A nurse’s aide gets life imprisonment for murder

Year
1989
Month Day
November 02

Gwendolyn Graham is sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for killing five elderly female residents of the Alpine Manor Nursing Home near Grand Rapids, Michigan. Both Graham and her criminal and romantic partner, Catherine Wood, had been employed as nurses’ aides at the home.

A Texas native, Graham moved to Michigan in 1986 and found employment at Alpine Manor. Catherine Wood, Graham’s supervisor, had recently divorced and soon became her lover. Before long, Graham enlisted Wood’s aid in a brutal scheme: the duo decided to kill people whose initials would spell out the word “murder” when the spree was over. The first victim, however, fought back harder than expected so the pair abandoned the “initials game” and instead began focusing on the weakest women in the nursing home. According to Wood, Graham suffocated her victims with a washcloth while Wood stood guard as a lookout.

Reportedly, Graham and Wood often boasted about the murders but colleagues did not take them seriously. Wood claimed that in April 1987, Graham challenged her to “prove her love” by murdering someone. When she refused, Graham dumped her for another woman and returned to Texas. Wood, who later claimed that she was concerned that Graham would continue her killing spree in the South, confided in her ex-husband about the murders.

The story of the women’s exploits reached the police in late 1988. The deaths of five elderly women, who were originally believed to have died of natural causes, were then investigated by police officers. Although authorities could find no direct physical evidence linking Graham and Wood to the deaths, they were both arrested in December 1988. In return for a reduced sentence of 20 to 40 years, Wood agreed to testify against Graham. Graham was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility for parole.

Source

Ngo Dinh Diem assassinated in South Vietnam

Year
1963
Month Day
November 02

Following the overthrow of his government by South Vietnamese military forces the day before, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. 

The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. The United States subsequently became more heavily involved in Vietnam as it tried to stabilize the South Vietnamese government and beat back the communist rebels that were becoming an increasingly powerful threat. 

While the United States publicly disclaimed any knowledge of or participation in the planning of the coup that overthrew Diem, it was later revealed that American officials met with the generals who organized the plot and gave them encouragement to go through with their plans. His increasingly dictatorial rule only succeeded in alienating most of the South Vietnamese people, and his brutal repression of protests led by Buddhist monks during the summer of 1963 convinced many American officials that the time had come for Diem to go. 

Three weeks later, an assassin shot President Kennedy. By then, the United States was more heavily involved in the South Vietnamese quagmire than ever. Its participation in the overthrow of the Diem regime signaled a growing impatience with South Vietnamese management of the war. From this point on, the United States moved step by step to become more directly and heavily involved in the fight against the communist rebels.

Source

John Paul Jones sets sail

Year
1777
Month Day
November 02

On November 2, 1777, the USS Ranger, with a crew of 140 men under the command of John Paul Jones, leaves Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for the naval port at Brest, France, where it will stop before heading toward the Irish Sea to begin raids on British warships. This was the first mission of its kind during the Revolutionary War.

Commander Jones, remembered as one of the most daring and successful naval commanders of the American Revolution, was born in Scotland, on July 6, 1747. He became an apprentice to a merchant at 13 and soon went to sea, traveling first to the West Indies and then to North America as a young man. In Virginia at the onset of the American Revolution, Jones sided with the Patriots and received a commission as a first lieutenant in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.

After departing Brest, Jones successfully executed raids on two forts in England’s Whitehaven Harbor, despite a disgruntled crew more interested in “gain than honor.” Jones then continued to his home territory of Kirkcudbright Bay, Scotland, where he intended to abduct the earl of Selkirk and then exchange him for American sailors held captive by Britain. Although he did not find the earl at home, Jones’ crew was able to steal all his silver, including his wife’s teapot, still containing her breakfast tea. From Scotland, Jones sailed across the Irish Sea to Carrickfergus, where the Ranger captured the HMS Drake after delivering fatal wounds to the British ship’s captain and lieutenant.

READ MORE: How a Rogue Navy of Private Ships Helped Win the American Revolution

In September 1779, Jones fought one of the fiercest battles in naval history when he led the USS Bonhomme Richard frigate, named for Benjamin Franklin, in an engagement with the 50-gun British warship HMS Serapis. After the Bonhomme Richard was struck, it began taking on water and caught fire. When the British captain of the Serapis ordered Jones to surrender, he famously replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!” A few hours later, the captain and crew of the Serapis admitted defeat and Jones took command of the British ship.

One of the greatest naval commanders in history, Jones is remembered as a “Father of the American Navy,” along with fellow Revolutionary War hero Commodore John Barry. John Paul Jones is buried in a crypt at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland.

Source