Lesley James McNair (25 May 1883 – 25 July 1944) was a lieutenant general of the United States Army who served in both world wars, and previously saw service in the Veracruz occupation and the Pancho Villa Expedition. During World War I, he served with the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front. At 35, he became the Army's second-youngest general officer. During the early stages of World War II, he was the commander of Army Ground Forces, and played the leading role in the organization, equipping, and training of Army units before they departed for overseas combat. He was killed on 25 July 1944 while in France as commander of the fictitious First United States Army Group, part of Operation Quicksilver, a deception plan for the invasion of Normandy. McNair died when the US Eighth Air Force attempted to use heavy bombers in support of ground combat troops, and several planes dropped payloads short of their targets. He received a posthumous promotion to general.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_J._McNair

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1893:

The Corinth Canal was formally opened, bisecting the narrow Isthmus of Corinth in Greece to connect the Ionian Sea's Gulf of Corinth with the Aegean Sea's Saronic Gulf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinth_Canal

1950:

Korean War: After American troops withdrew, North Korean forces captured the village of Yongdong in South Korea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yongdong

2000:

Air France Flight 4590 (plane used pictured), a Concorde en route from Paris to New York, crashed in Gonesse, France, killing all 109 passengers on board and four people on the ground. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590

2010:

WikiLeaks published 75,000 classified documents about the War in Afghanistan in one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_documents_leak_of_the_War_in_Afghanistan

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Christmas come early: (chiefly Ireland, UK, idiomatic) Something very delightful or fortunate that is happening or has happened, especially earlier than expected. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Christmas_come_early

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The sick in soul insist that it is humanity that is sick, and they are the surgeons to operate on it. They want to turn the world into a sickroom. And once they get humanity strapped to the operating table, they operate on it with an ax.   --Eric Hoffer https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer