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World War II

WW2 – The Battle of Iwo Jima

WW2 – The Battle of Iwo Jima

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Japan’s ambition as a world power began in the late 1800s, but lacking in raw materials (oil, iron, and rubber) necessary to make it a reality, it seized material-rich colonies and islands. Ensuring they kept what they seized, Japan established naval and army bases throughout the Pacific. Following long-standing complaints from the United States about their laying claims on territories that did not belong to them, Japan’s military leaders unwisely decided to attack America, beginning with the infamous surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the naval officer, tasked with planning and carrying out the attack, said: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” His insightful prophecy became a horrible reality for Japan.

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Chiune Sugihara – Japanese Schindler Helped 5,580 Jews Escape The Holocaust

Chiune Sugihara – Japanese Schindler Helped 5,580 Jews Escape The Holocaust

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Although Japan was one of the Axis Powers during WWII, one Japanese diplomat did his best to mitigate the horrors of his country's ally, Nazi Germany. Before the war ended, he saved thousands of Jews from concentration camps but ended up selling lightbulbs in order to survive. Chiune Sugihara Helped Jews Escape Lithuania Chiune Sugihara was first assigned to Harbin, China in the early 1930s as Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister where he learned German and Russian. Despite a promising career, he resigned his post in protest over how his country treated the Chinese. Due to his experience and linguistic abilities, however, he was reassigned in 1939 to Kaunas, Lithuania as vice-consul; though his real job was to report on German and Soviet movements. Japan never trusted either country, which is why Sugihara also maintained ties with Polish Intelligence. After the Soviet invasion of Lithuania on June 15, 1940, the Japanese consulate began dismantling itself since they already had an embassy...

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First WW II Aircraft Crew to Reach 25 Missions

First WW II Aircraft Crew to Reach 25 Missions

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1917, and 1918, the United States government issued Liberty Bonds to raise money for our involvement in World War I. By the summer of 1940 when it appeared the United States would be drawn into World War II, bonds again were being sold as a way to remove money from circulation as well as reduce inflation. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the bonds became known at War Bonds.

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Service Reflections of Capt Frank Farr, U.S. Army Air Corps (1943-1945)

Service Reflections of Capt Frank Farr, U.S. Army Air Corps (1943-1945)

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I was born in a tiny apartment somewhere behind the screen of a movie theater in Picher, Oklahoma, on March 3, 1924. I am told that as my mother’s labor pains intensified and came more frequently, the theater owner/manager sent the patrons home and locked the doors so she could have some privacy in her travails. My father was working in the mines in and around Picher, which was booming in the 1920s, and the little apartment was the only residence they could find at the time.Despite them being similarly reserved and not the type of men to brag, I could hardly wait to visit them so I could beg them to tell me war stories. The experiences they shared with me made a lasting impression during my early childhood, which further aroused my desire to serve my country.

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US Navy C-130 Hercules Plane Lands & Takes Off From An Aircraft Carrier

US Navy C-130 Hercules Plane Lands & Takes Off From An Aircraft Carrier

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Aircraft carriers are enormously important. They serve as mobile bases for warplanes at sea. They have flight decks for planes to take off and land. They carry equipment for arming warplanes and recovering planes that have been damaged. An aircraft carrier is considered a capital ship, the most important ship. This is because the Navy can use it to extend its power anywhere in the world. Countries that want to exercise influence need to have aircraft carriers. History of the C-130 Hercules Plane Aircraft carriers arose from cruisers that had been converted to carry aircraft in the early twentieth century. They were important during World War II, especially in the Pacific. Nowadays, they are some of the largest ships on the water and carry all kinds of aircraft, including helicopters, fighters, reconnaissance planes, and strike aircraft. They are, of course, enormously expensive to build. When on duty, and especially in war zones, they are protected by other ships. When it comes to...

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Famous Navy Units: Coast Guard Station Harbor Beach by A3C Michael Bell

Famous Navy Units: Coast Guard Station Harbor Beach by A3C Michael Bell

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"Immense bright lake! I trace in theeAn emblem of the mighty ocean,And in thy restless waves I see                                     Nature's eternal law of motion; And fancy sees the Huron Chief…" "Lake Huron" by Thomas McQueen The peninsular state of Michigan (est. 1837) resembles an extended left human hand in a mitt with the thumb partly opened outward from the palm. And there, about where the quick of a thumbnail would be on the east side, is US Coast Guard Station Harbor Beach as it's known today. It is estimated that since the 17th century, there are 6,000 maritime wrecks at the bottom of the mighty Great Lakes, one of which is Lake Huron. District 9, consisting of forty-eight active stations, is a United States Coast Guard area of operations based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is responsible for all Coast Guard functions on the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence...

