12 obscure facts from the depths of WWII history. Even Mike might not know these.
Coastwatchers were Australian civilians and Solomon Islanders behind Japanese lines reporting ship movements and aircraft deployments. They provided crucial warning of Japanese forces at Guadalcanal. Coastwatcher Lt. Reginald Evans maintained a radio…
The 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments of the U.S. Army were composed of Filipino-Americans, many of whom were California farm workers who volunteered after Pearl Harbor. They served as scouts, interpreters, and intelligence specialists in the P…
The Papuan Infantry Battalion was composed of indigenous Papuans serving in the Australian Army. Known as the 'Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels,' they carried thousands of wounded Australian soldiers down the steep Kokoda Trail on stretchers made from local timber…
Klaus Fuchs, a German-born British physicist, passed atomic secrets to the Soviets from inside the Manhattan Project for five years. He provided detailed descriptions of the implosion mechanism, the plutonium core, and the Trinity test results. His i…
Attu Island, in Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain, was the only part of U.S. territory to be occupied by Japanese forces during WWII — the Japanese captured it (along with Kiska Island) in June 1942, just days after the Battle of Midway. The U.S. launc…
In February 1944, US forces attacked Japanese naval base at Truk Lagoon, sinking 12 warships, 32 merchant ships, and 275 aircraft in two days. The lagoon floor now holds 60+ shipwrecks, a premier wreck diving site. Sunken Fujikawa Maru still has Zero…
The US 23rd Headquarters Special Troops used inflatable tanks, sound trucks, and fake radio signals to convince German intelligence that the invasion would come at Calais. The unit included fashion designer Bill Blass and artist Ellsworth Kelly. Thei…
Operation Hailstone in February 1944 was a two-day American attack on Japan's primary naval base at Truk Lagoon (modern-day Chuuk) in the Central Pacific. The assault sank 12 warships, 32 merchant ships, and over 275 aircraft — effectively destroying…
During the Philippine campaign, U.S. PT boats engaged Japanese supply barges in the rivers and narrow waterways around Luzon — a battle not fought at sea but in river channels no wider than a city street. The PT boats had to be modified, their deep-d…
Japanese intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda deployed to Lubang Island in 1944 with orders never to surrender. He hid for nearly 30 years, dismissed leaflets as propaganda. In 1974 his original commanding officer flew to the island and formally relieved…
Japanese intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda was deployed to Lubang Island in the Philippines in December 1944 with explicit orders never to surrender or take his own life. After Japan surrendered in August 1945, he and three comrades hid in the mountai…
Japanese intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda was deployed to Lubang Island in the Philippines in December 1944 with orders never to surrender. He and three comrades hid in the mountains, attacking local villagers and Filipino police patrols for 30 years…