The Second Millenium

[Vince53]

Welcome to 1958!

Levittown, Pennsylvania opens. Levitt would buy huge farmland areas and then build mass-produced houses with only a few different designs, helping veterans get good-quality houses at lower prices.


76 year old John XXIII begins his five year reign as Pope. A compromise candidate who was expected to be little more than a caretaker, Pope John organized the Second Vatican Council, which put Mass in the language of the people rather than in Latin. During WW2, he had successfully intervened on several occasions to protect Jews, even getting them released from some concentration camps run by German allies.

Well-loved and well-respected, he was made a saint in 2014.

The US orbits two satellites. The first discovers the Van Allen Belts, which protect the Earth from solar radiation. The second tests a three-stage rocket, and...57years later, it’s still up there! (Okay, it stopped functioning in 1964).

The Ku Klux Klan decides to harass the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina, who don't have a reservation and live among regular people. Led by Lumbee WW2 veterans, the Indians attack a Klan rally, wounding four Klansman and permanently ending Klan activity in that county.

On the Sun, massive activity produces flares and a disrupted magnetic field and is still the worst ever recorded on Earth.

Elvis Presley gets drafted. He does well in boot camp and is then assigned to entertaining troops.

Fidel Castro leads his Communist rebels in at attack on Havana, Cuba.

The first Pizza hut opens in the US.

 

[Vince53]

Let the Sun shine on 1959!


Russia works hard at the Space Race, launching three lunar satellites. The first malfunctions, flying past the Moon into an orbit around the Sun. The second crashes into the Moon (intentionally). The third takes the first photos of the dark side of the Moon. The US launches one satellite that flies past the Moon.

But the US launches the first weather satellite; for 19 days it photographs the Earth, discovering cloud patterns. Still in orbit today, radar waves are bounced off it to measure the density of the atmosphere. And the US returns two monkeys from space--one of them lives until 1984. And then the US launches the first spy satellite; when successful this series of spy satellites would drop their cameras over the ocean, to be recovered by the US.

The gigantic Alaska territory becomes America's 49th state. Why? Sparsely-populated but abounding in mineral wealth that is difficult to get to, Alaska's location near the Soviet Union makes it a threat to the Russians, Canadians, and Americans. Now a part of the nation, American businesses are more willing to invest in an area that won't later become independent. And Hawaii becomes the fiftieth state for similar reasons.

The US recognizes the Cuban government of Fidel Castro after he captures Havana. Disgusted at the corrupt government that Castor had overthrown, Cubans and Americans hope for better days ahead.

Britain grants independence to Cyprus. Quickly elected President, the head of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus tries but fails to unite the Turkish minority with the Greek majority.

It cost far more than it was worth, but the US Navy fires a missile loaded with mail to an Navy station--the only time the US successfully delivered mail by rocket.

A Communist invasion of the Dominican Republic is quickly defeated. The few survivors later kill their leader for the disaster.

You've never heard of the Asterix comics? Published in France, it tells the adventures of a French village that resists the Roman invaders. 13 films, a variety of books and games, and even snacks have spun off from this still-popular comic series.

The first colorized Ben-Hur movie appears and remains a classic to this day.

In the Congo, the first known case of AIDS occurs .

 

[Vince53]

1960 is a very good year for Africa.

Designed by the Swiss, built by the Italians, and paid for by the United States, the Triest is lowed almost seven miles to the deepest part of the Pacific ocean. The two aquanauts observe that backboned fish do live down there.

Waaah! Lucy and Desi get a divorce, and the "I Love Lucy" franchise ends. Only Gilligan's Island has been viewed by more people than I Love Lucy.

The US begins sending troops to South Vietnam.

Russia shoots down an American U-2 spy plane, capturing the pilot. After lying for a while, the US admits that it is true.

The US legalizes birth control pills.

Israeli agents kidnap Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichman and take him to Israel, where he is tried and executed.

Togo, Madagascar, Senegal, Mali and the Cameroons become independent of France, and Algeria begins its revolt. The Congo becomes independent of Belgium, and Somalia becomes independent of Britain. A five year long civil war immediately breaks out in the Congo, with a strong, corrupt, anti-Communist dictatorship then holding the country for thirty years.

