the New Guinea campaign of World War II. It began with a parachute drop
(pictured) into Nadzab by the US Army's 503rd Parachute Infantry
Regiment and elements of the Australian Army. The drop, which took place
in conjunction with the Landing at Lae, was observed by General Douglas
MacArthur, circling overhead in a B-17. Australian and Papuan troops
reached Nadzab that same day after an overland and river trek. The first
transport aircraft carrying troops of the Australian 7th Division
landed the next morning, but a terrible air crash at Jackson's Field
caused half the Allied casualties of the battle. The 7th Division
advanced on Lae from Nadzab. On 11 September, it defeated a Japanese
force at Heath's Plantation. During this engagement, Private Richard
Kelliher won the Victoria Cross, Australia's highest award for
gallantry. The Japanese Army elected not to fight for Lae, preferring
instead to withdraw over the rugged Saruwaged Range, which proved to be
a gruelling test of endurance. Nadzab was then developed and became the
major Allied air base in New Guinea.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Nadzab>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
917:
Liu Yan declared himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han
state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu (present-day
Guangzhou).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Yan_(emperor)>
1781:
American Revolutionary War: French naval forces handed Britain
a major strategic defeat in the Battle of the Chesapeake.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake>
1793:
French Revolution: The National Convention began the Reign of
Terror, a ten-month period of systematic repression and mass executions
by guillotine of perceived enemies within the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror>
1927:
Walt Disney's and Ub Iwerks' first popular character Oswald the
Lucky Rabbit made its debut in the animated cartoon Trolley Troubles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit>
1975:
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (pictured), a devotee of Charles
Manson, attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynette_Fromme>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
canard:
A false or misleading report or story, especially if deliberately so.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canard>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Plenty of kind, decent, caring people have no religious beliefs,
and they act out of the goodness of their hearts. Conversely, plenty of
people who profess to be religious, even those who worship regularly,
show no particular interest in the world beyond themselves.
--John Danforth
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth>
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