1.
American Theater (World War II)
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The American Theater describes a series of mostly minor areas of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South Americas geographical separation from the theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. Thus, any threat by the Axis Powers to invade the mainland United States or other areas was considered negligible, the best known events in North America during World War II were the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Battle of the St. Lawrence, and the attacks on Newfoundland. Battle of the River Plate The first naval battle during the war was fought on December 13,1939 off the Atlantic coast of South America, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee encountered one of the British naval units searching for her. Composed of three Royal Navy cruisers, the HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles, the unit was patrolling off the River Plate estuary of Argentina, in a bloody engagement, the Graf Spee successfully repulsed the British attacks. Captain Hans Langsdorff then brought his ship to shelter in neutral Uruguay for repairs. German combat losses were 96 killed or wounded, against 72 British sailors killed and 28 wounded, two Royal Navy cruisers had been severely damaged, but it had cost the German navy one of its finest ships. Even before the war, a large Nazi spy ring was operating in the United States. The Duquesne Spy Ring is still the largest espionage case in United States history that ended in convictions. The 33 German agents who formed the Duquesne spy ring were placed in key jobs in the United States to get information that could be used in the event of war and to carry out acts of sabotage. William G. Sebold, an agent for the United States, was a major factor in the FBIs successful resolution of this case. For nearly two years, Sebold ran a radio station in New York for the ring. Sebold provided the FBI with information on what Germany was sending to its spies in the United States while allowing the FBI to control the information that was being transmitted to Germany. On June 29,1941, six months before the U. S. declared war, all 33 spies were arrested, found or plead guilty, and sentenced to serve a total of over 300 years in prison. After declaring war on the United States following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the responsibility for carrying this out was given to German Intelligence. In the spring of 1942, nine agents were recruited and divided into two teams, on June 12,1942, the German submarine U-202 landed Daschs team with explosives and plans at Amagansett, New York. Their mission was to power plants at Niagara Falls and three Aluminum Company of America factories in Illinois, Tennessee, and New York. However, Dasch instead turned himself in to the FBI, providing them with a complete list of his members and an account of the planned missions
2.
Pacific War
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The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in the Pacific and East Asia. It was fought over a vast area that included the Pacific Ocean and islands, the South West Pacific, South-East Asia, and in China. The Pacific War saw the Allied powers pitted against the Empire of Japan, the formal and official surrender of Japan took place aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. In Allied countries during the war, The Pacific War was not usually distinguished from World War II in general, or was known simply as the War against Japan. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War, as chosen by a decision on 10 December 1941. Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident into the Greater East Asia War, in Japan, the Fifteen Years War is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The Phayap Army sent troops to invade and occupy northeastern Burma, also involved were the Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo and Mengjiang, and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime. The official policy of the U. S. Government is that Thailand was not an ally of the Axis, Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Formosa. To a small extent, some Vichy French, Indian National Army, Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian, the Italians had access to concession territory naval bases in China, while the Germans did not. After Japans attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war, mexico, Free France and many other countries also took part, especially forces from other British colonies. Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War, China, the Central Pacific, South East Asia, U. S. sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War, the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater. However these were not operational commands, in the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area. In 1945, for a period just before the Japanese surrender. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and was ready to move deeper into China, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to fight about 300,000 Japanese troops in Shanghai, the Japanese continued to push the Chinese forces back, capturing the capital Nanking in December 1937 and committed which was known as Nanking Massacre. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang, but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan, the Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the United States—condemned Japan, especially after the Panay incident
3.
