Remember William Warhol today. William was killed on 26Apr1952 when his ship collided with the USS Wasp while training for deployment to Korea. Learn more about William here.
Remember Robert Yankoski today. Robert was killed on 24Oct1972 while working on the flight deck of the USS Midway when a plane crashed onto the deck while landing. Learn more about Robert here.
Remember Richard Humenick today. Richard is the youngest Edison Hero to die in combat during World War 2. He was only 17 years 10 months old when he was killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa. Lear more about Richard here.
Today is the 80th anniversary of V-J day. The day that Japan offered their unconditional surrender to the Allies, and the end of World War 2.
Japan surrendered after the Allies conducted a months long conventional bombing campaign of 64 Japanese cities, and dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945).
Starting with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, over 111,600 US service members were killed in the war with Japan. 26 Edison Heroes are included in that total.
It is estimated that over 36 million people (civilian and military) died in the war with Japan.
Had Japan not surrendered, a planned land invasion of Japan would have likely extended the war by over a year, and resulted in up to 800,000 additional deaths of US personnel.
Remember Joseph Olejarka today. Joseph was killed in action near Seoul, Korea on 30Sep1950. He was the first Edison Hero to be killed in the Korean War. Learn more about Joseph here.