lunar module pilot Fred W. Haise.

The crewmembers of Apollo 13 step aboard the USS Iwo Jima
following splashdown and recovery operations in the south
Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970.

MIKE GRACIA

On this day in 2001, former president of Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special
forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.

On this day in 1945, American forces invaded Okinawa during WW II.

Nazi Germany begins persecution of Jews by boycotting Jewish businesses on this day in 1933.

Nazis affix a sign to Jewish store urging shoppers not to patronize
it.

On this day in 1984, Marvin Gaye, the Grammy-winning
singer who topped the soul charts with such classics as
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” was shot twice in the
chest and killed by his minister father. The Rev. Marvin
Gaye Sr. picked up a handgun during a family dispute
over an “insurance matter”. The singers death was one
day short of his 45th birthday.

Marvin Gaye SR. being escorted in handcuffs.

Marvin Gaye (Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.)  (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984)

Jessica Dawn Lynch is a former U.S. Army soldier who was serving as a unit
supply specialist with the 507th Maintenance Company when her convoy was ambushed by Iraqi forces during the Battle of Nasiriyah. Lynch was seriously injured. Her subsequent recovery by U.S. Special Operations Forces on April
1, 2003 received considerable media coverage; it was the first successful
rescue of an American prisoner of war since World War II and the first ever
of a woman.

The above photo is from combat video footage of Jessica Lynch
on a stretcher during her rescue in Iraq.

Jessica Lynch will be 35 on April 26.

SANDY KOZEL

It was on this day in 1775, when American revolutionary Patrick
Henry declared, "give me liberty, or give me death!"

The German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act on this day in 1933
that effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial legislative powers.

On this day in 1983, President Ronald Reagan first proposed development of technology to intercept enemy missiles. The
proposal became known as the Strategic Defense Initiative
and "Star Wars."

On this day in 2001, Russia’s orbiting Mir space station plunged into
the South Pacific after its 15-years of use.

It was on this day in 1998.

James Cameron (above) won three awards for "Titanic," for
director, best picture (as producer) and film editing.