Strange facts

[Lecivius]

Just poking around the internet today, because work is slow. And I started coming across little known facts about WWII. Education is always a good thing. Feel free to post your own [;)]

[Lecivius]

In order to keep troops refreshed on the Pacific front during the war, Coca Cola set up a bottling plant established at Saipan.

[Lecivius]

Early in the war in order to help pilots aim their shots, every fifth round was loaded with a glowing tracer. This tracer was meant to help the pilot see if they were hitting their targets. Unfortunately the tracers behaved differently from the bullets, so if the tracers were on target 80% of the bullets would be missing it (this ballistic irregularity was partially fixed much later, but is still occurring today).

[Lecivius]

During World War 2 you were more likely to die as a member of the U.S. Air Force than as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.

[Lecivius]

Owen J. Baggett became legendary as the only person to down a Japanese aircraft with a M1911 pistol hitting the pilot in the head while he was parachuting.

[warspite1]

During World War II you had a higher survival rate in the Army, RAF or RN than if you were a merchant seaman.

[Lecivius]

A Japanese pilot waged a one-man war against the inhabitants of a Hawaiian island he crash landed on during Pearl Harbour. He was assisted by three Japanese locals. This incident ultimately contributed to the decision to intern Japanese-Americans during the war.

[Lecivius]

In 1941, more than three million cars were manufactured in the United States. Only 139 more were made during the entire war.

[Lecivius]

3 years after illegally joining the Marines at the age of 14, Jacklyn Lucas snuck onto a ship bound for Iwo Jima, stormed the beach without a rifle, and threw himself on top of two grenades to protect his team. He survived, and earned the Medal of Honor at the age of 17.

[Lecivius]

During the Invasion of Normandy, Scottish Bagpiper, Bill Millin, contrary to British Command, in the thick of battle, marched up & down the beach playing his Pipes. When his unit captured German snipers, they asked why Millin wasn’t shot. They said they didn’t shoot because he was clearly insane.

[Lecivius]

Three bodies were found in a storage room on the USS West Virginia when she was re-floated after Pearl Harbor. A calendar kept by the men indicated that they had survived for over two weeks after the attack.

[Lecivius]

The reason the US did not drop a nuclear bomb on Kyoto in 1945, even though it would have been an effective target, was because the Secretary of War honeymooned in the city and had fond memories of it.

[Lecivius]

A war cry used by the Finnish Army during WW2 was “Tulta munille!” which roughly translates to “Fire at their balls!”

[warspite1]

Sergeant Thomas Frank Durrant's Victoria Cross was a tad unusual in its winning. Why?

Well he was a soldier, but he won his VC posthumously in a naval battle, and was commended for the award by the commanding officer of the units he was fighting.

http://www.jamesgdorrian.com/vcs.html

[Lecivius]

An Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who fought in World War II, Hiroo Onoda, did not surrender in 1945. In 1974 his former commander traveled from Japan to personally issue orders relieving him from duty. Onoda had spent almost 30 years holding out in the Philippines.

[Lecivius]

US soldiers in WWII were promised a quart of ice cream if they refrained from killing Japanese POWs.

[Yaab]

ORIGINAL: Lecivius

In 1941, more than three million cars were manufactured in the United States. Only 139 more were made during the entire war.

Is it possible the Japs outproduced the USA in the car category?

[Lecivius]

Calvin Graham was only 12 years old when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He won a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart before the Navy found out how old he was. He was dishonorably discharged [:(]


<edit>
I would think BBC a good source?

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33755182

"It is known that Mr Stimson visited Kyoto several times in the 1920s when he was the governor of the Philippines. Some historians say it was his honeymoon destination and that he was an admirer of Japanese culture."

Although, in all fairness, as is mentioned in this article he was saying he wanted to preserver the cultural significance of the city to the Japanese culture.

"After holding a discussion with the President, Mr Stimson wrote in his diary on 24 July 1945 that "he was particularly emphatic in agreeing with my suggestion that if elimination was not done, the bitterness which would be caused by such a wanton act might make it impossible during the long post-war period to reconcile the Japanese to us in that area rather than to the Russians"."

[rogueusmc]

ORIGINAL: Lecivius

A Japanese pilot waged a one-man war against the inhabitants of a Hawaiian island he crash landed on during Pearl Harbour. He was assisted by three Japanese locals. This incident ultimately contributed to the decision to intern Japanese-Americans during the war.

Known as the 'Niihau incident'...pilot was shot trying to recover documents taken from him when he was taken prisoner...

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: Lecivius
The reason the US did not drop a nuclear bomb on Kyoto in 1945, even though it would have been an effective target, was because the Secretary of War honeymooned in the city and had fond memories of it.

I'm enjoying reading these and appreciate all of you posting. This particular one I don't believe. I'd need at least two credible sources before I'd accept it as true.