Entries by IHRA

IHRA is heading to HistoryCamp Colorado

Save the date! This November, the first Colorado HistoryCamp will be held in Denver. HistoryCamp is a day for history lovers of all types to get together and learn about a wide variety of subjects. Our session is called Medal of Honor: General Walker’s Disappearance on January 5, 1943. We will be discussing the January […]

Then and Now: Rabaul

Rabaul was a German colony in the 1900s that was captured by the Australians in World War I. Two nearby volcanoes, Vulcan and Tavurvur, erupted violently in 1937, destroying most of the city. After World War II started, it was captured by the Japanese in January 1942, after which it was transformed into a major […]

Going Home

Three emaciated 501st Squadron officers relax aboard the escort carrier U.S.S. Santee shortly after being released from the Japanese military jail at Taihoku, Formosa. They are from left: 2/Lt. Karl L. Ehlers, navigator, 2/Lt. Ted U. Hart, pilot, and 2/Lt. Henry Gatewood, co-pilot. Each of the officers lost about a third of his weight while […]

“Everything but the kitchen sink”

On September 19, 1944, the leading crew of the 500th Bomb Squadron finally dropped the kitchen sink, of “everything but the kitchen sink” fame, on the Japanese. The project was conceived by T/Sgt. Fred J. Guetgemann of the Squadron intelligence section Corporal Clarence F. Duval constructed it out of sheet metal and Sgt. George Brasko […]

The explosion of OLD S

As a 388th Squadron ground crew serviced A-20G-30 #43-9468, OLD S, on June 10, 1945, an electrical short ignited a fire. When it spread, the planeʼs bombs exploded, destroying OLD S, two other A-20s and damaging a fourth plane. This photograph shows the remains of OLD S and the crater at the blast site. One […]

RAAF Base Amberley: Then and Now

What is now the Royal Australian Air Force’s largest base was under construction during most of World War II. Amberley, located southwest of Brisbane, was named by an immigrant farmer in the 1850s after his hometown in England. Airport construction began in 1939 and continued through 1944. During the war, the base briefly housed many […]

Aerodromes and Landing Grounds in February 1943

Distances and courses between various airdromes in the Southwest Pacific in early 1943. This section of a larger map is used to visualize the distance between Port Moresby and Gasmata (highlighted in yellow) for a story about a close call during one of 2/Lt. Garrett Middlebrook’s missions.

Sloppy Joe’s

Food trucks aren’t a new concept. They’ve been around in some way or another for many years. This “food truck” was popular among aircrews in New Guinea in 1942. At Sloppy Joe’s, coffee and food were served at all hours of the day, and the establishment was usually frequented by men on a return trip. The […]

Putting Together The Steak and Egg Special

 An A-20 named THE COMET was scrapped after its nose gear collapsed. The wings from the aircraft were taken and propped up on barrels, ready for a new fuselage of the aircraft that would become THE “STEAK & EGG” SPECIAL. Read more about the construction of the plane. This photo will appear in our upcoming […]

Baseball at Reid River

What does a combat unit do while under orders to stand down? Various leisure time activities helped pass the time during the spring of 1943, with baseball being one of the most popular. Under the direction of the newly assigned Special Services Officer, 2/Lt. “Buck” Weaver, many teams were formed and tournaments were organized. This […]