At the AHM this weekend! WWII Pacific War Re-enactment – Battle of Okinawa, July 12th & 13th, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM![]()
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The American Heritage Museum will host a WWII Pacific Theater re-enactment. Infantry representing Japanese and American forces will clash in this extraordinary living history event. Camps will be set up with authentic gear and appearance. WWII aircraft will fly in the battle (weather permitting).![]()
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The Battle of Okinawa, fought from April to June 1945, was the largest and bloodiest battle of the Pacific Theater in World War II. The intense combat was marked by kamikaze attacks, brutal ground fighting, and high civilian casualties. The battle was the fiercest in the Pacific Theater, with some 50,000 Allied and 100,000 Japanese casualties, not including the local Okinawans who were conscripted into the Japanese Army. It is estimated that over 149,000 Okinawan people were killed. The Allied victory at Okinawa provided a critical staging ground for a potential invasion of mainland Japan, but the staggering loss of life and the fierce Japanese resistance significantly influenced the U.S. decision to use atomic bombs to end the war swiftly. Okinawa underscored the heavy cost of victory in the Pacific and hastened the final chapter of the war. Pacific war camps and aircraft will be set up and on display throughout the day. The battle re-enactment starts around 1 PM.![]()
For tickets see: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/event/wwii-pacific-re-enactment-saipan-campaign-2025/
Starting at 1pm at the AHM: Author George Hayward will talk about his book The Party Dolls. He delves into a dramatic and morally charged episode from the Vietnam War: the daring 1969 escape attempt—code-named “The Party”—by U.S. Air Force Captains John Dramesi and Ed Atterberry from Hanoi’s notorious Annex prison camp.
Start your 4th of July celebrations with a visit to the American Heritage Museum! We will be open July 4th from 10am to 5pm.
What is your favorite military car of all time?![]()
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Join the conversation and share your thoughts! 💭 Each week, We're posing a question about historical military vehicles, and we want YOU to weigh in. Whether you’re a history buff, or just curious—we want to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment below to cast your vote! 👇![]()
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#QuestionOfTheWeek
Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - What is it?! ![]()
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Thanks to everyone who played last week… the answer for June 25th is a part of the running gear on our LVT(a)-4… see the previous post for the full details!![]()
Good luck on this week’s challenge! ![]()
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#americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma
Italian Campaign
M3A1 Scout Car – USA | PERSONNEL CARRIER/RECON
M5A1 Stuart – USA | LIGHT TANK
VW Kübelwagen Type 82 – GER | RECON CAR
Schwimmwagen Type 166 – GER | AMPHIBIOUS PERSONNEL CARRIER/RECON
2 cm Flak 38 – GER | ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN
The Italian Campaign lasted from 1943 to 1945. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, 60,000–70,000 Allied and over 100,000 German soldiers died. The invasion of Sicily in July 1943 led to the collapse of the Fascist Italian regime and the fall of Mussolini who was incarcerated on July 25th, 1943. German forces soon took control of northern and central Italy. Mussolini, who was rescued from captivity by German paratroopers. Hitler assisted Mussolini in setting up a puppet state, the Italian Social Republic, to administer the German-occupied territory. Italy fell into a civil war even as Allied and German armies clashed on its territory.
U.S. and British political leaders hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the war. The defeat of Italy would enable Allied naval forces, principally the Royal Navy, to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, securing the lines of communications with Egypt and Asia while forcing Axis divisions to transfer troops from the Eastern Front to defend Italy. This assistance had been promised to the Soviet Union, then facing the great majority of German and also Italian troops.
The land forces involved were the US 7th Army under General George Patton, and the British 8th Army, under General Bernard Montgomery. They started with the liberation of Sicily in 1943. Allied forces continued with the invasion of mainland Italy which precipitated the fall of Mussolini’s government and also provoked a German invasion o the north that blocked the Allies from Rome.
Mountainous Italy was a hard place to fight and mistakes were made by both sides, even before the main focus of fighting in Western Europe shifted to France in June, 1944. The result was that difficult, hardscrabble fighting in Italy lasted almost the the end of WWII.
