Monday Music "Where the streets have no name" U-2

  Well I survived camping this weekend, with all the rain and wind we had, it was interesting chasing tents that blew away due to the 40 mph winds we had.  I had tried to load stuff for all weekend but I wasn't able to load anything for Sunday.  
     I had heard of "U-2" off their "war" album with "New Years day" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" making the video circuits on the new fangled MTV...back when they played music video's.  I liked the music and had the album on CD.  When the "Joshua Tree" album hit the market in 1987 it was BIG, I was in Germany near Stuttgart and it seemed that everybody bought the album...including me.  I really liked this song and the accompanying video.  I also was and still a fan of "Bloom County" and they had released a book with a parody of the cover that you see on the blog.  I included it in the "Monday Music"  I showed the parody to show the influence on popular culture that the album had back then and still has today.  the album cemented U-2 as superstars.

"Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's third single in August 1987. The song's hook is a repeating guitar arpeggio using a delay effect, played during the song's introduction and again at the end. Lead vocalist Bono wrote the lyrics in response to the notion that it is possible to identify a person's religion and income based on the street on which they lived, particularly in Belfast. During the band's difficulties recording the song, producer Brian Eno considered erasing the song's tapes to have them start from scratch.

"Where the Streets Have No Name" was praised by critics and became a commercial success, peaking at number thirteen in the US, number fourteen in Canada, number ten in the Netherlands, and number four in the United Kingdom. The song has become one of the band's most popular songs and has remained a staple of their live act since the song debuted in 1987 on The Joshua Tree Tour. The song was notably performed on a Los Angelesrooftop for the filming of its music video, which won a Grammy Award for Best Performance Music Video. Recently, the song has been used by theNFL's Baltimore Ravens as their entrance song in Super Bowl XLVII.

The lyrics were inspired by a story that Bono heard about the streets of Belfast, Northern Ireland, where a person's religion and income are evident by the street they live on. He contrasted this with the anonymity he felt when visiting Ethiopia and said, "the guy in the song recognizes this contrast and thinks about a world where there aren't such divisions, a place where the streets have no name. To me, that's the way a great rock 'n' roll concert should be: a place where everyone comes together... Maybe that's the dream of all art: to break down the barriers and the divisions between people and touch upon the things that matter the most to us all.  According to him, the song is ostensibly about "Transcendence, elevation, whatever you want to call it." Bono, who compared many of his lyrics prior to The Joshua Tree to "sketches", said that "'Where the Streets Have No Name' is more like the U2 of old than any of the other songs on the LP, because it's a sketch—I was just trying to sketch a location, maybe a spiritual location, maybe a romantic location. I was trying to sketch a feeling.

The video begins with an aerial shot of a block in Los Angeles, and clips of radio broadcasts are heard with disc jockeys stating that U2 is planning on performing a concert downtown and expecting crowds of 30,000 people. Police show up to the set and inform the band's crew of the security issue that the film shoot is causing, due to the large number of people who are coming to watch the performance. Two minutes into the video, U2 are seen on the roof of a liquor store and perform "Where the Streets Have No Name" to a large crowd of people standing in the streets surrounding the building. Towards the end of the song, the police tell the crew that the performance is about to be shut down, and eventually police walk onto the roof while the crowd are booing the police.

The video for "Where the Streets Have No Name" was directed by Meiert Avis and produced by Michael Hamlyn and Ben Dossett. The band attracted over 1,000 people during the video's filming, which took place on the rooftop of a liquor store in Downtown Los Angeles on 27 March 1987. The band's performance on a rooftop in a public place was a reference to The Beatles' final concert, as depicted in the film Let It Be.

"The object was to close down the streets. If there's one thing people in LA hate, it's streets closing down, and we've always felt bands should shake things up. We achieved it because the police stopped us filming. Were we worried about being arrested? Not at the time..."

—Adam Clayton

During the shoot U2 played an eight-song set, which included four performances of "Where the Streets Have No Name".Prior to filming, a week was spent reinforcing the roof of the liquor store to ensure it would not collapse if it were to be intruded by a group of fans. A backup generator was put on the roof so the shooting could continue in the event that the authorities shut off the power on the primary generator, which happened during filming.

