21 February 1941

Battle Map: Luzon, 1941

General Douglas MacArthur and the American military seriously underestimated the Japanese. A crowning quirk of bad timing—sending up all aircraft while the Japanese were grounded on Formosa by bad weather, to be caught landing with their fuel low just as the Japanese planes arrived—resulted in the elimination of most of the U.S. Army Air Forces on Luzon in the first strike on December 8, 1941. The Japanese landed at selected targets in northern Luzon to establish air bases closer to the objective, and kept the Americans off balance from that point on. The main landing in Lingayen Gulf on December 22 was the prelude to a succession of events that ultimately led to a last stand on Corregidor and Bataan, and, finally, American surrender on May 6, 1942. —Jon Guttman, HistoryNet Historian

Today’s interactive is powered by Rowan Technology. For more information on their latest work, check out WestpointHistoryofWarfare.com .

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Soviet Sniper

Lyudmila Pavlichenko arrived in Washington, D.C., in late 1942 as little more than a curiosity to the press, standing awkwardly beside her translator in her Soviet Army uniform. She spoke no English, but her mission was obvious. As a battle-tested and highly decorated lieutenant in the Red Army’s 25th Rifle Division, Pavlichenko had come on behalf of the Soviet High Command to drum up American support for a “second front” in Europe. Joseph Stalin desperately wanted the Western Allies to invade the continent, forcing the Germans to divide their forces and relieve some of the pressure on Soviet troops.

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She visited with President Franklin Roosevelt, becoming the first Soviet citizen to be welcomed at the White House. Afterward, Eleanor Roosevelt asked the Ukranian-born officer to accompany her on a tour of the country and tell Americans of her experiences as a woman in combat. Pavlichenko was only 25, but she had been wounded four times in battle. She also happened to be the most successful and feared female sniper in history, with 309 confirmed kills to her credit—the majority German soldiers. She readily accepted the first lady’s offer.

She graciously fielded questions from reporters. One wanted to know if Russian women could wear makeup at the front. Pavlichenko paused just months before, she’d survived fighting on the front line during the Siege of Sevastopol, where Soviet forces suffered considerable casualties and were forced to surrender after eight months of fighting. “There is no rule against it,” Pavlichenko said, “but who has time to think of her shiny nose when a battle is going on?”

The New York Times dubbed her the “Girl Sniper,” and other newspapers observed that she “wore no lip rouge, or makeup of any kind,” and that “there isn’t much style to her olive-green uniform.”

In New York, she was greeted by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and a representative of the International Fur and Leather Workers Union, C.I.O., who presented her with, as one paper reported, a “full-length raccoon coat of beautifully blended skins, which would be resplendent in an opera setting.” The paper lamented that such a garment would likely “go to the wars on Russia’s bloody steppes when Lyudmila Pavlichenko returns to her homeland.”

But as the tour progressed, Pavlichenko began to bristle at the questions, and her clear, dark eyes found focus. One reporter seemed to criticize the long length of her uniform skirt, implying that it made her look fat. In Boston, another reporter observed that Pavlichenko “attacked her five-course New England breakfast yesterday. American food, she thinks, is O.K.”

Soon, the Soviet sniper had had enough of the press’s sniping. “I wear my uniform with honor,” she told Time magazine. “It has the Order of Lenin on it. It has been covered with blood in battle. It is plain to see that with American women what is important is whether they wear silk underwear under their uniforms. What the uniform stands for, they have yet to learn.”

Still, Malvina Lindsey, “The Gentler Sex” columnist for the Washington Post, wondered why Pavlichenko couldn’t make more of an effort with regard to her style. “Isn’t it a part of military philosophy that an efficient warrior takes pride in his appearance?” Lindsey wrote. “Isn’t Joan of Arc always pictured in beautiful and shining armor?”

Slowly, Pavlichenko began to find her voice, holding people spellbound with stories of her youth, the devastating effect of the German invasion on her homeland, and her career in combat. In speeches across America and often before thousands, the woman sniper made the case for a U.S. commitment to fighting the Nazis in Europe. And in doing so, she drove home the point that women were not only capable, but essential to the fight.

Lyudmila Mykhailvna Pavlichenko was born in 1916 in Balaya Tserkov, a Ukranian town just outside of Kiev. Her father was a St. Petersburg factory worker father, and her mother was a teacher. Pavlichenko described herself as a tomboy who was “unruly in the class room” but athletically competitive, and who would not allow herself to be outdone by boys “in anything.”

“When a neighbor’s boy boasted of his exploits at a shooting range,” she told the crowds, “I set out to show that a girl could do as well. So I practiced a lot.” After taking a job in an arms plant, she continued to practice her marksmanship, then enrolled at Kiev University in 1937, intent on becoming a scholar and teacher. There, she competed on the track team as a sprinter and pole vaulter, and, she said, “to perfect myself in shooting, I took courses at a sniper’s school.”

She was in Odessa when the war broke out and Romanians and Germans invaded. “They wouldn’t take girls in the army, so I had to resort to all kinds of tricks to get in,” Pavlichenko recalled, noting that officials tried to steer her toward becoming a nurse. To prove that she was as skilled with a rifle as she claimed, a Red Army unit held an impromptu audition at a hill they were defending, handing her a rifle and pointing her toward a pair of Romanians who were working with the Germans. “When I picked off the two, I was accepted,” Pavlichenko said, noting that she did not count the Romanians in her tally of kills “because they were test shots.”

The young private was immediately enlisted in the Red Army’s 25th Chapayev Rifle Division, named for Vasily Chapayev, the celebrated Russian soldier and Red Army Commander during the Russian Civil War. Pavlichenko wanted to proceed immediately to the front. “I knew that my task was to shoot human beings,” she said. “In theory that was fine, but I knew that the real thing would be completely different.”

Russian delegates accompany Pavlichenko (right) on her visit to Washington, D.C. in 1942. (Library of Congress)

On her first day on the battlefield, she found herself close to the enemy—and paralyzed by fear, unable to raise her weapon, a Mosin-Nagant 7.62 mm rifle with a PE 4x telescope. A young Russian soldier set up his position beside her. But before they had a chance to settle in, a shot rang out and a German bullet took out her comrade. Pavlichenko was shocked into action. “He was such a nice, happy boy,” she recalled. “And he was killed just next to me. After that, nothing could stop me.”

