World War II

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was finally recognized by the U.S. Congress when the Congressional Gold Medal Act (S. 2234) was passed by the House of Representatives back in December and the Medal was officially presented on Wednesday. OSS was the World War II predecessor to CIA, the US Special Operations Command and the […]

“Woody” Williams never knew the names of the Marines who helped protect him during some of the fiercest fighting in World War II. But finally, he was able to pay his respects to the men who saved his life. Seventy-three years ago on the island of Iwo Jima, Hershel “Woody” Williams randomly chose several fellow […]

The aircraft carrier USS Lexington, sunk during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May of 1942, has been found by a team of wreck-hunters led by the billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The Lexington was the first aircraft carrier ever to be sunk in combat. But during the battle, her planes also sunk the […]

There is a kind of mythological component when people talk about invading Russia in the winter. A lot of people imagine Hitler, rashly deciding to invade the northern country during the coldest time of year, just as Napoleon had, and their asses getting handed to them by both the terrible cold and the Russians who […]

Operation Halyard was the greatest rescue mission of American airmen in our history. And it was conducted by a three-man OSS (Office of Strategic Services) team dropped into Serbia that was occupied by the Germans. The OSS operatives linked up with Serbian “Chetniks” led by General Draža Mihailović in August of 1944. This three-man Halyard […]

The fighting to take the small volcanic but the strategically vital island of Iwo Jima was the site of the some of the bloodiest fighting in the U.S. Marine Corps history. Admiral Chester Nimitz said of the battle, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue”, where in fact 27 Medals of Honor were presented, 22 to […]

February 27, 1942 — The USS Langley was sailing off the Indonesian coast with her escort anti-submarine vessels in tow. A Japanese reconnaissance plane spotted them and reported back to their command. By mid-day, the U.S. ships were being bombarded by Japanese bombers — Mitsubishi Navy Type 1 attack bombers, to be precise, known to […]

On  February 23, 1945, World War II was raging across the globe. In Europe, brutal fighting continued as Germany was being squeezed from two sides by the American and British in the west and the Russians in the east. In the Pacific, the Japanese were putting up fanatical resistance in the Philippines and on a […]

Robert Hugo Dunlap was a Marine Corps officer whose bravery astounded even battle-hardened Marines on the vicious fighting of Iwo Jima during the US invasion there. During the days of February 20-21, 1945, Dunlap, a company commander in C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman […]

Lt. Jim Downing, the second oldest living survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that propelled the United States into World War II, passed away at the age of 104 last week. Downing, who joined the Navy at 19 years old and devoted 24 years to the branch, was serving aboard the USS West […]

Bomb disposal experts from the Royal Navy transported a large, unexploded bomb down the River Thames on Monday night, then detonated it at sea. Airport security the world over has changed dramatically in the years since the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, particularly in nations with close ties to the United States like the […]

Just six weeks after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army Air Corps (later to become the Army Air Force) activated the 8th Bomber Command at Hunter Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. The Eighth was slated for duty in England. Brigadier General Ira C. Eaker took the Eighth Air Force Bomber Command Headquarters to England the next month […]