The depiction of the police attempting to shut down the video shoot due to safety concerns actually happened during filming, just as seen in the video. Hamlyn was almost arrested following a confrontation with the police. According to Avis, the events depicted in the video show what actually happened that day "almost in real time", and that "getting busted was an integral part of the plan." Band manager Paul McGuinness revealed in 2007 that much of the confrontation with the police was exaggerated; the group were hoping to get shut down by the authorities in order to dramatize the music video, but the police continually gave them extensions for shooting the video. In the background of the video is a sign for The Million Dollar Hotel, which was rebuilt to create some interest, in case no one showed up at the film shoot. Although the video is of a live performance, the audio used is from the studio-recorded version of the song^] The video won the Grammy Award for Best Performance Music Video at the 1989 Grammy Awards.

The cover artwork contains parodies of the covers of two of the best-selling rock albums of 1986/87: the front cover is a send-up of Bruce Springsteen'sbox set "Live/1975–85"; the back cover includes a spoof of U2's "The Joshua Tree" (the original blurry/"narrow-heads" version of the cover; the spoof deliberately imitates these traits). In both cases, the band member(s) in the original artwork are substituted with members of Billy and the Boingers.

Sports quotes that you have never heard...

Thanks Theo...

Sports Quotes You've Never Heard..............................

"Last year we couldn't win at home and we were losing on the road. My failure as a coach was that I couldn't think of anyplace else to play.
- Harry Neale, professional hockey coach

"Blind people come to the ballpark just to listen to him pitch."
- Reggie Jackson commenting on Tom Seaver

"I'm working as hard as I can to get my life and my cash to run out at the same time. If I can just die after lunch Tuesday, everything will
be perfect."
- Doug Sanders, professional golfer

"All the fat guys watch me and say to their wives, 'See, there's a fat
guy doing okay. Bring me another beer.'"
- Mickey Lolich, DetroitTigers Pitcher

"When it's third and ten, you can have the milk drinkers; I'll take
the whiskey drinkers every time."
- Max McGee, Green Bay Packers receiver

"I found out that it's not good to talk about my troubles. Eighty
percent of the people who hear them don't care and the other twenty
percent are glad you're having them."
- Tommy LaSorda ,LA Dodgers manager

"My knees look like they lost a knife fight with a midget."
- E.J. Holub, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker regarding his 12 knee operations

"My theory is that if you buy an ice-cream cone and make it hit your
mouth, you can learn to play tennis. If you stick it on your forehead,
your chances aren't as good."
- Vic Braden, tennis instructor

"When they operated, I told them to add in a Koufax fastball. They did but unfortunately it was Mrs. Koufax's."
- Tommy John N.Y. Yankees, recalling his 1974 arm surgery

"I don't know. I only played there for nine years."
- Walt Garrison, Dallas Cowboys fullback when asked if Tom Landry ever smiles

"We were tipping off our plays. Whenever we broke from the huddle,
three backs were laughing and one was pale as a ghost."
- John Breen, HoustonOilers

"The film looks suspiciously like the game itself."
- Bum Phillips, New Orleans Saints, after viewing a lopsided loss to
the AtlantaFalcons

"When I'm on the road, my greatest ambition is to get a standing boo."
- Al Hrabosky, major league relief pitcher

"I have discovered in 20 years of moving around the ball park, that
the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the
price of the seats."
- Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox owner

"Because if it didn't work out, I didn't want to blow the whole day."
- Paul Horning, Green Bay Packers running back on why his marriage
ceremony was before noon.

"I have a lifetime contract. That means I can't be fired during the
third quarter if we're ahead and moving the ball."
- Lou Holtz ,Arkansas football coach

"I won't know until my barber tells me on Monday."
- Knute Rockne, when asked why Notre Dame had lost a game

"I tell him 'Attaway to hit, George.'"
- Jim Frey, K.C. Royals manager when asked what advice he gives George Brett on hitting

"I learned a long time ago that 'minor surgery' is when they do the
operation on someone else, not you."
- Bill Walton, PortlandTrial Blazers

"Our biggest concern this season will be diaper rash."
- George MacIntyre, Vanderbilt football coach surveying the team
roster that included 26 freshmen and 25 sophomores.

"The only difference between me and General Custer is that I have to watch the films on Sunday."
- Rick Venturi, Northwestern football coach

Bacon saves Plants.......

I saw this on a fellow coworkers toolbox and got a laugh on it.   I will be busy again this weekend camping with the Boy Scouts...and it is supposed to rain.....Or we call it "Liquid Sunshine".  and I like the use the phrase "If it ain't raining....it ain't training.."     I will use the scheduler to upload stuff for the weekend.....The scheduler worked well last time.

