Friday, November 19, 1915. Joe Hill executed.

Trade Union leader and member of the IWW was executed for the murder of John and Arling Morrison in Salt Lake City  in 1914.  His guilt continues to be contested, and Hill became sort of a martyr for trade union activism.

Hill was a Swede born as Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in an era when a lot of Scandinavian and Eastern European immigrants were fairly radicalized.  

Hill may in fact have not been guilty of the murder he was accused of.  Morrison, a former policeman and grocer, along with his son, was shot and killed by two men.  Later that evening Hill arrived at a doctor's office with a gunshot wound and claimed it was sustained in a fight over a women.  He refused to say more, even later.  Evidence developed as late as 2011 suggest that Hill was telling the truth initially, and that he was shot by Otto Appelquist, a friend of his.  Both Appelquist and Hill were lodgers of the Erickson family, and rivals for her attentions.  Hill apparently told Erickson that Appelquist had shot him before going to seek medical attention, but he never revealed the details for his defense at trial, which is peculiar.

Hill, who was a songwriter himself, was famously memorialized in the balled "Joe Hill".

It's a bit much, frankly, particularly if he was shot by a fellow Swede over the affection of a Swedish American girl. That's drama, but not that sort of drama.

It's interesting that he never revealed the details of what would have been a pretty good alibi. Given the immigrant connection, he may have felt that he simply didn't want to get them in trouble.

Richard Bell Davies of the Royal Naval Air Service landed his Nieuport to rescue downed airman Gilbert Smylie in the first example of an air combat rescue mission.

He won the Victoria Cross.

The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to Squadron-Commander Richard Bell Davies, D.S.O., R.N., and of the Distinguished Service Cross to Flight Sub-Lieutenant Gilbert Formby Smylie, R.N., in recognition of their behaviour in the following circumstances:—

On the 19th November these two officers carried out an air attack on Ferrijik Junction. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie's machine was received by very heavy fire and brought down. The pilot planed down over the station, releasing all his bombs except one, which failed to drop, simultaneously at the station from a very low altitude. Thence he continued his descent into the marsh. On alighting he saw the one unexploded bomb, and set fire to his machine, knowing that the bomb would ensure its destruction. He then proceeded towards Turkish territory.

At this moment he perceived Squadron-Commander Davies descending, and fearing that he would come down near the burning machine and thus risk destruction from the bomb, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie ran back and from a short distance exploded the bomb by means of a pistol bullet. Squadron-Commander Davies descended at a safe distance from the burning machine, took up Sub-Lieutenant Smylie, in spite of the near approach of a party of the enemy, and returned to the aerodrome, a feat of airmanship that can seldom have been equalled for skill and gallantry.

He'd earlier won the DSO. 

For services rendered in the aerial attack on Dunkirk, 23rd January, 1915:—

Squadron Commander Richard Bell Davies

Flight Lieutenant Richard Edmund Charles Peirse

These Officers have repeatedly attacked the German submarine station at Ostend and Zeebrugge, being subjected on each occasion to heavy and accurate fire, their machines being frequently hit. In particular, on 23rd January, they each discharged eight bombs in an attack upon submarines alongside the mole at Zeebrugge, flying down to close range. At the outset of this flight Lieutenant Davies was severely wounded by a bullet in the thigh, but nevertheless he accomplished his task, handling his machine for an hour with great skill in spite of pain and loss of blood.

He remained in the Royal Navy until retiring in 1941, at which time he joined the Royal Navy Reserve, taking a reduction in rank to Commander from Vice Admiral in order to do so.  He retied a second time in 1944.  He died in 1966 at age 79.

Last edition:

Wednesday, November 17, 1915. Fighting in Haiti and Egypt.

Labels: 1910s, 1915, American Occupation of Haiti, Ancient Egypt, boats and ships, Haiti, Red Cross, Smedley Butler, United States Marine Corps, World War One

Thursday, September 25, 1975. Three Days of the Condor and Oliver Sipple.

President Ford sent a letter of thanks to disabled former Marine and Vietnam War veteran Oliver Sipple, who had stopped Sara Jane Moore's assassination attempt earlier in the week.  Earlier in the week Sipple, who was living and working in San Francisco, had been outed as a homosexual by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen who had received tips from homosexual activists Reverend Ray Broshears and Harvey Milk.

