World War II

Dean “Diz” Laird is the only known US Navy pilot to shoot down both German and Japanese planes during the Second World War.  The World War II Ace flew his 100th plane this past weekend at age 95. Dean “Diz” Laird is a legend in naval aviation.  If you have ever been to Coronado, California, you […]

Dr. Roscoe C. Brown Jr., who flew with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, has died at the age of 94.  Brown flew 68 combat missions and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross. He resided in Riverdale, New York located in the Bronx of New York City. Born March 9, 1922, Brown graduated from the […]

“The allied army, more specifically, the American Army, they came to liberate, not to conquer,” van den Brink said. “That’s what it says in the Coleville cemetery, where 10,000 Americans are resting forever.

The founder of a volunteer group says it has found the remains of 13 more World War II Marines on a Pacific atoll. Mark Noah, head of Marathon, Florida-based History Flight, tells The Associated Press that 12 sets of remains were found on Tarawa between January and March and a 13th set of remains was […]

United States Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson considered sharing the atomic bomb; in his plan to President Harry Truman. Secretary Stimson expressed a prophetic understanding of the global dynamics of what would soon become an international arms race for dominance of atomic and nuclear armament: The Cold War.  Secretary Stimson’s plan addressed the fundamental […]

V-E Day Marked End of Long Road for World War II Troops When President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin simultaneously announced that Nazi Germany had surrendered on May 8, 1945, the joy Americans felt was tempered by where they were. The war that began with Germany […]

Most World War II spies learned little of import—and those who did were invariably disbelieved. Any historian who hopes to tell the true story of secret intelligence operations, even from the distant past, quickly discovers that he is up against two formidable obstacles. First is the Kafkaesque system of government classification. Not only do U.S. […]

The men (and women) of the Greatest Generation are leaving us, and before too much longer, none will remain. That’s why men such as Norman Kleiss should be celebrated for as long as we have them among us. A Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber pilot in the U.S. Navy, he is the last of his […]

Urge your United States House of Representative to honor our World War II heroes of the OSS by passing a resolution to all the granting of the Congressional Gold Medal to veterans of the Office of Strategic Services, forerunners of the Central Intelligence Agency. On Nov. 4, 2015 Senators Roy Blunt [R-MO] and Mark Warner […]

The OSS Society needs your help to honor and recognize the veterans of the Office of Strategic Services with the Congressional Gold Medal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElEMTTxzYtA The Australian Story episode Into the Lion’s Den showcases some rare, colour footage of Special Operations Australia commandos training in secret during World War II. Shot in the remote bush of Fraser Island in Queensland, well away from the public gaze, it is a glimpse into the world of espionage and the art of […]

As previously  reported, on February 5th 2016 P-51D Mustang N351BD crashed in Arizona with the tragic loss of both souls on board. This particular aircraft was painted as “Big Beautiful Doll.” It the name used by Colonel John D. Landers on his aircraft during World War 2. I thought that it would be a fitting tribute […]