Today in World War II History—Aug. 4, 1940 & 1945

Varian Fry (Library of Congress via Yad Vashem)

80 Years Ago—Aug. 4, 1940: US journalist Varian Fry of the Emergency Rescue Committee arrives in Lisbon; in Marseille, France, he will work with US vice-consul Hiram Bingham Jr. to help 2000 anti-Nazi German refugees and Jews escape from southern France.

75 Years Ago—Aug. 4, 1945: Near Pegu Yoma, British destroy remnants of Japanese 28th Army resisting in Burma.

German POW Kurt Rossmeisl escapes from Camp Butner, NC; he surrenders in 1959.

WWII amputee Bert Shepard, a former P-38 fighter pilot, pitches in a baseball game for the Washington Senators, the first man with an artificial leg to pitch in a major league baseball game.