Milk knew Sipple and claimed to be a friend of his, but neither man had his permission to reveal his homosexuality and Sipple, who had been badly wounded in Vietnam, had never told his family.  As a result, his family disowned him for a time and the stress of the situation was something he never really recovered from.  He descended into alcohol and depression and killed himself in 1989.

Milk has come down as a  hero, and even briefly had a ship named after him, which was renamed this year.  But outing Sipple was a lousy thing to do.

I managed to miss the incident that Sipple is associated with, which was the September 22, 1975 assassination attempt by Sar Jane Moore.  Sipple's quick reactions foiled the attempt, combined with the fact that Moore had purchased the handgun she used only that morning, after one she was familiar with was confiscated by the police the prior day.

Three Days of the Condor was released on this day in 1975.

This is an excellent Cold War thriller based on an underground movement in the US that's operating a shadowy independent mission.  Robert Redford, who passed away yesterday, plays the lead character.  The plot of the film involved Redford's character being a CIA analysts who reads books and steps out during the day, only to find his entire section murdered when he returns.  He flees and is pursued by what turns out to be rogue elements of the CIA.  Every actors portrayal in the movie is excellent, but the most intriguing character is a European assassin played by Max von Sydow.

Following the Vietnam War, the public was learning a lot about the CIA and frankly the FBI for the first time, all of which made the movie's plot seem credible.  Frankly, back where we now are, it seems credible once again.

Oddly enough, the Church Committee revealed that the CIA had a gun designed to shoot toxic pellets to induce a heart attack just prior to this.

The cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show was also released on this day.

Last edition:

Friday, September 19, 1975. No cash.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Cambodia, Currency, Education

Thursday, August 23, 1945. The Red Army and the Japanese.

The Battle of Shumshu ended with the Red Army defeating the Imperial Japanese Army on the island.

The Red Army took Port Arthur.

Stalin ordered Japanese POWs in the hands of the Red Army to be transported to the USSR.  The Japanese would start repatriating them the following year, but in 1949 some were transferred to Communist China, and the final Soviet repatriation was accomplished in 1950.  At that time there were over 2,000 remaining who were not repatriated.  Some of them returned after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but some chose to voluntarily remain in Russia as, by that time, they'd integrated into Russian society and had families.

This behavior was typical for Communist countries, which tended to regard POWs as criminals and hold them for long periods of time after hostilities ceased.

"Captain Leekins, G-2 Island Commander, Colonel Haregawa and party leaving, USS Amick (DE 168), Palau Islands, 23 August 1945."

In contrast, Douglas MacArthur ordered, on this day, the release of 5,000 Filipinos held for security reasons.

President Truman awarded the Medal of Honor to twenty-eight servicemen.

The PLA prevailed in the Battle of Baoying.

Last edition:

Wednesday, August 22, 1945. Surrenders.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Displaced Persons, Imperial Japanese Army, Japan, Marshall Islands, Red Army, Romania, The Holocaust, World War Two

Tuesday, August 7, 1945. Fallout.

The news of the Atomic Bomb, including that it was just that, was now in the headlines.

Radio Tokyo reported the attack on Hiroshima, but without specificity.

Late in the day Japan's central commend stated that a new type of bomb was used, presuming that more than one was dropped.

U.S. radio read Truman's August 6 statement about the use of the atomic bomb. This caused the Japanese government to meet and confer.

The Air Force carried out raids on Yahata, Tokyo and Kukuyama.

The Nakajima Kikka, the Japanese ME262 inspired jet fighter, made its first flight.

Staff officers of the U.S. 1st Army met on Luzon to plan the invasion of Japan.

Tito refused to let King Peter II back into Yugoslavia.

The British revealed the existence of the wartime development Radar.

Last edition:

Monday, August 6, 1945. The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Blog Mirror, Chester Nimitz, Fr. Joseph Krupp, Hiroshima Japan, Japan, Operation Silverplate, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Wake Island, War Crimes, Weapons, World War Two

Tuesday, July 29, 1945. The sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The 509th Composite Group receives orders for Operation Silverplate. The last Medal of Honor of World War Two.

