June 25
 

U.S. Navy Turns Boats over to South Vietnamese Navy

1969 The U.S. Navy turns 64 river patrol gunboats valued at $18.2 million over to the South Vietnamese Navy in what is described as the largest single transfer of military equipment in the war thus far. The transfer raised the total number of boats in the South Vietnamese Navy to more than 600. This was part of the "Vietnamization" program, which President Richard Nixon initiated to increase the fighting capability of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (to include the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps) so that they could assume more responsibility for the war. Vietnamization included the provision of new equipment and weapons and an intensified advisory effort.

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June 24
 

Russians Enjoy a Victory Parade

1945 On this day, Soviet troops parade past Red Square in celebration of their victory over Germany. As drums rolled, 200 soldiers performed a familiar ritual: They threw 200 German military banners at the foot of the Lenin Mausoleum. A little over 130 years earlier, victorious Russian troops threw Napoleon's banners at the feet of Czar Alexander I.

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June 23
 

Lee Confers with his Generals Before the Seven Days' Battles

1862 On this day, Confederate General Robert E. Lee meets with his corps commanders to plot an attack on General George McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Launched on June 26, the attack would break the stalemate of the Peninsular campaign and trigger the Seven Days' Battles. McClellan had spent two months shipping his army down the Chesapeake to the James Peninsula for a run at the Confederate capital. Despite having a larger number of troops, McClellan moved slowly and timidly, and his advance stalled on June 1, less than 10 miles from Richmond. For the next three weeks, McClellan's and Lee's armies faced off, but little fighting occurred. Now Lee sought to seize the initiative. He summoned his generals for a council on June 23. Included in the meeting was General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, fresh off his highly successful Shenandoah Valley campaign. Jackson was traveling ahead of his army, which was still marching back from western Virginia. Lee announced to his commanders that the time had come to attack the Yankee invaders. Lee planned an assault on the Union right flank, which was separated from the rest of the Yankee army by the Chickahominy River. Plans were made for the Battle of Mechanicsville on June 26, and Jackson rode back to his troops. The stage was set for the Seven Days' Battles.

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June 22
 

Germany Launches Operation Barbarossa

1941 Over 3 million German troops invade Russia in three parallel offensives, in what is the most powerful invasion force in history. Nineteen panzer divisions, 3,000 tanks, 2,500 aircraft, and 7,000 artillery pieces pour across a thousand-mile front as Hitler goes to war on a second front.

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June 21
 

French Withdraw Navy From NATO

1963 The French government shocks its allies by announcing that it is withdrawing its navy from the North Atlantic fleet of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The French action was viewed in the West as evidence that France would be pursuing an independent policy regarding its nuclear arsenal.

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June 20
 

United States and Soviet Union Will Establish a "Hot Line"

1963To lessen the threat of an accidental nuclear war, the United States and the Soviet Union agree to establish a "hot line" communication system between the two nations. The agreement was a small step in reducing tensions between the United States and the USSR following the October 1962 Missile Crisis in Cuba, which had brought the two nations to the brink of nuclear war.

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June 19
 

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Executed

1953 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage in 1951, are put to death in the electric chair. The execution marked the dramatic finale of the most controversial espionage case of the Cold War. Julius was arrested in July 1950, and Ethel in August of that same year, on the charge of conspiracy to commit espionage. Specifically, they were accused of heading a spy ring that passed top-secret information concerning the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. The Rosenbergs vigorously protested their innocence, but after a brief trial in March 1951 they were convicted. On April 5, 1951, a judge sentenced them to death. The pair was taken to Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York, to await execution. During the next two years, the couple became the subject of both national and international debate. Many people believed that the Rosenbergs were the victims of a surge of hysterical anticommunist feeling in the United States, and protested that the death sentence handed down was cruel and unusual punishment. Most Americans, however, believed that the Rosenbergs had been dealt with justly. President Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke for many Americans when he issued a statement declining to invoke executive clemency for the pair. He stated, "I can only say that, by immeasurably increasing the chances of atomic war, the Rosenbergs may have condemned to death tens of millions of innocent people all over the world. The execution of two human beings is a grave matter. But even graver is the thought of the millions of dead whose deaths may be directly attributable to what these spies have done." Julius Rosenberg was the first to be executed, at about 8 p.m. on June 19, 1953. Just a few minutes after his body was removed from the chamber containing the electric chair, Ethel Rosenberg was led in and strapped to the chair. She was pronounced dead at 8:16 p.m. Both refused to admit any wrongdoing and proclaimed their innocence right up to the time of their deaths. Two sons, Michael and Robert, survived them.

