Tag: World War II
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The Bombing of Dresden, February 13, 1945.
Image: Dresden viewed from the Rathaus (city hall) in 1945, showing destruction. (Public Domain) On this day in history, February 13, 1945, over 800 Royal Air Force Lancaster’s descended on Dresden, Germany, “the Florence of the Elbe,” and with its lethal cargo, turned the city into a raging inferno killing approximately 25,000 innocent people and completely flattening…
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The Second Great Fire of London, on the Evening of December 29, 1940, Resulted From One of the Most Devastating Air Raids of the Blitz During World War II.
Image: The view from the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral towards the Old Bailey after the second Great Fire of London. (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 29, 1940, London, England, suffered its most destructive air raid when the German Luftwaffe firebombed the city. Hundreds of fires initiated by the igniting incendiary bombs…
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General George S. Patton, Commanding Officer of the U.S. 15th Army, Died From Wounds Suffered Not in Battle but in an Odd Car Accident. He was 60 years old. At 5:55 p.m. on December 21, 1945, Patton Passed Away in His Sleep.
Image: Major General Walter M. Robertson (back seat), commanding the 2nd Infantry Division, with Lieutenant General Patton pass in review of elements of Patton’s Third Army in April 1944, prior to the Normandy invasion in June. (Public Domain) On this day in history, General George S. Patton, commanding officer of the U.S. 15th Army, died…
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Legendary Big Band Leader Captain Glenn Miller’s Plane Would Go Missing Over the English Channel En Route to France for a Concert for American Troops That Had Assisted in the Liberation of Paris. December 15, 1944.
Glenn Miller On this day in history, December 15, 1944, trombonist and legendary big band leader Captain Glenn Miller, the biggest star of the American pop-music scene in the years directly before World War II and a man who set aside his dazzling career right at its pinnacle in 1942 to serve America as leader…
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A Group of 360 Japanese Warplanes Struck the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in a Brutal Attack. The Surprise Assault Caused a Significant Blow Against the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pulled the United States Irreversibly Into World War II. December 7, 1941.
Image: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A small boat rescues a seaman from the 31,800 ton USS West Virginia (BB-48), which is burning in the foreground. Smoke rolling out amidships shows where the most extensive damage occurred. Note the two men in the superstructure. The USS Tennessee (BB-43) is inboard. (Public Domain). On this day in history,…
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Casablanca, a World War II-Era Movie Starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Premieres at the Hollywood Theater in New York City; It Went on to Become One of the Most Favorite Hollywood Films of All Time. November 26, 1942.
Image: Casablanca (film) On this day in history, November 26, 1942, Casablanca, a World War II-era movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premieres at the Hollywood Theater in New York City; it went on to become one of the most favorite Hollywood films of all time. In the movie, Bogart portrays Rick Blaine, the…
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Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo was Sentenced to Death By the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. He Was Declared Guilty of Seven Counts of War Crimes and Was Condemned to Death by Hanging. November 12, 1948.
Image: General Hideki Tojo lies semiconscious, limp in a chair with a gaping bullet wound just below the heart after a botched attempt to kill himself as American soldiers surround his house. September 11, 1945. (Public Domain). On this day in history, November 12, 1948, Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo was sentenced to death by…
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Prisoners Of War Throughout History
When Everett Alvarez Jr. signed up for the U.S. Air Force in 1960, he didn’t imagine that he would become the first and nearly longest-held American prisoner of war in Vietnam; he just wanted to fly. Alvarez, the son of two poor Mexican immigrants, had just graduated as an engineer from Santa Clara University and…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 