The USS Indianapolis was sunk by the submarine I-58. Secrecy due to its role in delivering the atomic bomb to Tinian would keep its sinking secrete for several days, leading to the greatest mass shark attack in history.

The 509th Composite Group of the United States Air Force received the order that would lead to the dropping of the first atomic bomb.

Melvin Mayfield performed the actions that resulted in his winning the Medal of Honor.

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while fighting in the Cordillera Mountains of Luzon, Philippine Islands. When 2 Filipino companies were pinned down under a torrent of enemy fire that converged on them from a circular ridge commanding their position, Cpl. Mayfield, in a gallant single-handed effort to aid them, rushed from shell hole to shell hole until he reached 4 enemy caves atop the barren fire-swept hill. With grenades and his carbine, he assaulted each of the caves while enemy fire pounded about him. However, before he annihilated the last hostile redoubt, a machinegun bullet destroyed his weapon and slashed his left hand. Disregarding his wound, he secured more grenades and dauntlessly charged again into the face of pointblank fire to help destroy a hostile observation post. By his gallant determination and heroic leadership, Cpl. Mayfield inspired the men to eliminate all remaining pockets of resistance in the area and to press the advance against the enemy.

You'll note that this occurred on Luzon, which the US had declared to be secured. 

He survived the war and died in 1990 at age 71.  

His action was the last action of the war to result in a Medal of Honor.

Henry Ford issued a statement declaring:

the nation and the world are on the threshold of a prosperity and standard of living that never before were considered possible.

I'm not a fan of Ford's, but he was correct, perhaps beyond his wildest imagination.

The British 8th Army, the Desert Rats, was disbanded.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 28, 1945. Taking no notice.

Labels: 1940s 1945, boats and ships, Cartoons, Clement Attlee, Disaster, Imperial Japanese Army, Imperial Japanese Navy, Japan, New York, Potsdam Conference, U.S. Air Force, United Nations, World War Two

Saturday, June 20, 1925. La battaglia del grano.

Benito Mussolini launched "The Battle for Grain" ("La battaglia del grano"), aimed at increasing Italy's wheat production to the point of becoming completely self-sufficient.

FWIW, today Italy uses a lot of Ukrainian wheat.

Audie Murphy was born into a sharecropping family in Hunt County, Texas.  He'd grow up under difficult conditions, learning to hunt in order to help feed his large family, and leaving school to pick cotton in fifth grade.

Last edition:

Thursday, June 18, 1925. Death of Robert La Follette.

Labels: 1920s, 1925, Death, German Weimar Republic, Germany, It was because of World War One, law, Monarchy, Personalities, Socialism, Wisconsin

Monday, May 14, 1945. Lingering actions.

Louis J. Hauge Jr. performed the actions that resulted in his being awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Leader of a Machine-Gun Squad serving with Company C, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryūkyū Chain on 14 May 1945. Alert and aggressive during a determined assault against a strongly fortified Japanese Hill position, Corporal Hauge boldly took the initiative when his company's left flank was pinned down under a heavy machine-gun and mortar barrage with resultant severe casualties and, quickly locating the two machine guns which were delivering the uninterrupted stream of enfilade fire, ordered his squad to maintain a covering barrage as he rushed across an exposed area toward the furiously blazing enemy weapons. Although painfully wounded as he charged the first machine-gun, he launched a vigorous single-handed grenade attack, destroyed the entire hostile gun position and moved relentlessly forward toward the other emplacement despite his wounds and the increasingly heavy Japanese fire. Undaunted by the savage opposition, he again hurled his deadly grenades with unerring aim and succeeded in demolishing the second enemy gun before he fell under the slashing fury of Japanese sniper fire. By his ready grasp of the critical situation and his heroic one-man assault tactics, Corporal Hauge had eliminated two strategically placed enemy weapons, thereby releasing the besieged troops from an overwhelming volume of hostile fire and enabling his company to advance. His indomitable fighting spirit and decisive valor in the face of almost certain death reflect the highest credit upon Corporal Hauge and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

Marines reached the top of Sugar Loaf Hill on Okinawa and captured the airfield at Yonabaru.