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June 18
 

SAC B-52s are Used for the First Time in South Vietnam

1965 For the first time, 28 B-52s fly-bomb a Viet Cong concentration in a heavily forested area of Binh Duong Province northwest of Saigon. Such flights, under the aegis of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), became known as Operation Arc Light. The B-52s that took part in the Arc Light missions had been deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and more bombers were later deployed to bases in Okinawa and U-Tapao, Thailand. In addition to supporting ground tactical operations, B-52s were used to interdict enemy supply lines in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and later to strike targets in North Vietnam. Releasing their bombs from 30,000 feet, the B-52s could neither be seen nor heard from the ground as they inflicted awesome damage. B-52s were instrumental in breaking up enemy concentrations besieging Khe Sanh in 1968 and An Loc in 1972. Between June 1965 and August 1973, 126,615 B-52 sorties were flown over Southeast Asia. During those operations, the Air Force lost 29 B-52s: 17 from hostile fire over North Vietnam and 12 from operational causes.

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June 17
 

Union Colonel Strong Vincent is Born

1837 On this day in 1837, Strong Vincent is born in Waterford, Pennsylvania. After working as a lawyer, he went on to become a hero at the Battle of Gettysburg, where he was mortally wounded defending Little Round Top. When hostilities erupted in April 1861, Vincent left the law to become an officer in the Erie Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. By early 1862, he rose to commander of the 83rd Pennsylvania. Vincent served in several campaigns with the Army of the Potomac, fighting at Yorktown, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. He was promoted to colonel after Yorktown, and prior to Gettysburg, Vincent was given command of the Third Brigade, First Division, of the Fifth Corps. On the night of July 1, 1863, Vincent and his men were hurrying toward the battlefield under a bright moon. When the soldiers passed through a small town near Gettysburg, the regiment bands began to play and residents came to their doors to cheer the Yankee troops. Vincent remarked to an aide that there could be a worse fate than to die fighting in his home state with the flag overhead. The next day, as Vincent and his brigade were arriving behind the Union lines, General Gouverneur K. Warren frantically summoned Vincent's force to the top of Little Round Top, a rocky hill at the end of the Federal line. Warren observed that the Confederates could turn the Union left flank by taking the summit, which was occupied by only a Yankee signal corps at the time. So Vincent and his men hurried up the hill, arriving just ahead of the Rebels. The brigade held the top, but just barely. Vincent was mortally wounded in the engagement and died on July 7. He was promoted posthumously to brigadier general.

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June 16
 

Battle of Secessionville

1862 On this day, a Union attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina, is thwarted when the Confederates turn back an attack at Secessionville, just south of the city on James Island. Yankee General Henry W. Benham decided to attack the strong fortifications that protected Confederates under the command of General Nathan "Shanks" Evans. But the Rebels' fortifications were nearly impenetrable. The approach to the fort was across a strip of firm ground bracketed by marshes, which narrowed the ground that the Confederate artillery needed to cover. Only 500 Confederates were inside, but another 1,500 rushed in from Charleston. Benham staged three attacks against the fort, but each failed. The Federals lost nearly 800 men, while the Southerners suffered only 200 losses. After the disastrous battle, Union officials began pointing fingers, and Benham was arrested three days later. His superior, Hunter, had ordered no assault without permission. There was disagreement between Benham and his three subordinates over plans to attack. The three later said they had presented objections on the eve of the battle, but an aide to Benham said there had been no such discussion. Benham blamed one of his commanders, Isaac Stephens, for the botched charge. The Judge Advocate General's Office recommended revocation of Benham's commission. But the aggressiveness he possessed was in short supply among Union generals in 1862, and the Lincoln administration rescinded the revocation. Benham joined Ulysses S. Grant for the Vicksburg campaign, and he commanded the Army of the Potomac's engineering brigade during Grant's Virginia campaign against Robert E. Lee in 1864.

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June 15
 

The United States Presents the Baruch Plan

1946 The United States presents the Baruch Plan for the international control of atomic weapons to the United Nations. The failure of the plan to gain acceptance resulted in a dangerous nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

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June 14
 

Battle of Second Winchester

1863 A small Union garrison in the Shenandoah Valley town of Winchester, Virginia, is easily defeated by the Army of Northern Virginia on the path of the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania.

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June 13
 

"Pentagon Papers" Damage Credibility of Cold War Policy

1971 The New York Times begins to publish sections of the so-called "Pentagon Papers," a top-secret Department of Defense study of America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

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June 12
 

Reagan Challenges Gorbachev to Tear Down the Berlin Wall

1987 In one of his most famous Cold War speeches, President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. Two years later, deliriously happy East and West Germans did break down the infamous barrier between East and West Berlin. Reagan's challenge came during a visit to West Berlin. With the Berlin Wall as a backdrop, Reagan declared, "There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace." He then called upon his Soviet counterpart: "Secretary General Gorbachev, if you seek peace--if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe--if you seek liberalization: come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Addressing the West Berlin crowd, Reagan observed, "Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar." Reagan then went on to ask Gorbachev to undertake serious arms reduction talks with the United States. Most listeners at the time viewed Reagan's speech as a dramatic appeal to Gorbachev to renew negotiations on nuclear arms reductions. It was also a reminder that despite the Soviet leader's public statements about a new relationship with the West, the United States wanted to see action taken to improve the Cold War tensions. Just eight months before, a summit between Reagan and Gorbachev had ended unsatisfactorily, with both sides charging the other with bad faith in talks aimed at reducing nuclear arsenals. Reagan, who had formed a personal closeness to Gorbachev during their previous meetings, obviously wanted to move those negotiations forward. In December 1987, the two met once again and signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear missiles from Europe.