She got the first of her 309 official kills later that day when she picked off two German scouts trying to reconnoiter the area. Pavlichenko fought in both Odessa and Moldavia and racked up the majority of her kills, which included 100 officers, until German advances forced her unit to withdraw, landing them in Sevastopol in the Crimean Peninsula. As her kill count rose, she was given more and more dangerous assignments, including the riskiest of all—countersniping, where she engaged in duels with enemy snipers. Pavlichenko never lost a single duel, notching 36 enemy sniper kills in hunts that could last all day and night (and, in one case, three days). “That was one of the tensest experiences of my life,” she said, noting the endurance and willpower it took to maintain positions for 15 or 20 hours at a stretch. “Finally,” she said of her Nazi stalker, “he made one move too many.”

In Sevastopol, German forces badly outnumbered the Russians, and Pavlichenko spent eight months in heavy fighting. “We mowed down Hitlerites like ripe grain,” she said. In May 1942, she was cited in Sevastopol by the War Council of the Southern Red Army for killing 257 of the enemy. Upon receipt of the citation, Pavlichenko, now a sergeant, promised, “I’ll get more.”

She was wounded on four separate occasions, suffered from shell shock, but remained in action until her position was bombed and she took shrapnel in her face. From that point on, the Soviets decided they’d use Pavlichenko to train new snipers. “By that time even the Germans knew of me,” she said. They attempted to bribe her, blaring messages over their radio loudspeakers.“Lyudmila Pavlichenko, come over to us. We will give you plenty of chocolate and make you a German officer.”

When the bribes did not work the Germans resorted to threats, vowing to tear her into 309 pieces—a phrase that delighted the young sniper. “They even knew my score!”

Promoted to lieutenant, Pavlichenko was pulled from combat. Just two months after leaving Sevastopol, the young officer found herself in the United States for the first time in 1942, reading press accounts of her sturdy black boots that “have known the grime and blood of battle,” and giving blunt descriptions of her day-to-day life as a sniper. Killing Nazis, she said, aroused no “complicated emotions” in her. “The only feeling I have is the great satisfaction a hunter feels who has killed a beast of prey.”

To another reporter she reiterated what she had seen in battle, and how it affected her on the front line. “Every German who remains alive will kill women, children and old folks,” she said.“Dead Germans are harmless. Therefore, if I kill a German, I am saving lives.”

Her time with Eleanor Roosevelt clearly emboldened her, and by the time they reached Chicago on their way to the West Coast, Pavlichenko had been able to brush aside the “silly questions” from the women press correspondents about “nail polish and do I curl my hair.” By Chicago, she stood before large crowds, chiding the men to support the second front. “Gentlemen,” she said, “I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist occupants by now. Don’t you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?” Her words settled on the crowd, then caused a surging roar of support.

Pavlichenko received gifts from dignitaries and admirers wherever she went—mostly rifles and pistols. The American folk singer Woody Guthrie wrote a song, “Miss Pavlichenko,” about her in 1942. She continued to speak out about the lack of a color line or segregation in the Red Army, and of gender equality, which she aimed at the American women in the crowds. “Now I am looked upon a little as a curiosity,” she said, “a subject for newspaper headlines, for anecdotes. In the Soviet Union I am looked upon as a citizen, as a fighter, as a soldier for my country.”

While women did not regularly serve in the Soviet military, Pavlichenko reminded Americans that “our women were on a basis of complete equality long before the war. From the first day of the Revolution full rights were granted the women of Soviet Russia. One of the most important things is that every woman has her own specialty. That is what actually makes them as independent as men. Soviet women have complete self-respect, because their dignity as human beings is fully recognized. Whatever we do, we are honored not just as women, but as individual personalities, as human beings. That is a very big word. Because we can be fully that, we feel no limitations because of our sex. That is why women have so naturally taken their places beside men in this war.”

USSR Lyudmila Pavlichenko postage stamp from 1943. (Wikipedia)

On her way back to Russia, Pavlichenko stopped for a brief tour in Great Britain, where she continued to press for a second front. Back home, she was promoted to major, awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, her country’s highest distinction, and commemorated on a Soviet postage stamp. Despite her calls for a second European front, she and Stalin would have to wait nearly two years. By then, the Soviets had finally gained the upper hand against the Germans, and Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in June 1944.

Eventually, Pavlichenko finished her education at Kiev University and became a historian. In 1957, 15 years after Eleanor Roosevelt accompanied the young Russian sniper around America, the former first lady was touring Moscow. Because of the Cold War, a Soviet minder restricted Roosevelt’s agenda and watched her every move. Roosevelt persisted until she was granted her wish—a visit with her old friend Lyudmila Pavlichenko. Roosevelt found her living in a two-room apartment in the city, and the two chatted amiably and “with cool formality” for a moment before Pavlichenko made an excuse to pull her guest into the bedroom and shut the door. Out of the minder’s sight, Pavlichenko threw her arms around her visitor, “half-laughing, half-crying, telling her how happy she was to see her.” In whispers, the two old friends recounted their travels together, and the many friends they had met in that unlikeliest of summer tours across America 15 years before.

Articles: “Girl Sniper Calm Over Killing Nazis,” New York Times, August 29., 1942. “Girl Sniper Gets 3 Gifts in Britain,” New York Times, November 23, 1942. “Russian Students Roosevelt Guests,” New York Times, August 28, 1942. “Soviet Girl Sniper Cited For Killing 257 of Foe,” New York Times, June 1, 1942. “Guerilla Heroes Arrive for Rally,” Washington Post, August 28, 1942. Untitled Story by Scott Hart, Washington Post, August 29, 1942. “’We Must Not Cry But Fight,’ Soviet Woman Sniper Says,” Christian Science Monitor, October 21, 1942. “Step-Ins for Amazons,” The Gentler Sex by Malvina Lindsay, Washington Post, September 19, 1942. “No Color Bar in Red Army—Girl Sniper,” Chicago Defender, December 5, 1942. “Only Dead Germans Harmless, Soviet Woman Sniper Declares,” Atlanta Constitution, August 29, 1942. “Russian Heroine Gets a Fur Coat,” New York Times, September 17, 1942. “Mrs. Roosevelt, The Russian Sniper, And Me,” by E.M. Tenney, American Heritage, April 1992, Volume 43, Issue 2. “During WWII, Lyudmila Pavlichenko Sniped a Confirmed 309 Axis Soldiers, Including 36 German Snipers,” By Daven Hiskey, Today I Found Out, June 2, 2012, http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/06/during-wwii-lyudmila-pavlichenko-sniped-a-confirmed-309-axis-soldiers-including-36-german-snipers/ “Lieutenant Liudmila Pavlichenko to the American People,” Soviet Russia Today volume 11, number 6, October 1942. Marxists Internet Archive, http://www.marxists.org/archive/pavlichenko/1942/10/x01.htm

