65th Anniversary of Japan's Surrender

Sept. 2, 1945/2010

Today marks the 65th anniversary since the end of World War II. Apologies this post is a day late, but hey, it's Labor Day weekend. Details of the events surrounding the surrender will be covered in it's normally scheduled time-slot five years from now. For now, here are a few highlights garnered from the web today.

On 14 August, 1945, Emperor Hirohito issued the Imperial Rescript of Surrender announcing that Japan accepted the terms set down in the Potsdam Declaration. On 15 August the country’s Foreign Ministry sent a telegram to its envoy in Switzerland asking him to inform the governments of the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and China on the decision made by the Japanese Emperor. Japanese troops started to surrender, though more than two weeks remained before the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on board the battleship USS Missouri on 2 September.

Fights went on mainly on the Soviet-Japanese front. “The fate of Imperial Japan is being decided in Manchuria”, General Okamura, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Army, wrote on 12 August. But on 17 August, Emperor Hirohito issued an imperial edict bringing the war to a close. The edict said: “Now that Russia has joined the war, we see it wrong to continue fighting for it might bring new sufferings to our country and undermine the foundations of the empire”. Japanese soldiers continued to fight in Indonesia until mid July 1946. One forgotten and solitary soldier in the Philipines fought on until 1975, Heroo Onodo. More on him later.

Not the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki but participation of the Soviet Army in their Eastern Front was the main reason for Japan to stop fighting. According to estimates released by the Allies, without Soviet participation the war could have lasted for another 1-2 years, taking the lives of about 1 million American and 500 thousand British soldiers, as well as more than 10 million Japanese lives.
Both Moscow and Tokyo understood that the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was first of all addressed to the Soviet Union, to solidify the U.S. as having the most advancements in nuclear weapons technology and starting the nuclear cold-war age.

The end of World War II has not been widely marked in Japan. Many people, mostly veterans and followers of Bushido (ancient Samurai code), still cannot accept the defeat and abstain from attending official ceremonies. The Japanese ultra-nationalists, for example the former head of Japan’s air force Tosio Tamogami, talk about the possibility for Japan to have its own nuclear bomb. Mr. Tamogami`s hostile remarks get feedback from the influential Nippon Kaigi conservative think tank, its members lobbying for removal of ‘peace articles’ from the Japanese Constitution.

The Battle Of Britain

August-September, 1940

The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date.

While attacks on shipping and ports in the English Channel began July 10, On August 8th "Adlertag" or Eagle Day, the codename for the first day of the air offensive against Great Britain, is launched.

The objective of the German campaign was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF), especially Fighter Command, before they can launch an invasion, which was being prepared on the continent.

Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy), had earlier told Hitler that an invasion could only be contemplated as a last resort, and only then with full air superiority. The Kriegsmarine had been nearly crippled by the Norwegian Campaign, with many of its ships having been sunk or damaged, while the Royal Navy still had over 50 destroyers, 21 cruisers and eight battleships in the British Home Fleet. There was little the weakened Kriegsmarine could do to stop the Royal Navy from intervening. The only alternative was to use the Luftwaffe's dive bombers and torpedo bombers, which required air superiority to operate effectively.
Although he agreed with Raeder, Hitler ordered the preparation of plan code-named Sea Lion to invade Britain; Germany's plan was to be able to cross the channel by mid to late September. Hitler also hoped that news of the preparations would frighten Britain into peace negotiations.

For the air attack, Germany's air force commander Hermann Goering assembled 2800 aircraft against Britain's 700 fighters. Initial Luftwaffe estimates were that it would take four days to defeat the RAF Fighter Command in southern England. This would be followed by a four-week offensive during which the bombers and long-range fighters would destroy all military installations throughout the country and wreck the British aircraft industry. The only alternative to the goal of air superiority was a terror bombing campaign aimed at the civilian population, but this was considered a last resort and it was expressly forbidden by Hitler.

The name of the battle derived from a famous speech delivered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the House of Commons: "The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin..."

