Random News and Notes 21 April
On today’s date in 1836 the was for Texas Independence all but ended. Battle of San Jacinto saw the Texas militia under Sam Houston launching a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna along the San Jacinto River. The Mexicans were thoroughly defeated, and hundreds were taken prisoner, including General Santa Anna himself. In exchange for his freedom, Santa Anna recognized Texas’s independence; although the treaty was later abrogated and tensions built up along the Texas-Mexico border.
Texas would be an independent Republic for more than 9 years before it was admitted into the United States in 1845. The Battle is memorialized at the San Jacinto Monument, a 567-foot tall memorial near Houston (La Porte) marking the site of the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto. It is the world’s tallest war memorial, featuring an observation deck, museum of Texas history, and the USS Texas battleship.
In 1918, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was killed in the skies over the Somme River in France. The Red Baron, with 80 victories under his belt, led his squadron of Fokker triplanes deep into Allied territory in France on a search for British observation aircraft. The flight drew the attention of an Allied squadron led by Canadian Air Force pilot Captain Arthur Roy Brown. As Richthofen pursued a plane piloted by Brown’s compatriot, Wilfred R. May, the Red Baron ventured too far into enemy territory and too low to the ground.
Two miles behind the Allied lines, just as Brown caught up with Richthofen and fired on him, the chase passed over an Australian machine-gun battery, whose riflemen opened fire. Richthofen was hit in the torso; though he managed to land his plane alongside the road from Corbie to Bray, near Sailley-le-Sac, he was dead by the time Australian troops reached him.
Now, News!
SecWar Hegseth just announced that the flu vax is now voluntary across the force.
.Anecdotally, the only time this editor had a lab diagnosed case of influenza was immediately following – like days – a mandatory flu shot whilst at Panzer Kaserne in Germany.
.In more Mil news, SecAf Troy E. Meink announced an extension of service for three A-10 squadrons—two at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, through 2030 and one at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, through 2029.
The CAS bird and infantryman’s favorite aircraft has been on the block for retirement on and off for a decade. The most recent NDAA proposal from the AF wanted to ground the remains 162 airframes by the end of FY 2026.
.In another Mil related story, a Chinese national, Tianrui Liang, a student at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, faces U.S. federal misdemeanor charges for allegedly taking unauthorized photos of military aircraft. Witnesses saw him using a telephoto lens to take the images of the RC-135 and E-4B Nightwatch from a public road near Offutt Air Force Base on March 31.
Liang told investigators the images were for his personal plane-spotting collection, a hobby aided by online spotter sites. Arrested April 7 as he boarded a flight home, his bail was revoked over flight risk concerns, and he remains detained ahead of a court appearance later this month.
I have mixed feelings about this. First, plane spotting is a thing. I used to do it and I know a lot of people who still do. Second, neither of those aircraft have anything remotely classified on the exterior. Third, under very settled US law, anything you can see from publicly accessible property is fair game, no matter how long the lens you need. All that said, he is a Chinese national and well, if he wasn’t a spy for the CCP he wouldn’t be studying aeronautics in Glasgow.
A quick MVAP Sports note.
Rogue Unicorn’s New York Mets sit at 7-15, dead last in the NL East—their worst start in over 40 years—with an offense averaging under three runs per game during the streak and pitching struggling to hold leads.
Fans blame a ‘Mamdani Curse’ after NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani hugged the mascots at Citi Field when the team was 7-4; they’ve gone 0-11 since.
Meanwhile, the cross-town rival Yankees are 27 and 12 since meeting with President Trump.