Consider this a P.S.A. from this blog.

I am planning a trip to "Bass Pro Shops" to pick up a little bit of ammo.   I have been buying a bit of ammo each week to build up my stock.   I am looking for .22LR, .38 special, .357 magnum, 40 cal, and of course 12 GA and 5.56 and some more .308.  Gotta see how it goes....Perhaps next week.

The conduct of Hillary Rodham Clinton during watergate.....

I guess I will start paying more attention to Hillary, since the same media that gave us the most transparent administration in history have decided that since a black man is president, now it is the turn of a women to inhabit that office all in the name of diversity, qualifications and integrity don't mean anything, as long as another block is checked off.    I saw Hillary making the Sunday talk show rounds and she being coy about the media fawning over her like they did for the messiah back in 2007/2008.  This shows me that the fix is in and she has already been coronated by the media and other elitist to be the new standard bearer.  I made a comment back in 2008 when Hillary and Obama were dueling for the democratic nomination, I had commented to a friend of mine *ShellDude*"Obama is a lightweight, Hillary is vicious and vindictive."  I remembered the antics she had pulled when Bill was president from the White House travel office firings, to the Rose Law Office being located in their private quarters 2 years after being subpoenaed.  Funny how that works out.   Remember Hillary "dodging" sniper fire in Bosnia and that was debunked.   I have noticed that anybody that ever went up against the Clintons especially Hillary, things happened like a disproportionate amount of "Suicides" statistically speaking compared to the general population.

Hillary Clinton Ex-Boss Says He Fired Her from Her Work on the Watergate Investigation for Being a "Liar" and "Unethical"-Truth!

Summary of the eRumor:  The eRumor says that as a 27-year old working on the Watergate Investigation in the 1970s,  Hillary Clinton was "fired" from her position for being a "liar" and "unethical." The Truth:  This email is the text of a column published on March 31, 2008 by Dan Calabrese, founder of Northstar Writers Group (www.northstarwriters.com). The story is based on statements by Jerry Zeifman, a Democrat, who was a counsel and chief of staff of the House Judiciary Committee.  He said that he supervised then Hillary Rodham who got a job working on the investigation of the Watergate scandal, which eventually brought Richard Nixon's presidency to an end through resignation. Zeifman published a book in 2006 titled Hillary's Pursuit of Power.  On his website, which is no longer on the Internet, Zeifman said "Hillary Clinton is ethically unfit to be either a Senator or   President--and if she were to become President, the last vestiges of the traditional moral authority of the party of Roosevelt, Truman and Johnson will be destroyed." Zeifman said that during her work on the investigation of the Watergate scandal, Hillary Rodham "...engaged in a variety of self-serving unethical practices in violation of House rules." In 1998 Zeifman was a consultant to a member of the Judiciary Committee that impeached President Bill Clinton and said he "gained extensive personal insights into the unethical practices of Hillary Clinton in her White House 'West Wing' office." Specifically, Zeifman believes that Hillary Rodham Clinton and others wanted Richard Nixon to remain in office to enhance the chances of Senator Ted Kennedy or another Democrat being elected president.  Zeifman contends that in 1974 a young lawyer who shared an office with Clinton came to him to apologize that he and Clinton had lied to him.  The lawyer, John Labovitz, is quoted as saying that he was dismayed with "...her erroneous legal opinions and efforts to deny Nixon representation by counsel -- as well as an unwillingness to investigate Nixon."  Zeifman charges that Clinton regularly consulted with Ted Kennedy's chief political strategist, which was a violation of House rules. Another reason for Clinton's conduct, according to Zeifman, was that Democrats did not want Nixon to face an impeachment trial because they feared that as a part of his defense Nixon might want to bring up abuses of office by President John Kennedy. Zeifman said he regrets that when he terminated Clinton from the Nixon impeachment staff he did not report her unethical practices to the appropriate bar association. There has not been any response that we have found from Clinton to the book or to Zeifman's accusations. Posted  04/7/08  Updated 01/11/14

New addition to the periodic table....

Not sure if you heard this news, but science has finally clarified it for us!!!
Periodic Table Addition:
Pelosium: A major research institution has just announced the discovery of the densest element yet known to science.
The new element has been named Pelosium.
Pelosium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 223 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 311. These particles are held together by dark forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
The symbol of Pelosium is PU. Pelosium’s mass actually increases over time, as morons randomly interact with various elements in the atmosphere and become assistant deputy neutrons within the Pelosium molecule, leading to the formation of isodopes.
This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to believe that Pelosium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in voting concentration

Landing at the Beach...

