Lt. Cdr. Mildred McAfee, USNR, Director of the WAVES, WWII (US Navy photo)
75 Years Ago—Aug. 3, 1942: Lt. Cdr. Mildred McAfee is named the first director of the WAVES, becomes the first female officer in the US Naval Reserve.
British troopship HMT Queen Mary returning US troops from Europe, New York, NY, 20 June 1945 (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—Aug. 2, 1942: Gandhi warns that India will welcome the Japanese if Britain doesn’t grant independence.
Troopship HMT Queen Mary departs New York with US First Armored Infantry Division (15,000 troops), the first time an entire division has been carried on a single ship, the first transport of US & Canadian forces on the HMT Queen Mary and HMT Queen Elizabeth. These ocean liners can cross the Atlantic in only five days without escort—U-boats can’t catch them due to their high speed.
75 Years Ago—Aug. 1, 1942: Japanese set up “independent” puppet government in Burma.
American Federation of Musicians begins yearlong strike against recording industry.
Permanente Hospital opens in Oakland, CA for employees of Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond.
Patch of the US Fifth Air Force, WWII
75 Years Ago—July 31, 1942: Germans cross River Don in the Ukraine.
US Fifth Air Force B-17s begin 7-day bombardment of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in preparation for US invasion.
Off Halifax, RCAF Hudson sinks U-754, the first U-boat sunk by Canadian aircraft.
75 Years Ago—July 30, 1942: First Battle of El Alamein ends when British Eighth Army goes to defensive in Egypt.
President Roosevelt signs legislation creating WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).
Japanese invade Aru, Kei, Babar, and Tanimbar Islands in the Moluccas, Netherlands East Indies.
CBS Radio begins “Stage Door Canteen” program.
Kokoda Village and Airfield, 14 July 1942 (Australian War Memorial)
75 Years Ago—July 29, 1942: As Australians retreat, Japanese take Kokoda and its airfield in Papua New Guinea.
Clandestine poster of the ŻOB during German occupation of Poland. Text reads “All people are brothers; Yellow, brown, black, and white. Talk of peoples, colors, races; Is all a made-up story!” (public domain via Wikipedia)
75 Years Ago—July 28, 1942: Young Jews in Warsaw ghetto form Jewish Fighting Organization (ZOB).
Spike Jones and His City Slickers record anti-Nazi novelty song “Der Fuehrer’s Face.”
Capt. TI Gellibrand and Lt. JT Cook of the Australian 24th Infantry Brigade HQ, and Lt. ET Pearce near El Alamein, Egypt, 19 Jul 1942 (Australian War Memorial)
75 Years Ago—July 27, 1942: British press attack at El Alamein, but fail to make gains against Germans.
Australian Women’s Land Army formed for agricultural workers.
Gene Autry on the cover of the New York Sunday News magazine, 12 February 1942 (public domain via Wikipedia)
75 Years Ago—July 26, 1942: Maj. Gen. Millard Harmon takes command of US Army Forces in South Pacific Area.
In a live radio broadcast, Gene Autry, cowboy singer/actor, is inducted into the US Army Air Force; he will serve as a technical sergeant.
British begin rationing chocolate and sweets—2 ounces per week.
75 Years Ago—July 25, 1942: Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff agree to the invasion of North Africa in November 1942, code-named Operation Torch.
New song in Top Ten: “He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings.”
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