The Battle of Poljana commenced outside of Poljana, Slovenia between the Yugoslav Army and a column of 30,000 retreating Axis soldiers, consisting of members of the Wehrmacht, the Croatian Armed Forces, the Montenegrin People's Army, the Serbian Volunteer Corps, the Slovene Home Guard, and the 15th Waffen SS Cossack Cavalry Corps.

Army Group Kurland surrendered to the Red Army.

The provisional government of Austria nullified the 1938 Anschluss, abolished the Nazi Party and repealed all Nazi-era laws.

U-boat commander Wolfgang Lüth, age 31, German U-boat ace was shot and killed by a German sentry of the still functioning Mürwik Naval Academy when he failed to return a call sign.  He was given a state funeral.

The US Army announced the discovery of millions of dollars worth of stolen ar by the Nazis and 100 tons of gold bars and currency hidden in a salt mine located on the Losa Plateau in Austria. 

The concentration camp at Ebensee was liberated.

Marines reached the top of Sugar Loaf Hill on Okinawa and captured the airfield at Yonabaru.

Herbert J. Grant, president of the LDS church, died at age 88.  He was the lasts surviving member of the LDS Council of Fifty and the last one to have been a polygamist, although he enforced the LDS change in the position.  At the time of his death, only one of his three wives was living.

Last edition:

Sunday, May 13, 1945. "There is still a lot to do".

Labels: 1940s, 1945, British Army, Burma, Chile, German Wehrmacht, Mussolini, Okinawa, the spoken word, Winston Churchill, World War Two

Sunday, April 22, 1945. The Bunker.

Adolph Hitler held conference in the Führerbunker to discuss the military situation. He learned there that the Steiner attack ordered the prior day had not occured, and became enraged.

He announced his intention to remain in Berlin nad kill himself, and conceded that the war was lost.  Those wishing to leave the bunker were given permission to do so.

This scene if famously depicted in the movie Downfall.

Himmler met in secret with Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden and asked him to act as an intermediary to offer the surrender of all German forces in the west.  The message would be delivered two days later.

The 7th Army crossed the Danube.

The Red Army liberated the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

The U.S. Navy sank the U-518.

The British Fourteenth Army captured Taungoo and Oktwin, Burma.

Private First Class Thomas performed the actions that resulted in his winning the Medal of Honor in the Philippines..

He was a member of the leading squad of Company B, which was attacking along a narrow, wooded ridge. The enemy strongly entrenched in camouflaged emplacements on the hill beyond directed heavy fire and hurled explosive charges on the attacking riflemen. Pfc. Thomas, an automatic rifleman, was struck by 1 of these charges, which blew off both his legs below the knees. He refused medical aid and evacuation, and continued to fire at the enemy until his weapon was put out of action by an enemy bullet. Still refusing aid, he threw his last 2 grenades. He destroyed 3 of the enemy after suffering the wounds from which he died later that day. The effective fire of Pfc. Thomas prevented the repulse of his platoon and assured the capture of the hostile position. His magnificent courage and heroic devotion to duty provided a lasting inspiration for his comrades.

The US 31st Infantry Division landed at Moro Gulf.  US forces took Jolo.

German mathematician Wilhelm Cauer, 44, was executed by the Red Army, with the soldiers killing him apparently not aware that he was on a list of people to be found by the Soviets for their talents.

"As an ambulance jeep evacuates three wounded U.S. soldiers to a rear area field hospital, one is given blood plasma en route by a corpsman of 102nd Med. Bn. on Okinawa. 22 April, 1945."

Last edition:

Saturday, April 21, 1945. Steiner refuses to attack, Hitler decides on suicide, Model kills himself, May dies heroically in action.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Battle of Bautzen, Battle of Berlin, Battle of the Ruhr, German Wehrmacht, Heinrich Himmler, Heroes, Italy, Okinawa, Personalities, Polish Army, Waffen SS, World War Two

Saturday, April 21, 1945. Steiner refuses to attack, Hitler decides on suicide, Model kills himself, May dies heroically in action.