Books: Henry Sakaida, Heroines of the Soviet Union, 1941-45, Osprey Publishing, Ltd., 2003. Andy Gougan, Through the Crosshairs: A History of Snipers, Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2004.

Our History

Since our founding by Clara Barton on May 21, 1881, the American Red Cross has been dedicated to serving people in need. We received our first congressional charter in 1900 and to this day we are tasked by the federal government with providing services to members of the American armed forces and their families as well as providing disaster relief in the United States and around the world.

Even while the Red Cross adapts to meet the changing needs of the people we serve, we always stay true to those roots. Are you familiar with the classic images of Red Cross nurses helping American soldiers and civilian war victims during World War I? In fact, as you read this Red Cross staff and volunteers are still deploying alongside America’s military. Maybe you’ve taken a class through the Red Cross, such as first aid certification or how to swim. Did you know we’ve been offering similar training since the early 1900s? Have you ever given blood or received donated blood? The Red Cross developed the first nationwide civilian blood program in the 1940s and we still provide more than 40% of the blood products in this country.

Today, as throughout our long history, the Red Cross depends on generous contributions of time, blood, and money from the American public to support our lifesaving services and programs. We invite you to learn about our history and hope you will feel inspired to become more involved with the Red Cross.

Read timely insights into Red Cross history and explore our archives through our blog: Visit Red Cross Chat

Youngstown Genealogy (in Mahoning County, OH)

NOTE: Additional records that apply to Youngstown are also found through the Mahoning County and Ohio pages.

Youngstown Birth Records

Youngstown Cemetery Records

Belmont Park Cemetery Billion Graves

Calvary Cemetery Billion Graves

Home Cemetery Billion Graves

Oakhill Cemetery US Gen Web Archives

Pioneer Methodist Cemetery Billion Graves

Temple Emanuel Cemetery Billion Graves

Tod Homestead Cemetery Billion Graves

Youngstown Census Records

United States Federal Census, 1790-1940 Family Search

Youngstown Church Records

Youngstown City Directories

Youngstown directory, 1880-1881 Internet Archive

Youngstown, Ohio city directory, 1886-7 Internet Archive

Youngstown Death Records

Youngstown Vindicator Obituary Index Search, 2011-2014 Warren-Trumbull County Library

Youngstown Histories and Genealogies

20th Century History of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Ohio and Representative Citizens Internet Archive

20th century history of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Ohio and representative citizens FamilySearch Books

20th century history of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Ohio, and representative citizens FamilySearch Books

History of St. John's Episcopal Church, Youngstown, Ohio Internet Archive

History of Youngstown and Mahoning Valley, Ohio Genealogy Gophers

History of Youngstown and Mahoning Valley, Ohio v. 01 Genealogy Gophers

History of Youngstown and Mahoning Valley, Ohio v. 02 Genealogy Gophers

History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Ohio Public Library of Cincinnati

Youngstown Genealogy Gophers

Youngstown Immigration Records

Youngstown Land Records

Youngstown Map Records

Panoramic view map of the city of Youngstown, county seat of Mahoning Co., Ohio 1882. Library of Congress

Panoramic view map of the city of Youngstown, county seat of Mahoning Co., Ohio, 1882 Library of Congress

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio, 1896 Library of Congress

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio, June 1884 Library of Congress

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio, November 1889 Library of Congress

Youngstown Marriage Records

Youngstown Minority Records

Youngstown Newspapers and Obituaries

Amerikai Magyar hirlap = 01/01/1920 to 03/26/1942 Genealogy Bank

Amerikai Magyar hirlap = American Magyar journal. (Youngstown, Ohio) (from Jan. 1, 1920 to March 26, 1942) Chronicling America

Daily Legal News 06/24/2011 to Current Genealogy Bank

Mahoning Valley Vindicator, 1875-1876 Google News Archive

Mahoning Vindicator, 1869-1875 Google News Archive

Youngstown Evening Vindicator, 1891-1893 Google News Archive

Youngstown Vindicator Obituary Index Search, 2011-2014 Warren-Trumbull County Library

Youngstown Vindicator, 1876-1877, 1893-2009 Google News Archive

Youngstownske Slovenske Noviny 1920-1936 Newspapers.com

Youngstownske Slovenske noviny = Youngstown Slovak news. (Youngstown, Ohio) (from Jan. 2, 1920 to Dec. 18, 1936) Chronicling America

Youngstownske'' Slovenske'' noviny = 01/02/1920 to 12/18/1936 Genealogy Bank

Offline Newspapers for Youngstown

According to the US Newspaper Directory, the following newspapers were printed, so there may be paper or microfilm copies available. For more information on how to locate offline newspapers, see our article on Locating Offline Newspapers.

