June 21
[ 2007-06-21 08:35 ]
 |
| The princess left
hospital later in the evening |
| 1982: Princess Diana gives birth to
boy |
England have
Diana, Princess of Wales, has given birth to a boy sixteen hours after
checking in to St Mary's Hospital, in London.
The boy, who has been named William, was born at 21:03 BST, weighing 7
lb.
He is second in line to the British throne after his father the Prince
of Wales, who accompanied Princess Diana to the hospital at 0500BST this
morning and stayed with her throughout the day.
Outside the hospital crowds had gathered to wait for news of the birth,
with some saying they would wait through the night if necessary. Flowers
arrived all day long and were taken into the hospital.
Thousands also gathered outside Buckingham Palace, where the birth was
formally announced.
"Delighted"
The Queen had continued with her scheduled programme, inspecting an RAF
regiment on their 40th anniversary at Wittering in Cambridgeshire.
A Palace official said she had looked "absolutely delighted" on hearing
that the Princess had gone into labour.
The Princess went into labour earlier than expected, but only by a few
days.
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St George's Hospital Medical
School in London, Geoffrey Chamberlain, told BBC News the long labour
period should not present cause for concern.
He said: "Just over half of women expecting their first baby deliver
inside 12 hours but another fifth go onto about 18 hours, and another
fifth go even longer.
"There is nothing abnormal with a labour going into 24 hours."
The Queen's own surgeon gynaecologist, George Pinker, who has looked
after the Princess throughout her pregnancy, was in charge of the
delivery. |
|
|
|
 |
| Thousands of US troops
have been killed or wounded in the
conflict |
|
1945: US troops take Okinawa | Artificially
1969:
The The Japanese island of Okinawa has finally fallen to the
Americans after a long and bloody battle.
The island, situated 340
miles (550km) south of the Japanese mainland, will now provide the
Americans with an invaluable air and naval base from which to launch a
sustained and forceful attack on the mainland.
It is estimated more than 90,000 Japanese troops were killed in the
82-day conflict.
"I personally saw one Kamikaze hit one of (the aircraft carriers)
whilst I was operating the plot for incoming bandits."
People's War memories
America also suffered heavy losses -
at this stage 6,990 servicemen have been reported killed or missing and
25,598 wounded.
Mopping up
In a statement issued today Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet,
Admiral Chester W Nimitz, said: "After 82 days of fighting the battle of
Okinawa has been won.
"Organised resistance ceased on June 21. Enemy garrisons in two small
pockets are being mopped up."
The Japanese fought a desperate battle until the bitter end with many
hiding out in caves on the southern-most tip of the island.
As the US forces closed in many threw themselves off 150ft
(45.7m)cliffs or waded into
the sea to drown rather than be taken prisoner.
More than 4,000 Japanese have so far been captured.
The conflict began on 1 April, when America's newly-formed 10th Army,
led by Lieutenant-General Simon Bolivar Buckner, landed on Okinawa's
western coast.
By 21 April most of the island had been taken by US troops but a
stalemate developed in the south around Okinawa's capital city, Naha.
The Japanese were able to secure a strong defensive position in the
rugged, cave-riddled terrain and it took several weeks to finally win the
battle. |
|
| Vocabulary:
|
| |
|
labour: undergo the efforts of
childbirth（分娩）
bandit: a
robber （強盜；土匪）
wade: to walk in or through
water or something else that similarly impedes normal
movement（跋涉）
|
|