Striking a thinly-populated area of Chile, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded lasts ten minutes, killing about 3,000 people.

 

[Vince53]

Botched up, Folks! In 1960, a thirty year long civil war erupted in the Congo, not Belgium.

And now we return to 1960.


North Vietnam organizes the Viet Cong, a southern Communist guerrilla group.

Ceylon elects the first woman head of state. Thee had been women rulers before, but they had inherited the Throne, not been elected.

The good news continues for Africa, as Niger, Upper Volta, the Central African Republic, Chad, French Congo, Chad, Gabon, and Mauritania become independent of France. Nigeria and Cameroon become independent of Britain. Treating people right pays off--a year ago, two American territories voted to become permanent US states.

An American nuclear submarine successfully crashes through the ice at the North Pole.

Cuba seizes all foreign property.

What was the first prime time TV show to show a married couple together in bed? It wasn't in the first episode, but the Flintstones premiers in the US.

Testing a new Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, the Soviets accidentally fire the second stage while still on the ground. And then the rocket explodes, killing ninety people.

Aided by a rigged election in Chicago, John F. Kennedy is barely elected as the first Catholic US President.

For the first time since the Protestant Reformation, the Archbishop of Canterbury meets with the Pope.

The world population passes 3 billion.

 

[Vince53]

1961 is a rough year for American B-52 bombers. Two of them, each carrying two nuclear weapons, crash in the US without the weapons detonating. Nonetheless "We choose to go to the moon."

They killed a few people in failed attempts, but the Russians finally put a man into orbit. A few weeks later, the US puts a man in space for a short flight. Russia successfully flies a failed satellite past Venus. Huh? The satellite had seized functioning and sent back no data. The US announces that they intend to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

The US severs diplomatic relations with Cuba for the next 53 years.

African rebels in Portuguese colonies begin a thirteen year war for independence. Eventually, about 80,000 Africans and 9,000 Europeans are killed. The costly, unpopular war ends when low-ranking Portuguese military officers in Portugal overthrow the government and grant Portugal's African colonies independence.

Southern France has a total solar eclipse.

Finding a spot 2 miles deep, the US drills a hole 601 feet into the Earth's core. A lot of science is learned from the samples, but the expensive project is then abandoned.

Inheriting a massive, badly-planned project from the former President, President Kennedy authorizes the US to help Cuban rebels invade Cuba. "The Bay of Pigs" is a massive disaster, uniting Cubans behind their Communist government in the face of invaders. Both sides fight heroically, but without air support, the invaders are defeated. Struggling desperately to pretend that the US is not involved, America fails to give the American-launched invasion proper military support.

 

[Vince53]

We return to 1961.

Four retired French generals stage a failed attempt to overthrow French President Charles De Gaul. Opposing France's plan to grant independence to Algeria, the generals called on the army to join them in seizing Paris. The army refused, one person was killed, and the coup failed.

A thinly-populated area of Ethiopia suffers the strongest earthquake of the Twentieth Century.

Shortly after receiving independence from Britain, oil-rich Kuwait is threatened by Iraqi annexation. British troops return to protect the Kuwaitis.

Israel launches a rocket into space, having it fall into the Mediterranean afterwards. Over a quarter century later, Israel will actually place a few satellites into orbit.

Can you place an entire nation under arrest? Communists begin constructing the Berlin Wall.

After sending thousands of "advisers," the US officially enters the Vietnam War.

In a 36 hour war with a few dozen fatalities, India invades and conquers (liberates?) all Portuguese colonies in India.

 

[Vince53]

What's new in 1962?

The American commando group, the Navy SEALs, is formed.

Fidel Castro is excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

Never give up! The US launches Ranger 3 to photograph the moon and then crash onto the surface with a seismograph designed to survive impact. Everything fouls up, and Ranger 3 misses the moon by 22,000 miles, but the US conducts deep-space studies instead. After a few weeks, it goes dead, but it still orbits the Sun. The US has better luck a few weeks later when John Glenn orbits the Earth.