Buckeye Review. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1937-Current

Bulletin. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1963-1967

Catholic Exponent. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1944-Current

Citizen. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1915-1925

Daily Legal News. (Youngstown, O. [Ohio]) 1925-Current

Daily Miner and Manufacturer. (Youngstown [Ohio]) 1873-1874

Daily Register and Tribune. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1877-1880

Daily Times. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1903-1904

Evening News. Volume (Youngstown, Ohio) 1877-1880

Jambar. ([Youngstown, Ohio]) 1931-Current

Jewish Journal. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1987-Current

Labor Record. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1908-1936

Mahoning County Register. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1855-1859

Mahoning Courier. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1865-1872

Mahoning Free Democrat. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1852-1855

Mahoning Register. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1859-1875

Mahoning Sentinel. (Youngstown, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1864

Mahoning Valley Challenger. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1967-1974

Miner and Manufacturer. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1872-1873

New Star. (Youngstown, O. [Ohio]) 1879-1882

Ohio Republican. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1847-1852

Ohio Sun. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1892-1894

Olive Branch and Literary Messenger. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1844-1845

Olive Branch, and New County Advocate. (Youngstown, Trumbull County, Ohio) 1843-1844

Register and Tribune. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1875-1877

Register and Tribune. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1875-1880

Semi-Weekly Telegram. (Youngstown, O. [Ohio]) 1898-1913

Times. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1874-1875

Tri-Weekly Telegram. (Youngstown, O. [Ohio]) 1897-1898

Vindicator. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1984-Current

Weekly News-Register. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1882-1885

Weekly Telegram. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1891-1895

Yield. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1971-1977

Youngstown Business Journal. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1984-1980s

Youngstown Commercial. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1870s-1870s

Youngstown Daily Register. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1880-1882

Youngstown Evening News. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1880-1882

Youngstown Evening Telegram. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1885-1891

Youngstown Evening Vindicator. (Youngstown, O. [Ohio]) 1889-1893

Youngstown Free Press. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1881-1882

Youngstown Jewish Times. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1935-1987

Youngstown News-Register. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1882-1885

Youngstown News. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1878-1882

Youngstown Register. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1880-1882

Youngstown Rundschau. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1874-1916

Youngstown Telegram. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1895-1936

Youngstown Vindicator and the Youngstown Telegram. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1936-1960

Youngstown Vindicator. (Youngstown, O. [Ohio]) 1893-1936

Youngstown Vindicator. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1876-1916

Youngstown Vindicator. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1960-1984

Youngstown Weekly Telegram. (Youngstown, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1897

Youngstown Weekly Telegram. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1885-1891

Youngstown Yield. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1968-1970

Youngstown Probate Records

Youngstown School Records

Additions or corrections to this page? We welcome your suggestions through our Contact Us page

SangamonLink was created to put the rich history of Sangamon County — home of Abraham Lincoln and the capital of Illinois — at people’s fingertips.

The Sangamon County Historical Society has worked since 1961 to preserve county history through publications, tours, donations and special projects. (Follow the link above to learn more about Society initiatives and membership.)

At bottom, however, history is always a work in progress, and SangamonLink is designed to recognize that evolution. The Society will be able to correct, amplify and add to this encyclopedia as needed, and people who want more information can follow links from individual entries here to additional sources elsewhere.

To find articles on individual topics, see the alphabetical indices (A-J, K-O and P-Z, above), or use the Search button, For a chronological view of Sangamon County’s development, see the Timeline. To see a list of some of the more important local history resources, both online and not, see Research sources.

We are constantly adding to SangamonLink, and we welcome additional contributors. You do not have to be a professional historian or writer. Please see Writing for SangamonLink for guidelines and additional information.

Whether you’re curious about a specific topic or simply browsing, we hope you’ll find this archive both useful and illuminating. Comments, suggestions and corrections are encouraged. Thanks for visiting.

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Original content copyright Sangamon County Historical Society. You are free to republish this content as long as credit is given to the Society.Learn how to support the Society.

54 Responses to The Sangamon County Historical Society welcomes you

Congratulations! Great work and interesting stuff here. I look forward to delving more into the existing and future articles.

I always remember the first day that the local NPR affiliate, then WSSR which became WSSU and is now WUIS, went on the air. All Things Considered featured a story by its newest station, and in the intro to the piece, the announcer said: “And now, from Sangamon State University” using a rather unusual to my ears pronunciation with the emphasis on the “a” in the middle. I still get a chuckle out of that.

You are a blessing to all of us

You’ve really done an incredible job! Congrats, and keep up the good work!!

Thanks to you all. Please keep reading.

Saw your page mentioned in the paper this morning. Congratulations! Keep up the good work!

I have really enjoyed the pieces I have read so far and look forward to returning to this site many times. Thank you so much for all of these fascinating glimpses into Springfield and Sangamon County history.

Interesting reading. Married to one of Colonel John Williams great,great,great grandsons.

Ms. Williams: There are connections to history all over. That’s one of the reasons this project has been so much fun. Thanks for reading.

Fantastic news for the Historical Society. Mike will put Springfield and Sangamon County history on the map.

Nick: I think Abe Lincoln did that pretty well already. But thanks very much for the note.

I would very much like it if someone would contact me regarding speaking to the ALL Today’s Topic group at LLCC. Either phone or e-mail is fine. Thank you very much.

Ms. Wright: I’ve responded via email. If you DON’T see an email from me (sometimes I get caught by spam screens), you can email me direct at [email protected]

You and I have communicated once or twice, but never managed to meet face to face. Your article on Howarth is very informative. I am suprised that no one has ever mentioned him to me, although I do know people who knew Dr. Lee, whom you do quote. Good work.

Dr. Holden: Thanks very much for the compliment. Mayor Howarth, the first mayor I remember hearing about as a child, was a complicated, fascinating character. I know I haven’t done him justice. Thanks for reading.

Congratulations, Mike Kienzler, and all who help & contribute to the online encyclopedia, for winning a Superior Achievement award from the Illinois State Historical Society.

Jerry: Thanks for the note, and thanks very much for reading.

Are you going to do an entry on the Lauterbach axe murders? I am fascinated by it, but cannot find much information. I live not too far from 15th & So. Grand and pass the building when I’m headed to Dirksen and would love to find out more about what happened.

Liz: Yes, it definitely deserves an entry, but I’m not sure when it will get done. I don’t want the encyclopedia to lean too heavily on crime and mayhem, which would be really easy to let happen — especially because I gravitate to those entries too. So I try to blend topics and themes and stay balanced.

On the other hand, one of the next entries is probably going to be the Paul Powell shoebox scandal some things you just can’t get away from …

Thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting. I’ll try to move the Lauterbach killings up higher on the priority list.

I was an infant when it happened so any information other than the basics would be great. I love Springfield & Sangamon county history and have been surprised to read some entries.

