European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 9, 1985 the stars and stripes pages medal of Honor winners gather for convention Myrtle Beach . Dpi _ win ners of the nation s highest award for valor the medal of Honor gathered for their convention saturday and a keynote address  Secretary of the army John o. Marsh. Congress has awarded 3,412 medals of Honor since 1863. Of the recipients 249are living but Only 160 were present for the convention. At these gatherings there is Little talk  the medal winners about the feats that won them the country s top recognition for Battlefield bravery. I really have never in  15 years with the group said anything about  action to any of these men said Ronald h.  president of the medal of Honor society and a Veteran of the Vietnam War. Several of the medal winners attending had missing arms or legs and at least one is Blind. Some received their medals in world War i. They All Sash one thing around the neck of each is a five pointed Star held  a Blue Sash. Above the Star an american Eagle is perched on a bar that reads.  you feel you did t do anything to receive this. You just did a Job said Carl Sitter awarded a medal for holding a Hill in Korea. Those at the convention said if they had their Way there would be no new members. If we never got any More members i would be the greatest thing in the world said Elliott Williams 54, because it would mean there never would be any More wars. And if you know the meaning of War what it s like. Williams one of the most decorated fighters of the Vietnam Era received his medal of Honor for a River Battle in which his patrol boat Defeated Many of 65 enemy boats before reinforcements arrived. I think i d smile in  grave someday if there never were any More members said Gino Murli 61. Honoured for single handed  defending a Roadblock in world War it. "1 figured this was the end for Murli. I never dreamed i d survive. The next Day when our forces broke through and relieved me the body count showed i d killed 71 germans. Our holding that Roadblock meant we took 9,000 germans prisoner out of that  . Craft May pass through head of Comet Greenbelt . A if All goes As planned an obscure . Spacecraft sent into space on another Mission will make history this week  piercing the glowing head of a  for the first interception of one of these celestial travellers. The International cometary explorer a 1,054-Pound robot Craft shot into space seven years ago will catch up with Comet Giaco Bim Zinner on wednesday after Pur suing the ghostly object for almost two years. It would be the first close up look at one of the Gau?.y bodies of ice and dust believed to contain some of the original material from which the solar system and All of its planets were formed much of the world s stargazing attention has focused on the return of Halley s Comet and the five spacecraft head ing out to meet it next Spring. But if All goes As planned the Little noticed . Craft could quietly upstage this event  being first. Scientists and engineers at the Goddard space right Center in Grcen balt which is controlling the Mission planned to fire ice s Small steering rockets sunday to line tune its flight path. A 1959 photo of Comet Giacobini Zinnur. The Man Euver should assure that the spacecraft passes through the Comet about 5,000 Miles behind its solid nucleus estimated to have a mile wide diameter. At encounter time Goddard scientists estimate the head of charged particles dust and ice crystals shroud ing the nucleus should be about 45,000 Miles in Diame Ter and the Tail about 435,000 Miles Long. Robert w. Farquhar flight director of the Mission says the Tail begins Well within the head or coma and the space Craft should pass through both components of the Comet. We Are going right through the head of the Comet Farquhar said. Since the Tail flutters behind the head he continued there is a Chance ice could miss it if it zigzags out of the Way As the Craft passes. Goddard astrophysicist Malcolm b. Nice nor or. Said comets have two kinds of tails a dust Tail and a plasma Tail made up of charged atomic particles. Ice is a 16-sided, barrel shaped Craft with Long whisker like antennae spanning 302 feet. Originally de signed to linger in space and Sample particles from the Sun. The unshielded spacecraft is Given Only an even Chance of surviving the 45,000 Mph dash through the Comet said Farquhar. There is a Chance dust particles from the Comet could punch through the spacecraft like bullets. But Farquhar said he is More worried about dust cracking and degrading the solar Power cells. Study links problem drinkers to majority of accidents Washington up fatal Acci dents involving Drunken Drivers Are More often caused  problem drinkers or alcoholics than  tic occasional Drinker a study shows. The report published  the beverage retailers against driving drunk said 52 percent of the 23,500 alcohol related fatalities recorded in 1983 involved Drivers who were drunk written  