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.

Oskar Schindler (28 April 1908 – 9 October 1974)

As a member of the Nazi Party, Schindler ran an enamel-works
factory in Krakow during the German occupation of Poland,
employing workers from the nearby Jewish ghetto. When the
ghetto was liquidated, he persuaded Nazi officials to allow the
transfer of his workers to the Plaszow labor camp, thus saving
them from deportation to the death camps. In 1944, all Jews at
Plaszow were sent to Auschwitz, but Schindler, at great risk to
himself, bribed officials into allowing him to keep his workers
and set up a factory in a  location in occupied Czechoslovakia.

Schindler died of liver failure on 9 October 1974. He is buried in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, the only member of the Nazi Party to
be honored in this way.


 

Schindler’s grave in Jerusalem. The Hebrew inscription
reads: "Righteous Among the Nations"; the German
inscription reads: "The Unforgettable Lifesaver of
1200 Persecuted Jews".

Schindler’s memorial in Svitavy, Czech Republic,
his birthplace.

   
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,

Jerry Lee Lewis turned 87 September 29th.