Of crucial importance to the outcome of the battle were the performance of the British Hurricane and Spitfire fighters flying against the Luftwaffe Stuka, Heinkel bombers, and Me109 fighters. The performance of the Spitfire over Dunkirk came as a surprise to the Germans, although their pilots retained a strong belief that the 109 was the superior fighter. However, the Messerschmit Bf 109E had a much larger turning circle than either the Hurricane or the Spitfire.

Britain's fate rested upon the bravery, determination, and skill of its fighter pilots led by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh "Stuffy" Dowding, a 'stiff-upper-lip' officer displaying the trademark proper British bearing. As a side note, Sir Laurence Olivier was picked to portray him in Hollywood movie Battle Of Britian.

The keystone of the British defense was the complex infrastructure of detection, command, and control that ran the battle. This was the "Dowding System", the core of which was implemented by Dowding himself: the use Radio Direction Finding (RDF, later called radar, for radio direction finding and ranging).
The first indications of incoming air raids were received by the RDF facilities located around the coastlines of the UK. In most circumstances, RDF could pick up formations of Luftwaffe aircraft as they organized over their own airfields.
Once the raiding aircraft moved inland over England, the formations were also plotted and reported by the Observer Corps. The information from RDF and the Observer Corps were sent through to the main operations room of Fighter Command Headquarters at Bentley Priory. The plots were assessed to determine whether they were "hostile" or "friendly". If hostile, the information was sent to the main "operations room", which was in a large underground bunker.
Here the course information of each raid was plotted by WAAFs who received information by a telephone system. Intelligence was also provided by the "Y" Service radio posts which monitored enemy radio transmissions, and the "Ultra" decoding center based at Bletchley Park.
Color coded counters representing each raid were placed on a large table, which had a map of the UK overlaid and squared off with a grid. As the plots of the raiding aircraft moved, the counters were pushed across the map by long rakes. This system enabled the main controller (usually of squadron leader rank) and Dowding to see quickly where each formation was heading and allowed an estimate to be made of possible targets. Because of the simplicity of the system, decisions could be made quickly and easily.

Göring stopped attacks on the radar chain. These were seen as unsuccessful, and neither the Reichsmarschall nor his subordinates realized how vital the Chain Home stations were to the defense. It was known that radar provided some early warning of raids, but the belief among German fighter pilots was that anything bringing up the "Tommies" to fight was to be encouraged.

Front line RAF pilots were acutely aware of the deficiencies of their own tactics. A compromise was adopted where squadrons used looser formations with one or two "weavers" flying independently above and behind to provide increased observation and rear protection; these tended to be the least experienced men and were often the first to be shot down without the other pilots even noticing that they were under attack.

18 August, which had the greatest number of casualties to both sides, was dubbed "The Hardest Day".

Although successful in previous Luftwaffe engagements, the Stuka suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Britain, particularly on 18 August, due to its slow speed and vulnerability to fighter interception after the dive bombing. As a result of the losses and limited payload and range, Stuka units were largely removed from operations over England and concentrated on shipping instead.

The whole of the Battle can be roughly divided into four phases:
* 10 July–11 August: Kanalkampf, ("the Channel battles"). These comprised a series of running fights over convoys in the English Channel and occasional attacks on the convoys by Stuka dive bombers.
* 12 August–23 August: Adlerangriff ("Eagle Attack"), the early assault against the coastal airfields.
* 24 August–6 September: the Luftwaffe targets the airfields. The critical phase of the battle. Göring ordered attacks on aircraft factories on 19 August 1940; then on 23 August he ordered that RAF airfields be attacked. Raids on airfields continued through 24 August, and Portsmouth was hit by a major attack. That night, several areas of London were bombed; the East End was set ablaze and bombs landed on central London.
In retaliation, the RAF bombed Berlin on the night of 25–26 August, and continued bombing raids on Berlin until the end of the war. Göring's pride was hurt, as he had previously claimed the British would never be able to bomb the city. The attacks enraged Hitler, who reversed his earlier stance on civilian targets and ordered retaliatory attacks on London to weaken civilian morale. These attacks were termed by Londoners as "The Blitz".
* 7 September onwards: the day attacks switch to British towns and cities. In the face of mounting losses in men, aircraft and the lack of adequate replacements, the Luftwaffe switched from daylight to night-time bombing.

