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Looking for the Home of the 48th Fighter Wing - Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England?
LAKENHEATH ACTION GROUP
CAMPAIGN FOR ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES
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MAPS OF LAKENHEATH
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Wide area map
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| Futenma noise suit names base commander By Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Friday, November 1, 2002
OKINAWA CITY — Another lawsuit against U.S. military base flight noise was filed Tuesday, this time by residents near Futenma Marine Corps Air Station. But for the first time in the history of Japan’s noise complaints against U.S. military bases, the air station’s commanding officer was named as a co-defendant along with the Japanese government. “Past court cases taught us that suing only the government is not good enough to stop the noise,” Tsutomu Arakaki, the residents’ chief lawyer, told reporters, standing at the courthouse’s entrance soon after he helped his clients file the suit. In a statement released Tuesday, the U.S. Marine Corps Consolidated Public Affairs Office said the Marine Corps could not comment on the case until appropriate military officials reviewed it. Under a U.S.-Japanese defense pact, the Japanese government owns and maintains the facility and the Marines use it. The suit was filed with the Naha District Court’s Okinawa City Branch. Two hundred residents, ages 1-81, were listed as plaintiffs. Their suit demanded the government of Japan and Col. Richard Leuking, the station’s commanding officer, jointly pay $2.56 million, or $12,760 to each plaintiff, as compensation for their physical and mental suffering caused by aircraft noise. In the past, similar lawsuits were filed against Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Yokota Air Base in Tokyo and Atsugi Naval Air Facility in Kanagawa. The courts ordered the Japanese government to compensate residents for damages sustained from aircraft noise. However, residents’ requests to halt night flights were dismissed in each case. “The commanding officer is the person who has complete authority and discretionary power of the base operations,” Arakaki said. “He is the one who can decide what hours and which routes aircraft should fly out or fly into the base.” The commander, Arakaki contended, is to blame by breaking an agreement to avoid night flights between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. “He willfully flew aircraft, ignoring the fact that the noise undermined health of residents in neighboring communities,” Arakaki said. “We want to bring out this fact before the court so that the commander would realize how serious are the damages the air station is causing to its neighbors.” Besides halting night flights and paying compensation, plaintiffs demanded that the Marine base limit flight noise, especially at night, and that the Japanese government monitor and record aircraft noise from the air station. Before filing the suit, about 50 plaintiffs and supporters held a rally in the courtyard. Zenji Shimada, 62, who leads the plaintiffs, criticized soundproofing devices Japan’s Defense Facilities Administration Agency provided each home in which noise exceeded a given level. “One soundproofed room to each home?” he asked. “Who would stay in one room all day long at his home? It is just a big waste of tax money.” Rie Motomura, 31, who joined the rally with her 8-month-old daughter, hoped the lawsuit would facilitate the air station’s closure. “Every time a helicopter or a jet flies over our house, I dash to the room where my daughter is to cover her ears so that she won’t be scared,” she said. “A jet that flies so low is scary for even a grown-up like me.” She decided to join the litigation to improve the living conditions around her home. “I want to do something for my daughter so that she can grow up in better surroundings,” she said. In a statement, DFAB Naha Director Takumi Okazaki said the government was fully aware of noise concerns in local communities near Futenma air station. Okazaki said efforts would continue to improve the surrounding environment. The court proceeding is expected to start in about four weeks. |
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| Judge
orders $23 million in payments to Atsugi neighbors for jet noise By Chiyomi Sumida and Rick Chernitzer, Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Friday, October 18, 2002
After living with loud jet noises for years, about 5,000 neighbors of Atsugi Naval Air Facility, Japan, came a step closer to getting relief Wednesday, although not as much as they would have liked. Chief Judge Tamio Okamitsu of Yokohama District Court ordered Japan’s Defense Facilities Administration Agency to pay 2.74 billion yen, or about $23 million, to Japanese residents claiming injuries due to noise pollution. The DFAA owns the base, which the U.S. military uses under a U.S.