8 Jul 1945

United States
  • In what was later nicknamed as "The Midnight Massacre", US Army prison guard Private Clarence V. Bertucci climbed to the top of a guard tower of the prisoners of war camp in Salina, Utah, United States and fired the mounted M1917 Browning machine gun on tents occupied by German prisoners. His 15 seconds of rampage, during which 250 rounds were fired, killed 6 and wounded 20 (3 of whom would later of their wounds). The victims were later buried with full military honors at Fort Douglas Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah, while Bertucci was admitted into a mental institution in the state of New York in eastern United States. ww2dbase [Salina, Utah | CPC]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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The training aircraft carrier USS Sable at the Navy Pier on Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois, United States, 1944.


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"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!"

George Patton, 31 May 1944


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