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June 11
 

Britain Strikes Back at Italy

1940 On this day in 1940, Britain demonstrates that it will not remain on the defensive, by bombing Italian targets in response to Mussolini's declaration of war on England and France. Having already marked out an offensive strategy in the event of Italian aggression, Britain bombed targets within the cities of Genoa and Turin. Africa was also another theater of conflict, as Italy and Britain were imperial neighbors. Italy had just bombed targets in the British-controlled Suez Canal territory, as well as the British-controlled island of Malta, in the Mediterranean. Britain retaliated with a raid on the Italian military installation in Eritrea. Even the Pacific would see fallout from this new conflict, with an Australian merchant cruiser giving chase to an Italian vessel, which ended up scuttling itself rather than surrendering.

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June 10
 

Eisenhower Rejects Calls for U.S.

1953 In a forceful speech, President Dwight D. Eisenhower strikes back at critics of his Cold War foreign policy. He insisted that the United States was committed to the worldwide battle against communism and that he would maintain a strong U.S. defense.

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June 09
 

The Red Army Invades Karelian Isthmus in Finland

1944 Russia penetrates into East Karelia, in Finland, as it fights to gain back control of territory that had already been ceded to it.

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June 08
 

Allies Invade Syria and Lebanon

1941 British and Free French forces enter Syria and Lebanon in Operation Exporter.

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June 07
 

Battle of Milliken's Bend, Louisiana

1863 A Confederate attempt to rescue Vicksburg and a Rebel garrison held back by Union forces to the east of the city fails when Union troops turn back the attack.

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June 06
 

D-Day

1944 Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the go-ahead for largest amphibious military operation in history: Operation Overlord, code named D-Day, the Allied invasion of northern France.

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June 05
 

Robert Kennedy Shot After California Primary

1968 Senator Robert Kennedy (D-New York), a leading critic of the Johnson administration's policy in Vietnam, is shot after making a statement announcing his victory in California's Democratic presidential primary; he died the next day. Kennedy had initially been a supporter of the Johnson administration's Vietnam War policy, but he became increasingly critical after President Lyndon B. Johnson approved the resumed bombing of North Vietnam in early 1966. Kennedy had declared his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in March 1968 after Senator Eugene McCarthy's surprisingly strong showing in the New Hampshire primary. When Johnson announced that he would not run for his party's nomination, Kennedy became the front-runner. On the day of his death, he had just defeated McCarthy in the California primary.

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June 04
 

Tiananmen Square Massacre Takes Place

1989 Chinese troops storm through Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy protesters. The brutal Chinese government assault on the protesters shocked the West and brought denunciations and sanctions from the United States. In May 1989, nearly a million Chinese, mostly young students, crowded into central Beijing to protest for greater democracy and call for the resignations of Chinese Communist Party leaders deemed too repressive. For nearly three weeks, the protesters kept up daily vigils, and marched and chanted. Western reporters captured much of the drama for television and newspaper audiences in the United States and Europe. On June 4, 1989, however, Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters. Turmoil ensued, as tens of thousands of the young students tried to escape the rampaging Chinese forces. Other protesters fought back, stoning the attacking troops and overturning and setting fire to military vehicles. Reporters and Western diplomats on the scene estimated that at least 300, and perhaps thousands, of the protesters had been killed and as many as 10,000 were arrested. The savagery of the Chinese government's attack shocked both its allies and Cold War enemies. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared that he was saddened by the events in China. He said he hoped that the government would adopt his own domestic reform program and begin to democratize the Chinese political system. In the United States, editorialists and members of Congress denounced the Tiananmen Square massacre and pressed for President George Bush to punish the Chinese government. A little more than three weeks later, the U.S. Congress voted to impose economic sanctions against the People's Republic of China in response to the brutal violation of human rights.

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June 03
 

Germans Bomb Paris

1940 Determined to wreck France's economy and military, reduce its population, and in short, cripple its morale as well as its ability to rally support for other occupied nations, the Germans bombed the French capital without regard to the fact that most of the victims were civilians, including schoolchildren.

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June 02
 

First Contingent of Australian Combat Troops Arrives

1965 The first contingent of Australian combat troops arrives by plane in Saigon. They joined the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade at Bien Hoa air base. Another contingent of 400 Australian troops would arrive by ship on June 8.

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June 01
 

News of Death Camp Killings Becomes Public for First Time

1942 Warsaw underground newspaper, the Liberty Brigade, makes public the news of the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at Chelmno, a death camp in Poland-almost seven months after extermination of prisoners began.

