On March 17, 1776, British forces were forced to evacuate
Boston following General George Washington’s successful
placement of fortifications and cannons on Dorchester Heights,
which overlooked the city from the south.
17
Mar
BRITISH LEAVE BOSTON ON THIS DAY IN 1776
17
Mar
CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY ENDED IN 1992
On March 17, 1992, white South Africans vote overwhelmingly
in a referendum to end minority rule, by a margin of 68.7
percent to 31.2 percent. Thus ended the turbulent period
called apartheid, a racial segregation policy that separated
the minority white population by designating areas and
activities prohibited to Black people.
“Today we have closed the book on apartheid,” President F.W.
de Klerk said on the day after the vote.
Two years after the vote to end apartheid, in 1994, South Africa
held its first free and nonracial election, and Nelson Mandela
(above) an activist who had spent 27 years in prison for his
opposition to apartheid—became the first Black president of
the county.
Frederik de Klerk (left) with Nelson Mandela, 1992.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013)
posted by Bob Karm in African American,ANNIVERSARY,Apartheid,HISTORY,POLITICAL,President,Segregation and have No Comments
17
Mar
FIRST ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE IN 1601
(Tenement Museum)
The first recorded parade honoring the Catholic feast day of
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland,was held in what is now
St. Augustine, Florida.
Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on
March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony under the direction of
the colony’s Irish vicar, Ricardo Artur.
More than a century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving
in the English military marched in Boston in 1737 and in
New York City on March 1762.
The dates of St.Patrick’s life cannot be fixed with
certainty, but there is general agreement that he
was active as a missionary in Ireland during the
fifth century.
17
Mar
PRIZE WINNING PHOTO TAKEN ON THIS DAY
On March 17, 1973, Associated Press photographer Slava
“Sal” Veder captured a heartwarming scene on the tarmac
of California’sTravis Air Force Base as a recently freed
American prisoner of war runs toward his family.
The jubilation of the moment is encapsulated in the central
image of his teenaged daughter, whose wide smile and
outstretched arms express her unbridled exuberance over
her father’s return from Vietnam.
The photo depicting Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm and his family,
called “Burst of Joy,” goes on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1974.
Stirm was among 20 POWs from prison camps in North
Vietnam aboard the plane that landed at Travis AFB,
where a large crowd of family members turned up to
welcome their loved ones home.
Stirm, an Air Force fighter pilot shot down over Hanoi in
1967, had spent more than five years as a prisoner of the
Vietnam War.
“Burst of Joy” has appeared in numerous books and
exhibits and symbolizes for many the end of the divisive
Vietnam War—which claimed some 58,000 American lives
and the dawn of new life after a dark period.
Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm
Stirm retired from the United States Air
Force as a Colonel and lives in California.
Slava "Sal" Veder
posted by Bob Karm in Air Force,ANNIVERSARY,Awards,HISTORY,Phonograph,Photographer,Prisoner,Pulitzer Prize and have No Comments
16
Mar
MILITARY ACADEMY ESTABLISHED IN 1802
The United States Military Academy—the first military school
in the United States, was founded by Congress for the purpose
of educating and training young men in the theory and practice
of military science. Located at West Point, New York, the U.S.
Military Academy is often simply known as West Point.
posted by Bob Karm in Academy,ANNIVERSARY,CURRENT EVENTS,Established,HISTORY,MILITARY and have No Comments
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