Aviation Snapshot - B-25s Dodging Antiaircraft Fire over Rabaul

In early 1944, after the issue over Rabaul had been decided, Marine Air fielded five PBJ squadrons (dubbed VMB) aboard the bases surround the Japanese stronghold. The PBJs were standard American B-25 medium bombers with a navy/Marine designation. Marine PBJs were the last aircraft to bomb Rabaul, on August 8, 1945. Here, PBJs over Simpson Harbor are tracked by antiaircraft fire. Official USMC Photo, from New Georgia, Bougainville, and Cape Gloucester: The U.S. Marines in World War II by Eric Hammel.

From the Pages - Battle for the City of the Dead

The following excerpt is pulled from Chapter 10 ("Tomb Job") of Battle for the City of the Dead: In the Shadow of the Golden Dome, Najaf, August 2004 by Col. Dick Camp.

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“It was like New Orleans meets Baghdad.”
 

—U.S. Army officer describing the Wadi al-Salaam cemetery

Alpha Company jumped off early in the morning of August 8. “We cleared the little carnival area with negative contact,” Alpha Company’s commander, Capt. Kevin Badger, said. “We didn’t find anything.” The company held up until about 2 p.m., when, Badger said, “Colonel Miyamasu called and told me to initiate operations in AO Mad Dog [Alpha Company’s area of operations].”

First Lieutenant Steven D. Stauch added, “We were basically on station as a kind of reserve for about two hours at that point. We waited for Bravo and Charlie to clear down to Phase Line Bronx, and once they got to that point, then we were brought in to start clearing our sector.” Each company was given about a one-thousand-meter frontage.

Military Snapshot - Treadless in Vietnam

On the morning of June 23, 1968, crewmen from A-35 were on the move on Highway 533 when the tank struck a land mine in the road. In this photo, Staff Sgt. Elwood Houston and Bob Schlagel examine mine damage to A-35, including a blown-off right treat and warped hull. Photo courtesy of Tom Bursott, from Search and Destroy: The Story of an Armored Cavalry Squadron in Viet Nam, by Keith Nolan.

Aerospace X-Ray - Forward Reaction Control System Module

The forward reaction control system module is detachable for servicing, and its removal enables access to the lower nose section and upper landing gear bay. Illustration courtesy of NASA, from NASA Space Shuttle Owners' Workshop Manual by Dr. David Baker.

Naval Snapshot - Farragut-class Destroyers on Exercise

Farragut-class destroyers of DesDiv 2 in San Diego fleet exercises. Including from left, USS Aylwin, Monaghan, and Dale. Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy, from Tales from a Tin Can: The USS Dale from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay by Michael Keith Olson.

They Said It... - Flame Thrower Harry Parley on Omaha Beach

In the following account from War Stories of D-Day: Operation Overlord: June 6, 1944, flame thrower Harry Parley, a private first class with the 29th Division, 116th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, E Company, describes the chaos of stepping foot off the landing craft and into the hell that was Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.

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"As our boat touched sand and the ramp went down, I became a visitor to hell. Some boats on either side of us had been hit by artillery and heavy weapons. I was aware that some were burning and some were sinking. I can’t recall if there were cries from the wounded. I shut everything out and concentrated on following the men in front of me down the ramp and into the water. Ahead of me was a stretch of beach at least a couple of hundred yards deep. I read the actual yardage somewhere many years ago, but I no longer remember it.

"The air was thick with smoke and the roar of exploding shells. I stepped off the ramp into a deep, water-filled pocket in the sand, and went under completely. With no footing whatsoever, and with the weight on my back, I was unable to come up. I knew I was drowning, and made a futile attempt to unbuckle the flame thrower harness. Inadvertently, I had raised the firing arm, which is about three feet long, above my head. One of my team saw it, grabbed hold, and pulled me up out of the hole onto solid sand. Then slowly, half drowned, coughing water, and dragging my feet, I began walking toward the chaos ahead." 

Photo courtesy of National World War II Museum, from War Stories of D-Day: Operation Overlord: June 6, 1944 by Michael Green and James D. Brown.

From the Pages - History of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II

Excerpted from 10th Mountain Division by Fred Pushies

Chapter 2: 10th Mountain Division—World War II

With the Allied invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, combat in Italy was relegated to the background. For the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division fighting in the Apennine Mountains, it was far from the “forgotten front.” For the German Army as well, the battles in the Italian Alps were as real and lethal as those their comrades were facing in France. During the campaign the mountain soldiers of the 10th would do battle with nine German divisions that were well entrenched and occupying the high ground. By the end of the campaign, five of the nine German divisions would be totally destroyed as effective combat units. The men of the 10th Mountain Division not only had to fight the Germans, but also had to deal with the environment and elements—the jagged mountains, cliffs, rivers, lakes, and towns. In early January 1945, the 86th Infantry Regiment arrived at the frontlines near Mount Belvedere in the North Apennine Mountains of Italy.

By January 20, 1945, all three regiments of the 10th had arrived in Italy and were positioned along the Serchio Valley and Mount Belvedere. The 85th was commanded by Col. Raymond Barlow, the 86th by Col. Clarence Tomlinson, and the 87th by Col. David Fowler. Here, the division was up against the German positions that were positioned along the five–mile-long Mount Belvedere–Monte della Torraccia Ridge. General Lucian Truscott Jr., who had just taken command of the Fifth Army, informed General Hays of his strategy for dealing with the enemy. The plan called for the 10th to first capture Mount Belvedere, which served as an enemy observation post. The artillery observation post provided the Germans with a view of Highway 65, which was one of the main routes into the Po Valley. Protecting Mount Belvedere were more Germans on Riva Ridge toward the west.

Military Snapshot - A Tank's-eye View in Najaf, Iraq

Looking through a tank driver's view port down a debris-laden street in Najaf. Note the barrel of the tank's 120mm cannon. Photo courtesy of 1st Lt. William Birdzell, USMC, from Battle for the City of the Dead by Col. Dick Camp.