Attu Island
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The island became uninhabited in 2010. The island was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on a territory of the United States. Attu Station, a former Coast Guard LORAN station, is located at 52°51′N 173°11′E, in the chain of the Aleuts, the next island to the west of Attu are the Russian Commander Islands just 208 miles away. Attu is nearly 1,100 miles from the Alaskan mainland and 750 miles northeast of the northernmost of the Kurile Islands of Russia, and it is 4,800 miles from the capital city, Washington, D. C. Attu is about 20 by 35 miles in size with an area of 344.7 square miles. The population in the 2010 census was 20 people, all at the Attu Station, as of 1982, the only significant trees on the island were those planted by American soldiers at a chapel constructed after the 1943 battle when the Japanese occupation was over. Although Attu Island is the westernmost body of land east of the International Date Line its time zone is UTC-10, the name Attu is a transliteration of the Aleut name of the island. It was called Saint Theodore by the explorer Aleksei Chirikov in 1742, Attu, being the nearest to Kamchatka, was the first of the Aleutian Islands exploited by Russian traders. The first population estimate by the Russians put at most 175 Aleuts on Attu, however, the large number and size of archeological sites on Attu have led to estimates of 2, 000–5,000 inhabitants during the centuries preceding European contact. Russians would stay multiple years on the island hunting sea otters, after the initial wave of traders, Attu was largely overlooked by ships heading further east. The Aleuts were the inhabitants of the island prior to World War II. Earlier, in response to Japanese aggression in the Pacific, American territorial authorities conducted an evacuation of about 880 Aleuts from villages elsewhere in the Aleutian Islands. These people were interned in camps in the Alaska Panhandle. However, Attu Village had not yet been evacuated when the Japanese attacked, the village consisted of several houses around Chichagof Harbor. The 42 Attu inhabitants who survived the Japanese invasion were taken to a camp near Otaru. Sixteen of them died while they were imprisoned, before the Attu villagers were returned to the U. S. the American government stated publicly that it was not aware of their status. To place a barrier between the U. S. and Russia in case Russia decided to join the war against Japan, to make preparation for air bases for future offensive action. In late September 1942, the Japanese garrison on Attu was transferred to Kiska, and then Attu was essentially left unoccupied, on October 29,1942, the Japanese reestablished a base on Attu at Holtz Bay under the command of Lt. Col. Hiroshi Yanekawa
4.
Aleutian Islands
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The Aleutian Islands are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller ones belonging to both the United States and Russia. Crossing longitude 180°, at which point east and west longitude end, the westernmost U. S. island in real terms, however, is Attu Island, west of which runs the International Date Line. The islands, with their 57 volcanoes, are in the part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Physiographically, they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province. These Islands are most known for the battles and skirmishes occurred there during the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II. It was one of two attacks on the United States during that war. The largest islands in the Aleutians are Attu, and Unalaska, Umnak, and Unimak in the Fox Islands. The largest of those is Unimak Island, with an area of 1,571.41 mi², followed by Unalaska Island, the axis of the archipelago near the mainland of Alaska has a southwest trend, but near 179° its direction changes to the northwest. This change of direction corresponds to a curve in the line of fissures that have contributed their products to the building of the islands. Such curved chains are repeated about the Pacific Ocean in the Kuril Islands, the Japanese chain, and in the Philippines. All these island arcs are at the edge of the Pacific Plate and experience much seismic activity, but are still habitable, the general elevation is greatest in the eastern islands and least in the western. The island chain is a continuation of the Aleutian Range on the mainland. The coasts are rocky and surf-worn, and the approaches are exceedingly dangerous and these volcanic islands reach heights of 6,200 feet. Makushin Volcano located on Unalaska Island, is not quite visible from within the town of Unalaska, though the steam rising from its cone is visible on a clear day. Residents of Unalaska need only to one of the smaller hills in the area, such as Pyramid Peak or Mt. Newhall. The volcanic Bogoslof and Fire Islands, which rose from the sea in 1796 and 1883 respectively, in 1906 a new volcanic cone rose between the islets of Bogoslof and Grewingk, near Unalaska, followed by another in 1907. These cones were demolished by an explosive eruption on September 1,1907. Newly found information in 2017, the volcanic cone erupted sending ash, the Aleutians seen from space The climate of the islands is oceanic, with moderate and fairly uniform temperatures and heavy rainfall
5.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
6.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
7.
