East 23rd Street, 3rd Floor: Fill & Download for Free

In 1967 I worked in Saks Fifth Ave at the Revillon Freres fur boutique on the 3rd floor when a young woman stepped off the elevator followed, at a discreet distance by every store detective that worked there. She walked into the Boutique & it was love at first sight, unfortunately, one-sided. She was dressed in a flowing vintage dress with all sorts of adornments, granny glasses & the appearance of what I thought had to be the ultimate free-spirit. I spent about a half hour with her pouring out everything I knew about the multitude of furs we sold, in an effort to keep her there as long as possible. She soaked up everything I told her with interest. I was smitten, for life, as its turned out. Then she sort of floated off with the detectives in tow. No one knew who she was, but she was obviously a very special being(except to the store detectives, who had another take on her!). That evening, I think it was a Thursday, the Village Voice came out, I opened it & there she was staring out at me from the page!The caption read, "From San Francisco, Janis Joplin with Big Brother & the Holding Company appearing for the first time on the east coast". It was the first of many encounters over the next couple of years, backstage at the Cafe au GoGo where I worked, on 23rd street down the block from The Chelsea where she stayed in NYC and several times on the street where we acknowledged each other & exchanged pleasantries. It still feels special all these years later knowing that I was a part, however small, of her way too short life.

Back in the 80’s, I worked for UPS on the East side of NYC around 23rd Street. I met many celebrities at their homes or while doing my thing. I was a cover driver for 5 years (covered absences and vacations etc.).I met Michael Douglas while he was filming “Black Rain”- he was a totally cool dude and funny. He bummed a cigarette off me on Lexington Avenue.I met Tom Cruise (won’t go there, not a cordial fella). He had a hidden condo on 2nd Avenue in the Rutherford medical condominiums. Like the “Bat Cave” that place.I also met Judd Nelson, he was also cool and liked to play basketball up the block in the park.There was a guy named Rick W. (Redacted) who was a Veteran. He is a weapons supplier and FFL and prop master to movie sets. I often transported some crazy stuff like M-60’s etc., always fun when shit got lost and the Feds came down to question me. The guns always turned up. Lol!I met Anita Baker, Joe Jackson (very low key guy), Telly Savalas- awesome guy! I met Mikhail Baryshnikov at the American Ballet Theater which he ran, super guy and I had to go thru his dressing room to get to the front area. First time I met him he was in a towel Lol!Tyne Daily, also at ABT, she was studying for the play “Gypsy” and was pretty weird on the elevator.Kevin Dobson (also from Kojak). He was a real nice guy and helped me deliver stuff on E20th Street. LolI also met Sean Combs (before he was “Puffy”), lol, at a record supplier.I recently saw Hugh Jackman, he was doing a play and was outside his dressing room door chatting with people on the sidewalk. Real nice guy.The best was the 20th floor of 205 3rd Avenue! My two favorite celebrities ever!! Martin Scorsese’s Mom and Dad! She was a big home shoppers club addict back in the day. She was also the grandmother of my friend I grew up with in Staten Island (Martin’s Brother- Frank’s son).I didn’t know her, but I knocked on her door by pure coincidence and she opened it and on the wall was my friend Chris’ confirmation picture complete with rosary beads and a suit lol!We became great friends and she would often give me food like meatballs and spaghetti and grapes etc.Maybe you don’t know this, but she was in almost all of his movies including:Mean streets (lady in hallway yelling at the guy who hit his girlfriend).Casino (lady in the deli as they pan the camera to the ceiling to show the mic in the vent.)Good Fellas (Joe Pesci’s mom) and some others.Martin’s dad was cool too. He used to hit me jokingly with his cane on 3rd Ave when they were out shopping.He was also in Goodfellas (in the scene when Joe Pesci gets whacked and when they were cooking in prison). He was excited when Martin bought him a Barkolounger reclining chair with heat and massage. It also helped him to stand by pushing him up. He had it by the balcony and I told him to be careful as it might launch him onto 3rd Ave!I have to say, Martin’s and Frank’s parents were certainly the nicest people I’ve met. Down to earth wonderful and I miss them dearly. Everyone wishes for grandparents or parents like that. Salt of the earth people and I have to say that Martin and his brother Frank took awesome care of their parents.Also, lots of other famous people I can’t even remember!