I saw this picture as a screen saver and I thought it was very neat, so I did a bit of research to accompany the picture.  The pics are compliments of "Airliners.net

Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (Royal Dutch Airlines), known by its initials KLM, is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM's headquarters is in Amstelveen near its hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. KLM operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to more than 90 destinations worldwide. It is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name. As of 31 March 2010 it had 31,787 employees.

The merger of KLM with Air France in May 2004 formed the Air France-KLM Group, which is incorporated under French law with headquarters at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Both Air France and KLM continue to fly under their distinct brand names as subsidiaries of the group. Air France and KLM are part of the SkyTeam alliance, the second largest in the world behind only Star Alliance

     KLM operates a total of :

Boeing 747-400	7	0	42 35	36	337	415 408	New business class with 35 seats, retrofits through June 2014
Boeing 747-400M	15	0	42 35	36	197	275 268	New business class with 35 seats, retrofits through June 2014; being retired 2016 - 2019

They also have 4 cargo 747 ERF models.

Here are some more pics:

    Thses pics are at St Maartins, where the runway is right off the beach and you have many people show up to take pictures of the huge planes as they land.   You also have people that will hang on the fence as the planes prepare for take off to ride the jet blast.    

Monday Music "The Gambler" with Kenny Rogers

I have several songs with Kenny Rogers on my phone, I have "Ruby, don't take your love to town, " Tell it all brother" and several others along with this song. "The Gambler"   It is kinda a short song, but it tells a story and there are nuggets of wisdom in this story basically "know when to hold them and know when to fold them".  To me means "don't lose your head, and don't get caught up in the emotions of the moment, and if you have to fold them and take a small loss, that is better than trying to force your luck and lose big."
     Here some details of the song and the video.

"The Gambler" is a song written by Don Schlitz and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in November 1978 as the title track from his album The Gambler which won him the Grammy award for best male country vocal performance in 1980. Bobby Bare had recorded the song earlier that same year in his album BARE CBS KC35314 (1978). The song was written by Schlitz who had recorded it previously, and had charted at #65 on the country charts with it. It was one of five consecutive songs by Rogers to hit #1 on the Billboard country music charts. On the pop chart, the song made #16 in early 1979. It's become one of Rogers's most enduring hits and a signature song. As of November 13, 2013, the digital sales of the single currently stands at 798,000 copies. The song was also recorded by Johnny Cash for his 1978 album Gone Girl.

The song itself tells the story of a late-night meeting on a train "bound for nowhere" between the narrator and an unnamed man who is the gambler. The gambler tells the narrator that he can tell he is down on his luck ("out of aces") by the look in his eyes and offers him advice in exchange for his last swallow of whisky. After the gambler takes the drink (and a cigarette), he gives the following advice:

“

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, know when to run. You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table, There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

”

The gambler then mentions that the "secret to survivin' is knowing what to throw away, and knowing what to keep" and that "the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep". At this point, the gambler puts out the cigarette and goes to sleep.
At the end of the song we are told that "somewhere in the darkness, the gambler, he broke even", and that the narrator finds "an ace that I could keep", in his final words. Rogers' rendition in an appearance on TV's The Muppet Show indicates the gambler actually dies in his sleep when he "broke even".

The story behind "live Long and Prosper" and irreverent thoughts about First vacationers

I was surfing the blogrolls of either BRM,OldNFO or Murphy's law and ran across this Site and in it was the story of the Vulcan salute from Star Trek, well I have been a fan of Star Trek since I saw the reruns in 1970 in Baumholder Germany on AFN the 2nd time we were stationed there?  I never knew the back story of the vulcan hand salute.  According to a book I have Leonard Nimoy (Who played Spock) suggested it but not the back story of "why" and where did he get the idea.  The video was a little over 3 minutes long and it was a neat story.

