January 2, 2018

On Jan. 2, 1942, 76 years ago today, a United States federal court sentenced 33 members of a Nazi German spy ring led by Frederick “Fritz” Duquesne to a total of over 300 years in prison. Duquesne and the 32 others had pleaded guilty or been convicted of espionage in the months leading up to the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II (1939-1945). The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) brought down the spy ring with the critical help of a German-American citizen named William Sebold. The fall of the Duquesne Spy Ring resulted in the largest number of convictions of any single espionage case in U.S. history.

This composite shows the 33 convicted members of the Duquesne Spy Ring. Frederick Duquesne is at the top right. Credit: Library of Congress

William Sebold was a naturalized U.S. citizen who had worked in aircraft and industrial plants in the United States and elsewhere since leaving his native Germany in 1921. During a return trip to Germany in 1939, the German Secret Service asked Sebold to spy for the Nazis on the United States. Alarmed, Sebold reported the spy recruitment efforts to U.S. officials in Germany. The FBI directed Sebold to go through with the Nazi spy training. Sebold would then work as a double agent, pretending to spy for Nazi Germany while actually working for the FBI—an extremely dangerous occupation.

In 1940, after his Nazi spy training, Sebold returned to the United States. He began working among a network of Nazi spies in New York City. Sebold met with Nazi agents at a Manhattan office fitted with a two-way mirror and audio and video recording devices. FBI agents witnessed Sebold’s meetings with Nazi spies. They also altered communications from Sebold and relayed the misleading information to Germany.

Frederick “Fritz” Duquesne. Credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Sebold’s Nazi contacts included Fritz Duquesne, a South African who had fought against the British during the second Boer War (1899-1902). Duquesne had lived off and on in the United States since 1902, and he was involved in numerous nefarious activities. In 1917, during World War I (1914-1918), he was arrested for insurance fraud and was found to be spying for Germany. Duquesne escaped U.S. captivity in 1919. He was arrested again in 1932, but was released. In the mid-1930′s, Duquesne became involved with pro-Nazi groups in the United States, and eventually resumed spying for Germany.

In 1940, Duquesne began meeting with Sebold. Duquesne relayed schedules of ships bound for England, advised Sebold on sabotage techniques, and passed along information on new U.S. military weapons and equipment. The FBI arrested Duquesne and his co-conspirators in June 1941. All 33 either pleaded guilty to spying for Nazi Germany or were convicted of espionage in court. Duquesne was sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was released in 1954 because of failing health, and he died in 1956 at age 78.

In 1942, overseas espionage and intelligence operations were taken up by the newly created Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The OSS was the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was established in 1947.

December 28, 2017

One hundred and fifty years ago today, on Dec. 28, 1867, the United States formally annexed Midway Island, a small Pacific atoll that would be the site of a significant battle during World War II (1939-1945). The United States had taken possession of the largely barren atoll in August 1867. Midway, among the furthest points north and west of the Hawaiian archipelago, became a U.S. territory 33 years before the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. Midway is the only part of the archipelago that did not become part of the U.S. state of Hawaii in 1959.

Midway Island is made up of two islands in an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The United States Department of the Interior controls the island. Credit: © Photo Resource Hawaii/Alamy Images

As its name suggests, Midway lies roughly halfway between Asia and North America. It lies 1,250 miles (2,010 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu. It is made up of two islands in an atoll 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter. It has an area of 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) and a total coastline of about 9 miles (15 kilometers). Midway has a population of about 40. United States companies built a telegraph cable relay station there in 1903, and an airport in 1935. A U.S. Navy air station operated on Midway Island from 1941 to 1993. The U.S. Department of the Interior now controls the island, which is part of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is part of the massive Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown is hit by a Japanese aerial torpedo during an attack by planes from the Japanese carrier Hiryu on June 4, 1942, during the Battle of Midway. Black clouds of antiaircraft fire clog the surrounding sky. Yorktown was abandoned, sinking early on June 7 after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Credit: NARA

The Battle of Midway was one of the main naval battles during World War II. From June 4 to June 6, 1942, U.S. land- and carrier-based planes attacked a Japanese fleet approaching the islands. They sank four Japanese aircraft carriers and one heavy cruiser. Japanese forces destroyed the U.S. destroyer Hammann and the aircraft carrier Yorktown.

