1. 1982: Combination of Earthquake and Volcano Eruption devastates Mexico
PHOTO: Geologicallyspeaking
PHOTO: Chichon
On this day in 1982 an earthquake triggers a chain reaction of the El Chichon Volcano erupting in southern Mexico. For years residents and farmers utilized the fertile volcanic soil that laid around the base of El Chichon from its previous eruption roughly 130 years prior. Due to its fairly mild eruption back in those days people felt they were safe to inhabit the area right around the Volcano. Due to some steam vents that kept popping up around the old volcano two geologists were sent to study the sleeping giant and they found that it wouldn’t be sleeping much longer. There was all kinds of seismic activity which led them to believe that a major eruption would not be far off. But of course their warnings were ignored and the entire community was devastated when a large earthquake was followed by massive eruption shooting ash and debris upwards of 60,000 feet off the ground. The eruptions continued over the next 7 days and when all the dust settled almost 2,000 had been killed and thousands of acres of farmland had been destroyed. Ash was seen falling in Austin Texas, hundreds of miles away. Today there is a massive crater where the eruption took place.
2. 1973: The last American combat Troops leave Vientam
PHOTO: NJbiblio
After almost 12 years at war with the Asian Country Vietnam on this day in 1973 the last American combat troops leave Vietnamese soil. This happened two months after the signing of the Vietnamese Peace agreement and as the Hanoi freed the remaining Prisoners Of War (POW) being held in Northern Vietnam. At one time there were as many as 300,000 U.S. Soldiers on the ground in Vietnam so it was a very happy day when the last soldier left on his journey back to the states. In Saigon as many as 7,000 department of defense civilian employees stayed behind to aid in the rebuilding of Southern Vietnam. The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history and cost 58,000 American lives. As many as two million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed.
3. 1951: The Mad Bomber Attacks New York City
PHOTO: TriviaPeople
PHOTO: criminalminds
On this day in 1951 The Mad Bomber struck again when a homemade explosive device was triggered in Grand Central Station. The Mad Bomber had first struck back in 1940 when he attached a note to a pipe bombs stating ” Con Edison Crooks, this is for you”, Con Edison was the Electricity company for New York at the time. He then went on to write a letter to the press stating that he would not be making anymore bomb attempts while the country was at war. Interestingly he kept his word and there wasn’t any attacks during the War. But soon after it ended is when he started back up again. Nobody knew who he was until luckily one day a team hired by Con Edison was able to figure out that it was a disgruntled Ex-employee by the name of George Peter Metesky that was upset about not getting disability benefits paid by the company and so he set out on a personal vendetta to bring down the major company. Metesky was found living in his sisters basement in 1957 where he was then taken to a Mental Health Institution where he stayed until late 1975.