World War II

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German City Sees Its Largest Evacuation Since WWII

More than 20K were made to leave Cologne city center so authorities can defuse unexploded bombs

(Newser) - More than 20,000 residents were being evacuated from part of Cologne's city center on Wednesday as specialists prepared to defuse three unexploded US bombs from World War II that were unearthed earlier this week. Even 80 years after the end of the war, unexploded bombs dropped during wartime...

US, Italy Push to Recover Missing WWII Soldiers' Remains

New agreement also pledges to safeguard archaeological sites in Italy in the process

(Newser) - The United States and Italy have formalized an agreement aimed at intensifying the search for the remains of American soldiers who went missing in action during World War II and are still unaccounted for. The pact, announced Tuesday, was signed by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and Italy'...

Schindler's Factory Now a 'Museum of Survivors'
Schindler's Factory
Gets a New Life
May 12, 2025 12:02 PM CDT

Schindler's Factory Gets a New Life

Czech industrial site transformed with exhibition spaces, cafe

(Newser) - A dilapidated industrial site in the Czech Republic where German businessman Oskar Schindler saved 1,200 Jews during the World War II is coming back to life. The site, a former textile factory in the town of Brnenec, about 100 miles east of Prague, was stolen by the Nazis from...

May 8 Will Now Mark Victory in World War II, Trump Decides

But it won't be a federal holiday

(Newser) - He didn't leave much time for planning, but President Trump has issued a proclamation designating Thursday as a day for the US to celebrate victory in World War II as countries in Europe already do. Cities from London to Moscow are holding parades, flyovers, and memorials this week as...

England Relives Churchill's 80-Year-Old Victory Speech

Four days of pageantry got started Monday to commemorate the end of World War II

(Newser) - Thousands of people lined the roads around the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace on Monday as British and allied troops paraded past at the start of four days of pageantry to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. After Big Ben tolled at...

Trump Says He'll Rename Veterans Day

'We are going to start celebrating our victories again'

(Newser) - President Trump says he is renaming Veterans Day to celebrate victory—and he's giving Victory in Europe Day a new name as well. "Many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing...

Black Female WWII Unit 'Six Triple Eight' Gets Big Honor

Congressional Gold Medal is finally awarded to the mail unit

(Newser) - The only Black, all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II, commonly known as the "Six Triple Eight," were honored Tuesday with the Congressional Gold Medal, following a long-running campaign to recognize their efforts, the AP reports. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was credited with...

Mystery Surrounds Sunken Aircraft Carrier's Lone Car
Mystery Surrounds Sunken
Aircraft Carrier's Lone Car
in case you missed it
Apr 27, 2025 6:38 AM CDT

Mystery Surrounds Sunken Aircraft Carrier's Lone Car

Ford convertible discovered in the wreck of USS Yorktown

(Newser) - A crew researching an iconic US Navy aircraft carrier that sunk during World War II just discovered a baffling artifact inside: a Ford convertible that would've been nearly new when the USS Yorktown was torpedoed in June 1942. It's a fascinating discovery in part because there's no...

Unearthed WWII Monument Brings Up a Controversial Killing

High Country News reports it marked spot where a prisoner in Japanese internment camp was killed

(Newser) - In one sense, a story in High Country News by Kori Suzuki is about the memory of James Wakasa, a Japanese immigrant who was fatally shot by an American soldier while in a federal prison camp in Utah during World War II. But things get a lot more complicated than...

80 Years Ago, US Firebombing Killed 105K in Tokyo

Survivors of firebombing are still fighting to get compensation from Japan's government

(Newser) - More than 100,000 people were killed in a single night 80 years ago Monday in the US firebombing of Tokyo. The attack, made with conventional bombs, destroyed downtown Tokyo and filled the streets with heaps of charred bodies. The damage was comparable to the atomic bombings a few months...

