Today is Saturday, Aug. 7, the 220th day of 2004. There are 146 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Saturday, Aug. 7, the 220th day of 2004. There are 146 days left in the year. On this date in 1942, U.S. forces land at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.
In 1782, George Washington creates the Order of the Purple Heart, a decoration to recognize merit in enlisted men and non-commissioned officers. In 1789, the U.S. War Department is established by Congress. In 1927, the Peace Bridge between the United States and Canada is dedicated during ceremonies attended by the Prince of Wales and Vice President Charles Dawes. In 1934, the U.S. Court of Appeals upholds a lower court ruling striking down the government's attempt to ban the controversial James Joyce novel "Ulysses." In 1959, the United States launches Explorer Six, which sent back a picture of the Earth.
In 1964, Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces. In 1974, French stuntman Philippe Petit walks a tightrope strung between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. In 1989, a plane carrying Congressman Mickey Leland, D-Texas, and 15 others disappears over Ethiopia. (The wreckage of the plane was found six days later -- there were no survivors.) In 1998, terrorist bombs at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania kill 224 people, including 12 Americans. In 2000, Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore selects Conn. Sen. Joseph Lieberman to be the first Jewish vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket.
August 7, 1979: Ravenna's water pressure has been fully restored three days after a pump at the water works was destroyed by fire. Industrial and heavy commercial users of water have been told they can resume operations.
A planned $23 million distribution center to be built by Kmart in Bazetta Township in Trumbull County will be abandoned unless Warren City Council agrees by Aug. 17 to provide water to the complex.
The Ohio Edison Co. asks the federal government to relax sulfur-pollution standards at its Niles power plant, the Sammis plant in Steubenville and the Edgewater plant in Lorain County.
August 7, 1964: A bucket brigade formed by neighbors helps save a large barn on the farm of G.F. Howard on Berlin Station Road in Ellsworth Township. The neighbors kept the fire in check until the volunteer firemen and equipment from Ellsworth and Canfield arrived.
Air Force Capt. Fred C. Cutrer, husband of the former Shirley Ann Mansour of Youngstown, is reported missing in action while flying a mission to South Vietnam.
Youngstown University will hold its first summer commencement Aug. 15 in Stambaugh Auditorium, awarding diplomas to 347 graduates.
August 7, 1954: Television station WFMJ officially makes the switch to its new channel, 21, beaming its signal from its 1,015-foot tower on Mable Street. The afternoon telecast opened with a showing of "Grand Canyon," the first feature on the station's two-hour "Movie Party."
Emilie Dionne, one of the famed Dionne quintuplets, dies in Montreal of an epileptic stroke at the age of 20. She is survived by sisters Cecile, Yvonne, Marie and Annette.
Kenneth M. Lloyd, secretary of the Mahoning Valley Industrial Council and a widely know authority on transportation and water resources, is appointed by President Eisenhower to the five-member advisory board of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.
August 7, 1929: A Youngstown man, Angelo Steela, 23, is being held in Pittsburgh in connection with the murder of Steve Monastero, one of the overlords of the Pittsburgh underworld, who was felled by a shotgun squad of killers in front of a North Side Pittsburgh hospital, where he had been visiting a member of his gang.
Talking before the trades and industrial section of the Ohio Vocational Organization, J.J. Richeson, superintendent of Youngstown schools, says vocational schools that offer educational opportunities to students "who can see no purpose in language and advanced academic subjects" are gaining popularity over the stereotypical school that trains the gifted few. Richeson is also president of the Ohio Education Association.
Youngstown schools will likely face another serious financial shortage for the rest of the 1929 school year because of delinquent tax collections, says Mahoning County Auditor John J. Arnold.