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On This Date In History

Explore significant dates, missions, people, and events in the history of the 306th Bomb Group. New entries will be added as we continue to preserve and share the Group's history.

For association news and announcements, see From the 306th on the home page.

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December 16, 1944 – Battle of the Bulge Begins

The Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, Operation Autumn Mist, also known as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge, an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge, so-called because the Germans created a “bulge” around the area of the […]

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December 15, 1944 – Glenn Miller Disappears

After departing from RAF Twinwood Airfield in Bedfordshire, UK, a single-engine aircraft carrying trombonist and bandleader Glenn Miller goes missing over the English Channel. Miller was traveling to France for a congratulatory performance for American troops in Paris. Miller, the biggest star on the American pop-music scene in the years immediately preceding World War II, set […]

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December 11, 1941 – Germany Declares War on the United States

Adolf Hitler declares war on the United States, bringing America, which had been neutral, into the European conflict. The bombing of Pearl Harbor surprised even Germany. Although Hitler had made an oral agreement with his Axis partner Japan that Germany would join a war against the United States, he was uncertain as to how the war would be […]

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December 8, 1941 – The U.S. declares war on Japan

As America’s Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war against Japan. Leaning heavily on the arm of his son James, a Marine captain, FDR walked haltingly into the House of Representatives at noon to request a declaration of war from the House and address the nation […]

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December 7, 1941- Pearl Harbor Attacked

At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a […]

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