The RAF had the advantage of fighting over home territory. Pilots who bailed out of their downed aircraft could be back at their airfields within hours. For Luftwaffe aircrews, a bailout over England meant capture, while parachuting into the English Channel often meant drowning or death from exposure. Morale began to suffer, and Kanalkrankheit ("Channel sickness") — a form of combat fatigue — began to appear among the German pilots. Their replacement problem was even worse than the British.

The position for Britain was grim in the extreme as from August 24th to September 6th 295 fighters had been totally destroyed and 171 badly damaged, against a total output of 269 new and repaired Spitfires and Hurricanes. Worst of all, during the fortnight 103 pilots were killed or missing and 128 were wounded, which represented a total wastage of 120 pilots per week out of a fighting strength of just under 1,000. Experienced pilots were like gold-dust, and each one lost had to be replaced by an untried man who for some time would be vulnerable, until he acquired battle know-how. During the whole of August no more than 260 fighter pilots were turned out and casualties in the same month were just over 300.

On 14 September Hitler called a meeting with the OKW staff. Goering was absent in France, as he had decided to direct the decisive part of the battle from there. At the meeting Hitler raised the question, "Should we call it off altogether?". Hitler had accepted that an invasion with massive air cover was no longer possible. Instead he opted to try to crush British morale, while maintaining the threat of invasion.
At this point Hitler was against canceling the invasion as "the cancellation would reach the ears of the enemy and strengthen his resolve".
On 15 September two massive waves of German attacks were decisively repulsed by the RAF, with every aircraft of 11 Group being used on that day. The total casualties on this critical day were 60 German and 26 RAF aircraft shot down. The German defeat caused Hitler to order two days later the postponement of preparations for the invasion of Britain.

Overall, by 2 November, the RAF fielded 1,796 pilots, an increase of over 40% from July 1940's count of 1,259 pilots.
German fighter and bomber "strength" declined without recovery, and that from August - December 1940, the German fighter and bomber strength declined by 30 and 25 percent. 1,380 German bombers were on strength on 29 June 1940, 1,420 bombers on 28 September.
In July - September the number of pilots available fell by 136, but the number of operational pilots had shrunk by 171 by September. The training organization of the Luftwaffe was failing to replace losses. German fighter pilots, in contrast to popular perception, were not afforded training or rest rotations unlike their British counterparts. The first week of September accounted for 25 percent of the Fighter Command, and 24 percent of the Luftwaffe overall losses.

From July to September, the Luftwaffe's loss records indicate the loss of 1,636 aircraft, 1,184 to enemy action. This represented 47 percent of the initial strength of single-engine fighters, 66 percent of twin-engine fighters, and 45 percent of bombers. This indicates the Germans were running out of aircrews as well as aircraft.

(A note of trivia regarding the movie Battle Of Britain. When it was made in 1965, the fleet of aircraft assembled to film it was termed the "world's 35th largest air force". Out of 109 remaining British Spitfires, 27 were available for filming, 12 of which were flyable. Other aircraft used were 6 British Hurricanes (3 flying), 2 German Protukas (Stuka trainer), 32 Spanish-built German Heinkel bombers, 27 Spanish-built German Me109 fighters (17 flying), and 2 Spanish-built Junker transports.)

Due to the failure of the Luftwaffe to establish air supremacy, a conference assembled on 14 September at Hitler's headquarters. Hitler concluded that air superiority had not yet been established and "promised to review the situation on 17 September for possible landings on 27 September or 8 October. Three days later, when the evidence was clear that the German Air Force had greatly exaggerated the extent of their successes against the RAF, Hitler postponed SeaLion indefinitely."

