Japan’s surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, brought the United States fully into World War II.Although America adopted an official war policy of defeating the Axis in Europe first, Pearl Harbor had to be avenged. On April 18, 1942, the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo did exactly that. Less than two months later, one plane got its own revenge after witnessing the devastation in Hawaii.Related: Here’s the story behind the WWII legends the Doolittle Raiders The Douglas SBD Dauntless A U.S. Navy Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless flies en route to strike Japanese installations in February 1944. (U.S. Navy) Introduced in 1940, the Douglas SBD Dauntless was a carrier scout plane and dive bomber that saw service with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Using a split flap/dive brake, the Dauntless could perform very steep and accurate dives of up to 70 degrees.Developed from the Northrop XBT-1 and XBT-2, Douglas introduced the SBD-1 and the SBD-2, which featured an increased fuel capacity and different guns. In April 1939, the Marines ordered 57 SBD-1s and the Navy ordered 87 SBD-2s.By the attack on Pearl Harbor, 584 SBD-3s were delivered to both services.SBD-2, Bureau Number 2106, was built at Douglas’ plant in El Segundo, California, in December 1940. On December 31, it was delivered to the Navy, assigned to Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2) at Naval Air Station San Diego, and embarked aboard the USS Lexington (CV-2).The plane took part in the 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers, a series of major war games designed to test the U.S. military’s preparedness for war. Heading for Midway Three Japanese bombs hit the USS Yorktown on June 4, 1942. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command) In December 1941, BuNo 2106 was again loaded aboard the Lexington and bound for Midway Atoll, where it was to be assigned to a Marine squadron. However, the Dauntless was instead unloaded at Pearl Harbor to make room for other planes. It was placed in an aircraft pool at Luke Field on Ford Island. Although the island was bombed on December 7, including aircraft hangars, BuNo 2106 survived the attack.After Pearl Harbor, the plane returned to VB-2 aboard the Lexington and took part in attacks on Japanese ships in New Guinea in early 1942. In May of that year, BuNo 2106 finally made it to Midway and was transferred to Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 241 (VMSB-241).During the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942, the plane launched against the Japanese fleet. Braving heavy anti-aircraft fire and marauding A6M2 Zeros, BuNo 2106 attacked the Japanese carrier Hiryū, one of the ships that launched planes against Pearl Harbor.Of the 27 planes sent up from VMSB-241, only eight returned to Midway.With more than 200 holes in it and only one operational landing gear, BuNo 2106 miraculously returned to Henderson Field. After it was repaired, the Dauntless was reassigned back to the Navy and assigned to a Carrier Qualification Training unit to train new aircrews. On July 11, 1943, during a training mission, BuNo 2106 ditched in Lake Michigan while attempting land aboard USS Sable (IX-81). A Successful Salvaging Mission The Douglas SBD Dauntless, which survived the attack at Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, is on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum onboard NAS Pensacola, Florida. (U.S. Navy/Joshua Cox) The historic plane sat at the bottom of the lake until 1994, when it was raised and salvaged.At the National Museum of Naval Aviation, now the National Naval Aviation Museum, the Dauntless underwent a massive restoration project. Over 100 staff and volunteers contributed to the effort, which took a total of 70,000 hours. Their hard work paid off, and BuNo 2106 is now proudly displayed in Pensacola, Florida.Impressively, more than 90% of the static display is original period parts. Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty • Why the lessons from the attack on Pearl Harbor still matter today• Everything you need to know about the Battle of Midway, the ‘turning point’ of WWII• Doolittle Raid: That time America clapped back in WWII Featured World War II This plane survived Pearl Harbor and struck back at Midway By Miguel Ortiz World War II The Allies refused to buy American surplus after WWII so US troops pushed it into the ocean By Bethaney Phillips Veterans Benefits VA rescinds decision that could have lowered veterans’ disability rating By Stephen Ruiz Sports The latest on whether the Army-Navy football game is changing dates By Stephen Ruiz Movies The bizarre James Bond hoax that has Hollywood scratching its head  By Shannon Corbeil The post This plane survived Pearl Harbor and struck back at Midway appeared first on We Are The Mighty.