This is a Surprise! Glad I found this site. Will return later.

I have a project that I am beginning. I would like to ask the assistance of your historian for it. Please reach out to me at your convenience. Thank you.

Doc: If you haven’t seen it already, I replied to you via email. Let me know how I can help.

WOW…this is impressive. Please add more. I hate to see it end with Mayor Davlin’s death. Thank you for doing.
Its the King’s Daughters Organization 125th Anniversary this year. It was incorporated June 6, 1893 and has been going strong ever since serving senior citizens. one more item you could add.

I ran across an interesting article while doing amateur research for my story about Cantrall Illinois in the 40’s-60’s. I share this site with you in the event you may find it of interest, whether new info or old hat. In research of the earliest Cantrall settlers, I learned of the Edwards Trace which i find fascinating and yet very commonsense (Route 66 and I-55 basically follow this as best i can tell). But how did Levi Cantrall, the first recorded settler (along with his entourage) arrive at Cantrall about 3-5 miles west of the trace? This brings me to a bit of theory, given the website i discovered:
http://tellersofweirdtales.blogspot.com/2012/02/june-power-reilly-1885-1973.html
June (Powers) Reilly, who i happened to have the pleasure of meeting on a few occasions, wrote about the “Chinkapin” trail. This could quite likely and logically refer to the location of the abandoned Chinquapin Bridge. Letting my mind wonder a bit, it seems there were more than one way out of Springfield and perhaps the Chinkapin trail was alternate route north. This routing could help explain why Levi settled West of Cantrall vs East. The water access is considerably better East than West…so, i dump this all in your lap to see if you find it of interest and better yet, if you can offer critique or a clue to where my thinking could lead. P.S. i find your website extremely valuable to my work.

Andy: Chinkapin Road extended north of Springfield towards Cantrall, but I can’t find any connection to a longer Chinkapin Trail in Illinois, much less central Illinois. There are trails with that name in Missouri, Texas and apparently the Appalachians, but none around here. I think Chinkapin Road was simply a local name, perhaps borrowed by someone who was familiar with a pathway of the same title elsewhere. Thanks for the suggestion, though, and thanks for following SangamonLink.

Thank you for your presentation on the Poor Farm, as I look out my kitchen
window I have a view of the wall. I also attended a presentation that was given
a few years back on the ordinance plant at Illiopolis , my thoughts was that not much info was given. The Illipolois library is full of info on war plant, as I have done some
research for the family, regarding as to what buildings was on our family farms.

Ms. Leka: I’ve seen the material at the Illiopolis library. It indeed was very helpful when I wrote SangamonLink’s entry on the plant. You can read it here. I wasn’t involved with the SCHS presentation on the ordnance plant, but I’ve talked to quite a few people who thought it was useful. Thanks for the comment.

Where was Delmonicos restaurant located in early 1900’s Springfield il

Mr. Roy: I would have to take a look at city directories at Lincoln Library to give you a better answer, but it looks like the Delmonico operated in the 100 block of North Fifth Street from at least the mid-1890s until the mid-1900s. Newspaper articles and ads give exact addresses of 124, 126 and 128 N. Fifth my guess is the restaurant took up several storefronts. The operator was William A. Stone.

I am attempting to find an archive photo of the old Capitol City Motel located on Peoria Road and Ridgely Avenue (between Black Avenue and Ridgely) or maybe Ricardos Restaurant located just south of the motel.

My ancestor, Malinda C. Bunn Cooper, died in Tazewell County on December 25, 1912. I believe she was born 1832 and arrived in Illinois in 1842 (10 years old). She married Jesse Beale Cooper Nov. 11, 1851 in Tazewell County and lived in Pekin, IL. Their daughter, Katherine (Kate) E. Cooper was born in the area and married Carlos (Carl) A. Scriven Nov. 28, 1878.

I have not been able to find out who Malinda’s father and/or mother was. I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction if available. I plan to make a trip to the area to do some genealogy.

Ms. Diekema: As you’ve no doubt found, the Bunn family has been prominent in Springfield. But I’ve learned there are a lot of Bunns around the country, most of them unrelated to those in Springfield. For your research — unless you know of a Springfield/Sangamon County connection for Malinda — I’d suggest you start instead with the Tazewell and Peoria County genealogical societies. They both seem to be very active (the Sangamon County society folded a decade or more ago). I found their websites via Google.

If you do have evidence that Malinda Bunn had Sangamon County connections, the starting point would be the Sangamon Valley Collection at Lincoln Library, the municipal library of Springfield (it’s different from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). The phone number is 217-753-4900.

Mike: your article in the SJR published 11-11-2018 about Springfield’s celebration of the end of World War I was an excellent read. On a unrelated topic: there is a interesting book I have called “Country Schools of Sangamon County” which lists all the one-room or two-room country schools from about 1820 to 1961, and their status at the time the book was written. The Sangamon Valley Collection also has the book. You might want to check it out, might make for a good article for the SangamonLink.

I made a new page: The Michael Kerasotes Family Historical History and I am working on filling it in on what all my grandparents told me and what I saw and what all me and my father and brother did despite the hate from my mother and that adopted girl who’s supposed to be banned from the internet and the whole rest of my supposed cousin dean and tony for writing lies about me and my father and family and our companies and they were all banned from Wikipedia by Wiki London on December 3, 2009 and I never did go back and change the Kerasotes Theatres Page on Here to cut out all their lies. They think they built up the company to the largest privately owned Motion Picture Theatre Organization and then took us down and threw my father out and stole all his theatres and they only owned 25% of a few corporations of ours and were not the people who built the company nor ran it nor improved it. That would be my grandfather and great uncle and my father and me and my dear little dead brother that Marge and Flora Beth disinherited us from and Robbie Blew His Brains out over it when they threw him out of the company GKC and she took over and ruined it all for us and them and my poor dead brother and father are all gone now and so is the wicked witch of a mother but not her adopted Bunn Girl who said she loved them and wouldn’t even bath her mother when she came to visit us in our Glass House at the Springs Country Club and my father banned her from ever coming back there and threw her out for her impertinance and selfishness and I just won’t go on about that anymore for I am writing to Wiki London to tell them about that for they are the ones who banned all the Kerasotes’s but me from Facebook and Wikipedia and the whole rest of the internet.