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Military Report is the most comprehensive military benefits and quality-of-life newsletter for military personnel and retirees. Make sure that you and your colleagues subscribe for this free update publication.

-------------------------------- 07 JUNE 2010-------------------------------------------
Bill to Improve Post-9/11 GI Bill
Deal of the Week: GM Military Discount
Senator Proposes 6 Major GI Bill Fixes
Exchanges Offer Phone Card Refunds
VA Home Loan Still a Good Option in a Bad Economy
Superior Life Insurance for You and Your Family
Military Benefits Pay for Professional Training
Soldiers' Perspective: The M320 Grenade Launcher
Military.com Celebrates 10 Years of Service
Navy Individual Augmentee Policy Change
Featured Job: Military Friendly Employers
Does Your MilSpouse Deserve an Award?
Quad-Rotor Micro Air Vehicle Performs 'Precise Aggressive Maneuvers'
State Veteran Benefits -- 50 State Breakdown
Exceptional Family Member Program
AF Seeks GEICO Award Nominations
Navy Promotes Summer Safety
Navy Pilots New Supplier Program
Army LPH Saves Lives
Free Admissions at Museums
Corps Seeks Family Readiness Feedback
NEX Rewards Use of Reusable Bags
AF Expects Civilian Hiring Surge
Fort Jackson Museum to Reopen
Summer Programs for Children
Print and Post This Week's Military Report
Headline Military News


Bill to Improve Post-9/11 GI Bill
U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) recently introduced S. 3447, a bill to improve the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits program. More

Deal of the Week: GM Military Discount
With the GM Military Discount, active duty and Reserves of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, National Guard and Coast Guard can save big on almost every 2009 and 2010 GM vehicle. More

Senator Proposes 6 Major GI Bill Fixes
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) introduced S. 3447, a bill to improve the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits program. More

Exchanges Offer Phone Card Refunds
Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors left holding inoperative "C-3" ("Tele2") phone cards are being advised to visit their nearest PX, BX or NEX for a full refund after the vendor C3 filed for bankruptcy recently. More


VA Home Loan Still a Good Option in a Bad Economy
More servicemembers and veterans are using their Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan guaranty benefit, as VA's loan program remains a strong option in today's housing market. More

Superior Life Insurance for You and Your Family
AFBA offers life insurance products that suit the needs of a military family. There is no medical exam requirement for active duty, Guard, and Reserve under age 50, for coverage up to $250,000. More

Military Benefits Pay for Professional Training
Vocational/Technical or Trade Schools provide you with specific job skills and job training that is on the cutting edge of technology. More

Soldiers' Perspective: The M320 Grenade Launcher
Got a note yesterday from a reader who was wondering what the latest impressions were of the Grip Pod Systems-made M4 Grip Pod -- you know, that forward vertical grip that hides a retractable bipod in its internals. More

Military.com Celebrates 10 Years of Service
Military.com is celebrating its 10-year anniversary by saluting the military community. Visit our 10 Year Anniversary Page to see some of our most popular content over the last decade. More

Navy Individual Augmentee Policy Change
Sailors filling individual augmentee (IA) billets later this year will be affected by a new program called Overseas Contingency Operation Support Assignment (OSA), which will replace the Global War on Terror Support Assignment (GSA) program in October 2010. More

Featured Job: Military Friendly Employers
Visit Military.com's Veteran Job Board to search thousands of jobs in aerospace, defense, health care, nursing, government, law enforcement, teaching and more. More

Does Your MilSpouse Deserve an Award?
The Military.com and CinCHouse.com 2010 Spouse of the Year Award, sponsored by ASMBA and TriWest HealthCare Alliance, will give away $5,000 to a spouse who has gone above and beyond to serve his/her family, country and the military community. More

Quad-Rotor Micro Air Vehicle Performs 'Precise Aggressive Maneuvers'
From some fertile minds at the University of Pennsylvania's General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Lab comes the meanest looking quad-rotor micro air vehicle I've ever seen. More

State Veteran Benefits -- 50 State Breakdown
Veterans pursuing their educational goals are usually eligible for "educational assistance for students" in most states. More

Exceptional Family Member Program
The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) is a Department of Defense-mandated program to support Soldiers with Family members with special needs. More

AF Seeks GEICO Award Nominations
The Air Force Personnel Center is seeking nominations for the 2010 Government Employees Insurance Company's (GEICO) Public Service Awards. More

Navy Promotes Summer Safety
The National Naval Medical Center is encouraging Sailors to focus on safety during the "101 Days of Summer" safety campaign, which ends Labor Day. More

Navy Pilots New Supplier Program
The Department of the Navy announced recently its the intention to pilot a Preferred Supplier Program, which could offer favorable contractual terms and conditions for contractors demonstrating exemplary performance in cost control, quality and energy efficiency among other factors. More

