Military History by Month for July
Historian’s Report
https://americanlegionpost642.com/index.php?id=102
National Days and Months:
CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK – Third Week in July https://nationaldaycalendar.com/captive-nations-week-third-week-in-july/ This observance raises public awareness about oppression in communist nations across the world.
National Wildland Firefighter Day July 02 https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-wildland-firefighter-day-july-2/ This is appropriate for California, where we have been having many fire days in the last few years, but also because of the Canadian fires that are affecting the Eastern and Midwestern States with smoke.
National Cheer Up The Lonely Day July 11 https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-cheer-up-the-lonely-day-july-11/ This is a good day to do a Buddy Check.
Malala Day July 12 https://nationaldaycalendar.com/malala-day-july-12/ The 15-year-old Pakistani girl took a Taliban bullet for girls to have an education in her country.
National Pet Fire Safety Day July 15 https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-pet-fire-safety-day-july-15/ To remember to make sure that our pets our safe.
National Get Out Of The Doghouse Day July 17 https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-get-out-of-the-dog-house-day-third-monday-in-july-2/ Okay, guys! This is the day!
National Amelia Earhart Day July 24 https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-amelia-earhart-day-july-24/ She is lost as mentioned in the History notes below. (https://youtu.be/rUR8r06EtVE)
National Hire A Veteran Day July 25 https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-hire-a-veteran-day-july-25/ Good ideas to push hiring of Veterans especially our De Anza Student Veteran Members.
National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day July 27 (https://youtu.be/MxWszWBARd0) https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-korean-war-veterans-armistice-day-july-27/ Sometimes known as the Forgotten War, we need to remember our Korean War Veterans like Glen, Eugene, Robert P, Donald P, Joseph, George, Adrian, Don Y, Manny and Wally.
National Scotch Day July 27 https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-scotch-day-july-27/ One of my personal favorites! 😊
Buffalo Soldiers Day July 28 http://nationaldaycalendar.com/buffalo-soldiers-day-july-28/ The (Bob Marley https://youtu.be/uMUQMSXLlHM) (National Park Service Public Service Message https://youtu.be/y13RwS95PIM)
Military History Notes:
July 2
1863: The Battle of Gettysburg (Pa.) enters its second day. Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain's 20th Maine Volunteers occupy "Little Round Top" at the extreme left flank of the Union forces. With ammunition running low from repeated attacks by the 15th Regiment of Alabama, inflicted heavy casualties on the defenders, Chamberlain orders a bayonet charge. His men rush downhill, capturing over 100 soldiers. Chamberlain, who personally took a Confederate officer prisoner with his saber, is awarded the Medal of Honor. (https://youtu.be/f7ez--7Hn18)
1937: World-famous aviator Amelia Earhart takes off from New Guinea and heads for the tiny coral atoll of Howland Island, over 22,000 miles into her around-the-world flight. The Coast Guard cutter USCGC Itasca was positioned near Howland to assist Earhart, and receives a transmission that her Lockheed Electra was running out of fuel. The Navy dispatches the battleship USS Colorado (BB-45), aircraft carrier USS Lexington CV-2), and PBY Catalinas from Hawaii (1,700 miles away) to join Itasca in the search, but they come up empty-handed.
1943: A flight of 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers, escorted by P-40 Warhawk fighters of the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron, conducts a raid on Sicily. 1st Lt. Charles P. Hall becomes the first Tuskegee Airman to shoot down an Axis warplane - a Fw-190. Hall will fly 198 combat missions during World War II and is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, which incidentally, was created on this day in 1926. (https://youtu.be/lcq3pfFnOIQ)
July 3
1775: Gen. George Washington, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, takes formal command of his troops in Cambridge, Mass.
1951: When a Marine Corsair flown by Capt. James V. Wilkins is shot down 35 miles southwest of Wonsan, Lt. (j.g) John K. Koelsch volunteers to rescue the downed aviator. Overcast conditions force Koelsch to fly very low and without fighter protection. His helicopter is hit by enemy fire during the search, and once Koelsch hoists Wilkins out and is in the process of flying back to friendly lines, the chopper is shot down. Koelsch extricates fellow crewman George M. Neal and Wilkins from the wreckage and the Americans evade enemy soldiers for nine days before being captured. Neal and Wilkins survive their captivity, and Neal is awarded the
Navy Cross. The communists subject Koelsch to especially harsh treatment, from which he will not survive and he is awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. (https://youtu.be/HrWmJuaLW4I)
July 5
1942: The submarine USS Growler (SS-215), skippered by Lt. Cmdr. Howard W. Gilmore, attacks three Japanese destroyers operating in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. She sinks Arare and severely damages two others, narrowly avoiding enemy torpedoes. For this engagement, Gilmore is awarded the first of his two Navy Crosses, and will later be awarded the Medal of Honor when he sacrifices his life to save his ship the following year. (https://youtu.be/wiInP6fR8rM)
1945: After nearly 11 months of fighting - and some 80,000 American casualties - Gen. Douglas MacArthur announces that the Philippine Islands have been liberated.