Total British civilian losses from July to December 1940 were 23,002 dead and 32,138 wounded, with one of the largest single raids on 19 December 1940, in which almost 3,000 civilians died.

The Royal Air Force roll of honour for the Battle of Britain recognizes 595 non-British pilots (out of 2,936) as flying at least one authorized operational sortie with an eligible unit of the RAF or Fleet Air Arm between 10 July and 31 October 1940.[76][77] These included 145 Poles, 127 New Zealanders, 112 Canadians, 88 Czechoslovaks, 32 Australians, 28 Belgians, 25 South Africans, 13 French, 10 Irish, 7 Americans, and one each from Jamaica, the British Mandate of Palestine, and Southern Rhodesia.

The failure of Germany to achieve its objectives of destroying Britain's air defenses, or forcing Britain to negotiate an armistice or an outright surrender, is considered its first major defeat and one of the crucial turning points in the war, with air superiority seen as the key to victory.

Winston Churchill

Now that things in 1940 are really taking a swing into full-blown war, I occasionally want to showcase individuals who really made an impact on the course of events.

Since August is the month that The Battle Of Britain took place, now is the time for a little background on Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, who was one of the more publicly recognized political figures at the time. People living in Britain all knew him, and most of Europe as well (if they ever listened to radio news). His name and face had been a feature in our news as well.

Winston served as prime minister of England from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.
To date, he is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the first person to be recognized as an honorary citizen of the United States.

Born to the aristocratic Spencer family 30 November 1874, died 24 January 1965.
His ancestor George Spencer had changed his surname to Spencer-Churchill in 1817 when he became Duke of Marlborough, to highlight his descent from John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.
Independent and rebellious by nature, Churchill generally did poorly in school. He attended Harrow School in 1888, where his military career began. Within weeks of his arrival, he had joined their Rifle Corps. He earned high marks in English and History and was also the school's fencing champion. It is not hard to imagine this boys-school hothead, imperiously taking on challenges and boyhood rituals that led to the steely-eyed spokesman he became. Just looking at his expression in the photo above, I can almost hear his thoughts of making sweeping changes, only his shrewd calculating intelligence keeping him from lighting political firestorms, preferring to outmaneuver his opponents with words.

During his army career, Churchill saw military action in India, the Sudan and the Second Boer War. He gained fame and notoriety as a war correspondent and through contemporary books he wrote describing the campaigns. He also served briefly in the British Army on the Western Front in the First World War, commanding the 6Th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He did not intend to follow a conventional career of promotion through army ranks, but to seek out all possible chances of military action and used his mother's and family influence in high society to arrange postings to active campaigns.
In 1899 he accompanied a scouting expedition in an armored train, leading to his capture and imprisonment in a POW camp in Pretoria. His escape made him a minor national hero for a time in Britain, though instead of returning home, he rejoined the army on its march to relieve the British at the Siege of Ladysmith and take Pretoria.

During the First World War he continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He returned as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air.
At the forefront of the political scene for almost fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions.

Churchill was a fierce critic of Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Adolf Hitler and in a speech to the House of Commons, he bluntly and prophetically stated, "You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war."
After the outbreak of the Second World War, Churchill was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Coining the general term for the upcoming battle, Churchill stated in his "Finest Hour" speech to the House of Commons on 18 June 1940, "I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."
Churchill was always noted for his grandiose speeches, which became a great inspiration to the British people and to the embattled Allied forces. His first speech as prime minister was the famous "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat". He followed that closely with two other equally famous ones, given just before the Battle of Britain.

"... we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour'."

At the height of the Battle of Britain, his quote "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few", began the enduring nickname 'The Few' for the RAF fighter pilots who won it.
One of his most memorable war speeches came on 10 November 1942 at the Lord Mayor's Luncheon at Mansion House in London, in response to the Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein. Churchill stated:

"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

During the war Churchill's good relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt secured vital food, oil and munitions via the North Atlantic shipping routes under the U.S. Lend-Lease Program. The Russians referred to him as the "British Bulldog" for his patented stubborn tenacity that personified a nation.