Americans have been dumping valuable stuff into the ocean since before the United States became an independent country. Whether it was done as a protest, as a disposal method, or out of pure spite. Sometimes it was symbolic. Sometimes it was practical. Sometimes it was both. The area known as “Million Dollar Point” was all three.Also Read: The John Frum Movement and World War II ‘cargo cults’But in nearly every case, the result was the same: enormous amounts of goods ended up in the drink. Tea. Weapons. Vehicles. Chemicals. Perfectly usable equipment. Hazardous junk nobody wanted to store. The sea has taken all of it. Million Dollar Point After World War II, the U.S. faced a monumental logistics problem across the entire Pacific: getting rid of nine million tons of surplus military material, valued at nearly $4 billion (north of $73 billion today). This massive clean-up operation became known as Operation Roll-Up. On the island of Espiritu Santo, now in Vanuatu, the problem was particularly visible. The island was a major Allied logistics hub during the war, which meant it was packed with vehicles, machinery, tools, and supplies. When the war ended, the Americans offered to sell much of that gear to French and British authorities at a steep discount, reportedly as low as six to ten cents on the dollar. They said no.The likely assumption was that the U.S. wouldn’t bother shipping everything back, so the equipment would eventually be left behind anyway. That was a reasonable guess. It was also wrong.The Americans dumped it.For days, troops pushed trucks, bulldozers, machinery, supplies, and other equipment into the sea. In many cases, the equipment was perfectly usable. The message was straightforward: if the Allies wouldn’t buy it, they weren’t getting it for free. But there was a deeper sentiment underlying the dump. American troops wanted to give supplies, such as pots and pans, to the locals free of cost. The French, anxious to reestablish the pre-war colonial order, imposed harsh punishments on the residents of Vanuatu who took the supplies offered by the Americans for free. Watching colonial policy in action ensured that U.S. troops had no qualms about denying equipment to the colonial powers.What started as a wartime logistics decision and became a postwar political statement is today a popular tourist destination known as Million Dollar Point, where tourists snorkel and SCUBA dive to check out the rusting wreckage. While the $4 billion figure represents the total value of surplus across the entire Pacific theater, the site itself likely contains millions of dollars’ worth of wreckage. An American Tradition This wasn’t the first time Americans threw enormous value into the water. Probably the oldest—and most recognizable event—is the Boston Tea Party. Parliament passed the Tea Act in May 1773, effectively giving the British East India Company a monopoly by offering cheaper tea in England with a tax break, one that the colonies didn’t get. This undercut local merchants and allowed Parliament to tax colonists without their consent. The way the colonists saw it, they were helping pay for Parliament, but getting none of the perks. Like a vote.On Dec. 16, 1773, colonists in Boston boarded the company’s ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor in protest. To the colonists, it wasn’t just about tea. It was about power. They were expected to help pay for a system that gave them no political voice, and dumping the tea was a direct, public rejection of that arrangement.Colonists dumped tea worth around £9,659 (British pounds sterling). An incredible 92,000 pounds were dumped into the Harbor, totaling $1.7 million today. It’s not another “Million Dollar Point,” but it could be.In modern terms, the financial loss would be significant. More importantly, the event became a political turning point, proving that economic destruction could be used as a message just as much as a military action. Top Stories Military News A new VA disability rule may lower millions of veteran disability ratings By Blake Stilwell History Flintlock to firepower: The grunt’s 250-year quest for a weapon that actually works By Adam Gramegna Entertainment The new Jimmy Stewart biopic depicts his World War II service By Blake Stilwell World War II Chemical Weapons After World War II, the U.S. military used ocean dumping as a disposal method for chemical weapons, including mustard agent and other munitions. Between the mid-1940s and 1960, millions of pounds of chemical weapons were dumped in coastal waters. It was a practice born out of convenience and cost, and for years, it was treated as an acceptable way to get rid of dangerous stockpiles. Operation CHASE was an acronym for “Cut Holes and Sink ‘Em,” which meant a significant portion of the chemical weapons the U.S. manufactured during the war was headed for the bottom of the ocean. The U.S. produced chemicals like mustard gas, Lewisite, and later, nerve agents for potential use against Germany and Japan. After the war, these stockpiles became obsolete, surplus, or presented a storage problem. Rather than maintain them, the U.S. military disposed of them at sea. This probably seemed like a good idea at the time. (CDC) But the Allies had also captured a large amount of enemy munitions, and those had to go somewhere, too. They also decided to dispose of captured materials at sea. During Operation Davy Jones’ Locker, which ran from 1946 to 1948, the U.S. alone scuttled approximately 11 ships containing an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 tons of captured German chemical weapons.Eventually, the environmental and safety risks became too hard to ignore, and ocean disposal was banned in 1972. The Soviet Union and the British also disposed of chemical weapons at sea, in untold numbers. Unlike Million Dollar Point, divers should probably avoid these dumping sites. Trying to pin down the exact dollar value of all that dumped material is difficult, especially with chemical agents, because there isn’t a normal civilian market price for