Army LPH Saves Lives
Covering your head can save your life. The Lightweight Performance Hood is a recently fielded piece of fire-resistant Soldier equipment that can save Soldiers from severe, disfiguring, even life-threatening burns to the head, specifically the face, nose, ears, and neck. More

Free Admissions at Museums
More than 600 museums in 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed up so far to participate in Operation Appreciation: Blue Star Museums. More

Corps Seeks Family Readiness Feedback
The Inspector General of the Marine Corps needs your feedback about Family Readiness Program. More

NEX Rewards Use of Reusable Bags
Navy Exchange customers can get a five-cent credit of each eco-friendly reusable bag used to bag their purchases. More

AF Expects Civilian Hiring Surge
With contractor-to-civilian conversions, new organizations standing up and overall increases in civilian positions, the Air Force civil service continues to grow as officials look to employ thousands of U.S. citizens. More

Fort Jackson Museum to Reopen
The Fort Jackson Post Museum at Fort Jackson, S.C. closed its doors about a year ago for remodeling and redesignation as the U.S. Army Basic Combat Training Museum. More

Summer Programs for Children
Military children have many free summer programs to choose from this year. More

 

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May 21
 

Nazis Kill "Unfit" People in East Prussia

1940 On this day in 1940, a "special unit" carries out its mission-and murders more than 1,500 hospital patients in East Prussia. Mentally ill patients from throughout East Prussia had been transferred to the district of Soldau, also in East Prussia. A special military unit, basically a hit squad, carried out its agenda and killed the patients over an 18-day period, one small part of the larger Nazi program to exterminate everyone deemed "unfit" by its ideology. After the murders, the unit reported back to headquarters in Berlin that the patients had been "successfully evacuated."

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May 20
 

Germans Break Through to English Channel at Abbeville, France

1940 In reaching Abbeville, German armored columns, led by General Heinz Guderian (a tank expert), severed all communication between the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the north and the main French army in the south. He also cut off the Force from its supplies in the west.

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May 19
 

Churchill and FDR Plot D-Day

1943 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt set a date for the cross-Channel landing that would become D-Day-May 1, 1944. That date will prove a bit premature, as bad weather becomes a factor.

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May 18
 

Hitler Gives the Order for Operation Alaric

1943 Adolf Hitler launches Operation Alaric, the German occupation of Italy in the event its Axis partner either surrendered or switched its allegiance.

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May 17
 

Battle of Big Black River, Mississippi

1863 The Union army defeats the Confederates on the Big Black River and drives them into Vicksburg in part of a brilliant campaign by General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant had swung his army down the Mississippi River past the strong riverfront defenses, and landed in Mississippi south of Vicksburg. He then moved northeast toward Jackson and split his force to defeat Joseph Johnston's troops in Jackson and John C. Pemberton's at Champion's Hill.

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May 16
 

U.S. Caught Spying on the Soviets

1960 In the wake of the Soviet downing of an American U-2 spy plane on May 1, Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev lashes out at the United States and President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a Paris summit meeting between the two heads of state. Khrushchev's outburst angered Eisenhower and doomed any chances for successful talks or negotiations at the summit.

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May 15
 

Legislation Creating the Women's Army Corps Becomes Law

1942 On this day in 1942, a bill establishing a women's corps in the U.S. Army becomes law, creating the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAACs) and granting women official military status. In May 1941, Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts, the first congresswoman ever from New England, introduced legislation that would enable women to serve in the Army in noncombat positions. The bill to create a Women's Auxiliary Army Corps would not be passed into law for a year after it was introduced (the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a great incentive). But finally, the WAACs gained official status and salary-but still not all the benefits accorded to men. Thousands of women enlisted in light of this new legislation, and in July 1942, the "auxiliary" was dropped from the name, and the Women's Army Corps, or WACs, received full Army benefits in keeping with their male counterparts. The WACs performed a wide variety of jobs, "releasing a man for combat," as the Army, sensitive to public misgivings about women in the military, touted. But those jobs ranged from clerk to radio operator, electrician to air-traffic controller. Women served in virtually every theater of engagement, from North Africa to Asia. It would take until 1978 before the Army would become sexually integrated, and women participating as merely an "auxiliary arm" in the military would be history. And it would not be until 1980 that 16,000 women who had joined the earlier WAACs would receive veterans' benefits.

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May 14
 

The Warsaw Pact is Formed

1955 The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. The Warsaw Pact, so named because the treaty was signed in Warsaw, included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. The treaty called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force and it set up a unified military command under Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union. The introduction to the treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact indicated the reason for its existence. This revolved around "Western Germany, which is being remilitarized, and her inclusion in the North Atlantic bloc, which increases the danger of a new war and creates a threat to the national security of peace-loving states." This passage referred to the decision by the United States and the other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 9, 1955 to make West Germany a member of NATO and allow that nation to remilitarize. The Soviets obviously saw this as a direct threat and responded with the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact remained intact until 1991. Albania was expelled in 1962 because, believing that Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev was deviating too much from strict Marxist orthodoxy, the country turned to communist China for aid and trade. In 1990, East Germany left the Pact and reunited with West Germany; the reunified Germany then became a member of NATO. The rise of non-communist governments in other eastern bloc nations, such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, throughout 1990 and 1991 marked an effective end of the power of the Warsaw Pact. In March 1991, the military alliance component of the pact was dissolved and in July 1991, the last meeting of the political consultative body took place.