Now on to the First Family Vacationers, 

I Guess going to Camp David is out of the question,  Ya notice that where every they vacation at...it is expensive to go there from the resort in Hawaii, to spain, to south africa and to Martha's Vineyard,and everywhere in between the Obama's hang with the 1%ers, despite the campaign rhetoric stating otherwise

      I have no problems with rich people, I wish I was rich, but my hangup is that with the debt issues we have and the paring down of the military, the Obama's take some lavish vacations on our dime.  If they paid for it all, I could care less it is their money...but in this case, it is OURS...that is my hangup with this. and there are 

From our American Media on this,    I get information from foreign media sources,  This just demonstrates the bias in the American media since they are covering for "their guy" and anything that might be construed as criticism gets squashed.     This is from the Dailymail.UK British newspapers

Michelle Obama and three of her family members are staying in a $8,350-per-night Beijing presidential suite, but despite a 24-hour butler and other perks that come with the lodging, her entourage has inconvenienced 'pretty much everyone' and made the hotel staff 'fed up,' a well-placed hotel staffer has told MailOnline.

The sumptuous pad at the Westin Beijing Chaoyang hotel – its website calls the room 'an oasis of comfort – is a 3,400-square-foot masterpiece including a private steam room, 'corner sofas with silk pillows,' and in-room dining for six. 

But the Obamas' stay has already affected staff and guests at the hotel, with the Westin front-desk veteran alleging that Mrs. Obama's mother Marian Robinson has been 'barking at the staff since she arrived.'

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First lady Michelle Obama, her mother Marian Robinson, and her daughters Sasha and Malia are in Beijing for the beginning of a week-long tour, and their hotel's staff are already tired of them

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A senior hotel staffer said Marian Robinson (L), Mrs. Obama's mother, has been 'barking at the staff since she arrived at the hotel

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Can you spot the Secret Service? Many of the agents in Mrs. Obama's detail are Asian-American, helping them avoid standing out while they protect the first lady -- but confusing some hotel guests who don't understand why they can't board some elevators

Government security forces from both China and the U.S. started Thursday to screen everyone who entered the building, including paying guests, setting up checkpoints that resemble those at airline concourse entrances.

The Secret Service's monopoly on the hotel's highest floors has meant the Westin had to boot guests with previous reservations out of their executive-level rooms.

Secret Service agents are also monopolizing hotel elevators long before the Obamas need them, added the staffer, who identified himself as a member of the concierge staff and spoke English during a phone call on Friday.

'Many of them are Asian, too, or Americans who are Asian, so you know our guests don't understand.'

 

More...

• No interviews, please! Michelle Obama's China trip questioned as she won't take Q&A with reporters and only offers 2 true 'open press' events (out of 22 on her calendar)
• Mrs Diplomatic! Smitten China falls for the Obama girls as President Xi Jinping greets Michelle and her daughters on their first day in Beijing
• All eyes on Michelle Obama as she lands in China for weeklong education trip with daughters and mother (…and Barack admits he’s lonely at home)
• Michelle Obama plans pricey trip to China as the First Family is criticized for spending hundreds of millions of dollars traveling on the taxpayer's dime
• Mrs Diplomatic! Smitten China falls for the Obama girls as President Xi Jinping greets Michelle and her daughters on their first day in Beijing

'We can't wait for this to be over, to tell you the truth,' he said in a sudden hush. 'We entertain many important people here, but this has been, I think, very different.'

A spokesperson for Mrs. Obama declined to comment.

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The Westin Beijing Chaoyang's 'oasis' presidential suite isn't the only part of the hotel that the Obama's have monopolized: Their Secret Service contingent has allegedly bumped some high-paying guests from their rooms

A U.S. Secret Service spokesperson promised answers to MailOnline's questions but didn't provide any in time for publication. The agency generally does not speak publicly about security arrangements for the officials it protects.

A spokesman for Starwood Hotels, which owns the Westin chain, referred questions to Secret Service.

Ordinary Chinese who have met the American first lady have described her in media reports as approachable and friendly, and the hotel staffer agreed. 

'The first lady is gracious, and the girls are lovely,' he said.

The Westin employee and another colleague said Sasha and Malia Obama have been on their best behavior because Mrs. Robinson has kept them on a short leash.

They emphasized that they have had a disappointing experience with the protection detail that accompanies Mrs. Obama everywhere.

Wealthy hotel guests bumped from their reserved rooms into other less-luxurious accommodations have inundated the front desk with complaints.

As a condition of the first lady staying at the Westin, the Secret Service blocked off all the rooms near the presidential suite..

The Washington Times reported Thursday that an entourage of about 70 people is accompanying the guests of honor to China at taxpayer expense.