The Battle of Midway was the first decisive U.S. naval victory over the Japanese in World War II. It crippled Japan’s naval air power and ended Japan’s attempt to seize Midway as a base from which to strike Hawaii. Many military experts believe it was the turning point in the Pacific campaign.

May 4, 2017

As part of May’s celebration of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), World Book today features the Purple Heart Battalion, the nickname given to a Japanese American unit in the United States Army during World War II (1939-1945). The unit was officially the 100th Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It earned its nickname because of the many casualties (people killed and wounded) it suffered in combat. American soldiers wounded or killed in combat are recognized with a medal called the Purple Heart.

Japanese Americans served in the 100th Battalion of the U.S. Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team, seen here advancing towards Bruyères, France, in October 1944. The unit is remembered as the Purple Heart Battalion. Credit: U.S. Army Photo/US National Archives

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, brought the United States into World War II. The attack also stirred hostility against Japanese Americans. After the attack, the U.S. government moved many Japanese Americans to camps in the western United States. Early in 1943, however, the government approved the formation of a Japanese American combat unit—the 442nd Regiment.

Japanese Americans arrive at an internment camp in Manzanar, California, in March 1942. Despite this denial of their civil rights, many Japanese Americans volunteered for military service during World War II. Credit: AP/Wide World Photos

In September 1943, the 442nd’s 100th Battalion entered combat against the German Army in Italy. In early 1944, the unit fought in the bloody battles at Monte Cassino and Anzio in Italy. Later that year, the 442nd suffered terrible casualties freeing the French towns of Biffontaine and Bruyères from German occupation. The unit then took many casualties rescuing the 1st Battalion of the 141st U.S. Infantry Regiment, a “lost battalion” trapped behind enemy lines. The 442nd saw continued action until Germany surrendered in May 1945.

The Purple Heart medal, seen here, is given to U.S. soldiers wounded or killed in combat. Credit: © Gary Blakeley, Shutterstock

Of the roughly 14,000 soldiers who served in the 442nd, the U.S. military awarded 9,486 of them Purple Hearts. Twenty-one of them received Medals of Honor. The Medal of Honor is the highest individual military decoration awarded by the U.S. government. The 442nd also received seven Presidential Unit Citations, the highest award for valor given to a military unit as a whole.

The 442nd continues today as an infantry unit in the U.S. Army Reserve. Monuments honoring the 442nd stand in Biffontaine and Bruyères, France, and in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Little Tokyo. In 2010, the unit received the Congressional Gold Medal. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian decoration awarded by the U.S. Congress.

February 23, 2017

In another feature of Black History Month, today we look at the Red Ball Express of World War II (1939-1945). The Red Ball Express was a massive trucking system created by the United States Army Transportation Corps. The Red Ball Express carried supplies to Allied armies as they pushed across France toward Germany in 1944. Most of the Red Ball Express truck drivers and mechanics—75 percent—were African Americans. At that time, the U.S. Army operated under a policy of racial segregation (separation), and most African Americans in the Army were forced to serve in noncombat roles. Red Ball referred to an old railroad term for express shipping.

U.S. Army troops load supplies on a Red Ball Express truck bound for the front lines in late 1944. Credit: Army Transportation Museum

By August 1944, World War II had left the French railway system largely destroyed. As a result, Allied forces in France relied heavily on trucks for the delivery of supplies. Combat troops needed huge quantities of food, ammunition, medicine, gasoline, and other supplies.

Starting from Normandy, in northwestern France, the Red Ball Express traveled to and from the front lines. Road signs and markers guided the way. Mechanics and maintenance crews worked around the clock. Special rest stops provided exhausted drivers with meals and places to sleep. In less than three months, around 6,000 Red Ball Express vehicles delivered more than 400,000 tons (360,000 metric tons) of vital supplies to the Allied armies. 

