Today in World War II History—October 22, 1939 & 1944

Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch Jr., commander of US Seventh Army in southern France, and his son, Capt. Alexander “Mac” Patch III, shortly before the young officer’s death, 1944 (US Military Academy)
80 Years Ago—October 22, 1939: Soviets clamp down on occupied Poland, closing schools and churches, banning the Polish language and typewriters, and replacing Polish currency with Soviet rubles.
Gallup poll: 62% of American want to aid the Allies, but 95% want to stay out of the war.
75 Years Ago—Oct. 22, 1944: First use of napalm in the Southwest Pacific Theater—US fighters drop napalm on oil storage tanks on Ceram Island in the Netherlands East Indies.
Capt. Alexander Patch III, son of the commanding general of the US Seventh Army, is killed in action in France.