At about this time in 1947, a United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 Superfortress crash lands in Greenland. Kee Bird ’s crew would survive three days on the arctic ice, waiting for rescue. Yet even after Kee Bird ’s crew was gone, the plane wasn’t forgotten. Several decades later, an attempt was made to rescue it. After all, she was then the “most well-preserved B-29” still in existence, as an Alaskan Air Museum describes. Kee Bird ’s story starts with Project Nanook, a

On this day in 1944, Operation Hailstone comes to an end. The naval attack has been called the “Japanese Pearl Harbor” because of the massive damage that U.S. Naval forces inflicted on the Japanese base at Truk Lagoon.   The base was more important to the Japanese effort than most people remember today.   Truk’s strategic location in the Caroline Islands, as well as its unique geography, was optimal for Japanese purposes. A huge coral reef surrounds a cluster of islands, encl

On this day in 1945, USAAF Captain Louis E. Curdes shoots down an American C-47, forcing it to crash land in the ocean. Legend has it that he shot down a plane carrying the woman who would ultimately become his wife! The story is mostly true, but I’m afraid it’s also bathed in a tad bit of myth. Curdes did shoot down a nurse that day, and he had been on at least one date with her. However, Curdes ultimately married someone else. “My dad might have been dating a nurse on the p

On this day in 1922, a hero is born. William E. Metzger, Jr. would go on to become a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces, as well as a recipient of the Medal of Honor.   His sister would remember him as a kind, considerate soul.   “When he was a junior in high school,” she told a reporter, “one of his best friends died, and I think that had some kind of impact on him. He was different than a lot of young men. He was just sensitive about things. He was just a very considerate pe

On this day in 1944, downed pilot Fred Hargesheimer is rescued by the submarine USS Gato . He’d been on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea for eight long months.   Fred’s troubles began on June 5, 1943, as he patrolled the skies in a P-38. He was then serving with the 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron and was helping to photomap the area.   Unfortunately, a Japanese fighter spotted him and fired. One of Fred’s engines was in flames. He did the only thing he could:

On this day in 1943, Mrs. Ruth C. Streeter is commissioned as a Major in the United States Marine Corps. She would serve as the first director of the newly formed Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Women served in every branch of our military during World War II, but the Marine Corps went a step further: These women didn’t merely serve in some sort of auxiliary service, as women in the Navy, Army, or Coast Guard did. They were full-fledged Marines. The Commandant of the Marine Cor

On this day in 2002, a World War II hero passes away . Rudolph B. Davila has been credited with saving the lives of 130 American soldiers. He received the Medal of Honor for his stunning bravery. He surely never expected to be a hero. He’d enlisted in the Army in 1939, largely because times were tough, and he needed a job. Davila’s heroism came on May 28, 1944, as Americans worked to break though German strongholds in the mountains surrounding Anzio, Italy. Then-Staff Sergean

On this day in 1944, Allied forces come ashore in “Operation Shingle,” an amphibious landing near Anzio, Italy.   Military leaders were determined to break Nazi Germany’s hold on Italy.   It had already been a difficult winter. American and British forces had landed in southern Italy in September, intending to work their way north towards Rome, but the effort had turned into a long, hard slog.   Much of the trouble came from a German defense barrier known as the Gustav Line,

On this day in 1922, a hero is born. William K. Nakamura would go on to serve in World War II as a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.   That regiment, as you may know, was composed entirely of “Nisei.” They were Japanese-Americans who’d volunteered to fight for their country. They believed in America, even when some Americans weren’t sure if they could believe in their fellow citizens who just happened to be Japanese-Americans.   Indeed, the 442nd worked so hard and

On this day in 1923, a hero is born. William “Bill” McGee was an Indianapolis native and the third of five children. But was he an unexpected hero? After all, he didn’t rush to join the Army in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Instead, he was working as a butcher when he was drafted about a year later.   As did so many in those days, he married his sweetheart mere weeks before being deployed to Europe.   He was soon serving as a medical aidman with the 304th Infantry, 76th Infantry

