World War II Articles

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Dec 6, 20203 min read

366. Pensacola's First WWII Casualty

Today is known as "Pearl Harbor Day," an honor set aside for the men and women killed or wounded during the attack there by Japanese...

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187. Pensacolian's Husband Killed in South Pacific 1944

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Jan 24, 20192 min read

187. Pensacolian's Husband Killed in South Pacific 1944

As so often happened during WWII, one of our Tate High School students met and married a young aviator that caught her eye in his spiffy...

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182. Pensacola Voting Politics During WWII

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Jan 23, 20191 min read

182. Pensacola Voting Politics During WWII

The issue of Negroes voting in the Florida primaries began to dominate the news headlines during WWII. The main issue concerning Negroes...

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180. Pensacolian's Husband Protects Bougainville Beachhead 1943

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Jan 21, 20192 min read

180. Pensacolian's Husband Protects Bougainville Beachhead 1943

Charles Lyman Penner was born in Brunswick, Maryland on February 1, 1918 to the union of Charles W. and Italene Penner. By 1940, he had...

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176. Pensacola Captain of USS Suwanee Killed in Crash 1945

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Jan 11, 20192 min read

176. Pensacola Captain of USS Suwanee Killed in Crash 1945

Charles Clarke McDonald was born on November 15, 1901 in Illinois and after his preliminary education he decided to make the Navy his...

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172. Pensacolian's Husband First to Land on Saipan 1944

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Jan 6, 20192 min read

172. Pensacolian's Husband First to Land on Saipan 1944

Coll Hutcheck "Red" McLean was born on December 30, 1919 in Evansville, Wisconsin to the union of Coll McLean and Anne Hutcheck. His...

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Dec 21, 20182 min read

166. Jay Soldier Killed in France 1944

Corporal Billie Wade Rayburn was born on June 24, 1925 in Jay, Florida and was raised by his grandparents William Franklin Rayburn and...

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165. Pensacolian Goes Down on USS Indianapolis 1945

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Dec 17, 20182 min read

165. Pensacolian Goes Down on USS Indianapolis 1945

Seaman 1st Class Burnice Rufus Silcox was born on April 27, 1922 in Bratt, Florida. He was the son of Rumley "Rummie" David and Katie...

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155. Milton B-24 Pilot Killed Over Normandy 1944

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Nov 14, 20182 min read

155. Milton B-24 Pilot Killed Over Normandy 1944

Lt. Hartwell Riley Howington was born April 17, 1919, the son of Reverend Arthur Fletcher Howington and Cora Cornelia Kelly. He graduated...

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143. Pensacola Sisters Assist Wounded Brother 1944

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Nov 1, 20182 min read

143. Pensacola Sisters Assist Wounded Brother 1944

Lt. Jesse F. Arnold, age 23, landed with his US Army regiment on the island of Leyte in the Philippines in October 1944. The landing by...

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138. Pensacolian Defeats the South Pacific Mosquitoes Part II

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Oct 26, 20182 min read

138. Pensacolian Defeats the South Pacific Mosquitoes Part II

One of their first attempts at prevention was the destruction of the mosquito itself by draining swamps and any other breeding ground...

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137. Pensacolian Defeats the South Pacific Mosquitoes Part I

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Oct 26, 20182 min read

137. Pensacolian Defeats the South Pacific Mosquitoes Part I

Prior to the war, little was known about many of the islands in the South Pacific. One of the factors that contributed so much to our...

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135. Another Bagdad Soldier Dies in the Pacific 1944

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Oct 22, 20182 min read

135. Another Bagdad Soldier Dies in the Pacific 1944

For such a small settlement as Bagdad, Florida, this lumber town contributed more than their fair share to the war effort in WWII....

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134. Bagdad Soldier Dies in Battle of the Bulge 1944

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Oct 21, 20181 min read

134. Bagdad Soldier Dies in Battle of the Bulge 1944

Donald Lee Simpson was born on March 18, 1921 in Bagdad, Florida, the son of the widow Anna Fitzgerald and her late husband Charles Henry...

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133. Bagdad Airman Killed on Guam Mission 1945

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Oct 20, 20182 min read

133. Bagdad Airman Killed on Guam Mission 1945

2Lt. Raymond Simmons Hobbs was born on November 16, 1917 to the union of Raymond Bruitt Hobbs and Leslie Hessie Simmons. His father...

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132. Milton Teacher Enlists in the WAC 1942

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Oct 16, 20182 min read

132. Milton Teacher Enlists in the WAC 1942

Miss Rose Ethel Panowski was determined to follow the young men of Santa Rosa County into the armed forces and do her duty. Patriotism...

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131. First Pensacola Female Soldier Wounded Belgium 1944

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Oct 15, 20181 min read

131. First Pensacola Female Soldier Wounded Belgium 1944

Gwendolyn Eunice Yniestra was born in Pensacola on January 18, 1915 to the union of William Brent Yniestra and Ethel E. Foster. Her...

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130. Bluff Springs Soldier Killed in Holland 1944

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Oct 11, 20182 min read

130. Bluff Springs Soldier Killed in Holland 1944

Bernie Eugene Kimmons was born in Bluff Springs in Escambia County, Florida on March 17, 1918. He was the son of Jerry L. Kimmons and...

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Oct 10, 20181 min read

129. Leave it to the US Navy 1944

On October 17, 1944, a 28-year old sailor by the name of Russell D. Dils from Ohio was approached by Pensacola Police Officer L. W....

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128. Milton Soldier Killed on Okinawa 1945

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Oct 10, 20182 min read

128. Milton Soldier Killed on Okinawa 1945

Leonard Curtis Barlow was born on May 12, 1920, the son of Loyd H. Barlow and Frances Reid. His father supported his large family as a...

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