1950: Two infantry companies and an artillery battery under the command of Lt. Col. Brad Smith set up a defensive line at Osan, hoping to hold off the communist advance long enough for American forces to land at Pusan. The Americans' obsolete anti-tank weapons are no match for the Soviet-built T-34 tanks, who quickly overrun the task force. Task Force Smith manages to hold off two full divisions of enemy troops for several hours before retreating in the first clash of U.S. and North Korean forces. Only 185 of Smith's 520-man force return to friendly lines after the Battle of Osan.
Ju1y 6
1911: Legendary aviation pioneer - and future five-star general - Henry H. "Hap" Arnold overcomes his fear of flight and receives his pilot's license, becoming one of the world's first military aviators.
July 7
1798: The "Quasi War" with France begins when Congress rescinds treaties with the revolutionary French government. Leading up to - and during – the two year undeclared war, 2,000 American merchant vessels are captured by French privateers. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, which had been disbanded after the American Revolution, are both brought back into service, as is George Washington, whom President John Adams reinstates as Commander-in-Chief.
1944: On Saipan, 3,000 Japanese troops conduct the largest banzai charge of the war, nearly wiping out two battalions of soldiers from the 105th Infantry Regiment in a 12-hour pitched battle. Although resistance will continue for weeks, Saipan is declared secure on July 9. The 30,0000-man Japanese garrison force is wiped out, but the Battle of Saipan is the costliest campaign in the Pacific War to date with over 12,000 American casualties – including (soon-to-be) famous actor Lee Marvin, then a Marine Corps private, who was twice wounded in the assault on Mount Tapochau. (https://youtu.be/jpZU7zNfzWo )
During the battle, Marine Private First Class Harold C. Agerholm commandeers an abandoned ambulance and for three hours makes repeated trips through perilous enemy fire, rescuing 45 wounded Americans before he is mortally wounded by an enemy sniper. For his actions, Agerholm is awarded the Medal of Honor. (https://youtu.be/NfimYIwtJq8 )
July 8
1942: The Gato-class submarine USS Barb (SS-220) is commissioned in Groton, Conn. The sub will conduct combat tours in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and, according to Japanese records, is credited with sinking more tonnage than any other U.S. submarine. On July 22, 1945, a crew of sailors from Barb land at Karafuto, Japan and place explosives that will destroy a train - the only land combat on Japanese home islands during the war. (https://youtu.be/Y6Ed7EQiLXU )
July 10
1942: A PBY "Catalina" crew spots an intact Japanese A6M "Zero" fighter that crash-landed on the Alaskan island of Akutan. The fighter is salvaged and shipped to the United States, where test pilots will use the captured warplane to identify tactics that negate the formidable Zero's advantages. The newly developed F6F "Hellcat" is modified to take full advantage of the Zero's weaknesses discovered during tests, and Hellcat aviators will enjoy an impressive 13:1 kill ratio against Zeroes in the Pacific War.
1943: Just after midnight, 82d Airborne Division paratroopers perform their first combat jump behind enemy lines on the island of Sicily. That morning, over 100,000 American, British, and Canadian troops hit on the beach in one of the biggest airborne and amphibious invasions of the war. The Allied force captures the island after six weeks of fighting, but is unable to prevent the withdrawal of many of the Axis forces.
"Chips," a German Shepherd military police dog serving in Sicily with Company I, 30th Infantry Regiment, attacks a hidden German pillbox, forcing four enemy soldiers to surrender. Chips is wounded in the attack, but the canine will be awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart by the 3rd Infantry Division's commander, Maj. Gen. Lucian Truscott. (https://youtu.be/mSQVlPoc0Mk )
Earlier that morning, as the American fleet prepares for the Sicily invasion, Ensign John H. Park spots a small fire aboard a landing ship that was loaded with ammunition and explosives. Fearing that the detonation of the craft could compromise the invasion, Parle rushes through the smoke towards the flames. Unable to put out the fire pot that threatened the dangerous cargo, he throws it overboard. Park perishes from smoke inhalation a week later and is awarded the Medal of Honor for his sacrifice.
July 11
1953: Lt. Col. John F. Bolt, a Marine Corps F-86 pilot attached to an Air Force unit, scores his fifth victory during the Korean War, becoming the only Marine ace of the Korean War and, to this day, the Marines' only jet ace. Bolt, having shot down six enemy warplanes in both World War II and Korea, is also the only Marine to achieve ace status in two conflicts.
1969: When well-camouflaged enemy machine gun fortifications open fire on Specialist Gordon R. Roberts' platoon, pinning the Americans down, Roberts crawls towards the nearest bunker, then leaps to his feet and kills the occupants. Ignoring the bullets whizzing past him, he charges towards another bunker, but a burst of fire knocks Roberts' weapon from his hands. After obtaining another weapon from the battlefield, he continues forward and silences a second position. He then takes out a third bunker with grenades, then a fourth - despite being completely separated from his unit. Roberts manages to link up with another company and helps drag wounded soldiers down the hill before returning to his unit. President Richard Nixon
awards him the Medal of Honor in 1971. Roberts rejoins the Army after receiving a commission in 1991, retiring as a colonel in 2012. (https://youtu.be/2A_R0APnmb0)
July 12:
1862: President Abraham Lincoln signs a law creating the Medal of Honor the nation's highest decoration for valor. The award is presented to "such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection." The Navy had established their version, the "Medal of Valor,"
six months previously. To date, 3,502 Americans have been awarded the Medal of Honor - roughly half of which were from the Civil War.