A vague idea for what might be an interesting thread - feel free to contribute as you see fit (get the dates right though)............. anniversaries of past events......

30 years ago today: 8 June 1982 - Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram attacked at Bluff Cove in the Falklands War (Commander?)...........

.......... and exactly ten years earlier - one of the most famous and iconic photographs in history was taken:

http://marciokenobi.wordpress.com/ta...B%8B-kim-phuc/

you might like this blog post... posted only a couple of days ago by one of the best current photographers....

http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2012/...-40-years-ago/

Did you know the story after that shot? Amazing...

Nick, a good photographer, and an incredibly decent soul, made the frame, and then saved her life. He got her to an army hospital. From there she was transferred to a facility in Saigon, the only one in Vietnam equipped to handle complex and severe injuries. Many months of convalescence later, she went back to her village, still in pain, but alive.

The article above expands on the life Kim Phuc has now in Canada... you want inspiration? Here it is....

Just on the photography part - this quote says it all for me:-

That photo made on that horrible day was made in less than a second. Yet a lifetime spun on its power. With so many photographs being taken everywhere, easily, and thoughtlessly, it’s easy to forget how powerful they can be, and occasionally are. I have always felt that for everyone, looking at a photo that means something to them induces an interior, seismic shift. It may be imperceptible, and not understood immediately, but your compass has been altered, ever so slightly, and you will never be the same again.

I don't want to make light of the situation, but what a name - Kim Phuc?

Yes, Sir Galahad. A tragic result of bad communication/leadership and lack of situational awareness.

Sir Bedivere (sister ship of Galahad) was one of our support ships in Op Telic in 03 and i remember going onto her and standing in the tank deck where all those poor Welsh Guards were helplessly stranded when the bombs hit her. Poor men never stood a chance. The CAP was in the wrong place, the troops should never have still been oboard in broad daylight. Unfortunately in war things happen and mistakes are made..and people get killed or maimed as a result. it was a dream come true for the Argie Pilots..

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/ne...1466-31136636/

On this day nine years ago, my son was born.
He was beautiful and perfect which was a relief as some Dr had previously told me that he could possibly be born with a defect as it looked like one of his femurs was longer than the other.

As well . . . .

1963: Stephen Ward charged over 'immoral earnings'
1968: James Earl Ray quizzed over King death
1999: Liar Aitken jailed for 18 months
1978: Woman (Naomi James) takes world sailing record

1965: Lyndon B. Johnstone authorized U.S. forces to go into combat against the Viet Cong in South Vietnam.

Blimey - this thread is well and truly up and running........ game on.........

I had occasion to attend a lecture presented by Kim Phuc when she came to speak at our university. She is an amazing person.

"A gracious, warm and motivated ambassador for goodwill, Kim Phuc now devotes her life to peace and has established The Kim Foundation, a not-for-profit charity helping today’s child victims of war and building orphanages in Uganda, East Timor, Romania and Tajikistan."

http://www.kimfoundation.com/

793 – Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of the Scandinavian invasion of England.

1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre (Palestine) thus beginning his crusade.

1789 – James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in the House of Representatives; by 1791, ten of them are ratified by the state legislatures and become the Bill of Rights; another is eventually ratified in 1992 to become the 27th Amendment.

2010: The artwork, track listing and release date of Iron Maiden's "The Final Frontier" album is announced

2009: Deluxe Edition of Def Leppard's "Pyromania" is released

1829 - First Oxford v Cambridge boat race. Oxford won.

1940 – World War II: Battle of Britain – The German Luftwaffe begins attacking British convoys in the English Channel thus starting the battle (this start date is contested, though).

1946 – Hungarian hyperinflation sets a record with inflation of 348.46 percent per day, or prices doubling every eleven hours.

1985 – Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland, New Zealand harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.

Just shows, history is usually bad news.

Sorry - completely forgot this yesterday..............

11 June: the 30th anniversary of the premiere of ET - The Extra Terrestrial......