Good morning.
It’s a day with a high of forty-one for Whitewater, with a chance of a wintry mix earlier in the morning. In caucus state Iowa, Cedar Rapids will see a mostly sunny day with a high of forty-six.
It’s a puzzle from Google today, about a liberty-loving American: “Henry David Thoreau wrote about the Walden Pond wilderness. How many miles was it from the house where he was born? (Measured from his birthplace to the current Walden Pond Visitors Center.)”
It’s a famous Wisconsinite’s birthday today. On this day in 1879, Gen. Billy Mitchell was born, as the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls:
1879 – General William “Billy” Mitchell Born
On this date aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell was born in Nice, France. Mitchell grew up in Milwaukee and attended Racine College. During World War I, Mitchell was the first American airman to fly over enemy lines. He also led many air attacks in France and Germany. Upon return to the U.S., headvocated the creation of a separate Air Force. Much to the dislike of A.T. Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, and other contemporaries, Mitchell asserted that the airplane had rendered the battleship obsolete, and attention should be shifted to developing military air power.
Mitchell’s out-spokenness resulted in his being court martialed for insubordination. He was sentenced to five years suspension of rank without pay. General Douglas MacArthur — an old Milwaukee friend — was a judge in Mitchell’s case and voted against his court martial. Mitchell’s ideas for developing military air power were not implemented until long after his death. In 1946 Congress created a medal in his honor, the General “Billy” Mitchell Award. Milwaukee’s airport, General Mitchell International Airport, is named after him. [Source: American Airpower Biography]
