Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 86

Today in World War II History—July 19, 1943

First US Army Air Force bombing of Rome, 19 July 1943 (US Army Air Force photo)

80 Years Ago—July 19, 1943: Soviet female ace Yekaterina Budanova (11 victories) is shot down and killed over Luhansk, Russia.

US bombs Rome for the first time: 508 bombers of the Twelfth Air Force strike Rome.

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Today in World War II History—July 18, 1943

US Navy airship K-110 of Airship Patrol Squadron ZP-42 escorting a convoy along Brazilian coast, 1943-45 (US Navy photo)

80 Years Ago—July 18, 1943: Only US blimp lost in action during WWII: off Florida, US Navy airship K-74 fires on German U-boat U-134, but is shot down.

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Today in World War II History—July 17, 1943

Lt. Katye Swope of the 802nd Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron checks patients being evacuated from Agrigento, Sicily to North Africa for further medical treatment, 25 July 1943 (US Air Force photo 25749AC)

80 Years Ago—July 17, 1943: Off Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, 192 Allied aircraft (US Thirteenth Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps & RNZAF) shoot down 44 Japanese planes.

US 802nd Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron arrives at Ponte Olivo Airfield in Sicily; air evacuation begins from Sicily to North Africa (Read more: three-part series starting with Medical Air Evacuation in World War II).

New song in Top Ten: “All or Nothing at All.”

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Today in World War II History—July 16, 1943

Commandos of Australian 2/3rd Independent Company north of Orodubi (between Mubo and Salamaua), New Guinea, 29 July 1943 (Australian War Memorial: 127976)

80 Years Ago—July 16, 1943: Australians advance from Wau, New Guinea, toward Salamaua.

Generaloberst Walter Model, commander of German 9th Army, assumes second role in command of 2nd Panzer Army after the Gestapo arrests Generaloberst Rudolf Schmidt.

Britain announces plan to remodel secondary schools (ages 11-15) into grammar, modern, and technical tiers.

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Today in World War II History—July 15, 1943

US DUKW carrying supplies in Porto Empedocle, Sicily (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—July 15, 1943: US Seventh Army takes Agrigento and Porto Empedocle, Sicily.

Germans capture most of the British Special Operatives in Paris.

Lt. Louis Zamperini (Unbroken) and Lt. Russell Phillips are rescued by Japanese after 45 days in a lifeboat; they will survive the war as POWs.

US Navy changes aircraft carrier designations: CV—large, CVL—light, CVE—escort (formerly auxiliary carriers), CVB—large Midway class.

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Today in World War II History—July 14, 1943

Sherman tank of XIII Corps, British Eighth Army in Francofonte, Sicily, 13-14 Jul 1943 (Imperial War Museum: 4700-39 NA 4448)

80 Years Ago—July 14, 1943: On Sicily, British Eighth Army takes Vizzini, Lentini, and Simeto.

In Krasnodor, Russia, Soviets try 11 Germans in the first war crimes trial of the war.

George Washington Carver National Monument is established at Diamond, MO, the first national monument for an African-American and the first for a non-president.

Movie premiere of For Whom the Bell Tolls, starring Gary Cooper & Ingrid Bergman.

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Today in World War II History—July 13, 1943

Survivors from Japanese light cruiser Jintsu, dressed in US Navy uniforms, aboard destroyer USS Nicholas, 13 Jul 1943 (US National Archives: 80-G-57609)

80 Years Ago—July 13, 1943: Due to the Allied invasion of Sicily, Hitler orders a halt to the Kursk offensive in Russia.

Battle of Kolombangara: in the Solomon Islands, US & New Zealand ships sink Japanese light cruiser Jintsu, but fail to prevent Japanese reinforcement of Kolombangara.

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The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel

All her life, Brianna Kelly has only known servitude. Under the firm and cruel headmistress Maureen Magee, Brianna works long and hard hours as a maid at the boarding school of Ballymacool. She gets by through her faith and through her walks in the woods, where she finds intriguing artifacts, like a tarnished silver tray.

Michael Wray, heir to Castlewray Estate, is given the unpleasant task of visiting Ballymacool to deal with his wayward cousin, a student there. He is appalled by conditions at the school – especially in Mistress Magee’s treatment of Brianna – and drawn into the mystery of the origins of the school and the fate of the former owners of the elegant house. Do Brianna’s treasured artifacts hold a clue?

A Cinderella romance set in Ireland in 1935, The Maid of Ballymacool charms on every level. Jennifer Deibel‘s deep, loving knowledge of Ireland shines, and so do the characters – sweet, oppressed Brianna, with her hidden strength, and Michael with his strong sense of justice and mercy. A delightful cast of side characters and a page-turner of a story ensure you won’t put the book down! Enjoy!

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Today in World War II History—July 12, 1943

Pharmacist at the US 8th Evacuation Hospital, Teano, Italy, March 1944 (US National Archives)

80 Years Ago—July 12, 1943: Battle of Prokhorovka at Kursk—in the largest tank battle in history, Soviets advance as Germans lose 400 tanks.

On Sicily, US and British forces link at Ragusa.

President Roosevelt signs bill establishing the Army Pharmacy Corps; 72 officers are authorized, but most pharmacists remained enlisted men (Read more: Pharmacy in World War II: The Military)

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Today in World War II History—July 11, 1943

American transport SS Robert Rowan exploding after being hit by German Ju 88 bombers, Gela, Sicily, 11 July 1943—all 421 aboard survive (US Army Signal Corps photo: MM-43-L-1-23)

80 Years Ago—July 11, 1943: On the heels of a Luftwaffe attack on Allied ships off Sicily, US ships fire on US C-47s loaded with paratroopers, one of the worst fratricidal incidents of the war; 23 C-47s lost, 318 casualties.

At Gela, Sicily, US cruisers and destroyers halt a German armored counterattack.

American Red Cross field director James Shaw rescues men from sinking landing ship USS LST-158 off Licata, Sicily, under German air attack; he will be awarded the Silver Star, the first for a Red Cross worker in WWII.

Light cruiser USS Boise firing on armored forces near Gela, Sicily as USS LST-325 approaches landing beaches, 11 Jul 1943 (US National Archives: SC 175981)

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