Empire of Japan
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The Empire of Japan was the historical Japanese nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan. Imperial Japans rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its emergence as a world power, after several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, the Empire also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples it conquered. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, Occupation and reconstruction continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose full title is the State of Japan or simply rendered Japan in English. The historical state is referred to as the Empire of Japan or the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan in English. In Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku, which translates to Greater Japanese Empire and this is analogous to Großdeutsches Reich, a term that translates to Greater German Empire in English and Dai Doitsu Teikoku in Japanese. This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonym Empire of the Sun. After two centuries, the policy, or Sakoku, under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. The following years saw increased trade and interaction, commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the terms of these Unequal Treaties, the Shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic movement. In March 1863, the Emperor issued the order to expel barbarians, although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson, the British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima and they responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. For Richardsons death, the Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity, shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan also launched the coup known as the Kinmon incident. The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, in early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito. On November 9,1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to the Emperor, however, while Yoshinobus resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. On January 3,1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the palace in Kyoto. On January 17,1868, Yoshinobu declared that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration, on January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces
8.
Thomas C. Kinkaid
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Thomas Cassin Kinkaid served as an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. He built a reputation as an admiral in the aircraft carrier battles of 1942. Born into a family, Kinkaid was ranked in the lower half of his class on his graduation from the United States Naval Academy in June 1908. His early commissioned service was spent aboard battleships, in 1913, he began instruction in ordnance engineering and served in that field for many years. He saw action during the 1916 United States occupation of the Dominican Republic, during World War I, he was attached to the Royal Navy before serving as Gunnery Officer aboard the battleship USS Arizona. After the war, he was Assistant Chief of Staff to the Commander U. S. Naval Detachment in Turkey, Kinkaid received his first command, the destroyer USS Isherwood, in 1924. He was Executive Officer of the battleship USS Colorado when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake struck and he received his second command in 1937, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis. From 1938 to 1941, Kinkaid was a naval attaché in Italy, in the months prior to U. S. entry into World War II, he commanded a destroyer squadron. Promoted to rear admiral in 1941, he assumed command of a U. S and his cruisers defended the aircraft carrier USS Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea and USS Hornet during the Battle of Midway. Kinkaid was placed in charge of the North Pacific Force in January 1943 and he was promoted to vice admiral in June 1943. During the Battle of the Surigao Strait he commanded the Allied ships in the last naval battle between battleships in history, following the demise of Japanese naval power in the region, the Allied navies supported the campaigns in the Philippines and Borneo. Kinkaid was promoted to admiral on 3 April 1945, after the Pacific War ended in August 1945, the Seventh Fleet assisted in operations on the Korean and China coasts. Admiral Kinkaid was Commander Eastern Sea Frontier and the Sixteenth Fleet from 1946 until his retirement in May 1950 and he was a member of the National Security Training Commission for much of the rest of the decade. He also served with the American Battle Monuments Commission for 15 years, Thomas Cassin Kinkaid was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on 3 April 1888, the second child and only son of Thomas Wright Kinkaid, a naval officer, and his wife Virginia Lee née Cassin. At the time, Thomas Wright Kinkaid was on leave from the U. S. Navy and employed at the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. When Thomas was only an old, his father was posted to USS Pinta, and the family moved to Sitka, Alaska. He sought and secured an appointment to Annapolis from President Theodore Roosevelt, the Navy was undergoing a period of expansion, and the intake of midshipmen was double that of two years earlier. Of the 350 who took the examination,283 were admitted, the class was the largest since the Academy had opened in 1845
9.