Better luck next time! The US tries again with Ranger 4, which goes off course and crashes onto the dark side of the moon without sending any data.

Israel hangs Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.

Three prisoners escape from America's legendary Alcatraz Island and are never heard from again. They almost certainly drowned.

The US Supreme Court bans mandatory prayer in public schools.

Four Lutheran denominations, consisting mostly of immigrants and their descendants, merge into the Lutheran Church of America. Strongly liberal, it lasts 25 years before dissolving into splits and other mergers.

 

[Vince53]

Another view of 1962...

Rwanda gains independence from Belgium and today is one of two nations with a female-majority in the government. Burundi also gains independence from Belgium.

The first Walmart opens.

AT&T launches Telstar, the world's first commercial satellite. Telstar picks up and rebroadcasts the first television and telephone calls from space, but excessive radiation takes it out of service next year. However, it is still in orbit.

South Africa arrest the legendary Black civil rights leader, Nelson Mandela.

"Trinidad and Tobago," which consists of two main islands off the coast of South America, gains independence from Britain. The third-wealthiest nation in the Americas, it is also heavily industrialized.

Okay, what TV show most-accurately predicted the future? It predicted home computers, repetitive stress syndrome (sore wrists from too much time on the computer), camera security systems, giant flat-screen TVs, home treadmills, newspapers delivered on a computer screen, computer viruses, and video chats. Answer: The Jetsons, which premiers this year, and on prime time television even.

The US launches Canada's first satellite. Still in orbit, it was shut down after ten years of studying the upper atmosphere.

The Catholic Church begins The Second Vatican Council.

It was a close one. For twelve frightening days, the world hovers on the edge of World War 3 after the US discovers Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. The missiles would have been over the US before they could be shot down. The US blockades Cuba, and the USSR backs down. Then, as the US assembles a massive invasion force to seize Cuba, peace is made. Part of the deal is that the US will remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey.

 

[Vince53]

Well, let's see; it's 1963.


Pope Paul VI begins his fifteen year reign as Pope. Far less popular than his predecessar, Pope John XXIII, Paul finishes the Second Vatican Council and implements many of its suggested reforms. He reverses a lot of Catholic history by making friendly overtures and contacts with Orthodox and Protestant groups.

His strong stand against birth control causes a lot of controversy. He angers liberals and conservative Catholics by holding strongly to a moderate course, refusing to excommunicate Catholics who disagree with him. The first Pope to visit the United States, he receives an overwhelming welcome from American Catholics.



South Vietnam’s corrupt President Diem sparks nationwide protests by removing Buddhists from public office and replacing them with Catholics. With US approval, Diem is assassinated.

The Vietcong win their first major victory against the US, holding off a combined US/South Vietnamese force, shooting down five US helicopters, and escaping before major re-reinforcements arrive.

George Wallace becomes Governor of Alabama, promising "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!" One of racism's most famous American figures, Wallace is actually a moderate who had treated Blacks fairly under segregation. In later life, he will become a legend again when he publicly repents, explaining that he had not realized how badly Blacks were suffering under segregation. Shortly after election, Wallace will stand in the entrance of the University of Alabama to block Black students, but he backs down quietly when faced with arrest.

Iran grants women the right to vote.

The Beatles release their first album.

In the North Atlantic, the US nuclear submarine Thresher sinks, with no survivors. Still the worst submarine disaster in history, the wreckage showed that a high-pressure salt water pipe had burst, shorting out major electrical systems.

Russia successfully launches the first woman into space.

The US Supreme Court outlaws mandatory Bible reading in public schools.

 

[Vince53]

"I have a dream!" We're back in 1963!

Instead of teaching the Post Office a little geography, the US teaches its citizens a lot of numbers that don't make sense--zip codes are invented. Actually, they make sorting the mail so much faster that they are worth it.

The Catholic Church authorizes cremation.

With about a quarter of a million people listening, Martin Luther King delivers his famous "I have a dream!" speech at the March on Washington.

In Honduras, the military seizes the democratic government and establishes a twenty-year dictatorship.

