Kenneth R. Shadrick (1931–1950) was a private in the United States Army who was widely, but incorrectly, reported as the first American soldier killed in action in the Korean War. Shadrick was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, one of 10 children. After dropping out of high school in 1948, he joined the US Army, and spent a year of service in Japan before being dispatched to South Korea at the onset of the Korean War in 1950 along with his unit, the 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. During a patrol, Shadrick was killed by the machine gun of a North Korean T-34 tank, and his body was taken to an outpost where journalist Marguerite Higgins was covering the war. Higgins later reported that he was the first soldier killed in the war, a claim that was repeated in media across the United States. His life was widely profiled, and his funeral drew hundreds of people. His death is now believed to have occurred after the first American combat fatalities in the Battle of Osan. Since the identities of other soldiers killed before Shadrick remain unknown, he is still often incorrectly cited as the first US soldier killed in the war.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_R._Shadrick

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

996:

Pope Gregory V crowned Otto III as Holy Roman Emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_III,_Holy_Roman_Emperor

1881:

Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Barton

1911:

Mexican President Porfirio Díaz and the revolutionary Francisco Madero signed the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez to put an end to the fighting between the forces of both men, and thus concluding the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Ciudad_Ju%C3%A1rez

1924:

University of Chicago students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr. murdered a 14-year-old boy in a thrill killing out of a desire to commit a perfect crime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_and_Loeb

1998:

Indonesian President Suharto resigned as a result of the collapse of support for his three-decade-long reign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suharto

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

cloudburst: A sudden heavy rainstorm. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cloudburst

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The environment of human life has changed more rapidly and more extensively in recent years than it has ever changed before. When environment changes, there must be a corresponding change in life. That change must be so great that it is not likely to be completed in a decade or in a generation.   --Charles Lindbergh https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh