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BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member

Presidential Unit Citation Streamer With Two Bronze Stars
World War II, Guadalcanal – 1942, Tarawa – 1943, Okinawa – 1945

Navy Unit Commendation Streamer
Southwest Asia 1990 – 1991, Haiti 2003

World War I Victory Streamer

Haitian Campaign Streamer

Marine Corps Expeditionary Streamer With Two Bronze Stars

American Defense Service Streamer

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Streamer With One Sliver Star

World War II Victory Streamer

Navy Occupation Service Streamer With “Asia” And “Europe”

National Defense Service Streamer With Three Bronze Stars

Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamer With Four Bronze Stars

Southwest Asia Service Streamer With Three Bronze Stars

Iraq Campaign Streamer

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Streamer

Global War on Terrorism Service Streamer


 
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doublejj

Well-Known Member

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Today in Military History:
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1943, February 02, the last German troops in the Soviet city of Stalingrad surrender to the Red Army, ending one of the pivotal battles of World War II.

On June 22, 1941, despite the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939, Nazi Germany launched a massive invasion against the USSR. Aided by its greatly superior air force, the German army raced across the Russian plains, inflicting terrible casualties on the Red Army and the Soviet population. With the assistance of troops from their Axis allies, the Germans conquered vast territory, and by mid-October the great Russian cities of Leningrad and Moscow were under siege. However, the Soviets held on, and the coming of winter forced a pause to the German offensive.

For the 1942 summer offensive, Adolf Hitler ordered the Sixth Army, under General Friedrich von Paulus, to take Stalingrad in the south, an industrial center and obstacle to Nazi control of the precious Caucasian oil wells. In August, the German Sixth Army made advances across the Volga River while the German Fourth Air Fleet reduced Stalingrad to a burning rubble, killing over 40,000 civilians. In early September, General Paulus ordered the first offensives into Stalingrad, estimating that it would take his army about 10 days to capture the city. Thus began one of the most horrific battles of World War II and arguably the most important because it was the turning point in the war between Germany and the USSR.

In their attempt to take Stalingrad, the German Sixth Army faced a bitter Red Army under General Vasily Zhukov employing the ruined city to their advantage, transforming destroyed buildings and rubble into natural defensive fortifications. In a method of fighting the Germans began to call the Rattenkrieg, or “Rat’s War,” the opposing forces broke into squads eight or 10 strong and fought each other for every house and yard of territory. The battle saw rapid advances in street-fighting technology, such as a German machine gun that shot around corners and a light Russian plane that glided silently over German positions at night, dropping lethal bombs without warning. However, both sides lacked necessary food, water, or medical supplies, and tens of thousands perished every week.

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was determined to liberate the city named after him, and in November he ordered massive reinforcements to the area. On November 19, General Zhukov launched a great Soviet counteroffensive out of the rubble of Stalingrad. German command underestimated the scale of the counterattack, and the Sixth Army was quickly overwhelmed by the offensive, which involved 500,000 Soviet troops, 900 tanks, and 1,400 aircraft. Within three days, the entire German force of more than 200,000 men was encircled.

Italian and Romanian troops at Stalingrad surrendered, but the Germans hung on, receiving limited supplies by air and waiting for reinforcements. Hitler ordered Von Paulus to remain in place and promoted him to field marshal, as no Nazi field marshal had ever surrendered. Starvation and the bitter Russian winter took as many lives as the merciless Soviet troops, and on January 21, 1943, the last of the airports held by the Germans fell to the Soviets, completely cutting the Germans off from supplies. On January 31 Paulus disobeyed Hitler and agreed to give himself up. Twenty-two generals surrendered with him, and on February 2 the last of 91,000 frozen starving men (all that was left of the Sixth and Fourth armies) surrendered to the Soviets. The Soviets recovered 250,000 German and Romanian corpses in and around Stalingrad, and total Axis casualties (Germans, Romanians, Italians, and Hungarians) are believed to have been more than 800,000 dead, wounded, missing, or captured. Of the 91,000 men who surrendered, only some 5,000–6,000 ever returned to their homelands (the last of them a full decade after the end of the war in 1945); the rest died in Soviet prison and labour camps. On the Soviet side, official Russian military historians estimate that there were 1,100,000 Red Army dead, wounded, missing, or captured in the campaign to defend the city. An estimated 40,000 civilians died as well. Besides being a turning point in the war, Stalingrad was also revealing of the discipline and determination of both the German Wehrmacht and the Soviet Red Army. The Soviets first defended Stalingrad against a fierce German onslaught. So great were Soviet losses that at times, the life expectancy of a newly arrived soldier was less than a day, and the life expectancy of a Soviet officer was three days. For the heroism of the Soviet defenders of Stalingrad, the city was awarded the title Hero City in 1945

