On June 24, 1997, U.S. Air Force officials released a 231-page
report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft
crash in Roswell, New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier.

Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, began
to flourish in the 1940s, when developments in space travel
and the dawn of the atomic age caused many Americans to
turn their attention to the skies.

       
He turned the material over to the sheriff, who passed it on to
authorities at the nearby Air Force base. On July 8, Air Force
officials announced they had recovered the wreckage of a
“flying disk.” A local newspaper put the story on its front
page, launching Roswell into the spotlight of the public’s
UFO fascination.

On June 11, 1979, John Wayne, famous for starring in countless westerns, died at age 72 after battling cancer for more than a
decade.

The actor was born Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907, in Winterset,
Iowa, and moved as a child to Glendale, California. A football star
at Glendale High School, he attended the University of Southern California on a scholarship but dropped out after two years.

After finding work as a movie studio laborer, Wayne befriended
director John Ford, then a rising talent. His first acting jobs were
bit parts in which he was credited as Duke Morrison, a childhood nickname derived from the name of his beloved pet dog.

Wayne’s first starring role came in 1930 with The Big Trail, a film
directed by Raoul Walsh.

On June 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway—one of the most
decisive U.S. victories in its war against Japan—came to
an end. In the four-day sea and air battle, the outnumbered
U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese
aircraft carriers with the loss of only one of its own, the
Yorktown, thus reversing the tide against the previously
invincible Japanese navy.

             
CAMILLE BOHANNON

On June 4, 1942, the Battle of Midway—one of the most
decisive U.S. victories against Japan during World War II
—began.

During the four-day sea-and-air battle, the outnumbered
U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese
aircraft carriers while losing only one of its own, the
Yorktown, to the previously invincible Japanese navy.