The MacArthur Memorial Podcast covers a variety of topics related to the life and times of General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964). From the triumphs and controversies of MacArthur's career to the latest scholarship on the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, the World Wars, the Occupation of Japan, and the Korean War, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast is constantly exploring fascinating history. The MacArthur Memorial is located in Norfolk, VA and is dedicated to preserving and pre ...
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On October 26, 2024, the MacArthur Memorial and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf with a series of presentations. Dr. Peter Mansoor, a retired US Army officer and the General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair in Military History at Ohio State University, presented a lecture entitled The Naval Batt…
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The Naval Battle of Leyte Gulf
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On October 26, 2024, the MacArthur Memorial and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf with a series of presentations. Thomas Cutler, a retired USN officer and a preeminent naval historian, presented a lecture entitled The Naval Battle of Leyte Gulf. If you would like to see the slides he used, …
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General Douglas MacArthur’s forces began landing at Leyte on October 20, 1944. That’s the day MacArthur took the famous picture wading ashore at Leyte, but there was a lot more to the operation than that. Why was Leyte chosen over Mindanao? How prepared were Japanese commanders for the invasion? How did the Japanese army and navy try to repel the i…
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Undefeated: Army's 1944 Basketball Team
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During World War II, as many young men joined the military, many college basketball programs in the United States were suspended. The US Military Academy at West Point was one of the schools that continued its basketball program. Army’s 1943 season was not a great season – but the 1944 season was spectacular. Against a backdrop of war, Army deliver…
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When most people think about the battles in the Pacific during World War II, they probably think of Guadalcanal, Okinawa, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Leyte Gulf, Midway, etc. It was a very long and difficult war though, and there were dozens of other battles. One of the lesser-known battles is the Battle of Morotai, which began on September 15, 1944…
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The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of the most popular and successful relief programs during the Great Depression. Between 1933-1942, it put 3 million men to work throughout the United States. These young men worked on conservation and transportation projects on Federal, State, and local government lands. The CCC was the brainchild of Pr…
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On November 29, 1952, a 22-year-old CIA operative named Jack Downey was shot down over China while taking part in an air drop. Four successive Administrations refused to acknowledge his connection to the CIA. Without this acknowledgement, Downey spent 21 years as a POW - the longest-held POW in American history. His treatment in prison was largely …
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The Pearl Harbor Conference
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In late July 1944, President Roosevelt met with General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The future of the war in the Pacific was discussed at this Pearl Harbor Conference, or Pacific Strategy Conference as it is also called. It was not a "real" conference in the sense that it did not include Admiral Ernest King…
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In this latest episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams answer some of the more popular and/or unique questions about General MacArthur we have received from MacArthur Memorial Podcast listeners and on social media. Have a comment about this episode? Send us a text message! (Note: we can only read the texts, we can't rep…
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On June 18, 1945, one month shy of his 59th birthday, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. became the most senior US military officer to be killed by enemy fire in World War II. At the time, he was leading the Tenth Army on Okinawa. Buckner kept a diary from January 1, 1944, to June 17, 1945. That diary has only recently been fully publishe…
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PT Boat Commander John D. Bulkeley and D-Day
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In 1942, John D. Bulkeley, commander of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 and skipper of PT-41, spirited MacArthur and his family off Corregidor. Bulkeley received a Silver Star for his role in MacArthur's escape and was later awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in Philippine waters from 7 December 194…
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Beate Sirota Gordon and the Japanese Constitution
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The Occupation of Japan after World War II is often considered a masterclass in civil affairs. It was not perfect, but it was successful. General Douglas MacArthur’s primary mission was to demilitarize Japan. Before he even arrived in Japan however, he was convinced that a sustainable peace would require significant legal and social changes – parti…
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On September 11, 1940, the SS Quanza arrived in Norfolk, VA. She was carrying a number of Jewish refugees who were fleeing the Nazi war machine. While they would ultimately find safety through the efforts of the Jewish community in Hampton Roads, this small humanitarian victory would be the catalyst for the virtual elimination of similar opportunit…