Churchill's health was fragile, as shown by a mild heart attack he suffered in December 1941 at the White House and also in December 1943 when he contracted pneumonia. Despite this, he traveled over 100,000 miles (160,000 km) throughout the war to meet other national leaders. For security, he usually traveled using the alias Colonel Warden.

After victory in Europe, Churchill told a huge crowd in Whitehall: "This is your victory." The people shouted: "No, it is yours".

There is an interesting tale to tell about his most famous picture, the one in my posting below August 18 for his "Never in the field of human conflict" speech. The photographer had a limited amount of time to capture the photo, and Churchill of course was uncooperative, procrastinating until the photographer only had a couple minutes left and hadn't taken any shots still. One of Churchill's vices was smoking a cigar which also interfered with the photographers composition and lighting, so he reached over and plucked the cigar from Winston's mouth, resulting in the captured demeanor which has been compared to resemble every grumpy newborn child.

After losing the 1945 election, he became Leader of the Opposition. In 1951 he again became prime minister, before finally retiring in 1955. Upon his death, the Queen granted him the honor of a state funeral, which saw one of the largest assemblies of statesmen in the world.

Scottish piper who led troops on D-Day passes

One more old hero passes on. Billy Millin stands out among the many courageous people of World War II for the uniqueness of his contribution to the Allied victory: He played the bagpipes.

Piper Millin was on the personal staff of the legendary commando leader Lord Lovat. Both were Scots and fiercely proud of their nation.

When the 1st Special Service Brigade hit the Normandy beaches on D-Day, Lovat ordered Millin to strike up his pipes. Millin jumped into the knee-deep water in his kilt and belted out “Highland Laddie.” He kept going, even when the man behind him was shot dead.

On the beach, Millin marched up and down the water’s edge under withering enemy fire, urging his comrades forward with his music and boosting their morale.

One soldier said many years later that the skirl of Billy’s pipes had lifted his spirits, reminding him of home and why he was fighting.

Millin stayed with his unit as it advanced through France over the following days, playing whenever he was ordered to by Lovat.

As they reached Pegasus Bridge – another famous chapter in the history of those days – Millin again piped the troops across under sniper fire. “It seemed,” he said, “a very long bridge.”

After the slaughter of the First World War, the British government had barred pipers from leading the charge. Lovat told Millin: “But that’s the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn’t apply.”

German prisoners said they hadn’t shot Millin because they thought he had gone off his head. They’d confused courage and pride with madness.

Millin died on Tuesday at 87. His gallantry won him the French Croix de guerre, and was memorialized in the movie “The Longest Day.” A statue is being erected in his honor near Sword Beach.

His family described him as a “great Scottish hero.”

(article edited from NBC News World Blog by Christopher Hampson)


My own tribute to the captivating character of Mr. Millin, I copy here the lyrics to the classic early 19th century tune "Minstrel Boy". Apologies for using an Irish fighting song to honor such a proud Scotsman, but the words and tune just fit (especially when played on bagpipes... google it).

The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
In the ranks of death you will find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;"
Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"

The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slavery!"

A little perspective

In late August 2010 the last American combat troops leave Iraq, with plans to completely withdraw from the country by January of 2011, putting a close to nearly 8 years of war. In contrast, The United States involvement in WWII lasted only just 4 years. Here are a few more contrasts.