Royal Canadian Air Force
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The Royal Canadian Air Force is the air force of Canada. Its role is to provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower, the RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Armed Forces. Lieutenant-General Michael J. Hood, CMM CD, is the current Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the RCAF is a partner with the United States Air Force in protecting continental airspace under the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The RCAF also provides all primary air resources to and is responsible for the National Search, the RCAF traces its history to the Canadian Air Force which was formed in 1920. The Canadian Air Force was incorporated in 1923 and granted royal sanction in 1924 by King George V, in 1968 the RCAF was amalgamated with the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Canadian Army, as part of the unification of the Canadian Forces. Air units were split between several different commands, Air Defence Command, Air Transport Command, Mobile Command, Maritime Command, in 1975 some commands were dissolved, and all air units were placed under a new environmental command called simply Air Command. Air Command reverted to its name of the Royal Canadian Air Force in August 2011. The Royal Canadian Air Force has served in the Second World War, the Korean War, as a NATO member, the force maintained a presence in Europe during the second half of the 20th century. The Canadian Air Force was established in 1920 as the successor to a short-lived two-squadron Canadian Air Force formed during the First World War in Europe. John Scott Williams, MC, AFC, was tasked in 1921 with organizing the CAF, the new Canadian Air Force was a branch of the Air Board and was chiefly a training militia that provided refresher training to veteran pilots. Many CAF members also worked with the Air Boards Civil Operations Branch on operations that included forestry, in 1923, the CAF became responsible for all flying operations in Canada, including civil aviation. In 1924, the Canadian Air Force, was granted the royal title, most of its work was civil in nature, however, in the late 1920s the RCAF evolved into more of a military organization. After budget cuts in the early 1930s, the air began to rebuild. By the end of the war, the RCAF had become the fourth largest allied air force, after the war, the RCAF reduced its strength. In 1950, the RCAF became involved with the transport of troops and supplies to the Korean War, however, members of the RCAF served in USAF units as exchange officers and several flew in combat. Both auxiliary and regular air defence squadrons were run by Air Defence Command, at the same time, the Pinetree Line, the Mid-Canada Line and the DEW Line radar stations, largely operated by the RCAF, were built across Canada because of the growing Soviet nuclear threat. In 1957, Canada and the United States created the joint North American Air Defense Command, coastal defence and peacekeeping also became priorities during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1968 the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and this initiative was overseen by then Liberal Defence Minister, Paul Hellyer
10.
Aleutian Islands Campaign
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The islands strategic value was their ability to control Pacific transportation routes, which is why U. S. General Billy Mitchell stated to the U. S. Congress in 1935, I believe that in the future, I think it is the most important strategic place in the world. The Japanese reasoned that control of the Aleutians would prevent a possible U. S. attack across the Northern Pacific, similarly, the U. S. feared that the islands would be used as bases from which to launch aerial assaults against the West Coast. A battle to reclaim Attu was launched on May 11,1943, on 15 August 1943, an invasion force landed on Kiska in the wake of a sustained three-week barrage, only to discover that the Japanese had withdrawn from the island on July 29. The campaign is known as the Forgotten Battle, due to its being overshadowed by the simultaneous Guadalcanal Campaign, in the past, many Western military historians believed it was a diversionary or feint attack during the Battle of Midway, meant to draw out the U. S. Pacific Fleet from Midway Atoll, as it was launched simultaneously under the same commander, before Japan entered World War II, its Navy had gathered extensive information about the Aleutians, but it had no up-to-date information regarding military developments on the islands. With that force, Hosogaya was first to launch an air attack against Dutch Harbor, Hosogaya was instructed to destroy whatever American forces and facilities were found on Adak—the Japanese did not know the island was undefended. The naval commander was Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald, commanding Task Force 8 afloat, Task Force 8 consisted of five cruisers, thirteen destroyers, three tankers, six submarines, as well as naval aviation elements of Fleet Air Wing Four. Once the enemy planes were removed, Naval Task Force 8 would engage the enemy fleet, on the afternoon of 2 June, a naval patrol plane spotted the approaching Japanese fleet, reporting its location as 800 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor. Eleventh Air Force was placed on full alert, shortly thereafter bad weather set in, and no further sightings of the fleet were made that day. Making use of cover, the Japanese first raided the naval base at Dutch Harbor on June 3,1942. The striking force was composed of Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers from the carriers Junyō, however, only half of the striking force reached their objective. The rest either became lost in the fog and darkness and crashed into the sea or returned to their carriers, seventeen Japanese planes found the naval base, the first arriving at 05,45. Startled by the American response, the Japanese quickly released their bombs, made a strafing run. As a result, they did damage to the base. On June 4, the Japanese returned to Dutch Harbor and this time the Japanese pilots were better organized and prepared. When the attack ended that afternoon Dutch Harbor oil storage tanks were burning, the partly demolished. However, the weather in turn caused the Japanese to cancel plans to invade Adak with 1,200 men
11.
