WWII Friday Five
In a variation on the popular Friday Five in which many bloggers participate, in the future I’ll feature a WWII event on Fridays and provide five related links for your browsing pleasure. Today we begin with the 63rd anniversary of the defeat of the Japanese forces on the island of Guam on August 10, 1944.
The island, the largest of the Marianas, was captured on December 11, 1941 in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack. It was used as a staging base for the next wave of Japanese operations against the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and Taiwan. In addition to boasting a harbor deep enough to accommodate large ships, Guam had two airfields.
Casualty figures for the 1944 battle show 3,000 Americans killed and 7,122 wounded. More than 18,000 Japanese soldiers died with 485 becoming prisoners of war.
In honor of the anniversary, five Guam-related links for our first “Friday Five” entry.
- Sioux Canteen Found on Guam
- A Marine Describes the Battle of Guam
- Marine Dogs of World War II
- 76th SEABEES of World War II - An Untold Story
- The Official Island of Guam Website
January 14th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Generally I do not post on blogs, but I would like to say that this post really forced me to do so! really nice post…