WebMaster's Corner October 2016
October 2016
Webmaster
Wow! It's already October, the "Harvest Month", when fall really begins to show itself in the chilly mornings and crisp sunny days of Autumn, with the beauty of the turning leaves. It is also the month of our biennial reunion, this year to be held in Las Vegas.
Football season is in full swing during the month of October. In fact, October will see four major professional sports seasons with regular games during the month.
October is the 10th month of the year. The Romans measured it as the eighth month, hence the "oct" (for octo (8)) in the name. Otherwise it would have been "Dectober"?
October has been recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month , Hispanic Heritage Month , German-American Heritage month, Polish-American Heritage Month, and Italian-American Heritage Month.
Columbus Day (Monday, 10 Oct) is the only national holiday celebrated this month. However, we can take cheer from the knowledge that Columbus day is also:
The gemstone for October is
the Opal
The flower for October is
the Calendula.
Now, About October in History:
Flivver First Marketed
On 1 Oct 1908, Mr. Ford first marketed his Model-T ("Flivver") Ford. The "Tin Lizzie" went on to become one of the most popular automobiles of all time (over 15 million were made between 1908 and 1927). Henry Ford said of his creation:
"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces."
And the price? The table below shows the prices for the standard 4-seat open tourer. Note that during the same periods, competing automobiles were going for $2,000-$3,000 (equivalent to $48,726–$73,089 today):
Year | Price | Today's Dollars |
---|---|---|
1909 | $850 | $20,749 |
1913 | $550 | $12,181 |
1915 | $450 | $9,521 |
In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay.
Sales were:
Year | Sales Volume |
---|---|
1911 | 69,762 |
1913 | 202,667 |
1915 | 501,462 |
Sputnik Launched
On 4 Oct 1957, the Soviet Union caught the world by surprise when they launched the world's first artificial satellite, "Sputnik". This event launched the space race.
Finance Service Leaves the Quartermaster Corps
During WWI, the Finance Corps' predecessor organization was under the aegis of the Quartermaster Corps. Then, on 11 Oct 1918, Congress authorized the Finance Service and in June 1920, it approved the Finance Department to become a separate branch of the War Department under Brigadier General Herbert M. Lord. Unlike its predecessors, the Finance Department handled not only military pay and travel expenses, but also all financial activities of the War Department, including centralized disbursing, auditing, and budgeting.
Six Finance Soldiers (POWs) Casualties of US Sub Attack
On 11 October 1944 the Japanese ship, Arisan Maru, left Manila with about 1,800 prisoners of war in the cargo holds. That ship turned south to Palawan Island and anchored off Palawan until 20 October, when it returned to Manila to join Convoy MATA-30 which sailed on 21 October. On 23 October, when the convoy was about 200 miles northwest of Luzon, two packs of US submarines (total of nine submarines) began their attacks on this convoy. About 5:30 p.m. on 24 October1944 the USS Shark sent three torpedoes into the Arisan Maru. The ship broke into two pieces which floated for a while; however, the net result was death for all except nine of the POWs. This was the largest loss of American lives in a single disaster at sea. Aboard the Arisan Maru and listed as missing were Finance Corps soldiers Private First class Herbert K. Ballew, Technician Grade Fourth Class Robert Lee Cohen, Staff Sergeant Meridith L. Hough, Private Paul Henry Miller, Staff Sergeant Paul F. Moyer, and Staff Sergeant Harold M. Williams
Columbus "Discovers America" 12 Oct 1492
During his first voyage in 1492, Christopher Columbus, instead of reaching Japan as he had intended, landed in the Bahamas archipelago, at a locale he named San Salvador. Over the course of three more voyages, Columbus visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming them for the Spanish Empire.
Though Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach the Americas, having been preceded, five centuries earlier, by the Norse expedition, led by Leif Ericson, that established the short-lived colony of Vinland in what is now Newfoundland, Columbus' voyages led to the first lasting European contact with America and inaugurated a period of European exploration and colonization of foreign lands that lasted for several centuries and had, therefore, an enormous impact in the historical development of the modern Western world. Columbus himself saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of the spreading of the Christian religion.