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May 13
 

Vice President Nixon is Attacked

1958 During a goodwill trip through Latin America, Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by an angry crowd and nearly overturned while traveling through Caracas, Venezuela. The incident was the dramatic highlight of trip characterized by Latin American anger over some of America's Cold War policies.

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May 12
 

Hitler Backs Rashid Ali in His Fight Against Britain

1941 Adolf Hitler sends two bombers to Iraq to support Rashid Ali al-Gailani in his revolt against Britain, which is trying to enforce a previously agreed upon Anglo-Iraqi alliance. At the start of the war, Iraqi Prime Minister General Nuri as-Said severed ties with Germany and signed a cooperation pact with Great Britain. In April 1941, the Said government was overthrown by Ali, an anti-British general, who proceeded to cut off the British oil pipeline to the Mediterranean.

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May 11
 

Allies Attack the Gustav Line in Drive for Rome

1944 Allied forces begin a major assault on the Gustav Line, a German defensive line drawn across central Italy just south of Rome. The Gustav Line represented a stubborn German defense, built by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, that had to be broken before the Italian capital could be taken; the attack on the line was also part of a larger plan to force the Germans to commit as many troops to Italy as possible in order to make way for an Allied cross-Channel assault-what would become D-Day.

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May 10
 

Operation Apache Snow is Launched

1969 The U.S. 9th Marine Regiment and the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, along with South Vietnamese forces, commence Operation Apache Snow in the A Shau Valley in western Thua Thien Province. The purpose of the operation was to cut off the North Vietnamese and prevent them from mounting an attack on the coastal provinces. Termed "Hamburger Hill" a name evidently derived from the fact that the battle turned into a "meat grinder."

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May 09
 

Reporter Breaks the News of Secret Bombing in Cambodia

1969 William Beecher, military correspondent for the New York Times, publishes a front page dispatch from Washington, "Raids in Cambodia by U.S. Unprotested," which accurately described the first of the secret B-52 bombing raids in Cambodia. Within hours, Henry Kissinger, presidential assistant for national security affairs, contacted J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, asking him to find the governmental sources of Beecher's article. During the next two years, Alexander Haig, a key Kissinger assistant, transmitted the names of National Security Council staff members and reporters who were to have their telephones wiretapped by the FBI.

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May 08
 

The War in Europe is Over

1945 On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms: In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists, after the latter had lost more than 8,000 soldiers, and the Germans considerably more; in Copenhagen and Oslo; at Karlshorst, near Berlin; in northern Latvia; on the Channel Island of Sark--the German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire. More surrender documents were signed in Berlin and in eastern Germany. The main concern of many German soldiers was to elude the grasp of Soviet forces, to keep from being taken prisoner. About 1 million Germans attempted a mass exodus to the West when the fighting in Czechoslovakia ended, but were stopped by the Russians and taken captive. The Russians took approximately 2 million prisoners in the period just before and after the German surrender. Meanwhile, more than 13,000 British POWs were released and sent back to Great Britain. Pockets of German-Soviet confrontation would continue into the next day. On May 9, the Soviets would lose 600 more soldiers in Silesia before the Germans finally surrendered. Consequently, V-E Day was not celebrated until the ninth in Moscow, with a radio broadcast salute from Stalin himself: "The age-long struggle of the Slav nations...has ended in victory. Your courage has defeated the Nazis. The war is over."

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May 07
 

Germany Surrenders Unconditionally to the Allies at Reims

1945 On this day in 1945, the German High Command, in the person of General Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, at Reims, in northwestern France. At first, General Jodl hoped to limit the terms of German surrender to only those forces still fighting the Western Allies. But General Dwight Eisenhower demanded complete surrender of all German forces, those fighting in the East as well as in the West. If this demand was not met, Eisenhower was prepared to seal off the Western front, preventing Germans from fleeing to the West in order to surrender, thereby leaving them in the hands of the enveloping Soviet forces. Jodl radioed Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, Hitler's successor, with the terms. Donitz ordered him to sign. So with Russian General Ivan Susloparov and French General Francois Sevez signing as witnesses, and General Walter Bedell Smith, Ike's chief of staff, signing for the Allied Expeditionary Force, Germany was-at least on paper-defeated. Fighting would still go on in the East for almost another day. But the war in the West was over. Since General Susloparov did not have explicit permission from Soviet Premier Stalin to sign the surrender papers, even as a witness, he was quickly hustled back East-into the hands of the Soviet secret police, never to be heard from again. Alfred Jodl, who was wounded in the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944, would be found guilty of war crimes (which included the shooting of hostages) at Nuremberg and hanged on October 16, 1946-then granted a pardon, posthumously, in 1953, after a German appeals court found Jodl not guilty of breaking international law.

