Today in World War II History—Jan. 16, 1944

Cdr. Frank Erickson, USCG & Dr. Igor Sikorsky, Sikorsky Helicopter HNS-1 C.G. #39040, 14 August 1944 (US Coast Guard photo)

75 Years Ago—Jan. 16, 1944: Gen. Dwight Eisenhower assumes command of SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces) in London for Operation Overlord (D-day).

Japanese make final counterattack on New Britain in the Solomons, but fail.

Lt. Stewart Graham of the US Coast Guard becomes the first person to make a helicopter takeoff and landing aboard a ship underway—in a Sikorsky HNS-1 on British cargo ship Daghestan in the North Atlantic.

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, 31 Dec. 1943 (US National Archives)