On August 11, 1939, Congress established Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. The monument honors and preserves this historic fort where our national anthem was born. It’s also the only place in the National Park system to be designated a Historic Shrine.
On August 7, 1942, Allied troops landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands. The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as Operation Watchtower, was the Allies’ first major offensive against the Japanese Empire.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial was officially dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. This stamp was issued eight years later and led to a federal court case!
General John Leonard “Birdie” Hines was born on May 21, 1868, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. During World War I, Hines successively commanded a regiment, brigade, division, and corps in combat. He was the first person to do that since the Civil War.
The forerunner of the US Army Reserve was established on April 23, 1908. It was the nation’s first federal reserve – providing fully-trained and prepared troops in times of need. Today, there are over 815,000 reservists across all the military branches.
On February 21, 1916, one of the longest battles on the Western Front began at Verdun. The nearly 10-month battle ended in a French victory, but at a high cost of lives on both sides.
William Henry “Bill” Mauldin was born on October 29, 1921, in Mountain Park, New Mexico.
On October 18, 1997, the Women in Military Service for America Memorial (WIMSA) was officially dedicated in Arlington County, Virginia.
On September 29, 1899, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) was founded in Columbus, Ohio.