On this day in 1941, USS Kearny participates in an emergency rescue mission—and it would be attacked by the Germans. But wasn’t the...

On this day in 1919, an “improbable American hero” is born. Doris “Dorie” Miller was the grandson of slaves and the son of poor Texas...

On this day in 1946, an American pilot is awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery over the skies of northern France. Lt. Col. Leon...

On this day in 1944, Americans win the Battle of Crucifix Hill. That battle was an important part of an Allied effort to seize Aachen,...

On this day in 1945, a Corpsman is awarded the Medal of Honor. Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class George E. Wahlen’s citation that day...

On this day in 1942, a United States Coast Guardsman gives his life for a detachment of Marines. Signalman First Class Douglas Munro’s...

On this day in 1944, Operation Dragoon comes to an end. That campaign through southern France has been called “one of the most...

On this day in 1901, a hero is born. Captain John P. Cromwell would become the most senior submariner to receive the Medal of Honor...

On this day in 2015, Lt. Calvin J. Spann passes away at the age of 90. Decades earlier, he’d been one of the original members of the...

On this day in 1945, a formal surrender ceremony is held aboard the USS Missouri. Today is the anniversary of V-J Day! On this day, World...

On this day in 1943, USS Harmon is commissioned. It was the first U.S. Navy warship to be named after a black American. The destroyer was...

On this day in 1892, the future Elizebeth Friedman is born. Elizebeth would go on to become an expert codebreaker, even cracking Nazi and...

On this day in 1945, a hero receives the Medal of Honor from President Harry S Truman. Silvestre Santana Herrera was perhaps an unlikely...

On this day in 1919, a heroine is born. Reba Z. Whittle would go on to become the only U.S. Army flight nurse to be held as a prisoner of...

On this day in 1944, Japanese Lt. General Hideyoshi Obata commits ritual suicide. The Battle of Guam was over. The island was finally...

On this day in 1945, Americans drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. It had been only three days since the bombing of...

On this day in 1945, Americans drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bombing came not too long after Japan had...

On this day in 1943, the Women Airforce Service Pilots is formed. The WASPs would assist the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, but...

On this day in 1945, the last survivors of the USS Indianapolis are pulled from the Pacific Ocean. They’d been there since a Japanese...

On this day in 1944, United States Marines take possession of the island of Tinian, in the Pacific. They’d invaded the island just eight...