After 77 Years, a US Vet's War Souvenir Returns Home

Outside has account of Japanese sword abandoned at the end of WWII

(Newser) - In the final days of World War II, an American soldier named Joseph "Benny" Kasser found an abandoned Japanese sword on a beach in Okinawa. Attached was a tag with the owner's name (Colonel Tomesuke Umeki) and a short note in English including the phrase, "I am...

Auschwitz Survivor Sees a Pattern Repeating

Warning about rise in antisemitism comes on the 80th anniversary of the death camp's liberation

(Newser) - The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops is being marked on Monday at the site of the former death camp, a ceremony that is widely being treated as the last major observance that any notable number of survivors will be able to attend. Among those who...

Aged Destroyer Fought Enemy Alone, Then Flipped the Bird
WWII Destroyer Fought Enemy
Alone, Then Flipped the Bird
in case you missed it
Nov 16, 2024 12:00 PM CST

WWII Destroyer Fought Enemy Alone, Then Flipped the Bird

Wreck of USS Edsall, sunk by Japanese in 1942, discovered east of Christmas Island

(Newser) - The Japanese called the USS Edsall "the dancing mouse." Stumbling upon a Japanese naval force in the Indian Ocean three months after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the aged and damaged destroyer loaded with 185 US Navy personnel and 31 US Army Air Force pilots fought alone...

'Closure and Relief' as Soldier Killed in 1945 Identified

For decades, 19-year-old from Chicago was interred as Unknown X-6379

(Newser) - The body of US Army Pvt. Jeremiah P. Mahoney has been identified almost 80 years after he was killed during fierce fighting in northeast France. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency confirmed last month that the body of the 19-year-old from Chicago was among dozens of sets of remains recovered from...

One of the Last Navajo Code Talkers Dies at 107
One of the Last Navajo
Code Talkers Dies at 107
OBITUARY
Oct 21, 2024 8:14 AM CDT

One of the Last Navajo Code Talkers Dies at 107

With the death of John Kinsel Sr., only two of the World War II heroes remain

(Newser) - John Kinsel Sr., one of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers who transmitted messages during World War II based on the tribe's native language, has died. He was 107, reports the AP . Navajo Nation officials in Window Rock announced Kinsel's death on Saturday. Tribal President Buu Nygren has...

They Went From Reenactment to Dinner—in Nazi Uniform

Massachusetts restaurant apologizes for not asking the group to change, now faces threats

(Newser) - A Massachusetts restaurant that waited on World War II reenactors dressed in Nazi uniforms over the weekend was forced to close Tuesday after it became the target of "harassment and threats." The Kith and Kin restaurant in Hudson took heat after it welcomed costumed figures who'd participated...

US Navy's 'Ghost Ship of the Pacific' Is Found

USS Stewart was deliberately sunk off California in 1946, ending a 'globe-spanning odyssey'

(Newser) - The only US Navy destroyer captured by Japanese forces during World War II has been found in a deep, watery grave off the coast of California. The USS Stewart was stationed in Manila in 1941 to help repel Japanese attacks after the one on Pearl Harbor. But after it was...

US Dropped the Bomb During WWII. It Exploded Wednesday

It left large crater in a taxiway at Japan's Miyazaki Airport

(Newser) - An unexploded US bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials said. Land and Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby...

Drop Honors Daring Mission That Failed in World War II

Paratroopers reenact Netherlands operation around A Bridge Too Far

(Newser) - Hundreds of paratroopers dropped out of near-cloudless skies over a heath in the central Netherlands on Saturday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden—one of World War II's most daring but ultimately unsuccessful missions. Paratroopers from the Dutch Air Mobile Brigade and 12 other NATO nations...

80 Years After WWII Disaster, Navy Exonerates Black Sailors

256 sailors were unjustly punished after California port explosion killed hundreds

(Newser) - The US Navy has exonerated 256 Black sailors who were found to be unjustly punished in 1944 following a horrific port explosion that killed hundreds of service members and exposed racist double standards among the then-segregated ranks, the AP reports.
  • On July 17, 1944, munitions being loaded onto a cargo
...

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