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the secret of war lies in the communications -- Napoleon Bonaparte |
Letter from Kenneth7916 Reads
  V-Mail , June 1944:Dear Mom, "The O.W.I. has given you more information about the historic D-Day than we could hope to include in one letter. Of Interest to you is our personal safety and the thrills we experienced. Hollywood could not reproduce them. When we were several hours before H Hour, the sky was lighted by plane-dropped star shells, thence minutes passed, our minds were torn from the dangers that lay on either side of the narrow mine-swept roads as we waited to learn who had lighted the sky--friend or foe. Then came the drone of hundreds of bombers and eight miles of exploding bombs on the peninsula made our ship vibrate. Our Air Force worked in spite of the tracers that made beautiful patterns against the sky.
Soon after dawn a Messerschmitt could be seen coming out of a white cloud bank to meet the tracer fire from a P-47. As the American plane passed, a spitfire drove it's fiery tongue at the crippled German and sent him down in flames. We could see mines erupting: and geysers around the ships told of shore batteries firing on the invasion fleet. The hours melted into days and nights. By day the allied transports extended from horizon to horizon, while allied bombers and fighters worked overhead our guns responded to location D.T. on enemy positions. A message from a fire patrol agent stated: 'your fire is removing the turrets from their tanks', or another: 'the enemy hasn't been seen since your last salvo.' Almost everybody got some mail recently. What a thrill to realize that the radio and newspapers had given you an account of the excellent performance of our ship. The officers, men, and ship did a good job and I'm proud to be aboard. Till you hear from me again, keep praying, your prayers are being heard." Love, Ray |
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1863:
Seven solid days of bombardment ended at Charleston, S.C. The Union fired some 1,307 rounds.
1864: Eight days of cavalry clashes in Georgia come to an end when Union General Judson Kilpatrick and Confederate General Joseph Wheeler skirmish for a final time at Waynesboro. Although the Rebels inflicted more than three times as many casualties as the Yankees, the campaign was considered a success by the Union because it screened Wheeler from the main Union force. 1864: U.S.S. Moose, Lieutenant Commander Fitch, U.S.S. Carondelet, Acting Master Charles W. Miller, U.S.S. Fairplay, Acting Master George J. Groves, U.S.S. Reindeer, Acting Lieutenant Henry A. Glassford, and U.S.S. Silver Lake, Acting Master Joseph C. Coyle, engaged field batteries on the Cumberland River near Bell's Mills, Tennessee, silenced them, and recaptured three transports taken by the Confederates the preceding day. 1942: During the first American raid on the mainland of Italy the US 9th Air Force bombs the harbor at Naples causing damage and sinking two cruisers. 1943: The Japanese escort carrier Chuyo is sunk by the US submarine Sailfish in Japanese home waters. 1943: The US divisions on Bougainville receive further reinforcements and extend their perimeter. 1943: Task Force 50, commanded by Admiral Pownall, and a task force commanded by Admiral Montgomery attack Kwajalein with a combined fleet of 6 carriers and nine cruisers. 1944: The USS Flasher (SS-249) sinks Japanese destroyer Kishinami and damages a merchant ship in South China Sea. The USS Flasher is only U.S. submarine to sink over 100,000 tons of enemy shipping in World War II. 1944: US 9th Army ceases the offensive toward the Roer River. The US 3rd Army forces of US 20th Corps concentrates forces for the capture of Saarlautern, where reconnaissance indicates there is an intact bridge over the Saar River. 1950: Marines rescued over 300 soldiers of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division, survivors of a communist ambush on the shores of the Chosin/Changjin Reservoir. |
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