something like mustard gas.Operation CHASE cost the U.S. an estimated $22 per ton, while more environmentally friendly methods cost upwards of $78 per ton for disposal. The combined tonnage of known CHASE ships was around 48,000 tons and cost $1,075,844 to sink. When adjusted for inflation, the cost of disposing of the chemical weapons in the ocean comes to $9.9 million in today’s numbers. While dumping the munitions into the sea was a huge savings, the true price tag is the weapons’ production cost, a figure we will probably never fully know.Taken together, these examples show that throwing things into the sea has never been about simply getting rid of junk. Sometimes it was a protest against a government. Sometimes it was a shortcut for disposing of dangerous weapons. Sometimes it was an extremely calculated sales tactic.In every case, though, the pattern is the same: huge material losses, huge financial losses, and long-term consequences that outlive the moment. The ocean became a dumping ground for political anger, military surplus, and hazardous waste, and in many places, the evidence is still sitting there.And all of it was expensive. Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty • 9 Foods you didn’t know came from wartime rationing• Operation Highjump was one of the military’s coldest missions to date• ‘Project Jedi’ aimed to teach soldiers to use the Force when firing weapons History World War II The Allies refused to buy American surplus after WWII so US troops pushed it into the ocean By Bethaney Phillips Vietnam War The real story of Jane Fonda and the Vietnam vets who hate her By Blake Stilwell Vietnam War How a sailor remembered 256 prisoners of war through song By Blake Stilwell World War II How a soldier’s homemade US flag made it from a WWII POW camp to the Smithsonian By Stephen Ruiz Vietnam War The shortest soldier in American history was a Green Beret who fought in Vietnam By Blake Stilwell The post The Allies refused to buy American surplus after WWII so US troops pushed it into the ocean appeared first on We Are The Mighty.

As debate continues about when and whether to expand the College Football Playoff, the Army-Navy game remains an important part of that discussion.Specifically, the annual rivalry game between the two United States military academies is in the way. Contested the week after conference championship games since 2009, it almost certainly will have to move off that date to clear the runway for a larger playoff.Related: How the Army-Navy game of 1944 stopped World War IIArmy coach Jeff Monken had an interesting suggestion this week: Move one of the biggest traditional games on the college football calendar to Thanksgiving weekend.“There’s not an appetite for the college football season to go all the way to the end of January,” Monken told The Athletic. “There’s a real hope that we can get this thing into one semester and have the championship game around Jan. 1, which would be awesome.” A Game Unlike Any Other Navy leads the all-time football series against Army 64-55-7. (U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Christopher Prelle) With apologies to Ohio State-Michigan and Auburn-Alabama, there is no college football game quite like Army and Navy.Playing for their school (and country) actually matters to the Black Knights and Midshipmen. Call us old school, but tuning into a college game and not being inundated with talk of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL); the transfer portal; and the players’ NFL Draft prospects is actually refreshing.No, sir, these young men are the embodiment of student-athletes and so much more. Then you throw in the prisoner exchange, the student bodies’ pregame march onto the field, and both teams’ singing the other’s alma mater postgame, and we’re hooked.And we haven’t even discussed how competitive the series has been. Scratch that. Now we are: First played in 1890 (Benjamin Harrison was president then, for you history buffs), the Midshipmen lead the all-time series 64-55. Seven games have ended in a tie.And in four of the past five meetings, a touchdown or less has been the margin of victory. That includes December 13, 2025, when Navy eked out a 17-16 victory in Baltimore. Preserving the Exclusive Window Army football coach Jeff Monken celebrates after the Black Knights defeat Navy 14-13 on December 9, 2017, in Philadelphia. (U.S. Army/Michelle Eberhart) While the College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams for the upcoming season, it could expand to 14, 16, or (please, no) 24 teams for the 2027 regular season. That would imperil the exclusive window that the Army-Navy game typically has enjoyed.No other annual game in the sport has such exclusivity, so it is worth preserving.“Give us a four-hour block on Thanksgiving, or on Friday of Thanksgiving, or on Saturday of Thanksgiving, and give us a four-hour block,” Monken said, making his case. “Just say nobody else plays during this four-hour block. That’s still protecting the game.”One of Monken’s key points suppoorting his suggestion was to allow Army and Navy a clearer path into the CFP. Although both academies are members of the American Conference, the rivalry game does not count in the conference standings. The American Conference title game is played the first week of December, a week before the Army-Navy clash and a day or two before the CFP field is determined.“Without a pathway to the playoffs, you’re irrelevant,” Monken said. Navy AD Calls Suggested Move ‘Detrimental’ Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point conduct the March On activities at the 124th Army-Navy game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, December 9, 2023. (U.S. Army/Sgt. David Resnick) Monken’s Thanksgiving idea has some merit. Also, there are issues. Other big college football games are normally played over Thanksgiving weekend, so there would need to be buy-in from those schools (or the conferences in which they play). There’s also the three-letter elephant in the room that drives the fall sports calendar: N-F-L. It plays three games on Thanksgiving and, since 2023, one on Black Friday. Something tells us the NFL isn’t going to give up those dates.And, perhaps most importantly, what does Navy think of Monken’s proposal? For that, here’s the Midshipmen’s athletic director, Michael Kelly.