Today in World War II History—Feb. 17, 1944
Sunday, February 17, 2019 by Sarah Sundin
US Marines landing on Eniwetok, 17 February 1944 (US Marine Corps Photo)
US Navy SBD Dauntless bombers over Truk Atoll, 16-18 February 1944 (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—Feb. 17, 1944: US Army & Marines land on Eniwetok Atoll in Marshall Islands.
Soviets close Korsun pocket and take 18,000 German POWs; 28,000 Germans break out of the pocket, but thousands drown crossing a swollen river.
US Navy carriers strike Japanese base at Truk in the Pacific, sinking 37 ships, shooting down 121 Japanese fighter planes (the highest one-day total in the Pacific war to date), and destroying 150 Japanese planes on the ground.
