MARCH 24
1607 Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (24 March 1607 â 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. Widely celebrated and regarded as one of the most skilled admirals in history, De Ruyter is arguably most famous for his achievements with the Dutch Navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. He fought the English and French forces and scored several critical victories, with the Raid on the Medway being the most famous among them. Often dubbed a Dutch folk hero, De Ruyter is one of a few select officers in the history of the Dutch navy to hold the title of the lieutenant admiral (Dutch: luitenant-admiraal). Reportedly beloved by his subordinates and seamen, De Ruyter was commonly nicknamed Bestevaêr (Middle Dutch for “grandfather”) during his service, a nickname that is sometimes still used to refer to him in Dutch media.
1821 Hector Tyndale was a Union general during the American Civil War rising to the rank of Brevet Major General of Volunteers. He notably led brigades at the battles of Antietam and Wauhatchie.
1851 Francis Bannerman VI made a business of purchasing surplus military goods in large lots and splitting into smaller lots at a profit. He is sometimes credited with originating the concept of the sealed bid. At the close to the Spanish-American War, Bannerman secured 90% of the captured weapons and goods. At the outbreak of World War I he outfitted British regiments at his own expense long before the United States entered the war. Upon the U.S. entering the fray, he donated significant hardware to its efforts.
1898 Dorothy Constance Stratton (March 24, 1899 â September 17, 2006) is best known as the first director of the SPARS, the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve during World War II. In 1942 she became the first woman to be commissioned an officer in U.S. Coast Guard and is credited with giving its Women’s Reserve program the name of SPAR, an acronym created from the Coast Guard motto, Semper Paratus, and its English translation, Always Ready. Lieutenant Commander Stratton attained the rank of captain in February 1944 and served as director of the SPARs from 1942 until January 1946. She was also a trailblazer for women in other areas. She became Purdue University’s first full-time Dean of Women (1933â1942) and the first director of personnel at the International Monetary Fund (1947â1950). Stratton also served as the national executive director of the Girl Scouts of the USA (1950â1960).
1930 Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930 â November 7, 1980) In 1947, after receiving permission from his mother since he was not yet 18 years old, McQueen enlisted in the Marines and was sent to Parris Island for boot camp. He was promoted to private first class and assigned to an armored unit. He initially reverted to his prior rebelliousness and was demoted to private seven times. He took an unauthorized absence by failing to return after a weekend pass expired, staying with a girlfriend for two weeks until the shore patrol caught him. He resisted arrest and spent 41 days in the brig. After this he resolved to focus his energies on self-improvement and embraced the Marines’ discipline. He saved the lives of five other Marines during an Arctic exercise, pulling them from a tank before it broke through ice into the sea. He was assigned to the honor guard responsible for guarding the presidential yacht of US President Harry Truman. McQueen served until 1950, when he was honorably discharged. He later said he had enjoyed his time in the Marines. He remembered the Marines as a formative time in his life, saying, “The Marines made a man out of me. I learned how to get along with others, and I had a platform to jump off of.”
1944 Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 â April 15, 2018) was an American film, television and voice actor, and Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ermey was also a United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant. In 1961, at age 17, Ermey enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and went through recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California. He served in the aviation support field for a few years before becoming a drill instructor in India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, where he was assigned from 1965 to 1967. Ermey then served in Marine Wing Support Group 17 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan.[5] In 1968, he was ordered to South Vietnam with MWSG-17, and spent 14 months in-country. The remainder of his service was on Okinawa, where he was advanced to staff sergeant (E-6). He was medically retired in 1972 because of several injuries. On May 17, 2002, he received an honorary promotion to gunnery sergeant (E-7) by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James L. Jones.
MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
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