-Japan agreement. The judgment was for about one-third of the original claim of 9.569 billion yen, or $79.7 million, that plaintiffs sought in compensation. “It is good that the court acknowledged the noise in wider areas than before; yet it won’t really help us much,” said Kazuko Maya, one of the 4,951 plaintiffs. “If the noise is once in a while, we will put up with it, but years of the incessant noise is beyond our patience,” she said. Maya said she was concerned about the health of her two children, who attend elementary school near the base. She’s unable to hold conversations or watch TV when jets roar overhead, Maya said. “We just can’t do anything until the noise goes away.” In a statement, Michio Ishii, director of DFAA’s General Affairs office, praised the ruling, which rejected plaintiffs’ claims for compensation for future damages. However, Ishii said he was disappointed the court ordered the government to compensate for past damages. “It is regrettable that the government could not obtain understanding of the court,” he said. As to an appeal, Ishii said the government would “carefully review the ruling and discuss the matter with related agencies.” He added that DFAA would “make a further effort to improve the living environment of the communities surrounding the Atsugi Naval Base and to obtain understanding of local residents.” Takayuki Hayashida, an attorney representing the residents, said Wednesday’s ruling satisfied his clients. “We believe it was a fair ruling to a certain degree,” he said, explaining that the court in effect lowered the ceiling on what is acceptable noise. He also lauded the court’s decision to discount the government’s claim that some residents “approached danger” by moving into the community when they knew the air station was nearby. “Many people who bought houses in the area were unaware of the problem because people usually come to see homes they are interested in on weekends, when the military normally does not conduct flight training,” he said. “The ruling also dismissed the government’s argument that the noise level at the air base has decreased,” he said. “The noise situation in the surrounding communities has never been improved. “Unlike a commercial airport, aircraft noise from military air base is unpredictable, both hours and the noise level,” he said. “We are glad that the court acknowledged the peculiarities of a military air base.” Since 1975, the Japanese government has spent 498.5 billion yen, or about $4.15 billion, soundproofing homes in the nearby community, said Shigeru Suzuki, a spokesman for DFAA Yokohama. He said the project soundproofed at least one room in each of about 211,000 households. Yoshihiro Shimizu, from the base’s host nation relations office, said while the ruling had no direct impact on Atsugi, the base is already actively involved with the communities named in the suit. “We receive a lot of concern from the local governments,” he said. “And our commanding officer, Capt. Donald Aiken, is always talking directly with the mayors, and hears about their concerns directly. He also listens to the complaints made through my office.” Shimizu characterized relations between the base and the cities as “very good,” saying that problems emerge only during intense training periods. “I think we’re in a very good relationship right now,” He said. “Of course, there are times when we agree and disagree, but we do pretty well overall.” This is the third suit brought against the joint U.S.-Japan air base since 1976. In each prior case, courts ruled in favor of the residents, but the rulings were reversed on appeal to the Tokyo High Court. Residents called the ruling a mixed victory. “It is not the money that we want,” Maya said. “We want the jet noise to stop disturbing our daily life.” |
| The aim of this site is to try and help newcomers and people who live in the village of Lakenheath, (both US and British) find shops and services and try to improve the quality of life around the town. We are not here to help the base or its questionable activities as frankly they do not seem to give us a second thought and make most people's life a misery. This website has partly been produced due to the many long years (decades) of frustration hitting our heads against a brick wall talking to one RAF base commander after another, as they come and go on their tour of duty (The US base commander won't speak to Brits) trying to get some kind of help/dialogue from the USAF about how they affect us and the small things they could do to help improve our lives. Frankly enough is enough. We are sick of them ignoring us and this site is the consequence. If it annoys some Americans that we have an axe to grind with the USAF - sorry, but we have lived here many years and quality of life just gets worse and worse as the base does totally as it pleases without even a word to us. For many its the not knowing "what next" that is the biggest problem, and if only the USAF kept us informed to some small degree regarding projected activity and noise levels, it would make our lives much more tolerable. We would like to make it clear that 99% of thoughtful, decent American based here are our friends and we do not want some of the comment on the message board or this site to make you feel insecure or ill at ease. It is aimed at the USAF and badly behaved American personnel and not at decent Americans living here. |
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SONGS FOR THE USAF LAKENHEATH F-15 PILOTS
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| Peace - Peter | Edwin Star- War (What is it good for; absolutely nothing) |
| The Buoys - Give Up Your Guns | Aerosmith - Living On The Edge |
| Tremeloes - Silence Is Golden.mp3 | Paul Simon - My Little Town (Not Yours) |
