Tara Ross's This Day in History

Mother, wife, author, retired lawyer -- American! Stay tuned to this page for daily history stories: The American Revolution, World War II, aviation milestones, presidential history.... any of these (and more) are fair game! Monday is always "Medal of Honor Monday." History posts & commentary are copyright 2013-2026 by Tara Ross.

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This Week in History: USS Indianapolis Survivors

At about this time in 1945, the last survivors of USS Indianapolis are pulled from the Pacific Ocean. They’d been there since a Japanese submarine had torpedoed and sunk her several days earlier.

Indianapolis had just finished delivering parts for the Little Boy atomic bomb to American bombers. Now, because of communication gaffes, the heavy cruiser was missing, but no one knew it. (See yesterday’s story.)

Survivors were waiting for a rescue that was not coming.

The men were floating in small groups, strewn out across the last miles of Indianapolis’s journey. Survivors were covered in oil. Some were wounded. The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Haynes, tried to care for his boys as best he could, but he knew some would not make it. Some hadn’t even survived the initial disaster.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-uss-indianapolis-pt2

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This Day in History: USS Indianapolis Torpedoed

On this day in 1945, USS Indianapolis is sunk by Japanese torpedoes. Her survivors would float in the ocean for days before anyone found them.

There was just one silver lining to the tragedy. Indianapolis had already performed the most important part of her mission: She had successfully carried parts for the Little Boy atomic bomb across the Pacific. American bombers would soon carry Little Boy toward Hiroshima. Along with the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Little Boy would ultimately force an end to World War II.

If only crew members had known what they were carrying! But they didn’t. Instead, Indianapolis completed her delivery of the bomb components on July 26. The ship’s captain, Captain Charles McVay, then continued on to Guam. From there, he was ordered to continue to the Leyte Gulf.

Sadly, the seeds for tragedy were already being sown.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-uss-indianapolis-pt1

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This Day in History: Hulon Whittington's Medal of Honor

On this day in 1944, a soldier engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Hulon “Rocky” Whittington is the only Medal recipient from the small lumbering town of Bogalusa, Louisiana.

He’d volunteered for the Army, even before the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. He was soon serving with the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Division. That division fought from North Africa to Sicily and Normandy, even earning a nickname: Hell on Wheels!

Whittington was there every step of the way.

One action in Sicily had him and another soldier fending off a stunningly large enemy force. Whittington even took out a cannon with a grenade!

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-hulon-whittington-moh

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This Day in History: Jackie Kennedy

On this day in 1929, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier is born. Americans would later come to know her by her married name, of course. Jackie Kennedy remains one of our nation’s most recognizable First Ladies, long admired for her grace and style.

It’s easy to remember the glamour that surrounded Jackie and John Kennedy, but there was another side to their story, too.

The couple wed while Kennedy was still just a Senator. The nation was fascinated by them, but life was not always so easy for the Kennedys themselves. Shortly after their marriage, Kennedy had spinal surgery, which entailed a tough recovery process.  The couple also had trouble having children, suffering a miscarriage and a stillborn daughter during their early years of marriage. 

In 1957, the Kennedys finally welcomed their daughter Caroline to the world.  Soon afterwards, Kennedy announced his candidacy for President—and then Jackie discovered that she was pregnant again!

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-kennedys

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Medal of Honor Monday: George Day

On this day in 2013, one of America’s most highly decorated officers passes away at nearly 90 years old. George “Bud” Day served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He was a Marine, a soldier, and an Air Force pilot.

He is also a recipient of the Medal of Honor, awarded for his bravery as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

When Day was captured, he was a 42-year-old Air Force Major and the commander of a squadron of F-100s known as the Misty forward air controllers. A mission on August 26, 1967, would change Day’s life.

“It was a really hairy mission,” he later described, “because you spent a lot of hours, a lot of time, fairly low to the ground at high speed getting shot at. And so I lost 42 percent of my airplanes in the first six months we operated. And I was one of those, I might add.”

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-george-day-moh

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This Day in History: Battle of Tinian

On this day in 1944, United States Marines invade the island of Tinian, in the Pacific. By August 1, they would be in possession of the island. “In my opinion,” Admiral Raymond A. Spruance would say, “the Tinian operation was probably the most brilliantly conceived and executed amphibious operation in World War II.”

