http://www.pianoladynancy.com/recovery_usscole.htm

Did You Know?

- The number of U.S. armed forces personnel who served in World War II between Dec. 1, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946 was 16.1 million.

- The average length of active-duty by U.S. military personnel during WWII was 33 months.

- The proportion of U.S. military personnel who served abroad during WWII was 73 percent.

- The average time U.S. personnel served overseas during WWII was 16 months.

- A total of 292,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines were killed in battle in WWII.

- The number of other deaths sustained by U.S. forces during WWII was 114,000.

- 671,000 U.S. troops were wounded during WWII.

- 5.7 million World War II veterans were counted in the 2000 Census. The census identified the period of service for World War II veterans as September 1940 to July 1947.

- The estimated number of WWII veterans living in California in 2002 was 475,000, the most in any state. Other states with high numbers of WWII vets included Florida (439,000), New York (284,000), Pennsylvania (280,000), Texas (267,000) and Ohio (208,000).

- The estimated number of women in 2002 who were WWII veterans was 210,000. These women comprised 4.4 percent of WWII vets.

- The proportion of all veterans in April 2000 who were WWII veterans, was 22 percent.

- The median age of WWII veterans when the last census was conducted was 76.7 years old.

- The proportion of WWII veterans who were still employed in 2000 was 11.6 percent.

- The number of WWII veterans in 2002 who received compensation for service-connected disabilities was 440,000, about half the number in 1990 (876,000) and nearly two-thirds less than the nearly 1.2 million disabled WWII vets in 1980.

- The projected national expenditure for veteran’s benefits in 2004 was $62 billion.

Data courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau.

http://www.historychannel.com/classroom/alaska/

Watch SAVE OUR HISTORY: ALASKA'S BLOODIEST BATTLE on Saturday, March 25 @ 8pm/7c - The History Channel

Save Our History: Alaska's Bloodiest Battle

Since the War of 1812, the Battle of the Aleutians in 1942-43 was the only armed conflict with foreign troops that was fought on American soil.

In this episode of Save Our History, Steve Thomas journeys through the Aleutian Islands to Attu, the westernmost island in the Alaskan chain, where he walks in the footsteps of the soldiers engaged in this little-known but crucial battle during World War II. Along the way, Steve explores a variety of military structures–-forts, guns and planes–-which are either now being restored or are in need of preservation.

Sent to me by Ed Usonis. Thank you kindly.

Attached Files

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In May 1944, on Los Negros Island in the Admiralties, just north of eastern New Guinea, the 40th Seabee Battalion was assigned to the 1st Calvary Division. Its objective was to put the unused and much bombed Japanese airstrip at Momote into operation. The Army captured the airfield, all right, but while the Seabees were at work on it, the Japanese counter-attacked in greater force than anyone suspected was present. Two seabee officers and 100 men took over a sector of the perimeter and occupied a trench that they dug with the battalion's ditch digger.

They armed themselves with automatic rifles and knives, and set up a truck mounted 20mm gun behind them. Meanwhile other Seabees landed and started to grade and clear the runways and taxiways in the midst of battle. Others drove bulldozers into the jungle to clear fire lanes for Army guns, using blades now to clear a lane and again raised as a shield behind which they fired at the enemy.

In the Japanese assault, the Seabees distinguished themselves by capturing two machine-gun positions and a Bofors-gun. They took 47 casualties, with nine Killed. General Macarthur awarded them the Army's Distinguished Unit Badge, and President Roosevelt gave them the Presidential Unit Citation.