| Al Wilson - La La Peace Song | George Harrison - Isn't It A Pity (that you don't go home) |
| Tom Petty - Learning To Fly.mp3 | Jackson Brown - Doctor My Eyes (ears) |
| Slade - Cum On Feel The Noise | Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds - Eve Of The War |
| The Who - Who Are You | Jigsaw - Sky High (Just 3,000ft would be an improvement) |
| Rolling Stones - 19th Nervous Breakdown | JJ Cale - After Midnight (Still reving your engines) |
| Heart - Heartless | Joe Walsh - Help Me Make It Through The Night |
| Hollies - Stop Stop Stop | Paul Simon - Homeward Bound (wish you were) |
| Asia - After The War | AC DC - Touch Too Much |
| After The Fire - One Rule For You | Animals - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place |
| David Bowie - This IS NOT America | |
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A typical 24hrs in America's little annex. Midnight roaring of engine testing. stange deep vibration shaking house
like a machine tunnelling deep underground. Yankie Go Home |
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RAF Mildenhall Base Tours Resume (1st Jan 2002) Lakenheath tours have now also been resumed, but are fully booked till July 2002. However, Lords walk is still closed (06 March 2002) |
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DID YOU KNOW? |
| The amount of energy used in the launch of just one F-15, would supply the power needs of the village for a whole day. |
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The peak noise level measured in my garden half a mile from an F-15 taking off is 102.7dBa. That's about 1000 times louder than a noisy city centre at 73dBa. Hundreds of houses in Lakenheath are within half a mile. The World Health Organisation recommends a maximum safe noise limit of 65dB, stating that more than this can lead to health problems including excessive stress, cancer and impotence. The noise level has increased dramatically in the past 7 years due to the F-15's being introduced. Personally we never had any problem with the old F-111's and even 747 passenger jets taking off and flying over our garden at 200ft are a real pleasure and no disturbance at all. This demonstrates how much we have to put up with since the F-15's arrived and how wrong it is for the USAF to increase the noise levels so much without any discussion with the local population.
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| The American vehicles on our roads only pay American fuel
prices while using OUR roads in often highly unsuitable massive vehicles
making lots of noise, pollution and taking up too much road space. The accidents caused by Americans making the transition to our roads (or just plain bad driving as is common) make motor insurance much more expensive for us than other areas locally, especially as a small proportion of American drivers are not aware, or choose to ignore the fact they need tax/MOT/insurance. |
| There are more than 200 nuclear bombs stored on the base |
| Contrary to the myth that our economy thrives on American trade, most local shops and shoppers rarely see an American in them. |
| It seems very likely the closed roads around the bases will remain closed permanently, especially Lords walk as its clear the USAF wants to absorb Lords Walk into its territory. Funny how gate one has very minimal security!!! |
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DOCTORS
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DENTIST
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OPTICIANS
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| Lakenheath 01842 860400 135 High St Lakenheath | DC Palmer 9 Bury
Road Brandon 01842 813029 |
Simon Kleyn 34-36 High St Lakenheath 01842 861 999 |
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| Brandon 01842 813 353 Forest group practice, Bury road Brandon. | D Bambury & H Smith
42 High St Brandon 01842 812381 |
Visioncare 7 Elm Close Brandon 01842 813 704 |
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| Brandon
01842 810388 Hunter and Partners 1 High St Brandon |
Townsend house Dental
surgery 6 Guildhall Thetford 01842 752332 |
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Thetford 01842 754 404 School lane Thetford |
PT Coles 18 Raymond Street Thetford
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SHOPS & SERVICES
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VETS
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HOME SHOPPING
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| Lakenheath still has that hang over from the dark ages called Half Day Closing. This occurs with most shops and the post office on Wednesday afternoon. Shops that are open are the Coop and Alldays. Most of the rest are closed, but give them a call to check. |
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Both these supermarkets deliver next day to Lakenheath within a 2 hour window of your choice and you can order from their websites. Iceland also allows phone/fax ordering. Both stores allow you to save your shopping basket so you can build up items day by day until you are ready to order. Tesco deliverto Lakenheath in refridgerated vehicles from their Newmarket store. (£5 Delivery charge). Order before 3pm for next day delivery, £4 Delivery Charge, min
order £40. Phone for their catalogue.Iceland deliver in refridgerated
vehicles from the Thetford store (Mistergate).
