Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 367
October 26, 2014
Today in World War II History—October 26, 1939 & 1944
American survivors of the Battle of Leyte Gulf rescued by US Navy ship on 26 October 1944 (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—Oct. 26, 1939: Germany annexes former Polish areas of Upper Silesia, West Prussia, Pomerania, Poznan, Ciechanow, Danzig, and part of Lodz; all the rest of German-occupied Poland to come under the “General Government.”
70 Years Ago—Oct. 26, 1944: The Battle of Leyte Gulf concludes with a decisive US victory, despite heavy Japanese kamikaze attacks; this battle marks the virtual collapse of the Japanese Navy.
October 25, 2014
Today in World War II History—October 25, 1939 & 1944
Japanese special attack (kamikaze) Zero fighter diving on USS White Plains, 25 October 1944
75 Years Ago—Oct. 25, 1939: The Man Who Came to Dinner premieres on Broadway, runs for 739 performances.
70 Years Ago—Oct. 25, 1944: In Battle of Leyte Gulf, US loses 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, and 1 destroyer escort; Japanese lose 4 carriers, 2 battleships, 5 cruisers, and 5 destroyers. First main kamikaze attacks occur in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. On the ground at Leyte, Japanese take advantage of naval diversion and attack US ground troops.
October 24, 2014
Today in World War II History—October 24, 1939 & 1944
Submarine USS Tang departing from Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA
75 Years Ago—Oct. 24, 1939: Benny Goodman records “Let’s Dance.”
70 Years Ago—Oct. 24, 1944: Fifty black sailors are convicted of mutiny in the controversial Port Chicago case; after only 80 minutes deliberation, all 50 men given 15-year sentences [Read about the trial in my blog post]. Off Formosa, sub USS Tang sinks a ship in a Japanese convoy, having sunk 5 ships with only 9 torpedoes, but Tang is sunk by her own torpedo.
October 23, 2014
Today in World War II History—October 23, 1939 & 1944
Battleship Fuso or Yamashiro under US air attack in Philippine waters, 24 October 1944 (US Navy photo)
75 Years Ago—Oct. 23, 1939: US freighter City of Flint, captured by Germans, arrives at Murmansk, Russia. Author Zane Grey dies in Altadena CA, age 67.
70 Years Ago—Oct. 23, 1944: Battle of Leyte Gulf begins as Japanese fleet lures the US Third Fleet away from the landing beaches at Leyte in the Philippines.
October 22, 2014
Book Beat – Every Tear a Memory by Myra Johnson
Joanna Trapp lives for adventure. During World War I she served as a “Hello Girl” switchboard operator in France. When a telegram arrives after the war announcing the death of Joanna’s mother, she reluctantly goes home to Hot Springs, Arkansas to care for her troubled teenage sister, Lily. However, quiet home life makes her restless. Only her job as a hotel switchboard operator gives her any sense of purpose.
During the war, Thomas Ballard had to stay home with health issues, while his brother and friends fought and sacrificed for their country. However, a life of security has always appealed to him, and his work as a manager of one of Hot Springs’s finest hotels fulfills him.
When Thomas and Joanna meet, their mutual attraction battles with their inherent differences. Can a woman of adventure find happiness with a man of stability? Will they challenge each other – or infuriate each other?
Every Tear a Memory by Myra Johnson explores the time immediately after the First World War, when servicemen – and servicewomen – readjusted to their lives at home. The honest look at the effects of grief and mental illness elevate this story beyond a simple romance. But the romance also satisfies on a deep level, as Thomas and Joanna’s relationship brings about mutual growth as well as tender kisses. A lovely story I highly recommend.
Today in World War II History—October 22, 1939 & 1944
Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch, Jr., commander of the U.S. Seventh Army in southern France, and his son, Capt. Alexander “Mac” Patch III, shortly before the young officer’s death. (U.S. Military Academy)
75 Years Ago—Oct. 22, 1939: Soviets clamp down on occupied Poland, closing schools and churches, banning the Polish language and typewriters. Gallup poll: 95% of Americans want to stay out of the war, but 62% want to aid the Allies.
70 Years Ago—Oct. 22, 1944: First use of napalm in the Pacific Theater—US fighters drop napalm on oil storage tanks on Ceram Island. Capt. Alexander Patch III, son of the commanding general of the US Seventh Army, killed in action in France.
October 21, 2014
Today in World War II History—October 21, 1939 & 1944
US rifleman in Aachen (US Army Center of Military History)
75 Years Ago—Oct. 21, 1939: President Roosevelt establishes an advisory committee on the use of uranium.
70 Years Ago—Oct. 21, 1944: US First Army takes Aachen, the first major German city to fall to the Allies. Lt. Frances Slanger killed by German shell in her tent, the first American nurse killed in France.
October 20, 2014
Today in World War II History—October 20, 1939 & 1944
MacArthur wading ashore at Leyte, Philippine Islands, 20 October 1944 (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—Oct. 20, 1939: Pope Pius XII publishes his first encyclical, Summi pontificatus, decrying racism, dictators, and treaty violations.
70 Years Ago—Oct. 20, 1944: US Sixth Army lands on Leyte in the Philippines, led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who declares, “I have returned.” Soviets and Yugoslavian partisans take Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
October 19, 2014
Today in World War II History—October 19, 1944
Frances Wills (left)
and Harriet Ida Pickens are sworn in by Lt. Rosamond D. Selle, at New York City.
In December 1944, they became the Navy’s first African-American WAVES officers.
70 Years Ago—Oct. 19, 1944: Japanese Vice-Admiral Onishi Takijino orders the formation of Special Attack Group of kamikazes to attack Allied ships around the Philippines. US Navy partially integrates blacks into service areas and opens WAVES to black women.
October 18, 2014
Today in World War II History—October 18, 1939 & 1944
Swearing in of members of German Volkssturm, Berlin, 12 November 1944 (German Federal Archives, Bild 146-1971-033-15 / CC-BY-SA)
75 Years Ago—Oct. 18, 1939: Germany announces neutral ships in Allied convoys will be sunk without warning. President Roosevelt declares US waters off-limits to subs of warring nations.
70 Years Ago—Oct. 18, 1944: Hitler activates Volkssturm, a militia of all able-bodied males 13-60 years old. Soviets enter Czechoslovakia through Carpathian passes, but pause to let Germans crush Slovakian mountain uprising. Lt. Gen. Joseph Stilwell removed from command of China-Burma-India Theater and recalled to US.