The Battle of Lang SonLang Son, Vietnam, is located in northern Vietnam directly opposite Guangxi, China, 18 kilometres from the Sino-Vietnamese border in the north and 130 kilometres from Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, in the south. To the north of Lang Son is a mountainous region of rolling hills and dense jungle, while to the south of Lang Son is a northern plain of rice paddies and water networks. Lang Son is crisscrossed by road and rail, reaching the Sino-Vietnamese border to the north and Hanoi to the south. Lang Son is therefore not only the transport hub of northern Vietnam, but also the gateway to the capital, Hanoi.Lang Son is guarded by the 308th Division of the Vietnam People's Army, which is part of the Hanoi 1st Military Region. This unit, also known as the "Golden Star Division", was formed in September 1965 in the south of Vietnam, named after the "Golden Star of the South", a symbol of victory, and was the main division in the south against the American forces. The 3rd Division is the oldest division in the Viet Cong, apart from the 312th, 316th, 304th and 308th divisions, which were formed in the war against the French in the 1950s. The 3rd Division had 2, 12, 141 and 68 artillery regiments, of which 12 was once named "Heroic Regiment", good at attacking, capable of close combat and night fighting, and with great merit in fighting the American troops. 141 was good at attacking and defending, and was once named "Hero of the People's Armed Forces" in Vietnam. The 308th Division was proud and arrogant from top to bottom, and once shouted "We will fight until Friendship Pass and have breakfast, and fight until Nanning for the Spring Festival! The 308th Division was so proud that it once shouted, "We will fight until Friendship Pass for breakfast and Nanning for Spring Festival! Unfortunately, the 3rd Division was not able to do well and lost its "heroic" 12th regiment to the 55th Chinese Army at Tongdeng. The remaining 10,000 men of the 308th Division retreated to Lang Son, using the mountainous terrain around Lang Son to fortify the area with bunkers and bunkers to keep the Chinese troops at bay.The main Chinese forces attacking Lang Son were the 55th Army of the Guangzhou Military Region and the 162nd Division of the 54th Army, reinforced by a heavy artillery cluster, with the main body of the 43rd Army and the 148th Division of the 50th Army, in order to attack from the east in the direction of Lu Ping. In total, the attacking force consisted of seven divisions and over 80,000 men.The Battle of Lang Son began early in the morning of 27 February 1979. The Chinese army launched a 10-minute fire assault, then the 55th Army split into three groups, with the 163rd Division's 487th Regiment attacking Khau Ma Shan, the 488th Regiment attacking the 417th Plateau, and the 164th Division's 491st Regiment going straight for Ba Wai Shan. By 17:00 on the 27th, the 163rd Division had captured the main peak of Buckhorn Hill and the adjacent 417th high ground. 491st Regiment of 164th Division attacked Ba Wai Hill. Ba Wai Mountain is located to the northeast of Lang Son city and consists of more than 10 highlands of different sizes. It was defended by one battalion of Viet Cong, with the main force entrenched on the main peak and 440 high ground to the north, with artillery positioned on the western side of the main peak and a large minefield on the perimeter of the position.The 491st played a smart game, using a battalion of troops to feint from the east and draw the VC's fire. Another section approached with a secret infiltration and quickly cleared the minefield, opening up a channel for the Viet Cong. The Chinese troops then crossed the minefield, climbed a steep wall and suddenly approached the Viet Cong position and the two sides exchanged fierce fire. At the same time, another part of the 491st Regiment detoured back to the south-west of the main peak and launched a surprise attack, destroying the Viet Cong artillery positions in one fell swoop. Chinese troops from all sides launched an all-out assault, attacking from east to west and pushing towards the main peak through physical combat. After a day of fierce fighting, all the defending Vietcong were destroyed and the main peak of Ba Wai Mountain was occupied.At the same time, the 162nd Division of the 54th Army attacked Qixi, northwest of Lang Son. The Vietnamese defenders soon collapsed in the face of the fierce penetration of the Chinese army. The Chinese troops took control of the important airfield and cut off the main access route for the Vietnamese to Lang Son. In the Lu Binh and Heng Mo areas to the east of Lang Son, the 43rd Chinese Army, despite the fatigue of days of fierce fighting, made long-distance raids to break through the Viet Cong defences and captured Lu Binh on schedule, taking control of the Viet Cong's western route to Lang Son and their southern escape by sea.By 29 February, the outer defensive points of Lang Son had all been cleared. The