“I’m always open-minded to different options, but I’m not supportive of the Thanksgiving suggestion,” Kelly said, according to the Capital-Gazette, a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. “That would be really detrimental to our revenue potential in terms of viewership and sponsorship.“There is a reason why large-scale, neutral site college football games aren’t held around Thanksgiving. There are other better options that can be discussed moving forward.” Any More Suggestions? While the 2026 Army-Navy football game should still be played on December 12 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the dates of matchups beyond this year is somewhat unclear.Everyone seemingly has an opinion, including President Donald Trump. The commander in chief has threatened to issue an executive order to preserve the Army-Navy game’s exclusive window.“The Army-Navy Game is one of our Greatest American Traditions—Unmatched Patriotism, Courage, and Honor!” Trump began a post on Truth Social in January.That tradition now faces plenty of uncertainty. Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty • 4 awesome traditions to look for at the Army-Navy Game• The ‘Prisoner Exchange’ is the coolest Army-Navy tradition no one talks about• Leatherneck Football: The Marine Corps’ legacy on the gridiron Featured Vietnam War How a sailor remembered 256 prisoners of war through song By Blake Stilwell World War II How a soldier’s homemade US flag made it from a WWII POW camp to the Smithsonian By Stephen Ruiz Vietnam War The shortest soldier in American history was a Green Beret who fought in Vietnam By Blake Stilwell World War II The highest ranking US military officer in World War II isn’t who you think By Blake Stilwell History Remembering 250 years of Marine Corps Commandants By Daniel Tobias Flint The post The latest on whether the Army-Navy football game is changing dates appeared first on We Are The Mighty.

A week after the Department of Veterans Affairs published an interim final rule that would have lowered disability compensation for millions of military veterans, the VA announced Thursday it is rescinding it.The interim final rule, “Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication,” would have allowed the VA, effective immediately, to rate veterans based on how they function with medication and treatment, instead of how their condition actually affects them.Before the rule was removed from the Federal Register, more than 19,000 comments from veterans and advocates had been submitted. Most of them criticized how the change would have impacted their health and finances.Related: A new VA disability rule may lower millions of veteran disability ratingsThe interim final rule was initially posted February 17.“VA remains committed to its mission of ensuring that every claimant applying for benefits—especially veterans who have earned disability compensation through their honorable service to the Nation—receives all benefits to which they are entitled under the law as expeditiously as possible,” the VA said in its post Thursday.“To ensure that VA can fulfill this mission while maintaining the trust and confidence of our Nation’s veterans, as well as their families, caregivers, and survivors, the Department hereby advises that the interim final rule is rescinded effective immediately.”The decision came after the backlash caused by the VA’s initial decision, which it reached without input from veterans and despite what courts have decided.The VA did not follow normal procedure with its initial posting.Normally, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs would classify the VA’s new rule as “a major rule” under the Congressional Review Act, because its estimated annual cost is more than $100 million. Major rules must be submitted to Congress and the Government Accountability Office, and they can’t take effect until at least 60 days after submission.But the VA claimed it had good cause under 5 U.S.C. 808 (2) to forgo the 60-day review and publish an interim final rule, meaning it would have taken immediately.That rule ran counter to at least two prior judicial rulings.In 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims decided in Jones vs Shinseki that unless the rating criteria specifically mentioned medication, the VA could not reduce a rating only because medication improved symptoms.The court’s 2025 decision in Ingram vs Collins extended the Jones decision to musculoskeletal conditions and required examiners to attempt to determine a “baseline severity” if the veteran didn’t take medication.“Immediate rescission ensures continuity in adjudication and preserves the status quo” the VA wrote in its updated post. “This action does not resolve the legal questions now before the courts; it simply restores prior regulatory text to maintain stability.” Blake Stilwell contributed to this report.  Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty • The VA backed down on its new disability rating rule—but didn’t rescind it• General Patton’s grandson help heal veterans through filmmaking• The mathematician who saved hundreds of flight crews during World War II Featured Veterans Benefits VA rescinds decision that could have lowered veterans’ disability rating By Stephen Ruiz Sports The latest on whether the Army-Navy football game is changing dates By Stephen Ruiz Movies The bizarre James Bond hoax that has Hollywood scratching its head  By Shannon Corbeil Feature General Patton’s grandson help heal veterans through filmmaking By Blake Stilwell Vietnam War The real story of Jane Fonda and the Vietnam vets who hate her By Blake Stilwell The post VA rescinds decision that could have lowered veterans’ disability rating appeared first on We Are The Mighty.