U.S. Army troops prepare a Red Ball Express shipment of badly needed gasoline in the autumn of 1944. Credit: Army Transportation Museum

In November 1944, the Allies opened the Belgian port of Antwerp, which earlier had been occupied by the Germans. The Allies then brought their supplies through Antwerp, because it was closer than Normandy to the front lines. As a result, the Red Ball Express was no longer needed. More than 200,000 African Americans served in Europe during World War II. More than 90,000 of these soldiers served in the Red Ball Express and other areas of combat service support.

February 8, 2017

In honor of Black History Month, today we look at the Montford Point Marines of World War II (1939-1945). “Montford Point Marines” was the nickname given to the first African American units to serve in the United States Marine Corps. The troops trained at Montford Point Camp in Jacksonville, North Carolina, from 1942 to 1949. Montford Point was a racially segregated facility within a larger Marine base, Camp Lejeune. Segregation is the separation of groups of people by custom, by law, or by executive order. More than 12,000 Montford Point Marines served overseas during World War II.

U.S. Marines take cover on the beach during the 1944 Battle of Peleliu, one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. Credit: National Archives

A few black volunteers served in the newly established Marines during the American Revolution (1775-1783). After that, however, the Marines did not accept African Americans. In June 1941, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, the Fair Employment Act. The act barred “discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin.” In the summer of 1942, the Marines became the last branch of the U.S. military to accept African Americans.

U.S. Marines take a well-earned break on the sands of Iwo Jima in March 1945. The battle cost the lives of nearly 7,000 Marines. Credit: National Archives

Black recruits first entered Montford Point Camp in August 1942, nine months after the United States entered World War II. The Marine Corps did not allow the camp’s new members to serve in front-line infantry units. Instead, they served in defense, maintenance, supply, and transport battalions. These roles did not exclude the Montford Pointers from danger, however. Like other Marines, they joined assaults on a number of Japanese-held islands in the Pacific Ocean. They saw action in such bloody campaigns as Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima (now Iwo To), and Okinawa. Thirteen Montford Point Marines were killed in combat during the war.

In July 1948, President Harry S. Truman, also a Democrat, signed Executive Order 9981, requiring the desegregation of the military. Montford Point Camp closed in September 1949, after having produced some 20,000 U.S. Marines. The Marine Corps became fully integrated during the Korean War (1950-1953).

In 1974, Montford Point was renamed Camp Gilbert H. Johnson. Gilbert Johnson, a World War II combat veteran, was one of the camp’s first black drill instructors. Today, Camp Johnson is home to the Marine Corps Combat Service Support School. There, Marines are trained in administration, supply, support, and other duties. The Montford Point Marines Museum opened at Camp Johnson in 2001.

In November 2011, the Montford Point Marines received the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of “their personal sacrifice and service to their country.” The Congressional Gold Medal is one of the highest civilian decorations awarded by the U.S. government.

The origins of Black History Month began in 1926 as an annual observance of the achievements and culture of African Americans. February was chosen to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass (the 14th) and Abraham Lincoln ( the 12th).

December 7, 2016

Today, December 7, marks the 75^th anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack officially drew the United States into World War II (1939-1945). Thousands of people have attended events that began last week at Pearl Harbor, capped by today’s headline ceremony at Kilo Pier attended by survivors of the attack and a number of dignitaries. The U.S. Navy co-hosted events with the National Park Service, with support from the city and county of Honolulu, the state of Hawaii, the governor’s office, Hawaiian members of Congress, and other branches of the U.S. military.

Events today at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, recall the Japanese attack 75 years ago on Dec. 7, 1941. The World War II battleship USS Missouri sits in the right foreground. The white Arizona memorial is at left. Credit: National Park Service

Events this morning at Pearl Harbor begin precisely at 7:50 a.m. local time (12:50 p.m. Eastern Time), the moment the first Japanese planes hit nearby Hickam Field on Dec. 7, 1941. Following events today include the laying of a wreath at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, the ringing of the Freedom Bell at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, a band performance at the Battleship Missouri Memorial, a four-team college basketball tournament, ceremonies at the USS Oklahoma Memorial on Ford Island, and ceremonies at Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield honoring the U.S. Army and its 25th Infantry Division. A private interment ceremony will take place at the USS Arizona Memorial, where the ashes of two Arizona survivors who recently passed away will be buried with their comrades who died in the ship 75 years ago. A memorial parade down Honolulu’s Kalakaua Avenue and a closing ceremony will finish the day’s formal events.

The poignant USS Arizona Memorial sits above the sunken remains of the battleship itself. Of the ship’s 1,511 crew members, 1,177 died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Credit: National Park Service

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Two waves of Japanese warplanes sank several U.S. ships, including four battleships. They also destroyed more than 180 U.S. aircraft. The Japanese killed 2,400 Americans but lost only about 100 of their own troops. The attack was a success for Japan at the time. But bringing the United States into the war proved disastrous for Japan and its citizens. The attack on Pearl Harbor has since become one of the iconic moments in U.S. history.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a key event in U.S. history. Following the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on the U.S. naval base, the United States declared war on Japan and formally entered World War II (1939-1945). Credit: © AP Photo

July 6, 2016

On Saturday, July 2, Romanian-American author Elie Wiesel died at age 87. Wiesel dedicated his life to describing the horrors he witnessed during the Holocaust and to helping victims of oppression and racism. The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II (1939-1945). Wiesel won the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize.

Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel, seen here in 2015, died in New York City on July 2, 2016. Credit: © Gary Cameron, Reuters

United States President Barack Obama was one of several world leaders to pay tribute to Wiesel on Saturday: “He raised his voice, not just against anti-Semitism, but against hatred, bigotry, and intolerance in all its forms. He implored each of us, as nations and as human beings, to do the same, to see ourselves in each other and to make real that pledge of ‘never again.’” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke highly of Wiesel: “In the darkness of the Holocaust in which our brothers and sisters—6 million—were murdered, Elie Wiesel was a ray of light and greatness of humanity who believed in the good in man.”

Eliezer Wiesel was born on Sept. 30, 1928, in Sighet, Romania. In 1944, he was sent with his family and the town’s other Jews to a camp at Auschwitz (now Oswiecim), Poland, near Krakow. He was later sent to a camp at Buchenwald, Germany, near Weimar. Wiesel’s parents and a sister died at these camps. After Buchenwald was liberated in 1945, Wiesel settled in France. He later studied philosophy at the University of Paris, became a journalist, and moved to the United States. In 1976, Wiesel became a professor of humanities at Boston University. President Jimmy Carter appointed him chairman of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust in 1979. In 1980, Wiesel was named head of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

Wiesel’s humanitarian efforts earned him the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel citation reads in part: “Wiesel is a messenger to mankind. His message is one of peace, atonement, and human dignity. His belief that the forces fighting evil in the world can be victorious is a hard-won belief.”

Wiesel wrote more than 35 books. His first book, Night (1958, revised edition 2006), is a memoir of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. Dawn (1960) and The Accident (1961) are novels about survivors of the Holocaust. Wiesel’s other books include The Jews of Silence (1966), A Beggar in Jerusalem (1968), The Testament (1980), Wise Men and Their Tales (2003), and A Mad Desire to Dance (2009).

August 14, 2015

Today, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave a speech in which he stopped short of actually issuing his own apology for Japan’s aggression in World War II (1939-1945). Abe said he was filled with “deepest remorse” and stated he felt “profound grief” for all those who died in the war. But, he never actually said, “I am sorry.” Why does this matter to people in the countries allied against Japan in the war?

