May 31, 2023 by Jenny Ashcraft | 63 Comments
During WWII, the US Fifth Army liberated Rome on June 4, 1944. Rome had been considered the heart of Fascist Italy under Mussolini’s rule, and the liberation dealt a blow to Nazi Germany’s morale. Rome was one of three Axis … Continue reading
April 5, 2022 by Jenny Ashcraft | 5 Comments
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 … Continue reading
March 3, 2022 by Jenny Ashcraft | Comments Off on March 28, 1942: St Nazaire Raid
On March 28, 1942, British forces rammed an obsolete destroyer laden with explosives into heavily defended dry docks at St Nazaire in German-occupied France. The state-of-the-art dry docks were the base of operations for the German U-Boat fleet and the … Continue reading
January 24, 2022 by Jenny Ashcraft | 80 Comments
By the time WWII ended in 1945, the Holocaust claimed the lives of more than 6 million Jews across German-occupied Europe. In addition to Jews, Nazi Germany also engaged in the systematic killing of 11 million others, including POWs and … Continue reading
January 3, 2022 by Jenny Ashcraft | 158 Comments
Shortly after Adolf Hitler came to power, he ordered the construction of the New Reich Chancellery just south of the Brandenburg Gate in East Berlin. The Chancellery was a showpiece of the Third Reich and designed to project a sense … Continue reading
September 20, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft | 79 Comments
In November 1943, a C-53 transport plane loaded with 13 medics, 13 flight nurses, and four aircrew members left Sicily headed for Bari, Italy. Their mission was to transport wounded soldiers to hospitals farther away from the front lines. A … Continue reading
August 18, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft | 116 Comments
On February 9, 1945, the State Department sent an urgent telegram to the Secretary of State. The message informed him that thousands of American soldiers, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, were being held at a notorious German POW … Continue reading