Chinese army attacked Lang Son city from the east, north and west. At this point in the battle, the situation in northern Vietnam was already decided. As the Viet Cong showed no sign of mobilising their reserves for a counter-attack, Lang Son alone would not be able to stop the Chinese attack in any way. Yet Lang Son was too important, and without it, the capital, Hanoi, would be directly under attack. Therefore, the heroic "3 Venus Division" made a last stand here.On the morning of 1 March, the 55th Army concentrated more than 300 artillery pieces on Lang Son, dropping tens of thousands of rounds in 30 minutes and turning the city into a sea of fire. Afterwards, the 55th Army divided its forces into several directions, with the 163rd Division as the main attacker, the main force of its 489th Regiment making a major assault along the railway towards the Qipu River Bridge in Lang Son, while a part of its forces spread out along the western side of the railway to attack the northern city of Lang Son; the 488th Regiment also attacked along the 279th Highland towards the Qipu River Bridge, working with the 489th Regiment to destroy the enemy east of the railway and north of Lang Son. The 164th and 165th Divisions were on the left and right flanks of the 163rd Division. The Vietcong's 3rd Division resisted by relying on defensive positions.On the morning of 2 March, the Chinese troops changed their method of battle. After a 10-minute artillery barrage, the tank and artillery units moved forward to suppress the Vietcong fire with heavy artillery fire. At the same time, the Chinese army split into multiple clusters and launched simultaneous attacks on the large and small rocky hills and 279 heights, while another part penetrated the bridge along the railway to cut off the retreat of the enemy in the northern city.At noon, the 163rd, 164th and 165th Divisions of the 55th Army all broke through into downtown Lang Son. The Vietcong held on to buildings and roadblocks, but the Chinese army took turns to knock out the Vietcong's fire points with straight forward tanks and pushed their artillery into the streets, firing flat shots at them while the infantry rushed up to clear out the remnants of the enemy. At 12 noon, the 3rd Battalion of the 491st Regiment of the 164th Division stormed the provincial capital building and raised the red flag of the Chinese army on the upper floors. This was followed by the capture of the Lang Son City Public Security Bureau and the International Travel Agency, and the rendezvous of the various Chinese troops at the bridge over the Chi Poor River. By the evening of 2 March, the scattered resistance of the Viet Cong had been cleared and all of downtown Lang Son North was under the control of Chinese troops.At this point in the battle, it could be said that all the pre-war objectives had been captured and the troops could be withdrawn as requested by the Central Military Commission. However, at this point Vietnam announced to the world through propaganda that the Chinese army had not captured Lang Son! It turned out that Lang Son's northern downtown area was only the new downtown area, while the old downtown area was the old one in Qi Poor Henan. The Vietnamese government's meat was rotten, and the verbal argument invited a bigger blow. The Chinese army was enraged and Xu Shiyou, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, after consulting the Central Military Commission, gave the order: "Advance bravely and fight across the Qipu River!"At 06:50 on 4 March, the 55th Army, 43rd Army and other units of the Chinese army formed an assault cluster, opened the way with heavy artillery fire, braved the fog that filled the sky and earth, and crossed the Qipu River along the bridge over the Qipu River and by assault boats and rubber boats. The 308th VC Division resisted stubbornly, holding three heights on the south bank, including 428, 391 and Man Miao. However, the situation was already over and under the attack of the superior Chinese troops, the Vietcong suffered heavy casualties and fell into confusion. By 11:00 noon on the 4th, all three heights had been captured by Chinese troops. The 308th Viet Cong Division fought hard but was devastated and its main force was largely annihilated, leaving Lang Son completely conquered and the Chinese advancing as far as 5km south of the Chi Phu River.This ended the battle of Lang Son. The Chinese army took this area and the river was now flat to the south. If the Chinese wanted to, they could drink Hanoi in no time. By now the Vietnamese capital was in chaos and the relocation of Hanoi's authorities had begun.On 5 March, the Chinese government announced: "The Chinese border troops have been forced to return fire in self-defence since 17 February and have now achieved their intended purpose. Since 5 March 1979, all Chinese border troops have begun to withdraw to Chinese territory".The 55th Army annihilated more than 13,000 enemy troops in this operation against Vietnam, becoming