1968 Thule Air Base B-52 Crash

On January 21, 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress with the callsign "HOBO 28" from the 380th Strategic Bomb Wing at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York was assigned the "Hard Head" mission over Thule and nearby Baffin Bay. The bomber crew consisted of five regular crew members including Captain John Haug, the aircraft commander. Also aboard was a substitute navigator (Captain Curtis R. Criss), and a mandatory third pilot—Major Alfred D'Mario.
Before take-off, D'Mario placed three cloth-covered foam cushions on top of a heating vent under the instructor navigator's seat in the aft section of the lower deck. Shortly after take-off, another cushion was placed under the seat. The flight was uneventful until the scheduled mid-air refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker, which had to be conducted manually because of an error with the B-52G's autopilot. Approximately one hour after refueling, while the aircraft was circling above its designated area, Captain Haug directed co-pilot Svitenko to take his rest period. His seat was taken by D'Mario. The crew was uncomfortable because of the cold, despite the heater's rheostat being turned up—D'Mario opened an engine bleed valve to increase the cabin's temperature by drawing additional hot air into the heater from the engine manifold. As a result of a heater malfunction, the temperature drop between the engine manifold and the cabin's heating ducts was negligible; during the next half hour, the cabin's temperature became uncomfortably hot, and the stowed cushions ignited. A member of the crew reported smelling burning rubber, and a search was mounted for the fire. The navigator searched the lower compartment twice before discovering the fire behind a metal box. He attempted to fight it with two fire extinguishers, but could not put out the blaze.


Thule Air Base in the foreground with North Star Bay, which was covered in sea ice at the time of the accident, in the background.
At 15:22 EST, approximately six hours into the flight and 90 miles (140 km) south of Thule Air Base, Haug declared an emergency. He advised Thule air traffic control that he had a fire on board and requested permission to perform an emergency landing at the air base. Within five minutes, the aircraft's fire extinguishers were depleted, electrical power was lost and smoke filled the cockpit to the point that the pilots could not read their instruments. As the situation worsened, the captain realised he would not be able to land the aircraft and advised the crew to prepare to abandon it instead. They awaited word from D'Mario that they were over land—when he confirmed that the aircraft was directly over the lights of Thule Air Base, the four crewmen ejected, followed shortly thereafter by Haug and D'Mario. The co-pilot, Svitenko, did not have an ejection seat and sustained fatal head injuries when he attempted to bail out through one of the lower hatches.
The pilotless aircraft initially continued north, then turned left through 180° and crashed onto sea ice in North Star Bay—about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Thule Air Base—at 15:39 EST. The conventional high explosive (HE) components of four 1.1 megaton B28FI model hydrogen bombs detonated on impact, spreading radioactive material over a large area in a similar manner to a dirty bomb. A nuclear explosion was not triggered. The extreme heat generated by the burning of 225,000 pounds of aviation fuel during the five to six hours after the crash melted the ice sheet, causing wreckage and munitions to sink to the ocean floor.
The gunner (center), SSgt Calvin Snapp, is rescued after ejecting onto the ice
Haug and D'Mario parachuted onto the grounds of the air base and made contact with the base commander within ten minutes of each other. They informed him that at least six crew ejected successfully and the aircraft was carrying four nuclear weapons. Off-duty staff were mustered to conduct search and rescue operations for the remaining crew members. Three of the survivors landed within 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the base and were rescued within two hours. Captain Criss, who was first to eject, landed 6 miles (9.7 km) from the base—he remained lost on an ice floe for 21 hours and suffered hypothermia in the −23 °F (−30.6 °C) temperatures, but he survived by wrapping himself in his parachute.

1968 Leader of Czechoslovakia

January 5 - Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is elected leader of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia.
Alexander Dubček (November 27, 1921 – November 7, 1992) was a Slovak politician and briefly leader of Czechoslovakia (1968-1969), famous for his attempt to reform the Communist regime (Prague Spring). Later, after the overthrow of the Communist government in 1989, he was Speaker of the federal Czechoslovak parliament.

1968 Vietnam War - My Lai Massacre

The My Lai Massacre, also known as the Son My Massacre, was a mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians that occurred on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. The massacre was committed by a unit of the U.S. Army, known as Charlie Company, under the command of Lieutenant William Calley Jr.

