Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 32

Today in World War II History—December 12, 1939 & 1944

Maj. Richard Bong with his Medal of Honor, Dec 1944 (US Army Air Force photo: 020903-O-9999B-092)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 12, 1939: Battle of Tolvaajärvi begins—Finns will repulse Soviet attack.

Actor Douglas Fairbanks dies in Denver, CO, age 56.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 12, 1944: British launch Third Arakan Campaign toward Akyab, Burma.

At the Queensbury All-Services Club in London, bandleader Maj. Glenn Miller gives his final performance and makes his final recording.

Fighter pilot Maj. Richard Bong of the US Fifth Air Force receives the Medal of Honor for his 38th victory.

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Today in World War II History—December 11, 1939 & 1944

Finnish ski troops marching to the Raate Road, 31 Dec 1939 (public domain via Wikipedia)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 11, 1939: Finnish ski troops attack Soviet supply line on Raate Road.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 11, 1944: US Eighth Air Force launches its largest mission to date—1,586 heavy bombers hit rail targets in western Germany.

First Japanese balloon bomb is found in the US, in Montana.

Toronto has 20 inches of snow in one day, its worst snowstorm ever, 21 killed.

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Another Contract – Three WWII Novels & a Christmas Novella!

I’m thrilled to announce that in September I signed another contract with Revell Books for three more World War II novels, plus a Christmas novella! Signing this contract was extra-special, since the online document arrived while I was visiting the National World War II Museum in New Orleans – and I was able to sign it at the museum on my phone (see photo above).

The Christmas novella is set in San Diego, California – featuring a USO director and a former Hollywood heartthrob. For the novels, I’ll be returning to France and England to tell the stories of three French-American cousins who find themselves in Europe—for three very different reasons. These will be exciting and romantic tales of espionage and resistance in the midst of World War II, which also highlight issues with contemporary relevance. Of course, I used the new contract as an excuse to buy research books! The spines of these nonfiction books give you a few story clues!

I can’t wait to share more about these stories as their publication dates approach. The novella is scheduled to release in fall 2026 and the novels in spring 2027, spring 2028, and spring 2029.

Thank you to my agent, Rachel Kent with Books & Such Literary Management, and to the entire team at Revell for giving me a chance to tell these stories. And extra thanks to all of you who have read my books and supported my writing habit. I can’t do it without you!

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Today in World War II History—December 10, 1939 & 1944

Men of the US 77th Infantry Division man heavy machine guns cover the Antilao River at Ormoc, Leyte, Dec 1944 (US Army Center of Military History)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 10, 1939: Nobel Prizes are officially awarded:

* Physics–Ernest Lawrence (US)* Chemistry–Adolf Butenandt (Germany) & Leopold Ruzicka (Croatia)* Medicine–Gerhard Domagk (Germany)* Literature–Frans Sillanpää (Finland)* No peace prize awarded due to the war* Germany forces its recipients to decline the awards

France bans sale of meat on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.

First Canadian troop convoy (TC-1) sails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Britain with the 7,415 men of 1st Division.

Flight nurse Ens. Jane Kendeigh, US Navy, caring for wounded Marine William J Wycoff on Iwo Jima, March 3, 1945 (US Navy photo)

80 Years Ago—Dec. 10, 1944: On Leyte in the Philippines, US Sixth Army takes Ormoc, the main supply base.

First class of 24 flight nurses and 24 pharmacist’s mates starts at the US Navy’s School of Air Evacuation Casualties at Naval Air Station, Alameda, CA. (Read more: “Medical Air Evacuation in World War II—The Flight Nurse”) 

Nobel Prizes are awarded:

* Physics–Isidor Rabi (Polish, in US)* Chemistry–Otto Hahn (German, received in 1945)* Medicine–Joseph Erlanger (US) & Herbert Gasser (US)* Literature–Johannes Jensen (Danish)* Peace–International Committee of the Red Cross..The post Today in World War II History—December 10, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 9, 1939 & 1944

Japanese carrier Junyo at Sasebo, Japan, with 2 midget submarines at her side, 26 Sep 1945 (US Marine Corps photo: USMC 136995)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 9, 1939: In a friendly fire incident near Metz, France, Cpl. Thomas Priday becomes the first British soldier killed in WWII.