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May 06
 

All American Forces in the Philippines Surrender Unconditionally

1942, U.S. Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright surrenders all U.S. troops in the Philippines to the Japanese.

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May 05
 

Grant and Lee Clash in the Wilderness Forest

1864The forces of Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee clash in the Wilderness, beginning an epic campaign. Lee had hoped to meet the Federals, who plunged into the tangled Wilderness west of Chancellorsville, Virginia, the day before, in the dense woods in order to mitigate the nearly two-to-one advantage Grant possessed as the campaign opened.

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May 04
 

Army of the Potomac Crosses the Rapidan

1864The Army of the Potomac embarks on the biggest campaign of the Civil War and crosses the Rapidan River, precipitating an epic showdown that eventually decides the war. In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant became commander of all the Union forces and devised a plan to destroy the two major remaining Confederate armies: Joseph Johnston's Army of the Tennessee, which was guarding the approaches to Atlanta, and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Grant sent William T. Sherman to take on Johnston, and then rode along with the Army of the Potomac, which was still under the command of George Meade, to confront Lee.

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May 03
 

173rd Airborne Brigade Deploys to South Vietnam

1965 The lead element of the 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers"), stationed in Okinawa, departs for South Vietnam. It was the first U.S. Army ground combat unit committed to the war. Combat elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade included the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Battalions, 503rd Infantry; the 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Artillery; Company D, 16th Armor; Troop E, 17th Cavalry; and the 335th Aviation company.

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May 02
 

German Troops in Italy Surrender to the Allies, While Berlin Surrenders to Russia's Zhukov.

1945 Approximately 1 million German soldiers lay down their arms as the terms of the German unconditional surrender, signed at Caserta on April 29, come into effect. Many Germans surrender to Japanese soldiers-Japanese Americans. Among the American tank crews that entered the northern Italian town of Biella was an all-Nisei (second-generation) infantry battalion, composed of Japanese Americans from Hawaii./

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May 01
 

American U-2 Spy Plane Shot Down

1960 An American U-2 spy plane is shot down while conducting espionage over the Soviet Union. The incident derailed an important summit meeting between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that was scheduled for later that month. On May 1, 1960, a U-2 flight piloted by Francis Gary Powers disappeared while on a flight over Russia. The CIA reassured the president that, even if the plane had been shot down, it was equipped with self-destruct mechanisms that would render any wreckage unrecognizable and the pilot was instructed to kill himself in such a situation. Based on this information, the U.S. government issued a cover statement indicating that a weather plane had veered off course and supposedly crashed somewhere in the Soviet Union. With no small degree of pleasure, Khrushchev pulled off one of the most dramatic moments of the Cold War by producing not only the mostly-intact wreckage of the U-2, but also the captured pilot-very much alive. A chagrined Eisenhower had to publicly admit that it was indeed a U.S. spy plane. On May 16, a major summit between the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France began in Paris. Issues to be discussed included the status of Berlin and nuclear arms control. As the meeting opened, Khrushchev launched into a tirade against the United States and Eisenhower and then stormed out of the summit. The meeting collapsed immediately and the summit was called off. Eisenhower considered the "stupid U-2 mess" one of the worst debacles of his presidency. The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was released in 1962 in exchange for a captured Soviet spy.

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April 28
 

U.S. Troops Land in the Dominican Republic

1965 In an effort to forestall what he claims will be a "communist dictatorship" in the Dominican Republic, President Lyndon B. Johnson sends more than 22,000 U.S. troops to restore order on the island nation. Johnson's action provoked loud protests in Latin America and skepticism among many in the United States.

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April 27
 

Afghan President is Overthrown and Murdered

1978 Afghanistan President Sardar Mohammed Daoud is overthrown and murdered in a coup led by procommunist rebels. The brutal action marked the beginning of political upheaval in Afghanistan that resulted in intervention by Soviet troops less than two years later.

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April 26
 

Geneva Conference Begins

1954 In an effort to resolve several problems in Asia, including the war between the French and Vietnamese nationalists in Indochina, representatives from the world's powers meet in Geneva. The conference marked a turning point in the United States' involvement in Vietnam.

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April 25
 

Americans and Russians Link Up, Cut Germany in Two

1945 Eight Russian armies completely encircle Berlin, linking up with the U.S. First Army patrol, first on the western bank of the Elbe, then later at Torgau. Germany is, for all intents and purposes, Allied territory.

