75 Years Ago—July 9, 1943: Opening the invasion of Sicily before midnight, British troops land in gliders near Syracuse and paratroopers of US 82nd Airborne Division land near Gela. US Army opens assault on Munda, New Georgia.
75 Years Ago—July 8, 1943: German Gestapo executes French resistance leader Jean Moulin. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower arrives at Malta, Battle Headquarters for Operation Husky, the upcoming Allied invasion of Sicily. US Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Midway bomb Wake Island in first land-based strike on this island.
75 Years Ago—July 7, 1943: In the Battle of Kursk, Soviet Il-2 ground-attack aircraft destroy 70 German tanks in 20 minutes. US Army Air Force Training Command is established, combining Flying and Technical Training Commands, under Maj. Gen. Barton Yount at Fort Worth, Texas.
75 Years Ago—July 6, 1943: Battle of Kula Gulf: in Solomon Islands, US ships slow Japanese reinforcement of New Georgia; light cruiser USS Helena and Japanese destroyers Niizuki and Nagatsuki are sunk.
75 Years Ago—July 5, 1943: Battle of Kursk begins: last major German offensive on eastern front. Actress Betty Grable marries trumpet player and bandleader Harry James.
75 Years Ago—July 4, 1943: Gen. Wladyslaw Sikorski, leader of Polish government-in-exile and commander of Polish forces, dies in a plane crash at Gibraltar. First residents move into secret city of Oak Ridge TN, built for Manhattan Project workers.
75 Years Ago—July 3, 1943: New song in Top Ten: “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer,” based on stories of US bomber crews in North Africa.
75 Years Ago—July 2, 1943: Allies begin bombing of Sicilian airfields to drive German fighter planes to mainland Italy before the upcoming invasion of Sicily. First of the Tuskegee Airmen (African-American fighter pilots) shoots down an enemy plane—Lt. Charles Hall in a P-40.
75 Years Ago—July 1, 1943: Congress changes WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps) to WAC (Women’s Army Corps) effective 9/30/43. Congress creates US Cadet Nurse Corps, which provides a free nursing education in exchange for military service. First All-American Girls Professional Baseball League All-Star Game is played. First night game played at Wrigley Field in Chicago,… Read more »
75 Years Ago—June 30, 1943: US Sixth Army, in its first operation, lands main force on unoccupied Kiriwina and Woodlark in Trobriand Islands (Southwest Pacific). US Army and Marines land on Rendova in the Solomons. Depression-Era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) are officially disbanded.