On this day in 1944, an American B-24 Liberator lands in England, having completed a top-secret overnight mission. The plane had been painted black, making it hard to spot against the nighttime sky. The B-24’s ball-turret had also been removed, replaced with a cargo hatch. The objective of the secret flight was simple: Resupply underground resistance forces in Nazi-held territory. The flight was the first of many in an effort that would span months. Taken together, these miss

On this day in 1945, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Isadore “Izzy” Jachman would take on two enemy tanks, single-handedly, forcing them into retreat.   Perhaps the incredible feat wasn’t as surprising as you might think. After all, the young staff sergeant had a personal stake in World War II: His family had fled rising antisemitism in Germany when he was just a toddler. Worse, he was surely worried about his relatives who’d remained behin

On this day in 1992, the “Father of Naval Special Warfare” passes away. Phil Bucklew has been credited with laying the groundwork for many aspects of today’s naval special forces, including the Navy SEALs.   The former Cleveland Ram had been coaching a football game when Pearl Harbor was attacked. News of the Japanese assault was soon announced over the stadium’s loudspeakers. “We were down in the bar [after the game],” he later described, “and someone said, ‘Let’s all join t

On this day in 1951, the only dog to earn a United States Coast Guard NCO rank passes away. Sinbad has been described as a “rough tough and rowdy” dog who was a combination of “liberty-rum-chow hound with a bit of bulldog, Doberman pinscher and whatnot–mostly whatnot.” Sinbad’s life at sea began by accident. Chief Boatswain’s Mate A. A. “Blackie” Roth meant to give the dog to his girlfriend because his shore leave was coming to an end. The landlord wouldn’t let her have a pet

On this day in 1941, Navy nurses scramble to create a memorable Christmas for their patients aboard USS Solace , then anchored at Pearl Harbor. It would be no easy chore: The patients, nurses, and crew were still reeling from the unexpected Japanese attack mere weeks before.   Yet hope and optimism were critical for patients to heal, as Chief Nurse Grace Lally well knew. Thus, in the days after the attack, she’d instructed her nurses to be cheerful. “The nurses smiled, joked,

On this day in 1944, American soldiers should have been at home celebrating Christmas and New Year’s. Instead, they were fighting off one last German push during the Battle of the Bulge. One of these soldiers, Pfc. Melvin Biddle, was a normally soft-spoken man. He later even admitted to being scared during combat. “But I lost a lot of fear because I was out there and couldn’t let the troops down,” he told a journalist in 2008. He needed that attitude on December 23, as he fou

On this day in 1943, a German ace bypasses an opportunity to shoot down a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot. Second Lt. Charles “Charlie” Brown was struggling just to keep his crippled B-17 in the air! “I look out the right window,” Brown would later describe, “and there parked on my right wing is a German BF-109 . . . . I closed my eyes and shook my head as you would with a nightmare. If I close my eyes and open them again, he’ll be gone. Well, I opened them again and he was still

On this day in 1941, Pearl Harbor reels from a surprise Japanese attack. Have you ever thought about the Navy nurses present on that day so long ago? Like many others, those nurses were abruptly shoved into war when Japanese planes unexpectedly descended upon the American base.   It was the opposite of the Hawaiian assignment that, until then, had been a cushy one.   “I thought I was living a charmed life,” Lt. Ruth Erickson later said.  She was at the Naval Hospital and woul

On this day in 1941, the Japanese launch an attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. You already know the basics of the story, but do you know about the 16 men who received Medals of Honor for their bravery so long ago?   Remember: Those boys woke up that morning thinking that the United States was NOT at war. But they leapt into action when called upon to do so.   USS West Virginia, engulfed in flames Some of the acts were relatively simple ones, like staying

On this day in 1941, civilians and military on the Hawaiian island of Oahu enjoy a beautiful day, blissfully unaware that the United States would soon be at war. Have you ever thought about the military nurses stationed at Pearl Harbor that weekend?   They were about to be put in a unique position, yet they had no way of knowing it.   Indeed, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor early on December 7, it marked the first time in American history that Army nurses were at the