The events of that day began early in the morning, when Charlie Company was ordered to search and destroy the hamlets of My Lai and My Khe in Quang Ngai province, as it was believed that the area was a stronghold of the Viet Cong, the communist forces fighting against the U.S.-backed government of South Vietnam. However, upon arriving at the hamlets, the soldiers found no evidence of the Viet Cong and instead encountered only unarmed civilians.

Over the course of the next four hours, the soldiers of Charlie Company indiscriminately killed between 347 and 504 civilians, the majority of whom were women, children, and elderly people. The soldiers also raped women, mutilated the dead, and destroyed homes and livestock. The massacre was not limited to My Lai, but also in the nearby hamlet of My Khe where they killed between 50 and 80 villagers.

The My Lai Massacre was initially covered up by the U.S. military, but the story eventually came to light through investigations by investigative journalists and the testimony of veterans who had participated in the massacre. In 1971, Lieutenant William Calley Jr. was court-martialed for his role in the massacre and found guilty of murder for the deaths of 22 civilians. He was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence was later reduced to 20 years and he was released on parole after serving just three and a half years.

The My Lai Massacre is widely considered to be one of the most egregious war crimes committed by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, and it had a profound impact on the American public's perception of the war. The incident also led to changes in U.S. military policy and increased scrutiny of military operations. The memory of My Lai massacre is still alive today, and it continues to be used as a symbol of the atrocities of war.

In conclusion, the My Lai Massacre was a tragic event in which hundreds of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly, were brutally murdered by U.S. soldiers. The massacre, which occurred on March 16, 1968, was a grave violation of human rights and had a profound impact on the American public's perception of the Vietnam War. The memory of the massacre continues to be a reminder of the atrocities of war and the importance of holding those responsible accountable for their actions.

"I would say that most people in our company didn't consider the Vietnamese human." —Dennis Bunning, 

Philippines 1968 Wedding of the Year

December 25, 1968, Christmas - the most celebrated Wedding of the Year was took place at Santuario de San Jose, Greenhills, Mandaluyong, Rizal.

" It is an understatement to say that the grand wedding of superstars Fernando Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces is the wedding of the year. Like the comments of many who attended the nuptials, it was the most they have seen; different in many ways; significant to a large number of people - even affecting a lot of them."- Stardom

Get the details about the wedding of the year here.


Photo source - fpj-daking

Mao Tse-tung 1968 Leader of China

Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), also known as "Chairman Mao", was the leader of the Communist Party of China from 1935 to 1976 and dictator of Communist China from 1949-1976.
Mao led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War, and was the leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. Commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, he has been regarded as one of the most important figures in modern world history, and named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Mao Zedong remains a controversial figure to this day, with a contentious and ever-evolving legacy. Critics blame many of Mao's socio-political programs, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, for causing severe damage to the culture, society, economy, and foreign relations of China. Mao's policies and political purges in the first decades of the People's Republic are widely attributed to the deaths of between 40 to 70 million people.

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao became the focus of a personality cult. A number of the Chinese people regard Mao as the savior of the nation, who laid the military, political, economic, technological and cultural foundations of modern China.

Mao is officially held in high regard in China where he is known as a great revolutionary, political strategist, and military mastermind who defeated Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War, and then through his policies transformed the country into a major world power. Additionally, Mao is viewed by many in China as a poet, philosopher, and visionary. However, attitudes towards Mao have changed since Deng Xiaoping took power and initiated market-economic reforms in 1978, but the official party line makes a distinction between Mao's contributions to the Communist revolution and the "errors" he committed later in life.[5] His portrait continues to be featured prominently on Tiananmen Gate and on all Renminbi bills.

Celine Dion born March 1968

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC, OQ who born on March 30, 1968 is a Canadian singer, occasional songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.

Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a temporary retirement from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B to gospel and classical. While her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. Dion is the best selling Canadian artist of all time; and her album, D'eux is the best selling French-language album of all time. In 2004, after surpassing 175 million in album sales worldwide, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for becoming the best selling female artist of all time. In April 2007 Sony BMG announced that Celine Dion had sold over 200 million albums worldwide.

Will Smith born September 1968

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968)is an American actor, film producer and rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards. Smith rose to fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince in the late 1980s and his role in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His most notable films include Bad Boys and its sequel; Men in Black and its sequel; Independence Day; I, Robot; Ali; The Pursuit of Happyness; I Am Legend; Hancock; and Seven Pounds. He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as being the only actor to have eight consecutive films open at #1 on the domestic box office as a Lead Actor. Read more here.