With my sad regards I post this today,

Michael Patrick Kerasotes

May 19 2019 a Sunday Afternoon about 12:07 P.M. MY TIME HERE IN EVERETT, WASHINGTON, USA.

Here is a story my grandmother, great aunt Alice – her older sister, & my great aunt Golfo, the oldest sister told me long ago:

from my notes to the Sangamon Historical Society:

I have been writing and looking for photos for you all for our family.

Would you like me to send some of the writing and some of the photos that you don’t seem to have on your page about our family – it is the story my grandmother Flora told me and my deceased brother about how the 3 girls had to hide under the back porch or veranda in Sparta when the Germans and the Turks hung the whole family many times … They hid under there to save their lives. All across the back of their hotel were their parents and grandparents and grand relatives because my great great great grandfather was head of the Army of Greece and the Germans and the Turks wanted him and my family wiped out of existence.
Flora, the youngest, Alice, the middle girl child and my great aunt Golfo each told me this. I was requested to go to Sparta again in 1962, by Golfo, The Eldest. She could only speak Greek and I had 12 years in school studying ancient, classical and modern Greek, so, we could communicate the different types of stories and things that happened because of who they were.
One was about when the Turks came to find the missing relatives, so, they had a cave in the mountains with an olive tree and other fruits and foods to get from nature and stay alive and hidden for 3 or months at a time – those 3 little girls.
Let me know,
Kindest Regards,
Michael Patrick Kerasotes
17 May 2019
Reply

PS: I don’t know how to get the photos I took for you that are on my Michael Patrick Kerasotes Facebook Page and I’m trying to get them on the new page I made The Michael Patrick Kerasotes Family Landmark Values Page on my Facebook page but you can go and click on the link. I tried to upload it on your posts today, but it seemed to take forever and unfortunately the other personality left that I am trying to integrate so I can be the only one here – so is there someway to get them to you on here for I’ve lost my emails and their passwords during the war of the last two personalities – one was the body with all the memories and he integrated last December 28th, 2018.

I would appreciate any help you can give me. Perhaps if I put or took the photos of the pages in black and white that I saved, I could send them to you sir. Let me know if that would work – otherwise you can read and copy paste any of my stuff from my Wiki page because they said I could send it to anyone (Copyrights are all free from my page – so no worries there). m

Hi. I love history and I am interested in the history of my address in Springfield, but I am the single full time parent of a 5 year old. Are there any online resources by which I might find that history?

Jack: It’s harder online, but maybe not impossible. If you have a Lincoln Library card, you can use one of two databases that include the full text of the various Springfield newspapers starting in 1831.

The first, NewsBank, is free to Lincoln Library cardholders. To get started, go to the library website, lincolnlibrary.info, click on eResources and look for “Newspapers and Periodicals.” If you aren’t a library subscriber, you can use GenealogyBank, which has the same database, but charges for use. It’s cheap — $7 or $8 for a month, as I recall.

Once you’re logged on to either one, you can use your address or the name of your neighborhood as a search term. Likewise, if you know the names of any of the home’s former owners, you can search for them too.

Hope this gets you started. Good luck.

There is one more resource that I am aware of:

If you live in Capital Township, you will (most likely) be able to see your home the way it looked from 1967-present. Once you enter your address, under Action, select either Parcel Summary or Current Assessment. From there, go to Parcel Details, then Images. If your residence is not in Capital township, the only image you will have is a Property Record Card in .TIF format, which requires another program to open.

I’m looking for information on Illinois Foundry, Springfield Illinois. I found a manhole cover that reads Illinois Foundry Springfield Illinois. I was wondering about its history.

I’m looking to hire someone who does genealogy research to further explore my family tree. Anyone interested? Or can you refer me to someone?

Good luck with that, William Travis Kelley Jr. My name is Jeanne L. Neumann. I am the daughter
Of Ray Edward Kelley and descendent of Henry Kelley, Revolutionary Soldier, and James
Kelley (Kelly), Civil War Soldier. I am also related to John and Elisha that built that.
We’re the early settlers of Sangamon County.

How much is it to live at the Franciscan house in Springfield Illinois?

Any source for newspapers and when they began publication? Specifically I am looking for newspapers in this area c1874.

Ms. Fisher: I know the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library has a list of Springfield newspapers and when they published. I suspect the Sangamon Valley Collection at Lincoln Library (that’s the Springfield municipal library — I know the names are confusing) does as well. I would call one or both of those. Good luck.

In going through boxes at my parents’ house, I came across a badge from the Sangamon Ordnance Plant. I believe the person is my grandfather, but would like to verify. Is there an online source to check badge numbers?

Mr./Ms. Hemphill: I don’t know of any such source. You could check with the Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library in Illiopolis (217-486-5561) to see if they have any such material, or any idea if that kind of resource exists anywhere else. Good luck, and thanks for reading.

I have a old photo book from the 1860’s to early 1900’s.
It has names , dates and locations on a lot of the photos.
They are all from around Springfield il and there are some
From MO. How can I find out if they are of historical importance.

Thanks for your help
John

Mr. Wood: Your best bet is to contact the Sangamon Valley Collection, the local history section of Lincoln Library (Springfield’s municipal library, not the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). The telephone number is (217) 753-4900, ext. 5634.

Thanks for reading SangamonLink.

Found your site while searching for information on the call up of the National Guard in 1916. My grandfather was with the 4th Illinois Infantry which mobilized for service on the Mexican border at the fairgrounds. If you have any further details on this episode and can direct me to them I’d greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Mr. Brown: I haven’t done an entry on the border callup, but I’ve seen a lot of coverage in the Springfield papers while researching other stuff. I suggest you start your research there. The sites I use are NewsBank.com and its sister, GenealogyBank.com. A lot of public libraries subscribe to NewsBank if yours does, you usually can access NewsBank for free. Check with your library for procedures. If NewsBank isn’t available to you, GenealogyBank has exactly the same material, but there’s a small fee — I think it’s still something like $8 a month. Both the Illinois State Journal and Illinois State Register, Springfield’s daily newspapers in 1916, are readable and searchable on either site.
You also can call the Sangamon Valley Collection, the local history collection at Lincoln Library, Springfield’s municipal library. They’re always really helpful. Phone 217-753-4900, ext. 5634.
Thanks for reading, and good luck.

