On February 8, 1943, Japanese troops evacuated Guadalcanal, leaving the
island in Allied possession after a prolonged campaign. The American
victory paved the way for other Allied wins in the Solomon Islands.

Guadalcanal is the largest of the Solomons, a group of 992 islands and atolls,
347 of which are inhabited, in the South Pacific Ocean. The Solomons, which
are located northeast of Australia and have 87 indigenous languages, were discovered in 1568 by the Spanish navigator Alvaro de Mendana de Neyra
(1541-95). In 1893, the British annexed Guadalcanal, along with the other
central and southern Solomons. The Germans took control of the northern Solomons in 1885, but transferred these islands, except for Bougainville
and Buka (which eventually went to the Australians) to the British in 1900.

    
Japanese POWs.

BRIAN THOMAS

Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974)

Charles Lindbergh was a aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and
activist. At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot
to instantaneous world fame by winning the Orteig Prize for making a
nonstop flight from New York to Paris.

  
President Jimmy Carter, in his first day in office, fulfilled a campaign
promise by announcing the pardoning of draft dodgers.
 

On January 21, 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter granted an unconditional
pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the
Vietnam War by fleeing the country or by failing to register. The executive
order left many people furious, while others saw it as a bold show of
compassion.

In total, some 100,000 young Americans went abroad in the late 1960s and
early 70s to avoid serving in the war. Ninety percent went to Canada, where
after some initial controversy they were eventually welcomed as immigrants.

Still others hid inside the United States. In addition to those who avoided
the draft, a relatively small number–about 1,000–of deserters from the U.S.
armed forces also headed to Canada. While the Canadian government
technically reserved the right to prosecute deserters, in practice they left
them alone, even instructing border guards not to ask too many questions.

   
German bomber flying over Britain during the Blitz.

On the evening of December 29, 1940, London suffers its most devastating
air raid when Germans firebomb the city. Hundreds of fires caused by the
exploding bombs engulfed areas of London, but firefighters showed a
valiant indifference to the bombs falling around them and saved much
of the city from destruction. The next day, a newspaper photo of St. Paul’s Cathedral standing undamaged amid the smoke and flames seemed to
symbolize the capital’s unconquerable spirit during the Battle of Britain.

The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, visible through smoke generated by German incendiary bombs.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924)

Eight months after the United States enters World War I on behalf of the Allies, President Woodrow Wilson (above) announced the nationalization of a large majority of the country’s railroads under the Federal Possession and Control
Act.

The U.S. entry into the war in April 1917 coincided with a downturn in the
fortunes of the nation’s railroads: rising taxes and operations costs,
combined with prices that were fixed by law, had pushed many railroad
companies into receivership as early as late 1915. A year later, in a last-
minute bill passed through Congress, Wilson had forced the railroad
management to accept union demands for an eight-hour work day. Still,
many skilled workers were leaving the cash-poor railroads to work in the
booming armaments industry or to enlist in the war effort.

By the end of 1917, it seemed that the existing railroad system was not up
to the task of supporting the war effort and Wilson decided on nationalization.

Two days after his announcement, the U.S. Railroad Administration (USRA)
seized control. William McAdoo, Wilson’s secretary of the treasury, was 
appointed Director General of Railroads. They were subsequently divided
into three divisions—East, West and South. Passenger services were
streamlined, eliminating a significant amount of inessential travel. Over
100,000 new railroad cars and 1,930 steam engines were ordered–designed
to the latest standards–at a total cost of $380 million.