Wreckage from Tuskegee airman’s plane that crashed during WWII training recovered in Lake Huron
A team of divers have been trolling the deep, cold waters of Lake Huron off Michigan’s Thumb for several weeks each of the past few years searching for scattered pieces of aviation — and Black military — history.
Russian PM to visit Beijing as China renews criticism of Western arms sales to Ukraine
China says Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit Beijing next week for talks, marking the latest exchange in a relationship in which Russia is becoming increasingly reliant on China for economic and diplomatic support.
US official says Solomon Islands leader 'missed opportunity'
The U.S. deputy secretary of state says the prime minister of the Solomon Islands “missed an important opportunity” by failing to attend a memorial service to mark the anniversary of a key World War II battle, amid concerns the South Pacific island nation is building closer ties with China.
Veterans Day legislation targets GI Bill racial inequities
In honor of Veterans Day, a group of Democratic lawmakers is reviving an effort to pay the families of Black veterans who fought on behalf of the nation during World War II for benefits they were denied or prevented from taking full advantage of when they returned home from war.
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Michigan woman dies a month after 114th birthday
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – A Michigan woman who was 114 years old has died. Ellen Goodwill was considered to be Michigan's oldest resident, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported, citing the Gerontology Research Group, which keeps track of supercentenarians who reach 110. Goodwill, who lived at Advantage Living Center in Battle Creek, died Tuesday, according to a friend, Sharon Miller. She settled in Battle Creek where her husband, Augustus “Gus” Goodwill, was being treated for injuries from World War II. Goodwill’s husband died in 1972.
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Warren neighbors help WWII veteran get COVID vaccine
WARREN, Mich. – When we get older, we’d all be extremely luck to have neighbors like Bob and Debbie Geib. “No computer,” Bob Geib said. “Just a land line.”You would think a 94-year-old World War II veteran would be at the top of the vaccine list, but he’s not. “It was my duty,” Peischl recalled. Meijer stores said they are now partnering with the federal government and many more vaccine doses are on the way.
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CDC: Life expectancy drops by 1 year, 3 times worse for Black Americans
For Black Americans, that drop is nearly three times worse. Read: US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWIIAnthony says that the proof is in the numbers. Researchers at the CDC say the life expectancy for Black American populations declined by 2.7 years since 2019. The report essentially says Black Americans are expected to live until 72 years old, on average, the lowest life expectancy for the demographic since 2001. AdLatino populations in the U.S. reportedly have the second largest decline in life expectancy, falling 1.9 years since 2019.
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S. Korean sexual slavery survivor wants UN court judgment
Lee Yong-soo, a South Korean woman who was sexually enslaved by Japan's World War II military, weeps during a press conference at the Press Center in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Lee called for the leaders of both countries to settle an impasse over the issue by seeking judgment from the International Court of Justice. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)SEOUL – A South Korean woman who was sexually enslaved by Japan’s World War II military called for the leaders of both countries to settle an impasse over the issue by seeking judgment from the International Court of Justice. Bilateral tensions over sexual slavery flared again last month when a South Korean court ruled that the Japanese government must give 100 million won ($90,000) to each of 12 victims who filed lawsuits in 2013 over their wartime sufferings. While a lawsuit at the U.N. court could only happen if both countries agree to take their dispute there, it would be illogical for Japan to object when it has already accused South Korean court rulings of violating international law, he said.
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Bulgaria: Nationalists honor pro-Nazi general with flowers
Bulgarian far-right nationalists hold torches as they gather in the country's capital, to honour a World War II general known for his anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi activities, in Sofia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)SOFIA – Far-right nationalists gathered in Bulgaria's capital Saturday to honor a late World War II general known for his anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi activities. AdThe general served as war minister from 1935 to 1938, and led the pro-Nazi Germany Union of Bulgarian Legions from 1932 until 1943. Contemporary nationalists deny that Lukov was an anti-Semitic fascist or that they are promoting neo-fascism. On Saturday, Bulgarian National Union supporters placed a wreath and flowers in front of Lukov’s former home and held torch lights in tribute.
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Detroit World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday on Sunday
DETROIT – A World War II veteran from Detroit will turn 100 on Sunday! DeMarr Solomon will celebrate his 100th birthday on Feb. 7, with his wife, Blanche, of 73 years. Solomon worked for the City of Detroit Housing Department for 48 years. He was also a freelance photographer who took society photos for the Michigan Chronicle. From all of us at Local 4: Happy Birthday, DeMarr!
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Russia expels EU diplomats over Navalny as tensions rise
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Swedish and Polish diplomats in St. Petersburg and a German diplomat in Moscow of taking part in what it called “unlawful” rallies on Jan. 23. Tens of thousands of people across Russia took to the streets that day to protest Navalny's arrest. The diplomats were declared “persona non grata” and were required to leave Russia “shortly,” a ministry statement said. Navalny accused Artemenko’s family of exploiting the frail man for their own gain, alleging the case was fabricated and the evidence falsified. “The judge should burn in hell, and you’re selling your grandfather out,” Navalny said, as Artemenko’s grandson testified.
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Capt. Tom Moore, WWII vet whose walk cheered UK, dies at 100
Tom Moore, the 100-year-old World War II veteran who captivated the British public in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic with his fundraising efforts, has died, Tuesday Feb. 2, 2021. AdFor three weeks in April, fans were greeted with daily videos of Captain Tom, stooped with age, doggedly pushing his walker in the garden. When Captain Tom finished his 100th lap on April 16, a military honor guard lined the path. The celebration continued on his birthday a few days later, when two World War II-era fighter planes flew overhead in tribute. But it was the public that embraced Captain Tom, flooding the village post office with some 6,000 gifts and 140,000 birthday cards.
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Future of Holocaust research in Poland hinges on libel case
It is the first closely watched Holocaust speech case since Poland sought to pass a law in 2018 that would have criminalized the act of falsely blaming Poland for Germany’s Holocaust crimes. The current case is instead a civil libel case tried under a pre-existing law, yet many scholars believe it will set an important precedent for freedom of Holocaust research. “This is a case of the Polish state against freedom of research,” Grabowski told The Associated Press on Monday. Grabowski, a Polish-Canadian whose father was a Polish Holocaust survivor, has faced considerable anti-Semitic harassment by nationalists, both online and at lectures in Canada, France and elsewhere. Maciej Swirski, the head of the organization, said no public money was used to fund the legal case.
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Unwanted virus milestone: UK's civilian dead now tops WWII's
The United Kingdom has suffered its worst civilian loss of life since World War II by a significant number. But the United Kingdom has now suffered its worst civilian loss of life since World War II by a significant number. Here's a look at some of Britain's struggles with civilian deaths during World War II and since. In World War II, the threat to Britain was existential. WORLD WAR II CIVILIAN DEATHSFrom September 1940-May 1941, the U.K. suffered an intensive bombing campaign by Germany's Luftwaffe that struck the biggest cities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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Seoul court orders Japan to compensate 12 Korean sex slaves
Portraits of late former South Korean comfort women are displayed near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. A South Korean court on Friday ordered Japan to financially compensate 12 South Korean women forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II, the first such ruling expected to rekindle animosities between the Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)SEOUL – A South Korean court on Friday ordered Japan to financially compensate 12 South Korean women forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II, a landmark ruling that’s set to rekindle animosities between the Asian neighbors. Observers say it’s unlikely for Japan to abide by the South Korean court ruling. In 2015, South Korea’s previous government reached a deal with Japan to resolve the sexual slavery dispute.
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Chinese Americans who served in WWII honored by Congress
That law made it illegal for Chinese laborers to immigrate to America and limited the Chinese population in the U.S. for more than 60 years. Chinese Americans served in all major branches of the military, including the so-called Flying Tigers, the 14th Air Service that flew missions in the China-Burma-India Theater. For their service to the nation during the war, Chinese-American veterans were honored at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony Wednesday. Francis B. Wai had been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military award given by the United States. She and other Chinese Americans “answered the call to duty when our country faced threats to our freedom,″ Chin said in a videotaped presentation at Wednesday’s ceremony.
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Mechanic: 'Everything perfect' before fatal WWII plane crash
“And that morning, everything was perfect,” Melton told NTSB investigators. I mean, there was no reason not to fly, you know.”The plane crashed into a maintenance building at the airport while trying to land after the No. Melton told officials that the No. “I don’t know why we weren’t, you know, gaining altitude,” Melton said. I don’t know what happened.”McCauley and Foster, 71, of Jacksonville, Florida, tried to return to the airport.
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Lidia Menapace, Italian Resistance member, dies at age 96
ROME – Lidia Brisca Menapace, a Resistance member during World War II who later was an advocate of pacifism and women’s rights and was elected to the Italian Senate on a Communist party ticket, has died. Italian state radio said she had been hospitalized for several days with COVID-19 in Bolzano, the Alpine city where she had lived in latter decades. As young woman, Lidia Brisca pedaled a bicycle to deliver medicine and messages to Resistance fighters, known as Partisans, based in the countryside of the northern Piedmont region of her birth. She was the first woman to be elected to the provincial legislature of Bolzano, another Alpine province. She remained proud of the Resistance spirit, remarking that she was still a Partisan, because “being so is a choice of life."