Representatives of Japan signed the official statement of surrender, shown here, aboard the United States battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. U.S. President Harry S. Truman declared September 2 as V-J Day, or Victory over Japan Day. (National Archives)

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific. (Much of the world marks today as Victory over Japan, or V-J Day. In the United States, September 2 is commemorated. On that date in 1945, representatives of Japan signed the terms of surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.) On anniversaries of the agreement to surrender, Japanese prime ministers sometimes issue an apology for the nation’s role in World War II. Experts closely listened to the speech given today by current Prime Minister Abe. He has drawn close scrutiny over this issue because of some of his previous statements and opinions, but also because of his family.

Abe is the grandson of Nobusuke Kishi, a Japanese leader who served as prime minister of Japan from 1957-1960. Kishi’s attitude about World War II and Japan’s role in it was mixed. He was jailed as a war criminal for his role in China in World War II, but released by the Allies. He engaged in revisionist history, as is common among nationalist Japanese politicians. (Such revisionist history in Japan tends to diminish the nation’s role as the aggressor in World War II.) The seeds of today’s anger may be seen in Kishi’s obituary from the August 7, 1985, New York Times. The Times stated that Kishi was  “…an ardent nationalist who opposed the war-renouncing Constitution imposed on Japan by the United States in 1947.” Later in the obituary, the paper stated: “That Mr. Kishi had risen to his country’s highest office in 1957, only 12 years after the end of World War II, offered testament to the relative lack of postwar self-recrimination among Japanese – certainly when compared with the internal debates that still hound their wartime allies, the Germans. It would be difficult even now to imagine an accused war criminal, as Mr. Kishi has been, assuming the leadership of either of the Germanies.”

The feeling that Japan has never really come to terms with its role as an aggressor in the conflict of World War II still exists, and Mr. Abe has perhaps encouraged this feeling. He has downplayed the role of Japan in its use of Comfort Women (women from other Asian nations, especially Korea, held in brothels as slaves for use by Japanese soldiers). He has worked for a constitutional change that would allow the Japanese military to play a role in overseas conflicts. Like many of his predecessors in the office of prime minister, Abe has visited a shrine that recognizes former Japanese war criminals as patriots and heroes. All of these acts have Abe’s critics wondering about his goals and motives.

World Book Back in time articles

• Japan 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1992

July 10, 2015

Fires illuminate London’s St Paul’s Cathedral during a German bombing raid on Dec. 29, 1940.  © MPVHistory/Alamy Images

July 10 marks the 75th anniversary of the first raid in the Battle of Britain, when Nazi Germany began a prolonged air attack on the United Kingdom. It formed a pivotal moment in World War II (1939-1945). At the time the battle started in 1940, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Poland had already fallen to Nazi Germany and were occupied countries. By defeating the United Kingdom, Nazi Germany was poised to conquer all of western Europe. 

The British victory in the Battle of Britain, a bombing campaign mounted by Nazi Germany, prevented a German invasion of the United Kingdom. (World Book map)

Officers of Germany’s Luftwaffe (air force) believed that invading and conquering Britain would be easy once its air force and warships were destroyed. On July 10, the first attack was made by a squadron of some 60 German war planes attacking British ships in the English Channel. The bombings continued for many months, destroying large sections of major cities, damaging Royal Air Force (RAF) fields, and killing civilians. Britain’s RAF put up an amazing fight, eventually ending Germany’s plan for invasion.  In tribute to the RAF, Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill stated: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

The Royal Air Force commemorated the 75th anniversary of the opening of this historic battle with a flyover of Buckingham Palace. The planes involved in the flight included Hurricanes and Spitfires from World War II. The ceremony was observed by Elizabeth II, other members of the royal family, and the six surviving RAF pilots from the Battle of Britain.

Most historians consider the Battle of Britain to have ended in September 1940. But Germany’s bombing campaign, known as the Blitz, continued in strength until May 1941. Smaller German raids and “buzz bomb” attacks lasted in Britain until the war’s final months.

Other World Book articles: 

• Europe (1940-a Back in time article) 
• United Kingdom (1940-a Back in time article)