17 October - Burgoyne Surrenders
British general John Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga, 17 Oct 1777. This marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War. News of Burgoyne's surrender was instrumental in formally bringing France into the war as an American ally, although it had previously given supplies, ammunition and guns, some of which were used at Saratoga. Formal participation by France changed the war to a global conflict. This battle also resulted in Spain contributing to the war on the American side. The hero of that battle? Benedict Arnold!
17 October 1859 - Harper's Ferry Arsenal Seized
Abolitionist John Brown and his men seized the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Va. (now W. Va.), 17 October 1859. The arsenal was wrested from Brown's raiders by a detachment of Marines. Their commander: Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee, of the 2nd US Cavalry, aided by his voluntary aide-de-camp, Lieutenant JEB Stuart.
Yorktown - 19 October 1781
Following the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in North America, British troops under LTG Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, 19 October 1781. The 9,000 British regulars were defeated by a combined American and French force numbering nearly 16,000 regulars, supported by a 29 ship French Naval blockade of the port.
The surrender of Cornwallis' army prompted the British government eventually to negotiate an end to the conflict, resulting in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
22 Oct 2016 - cAPS lOCK dAY
22 OCT 2016 IS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY, A DAY WHEN WE SHOW APPRECIATION TO THAT USELESS AND OFTEN OBNOXIOUS FUNCTION ON A KEYBOARD.
Black Tuesday - 29 October 1929
The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, if one considers the full extent and duration of its fallout. The crash ended a huge stock market bubble, fueled by promiscuously low margin requirements. The crash signaled the beginning of the 12-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries and that did not end in the United States until the onset of American mobilization for World War II at the end of 1941.
Sadly, reading the history of this event through the lens of current economic events can give one an uncanny sense of déjà vu.
Statehood Dates
The following states achieved statehood in October:
- Nevada (36), October 31, 1864
Recap of Last Month's Bulletin Board entries
Date | Class | Headline | Type |
---|---|---|---|
9/29/2016 | Member Data Change | BILL HUNNICUT (data change) | Bulletin |
9/29/2016 | Member Data Change | WILLIAM P. TOLBERT (data change) | Bulletin |
9/29/2016 | Member Data Change | ELLIOTT M. REINHEIMER (data change) | Bulletin |
9/29/2016 | Member Data Change | WILLIAM J. MURNAN (data change) | Bulletin |
9/29/2016 | Member Data Change | WILLIAM E. KEACH (data change) | Bulletin |
9/29/2016 | Finance Family | Gander Memorial Update | History |
9/29/2016 | GeneralNotice | Veterans of 175th FMSC | History |
9/28/2016 | Member Data Change | VIVIENNE STURGILL (data change) | Bulletin |
9/28/2016 | TAPS | Bob Barnhart | Bulletin |
9/28/2016 | Patriot's Corner | True Heroism | Multimedia |
9/28/2016 | GeneralNotice | Where Did All Those Log-Ins Come From | Bulletin |
9/28/2016 | GeneralNotice | Reunion 2016 Schedule | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Member Data Change | WILLIAM G. YOUNGER (data change) | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Member Data Change | BRUCE D. PAUL (data change) | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Member Data Change | JOHN D. VEAL (data change) | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Member Data Change | MARTIN A. TORRES (data change) | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Member Data Change | HEIDEMARIE HUNDLEY (data change) | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Member Data Change | GARY GABRIEL (data change) | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Member Data Change | WILLIAM R. ALLEN (data change) | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Member Data Change | JACKIE WOLPER (data change) | Bulletin |
9/27/2016 | Finance Family | Cuevas and Brittain Had to Cancel | Bulletin |