On Board: Travels with the First Lady in China

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More guards than guarded? The two first ladies (front) strolled through Beijing's Forbidden City with their protection details close at hand

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Blending in: The Secret Service detail guarding Mrs. Obama and her family members includes Asian-American agents like this man

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'Mrs. Diplomat': Chinese President Xi Jinping joined in Friday for events that were supposed to include just Mrs. Obama and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan. The White House has insisted that the trip is a cultural exchange and not a political mission, however.

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Delightful: Ordinary Chinese have described Mrs. Obama as a wonderful visitor, but her mother (at C) is allegedly causing hotel staff headaches

The White House has taken pains to frame Mrs. Obama's trip as a cultural journey rather than a political one, but taxpayers are paying through the nose for it nonetheless.

China News Service described the first lady on Friday as 'Mrs Diplomatic,' and the Xinhua news agency dubbed the trip 'an unprecedented and historical moment in the chapter of China–U.S. relations.'

The trip won't come cheap.

Judicial Watch, a watchdog group in Washington, D.C., reports that it cost more than $11 million for President and Mrs. Obama to travel to Africa for Nelson Mandela's memorial service in December. 

The first couple were in Africa for less than 13 hours.

The Obamas' 2013 visit to Africa, a longer affair, reportedly cost Americans more than $100 million.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2586367/Beijing-hotel-workers-fed-Obama-entourage-3400-square-foot-8-350-night-suite-inconveniencing-pretty-ladys-mother-barking-staff.html#ixzz2wi26xnKd
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

The Saga of the "Unsinkable" Franklin, 69 years ago today

I was in elementary school in Germany in the 6th grade when I "discovered" the pacific war especially involving  carriers and several of them really held my fascination, the first one was the U.S.S. Enterprise CV-6(A Yorktown class carrier one of 3 build) and the U.S.S. Franklin CV-13 an Essex class carrier.  During this time I also read up in the battle of Midway where the outnumbered and out classed  Americans pulled a decisive victory against the vaunted Japanese naval aviation, whom until this time had a long string of victories against the British, Dutch and American forces in the battle of Java Island in the Philippines forcing the largest surrender of American forces in history, and the sinking of 2 British capital ships, the H.M.S Prince of Wales and H.M.S Repulse proving that the era of the Battleship was over and the Carriers would be supreme and the belief of sending ships without air cover died the same time both ships sank in Dec 10th in the south China sea headed to Singapore to bolster the garrison there.  Before Midway, the Japanese raised havoc since December 7th 1941.
   

After Midway, began the long slog back to the Philippines and to the Japanese Mainland.  The Pacific war is noted for its long distance which the new Essex Carriers excelled in and the no quarters given by either side, the savagery was only excelled by the Germans and Russians on the eastern front.

       On March 19, 1945 an American Carrier  The USS Franklin (CV/CVA/CVS-13, AVT-8), nicknamed "Big Ben," was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy, and the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in January 1944, she served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning four battle stars. She was badly damaged by a Japanese air attack in March 1945, with the loss of over 800 of her crew, becoming the most heavily damaged United States carrier to survive the war. Movie footage of the actual attack was included in the 1949 film Task Force starring Gary Cooper.

     Before dawn on 19 March 1945, Franklin, which had maneuvered to within 80 km (50 miles) of the Japanese mainland, closer than had any other U.S. carrier during the war, launched a fighter sweep against Honshū and later a strike against shipping in Kobe Harbor. Suddenly, a single aircraft – possibly a Yokosuka D4Y "Judy" dive bomber, though other accounts suggest an Aichi D3A "Val", also a dive bomber – pierced the cloud cover and made a low level run on the ship to drop two semi-armor-piercing bombs. The damage analysis came to the conclusion that the bombs were 550 lb (250 kg), though neither the "Val" nor "Judy" had the attachment points to carry two such weapons, nor did the Japanese single-engine torpedo bombers in horizontal bomber mode. (The accounts also differ as to whether the attacking aircraft escaped or was shot down.) However, the Aichi B7A "Grace" had this capability. One bomb struck the flight deck centerline, penetrating to the hangar deck, effecting destruction and igniting fires through the second and third decks, and knocking out the Combat Information Center and air plot. The second hit aft, tearing through two decks.

