On August 21, 1863, a Confederate guerilla group led by William Quantrill attacked citizens in the town of Lawrence, Kansas, during the American Civil War. Guerillas killed more than 150 boys and men and burned much of the town. The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill’s raid, was a culmination of tension between local abolitionists…
During WWII, the United States Army adopted a form to document the fate of missing air crews. Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs) are a valuable resource that provides details, witness statements, survivor accounts, and more. The reports tell the story of aircraft that went down for various reasons, including enemy fire, bad weather, or mechanical…
Eighty years ago, on June 4-7, 1942, the United States defeated Japan in a decisive naval and air battle known as the Battle of Midway. The battle came after a Japanese attack on a US base on Midway Atoll, a tiny island in the Pacific. Japan never recovered from its losses, and the battle is…
Morning reports are company-level reports that were filled out each day to reflect status changes of all personnel assigned to the unit. Morning reports are not rosters. They are exception-based reports, meaning that a soldier’s name will only appear on the report if his status has changed in the last 24 hours. For example, if…
On October 24, 1944, the USS Tang (SS-306) sank off the coast of China during WWII, trapping 29 sailors in 180 feet of water. The Balao-class submarine was destroyed when her own torpedo boomeranged back and slammed into the ship’s port side during an attack on a Japanese convoy. Out of the 87 men aboard,…
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation declaring April 9th as National Former POW Recognition Day. The day commemorates the capture of nearly 25,000 U.S. troops that were surrendered by their commander on Bataan in the Philippines on April 9, 1942. Though this day has special significance for the “Battling Bastards of Bataan,” as…
The 493rd Bombardment Group was a unit of the US Army Air Forces assigned to the 93rd Bombardment Wing, Eighth Air Force, during WWII. The group included the 860th, 861st, 862nd, and 863rd Heavy Bombardment Squadrons. They were known as “the Fighting 493rd,” and we’ve recently added their Unit History to our archives. This Unit…