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The Hollandia-Aitape Invasions
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In April 1944, General Douglas MacArthur’s forces made a 580-mile amphibious leap to seize airfields at Hollandia and Aitape in New Guinea. It was a bold plan that meant making two simultaneous amphibious landings deep in enemy territory and it was the first time Admiral Chester Nimitz’s aircraft carriers supported a MacArthur assault. Join MacArth…
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Part II of a two part interview. From 1942-1945, Ernie Pyle was the most famous American war correspondent. In 1942, his columns were featured in 42 newspapers. By 1945, they were featured in 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers. He covered the war from the Blitz to North Africa, to Italy, to Normandy, and then the Pacific. The American public found…
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General MacArthur's Funeral in Norfolk, VA
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General MacArthur's multi-city state funeral concluded in Norfolk, VA on April 11, 1964. Join MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel for a discussion of the events and logistics associated with this final salute to General MacArthur. Have a comment about this episode? Send us a text message! (Note: we can only read the texts, w…
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From 1942-1945, Ernie Pyle was the most famous American war correspondent. In 1942, his columns were featured in 42 newspapers. By 1945, they were featured in 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers. He covered the war from the Blitz to North Africa, to Italy, to Normandy, and then the Pacific. The American public found his writing human and accessible…
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The Capture of Emilio Aguinaldo
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In February 2024, the MacArthur Memorial hosted an event to mark the 125th anniversary of the Philippine American War. This event was in partnership with the Hampton Roads chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater. The event featured presentations by several scholars o…
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The Philippine-American War from the Filipino Perspective
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In February 2024, the MacArthur Memorial hosted an event to mark the 125th anniversary of the Philippine American War. This event was in partnership with the Hampton Roads chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater. The event featured presentations by several scholars o…
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The US Army and the Philippine-American War
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In February 2024, the MacArthur Memorial hosted an event to mark the 125th anniversary of the Philippine American War. This event was in partnership with the Hampton Roads Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater. The event featured presentations by several scholars o…
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The Admiralty Islands Campaign
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From February 29 – May 18, 1944, a thousand troopers of the First Cavalry Division, a few United States Navy destroyers and a handful of “Fighting Seabees” defied the odds and seized the Admiralty Islands, making it possible for General MacArthur to keep his promise to return to the Philippines. The Admiralty Island Campaign was the boldest action …
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11th Airborne: Angels Against the Sun
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Former paratrooper, James M. Fenelon, author of Angels Against the Sun: A WWII Saga of Grunts, Grit, and Brotherhood, joined the MacArthur Memorial Podcast to discuss the story of the 11th Airborne and the liberation of the Philippines during World War II. Have a comment about this episode? Send us a text message! (Note: we can only read the texts,…
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The Buffalo Soldiers and the Philippine-American War
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The Philippine-American War (1899-1902) was a controversial war. Many Americans did not support it, including anti-imperialists like Mark Twain. Others did. In response to the war, the English writer Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem The White Man’s Burden, in which he encouraged the United States to “take up the White Man’s burden” to maintain coloni…
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The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust
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The Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 and then the 1941 invasion of Soviet occupied-Poland brought an almost unimaginable scale of suffering to the people of Poland. And yet, in the midst of such terror, there were people who risked their lives to help those targeted for extermination. One of those was a woman posing as a Polish countess. Her real na…
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In this MacArthur Q&A Part II, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams answer questions posed by MacArthur Memorial Podcast listeners. When did the MacArthur family settle in America? What battles was General MacArthur directly involved in during the New Guinea campaign? How involved was MacArthur with the United States Army Mil…
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Arthur MacArthur Jr. and Emilio Aguinaldo
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In 1901, during the Philippine-American War, the Governor-General of the Philippines, Brigadier General Arthur MacArthur Jr., father of Douglas MacArthur, approved a daring plan by Frederick Funston to capture General Aguinaldo. Once Aguinaldo was in custody, Arthur MacArthur persuaded him to swear allegiance to the United States and to use his inf…