Mike…
I have a relative in California who contacted me in her attempt to secure the SJR obit page from August 12, 1985. I attempted to search the newspaper’s own archives but my search was unsuccessful. Is there a simple way to secure this information…it is needed for a legal case.

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21 February 1941 - History

"The Fightin' Third"

(Updated 1-20-09)

The 3rd Marine Division is a marine infantry division in the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler on the island of Okinawa, Japan. Part of the III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF), the "Fighting Third" also operates the Jungle Warfare Training Center at Camp Gonsalves on Okinawa. Currently, the 3d MarDiv has assigned as subordinate units the Headquarters Battalion, the 3d Marine Regiment, the 4th Marine Regiment, the 12th Marine Regiment, the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, and the Combat Assault Battalion. The Division currently has subordinate units stationed in Okinawa, Japan and the state of Hawaii. Division elements are deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The primary mission of the 3rd Marine Division is to execute amphibious assault operations and other such operations as may be directed. The Division is supported by Marine aviation, and force service support units and is prepared to be employed, in conjunction with a Marine aircraft wing, as an integral part of a Marine Expeditionary Force in amphibious operations.

The 3d Marine Division was activated on September 16, 1942 at Camp Elliott in San Diego, California. The Division was formed with cadre from the 2nd Marine Division and built around the 9th Marine Regiment. The first Commanding General of the Division was Major General Charles D. Barrett. By January of 1943 the 3rd Marine Division was moved by echelon to Aukland, New Zealand. This movement was completed by March and in June the 3MarDiv deployed to Guadalcanal to train for the invasion of Bougainville.

On November 1, 1943 the 3rd Marine Division landed at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville. For approximately two months the Division participated in the fight against stiff and heavy enemy resistance. On January 16, 1944, with the transfer of command in the area to the Army's XIV Corps, the last elements of the Division returned to Guadalcanal. During the course of the Battle of Bougainville the Division had approximately 400 Marines killed.

The Fighting Third returned to Guadalcanal in January, 1944 to rest, refit, and train. During the spring of 1944 the Division trained for several operations that were subsequently cancelled. The 3rd Marine Division was also held in reserve for the invasion of Saipan during June of 1944.

The next operation the 3d Marine Division took part in was the Battle of Guam. From July 21, 1944 until the last day of organized fighting on August 10, the Division fought through the jungles on the island of Guam. During these 21 days of fighting, the Division captured over 60 square miles of territory and killed over 5,000 enemy soldiers. The next two months saw continuous mopping up operations in which the Marines of the 3rd MarDiv continued to engage remaining Japanese forces. At the end of the battle for Guam, the Division had sustained 677 Marines killed, 3,626 wounded and 9 missing.

By the middle of February 1945 the Division had left Guam preparatory to participation in the Iwo Jima operation. Initially, the Division was held in reserve for the battle of Iwo Jima. However, the Division was committed one regiment at a time beginning with the 21st Marine Regiment on February 20th. The 9th Marine Regiment followed on February 25th. The 3d Marine Division, at this time consisting of the 21st and 9th Regiments, the artillery support of the 12th Marine Regiment, and the armor support of the 3rd Tank Battalion, launched an attack in its zone between the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions. The 3d Marine Division faced well-organized and determined enemy resistance. The terrain, ideal for defense, was heavily fortified by pillboxes, caves, and covered artillery emplacements. Progress was slow and casualties heavy during the first few days of fighting. The Division slowly pushed the enemy back and fought on Iwo Jima until the end of organized resistance on March 16th. Mop up operation continued into the next month. On 4 April the 3d Marine Division was relieved by Army units. By April 17th all of the 3d MarDiv units were back on Guam. Iwo Jima cost the Fighting Third 1,131 killed in action and another 4,438 wounded. Back on Guam the Division prepared for the invasion of Japan that never occurred. Japan surrendered in August of 1945. The 3rd Marine Division was deactivated on December 28, 1945.

The 3rd Marine Division was reactivated on January 7, 1952 at Camp Pendleton, California. This was the Korean War era, but the Division did not deploy to the theater. Instead they undertook training that involved both experimental tactics and lessons learned from Korea. In August of 1953 the Division arrived in Japan to support the defense of the Far Eastern area. In March of 1956 the 3d Marine Division moved to Okinawa and remained there until their deployment to Vietnam in 1965.

On May 6, 1965, the 3d Marine Division opened the Marine Compound at the Danang Air Base, Vietnam. The original mission of the marines in Vietnam was to protect the American air base. However, as the United States' role in Vietnam expanded, the units of the 3rd Marine Division were given permission to run offensive operations in areas that were critical to the security of American bases.

The 3rd Marine Divisions first major fight was OPERATION STARLITE and the Battle of Chu Lai in the Quang Ngai Province, August 18-21, 1965. The heavy fighting resulted in 700 enemy dead to and expensive 242 marines killed in action. However, the operation demonstrated what the marines could do when the enemy met them in a stand up fight.

The Division Headquarters operated in Vietnam from May of 1965 with 3d Mar Div elements participating in operations from Danang to Phu Bai to Quang Tri/Dong Ha Combat Base. During their over four years of continuous combat operations, the 3rd Mar Div lost more than 3,000 marines killed in action. The Division departed Vietnam in November 1969 and moved to Camp Courtney, Okinawa, where it is presently located.

Since their return from Vietnam, elements of the 3d Marine Division has participated in numerous humanitarian relief missions as well as noteworthy combat deployments that include Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom in both Afghanistan and the Philippines, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. The Division celebrated its 66th birthday on September 16, 2008. During their entire history, the marines of the 3rd Division have lived up to their motto of Fidelity, Valor, and Honor.

3rd Marine Division Gift Shop:

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ASME was founded in 1880 to provide a setting for engineers to discuss the concerns brought by the rise of industrialization and mechanization.

The Society&rsquos founders were some of the more prominent machine builders and technical innovators of the late nineteenth century led by prominent steel engineer Alexander Lyman Holley, Henry Rossiter Worthington and John Edison Sweet.