Can't find DIY things locally? |
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 CO-OP - 46 High Street 01842 860258 OPEN 7AM to 10PM 7 DAYS (Link cash machine outside Coop) |
EASTGATE VETERINARY GROUP |
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| Lakenheath News
- 65a High Street 01842 860164 |
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| Curtis - Brilliant
shop. Has EVERYTHING If other shops fail you, always try Curtis - never fails!! 29 High Street 01842 860223 Opposite Post office |
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| Maggies Pet Supplies Delivers free
(over £5) 37a High Street 01842 862435 Closed all day Wed Open 9-5 Mon to Fri plus Saturday AM |
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| Matthews Garden Centre 18 High
Street 01842 860284 Open 7 days 9-5 Closes 4pm on Sunday |
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 POST
OFFICE 42 High St 01842 860211 www.royalmail.com |
Aquarius
Veterinary Centres Field Road Mildenhall 01638 717871 30 Georges Street Brandon 01842 810480  |
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| BUDGENS 30 St Andrews St Mildenhall 01638 718162 |
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MILKMAN ARLA Foods, Hammond Close Newmarket CB8 OAZ 01638 662066 |
Paul Davey (7days/24hr Emergency
service) 39 Station Road West, Whittlesford, Cambs 01223 833651 |
PUBLIC
TRANSPORT Suffolk Traveline 08459 583358 Route 200 is the main bus that goes through Lakenheath. It goes from Newmarket to Thetford and travels though the village via, Broom Road, Highfields, Wings Road. Contact Suffolk Traveline 08459 583358for times on 01284 766171 (About 7 buses a day in each direction (Mon-Sat) Route 200 stops at: 352 Mon-Sat
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| RESTAURANTS/TAKE AWAY's Chris's Restaurant - 81 High Street 01842 860666 Domino's Pizza - Smoke House Inn Mildenhall 01638 716711 |
Paul Jarman The Veterinary Surgery 2 Short Beck Feltwell 01842 828938 |
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| LAKENHEATH
LIBRARY 65 High Street IP27 9DS 01842 860723 More Here |
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Lida Vets
(Dedicated to Small Animals) 7days/24hr Emergency Service Grosvenor Yard, High St, Newmarket. 01638 560000 |
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BUSSEN and PARKIN |
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FENCING SUPPLIES
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Scampers The Animal Care Centre, Northfield Road, Soham 01353 722711 | |||||||||||||
| Clarks - Road name
not published Walsham Le Willows, Bury Open Sat 8am -1215 Tel 01359 259259 Fax 01359 258178 e-mail sales@clarksofwalsham.co.uk www.clarksofwalsham.co.uk |
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| MARLOWS
- Building Supplies Hollow Road, Bury 01284 763155 Mon-Thurs 0730-4.30pm (Friday close 3.30pm) Sat 8am - midday |
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| CASH MACHINES Link - Outside Coop 46 High Street Lloyds Bank and ATM - Opposite Alldays |
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| PLUMBERS Andy Hovell (Est 1978) "Hollies" Boundary Road Hockwold-Cum-Wilton Tel 01842 828859 Mobile 0860 843231 |
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| GARAGES/CAR
SPARES Central Garage High St (Q8) - 01842 860226 Autospares - Mildenhall 01638 713747 Motorspares - Mildenhall 01638 716679 |
Lakenheath
Country Club & Clay Target Centre |
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| VALUE
FOR MONEY MOTORS Bargain used cars, MOT while you wait, repairs, body work etc. 133 High Street Lakenheath 01842 861172 |
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| GARDEN CENTRES Matthews -18 High Street 01842 860284 Lots of DIY and houshold goods now too. Fullers - Barton Mills 01638 712150 |
Lakenheath Personal
Home Pages
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Chris Moorhouse
www.cmoorhouse.freeserve.co.uk |
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The Cromwell Inn and Hotel
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| The Brewers
Tap Nice garden and selection of REAL ALE on hand pump. |
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| The
Plough Jazz theme to pub. |
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| Edmunson
Electrical Dettingen Way Blenheim Industrial Park Bury St Edmunds IP33 3TU Tel: 01284 760393 Fax: 01284 760712 Mon to Fri 7.30am to 5.00pm edmundson.electrical@lineone.net www.justoffbase.com/edmundson |
