August 2008

Volume 7, No. 5

Cover: Artist Jack Fellows depicts 348th Fighter Group Commander Neel Kearby downing a Japanese “Oscar” on October 11, 1943. Flying his P-47 Thunderbolt, Kearby had a total of six victories that day and won a Medal of Honor.

Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki did not contest the landings at Attu in May 1943; instead, he ordered his 2,300 troops to establish strong positions in the mountains from which they could fire down on the Americans. Pictured are U.S. troops at Massacre Bay.

WWII History

Fog of War in the Aleutians

By Colonel James W. Hammond, Jr.

For decades Americans have been spoiled by the instant coverage of war in the media. Read more

M-4 Sherman tanks of the 11th Armored Division await the call to advance near Eterville on June 30, 1944. Three weeks after Operation Overlord had begun, the fighting near Caen was bitter.

WWII History

Operation Jupiter: The Fight for the Key to Normandy

By Jon Latimer

The Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, produced a bitter struggle for control of the invasion beachhead. Read more

Huge geysers leap skyward as torpedoes from the submarine USS Archer-Fish strike home against the mammoth Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano. The carrier had initially been slated as the third super battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

WWII History

The Shinano Carrier: How Allied Forces Sunk Such a Secret

By Kelly Bell

The first torpedo struck the Shinano carrier farthest aft. Over the next 30 seconds three more warheads detonated against the massive aircraft carrier’s hull, working their way forward. Read more

Dressed in traditional garb, a lone Chinese man seeks the protection of a sandbag barricade in the International Settlement of Shanghai on August 12, 1937. Adjacent to the civilian are a British soldier and two American Marines who have donned their helmets. (© Bettmann/CORBIS)

WWII History

A Memorable Marine Mascot

By Eric Niderost

Soochow was a mongrel dog with a remarkable gift for self-preservation. A homeless stray, he attached himself to some U.S. Read more

WWII History, Editorial

A rare death photo of Ernie Pyle surfaces after years in obscurity.

In February of this year, decades after his death on the Pacific island of Ie Shima in 1945, a photo of famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle surfaced. Read more

WWII History, Dispatches

The 761st Tank Battalion

Dear Editor:

I wish to commend you for your recent article in the April/May issue on the 761st Tank Battalion. As the first African American armored unit in the history of the U.S. Read more

WWII History, Ordnance

Were P-47 Thunderbolt Aircraft Really Formidable Fighter-Bombers?

By Sam McGowan

Since the end of World War II, the aviation press has made the North American P-51 Mustang into the superstar Allied fighter of the war. Read more

WWII History, Profiles

Garand’s Wonder Weapon

By Michael D. Hull

A variety of outstanding weapons and pieces of equipment affected the course of World War II for both the Allies and the Axis powers. Read more

The island of Guernsey is oddly patrolled by two British bobbies and a German sentry. The Channel Islands were the only British territory to endure occupation by the Nazis during World War II.

WWII History, Top Secret

Secret Agent Man: The Story of Eddie Chapman

By Peter Kross

Nations have often pressed unsavory characters and criminals into service during wartime, rationalizing that such action is in the best interest of the country during extraordinary times. Read more

WWII History, Insight

Any Bonds Today?

By Herb Kugel

One of the most unusual baseball games ever played was a three- way game in New York City between the New York Yankees, the New York Giants, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Read more

WWII History, Books

The Red Arrows in Green Hell

By Mason B. Webb

During the whole of the Pacific campaign, no single mission was more difficult or challenging than the mission assigned to a unit of American GIs in New Guinea. Read more

August 2008

From Around the Network

Modified B-25 Bombers Pioneered The Skip-Bombing Tactic

Thomas Custer Fought and Died with His Brother at Little Big Horn

Into The Dragon’s Jaw

Hot Air “Fire Balloons”: Japan’s Project Fugo