Today in World War II History—December 15, 1940 & 1945

Gearing-class destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA, July 2014 (Photo: Sarah Sundin)
80 Years Ago—Dec. 15, 1940: Germans move the remains of Napoleon II from Vienna to Les Invalides in Paris in failed attempt to build up German image in France.
First issue of underground newspaper Résistance is published in Paris by the Musée de l’Homme resistance group.
75 Years Ago—Dec. 15, 1945: Japanese women are allowed to vote for the first time.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur orders end of Shinto as Japanese state religion.
Gearing-class destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. is commissioned in Quincy, MA (now a museum ship in Fall River, MA).