Territories of the United States
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Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions directly overseen by the United States federal government. These territories are classified by whether they are incorporated and whether they have a government through an Organic Act passed by the U. S. Congress. Currently, the United States has sixteen territories, five of which are inhabited, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U. S. Virgin Islands. They are classified as unincorporated territories and they are organized, self-governing territories with locally elected governors and territorial legislatures. Each also elects a member to the U. S. House of Representatives. Eleven territories are small islands, atolls and reefs, spread across the Caribbean and Pacific, the status of some are disputed by Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the Marshall Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the territory currently incorporated. Historically, territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United States were still evolving, other territories administered by the United States went on to become independent countries, such as the Philippines, Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau. Many organized incorporated territories of the United States existed from 1789 to 1959, currently, the United States has sixteen territories, five of which are permanently inhabited, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, United States Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The 11 uninhabited territories administered by the Interior Department are Palmyra Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, while claimed by the US, Navassa Island, Wake Island, Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo Bank are disputed. Territories have always been a part of the United States, by Act of Congress, the term United States, when used in a geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. Since political union with the Northern Mariana Islands in 1986, they too are treated as a part of the U. S, an Executive Order in 2007 includes American Samoa as U. S. geographical extent duly reflected in U. S. State Department documents. Approximately 4 million islanders are U. S. citizens, about 32,000 U. S. non-citizen nationals live in American Samoa, under current law among the territories, only persons born in American Samoa and Swains Island are non-citizen U. S. nationals. American Samoans are under the protection of the U. S. with freedom of U. S. travel without visas. The five inhabited U. S. territories have local voting rights and protections under U. S. courts, pay some U. S. taxes, depending on the congress, they may also vote on the floor in the House Committee of the Whole. S. Every four years, the Democratic and Republican political parties nominate their candidates at conventions which include delegates from the five major territories. The citizens there, however, do not vote in the election for U. S. President. S. Incorporated territories are considered a part of the United States
12.
Billy Mitchell
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William Billy Mitchell was a United States Army general who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflicts end, after the war, he was appointed deputy director of the Air Service and began advocating increased investment in air power, believing that this would prove vital in future wars. He argued particularly for the ability of bombers to sink battleships and he resigned from the service shortly afterward. Mitchell received many honors following his death, including a commission by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a major general and he is also the only individual for whom an American military aircraft design, the North American B-25 Mitchell, is named. Born in Nice, France, to John L. Mitchell, Mitchell grew up on an estate in what is now the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin. His grandfather, Alexander Mitchell, a Scotsman, established what became the Milwaukee Road railroad, Mitchell Park and the shopping precinct of Mitchell Street were named in honor of Alexander. Mitchells sister Ruth fought with the Chetniks in Yugoslavia during World War II and later wrote a book about her brother, Billy Mitchell graduated from Columbian College of George Washington University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He then enlisted as a private at age 18 in Company M of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment on May 14,1898, quickly gaining a commission due to his fathers influence, he joined the U. S. Army Signal Corps. Following the cessation of hostilities, Mitchell remained in the Army and he predicted as early as 1906, while an instructor at the Armys Signal School in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, that future conflicts would take place in the air, not on the ground. A member of one of Milwaukees most prominent families, Billy Mitchell was probably the first person with ties to Wisconsin to see the Wright Brothers plane fly, in 1908, when a young Signal Corps officer, Mitchell observed Orville Wrights flying demonstration at Fort Myer, Virginia. Mitchell took flight lessons at the Curtiss Aviation School at Newport News, from 1900 to 1904, Mitchell was posted in the District of Alaska as a lieutenant in the Signal Corps. Brunnell, Lieutenant Mitchell oversaw the construction of what became known as the Washington-Alaska Military Cable, ironically, he appeared in August 1913 at legislative hearings considering a bill to make Army aviation a branch separate from the Signal Corps and testified against the bill. In June, he took flying lessons at the Glenn Curtiss Aviation School because he was proscribed by law from aviator training by age and rank. In July 1916, he was promoted to major and appointed Chief of the Air Service of the First Army, when the United States declared war on Germany on April 6,1917, Mitchell was in Spain en route to France as an observer. On April 24, he made the first flight by an American officer over German lines, before long, Mitchell had gained enough experience to begin preparations for American air operations. Mitchell rapidly earned a reputation as a daring, flamboyant, in May, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to the rank of colonel on October 10,1917 to rank from August 5. In September 1918, he planned and led nearly 1,500 British, French and he was elevated to the rank of brigadier general on October 14,1918 and commanded all American air combat units in France