It would prove vitally important, too. Tinian later became the base of operations for aircraft dropping nuclear bombs on Japan. Its relatively flat terrain made it the perfect spot for airfields.

It would all start with a surprise attack.

The Japanese were expecting Americans to hit Tinian so they had heavily fortified the beaches near Tinian Town. Much of the island was rimmed by cliffs, but the area near Tinian Town had better beaches. Another similar beach at Asiga Bay was also heavily fortified, but two smaller beaches to the northwest weren’t as well defended.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-wwii-tinian

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This Day in History: Delegates Discuss Presidential Selection

During this month in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention debate an important question: How should a President be elected? You’d be surprised by the great variety of crazy ideas they had.  ;)

For starters, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that we’d have only one President.

We’d fought a Revolution so we could escape a tyrannical British King. Why would we now invest all Executive power in one man again? Perhaps it would it be better to disperse power.

Can you imagine a world in which we elect three Presidents?! The possibility was discussed.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-electoral-college

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This Day in History: America the Beautiful

On this day in 1893, a professor stands atop Pikes Peak. She is struck by the beauty around her and is inspired to write a poem. Her poem is later set to music. Today, we all know that song as “America the Beautiful.”

The song nearly became America’s national anthem. And it all started because a professor accepted a summer teaching position in Colorado.

That professor was Katharine Lee Bates, daughter of a minister and teacher. She’d been teaching at Wellesley for several years when she got an offer to teach at Colorado College. Little could she then know it, but the decision to take the summer teaching position would have far-reaching effects.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-america-beautiful

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This Day in History: "One of the Greatest of Evils"

On this day in 1789, a signer of the Declaration of Independence writes a letter to John Adams. The letter sounds harsh to modern ears. And yet it makes perfect sense.

“A simple democracy,” Benjamin Rush wrote, “or an unbalanced republic, is one of the greatest of evils.”

Wait.  Democracy . . . . evil?!  What on earth could he mean?

Simple. Our Founders knew that, as a matter of history, simple democracies tend to implode. Naturally, they wanted to avoid such a catastrophe.

Perhaps you’ve heard the analogy: A democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. (Yikes!) Our Founders knew this dynamic, too.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-rush-on-democracy

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Medal of Honor Monday: Harvey Barnum

At about this time in 1940, a boy is born in Connecticut. Harvey “Barney” Barnum would one day find himself in the middle of a desperate Vietnam battle. His courage that day would ultimately earn him the Medal of Honor—but first, he had to become a Marine.

Barnum might never have been a Marine at all but for an experience in high school. His school hosted a Marine recruiter during his senior year. Apparently, the students were so boisterous and rowdy that the recruiter denounced them immediately: None of them, he declared, were fit to be Marines.

Barnum loved it! He knew that he had to be a Marine.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-harvey-barnum-moh

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This Day in History: Jane Kendeigh, flight nurse

At about this time in 1987, a former Navy nurse passes away. Jane Louise “Candy” Kendeigh is best known for her service during World War II. She was the first Navy flight nurse to land in an active Pacific combat zone during World War II.

She’d just been wrapping up nursing school when the Japanese attacked at Pearl Harbor. She was soon volunteering for the brand-new School of Air Evacuation, ultimately graduating with its first class.

That training was no picnic, covering everything from first aid to the effect of high altitudes on concussions and other wounds. She and other nurses were taught how to fight in hand-to-hand combat on the ground, if needed. They learned how to handle a crash landing in the water.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-jane-kendeigh

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This Day in History: Sergeant Stubby

During this month in 1917, a soldier discovers a stray dog wandering around an athletic field at Yale University. That dog would go on to serve in World War I with his friend J. Robert Conroy, the new recruit who’d found him.

Some claim that Sergeant Stubby was the “most decorated dog” in that war.

Stubby was more than just a pet who occasionally cheered soldiers up. He was a member of a team. He saved lives; he assisted the wounded. He provided early alerts of incoming attacks. He even captured a German.

