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June 27
1950: Truman sends troops to Korea
U.S. President Harry S. Truman sent American troops to support South Korea today, two days after it was invade by North Korea. When 15 other U.N. member nations joined in supporting South Korea, Truman appointed Gen. Douglas MacArthur as the commander of the U.N. forces.
"American planes and warships were dispatched Tuesday to the aid of South Korea," reported the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin on June 27, 1950. "In Tokyo, Gen. MacArthur's headquarters reported American fighters have already shot down four Communist-manned North Korean planes. The first task of the U.S. planes was said to be bomb all towns captured by North Korean troops. The South Koreans were reliably reported to have hurled back the Communist invaders to a point 20 miles from Seoul, the capital."
NOTE: The war lasted more than three years, with an armistice agreement signed on July 27, 1953.
1995: Atlantis heads to space station
NASA launched Atlantis today, sending the space shuttle off to the Russian space station Mir and marking the first U.S. and Russian docking mission in 20 years. "Atlantis will bring back American astronaut Norman Thagard and two cosmonauts, who have been aboard Mir since March 16, and drop off two Russians to take control of the station. The 100-ton shuttle and the 123-ton station will be joined for five days while their crews conduct experiments to see how Thagard and his crewmates fared physically during their stay in space," reported the Syracuse Herald Journal on June 28, 1995.
1985: Route 66 is decommissioned
Route 66, one of the original federal highways, was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System today. "Route 66 - the 2,200-mile highway immortalized in song, novel and television - is officially history, having fallen victim to the nation's interstate highway system. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials on Thursday decertified the 59-year-old road, and also voted to remove Route 66 highway signs," reported The Daily Intelligencer on June 30, 1985. "Most of the road followed a wilderness path that was forged in 1857 by a caravan of camels commanded by U.S. Navy Lt. Edward Beale. Wagon trains, then cattlemen and finally cars and trucks followed."
1957: Hurricane Audrey kills 500
Hurricane Audrey struck Louisiana and Texas today, killing around 500 people. Cameron, a settlement along Louisiana's Gulf Coast, was hit hard by the storm. On July 3, 1957, The Sheboygan Press described Cameron as a "ghost town." "Stories of Cameron survivors for the first time pin-pointed the magnitude of Louisiana's worst catastrophe of the century. Death estimates now reach 500 and property damage uncounted tens of millions of dollars," wrote the paper. For more information about Audrey, as well as other deadly hurricanes,
1918: Draft numbers are chosen
The United States military began its second national draft lottery for World War I today. "Drawing of the draft numbers for America's class of 1918 was completed in two hours today when 1200 numbered pellets were drawn from the bowl in the Senate office building, giving every man who has become 21 years since the first registration his place in the selective service. The first number drawn from the bowl was 246 and the last was 225," wrote the Clearfield Progress on June 27, 1918.
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