9/26/2016 | Member Data Change | WILLIS D. T. DARNELL (data change) | Bulletin |
9/26/2016 | Member Data Change | DAVID G. GONZALES (data change) | Bulletin |
9/26/2016 | Member Data Change | JAMES C. TOURGEE, JR (data change) | Bulletin |
9/26/2016 | Member Data Change | JEFFREY C. GREEN (data change) | Bulletin |
9/26/2016 | Member Data Change | JEFFREY C. GREEN (data change) | Bulletin |
9/25/2016 | GeneralNotice | Officer Nomination Cutoff | Bulletin |
9/23/2016 | Patriot's Corner | USMC Colonel and the NFL | Bulletin |
9/22/2016 | Member Data Change | CONRAD H. COHEN (data change) | Bulletin |
9/22/2016 | GeneralNotice | Speers Coming to Reunion | Bulletin |
9/20/2016 | Member Illness | Curt Lee Had to Cancel Reunion | Bulletin |
9/18/2016 | TAPS | SGM MICHAEL RAY MASSEY to TAPs | Bulletin |
9/16/2016 | TAPS | COL JAMES H. COOK To TAPS | Bulletin |
9/10/2016 | Member Data Change | KEITH L GUDEHUS (data change) | Bulletin |
9/9/2016 | TAPS | LTC ANDREW O. DRENKHAHN To TAPS | Bulletin |
9/5/2016 | Finance Family | DVDs for 2010, 2012, 2014 Reunions | Bulletin |
9/4/2016 | GeneralNotice | Fifties Nostalgia | Bulletin |
9/2/2016 | Finance Family | Creightons Will Miss Reunion | Bulletin |
9/2/2016 | GeneralNotice | LTC ALAN W. SPANG to Inactive | Bulletin |
9/1/2016 | GeneralNotice | FTC Scam alert | Bulletin |
October 2016-1 TAPS
Let us take this opportunity to remember any members of our Finance Family whose passing was a year-ago October passing.
Name | Rank | Deceased |
---|---|---|
ABRAMSON, NORMAN S. | MSG | 10/19/2015 |
GREGORY, ERNEST J. | MR. | 10/5/2015 |
KJELLSTROM, JOHN A. | LTG | 10/19/2015 |
STERLING, WILLIAM R. | COL | 10/22/2015 |
STRINGER, JAMES K. | COL | 10/15/2015 |
And, Finally, ...
Reunion Time
The 2016 Reunion is this month (12-16 Oct, with early registration on the 11th). You can check out who is going here.
You can also check out who is signed up for the various activities. In the
"Whos Going" page
, there
two buttons:
- Review the Reunion Schedule - provides the up-to-date schedule of events for the reunion
- Review Lists of Participants in Each Event - lets you select an event and see who is signed up for it
RAFINCO/RAFINO Merger
We have already merged the membership rosters of RAFINCO and RAFINO. This was completed on 26 SEP 2016. You may have noticed a lot of unfamiliar names in the list of logins to the RAFINO WebSite. You may also have seen a lot of bulletin board notices indicating that so-and-so had changed their data. Our NCO brothers and sisters have enthusiastically taken RAFINO.ORG to heart and are using the features whereby one can update their data online. Once the merger is officially ratified, we will be carefully updating the website to make the entire range of functionality available to our newly incorporated members.
At the 2016 reunion, we will hold a combined business meeting. That meeting will be to have the presidents of both organizations officially and publicly validate and execute the Articles of Merger.
New Officers and By Laws
Once the merger is executed, RAFINCO is no longer an organization and lives on in the newly merged organization RAFINO (Retired Army Finance Organization). Following that, we will ratify the by law amendments and elect the slate of officers for the newly merged organization. You will recall that the by-laws call for a rotating presidency between NCO and Officer. The way that works is the initial President and Vice-President will be an officer and an NCO, respectively. The President's term is two years. The Vice-President has a "term" of four years: two as VP, and then automatically assuming the Presidency for an additional term of 2 years. The presidency starts off with an officer due to the facts that the officer organization was the older of the two and its financial assets were significantly greater.
The nominating committee has received and finalized the list of nominations for the elective officers. The candidates to appear on the ballot are:
-
President:
- COL (RET) Aaron Gillison
- LTC (RET) Thomas McKenna
- COL (RET) Kevin Troller
-
Vice-President:
- CSM (RET) Larry Elsom
- CSM (RET) Wayne Ingle
-
Secretary/Treasurer:
-
LTC (RET) Imre Volgyi
Robby Robson, The Webmaster