Hitler ordered a last ditch, all out, attack by German forces in Berlin.  The Berlin forces were under the command of SS Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner., who called Gen. Heinrici and informed him that the plan could not be implemented because the 5th Jäger Division and the 25th Panzergrenadier Division were deployed defensively and could not be redeployed until the 2nd Naval Division arrived from the coast to relieve them. This left only two battalions of the 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division available, and they were poorly equipped.

Heinrici, appreciating Steiner's assessment, called General Hans Krebs, Chief of Staff of the German General Staff of the Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres or OKH), and told him that the plan could not be implemented and he  further asked to speak to Hitler.  He was informed that Hitler was too busy.  Hitler did become aware that Steiner had no intention of attacking, however, and fell into a rage, declared the war lost, and blamed his generals.  He expressed his intention to remain in Berlin until the defeat was final and kill himself.

What a selfish asshole.

The Battle of Bautzen, one of the last battles of the Eastern Front, began around Bautzen, Germany.

The Battle of the Ruhr Pocket ended in an Allied victory.  It was notable as German anti Nazi resistance  in Düsseldorf attempted to surrender the city to the Allied armies in the so-called "Aktion Rheinland" in order to spare Düsseldorf.

The Polish II Corps captured Bologna.  

American soldiers being greeted by civilians in Genoa. 21 April, 1945. Photographer: Leviton, 196th Signal Photo Co.

The U-636 was sunk off of Ireland by the Royal Navy.

German born Jewish representative for Sweden to the Jewish World Congress Norbert Masur met, in Germany, with Heinrich Himmler to agree the release of women from Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Diehard Nazis who weren't willing to go down with Hitler were beginning to attempt to cut their deals.

A mutual assistance treaty was concluded between the Soviet government and the Provisional Government of Poland

Field Marshall Walter Model, age 54, killed himself.

Model had not come from a military family, which is interesting in relation to his death.  Many high ranking officers who did saw no reason to take this step at all, and their post war lives showed the wisdom of their decision.  Many joined the Bundesheer, and even very high ranking officers were not really subject to much but temporary punishment.  Model would no doubt not have been able to join the post war West German Army, but he likely would not have been punished all that much.

Model's middle class background likely had much to do with his despair.  Perhaps ironically, those who came from the military class were acclimated to German and Prussian regimes failing.

Gen. Karl Decker, age 47, German panzer general killed himself.  What is noted above for Model, is even more the case for Decker.

PFC Martin O. May, agee 23,preforemd the actions that resulted in his winning the Medal of Honor.  His citation reads:

He gallantly maintained a 3-day stand in the face of terrible odds when American troops fought for possession of the rugged slopes of legusuku-Yama on Ie Shima, Ryukyu Islands. After placing his heavy machinegun in an advantageous yet vulnerable position on a ridge to support riflemen, he became the target of fierce mortar and small arms fire from counterattacking Japanese. He repulsed this assault by sweeping the enemy with accurate bursts while explosions and ricocheting bullets threw blinding dust and dirt about him. He broke up a second counterattack by hurling grenades into the midst of the enemy forces, and then refused to withdraw, volunteering to maintain his post and cover the movement of American riflemen as they reorganized to meet any further hostile action. The major effort of the enemy did not develop until the morning of 21 April. It found Pfc. May still supporting the rifle company in the face of devastating rifle, machinegun, and mortar fire. While many of the friendly troops about him became casualties, he continued to fire his machinegun until he was severely wounded and his gun rendered useless by the burst of a mortar shell. Refusing to withdraw from the violent action, he blasted fanatical Japanese troops with hand grenades until wounded again, this time mortally. By his intrepidity and the extreme tenacity with which he held firm until death against overwhelming forces, Pfc. May killed at least 16 Japanese, was largely responsible for maintaining the American lines, and inspired his comrades to efforts which later resulted in complete victory and seizure of the mountain stronghold.

Last edition:

Friday, April 20, 1945. Shelling Berlin. Departing Berlin. The Morotai Mutiny.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Army, Battle of Berlin, Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring, Hitler Youth, Italian Army, Okinawa, Operation Herring, Paratroopers, Royal Australian Air Force, South Pacific, World War Two

Wednesday, April 18, 1945. The death of Ernie Pyle.