the most annihilated unit among the nine armies on the Eastern and Western Second FrontsIt should be noted that the 308th Division was a Chinese trained unit.The 308th Division was the first major infantry division formed in the early days of the Viet Cong, hence the name "Pioneer Army Division", meaning the front-runner.In April 1949, the headquarters decided to transfer the six main battalions (the 18th, 23rd, 29th, 79th and 626th Infantry Battalions and the 410th Artillery Battalion), which had just returned from the front line on Route 4 and had achieved many successes, to form the 308th Division (then known as the Grand Regiment), which used the 308th Regiment as its name. On 28 August 1949, the 308th Division was formally inaugurated in Tun Du Town, Tong Xi County, Taiyuan Province. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Tran Dang Ninh, a representative of the Vietnamese government, and Commander-in-Chief Vu Yuanjia.In early May 1950, the 308th Division led the 88th and 102nd Regiments to a camp in Yanshan County, Yunnan Province, China, where the 13th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army replaced their equipment and provided them with clothing and food aid. They were also instructed by the military advisors of the 13th Army to carry out training before the border battle. In accordance with the decision of the Yunnan Military Region, the 13th Army formed a team of advisers from division to platoon, mainly from the 38th Division, and drew competent cadres from all divisions to assist at all levels in the 308th Division of the Viet Cong, responsible for conducting counterpart training. 38th Division also conducted a week of demonstration exercises for Viet Cong cadres above platoon level with an infantry company of the 113th Regiment. Training and equipment were carried out at the same time. The Supply Department of the 13th Army sent vehicles from Kunming to Yanshan for 18 consecutive days to deliver 10,000 sets of clothing, 10,000 towels, 800 quilts, 350 rifles, 2,500 rounds of ammunition and 200 boxes of medicine for the Viet Cong to ensure the needs of the unit's training. At the same time, the 13th Army gave the Vietnamese 4 mountain guns and 2 each of 92 infantry guns, battle defence guns and chemical mortars, as well as all the equipment and ammunition for each gun, that the mountain gun battalion brought to Yanshan to help with training. For the 7 infantry battalions of 2 regiments, artillery and engineers in training, they were supplemented with 1,794 rifles, 146 light machine guns, 50 heavy machine guns, 28 82 mortars, 52 60 guns, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, 4,800 shells and 50,000 hand grenades. As well as a batch of explosives, detonators, earthwork tools, signal guns and rubber boats. The division was equipped with umbrellas, mackintoshes, mosquito nets, rice bags, stretchers, telegraphs, telephones, wires, batteries and other military combat supplies. After two months of training, by the time the 308th Division returned home in early July, it had been transformed from a bare-handed unit into a fully equipped and trained fighting unit that played an important role in the subsequent border campaign.In July 1950, the 308th Division returned to Vietnam from China's Yunnan Province, using the code name "Gao Bei Lang Division" to participate in the border campaign. The Chinese People's Liberation Army dispatched Wu Hao Min, deputy commander of the 37th Division, and Wang Yanquan, deputy commander of the 40th Division, as military advisors to the 308th Division.On 10 October 1954, the division was ordered to be stationed in Hanoi to carry out military control. Divisional Commander Major-General Wang Cheng Vu was appointed Chairman of the Hanoi City Military and Political Committee. After the liberation of northern Vietnam, he was stationed in the Chun Mui district of Ha Son Binh province.The first Divisional Commander Wang Thanh Vu (1910-1980) was the former Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, former Director of the Higher Military Academy and a General.Born in 1910, he was a native of Thanh Chi commune, Hanoi, and came from a family of railway workers. He joined the Chinese Nationalist Party in 1929 and served as an administrator in the Nationalist army for three years. 1936, he entered the Central Army Officers' School and returned to Vietnam after graduation. 1943, he joined the Indochinese Communist Party (now the Vietnamese Communist Party) and organised anti-Japanese guerrilla groups in the Ha Dong area. 1945, he organised the security forces in the Hanoi area and served as their leader. 1946 In August 1949, he became the first commander and political commissar of the 308th Division, the first main infantry division of the Viet Cong. He came back to China in March 1962 to further his studies at the Beijing Military Academy.He was killed in a helicopter crash in Cambodia in early 1980 and was posthumously promoted to General on 27 April 1980.