The Battle of Stalingrad turned the tide in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union. General Zhukov, who had played such an important role in the victory, later led the Soviet drive on Berlin. On May 1, 1945, he personally accepted the German surrender of Berlin. Von Paulus, meanwhile, agitated against Adolf Hitler among the German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union and in 1946 provided testimony at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. After his release by the Soviets in 1953, he settled in East Germany.

 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Today in Military History:
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The United Service Organizations, popularly known as the USO, was incorporated in New York on February 4, 1941, to provide recreational opportunities and resources for members of the U.S. armed forces on leave.

At the recommendation of President Franklin Roosevelt, the task was put in the hands of existing public service organizations. The USO was organized by representatives of six social service organizations as a private, nonprofit organization. The organizers included the Jewish Welfare Board, the National Catholic Community Service, the Salvation Army, the Travelers Aid Association of America, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), and the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). Over the course of World War II, the USO boasted more than 1 million civilian volunteers and operated more than 3,000 recreational clubs. Set up quickly in churches, museums, barns, railroad cars, storefronts, and other locales, USO clubs were places for both lively social activity and quiet contemplation. Some soldiers came to dance and watch movies, others to pursue traveler’s information or assistance, still others to write letters, lounge, eat, or seek religious counsel.

Soon after the founding of the USO, the organization created a subsidiary, Camp Shows Inc., to produce professional-quality shows with volunteers from the entertainment world. Traveling shows, which included dramatic and musical performances, vaudeville-style revues and beyond, featured well-known performers such as Bob Hope, Joe E. Brown, Lena Horn and Joan Blondell, as well as many other actors and production staff members from stage and screen.

The USO was disbanded in 1947, then reorganized during the Korean War and expanded considerably during the Vietnam War. It continues to provide a variety of services to members of the armed forces and their families.

 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
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Airman takes a break from working on aircraft to enjoy snow at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Jan. 26, 2021.
Photo By: Air Force Staff Sgt. Sergio Gamboa

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U.S Coast Guard cutter "Polar Star" travels south in the Bering Strait, Jan. 19, 2021.
Photo By: Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham

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A Sentinel, Arlington National Cemetery, Feb. 2, 2021
Photo By: Army Sgt. Gabriel Silva
 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
"“Ensuring Ethical Conduct” is one of the Department of Defense’s top 10 most serious performance and management challenges, alongside countering China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and global terrorism."

 

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
View attachment 4817399
Airman takes a break from working on aircraft to enjoy snow at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Jan. 26, 2021.
Photo By: Air Force Staff Sgt. Sergio Gamboa

View attachment 4817401
U.S Coast Guard cutter "Polar Star" travels south in the Bering Strait, Jan. 19, 2021.
Photo By: Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham

View attachment 4817403
A Sentinel, Arlington National Cemetery, Feb. 2, 2021
Photo By: Army Sgt. Gabriel Silva
@GreatwhiteNorth did you ever see that view?

Hey barn, if we could identify who those men are via DNA should we?
 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Hey barn, if we could identify who those men are via DNA should we?
I remember you asking that question before;)

If you're talking about those in the Tomb itself, then no.
They also represent those whose remains can/will never be recovered/identified e.g., lost at sea or utterly destroyed.
The Tomb Guard Identification Badge is the only badge awarded by the United States Army that can be revoked after a soldier has left the military.
Anyone going to D.C. should go to Arlington.
 
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