Holley chaired the first meeting, which was held in the New York editorial offices of the American Machinist, on February 16th, with thirty people in attendance. From this date onward, the society ran formal meetings to discuss development of standard tools and machine parts as well as uniform work practices. However, it wasn&rsquot until 1905 that a major turning point gave new definition to ASME&rsquos purpose and impact on civilian life.

Steam powered the technology of the late 19th century. Despite their power, boilers and pressure vessels were temperamental, requiring constant attention and maintenance. Although there were numerous boiler explosions throughout the 19th century, there were no legal codes for boilers in any state in the Union. Undoubtedly one of the most important incidents that proved the need for developing boiler laws was the Grover Shoe Factory Disaster in Brockton, Massachusetts on March 10, 1905.

An older boiler, used as a backup during maintenance on the newer model, exploded, rocketing through three floors and the building&rsquos roof. Broken beams and heavy machinery trapped many workers who survived the initial explosion and collapse. Burning coals thrown from the boiler landed throughout the crumbling superstructure, starting fires that were fed by broken gas lines. The explosion resulted in 58 deaths and 117 injuries.

It was this catastrophe that gave Massachusetts the impetus to establish a five-man Board of Boiler Rules, whose charge was to write a boiler law for the state this board published its boiler laws in 1908.

Having established the Boiler Testing Code in 1884, ASME formed a Boiler Code Committee in 1911 that led to the Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) being published in 1915. The BPVC was later incorporated into laws in most US states and territories and Canadian provinces.

ASME&rsquos rich publication history&mdashincluding standards, theory, and technical journals&mdashmade a great deal of technical and biographical information available to engineers and policy makers. These publications form a substantial and tangible connection to the past that proves inspirational to ASME members to this day.

Setting the Standard

ASME is best known for improving the safety of equipment used in manufacturing and construction, particularly boilers and pressure vessels. One founding interest was ensuring reliability and predictability in machine design and mechanical production. Boilers and pressure vessels were an innovation that advanced long-range transportation and heavy lifting in ways that had never been possible before. However, the machinery was temperamental, and frequent corner cutting and delayed servicing had disastrous consequences.

ASME published the Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) in 1915, which was later incorporated into laws in most North American territories. In the years following the publication of the first BPVC, ASME continued the proliferation of safety in industry, developing engineering standards in numerous technical areas including pipeline production, elevators and escalators, materials handling, gas turbines, and nuclear power. Today, ASME has more than 600 codes and standards available in print and online.

Historic Landmarks

Water & Power:

Folsom Power House #1 (1895) Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, Folsom, California: one of the first successful uses of hydroelectric power in the world, including the first successful long-distance transmission of power.

Solar Energy and Conversion Laboratory (1954) University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida: pioneering developments in solar-energy applications, with global accomplishments in training and innovation.

Construction:

PACECO Container Crane (1959) Port of Nanjing, Nanjing, China: first high-speed, dockside container-handling crane.

Creusot Steam Hammer (1876) Museum of Man and Industry, Le Creusot, France: most powerful steam-hammer in the world for many years.

Transportation:

Siegfried Marcus Car (1875) Technical Museum, Vienna, Austria: direct predecessor of the modern automobile.

Montgomery Glider (1883) Hiller Aircraft Museum, San Carlos, California: the first heavier-than-air human-carrying aircraft to achieve controlled piloted flight.

Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway (1891) Cog Rail Depot, Colorado Springs, Colorado: highest railway in the US and highest rack railway in the world.

Space Exploration:

Saturn V Rocket (1967) US Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama: largest rocket engines built at the time of the first US missions to the moon.

Atlas Launch Vehicle (1957) Gillespie Fields Airport, El Cajon, California: a first launch vehicle for the US space program.

Engineering History

Learn about the engineering history, biographies, and landmarks across all engineering disciplines from ASME - the center of Engineering conversations

21 February 1941 - History

Prince of Wales and the Repulse , thereby eliminating the only naval threat to their Malaya campaign. The Thai government capitulated to a Japanese ultimatum to allow passage of Japanese troops through Thailand in return for Japanese assurances of respect for Thailand's independence. This agreement enabled the Japanese to establish land lines to supply their forces in Burma and Malaya through Thailand.

The prediction that Japan would conquer the Malay Peninsula before attempting an invasion of Singapore proved to be correct. Lieutenant General Yamashita Tomoyuki was placed in command of the Twenty-fifth Army comprising three of the best Japanese divisions. The Japanese used tactics developed specifically for the operation in northern Malaya. Tanks were deployed in frontal assaults while light infantry forces bypassed British defenses using bicycles or boats, thereby interdicting British efforts to deliver badly needed reinforcements, ammunition, food, and medical supplies. Cut off from their supply bases in southern Malaya and Singapore, demoralized by the effectiveness of Japan's jungle warfare, and with no possibility that additional ground or air units would arrive in time to turn the tide of battle, the British withdrew to Singapore and prepared for the final siege. The Japanese captured Penang on December 18, 1941, and Kuala Lumpur on January 11, 1942. The last British forces reached Singapore on January 27, 1942, and on the same day a 55-meter gap was blown in the causeway linking Singapore and Johore.

In January 1942, London had provided an additional infantry division and delivered the promised Hurricane fighter aircraft, although the latter arrived in crates and without the personnel to assemble them. In the battle for Singapore, the British had the larger ground force, with 70,000 Commonwealth forces in Singapore facing 30,000 Japanese. The Japanese controlled the air, however, and intense bombing of military and civilian targets hampered British efforts to establish defensive positions and created chaos in a city whose population had been swollen by more than a million refugees from the Malay Peninsula. Yamashita began the attack on February 8. Units of the Fifth and Eighteenth Japanese Divisions used collapsible boats to cross the Johore Strait, undetected by the British, to Singapore's northwest coast. By February 13, the Japanese controlled all of the island except the heavily populated southeastern sector. General Percival cabled Field Marshall Sir Archibald Wavell, British Supreme Commander in the Far East, informed him that the situation was hopeless, and received London's permission to surrender. On February 15, one week after the first Japanese troops had crossed the Johore Strait and landed in Singapore, Percival surrendered to Yamashita (see fig. 13).

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