At the time she was struck, Franklin had 31 armed and fueled aircraft warming up on her flight deck. The hangar deck contained 22 additional planes, of which 16 were fueled and five were armed. The forward gasoline system had been secured, but the aft system was operating. The explosion on the hangar deck ignited the fuel tanks on the aircraft, and gasoline vapor explosion devastated the deck. Only two crewmen survived the fire on the hangar deck. The explosion also jumbled aircraft together on the flight deck above, causing further fires and explosions, including the detonation of 12 "Tiny Tim" air-to-surface rockets.

Franklin lay dead in the water, took a 13° starboard list, lost all radio communications, and broiled under the heat from enveloping fires. Many of the crew were blown overboard, driven off by fire, killed or wounded, but the hundreds of officers and enlisted who voluntarily remained saved their ship. Official Navy casualty figures for the 19 March 1945 fire totaled 724 killed and 265 wounded. Nevertheless, casualty numbers have been updated as new records are discovered. A recent count by Franklin historian and researcher Joseph A Springer (author of INFERNO: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II) brings total 19 March 1945 casualty figures to 807 killed and more than 487 wounded. When totaling casualty figures for both Franklin cruises numbers increase to 924 killed in action, the worst for any surviving U.S. warship and second only to that of battleship USSArizona. Certainly, the casualty figures would have far exceeded this number, but for the work of many survivors. Among these were the Medal of Honor recipients Lieutenant Commander Joseph T. O'Callahan, the warship's Catholic chaplain, who administered the last rites

, organized and directed firefighting and rescue parties, and led men below to wet down magazines that threatened to explode; and also Lieutenant JG Donald A. Gary, who discovered 300 men trapped in a blackened mess compartment and, finding an exit, returned repeatedly to lead groups to safety. Gary later organized and led fire-fighting parties to battle fires on the hangar deck and entered the No. 3 fireroom to raise steam in one boiler. The Santa Fe rescued crewmen from the sea and approached Franklin to take off the numerous wounded and nonessential personnel.

Franklin, like many other wartime ships, had been modified with additional armament, requiring larger crews and substantial ammunition stocks. Aircraft were both more numerous and heavier than originally planned for, and thus the flight deck had been strengthened. The aircraft carrier, therefore, displaced more than originally planned, her freeboard was reduced, and her stability characteristics had been altered. The enormous quantities of water poured aboard her to fight the fires further reduced freeboard (exacerbated, on her starboard side, by the list), and her stability was seriously impaired, such that her survival was in jeopardy. Franklin had suffered the most severe damage experienced by any U.S. fleet carrier that survived World War II.

Repairs

The Franklin approaching New York, 26 April 1945.

The USS Franklin, anchored in New York harbor, 28 April 1945.

Franklin was taken in tow by the heavy cruiser Pittsburgh until she was able to raise enough steam to reach a speed of 14 kts (26 km/h), and then she proceeded to Ulithi Atoll under her own power for emergency repairs. Next, she steamed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where repairs permitted her to steam to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, via the Panama Canal, where she arrived on 28 April 1945.

Upon Franklin's arrival, a long-brewing controversy over the ship's crew's conduct during her struggles finally came to a head. Captain Gehres had accused many of those who had left the ship on 19 March 1945 of desertion, despite that those who had jumped into the water to escape had done so to prevent a likely death by fire, or had been led to believe that "abandon ship" had been ordered. While en route from Ulithi Atoll to Hawaii, Gehres had proclaimed 704 members of the crew to be members of the "Big Ben 704 Club" for having stayed with the heavily damaged warship, but investigators in New York discovered that only about 400 were actually onboard Franklin continuously. The others had been brought back on board either before and during the stop at Ulithi. All of the charges against the men of her crew were quietly dropped.

Despite severe damage, Franklin was eventually restored to good condition. She had to steam to the East Coast of the United States for repairs in New York because all of the repair shipyards on the West Coast were heavily overloaded with American warships that had been damaged by Japanesekamikazes.

The story of this aircraft carrier's near-destruction and salvage was chronicled in a wartime documentary, the Saga of the Franklin and the 2011 documentary, USS Franklin: Honor Restored.

     I have been to the U.S.S Yorktown museum twice with my son's cub scout pack, I enjoyed the visit immensely and one of the artifacts there is the twin 40 MM bofors that came off the Franklin.  One of the barrels are warped from the heat.  Also you can see the ships bell next to it.  There is also a model of the Franklin that shows all the damage that she sustained.  I cannot locate that pictures from my stack of pics.  I know I have it......somewhere.   The story of the U.S.S. Franklin has intrigued me for many years.    I amaze people with the amount of naval history I know......For an Army guy.