August 15, Quite a Day in History

From the August 15, 2018, Kenosha (Wis.) News "Today in History."

1812--  The Battle of Fort Dearborn took place.  Fort Dearborn is where Chicago is today, but back then was just a frontier fort.  This took place during the War of 1812 and is also called a massacre.

1914--  The Panama Canal officially opens as the SS Ancon crossed between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

1935--  Humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post killed in airplane crash near Point Barrow in Alaska Territory.

1944--  Allied forces landed in southern France in Operation Dragoon during WW II.

1945--  In a pre-recorded radio address, Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced that Japan had accepted terms of surrender ending WW II.

1961--  As workers begin constructing the Berlin Wall, East German soldier Conrad Schumann lept to freedom over barbed wire in a scene made famous in a photograph.

1965--  The Beatles played to a crowd of 55,000 at New York's Shea Stadium.

1969--  The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opened in upstate New York.

Like I Said, a Pretty Important Day in History.  --DaCoot

Ships By the Name USS Missouri-- Part 3: The Most Famous One

The 4th USS MISSOURI  (BB-63) by far was the most famous ship of the name.  Commissioned in 1944.

45,000 tons

Nine 16-inch guns in main battery, capable of throwing a 1,300  pound shell thirty miles.

The Japanese surrendered on this ship to end World War II.

This battleship is a museum ship in Pearl Harbor, moored by the USS Arizona.  Together they bookend World War II for the United States.

--Cooter

USS Detroit-- Part 3: Spanish-American War and WW II

**  The third USS Detroit (C-10) was a Montgomery-class cruiser that operated 1893-1904.  Its class was one of the poorest ever designed for the U.S. Navy.  It fought in the Spanish-American War and was scrapped after decommissioning in 1904.

**  The fourth USS Detroit (CL-8) was an Omaha-class light cruiser (1923-1946).  It was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and one of the few ships to get underway.  During World War II it earned six Battle Stars.

It was moored alongside the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered in 1945.  So, it was one of the few ships that was present at the beginning of the war for the United States and the end.

**  The fifth USS Detroit (AOE-4) was a fast combat support ship (1970-2005).

--Detrer

How'd I Miss That Date? Japan's Surrender

OK, yesterday, I wrote about some thngs that happened on that date back in history and I missed the biggest thing of all, Japan's official surrender, August 15, 1945.  Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced that his country had accepted terms of surrender,ending World War II.

Japan was doomed even by the beginning of 1945, but was committed to fight to the bitter end, last person.  Then, came the atom bombs.  Unfortunately, the first one didn't decide it for them, but Nagasaki did.  As sad of a thing it was, the deaths from Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved millions more, not to mention all those Americans who would die and be maimed with that final invasion of Japan.

Liz showed me the movies someone in Hawaii had taken with the impromptu celebrations that broke out when the announcement came through back then.  If you get a chance to see it, do so.  You can find it at Vimio, VJ Day, Honolulu, Hawaii August 14, 1945.

Too Bad It Wasn't the War to End All Wars.  --Cooter

Bits O' Real Old History: HMAS Sydney-- Cape Fear Light-- USS South Dakota

Some Old News About Old Stuff.


1. HMAS SYDNEY-- Alaistair Templeton was on the HMAS Sydney for three months and shipped off Oct. 17, 1941, a few weeks before it sank. He said that one of the four turrets was damaged and jammed and probably not in service in the battle.


2. CAPE FEAR LIGHT-- Stood on Bald Head Island, North Carolina. Built 1903 and demolished in 1958 to prevent confusion with the new one at Oak Island.


3. USS SOUTH DAKOTA-- I met a woman who said her grandfather served aboard the USS South Dakota. The former crew members recently had a reunion in St. Louis, but only eight showed up.

The Japanese surrender was originally supposed to be aboard the South Dakota, but Truman moved it to the Missouri because he was from that state. The South Dakota was there, though, one of eight US battleships at the ceremony. The British battleships Duke of York and King George V were also in the bay.

Just Some History. --Cooter

65th Anniversary of the End of World War II

Tomorrow marks the 65th anniversary of the Japanese surrender, marking the end of World War II. I haven't seen too much about it, actually just this one article in the August 13th Wilmington (NC) Star-News "Wilmington celebrates V-J Day" by Wilbur D. Jones, Jr.

Back on August 15, 1945 (Japan time) Winter Park resident and New Hanover High School graduate Lt. jg Ralph "Buck" Barden, a TBM Avenger bomber pilot, was on his way to bomb a Tokyo electronics plant.

Half way there, he was ordered to abort the mission, jettison his bombs and return to the carrier USS Lexington. His war was over and so was everyone else's.

President Truman announced that the Japanese had surrendered at 7 pm, Tuesday, August 14, 1945. News reached Wilmington at sunset. Those businesses still open, immediately closed and thousands of celebrants gathered at Front Street. Autos were blasting their horns and many people were singing patriotic songs.

The article's writer remembers sitting at home with his parents and sister and listening to the news over the radio and later managing to get through on their party line and call friends.

He remembers that friends of his family had a baby girl born that day and that his mother had tried, tongue-in-cheek, to have her named VJ.

Jones said that VE Day had come during the day and again all businesses and schools were closed and people were out on the streets to celebrate.

A Great Day in US History! --Cooter