safety expert Charles Liv Ingston the report said another 20 percent were passengers in the car with the Drunken Driver some drunk themselves and 11 percent were intoxicated pedestrians who were at fault  walking into the path of cars. It said the rest of the victims p per cent had no involvement with alcohol. In other words 83 percent of alcohol related fatalities in 1983 were either involved with the drunk Driver impaired or drunk themselves or were intoxicated pedestrians the study said. The vast majority of these individuals had blood alcohol concentration Levels far in excess of the 0.10 Bac considered drunk. Sixty percent of the dead Drivers tested for blood alcohol were above 0.16  isor to drive living Ston who served As policy adv the presidential commission on drunk ing said a 180-Pound Man would have to con sume 11 or 12 drinks during a two hour period about one drink every 10 minutes to reach a 0.20 blood alcohol level. This is not to say that less chronic so Cial drinkers arc never involved but it is the individual who regularly abuses alcohol who appears to be most often involved in Drunken driving fatalities Livingston said. He said figures indicate it is the heavy or problem Drinker who is involved in the larg est proportion of alcohol related crashes and arrests and these Are the people whore Likely to end up killing themselves. The study was based on figures from the transportation department s fatal Accident reporting system. There were no dramatic changes in the 1984 figures. Livingston told up people must make Drunken driving socially unacceptable jus like pulling your pants Down at a party is socially  having one or two drinks with dinner snot the problem. But we All have a responsibility to intervene with those who want to drive when they Are under the influence of alcohol and should not have the attitude of just let the Law Deal with this " Beach lovers flock to Nebraska for 6th Flamingo open festivities Lemoyne neb. A More than 1,000 land locked Beach lovers turned normally Placid Lake Mcconaughy into a tropical Playpen saturday As part of the Light hearted sixth annual Flamingo open. Attractions at the Lake s White Sandy Beach More than 1,000 Miles from the nearest Ocean included a limbo con test volleyball tournament cocktail parties plastic Pink flamingos fireworks hawaiian decor and a Sailboard  from at least 10 midwestern and Western state lined the Shore of the state s largest Lake with hundreds of tents vans campers and cars. The Flamingo is a three Day sporting contest and social event held at this Small Western Nebraska town every year since 1980."basically, it s a great big Beach party said Marty Czarnecki a Denver Sailboard retailer who started the Flamingo with a few of her California friends. The main Point of the whole thing is to have a Good  the Flamingo began As a Small informal Sailboard Competition but has grown into an elaborate festival com plete with official to shirts visors Coffee mugs and bait Ball  Cost of operating the festival estimated this year at si0,000 is recouped through souvenir sales and entry fees ranging from $15 to $25 per person. The main attractions Are the Sailboard Competition the camaraderie and the Laid Back often Tongue in Cheek atmosphere. Last year participants were required to Wear paper jackets to a fancy catered dinner on the Beach. Sailboard contest winners were awarded plastic Pink flamingos As trophies. This year the dress code at cocktail parties included a hawaiian wrap a colourfully patterned Sheet of cloth that was worn As a dress pants shirt or Cape. This thing is More than a sailing contest. It s an Atti tude said Greg Matlock a firefighter from Hays kan., who Calls himself crazy  As shown  the number of bows Volvo and Well equipped campers on the Beach the Flamingo draws predominantly upper scale crowd most of them from col Orado. Among the participants were doctors lawyers restaurateurs artists architects and other upwardly Mobile professionals. Just take a look at the kind of equipment out there said Gurnee Munn a Flamingo organizer who co owns Czarnecki s Sailboard shop in Denver. You Don t get that kind of Money being a  Sands of time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. Sept. 9, 1945 some 1,200 prisoners of War including 89 americans who survived the death March on Bataan were liberated  the . 7th Fleet said is. Mili tary officials in Guam. 30 ears ago today. Sept. 9, 1955 Istanbul a scene of vast devastation recovered slowly from a night of anti greek rioting that wrecked More than half of the City s stores and shops. 20 years ago today. Sept. 9, 1965 the egyptian government has Dis closed details of a massive plot  extremist moslem to overthrow president Gamal Abdel Nasser s regime through terrorism and murder. 10 years ago today. Sept. 9, 1975 police made Over 100 arrests As . Marshals backed  National guard troops helped get the buses rolling As a new and extensive school busing pro Gram came to Boston