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Mar 11 4 tweets 4 min read
SOLDIER PROFILE – CATHAY WILLIAMS, FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO ENLIST IN U.S. ARMY

Before the U.S. Army permitted them to enlist, some women, like Cathay Williams, sought to serve their country by joining the Army disguised as men.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #WomensHistoryMonth
Born into slavery in 1844, Williams lived in an area of Missouri that was captured by the Union in 1861. Williams became a camp follower attached to various Union armies and mostly performed a cook’s duties through the remainder of the war.
#MilitaryHistory #Diversity @USArmy
Not wishing to leave the Army life, Williams disguised herself as a man, took the name “William Cathey,” and enlisted in NOV 1866. She was assigned to the 38th Infantry Regiment, one of the newly formed all-Black U.S. Army regiments referred to as “Buffalo Soldiers.” @TRADOC
Williams concealed her gender for nearly two years while serving at various posts across the West. She was discovered when she fell ill in JUL 1868, and she was discharged in OCT. Williams applied for a veteran’s pension in 1891, but her claim was denied. @TradocCG @SecArmy

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More from @USArmyCMH

Mar 13
UNIT PROFILE – BATTERY X #WWII

With the establishment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in World War II, women entered military service as something other than nurses for the first time.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #WW2 #WW2History #WomensHistoryMonth Image
The original concept for the WAAC was to assign women to critical non-combat roles and “free a man to fight.” They were expressly excluded from combat-related duties, and – as the name "auxiliary" implied – were not considered a formal part of the Army.
#MilitaryHistory
However, Army Chief of Staff GEN George C. Marshall experimented with allowing women to serve in a limited combat role as range-finder operators with anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) units of the Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) in the Continental United States beginning in 1942. Image
Read 6 tweets
Mar 12
"WAR TIME" or better known as Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins tonight as we "Spring Forward" one hour!! The idea for DST first began as early as the 1700's as a way to maximize daylight working hours and later into the early 1900's as a way to save electricity and coal. Image
It was the Germans during #WWI who first practiced DST on April 30, 1916 as a way to conserve electricity for the war effort. The British who had been considering it for years followed a few weeks later.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #DaylightSavingsTime #DST #MilitaryHistory
When America entered the war they also adjusted to DST in March of 1918 but it was so despised that it was repealed by President Wilson in 1919.

@USArmy @TRADOC @TradocCG @SecArmy @ArmyChiefStaff @FORSCOM Image
Read 5 tweets
Mar 12
12 - 26 MARCH 1944 - ADMIRALTY ISLANDS - MANUS ISLAND - #WWII
With opns on Los Negros in the mopping up stage, the 1st Cav Division's 2d BDE moved on Manus, the next island across Seeadler Harbor in the Admiralty archipelago.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #WWIIPacific #1stcav Image
On 11 March, reconnaissance patrols landed on three small offshore islands, including Hauwei and Butjo Luto, to determine if they were suitable for positioning artillery to support the amphibious landing on Manus.
On 12 March, 2d Squadron of the 7th Cav made an amphibious assault with air, naval gunfire and artillery support, and overcame the Japanese defenders the next day with the aid of a tank. The division then positioned two field artillery battalions on Hauwei and one on Butjo Luto. Image
Read 7 tweets
Mar 10
10 MARCH 1945 - BATTLE OF MINDANAO BEGINS - #WWII

As the campaign to liberate the Philippines continued, U.S. and Filipino forces prepared to attack Mindanao, the southernmost island in the archipelago, in Operation VICTOR IV.

#Armyhistory #USArmy
Intelligence reported the Japanese had established strong defensive positions around of the city of Zamboanga at the southern tip of the Zamboanga peninsula. Filipino guerrillas seized a makeshift airstrip at Dipolog, about 145 miles northeast of Zamboanga City.
The Americans airlifted elements of the 21st Infantry, 24th Infantry Division, to exploit the opportunity and ensured control of the airstrip.

#TRADOC #MilitaryHistory #Mindinao #Philippines
Read 7 tweets
Mar 9
9 - 29 MARCH 1847 - SIEGE OF VERA CRUZ - #MexicanWar

Major General Winfield Scott, in command of a U.S. Army expeditionary force numbering 13,660 men, rendezvoused at Lobos Island late in February 1847.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #MilitaryHistory #VeraCruz #WinfieldScott Image
On 2 March, the army sailed for Vera Cruz, convoyed by a naval force under Commodore Matthew C. Perry. Scott chose a beach nearly 3 miles south of the city, beyond the range of Mexican artillery, for the landing.

@USArmy @TRADOC @TradocCG @SecArmy @ArmyChiefStaff
On the evening of 9 March more than 10,000 men went ashore in landing craft, consisting of 65 heavy surf boats. The troops advanced inland over the sand hills against little opposition from the enemy force of 4,300 Mexican troops ensconced behind the city's walls. Image
Read 6 tweets
Mar 8
8 MARCH 1942 - ALASKA HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
After the United States entry into #WWII Alaska was vulnerable to attack. The only means of supplying military forces there was by air or sea, both of which were vulnerable to Japanese interdiction.
With the agreement of Canada, the U.S. government moved on plans to build an overland supply route from the Canadian railhead and road junction town of Dawson's Creek in British Columbia, across Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska.
Work began on 8 March by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) along with civilian contractors and Canadian military personnel to create a "primitive road" before winter. The need to finish accelerated when Japanese forces invaded the Aleutian Islands in June 1942.
Read 7 tweets

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