WOOLLARDS Timber and Building Supplies Very good service with attention to detail - highly recommended. 97 Kingsway Mildenhall IP28 7HS Tel 01638 713219 Fax 01638 713568 |
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BASES Mildenhall Royal Air Force Base, |
Citizens Advice Bureau |
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COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARD |
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Lakenehath Genealogy |
LAKENHEATH FOOTBALL CLUB LAKENHEATH LADS 2001/2002 SEASON requires players of ages u8,
u9, u10, u11, u13 and u15. Must be available to play Sundays, and train
Saturday mornings. |
LAKENHEATH SILVER BAND
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LAKENHEATH RABBIT RESCUE Email Howard and
Val |
Commercial companies placed here are added as they are useful to Lakenheath residents in my opinion. We do not have any connection with any organisation listed here and do not make any charge for placing their details on this page. | |||||||||||||
| Please tell us about any shops or services you think should be added here email |
Lakenheath 2000 Excellent Site, lots of contact numbers and info |
M&L Taxis 01638 712261
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| After massive increases in aircraft noise over the past year I have finally bought a noise level meter to confirm my suspicions of the PAINFUL noise we suffer. As I suspected the level is far above the safe hearing limit of 88dBa and often hits 98dBa (that's about 8 times (800%) louder than the safe hearing level as every 3dB increase is equivilent to twice the sound level we hear). This is a residential area with shops, schools and hundreds of homes and it is totally wrong to make us suffer this noise. We used to have F-111's stationed here and they were perfectly acceptable, but the latest version of F-15's with their more powerful engines are outrageously loud. RAF Base commander's office 01638 521945 |
| Lakenheath Links | ||
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USAFE
Weather
Get an idea how noisy it will be today by seeing which way they will be taking off (Jet Blast). |
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www.af.mil
US Air Force News |
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Forest Heath Villages
Hover mouse over top left of screen to find village list |
Just
Off Base.com
US Guide to Living in Lakenheath |
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Jet
48
USAF Magazine |
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Suffolk
Now (Daily News)
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| UK Villages.co.uk |  |
Bury.Angle |
| Littleport | ||
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I found this info at www.getmapping.com and thought Lakenheath residents may find it interesting Lakenheath formerly known as Laringahetha in Laringahetha,
SUFFOLK (although its also quoted here
as Laken hythe, "hythe" meaning "landing place". ) |
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AIRBASE RELATED
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US Military Bases in Europe |
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RAF Lakenheath History |
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US Holidays 2001 Flag Day is Thursday, 14 June, 2001. Labor Day is Monday, 3 September, 2001. General rules for US holidays New Year's Day, January 1st. Birthday of Martin Luther King, third Monday in January. Inauguration Day, January 20th every four years, starting in 1937. (next = 2005) Washington's Birthday, third Monday in February. Armed Forces Day, third Saturday in May. Memorial Day, last Monday in May Flag Day, June 14th. Independence Day, July 4. Labor Day, first Monday in September. Columbus Day, second Monday in October (federal holiday since 1971). Election Day, Tuesday on or after November 2. Veterans Day, November 11th. Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday in November. Christmas Day, December 25th. From http://www.smart.net/~mmontes/ushols.html Retreat sounds 4pm Winter and 5:30 in Summer. Retreat is the noisy
Tannoy we hear playing the US and UK anthems every day, which is far
louder over the Broom road area of village than standing outside the
gate in Lords Walk. |
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www.samaritans.org.uk
08457 90 90 90
jo@samaritans.org
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Looking for FREE Software? (Freeware) go to http://www.simtel.net/
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Temp at Cambridge
Est. 24 April 1999