Journalist Ernie Pyle was killed by machinegun fire on  Ie Shima.

Looking much older, and having lived a hard life, he was 45 years of age.  He was beloved by soldiers.  A lawyer I long practiced with had a photograph of himself with Pyle just before the landing on le Shima.

18 year old Joseph Frederick Merrell performed the actions that would result in his being awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.

He made a gallant, 1-man attack against vastly superior enemy forces near Lohe, Germany. His unit, attempting a quick conquest of hostile hill positions that would open the route to Nuremberg before the enemy could organize his defense of that city, was pinned down by brutal fire from rifles, machine pistols, and 2 heavy machine guns. Entirely on his own initiative, Pvt. Merrell began a singlehanded assault. He ran 100 yards through concentrated fire, barely escaping death at each stride, and at point blank range engaged 4 German machine pistolmen with his rifle, killing all of them while their bullets ripped his uniform. As he started forward again, his rifle was smashed by a sniper's bullet, leaving him armed only with 3 grenades. But he did not hesitate. He zigzagged 200 yards through a hail of bullets to within 10 yards of the first machine gun, where he hurled 2 grenades and then rushed the position, ready to fight with his bare hands if necessary. In the emplacement, he seized a Luger pistol and killed the Germans that had survived the grenade blast. Rearmed, he crawled toward the second machine gun located 30 yards away, killing 4 Germans in camouflaged foxholes on the way, but himself receiving a critical wound in the abdomen. And yet he went on, staggering, bleeding, disregarding bullets that tore through the folds of his clothing and glanced off his helmet. He threw his last grenade into the machine gun nest and stumbled on to wipe out the crew. He had completed this self-appointed task when a machine pistol burst killed him instantly. In his spectacular 1-man attack, Pvt. Merrell killed 6 Germans in the first machine gun emplacement, 7 in the next, and an additional 10 infantrymen who were astride his path to the weapons that would have decimated his unit had he not assumed the burden of the assault and stormed the enemy positions with utter fearlessness, intrepidity of the highest order, and a willingness to sacrifice his own life so that his comrades could go on to victory.

27 year old Cpl.  Edward G. Wilkin performed the actions that would result in his being awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.

He spearheaded his unit's assault of the Siegfried Line in Germany. Heavy fire from enemy riflemen and camouflaged pillboxes had pinned down his comrades when he moved forward on his own initiative to reconnoiter a route of advance. He cleared the way into an area studded with pillboxes, where he repeatedly stood up and walked into vicious enemy fire, storming 1 fortification after another with automatic rifle fire and grenades, killing enemy troops, taking prisoners as the enemy defense became confused, and encouraging his comrades by his heroic example. When halted by heavy barbed wire entanglements, he secured bangalore torpedoes and blasted a path toward still more pillboxes, all the time braving bursting grenades and mortar shells and direct rifle and automatic-weapons fire. He engaged in fierce fire fights, standing in the open while his adversaries fought from the protection of concrete emplacements, and on 1 occasion pursued enemy soldiers across an open field and through interlocking trenches, disregarding the crossfire from 2 pillboxes until he had penetrated the formidable line 200 yards in advance of any American element. That night, although terribly fatigued, he refused to rest and insisted on distributing rations and supplies to his comrades. Hearing that a nearby company was suffering heavy casualties, he secured permission to guide litter bearers and assist them in evacuating the wounded. All that night he remained in the battle area on his mercy missions, and for the following 2 days he continued to remove casualties, venturing into enemy-held territory, scorning cover and braving devastating mortar and artillery bombardments. In 3 days he neutralized and captured 6 pillboxes single-handedly, killed at least 9 Germans, wounded 13, took 13 prisoners, aided in the capture of 14 others, and saved many American lives by his fearless performance as a litter bearer. Through his superb fighting skill, dauntless courage, and gallant, inspiring actions, Cpl. Wilkin contributed in large measure to his company's success in cracking the Siegfried Line. One month later he was killed in action while fighting deep in Germany.