One of the worst hurricanes in history kills 7,000 people in Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

An underwater volcano produces Surtsey, an island off the coast of Iceland. Erupting for four years, Surtsey grows to 1 square mile before erosion reduces it to .5 square miles.

In Africa, Kenya and Zanzibar become independent of Britain.

 

[Vince53]

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States is dead." November 22, 1963

The Warren Commission's impossible explanation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy produced decades of conspiracy theories that are worse than the official report.

The WC concluded that the first shot hit Kennedy in the back of the head, destroying his brain and making survival impossible. The second shot missed, hitting a wall and wounding a bystander who was hit in the hand by a concrete chip. The FBI easily duplicated both shots.

Lee Harvey Oswald then fired "the magic bullet," which passed through Kennedy's neck with little damage, struck Texas Governor John Connally in the back, struck the inside of Connally's front rib, came out the front, traveled through Connally's wrist and thigh bones, and then dropped, almost undamaged, to the floor of the car.

It is physically impossible for Oswald to have fired so rapidly with such accuracy. The problem is solved by the fact that the Warren Commission got the shots wrong. The first shot was fired seconds earlier, missing Kennedy and wounding the bystander. The second shot fatally wounded the President, and then came the magic bullet. This makes all three shots possible.

The magic bullet had tipped Kennedy's vertebrae and began to tumble. It hit the inside of Connally's front rib while traveling sideways, with the nose pointed upwards. When the magic bullet hit Connally's wrist and thigh, it was traveling backwards. This makes the magic bullet possible.

When this explanation ("Case Closed" 1993) was published, former President Gerald Ford and Republican Senator Arlen Specter, who had both served on the Warren Commission, agreed that it is correct.

Claiming to be accurate, the discredited movie "JFK" "proved" there was a conspiracy and cover-up by inventing fictional private discussions by the conspirators.

 

[Vince53]

1964 brings us to a grief-stricken United States.


The Gulf of Tonkin Incident is so full of lies by both pro- and anti- US groups, that it is still unclear what happened. Even North Vietnamese officials have admitted that they aren’t sure. The American destroyer Maddox was in international waters, conducting “electronic warfare” against North Vietnam. Huh? The Maddox was listening to radio broadcasts and pinpointing the location of the broadcast stations. All of this is legal.

Three North Vietnamese PT boats were shadowing the Maddox. This is harassment, but still legal; plus, the PT boats were keeping their distance. Without clearing it with the Navy, the Maddox fired some warning shots. Informed by the PT boats, an onshore official ordered them to attack the Maddox, without getting it cleared from his superiors. Even North Vietnam rejects his claim that the Maddox was firing on fishing boats.

The next few hours would have been comical if human life hadn’t been at stake. Three tiny North Vietnamese patrol boats try desperately to get close enough to the Maddox to fire their torpedoes. The Maddox blasts away, keeping them out of range but only damaging one of them. A flat-footed US Navy is unable to send help, and the US spends more money on fuel, ammunition, and wear than the North Vietnamese.

An enraged US Congress is informed of the attack, but under direct orders of President Johnson, Congress is not informed that the Maddox had fired warning shots first. Newspaper headlines incite the American public, who do not know that the US had fired the first shots.

And thus, the US enters “The Vietnam War.”

 

[Vince53]

We return to 1964.

Japan hosts the Summer Olympics, the first time that the Olympics are held in Asia.

While in Jerusalem, Pope Paul VI meets with the head of the Orthodox Church. It is the first meeting of the two religious leaders since the fifteenth century.

For the first time, the US government officially states that smoking cigarettes may be hazardous to your health. The controversy involves two facts: there is overwhelming statistical proof that the more you smoke, the greater the odds that you will get cancer, and, scientists cannot explain how or why smoking causes cancer.

The murderer of a fourteen year old gril receives life imprisonment, but is released 27 years later when the Supreme Court rules that the search and seizure of his car violated the US Constitution.

About 73 million people watch the Beatles perform live on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Cassius Clay, who later changes his name to Muhammad Ali, becomes World Heavyweight boxing Champion.