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April 24
 

Westmoreland Makes Controversial Remarks

1967 At a news conference in Washington, Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. commander in South Vietnam, causes controversy by saying that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily." Though he said that, "Ninety-five percent of the people were behind the United States effort in Vietnam," he asserted that the American soldiers in Vietnam were "dismayed, and so am I, by recent unpatriotic acts at home." This criticism of the antiwar movement was not received well by many in and out of the antiwar movement, who believed it was both their right and responsibility to speak out against the war.

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April 23
 

"Panic has Seized the Country," Writes Davis

1975 Confederate President Jefferson Davis writes to his wife, Varina, of the desperate situating facing the Confederates. "Panic has seized the country," he wrote to his wife in Georgia. Davis was in Charlotte, North Carolina, on his flight away from Yankee troops. It was three weeks since Davis had fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, as Union troops were overrunning the trenches nearby. Davis and his government headed west to Danville, Virginia, in hopes of reestablishing offices there. When General Robert E. Lee was forced to surrender his army at Appomattox Court House on April 9, Davis and his officials traveled south in hopes of connecting with the last major Confederate army, the force of General Joseph Johnston. Johnston, then in North Carolina, was himself in dire straits, as General William T. Sherman's massive force was bearing down. Davis continued to his wife, "The issue is one which it is very painful for me to meet. On one hand is the long night of oppression which will follow the return of our people to the 'Union'; on the other, the suffering of the women and children, and carnage among the few brave patriots who would still oppose the invader." The Davises were reunited a few days later as the president continued to flee and continue the fight. Two weeks later, Union troops finally captured the Confederate president in northern Georgia.

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April 22
 

Americans Launch Operation Persecution in the Pacific

1944 Allied forces land in the Hollandia area of New Guinea. The Japanese occupiers, only 15,000 in number, many of whom were on administrative duty, fight for more than three months against ludicrous odds at great cost: When the battle for the northern coast of New Guinea was finally won by the Allies, 12,811 Japanese were dead, compared with 527 Americans.

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April 21
 

Thieu Flees Saigon as Xuan Loc Falls

1975 Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls to the communists. The North Vietnamese had launched a major offensive in March to capture the provincial capital of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The South Vietnamese defenders fought very poorly and were quickly overwhelmed by the North Vietnamese attackers. Despite previous promises to provide support to the South Vietnamese if the communists violated the provisions of the cease-fire, the United States did nothing.

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April 20
 

Operation Corncob is Launched While Hitler Celebrates His Birthday

1945 On this day in 1945, Allied bombers in Italy begin a three-day attack on the bridges over the rivers Adige and Brenta to cut off German lines of retreat on the peninsula. Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler celebrates his 56th birthday as a Gestapo reign of terror results in the hanging of 20 Russian prisoners of war and 20 Jewish children: Of these, at least nine are under the age of 12. All of the victims had been taken from Auschwitz to Neuengamme, the place of execution, for the purpose of medical experimentation.

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April 19   The Revolutionary War Begins! 1775 Forewarned by Paul Revere, American militiamen fought 800 British troops on April 19th. The battle broke out at Concord. At the end of the day, 1,800 British regulars had met some 4,000 Americans. The British had been forced to retreat, losing 65 soldier with an additional 173 wounded. The Americans lost 49 dead and 46 wounded. The war was on - there was no turning back. Learn more Revolutionary War facts

April 18
 

Doolittle leads Air Raid on Tokyo

1942 16 American B-25 bombers, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet 650 miles east of Japan and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, attack the Japanese mainland.

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April 17
 

Cambodia Falls to the Khmer Rouge

1975 The Khmer Rouge troops capture Phnom Penh and government forces surrender. The war between government troops and the communist insurgents had been raging since March 1970, when Lt. Gen. Lon Nol had ousted Prince Norodom Sihanouk in a bloodless coup and proclaimed the establishment of the Khmer Republic. Between 1970 and 1975, Lon Nol and his army, the Forces Armees Nationale Khmer (FANK), with U.S. support and military aid, battled the communist Khmer Rouge for control of Cambodia. During the five years of bitter fighting, approximately 10 percent of Cambodia's 7 million people died. When the U.S. forces departed South Vietnam in 1973, both the Cambodians and South Vietnamese found themselves fighting the communists alone. Without U.S. support, Lon Nol's forces fought on, but eventually succumbed to the Khmer Rouge. With the surrender, the victorious Khmer Rouge evacuated Phnom Penh and set about reordering Cambodian society. This resulted in a killing spree and the notorious "killing fields." Eventually, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians were murdered or died from exhaustion, hunger, and disease.

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April 16
 

Bernard Baruch Coins the Term "Cold War"

1947 Multimillionaire and financier Bernard Baruch, in a speech given during the unveiling of his portrait in the South Carolina House of Representatives, coins the term "Cold War" to describe relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. The phrase stuck, and for over 40 years it was a mainstay in the language of American diplomacy. The term "Cold War" was instantly embraced by American newspapers and magazines as an apt description of the situation between the United States and the Soviet Union: a war without fighting or bloodshed, but a battle nonetheless.

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