The First Canadian Army captured the eastern end of the IJsselmeer causeway, trapping German forces in the western Netherlands.

5,000 concentration camp prisoners were loaded aboard the immobilized ocean liner Cap Arcona in the Baltic.

Waffen-SS General Karl Wolff met with Adolf Hitler and disclosed his negotiations with the Allies. 

Hitler told him to get better terms.

German Gen. Hans Källner was killed in action in Czechoslovakia.

Mussolini, with mistress Clara Petacci in tow, went to Milan to establish his government there.

Last edition:

Tuesday, April 17, 1945. Flak Bait.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Australian Army, baseball, Battle of the Hongorai River, Empire of Vietnam, Franklin Roosevelt, German Wehrmacht, Netherlands, New Guinea, Ruhr, Vietnam, Winston Churchill, World War Two

Friday, March 30, 1945. Mère Marie Élisabeth de l'Eucharistie gassed at Ravensbruck. Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose killed in action.

Algerian born Élise Rivet, whose father was a French Naval officer and whose mother was Alsatian, also known as Mère Marie Élisabeth de l'Eucharistie was gassed at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp after volunteering to take the place of a mother who was slated for that fate.  She had been arrested in 1944 for harboring refugees fleeing the Germans and for allowing her convent to be used to store weapons for the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance at the request of Albert Chambonnet.

She was 55 years of age.

Commander of the 3d Armored Division, Maj Gen. Maurice Rose was killed in action near Paderborn, Westphalia, where many of many ancestors immigrated from in the 19th Century.

Rose was cut off in a forested area near the city and his part attempted to escape in their Jeeps, which one Jeep managed to do.  Stopped by a tank, a Waffen SS tank commander emerged from the hatch with a submachinegun and Rose's hand went for his sidearm.  He was machinegunned and left.  The remainder of his party hid in the woods overnight, and recovered his body, which contained operational orders that had not been disturbed, that night.

He was the highest ranking U.S. Army officer to be killed in direct action by enemy forces during World War Two.

Rose was Jewish by descent and grew up in a Jewish household in Denver.  His father was a businessman who later became a rabbi.  Rose himself could speak Yiddish and read Hebrew.  He joined the Colorado National Guard before he was legally old enough to do so, hoping for a military career early on, and hoping to serve in the Punitive Expedition, but was discharged six weeks later when his age was discovered.  He enlisted again during World War One at age 17 with his parents permission, and went to OCS, which says something about how different things were in regard to educational requirements at the time.  He was briefly out of the service in 1919, but returned to the Army as an officer in 1920.

Rose was married for about ten years, from 1920 to 1931, to Venice Hanson of Salt Lake City.  although the marriage ended in divorce.  Their son served as a career Marine Corps officer and also served in World War Two, as well as the Korean and Vietnam Wars.  He later married Virginia Barringer in 1934.

While born and raised Jewish, Maurice identified as an Episcopalian as an adult, which has lead to speculation on whether his conversion was real or political, it being difficult at the time to advance in American society, and the Army more particularly, while being outwardly Jewish.  Not that much is known, however, about his personal religious convictions.

He was 45 years of age.

"he rabbi of the Jewish Inf. Brigade visits the aid station and distributes newspapers. 30 March, 1945. Photographer: Levine, 196th Signal Photo Co."

The Battle of Lijevče Field began near Banja Luka between Croatian and Chetnik forces in what would soon be incorporated into communist Yugoslavia.

The Red Army took Danzig.  The Danzig Corridor, of course, had been one of the things the Germans claimed they required that lead to World War Two.

Anyone else make a connection to Greenland today.. . . ?

Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey to 16 year old Patricia Molly Clapton and 25 year old Canadian soldier Edward Walter Fryer.  He was raised by his grandparents, whom he thought to be his parents until he was nine years old.  He thought, at that time, his mother was his older sister.  She'd marry another Canadian soldier later on and his grandparents would continue to raise him.

He was performing the blue professionally by age 17.

Last edition:

Thursday, March 29, 1945. The first Public Passover Sedar in Germany since 1938.

Labels: Battle of the Heiligenbell Pocket, Germany, Judaism, Passover, Red Army, religion