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SSgt Desi Arnaz, U.S. Army (1942-1945)

SSgt Desi Arnaz, U.S. Army (1942-1945)

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Desi Arnaz who served in the US Army between 1942 and 1945 is perhaps most famous for his starring role as Ricky Ricardo opposite his real-life spouse Lucille Ball in the foundational modern TV sitcom I Love Lucy. Desi was already on his way to becoming a star when he was drafted into the US Army, but his time as a soldier gave him plenty of opportunities to hone his skills not only as a performer, but as a producer. Desi Arnaz Fled Cuba and Found His Path to Stardom Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III in 1917, Desi was a child of privilege, his father the mayor of Santiago, his grandfather an exec at Bacardi. However, his family’s fortunes changed with the Cuban Revolution of 1933. Narrowly avoiding a sticky end, the Arnaz family fled to Miami with their lives, if not their seized property. Desi went to high school and then prep school to improve his English, and formed a band, the Siboney Septet. The band was successful in Miami and gained the attention of Xavier Cugat, who...

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The Gunner and the Grunt: by Michael Kelley and Peter Burbank

The Gunner and the Grunt: by Michael Kelley and Peter Burbank

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“The Gunner and the Grunt” is a unique Vietnam War memoir because it’s actually two memoirs. Two men from Massachusetts join the Army to do very different jobs, train for those jobs, and both go to Vietnam to serve their country. The book is written in two distinct voices, both members of the same reconnaissance unit, the 1st Cavalry Division, providing two very different perspectives of the war. One flies an armed helicopter above, while the other pounds the ground through the jungles below.

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The Ship That Wouldn’t Die

The Ship That Wouldn’t Die

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The USS Laffey (DD-724) was laid down 28 June 1943 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine. She was launched 21 November; sponsored by Miss Beatrice F. Laffey, daughter of Medal of Honor recipient S1c Bartlett Laffey. Commissioned 8 February 1944, Cdr. F. Julian. Becton as her first "Captain". The USS Laffey's Heroic Beginning After shakedown, the Laffey traveled the world in the war effort. She was off the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Off Cherbourg, France where an unexploded shell bounced off her hull above the waterline and did little damage. Rescuing a badly wounded Japanese pilot off the Philippines. Firing support in Leyete Gulf and Ormoc Bay. Transported intelligence to McArthur in the Philippines. Supported landings at Mindoro and Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Kerama Retto.  That is where this story begins. USS Laffey’s Dangerous Mission on Okinawa Commander Frederick Julian Becton, Captain of the destroyer USS Laffey (DD 724), took the radio message his communications officer...

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PFC Harold Agerholm, U.S. Marine Corps (1942-1944)

PFC Harold Agerholm, U.S. Marine Corps (1942-1944)

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PFC Harold Agerholm had a quiet start to his life. After qualifying from school in Racine, Wisconsin, he worked as a multigraph operator for the Ranch Manufacturing Company. Then in July 1942, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. Upon completing his recruit training in San Diego, California, Harold Agerholm was sent to the Headquarters and Service Battery, 4th Battalion, 10th Marines, and 2nd Marine Division. He received further training for eleven months with his battalion in Wellington, New Zealand. In January 1943, Agerholm was promoted to Private First Class. In November 1943, a year and a half after first signing up, the young marine took part in the war, engaging with Japanese forces on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll. It was the first time American forces faced serious opposition to a landing. The 4,500 Japanese soldiers on the island were well prepared and fought to the last man. They extracted a high price for their deaths. Throughout the incredibly intense battle, which lasted...

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Teenage Sisters Persuaded German Soldiers

Teenage Sisters Persuaded German Soldiers

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When the Nazis steamrolled into the Netherlands in May of 1940, Jannetje Johanna "Hannie" Schaft and Truus and Freddie Oversteegen were just 19, 16, and 14 years old, respectively. Jannetje Johanna "Hannie" Schaft and Truus and Freddie Oversteegen As for the Oversteegen sisters, their mother, Trijn, had left their father years before. Freddie states of this, "She was just fed up one day - we lived on a large ship in Haarlem, but my father never made any money and didn't pay anything for the barge. But it wasn't an ugly divorce or anything - he sang a French farewell song from the bow of the ship when we left. He loved us, but I didn't see him that often anymore after that." Immediately after the Nazis came to town, despite the risks, Freddie goes on, "During the war, we had a Jewish couple living with us, which is why my sister and I knew a lot about what was going on…" At the same time, their mother also had her daughters join in with her in the rather dangerous task of posting and...

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