Total U.S. military deaths in Iraq: 4,419
Total U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan: 1,249
Total U.S. military deaths in WW2: 405,399

Total Allied military deaths in Iraq: 318
Total Allied military deaths in Afghanistan: 784
Total Allied military deaths in WW2: 14,429,059 (not counting POWs, partisans or resistance, or Chinese forces)

Total enemy deaths in Iraq: estimated between 10,000-20,000 (Reliable figures for insurgent casualties are not available. The Pentagon stopped supplying figures for what it called "non-compliant Iraqi forces" in mid-summer 2003. )
Total enemy deaths in Afghanistan: 15,219 (estimated from the Wikileaks data)
Total enemy deaths in WW2 (counting impressed soldiers): 6,581,684

Total civilian deaths in Iraq (their own estimates): 96,000-105,000
Total civilian deaths in Afghanistan (U.S. figure, again from the Wikileaks files): 3,994
Total civilian deaths in WW2 (counting the Holocaust, Chinese Nationalist and Socialist armies, partisans & resistance forces, and POWs. Again a huge estimate and the figures will never be truly known): 34,794,743

Grand Totals:
Iraq, 2003-2011: 129,737 deaths
Afghanistan, 2001-2010(ongoing): 21,246 deaths
World War II, 1939-1945: 56,210,885 deaths

Who says Armageddon hasn't already happened.

Note that in none of these figures are the wounded and psychologically traumatized.

(Side note, entered September 1st, 2010: This morning President Obama officially announced "America's combat mission in Iraq has ended".)

Senator Ted Stevens' WWII Service

The longest serving Republican U.S. senator, Ted Stevens died in a plane crash in his home state of Alaska last week. His political record was full of many accolades and he set the bar for accomplishments that few senators have been able to match. He was called the 'patron saint of Alaska' for the billions in federal dollars he brought to his constituents. But his accomplishments started at a much younger age. Copied below is the article and picture from "Turnagain Times", news from his home area.


By Ted Spencer
Special to the Turnagain Times

The Prince William Sound Museum in Whittier has perhaps the only museum exhibit in the state honoring Sen. Ted Stevens. The exhibit entitled, “China Skies–The WWII Service of Lt. Ted Stevens”, showcases the little known details of Sen. Stevens’ World War II military service. Installed in 2007, the exhibit had the direct assistance of Senator Stevens and his staff.

Senator Ted Stevens was a true WWII combat veteran and hero who was highly decorated as a pilot for the US Army Air Force.

Stevens went through pilot training at Douglas, Arizona, and earned his Army Air Corps wings in May, 1944. “I went in when I was 19, and got my wings when I was 20,” Stevens recalled. “Three of us in that class were immediately sent to China. Chennault sent a 47 (C-47) out to pick us up for the flight through Burma.

He needed some replacement pilots in for the 14th Air Force Transport Section. The 14th was the successor to the old Flying Tiger Transport Section, who had been flying for Chennault before the US government turned Chennaults’s group into the 14th Air Force. The new group became the 322nd Troop Carrier Squadron.” The 322nd was designated a combat troop carrier unit. Lt. Ted Stevens, 20, was flying Douglas C-47’s and Curtiss C-46’s for General Claire Chennault deep in the mainland of China.

Chennault, who began fighting the Japanese invaders to China with his famous American volunteer Flying Tigers prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and now commanded the 14th Air Force.

“We knew the Japanese could hear our airplanes, but a modified exhaust collector hid the exhaust flames from view at night. We did most our flying across the Japanese lines at night and would try to get to our destination at about daylight. We would land and camouflage our planes during the day and then take off again at night.”

Lieutenant Ted Stevens flew over the some of the most treacherous terrain of the Himalayan Mountains in some of the worst weather on the planet. The heavily loaded planes would fly over mountain ranges in excess of ten thousand feet encountering extreme turbulence, thunderstorms, and icing. Losses for the flights over the “Hump” were more than 400 aircraft and 800 men. For his courage Lt Ted Stevens was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Air Medals and the Chinese order of Yuan Hai for his service having “distinguished himself by heroism and extraordainary meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.”

The museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Anchor Inn Hotel in Whittier.

(Ted Spencer is the curator of the Whittier Museum.)

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few…”

August 20, 1940 3:42PM, London

The exact time that Winston Churchill gave his famous speech about the Battle of Britain over the radio.

There are many sources online for reading the full transcript or listening to a recording of the broadcast of one the most famous and inspirational speeches of all time. My favorite passage, his closing comments I copy below, written this day August 18th, 1940.

"Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'