Thinking about taking that next step, whether its retirement, or allowing your military contract to end? Here are a few things that military families tend to struggle with and what you can do to prepare them for the next chapter. Untreated Mental Health While there has been a massive cultural shift within the military community in regards to its viewpoint on the importance of mental health, there is a long way to go. With fast-paced schedules, it can be difficult to pinpoint the difference between mental health problems and job-related stress. This can lead to the Service Member overlooking mental health symptoms and thinking they will pass when they get out only for them to realize the symptoms haven’t gone away. In some cases, they get worse as distractions lessen. Even without a significant mental health challenge, Service Members can struggle with the transition from Soldier to Civilian, resulting in anxiety, depression, or other related behavioral challenges.Untreated mental health problems can affect military spouses and children in various ways and are all unique to each family. This article by Matthew A. Robinson lists some possible outcomes as children showing anxiety through temper tantrums, refusal to go to school, or rejecting the Service Member’s authority. This is why its so important to seek preventative mental health care as soon as you decide to transition out of the military. Trained professionals can determine whether you need additional support, medication, or offer support groups to rely on through the process. They will also provide information on how to seek continued care in the civilian sector if you are no longer able to be seen on post. Financial Uncertainty After receiving a paycheck on the 1st and 15th of every month, families get used to a certain level of financial safety. They take comfort knowing that no matter what comes up, they will have another sum of money coming within the next few weeks. Additionally, that paycheck accounts for housing, groceries, savings, and healthcare. With routine raises, the cumulative effect of this can lead to something called “lifestyle creep“. If another job doesn’t immediately follow after service, families may not be able to afford the life that they were used to. This can include things like streaming services, car payments, vacations, hobbies, and more. This sudden change can be a big shock to spouses and children as they may not immediately understand. Family Role Changes Something that can stem from financial uncertainty can be changing roles within the family. A number of military families have spouses that stay at home with children. Some spouses may work only part-time jobs or work full-time on a hobby supported by the Service Member. If that income is no longer reliable after service, the spouse may need to find more lucrative work to help keep up with expenses. This would result in a child needing to go to daycare or school earlier than planned. Another possible example, the spouse may have been waiting for their opportunity to pursue a demanding career and need the Service Member to take a turn staying at home. While all these situations are unique to each family, changing of roles can interrupt the routine they have created. It can lead to power struggles, confusion for children, and sometimes disconnect between partners. What Can You Do? All this to say, you are not making a bad choice leaving the military. There are risks with any change. The smartest thing you can do is educate yourself on those risks and prepare your family for the challenges ahead. You will make it through, and it very well might be the start to a beautiful new chapter in your life. The best thing you can do is learn about the support systems around you. There are many organizations committed to helping veterans and their families through this very process. For example, at Soldiers’ Angels, we offer assistance with groceries via food distributions and food pantries across the country. If you and your family are struggling to ends meet, please do not hesitate to ask for help. You can read more about our available services here. apply for food assistance About The Author Calesta Ahola has served in the United States Army for 8 years. She began her journey with Soldiers’ Angels as a SkillBridge Marketing Intern and is currently pursing her Bachelor’s Degree through Southern New Hampshire University. The post The 3 Major Challenges Military Families Face After Service appeared first on Soldiers' Angels.