
Until this point, there had been little reliable evidence that any Japanese mini sub had penetrated the harbor and been successful in conducting an attack. There are numerous accounts of sightings by survivors of the attack and ships reported contacts and conducting several attacks on presumed subs but concrete proof was limited.
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Tags: attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese submarine, mini submarine, Pearl Harbor, submarine
Posted in American History, History, Military, World War II • Comments Off

It’s been more than 60 years since the Women Air Force Service Pilots or WASP took the skies by storm as the first women in U.S. history trained to fly American military aircraft, overcoming inequality and changing the face of aviation forever. On July 1, these aviation pioneers were recognized by President Barack Obama, who presented the Congressional Gold Medal as long-overdue recognition of the historical “Fly Girls.”
Here at JBB, a 21st-century “Fly Girl,” Maj. Gina Sabric, an F-16 fighter pilot, couldn’t be more pleased with the recognition.
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Tags: 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Ann Waldner, Blanche Osborn, Congressional Gold Medal, Frances Green, Maj. Gina Sabric, Margaret Kirchner, WASP, Women Air Force Service Pilots, women pilots in World War II
Posted in Military, Our Best: Military Women, World War II • 1 Comment »

On my safari yesterday, I had the pleasant surprise of meeting a World War II vet. My first thoughts were, unfairly, “They don’t allow her kind in the Army.”
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Tags: Army tugs, D-Day, H. Lee White Museum, LT-5, National Historic Landmark, Normandy invasion, OPERATION MULBERRY, Veteran of D-Day
Posted in Heroes, Military, World War II • 1 Comment »

At about 1:30 a.m. that day — June 6, 1944 — the sky filled with hundreds of American paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division. Well lit by the flames beneath them, the paratroopers were easy targets for the startled German soldiers on the ground. One of those paratroopers was Pvt. John Steele of F Company, 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Steele was already a combat veteran, with combat jumps into Italy and Sicily under his belt prior to D-Day.
During his landing, Steele’s parachute became caught in the steeple of the church in the middle of the town square. Shot through the foot, Steele hung there for two hours pretending to be dead before the Germans noticed him and cut him down.
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Tags: 82nd airborne division, D-Day, paratrooper caught on church steeple, Pvt. John Steele, Sainte Mere Eglise, World War II
Posted in History, Military, World War II • Comments Off

Just as the men who fought World War Two are heading home to God in increasing numbers, so too are the women. The Air Force has done a nice thing by seeing that some of these courageous pioneers are recognized and get to fly at least one more time.
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Tags: Capt. Roseanne Teckman, Kay Gott, Maj. Jennifer King, US air force, WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots, World War II
Posted in Military, World War II • Comments Off

Wake Island. We’re still looking, a half century later.
A memorial to prisoners of war is seen Jan. 12 on Wake Island. The “98 Rock” is a memorial for the 98 U.S. civilian contract POWs who were forced by their Japanese captors to rebuild the airstrip as slave labor, then blind-folded and killed by machine gun [...]
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Posted in Military, World War II • Comments Off
Don’t even start with me about how tough the modern millitay man or woman has it.
The 10th Armored was to drive on the Saar, take the bridge intact at Merzig and keep going. The Group moved its Command Post to Ritzing, France, and following the attack, advanced to Wehingen, Germany. Here heavy enemy artillery fire [...]
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Thanksgiving 1942
The 5th Armored Artillery Group was activated at Camp Young, California on the 5th of September 1942. The Division Artillery Command of the 5th Armored Division had been taken from the Division and redesignated 5th Armored Artillery Group, consisting of Colonel JOHN M. WILLEMS commanding, a staff of two officers, and an enlisted strength [...]
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Posted in Military, War on Terror, World War II • Comments Off
Medal of Honor – Posthumous Award
Sometimes you need to read about a real hero.
Citation:
*LUMMUS, JACK
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 22 October 1915, Ennie, Tex. Appointed from: Texas.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as leader of a Rifle [...]
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Posted in Marines, Military, World War II • Comments Off