Alaska is struck by the second-strongest earthquake in history.

The Brazilian military overthrows the government, beginning a 21 year dictatorship.

 

[Vince53]

Things are alive in 1965!


Why do you grow old? Every time the cells in your body divide into two, the caps on the end of the DNA strands get a little shorter. Eventually, they get so short that they fray, and your cells can no longer replace cells that die. They gave a guy the Nobel Prize for figuring that out.

What? You’ve never heard of the Lincoln Calibrations Sphere? The oldest spacecraft still in use, it is an aluminum sphere—period. We use it to calibrate radar.

The US sends over 200,000 troops to South Vietnam and begins three years of bombing the North. American college protests against the war also begin. The US pressures Vietnam’s corrupt government to allow more democracy.

Black Muslims assassinate Malcom X after he exposes immorality in their leader.

"Bloody Sunday"--Nobody is killed, but about 600 peaceful Black protesters are beaten up by police after refusing to disperse. Newspaper photographs provoke world-wide outrage at American segregation, and the US increases legal actions to protect Blacks. Blacks had organized peaceful marches to demand voting rights, and the US quickly passes laws to protect those rights. A court later rules that Blacks have the right to march peacefully to protest injustice.

A Soviet cosmonaut walks in space for twelve minutes. Perhaps hopìng to kill an American astronaut, the USSR hints that he had only worn an extra sweater.

Nicolae Ceaușescu becomes ruler of Romania. An unusually brutal Communist, he and his wife establish mandatory national adoration of themselves while producing massive shortages due to their incompetence. When Romania overthrows Communism in 1989, both of them are executed.

After two successful unmanned launches, the US launches the two-man Gemini 3. Designed to test the Gemini itself, the mission is a success. The ultimate goal of the Gemini program is to develop parts for the Apollo program, which will be designed to land men on the moon. Another American spacecraft will send back the first photos of Mars (it doesn't land), proving that Mars does not have canals. And later, two Gemini spacecraft will link up in space. France and Canada also launch satellites.

India and Pakistan go to war. In addition to border battles, the Pakistani Navy shells the Indian coast.

Fearing a Communist take-over, Indonesian military and civilians massacre most of the nation's Communists.

Tokyo passes New York City as the world's largest city.

 

[Vince53]

1966 is a rough year for African democracy.

Always a little ahead of the US, the Soviet Union successfully lands an unmanned ship on the Moon and makes several attempts (usually unsuccessful) to orbit, crash into, or land safely on the Moon). The US does the same things, but it is clear that Russia is ahead.

The USSR brokers a peace between India and Pakistan. The war had started when Pakistan sent infiltrators into India to start riots. Although both sides claim victory, Pakistan took heavier losses, although they had done well against a superior Indian army.

The US appoints its first Black Cabinet member. And two US Air Force planes collide over Spain, dropping three hydrogen bombs--none of them go off.

In Africa, the military seizes three nations.

Assigned to stabilize an area comprising 15 hamlets, South Korean troops in South Vietnam massacre about 1200 unarmed civilians over a five-week period.

Attempting to land the first spacecraft on Venus, the Soviet Union accidentally crashes it into the surface after its communication system fails. But Russia does put the first satellite into orbit around the Moon.

 

[Vince53]

We return to 1966...

China announces that the US airplanes entered China and strafed two villages, shooting down a Chinese plane as well. It appears that the US had chased off a Chinese fighter over North Vietnam and the story was propaganda.

But tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators protest in Washington DC, as other protests against the Vietnam War also spread across the US.

China begins "The Cultural Revolution" to get rid of moderates and remnants of democracy.

In South America, Guyana becomes independent of Britain. The nation speaks a dialect of English that is heavily influenced by Creole and Dutch, and is the only English-speaking nation in South America.

The Catholic Church abolishes its list of banned books.

Australia begins broadcasting "Play School," which will become the second-longest running children's show in history.

Bad planning allows road to serve as channels that cause a massive flood in Florence, Italy. Waters reach 22 feet, killing 101 people, leaving tens of thousands homeless, and destroys over a million rare books and works of art.