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The No. 1 British Flying Training School
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During World War II thousands of British cadets learned to fly at six civilian training schools across the southern United States. The first and largest of the schools was in Terrell, Texas. More than 2,200 Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Corps cadets earned their wings at the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum in Terrell betwee…
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The MacArthur Corridor in the Pentagon
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On September 10th, 1981, with the help of Mrs. Jean MacArthur, President Ronald Reagan dedicated a corridor in the Pentagon in honor of General Douglas MacArthur. Recently, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams sat down to explore the history of the MacArthur Corridor and discuss some of the MacArthur Memorial artifacts on dis…
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On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur kept his famous I Shall Return promise when he landed at Leyte with one of the largest invasion forces in history. From the beach, he broadcast his "I Have Returned" speech. It is a short, 2-minute speech, but it is packed with emotion. MacArthur had written the speech about a month before the landings…
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Special Exhibit Opening: The Price of Unpreparedness
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On September 30, 2023, the MacArthur Memorial opened a new 5000 sq ft exhibit entitled The Price of Unpreparedness: POWs in the Philippines during World War II. The opening event featured the following presentations: Dr. Frank Blazich, Jr. - Defeat, Death, and Defiance: The POW Experience in the Philippines Mary Maynard - An American Family's WWII …
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Rehabilitation of World War II POWs
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20,000 American troops went into captivity after the fall of the Philippines in 1942. Recent scholarship indicates that half of those POWs did not survive captivity. Surviving the POW experience in the Philippines – including the hell ships and labor camps in Korea and Japan – was no easy feat. For those who did survive to liberation – how did the …
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Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons
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Franklin Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, and Winston Churchill were all very different men, but they shared a few things. One thing they shared was a common ancestor – Sarah Barney Belcher – a woman born in Massachusetts in 1771. They also all had fascinating mothers who were instrumental in their careers. To explore the roles played by Jennie Jerome…
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The US Army Veterinary Corps in the Philippines, 1941-1945
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The US Army Veterinary Corps (VC) has a fascinating history. Created in 1916, by WWII its activities were chiefly centered on food inspection to ensure animal products going to feed the Army were being sanitarily procured, produced, and transported. The VC also had responsibility across theatres for about 56,000 horses and mules, thousands of war d…
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The POW Experience of Roy Bodine
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In 1942, US Army dental officer, Roy L. Bodine, became a POW when Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. He spent 41 months as a POW - surviving the Bataan Death March, POW camps, Hell Ships, and labor camps. One month after VJ Day, he was liberated from a labor camp in Korea. Throughout his captivity, he kept a diary which was later used as evidence …
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Throughout World War II, Allied leaders met in a series of conferences to discuss and decide joint military and political goals. The Casablanca Conference, held in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14-24, 1943, was the third of these meetings. And as with the other conferences, the personalities, the debates, and the eventual agreements are …
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POWs in the Philippines: Health and Medical Access
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When the Philippines fell to the Japanese in the spring of 1942, tens of thousands of American and Filipino troops became POWs. Approximately 1 in 3 (possibly more) of the Americans did not survive captivity. Their treatment by their captors and their limited access to medical care/supplies is often highlighted by historians. To discuss this in mor…
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On June 6, 1944, the Allied invasion of Normandy began. D-Day, as the first phase of this invasion has come to be known, was a critical moment in the liberation of Europe. It did not mark the end of the war, but 11 months later, the sacrifices of June 6 would lead to the total defeat of Nazi Germany. John Long, Director of Education at the National…
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NAS Wildwood and World War II
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Between 1943-1945, the US Navy operated Naval Air Station Wildwood in Cape May, NJ as a training center for dive bomber squadrons. Thousands of pilots were trained there and during the peak training months of mid 1944 – early 1945, the air station was home to over 200 warplanes. From a historical perspective, NAS Wildwood is a fascinating study in …
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The Media Offensive: How the Allied Press and Public Opinion Shaped Allied Strategy during World War II
