Day in History

1918 : World War I ends
At 11 o’clock in the morning of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the First World War–known at the time as the Great War–comes to an end.

The Great War took the life of some 9 million soldiers; 21 million more were wounded. Civilian casualties caused indirectly by the war numbered close to 10 million. The two nations most affected were Germany and France, each of which sent some 80 percent of their male populations between the ages of 15 and 49 into battle. At the peace conference in Paris in 1919, Allied leaders would state their desire to build a post-war world that would safeguard itself against future conflicts of such devastating scale. The Versailles Treaty, signed on June 28, 1919, would not achieve this objective.

These are previous posts about our military personnel.

My Son Coming Home from Afghanistan
My 6 Uncles in WWII
Uncle Bud
Cpl Jason Dunham
President Bush announced on Friday that the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, will be awarded posthumously to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham.
SSgt Mike McNaughton
Charles Durning at D-Day

Filed under: Day in History | Comments Off

Memorial Day 2006

May 26th, 2006

160 years ago in 1846 we entered into a war with Mexico which lasted until 1848.

In 1851 Congress established a National Cemetery in Mexico City to provide burial space for Americans that died in the vicinity. A total of 750 unknown American soldiers were gathered and buried in a common grave at the cemetery. A small monument was placed over them that carries the inscription:

TO THE HONORED MEMORY
OF 750 AMERICANS
KNOWN BUT TO GOD
WHOSE BONES COLLECTED
BY THEIR COUNTRY’S ORDER
ARE HERE BURIED

In this one acre area are also placed 813 remains of Americans and others in wall crypts on either side of the cemetery. The cemetery was closed for further burials in 1923.

REF:
U.S.-Mexican War (PBS)
The Mexican War (LSI)
Mexican-American War (WikiPedia)

We should not forget this period of our history, Mexico hasn’t.

Filed under: Day in History | 2 Comments » | show comments » | « hide comments

61 years ago

February 23rd, 2006

U.S. FLAG ON IWO JIMA:
February 23, 1945

During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Division take the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest peak and most strategic position, and raise the U.S. flag.
More than 6,000 Americans died taking Iwo Jima, and some 17,000 were wounded.