Barbados, a 21 mile long island off the northern coast of South America, becomes independent of Britain.

The Catholic Church publishes "The Jerusalem Bible" in English. Mostly translated from a French Catholic Bible, it is the first widely-accepted Catholic English translation since the Douay-Rheims. However, it is rejected by conservatives for its liberal slant.

 

[Vince53]

And now it is 1967!


January 27--Desperate to beat the Soviets to a manned lunar landing, the US takes a variety of shortcuts in their new Apollo spacecraft, finally kiling three astronauts during a test of the Apollo 1. Investigations concluded that the Apollo was a good spacecraft, but the shortcuts had to be corrected.



April 24--Desperate to beat the US to a manned lunar landing, the Soviet Union puts Vladimir Komarov, one of their best cosmonauts, into space in the first Soyez spacecraft. As one mechanical failure after another fouls up the mission, Kamarov successfully heads for a landing after manually re-entering the atmosphere.

And in a voice that shows not a trace of fear, he announces in Russian “The parachutes have failed to open.” In a calm, clear voice he continues to describe the behavior of his disintegrating spacecraft, even as his skin begins to melt.

In the days that follow, glum Soviet experts realize that the Soyez can never land on the Moon. They denounce the US, denying that there ever was a Space Race, and abandon their attempts to land a man on the Moon.

The US goes on to land one unmanned probe on the moon and place two others in orbit. All three broadcast large amounts of information before failing.

Russia sends a probe into the atmosphere of Venus, with the US also monitoring its measurements. The probe suddenly fails, and no one knows if it landed successfully. A few days later, an American probe flies by Venus, successfully measuring the atmosphere and completing its mission.

The US successfully flies the unmanned Apollo IV.

 

[Vince53]

We're still in 1967.

Large numbers of anti-Vietnam War protests and civil rights protests sweep the US, with most of them peaceful.

George Leakey discovers a fossil that he claims is a pre-human ancestor. Over the decades, the fossil will be shifted into various groups as scientists cannot agree what it is, or even if it is pre-human.

The former head of the German security police in the Netherlands during WW2 is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Anne Frank is among the 82,856 Jews he helped kill.

Suharto seizes the government of Indonesia, ruling until 1998. Strong, competent, and corrupt, he will stabilize Indonesia's vast (4th most-populated nation on Earth) and diverse island populations (over 14,000 islands), build a strong economy, improve everyone's standard of living, keep out Communism, and embezzle about $20 billion. Nine days after East Timor declared itself independent of Portugal, Suharto invaded and occupied it, causing about 100,000 deaths. One of the first things Indonesia did after he resigned was free East Timor.

Civil war breaks out in Cambodia between the government and the Communists. As they steadily increased their hold, the Communists caused the deaths of 21% of the population (according to the US) and about 1/3 of the population (according to the UN). In 1993, the monarchy was restored.

France launches its first nuclear-powered submarine. Decommissioned after 24 successful years, it is now the largest submarine in the world that is open to the public.

Egged on by Egypt's President Nassar, the Moslem world begins active harm to Israel. Egypt orders the UN to hand over its positions in the Sinai Peninsula (in violation of a previous peace treaty) and the UN meekly complies. Egypt then blockades Israel's entire Red Sea coastline.

Nigeria's Christian minority secedes, starting a three year civil war that will kill about 3 million civilians before the government wins.

Israel appoints the legendary Moshe Dayan as Defense Minister, and then...

 

[Vince53]

What Happens When Everybody Except God Deserts You?--The Six-Day War of 1967

Egypt's President Nassar was openly announcing that he would annihilate Israel, challenging Israel almost daily to attack Egypt. With their sea routes to Asia cut off by the Egyptian blockade, Israel could no longer import oil. The UN had been denouncing any Israeli response to Arab attacks, while the USSR vetoed all condemnation of Arab attacks. After failing to negotiate peace, the US abandoned Israel. UN meetings trying to resolve the conflict were often broadcast live on US television, as Egypt and Syria massed troops on Israel's borders, and Syria began shelling Israeli territory. France, a former ally of Israel, also abandoned her, and Israel literally didn't have an ally on Earth. Military experts world-wide predicted a massive defeat for the badly-outnumbered Israelis, while Jewish religious leaders around the world predicted that God would protect His chosen people.