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World War II was a total war. That required it to also be a media war. Media coverage mattered. The opinions and impressions of citizens on the home front and of citizen soldiers on battlefield had to be considered. But exactly how did the nexus of media and public opinion effect military decision making during the war? Did media coverage fundament…
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The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line
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The Greatest Generation has many female heroines – women and girls who stepped out of line to serve their countries and their communities in the darkest days of World War II. Many of them remain relatively unknown. To discuss some of their stories, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Major General (Ret.) Mari K. Eder, author of The Girls Who Step…
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Aguinaldo's 1899 Declaration of Independence
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During the Spanish American War (1898), Philippine Revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines independent of Spain. After Spain’s defeat, the Filipinos expected independence. Instead, as part of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the US took over the Philippines. In response, on January 5, 1899, Aguinaldo declared the Philippines indepen…
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Bridge to the Sun: The Secret Role of the Japanese Americans Who Fought in the Pacific in WWII
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During World War II, the Nisei, first generation Americans whose parents were immigrants from Japan, fought in the Pacific theater. Their language skills and other intelligence contributions saved lives and shortened the war. And yet, as they served with great distinction, their families back home in America were held in government internment camps…
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MacArthur's 1945 Birthday and the Drive to Manila
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As part of the commemoration of the 143rd anniversary of General MacArthur’s birthday, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams sat down for a virtual discussion of the 1945 drive to Manila in the context of MacArthur’s 65th birthday. Did MacArthur try to rush to Manila to celebrate his birthday there? Was a birthday parade plann…
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In this latest episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams answer questions posed by MacArthur Memorial Podcast listeners. Why did he not like President Truman? Was there ever a serious attempt to become POTUS? What world leaders visited him in retirement? What if MacArthur had been the ETO commander during WWII? What did h…
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MacArthur and the Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
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In 1925, the court-martial of Billy Mitchell captured national attention. At the center of the controversy was Billy Mitchell, a man who is today recognized as the father of the United States Air Force. Then Major General Douglas MacArthur, who later described the order to sit on Mitchell's court-martial as "one of the most distasteful orders” he e…
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December 7, 1941 Medal of Honor Recipients
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When most people think about December 7, 1941, they think about Pearl Harbor. They think about the USS Arizona. They think about Battleship Row. But can you name a Medal of Honor recipient from that action? To explore the story of these men, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Colonel Charles A. Jones USMCR (Retired), an expert on the Medal of Ho…
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The Occupation of Japan and Women's Suffrage
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On August 18. 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving American women the right to vote. When the Occupation of Japan began in 1945, the Nineteenth Amendment was a mere 25 years old but already so well ingrained in U.S. national identity that the thought of women’s suffrage wasn’t revolutionary to General Douglas…
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In his autobiography, General MacArthur summed up the WWII island hopping strategy with a quote from baseball legend Willie Keeler: “hit ‘em where they ain’t.” It wasn’t just a convenient, pithy quote. Football may have been MacArthur’s favorite sport, but baseball was a close runner-up. From playing in the first Army/Navy baseball game as a young …
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John Cullen Murphy - Painter to MacArthur's "Court"
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The MacArthur Memorial has a collection of 31 works of art by John Cullen Murphy as well as an additional 2 works on loan to the museum. Why? While Murphy is famous for his work as the illustrator for the comics Big Ben Bolt and Prince Valiant, he was also a veteran of the Pacific War and an aide to one of MacArthur’s generals. People often refer t…
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Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, The Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb
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Just after midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly three hundred American B-29s rained incendiary bombs down on the Japanese capital of Tokyo. The bombs created a nearly 2,800-degree inferno that killed more than 100,000 people and left a part of the city about the size of Manhattan nothing but ash. The attack was so horrifyingly effective that Major Ge…
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