D-Day Mistakes, Madness and Miracles –The First Wave–The 80th Anniversary

The few living survivors of the ‘First Wave’ at D-Day that I was able to interview before they passed all concur on one thing—tragic mistakes were made that morning of June 6, 1944, costing thousands of Allied lives. For starters, the landing parties headed ashore later in the day than planned. They missed the opportunity …

Battle of the Coral Sea

Between the island of New Guinea and Australia lies the Coral Sea, with the Solomon Islands just beyond. While later in World War II, major conflicts would rage in the Solomon’s, the likes of Guadalcanal, few are familiar with the most important sea battle known by the Aussie’s as “The Battle that saved Australia”. The …

Battle of the Bismarck Sea

On February 19, 1942, when the Japanese Empire first attacked Darwin, Australia, killing 200 people, the necessity to keep shipping lanes open between the U.S. and our ally, Australia, became critical. This battle to maintain control of the South West Pacific waterways would spread across many islands and years. Three American GI’s lie dead on …

Where Is Pearl Harbor?

Across the nation that unforgettable Sunday, as the news of the Japanese early morning attack blared from the radios, and later some of the photos appeared in newspapers, the grim reality of the devastating death and destruction came to be realized.  But where was this Pearl Harbor? Over the years, when interviewing WWII veterans, one …

The Ni’ihau Incident – A Small Battle with a Big Impact that Continued in Hawaii for 7 days after Pearl Harbor

The Ni’ihau Incident – A Small Battle with a Big Impact that Continued in Hawaii for 7 days after Pearl Harbor While America pushed for isolationism after WWI, Japan pushed for their imperial expansionism under their goal of creating a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. These ideals would collide when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor …