Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands, Western Pacific • November 20, 1944 On this date in November 1944, an hour before daybreak, 3 Japanese Kaitens—human-piloted torpedoes—wakelessly and silently motored eastward through an opening in the coral reef that surrounded the 212‑sq. mile/596‑sq. km Ulithi lagoon in the Caroline Islands. Up until early 1945 Ulithi Atoll was the U.S….
Tarawa, Gilbert Islands • November 20, 1943 On this date in 1943 the Alligator LVT-1, or Landing Vehicle Tracked‑1, made its first combat debut. Actually, the LVT‑1 saw use in landings on Guadalcanal and the adjacent islands of Tulagi, Tanambogo, and Gavutu over a year earlier, in August 1942, but only as a logistical support…
Washington, D.C. • November 20, 1941 On this date in 1941 in Washington, Japanese ambassador Kichisaburō Nomura presented his government’s final proposal for peace in the Asia Pacific region. Through much of 1941, Ambassador Nomura had negotiated with U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull to resolve festering bilateral issues. Chief among the issues were the…