On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Navy is expected to announce a new aircraft carrier to be named after Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller, Pearl Harbor hero and the first African American to receive the Navy Cross for valor.
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World War II
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On MLK Day, Navy to Name Aircraft Carrier After Pearl Harbor Hero Doris Miller
Victory Over Japan Day
It’s a little quiet here in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Because today is Victory Day, formerly known as VJ Day, formerly known as Victory Over Japan Day. The progression of names to the generic Victory Day was to accomodate the hurt feelings of, umm, who exactly? The Japanese...
President Trump Commemorates the 75th Anniversary of D-Day
Today is the 75th anniversary of the historic D-Day invasion.
Trump delivered his remarks from Normandy, France.
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Saving Private Ryan and The 75th Anniversary of D-Day
Today in History
Clouds hung low over the cold summer beaches of Normandy on the morning of June 6th, 1944. The French countryside had been subjected to a night of heavy bombing by the Army Airforce and the US Navy but the vital bunkers and artillery emplacements protecting the beaches had hardly...
The Cold Blue: A Tense and Heartbreaking Tribute to America’s Army Airmen
The 8th Army Airforce
Of all the branches of the military, the Army Airforce had an especially dangerous job. Leaving aside even the common flight risks of mid-air collisions and frostbite from flying in non-pressurized aircraft five miles in the air, the 8th Army Airforce dealt with unique horrors.
Over Germany, B-17 bombers...
WWII Sailor in Iconic Times Square Photo Passes Away at 95
George Mendonsa, the sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square after WWII, has passed away at age 95.
Mendonsa claimed he was the sailor in the iconic photo, but could never convince Life magazine.
Welcome home from Bloody Tarawa, Pvt. Emil F. Ragucci
The Battle of Tarawa atoll was fought on November 20-23, 1943.
Over 1000 U.S. Marines lost their lives, and over 2000 were wounded, during the 72-hour battle, earning the atoll the name “Bloody Tarawa.”
Remember the detainment of ethnic Germans in the U. S. during WWI and WWII?
Most people are well aware of the U. S. internment of ethnic Japanese, but it’s apparently a little-known fact that some ethnic Germans residing in the U. S. were detained in camps in this country during both world wars:
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Flashback to when Obama weaponized 2013 government shutdown
It’s unclear at this point whether there will be a short-term budget deal, or a government “shutdown.” Despite the drama, a shutdown is not really a shut down. Essential services continue.
It’s more of a scale-back, and the government has a lot of discretion as to what gets scaled back. In a...
Christmas Eve 1944: How singing ‘Silent Night’ saved American POWs during the Battle of the Bulge
On Christmas Eve 1944, U.S. troops were in the freezing cold of the Ardennes forest during the Battle of the Bulge, waist-high in snow.
We have remembered and told that story on recent Christmas Eves:
I encourage you not only...
FDR on Dec. 8, 1941: ‘A Date Which Will Live in Infamy’
On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech at 12:30PM to a Joint Session of Congress to declare war…a day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and...
Pearl Harbor: Sailor Finally Receives Recognition, Trump Declares Dec. 7 National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
There are days in the year we should commemorate yearly: 9/11, D-Day, V-Day, July 4. December 7, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, is one of those days. We lost 2,400 in the attack, the majority on the USS Arizona.
Today at Pearl Harbor, a sailor who saved six men finally...
Treasure Hunters Find Nazi Code Machine in Woods in Germany
Two treasure hunters went out into the woods near Munich and came out with a huge discovery….a Nazi code making machine! From The Times of London:
The so-called Hitler Mill was intended to replace the Enigma machines that turned Nazi war commands into complex codes. The SG-41 encryption machine earned its nickname...
Happy Victory Over Japan Day
The only state which still celebrates Victory Over Japan Day is my home State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Except, we can’t call it Victory Over Japan Day. Because that is a microaggression against Japan, even though they did start the war and we are celebrating victory over Japan.
I’ve covered this...
WWII Veteran is Returning Flag Taken From Enemy Soldier
On Friday, 93-year-old WWII veteran Marvin Strombo will fly to Tokyo, Japan, to return a Japanese flag he took from a fallen enemy soldier during the 1944 battle in Saipan. The Associated Press reported:
Strombo knelt and pulled out a silk flag, all the space around the bright red emperor’s sun filled...
True Story of Gaelic-Speaking Scots Who Escaped Nazis Gets Silver Screen Treatment
A great addition the World War II cinema is on its way.
From The Scotsman:
Heroic Private William Kemp, Corporal Sandy MacDonald and Lance Corporal James “Ginger” Wilson fled Hitler’s clutches in June 1940.
They managed to escape weeks after their Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders regiment had surrendered to enemy forces.
They are...
Remembering D-Day: June 6, 1944
On this day, 73 years ago, the Allies stormed into Normandy, France, and led an invasion to liberate Western Europe from the Germans. These men risked everything to bring an end to one of the most evil regimes in history.
American, British, and Canadian soldiers took part in Operation Overloard, also known...