New song in Top Ten in US: “Oh, Johnny, Oh!”

British paratrooper with the 5th Scots Parachute Battalion in Athens, Greece during operations against ELAS (the Greek People’s Liberation Army), 18 Dec 1944 (Imperial War Museum: NA20863)

80 Years Ago—Dec. 9, 1944: In Formosa Strait, submarines USS Redfish and USS Sea Devil damage Japanese carrier Junyo beyond repair.

Bulgarian and Yugoslavian armies drive the last German forces from Serbia and Macedonia.

British troops arrive in Athens, Greece, to put down the communist uprising.

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Today in World War II History—December 8, 1939 & 1944

Airfield Number Two burning after American air raid, Iwo Jima, early 1945 (US Naval History and Heritage Command: NH 104141)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 8, 1939: In a Gallup poll, 96.5% of Americans oppose the US entering World War II.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 8, 1944: US Navy and US Army Air Force begin 72-day pre-invasion bombardment of Iwo Jima.

Dutch LKP resistance group raids Leeuwarden prison and frees 51 prisoners without a shot fired.

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Today in World War II History—December 7, 1939 & 1944

The number three gun of the destroyer USS Ward and her crew, credited with firing the first shot at Pearl Harbor (US Navy photo: NH 97446)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 7, 1939: In Soviet-Finnish war, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Italy declare neutrality.

Lou Gehrig is elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame; at 36, he is the youngest player honored to that date.

USS Ward on fire after being struck by a Japanese kamikaze in Ormoc Bay, Philippines, 7 Dec 1944, three years to the day after she fired the first US shot of the Pacific War (US Navy photo 80-G-270773)

80 Years Ago—Dec. 7, 1944: At Ormoc Bay on Leyte, destroyer USS Ward is damaged by a kamikaze; three years earlier to the day, USS Ward fired the first shots during the attack on Pearl Harbor—she is scuttled by destroyer USS O’Brien under the command of William Outerbridge, who had commanded the Ward on Dec. 7, 1941. (Read more: “Remember Pearl Harbor—The US Navy’s Role at Pearl Harbor”).

Nazi women’s leader Gertrud Scholtz-Klink asks all German women over 18 to volunteer to serve in the armed services to release men to the front.

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Today in World War II History—December 6, 1939 & 1944

Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder, commander of US 2nd Ranger Battalion, on Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, 7 June 1944 (Texas A&M Cushing Library)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 6, 1939: Musical Du Barry Was a Lady premieres on Broadway, featuring hit songs “Give Him the Ooh-La-La” and “Well, Did You Evah!”

80 Years Ago—Dec. 6, 1944: Col. James Earl Rudder leaves command of the legendary US 2nd Ranger Battalion, which had taken Pointe du Hoc on D-day, and takes command of the 109th Infantry Regiment (Read more: Tour of Pointe du Hoc, Part 1 and Part 2).

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Today in World War II History—December 5, 1939 & 1944

Patrol of the 307th Infantry at a river crossing near Camp Downes in the approach to Ormoc, Leyte (US Army Center of Military History)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 5, 1939: Fritz Kuhn, leader of the pro-Nazi German-American Bund, is convicted of embezzlement of Bund funds and is sent to Sing Sing prison; Gerhard Kunze replaces him over the Bund.

Sarah Sundin on board SS Red Oak Victory at Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park, Richmond, CA, May 2014 (Photo: Sarah Sundin)

80 Years Ago—Dec. 5, 1944: US launches final offensive on Leyte in the Philippines, driving into the Ormoc Valley.

Victory ship SS Red Oak Victory is commissioned into the US Navy as an ammunition ship at Richmond, CA (currently at Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park, Richmond, CA).

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Today in World War II History—December 4, 1939 & 1944

M10 Wolverine tank destroyer on a treadway ferry crossing the Saar River outside Dillingen in US 358th Infantry Regiment zone, Dec 1944 (US Army photo)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 4, 1939: Carl Sandburg’s book Abraham Lincoln: The War Years is published.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 4, 1944: US Third Army crosses the Saar River at Saarlautern, Germany.

Italian partisans liberate Ravenna in first major partisan attack in Italy.

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