Galeazzo Ciano of Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop of Germany, and Saburō Kurusu of Japan signing the Tripartite Pact at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, 27 Sep 1940 (public domain via WW2 Database)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 27, 1940: Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.

Germans begin census of Jews in occupied France, conducted by French police; Jews are required to register with police station by October 20 and Jewish-owned shops must post yellow “Entreprise Juive” signs by October 31.

Movie premiere of Busby Berkeley musical Strike up the Band, starring Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney.

75 Years Ago—Sept. 27, 1945: US Air Transport Command begins “Sunset Project”: return of planes, crews & passengers from the Pacific.

Robert Patterson becomes US Secretary of War.

Premiere of Roberto Rossellini’s Roma, Città Aperta, the first Italian neorealist film.

Peter Dewey, WWII (Photo: US Office of Strategic Services)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 26, 1940: Due to Japanese occupation of French Indochina, US extends embargo to ban export of all scrap iron and steel to Japan.

75 Years Ago—Sept. 26, 1945: First US casualty in Vietnam (French Indochina)—OSS (precursor to CIA) officer Lt. Col. Peter Dewey is killed by Viet Minh in Saigon, mistaken for a Frenchman.

Hungarian classical composer Béla Bartók dies of leukemia in New York City, age 64.

Pres. Sergio Osmeña of the Philippines and his family, Malacañang Palace, 1945 (public domain via government of the Philippines, via Wikipedia)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 25, 1940: In Norway, Nazis ban the constitution and depose the king, and Reichskommissar Josef Terboven is installed as head of government.

Nouméa, New Caledonia sides with the Free French.

75 Years Ago—Sept. 25, 1945: The Nazi party is declared illegal in Germany.

Last Soviet forces depart from Norway.

In the Philippines, Pres. Sergio Osmeña establishes a People’s Court to try collaborators.

Flag of Malta, featuring the George Cross, awarded to Malta during WWII

80 Years Ago—Sept. 24, 1940: King George of England institutes the George Cross and George Medal for civilian valor.

Vichy France launches air raid on British Gibraltar.

Vichy governor of Dakar, French West Africa refuses to surrender to Free French and British; French West Africa will stay loyal to Vichy until November 1942.

75 Years Ago—Sept. 24, 1945: Movie premiere of Mildred Pierce, starring Joan Crawford, who will win an Oscar for her performance.

Bantam jeep, towing a 37 mm Gun M3 piece, jumping over a small hill, New River, NC, 1941 (Library of Congress)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 23, 1940: Free French and British attempt to land at Dakar in French West Africa, but are repelled by Vichy French forces.

The design for the jeep is submitted to the US Army by Bantam, originally called the Pilot.

Rubble from a destroyed Buddhist Temple in Nagasaki, Japan, 24 Sep 1945 (US National Archives: 127-N-136176)

75 Years Ago—Sept. 23, 1945: Egypt demands modification of Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 to end British military presence in Egypt and to annex Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (not complete until 1954-56).

US Marines land at Nagasaki, Japan.

Statue of Paul Revere, Boston, erected 22 September 1940 (Photo: Sarah Sundin, July 2014)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 22, 1940: Under Japanese pressure, Vichy France ratifies treaty allowing Japanese to occupy air bases and harbors in Indochina; Japanese troops enter French Indochina later that night.

In Boston, the statue of Paul Revere is unveiled in Paul Revere Mall near the Old North Church.

US Gen. George Patton and Soviet Gen. Georgy Zhukov, Berlin, Germany, 7 Sep 1945 (US National Archives)

75 Years Ago—Sept. 22, 1945: Patton publicly criticizes US “de-Nazification” process for German officers.

In Japan, US Marines land at Sasebo and Kure.

Air raid shelter in a London Underground station during the Blitz, 1940-41 (US National Archives: 195768)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 21, 1940: Britain officially sanctions Underground stations as air raid shelters (already being used), electric rails are turned off at night to open more room for shelter.

British Museum artifacts, including the Elgin Marbles, are hidden in the Aldwych tube station.

75 Years Ago—Sept. 21, 1945: Henry Ford II succeeds his grandfather, Henry Ford, as president of Ford Motor Company.

Morrison shelter in use, WWII (Imperial War Museum: D 2055)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 20, 1940: In Britain, the patent is filed for the Morrison indoor air raid shelter.

US correspondent Edward R. Murrow makes his first live radio broadcast for CBS from London rooftops.

Movie premiere of The Westerner, starring Gary Cooper.

75 Years Ago—Sept. 20, 1945: British and US Seventh Fleet warships anchor at Shanghai, China.

German rocket engineers begin work in US rocket program.

Police and Army bomb disposal officers with a defused German 1000kg ‘Luftmine’ (parachute mine) in Glasgow, 18 March 1941 (Imperial War Museum: H 8281)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 19, 1940: In raid on London, the Luftwaffe first uses parachute mines with timed fuses.

Secret Polish Army (TAP) leader Witold Pilecki voluntarily has himself sent to Auschwitz so he can report on activities and organize resistance in the camp; he escapes in 1943.

75 Years Ago—Sept. 19, 1945: British and French troops suppress Vietnamese nationalist insurgents in Saigon.

Congress Party of India begins negotiations with British about independence.

Shirley Temple (age 17) marries Sgt. John Agar, US Fourth Air Force, in Los Angeles.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Anthony rescues survivors from a lifeboat from SS City of Benares which had been adrift for eight days after the ship was sunk, 26 Sept 1940 (Imperial War Museum: CH 1354)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 18, 1940: In the North Atlantic, U-48 sinks Children’s Overseas Reception Board ship SS City of Benares carrying evacuees from Britain to Canada (260 killed, including 77 of 90 children).

Italian offensive in Egypt halts near Sidi Barrani for 3 months due to supply difficulties.

Secretary of War Henry Stimson, Washington, DC, 10 Aug 1945 (US National Archives: 199142)

75 Years Ago—Sept. 18, 1945: Henry L. Stimson resigns as US Secretary of War.