Conroy named the dog Stubby (because of his short tail) and brought him into the training camp. Stubby was always present for drills and bugle calls. He got practically as much training as the real soldiers. He even learned to salute. More importantly, he worked his way into the soldiers’ hearts. By the time he was deployed, Conroy had no intention of leaving Stubby behind. He smuggled Stubby aboard SS Minnesota.

FULL STORY : https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-sergeant-stubby

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This Day in History: Battle for Stony Point

On this day in 1779, General “Mad Anthony” Wayne launches an attack in New York. He and his men would take back the fort at Stony Point, which had been lost to the British mere weeks earlier.

George Washington himself had drafted the original plan of attack, then tasked Wayne with carrying it out. Washington’s plan exploited a flaw in the fortifications, and it called for the attack to be made in the middle of the night—an unusually difficult time to attack. But Washington had confidence in the men who had been selected for the operation. They were among the best that the Continental Army had to offer.

He must have especially trusted Wayne?

Washington authorized “Mad Anthony” to deviate from his original plan “in every instance where you think they may be improved or changed for the better.” Wayne added a feint at the center of the British lines, hoping the diversion would distract the British from the main attacks.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-wayne-stony-point

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This Day in History: George Washington Rebukes the British

On this day in 1776, George Washington refuses to accept a letter from British Admiral Richard Howe.  The admiral and his brother, General William Howe, were attempting to contact Washington without recognizing the legitimacy of his military title.

Of course, what they really meant is that they did not accept the legitimacy of the American cause.

Washington’s army was then on Long Island and in Manhattan, preparing to defend New York City from a British attack. In the meantime, Admiral Howe was moving his fleet into position and British troops were pouring onto Staten Island.  

One Washington biographer notes that the British force then gathering was the “largest expeditionary force of the eighteenth century.”

Then a surprising thing happened. On July 14, a British officer came across the harbor under a flag of truce.  He wanted to deliver a letter addressed to “George Washington, Esq.”

FULL STORY: http://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-washington-vs-howe

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Medal of Honor Monday: Nathan Gordon

On this day in 1944, a pilot receives the Medal of Honor. But for Nathan Gordon, fifteen American airmen would have lost their lives in the churning waters of the Bismarck Sea during World War II—assuming they weren’t captured by the Japanese first.

Gordon’s heroism came as American forces were attacking a Japanese supply base in New Ireland. Gordon’s job was to circle in his PBY Catalina seaplane, waiting for calls to help downed airmen.

It was a daunting mission. Gordon would need to land his plane in 15-foot swellsx, with Japanese guns only 1,000 yards away. Indeed, the first landing was so rough that rivets popped out of his plane! Unfortunately, that rough landing was for naught. He’d found a raft, but no survivors.

The next landing went better. Sort of.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-nathan-gordon-moh

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This Day in History: A Humble Hero at Iwo Jima

On this day in 1923, a young boy is born in Wisconsin. For decades, John Bradley was believed to be one of the men raising a flag on Iwo Jima in Joe Rosenthal’s iconic Marine photo.

Bradley believed it, too. After all, he did help raise a flag that day.

The photo made Bradley a household name, but perhaps he should be known for his heroism instead.  Did you know Bradley earned a Navy Cross for his actions mere days before the famous flag raising?

The young corpsman had landed at Iwo Jima with the 5th Marine Division on February 19, 1945.

“The action was terrific the moment we made the beach,” he later said. “I was watching Clifford R. Langley, PhM3c, in another landing craft. He made the beach just about 10 seconds before I did, but when I touched sand, he was already treating a man.”

The next few days were difficult.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-john-bradley-navy-cross

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This Day in History: Howard Hughes Circumnavigates the Globe

On this day in 1938, entrepreneurial aviator Howard Hughes makes final preparations for one of aviation’s boldest flights. Within hours, he would attempt to circle the globe in his twin-engine Lockheed 14 Super Electra.

He wanted to set a record for speed, naturally, but he had another vision in mind, too.

“Hughes planned to fly around the world in a sophisticated machine supported by an expert air and ground crew,” his biographers explain. “No longer should ocean hopping be thought of as the province of daredevils. Hughes wanted to dramatize how a well-conceived, thoroughly planned, and carefully executed flight could be carried out without incident.”

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-hughes-circumnavigation