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Germany Invades Poland
This event started World War 2. The amount of casualties was not so staggering Germany had 45,000 and to this day nobody knows hom many Poland had. It took less than a month to conquer Poland with the help of the Soviets of course. -
PA Central Air Lines Opens
On this very date PA opens it's first Central Airlines. This is important for transportation much needed back then. -
Period: to
World War 2 Beginning to End
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France Surrenders to Germany
On May 10th, 1940 Hitler unleashed a blitzkrieg on France which in three weeks drove Frances forces deep into their own territory. On June 22 1940 an Armistice is signed and France has officially surrendered. -
Todd Rundgren's Birthday
Many people may not know of Todd but he was a singer and Producer. He lived in Upper Darby, PA. -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
At 7:53 am attacking planes came in two waves hitting it's target. The attack ended soon after it started at 9:55 am. When they had left they left 2,403 Americans dead and had destroyed over 188 planes. They also destroyed or damaged 8 battle ships. -
USS Pennsylvania, of Pearl Harbor Attack
The USS PA was attacked on this date. There were reports being sent to the state of PA for evaluation. -
Battle of Midway
It is considered to be one of the most decisive battles of the war. It destroyed Japan's naval strength and the Americans effectively shot down 4 of the Japanese aircraft carriers. -
Edgar R. Bassett Serves Last Day of Naval Service
Edgar was a Philadelphia guy. He was only 28 when he had decided to resign from the Navy. -
The Battle of Stalingrad
This battle was fought in the winter of 1942 and 1943. Hitler sought to take over Stalingrad because he hated Stalin. Both the Germans and Russians had over 1 million men and over 10,000 guns/artillery. -
USA Groundhog Day
This was the day when they started the tradition of the groundhogs coming out to check and see if they saw their shadows. It is a pretty important date in PA history. -
D Day
D Day was a major turning point in World War 2. After intense naval and air bombings, assualt waves of troops began landing. At the end of the night the Allies had a night lead on the Germans. -
Soldiers Sent to Normandy
This day would mark the day where nearly 1000 soldiers were put out for D Day from PA. They were transported to Normandy, France. -
Allies Liberate Paris
The liberation of Paris was not so easy it was rather comlicated actually. The Americans first had to break through the Norman Hedgerows which they did. From there they would liberate them on August 25 1944. -
Negro Baseball League Formed in PA
On this day blacks were being signed to play on their very own team. These pays were about 6,000 to 7,000 for the highest paid players. -
Battle of The Bulge
Hitler's generals were completly against the idea but Hitler went along as he always did. The battle was between Germans and the Allies. Casualties were high Germany lost some 80,000-100,000 men and Americans lost about 70,000 men. -
Johnstown Tribune, 1944
The review reads about how a loved one died and how many people she left behind her. The Review also reads about Christmas and how it's gonna be the 50th year Christmas has been on a Wednesday. The picture on the left indicates a supermarket ad from the Johnstown Review. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Some 30,000 US Marines of the 3rd 4th and 5th Marine divison landed on the grounds of Iwo Jima. This landing was called operation: Detachment. -
PA Lands to Iwo Jima
This day is when they landed in sadly it was during the battle. This would result in mnay deaths fast to these marines. -
FDR Dies
As the war was coming to an end FDR's health crumbled. In Warm Springs, Georgia he died of a disease called cerebra hemorrhage. -
Truman Becomes President
On the very day FDR passed away Harry Truman came to power. He came to power almost at the very end of WW2. He was the president who decided to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. -
Crew List of Vessels Arriving in PA
These crews were the ones to be shipped out if needed in combat. Truman depended deeply on the Marines for important reasons. -
Robert W. Allard is born.
He was a very lucky man to be alive considering he almost died of a miscarriage. He was also born in Allentown, Pa one of the luckier people to live on this day. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
At 2:00 am in the morning Hitler gave his goodbyes to all of his staff. At 2:00 pm Hitler had his last meal. Then at 3:30 pm Hitler and his wife went to their room and gunshots were fired. Hitler had commited suicide. -
Annie Dilliard Dies
A famous poet who grew up in Pittsburgh, PA passed away on this date. She will always be remebered as Annie Dilliard -
VE Day
This marks the day of the victory for the Allies. This victory came after the Allies overan the German's fortified wall and then Germany collapesed leading up to Hitler's death. -
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett of Allentown, PA is born. He would become a famous Jazz player. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
The atomic bomb's name sounded small but had a big impact. "Little Boy" missile was equal to 20,000 tons of TNT. That could pack a powerful punch. -
Tomb Stones for Those Lost in Plane to site the Bombing
A plane crashed down carrying a few Allegheny County marines that wanted to be within a 10 mile viewing of the bomb site. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
On this day Truman delivered the orders to drop another bomb in the city of Nagasaki. This was however just 3 days after the bombing of Hiroshima. -
George H. Cohen
George and his crew flew the B-29 plane. He was sent on 6 special missions during this day. -
VJ Day
On this day Japan surrendered to the Allies. Japan was forced to surrender because the British and American forces had made them give up. -
Jamie Daniels Commits Suicided
On this day Daniels would join the many people that would commiti suicide on this day. In fact, they had so many people in PA commiting suicide on this day they had to make a wall with everyone's name on it.