On the morning of June 5, Israel hit first, destroying most of Egypt's air force on the ground. Jordan sent Egypt a coded warning of the attack, not knowing that Egypt had changed its codes the previous day. Taken by surprise, no one had the authority to order the Egyptians to fire their anti-aircraft missiles. Lying that they had defeated the attack, Egypt persuaded Jordan and Syria to enter the war, and by evening, Israel had destroyed most of Jordan's air force and half of Syria's air force.

Israel quickly invaded the Sinai Peninsula and the West Bank, capturing Jerusalem after three days of fighting. They also captured the small Gaza Strip, a section of Egypt on Israel's southwest Mediterranean coast. They quickly captured the Golan Heights, from which Syria had been shelling Israel. Combat was so rapid that when an Egyptian ship shelled Israel, the Israeli Air Force accidentally attacked an American spy ship, killing 34 Americans.

As Israel raced across the Sinai Peninsula, panicked Egyptian commanders ordered heavily-fortified positions destroyed and abandoned, often with valuable equipment left behind. God often used this same tactic in the Bible on Israel's enemies.

The leaders desperately poured out propaganda that US and British forces were attacking the Moslems, but this only increased Moslem panic. An angry Britain refused to help its Jordanian allies as a result of the propaganda.

The heavily-fortified Golan Heights were defended by 75,000 well-armed Syrian troops. After suffering initial defeats, the Syrians commanders ordered the heights abandoned, leaving most of their equipment behind.

With a shocked Soviet Union threatening to enter the war, the US pressured Israel to accept a cease-fire. In six days, Israel had tripled its territory, and at a loss of about 800 soldiers had killed about 18,300 enemy troops.

Both sides were using a blend of modern and obsolete equipment from a variety of sources. In the last great conflict between WW2 American and German tanks, Israel destroyed hundreds of Moslem tanks, losing about 400 of their own.
Israel lost 46 aircraft (out of 200), while the Moslems lost over 452. Lebanon and Iraq suffered small losses in the small support they gave.

And that's what happens when God is with you.

 

[Vince53]

It would have been better for the US if 1968 didn't happen.


The US is the largest economic power in the world. This year, Japan passes West Germany to become the second-largest. Communist propaganda continues to insist that capitalism doesn’t work.

Mexico gains international prestige when it hosts the Olympics. Ten days before the games open, the Mexican army kills over 100 rioters who had sought to bring world attention to government corruption.

To the amazement of the entire world, North Vietnam launches the Tet Offensive, capturing huge areas in South Vietnam and massacring civilians as they go. The US quickly retakes the cities but loses most of the countryside.

The US orbits the Moon and returns the manned spacecraft that did it.

July 31—The famous “Peanuts” comic strip introduces a Black child named “Franklin.” Charles Shultz hoped to calm down racial tensions in the US by doing so. A calm child who never picks on Charlie Brown, Franklin attends school with the other Peanuts characters, who accept him as one of their own.

Acting under the orders of their lieutenant, American troops massacre villagers in My Lai. William Calley will later become the only officer court-martialed for war crimes by his own country while the war is still in progress. After lying under oath that he had not done it, Calley later claimed that the massacre was ordered by an officer who had been killed afterwards.

Martin Luther King is assassinated, causing race riots across the US. Two months later, Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy is assassinated.


The Democrats select vice-President Hubert humphrey as their Presidential candidate as riots sweep Chicago (where the Democratic Convention was held). Later, anti-war rioting in Washington DC is so severe that troops mount machine guns on the steps of the White House. Republican Richard Nixon barely wins the election and immediately escalates the Vietnam war.

Rioting students at Kent State University attack National Guardsmen, someone panics, and the Guard opens fire without orders. Most Guardsmen fire into the air, most only fire one shot, and a few blast away. Four students are killed, including one walking to class over a mile away.