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History on the 20th of February

History
Date Text
20 Feb 1743 RELIGIOUS Colonial missionary to the American Indians David Brainerd wrote in his journal: 'Selfish religion loves Christ for his benefits, but not for himself.'
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20 Feb 1878 RELIGIOUS Following the death of Pius IX, Italian cardinal Gioacchino Pecci, 67, was elected Pope Leo XIII. His papacy, possibly the century's most productive, was best known for his teaching encyclicals and for establishing in 1902 the Pontifical Biblical Commission.
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20 Feb 1913 WW2 The keel of battleship Almirante Cochrane was laid down by Armstrong-Whitworth at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, United Kingdom. 
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20 Feb 1917 WW2 Robert Saundby became the flight commander of No. 11 Training Squadron RFC at Scampton near Lincoln, England, United Kingdom. 
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20 Feb 1919 WW2 Iwane Matsui was named the commanding officer of the Japanese 39th Infantry Regiment. 
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20 Feb 1924 WW2 HMS Eagle was commissioned into service. 
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20 Feb 1926 WW2 Chuichi Nagumo returned to Japan after a tour of Europe and the United States. 
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20 Feb 1931 WW2 Kumulik Uygurs rebelled against warlord of Xinjiang Jin Shuren in western China. 
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20 Feb 1931 WW2 The keel of light cruiser Ninghai was laid down by Harima Dock Company, Limited of Japan. 
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20 Feb 1932 WW2 Pierre Laval stepped down as the Prime Minister of France. 
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20 Feb 1933 WW2 Filipp Golikov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the first time. 
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20 Feb 1933 WW2 Uyghur Committee for National Revolution announced a provisional Khotan government in Xinjiang Province, China with intention for an independent Islamic State. 
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20 Feb 1938 WW2 Spanish Nationalist forces had almost surrounded Teruel, Spain and the Spanish Republican armies were forced to retreat along the Valencia road to the southeast, leaving the Nationalists free to take the city. 
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20 Feb 1938 WW2 Adolf Hitler assured the Deputies in the Reichstag that no problems existed between the National Socialist State and the German Armed Forces, while spoke about the German destiny to annex Austria. 
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20 Feb 1939 WW2 40 Soviet volunteer and Chinese Air Force fighters intercepted 30 Japanese bombers near Lanzhou, Gansu, China, shooting down 9 Japanese bombers. 
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20 Feb 1940 WW2 General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst was appointed to command the German invasion of Norway. 
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20 Feb 1940 WW2 German submarine U-129 sank Norwegian ship Nordvangen 25 miles east of Trinidad at 0425 hours, killing the entire crew of 2. 
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20 Feb 1940 WW2 German submarine U-156 torpedoed and crippled American ship Delplata 60 miles west of Martinique, at 1131 hours. The crew of 53 abandoned ship and were rescued by USS Lapwing on the next day, which also scuttled Delplata with gunfire. 
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20 Feb 1940 WW2 German submarine U-54 became missing in the North Sea and its crew of 41 were never seen again. It was believed that she ran into mines laid by HMS Ivanhoe and HMS Intrepid in early Jan 1940. 
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20 Feb 1940 WW2 Soviet troops began penetrating the Finnish V-line as deep as 1 kilometer in some places. 
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20 Feb 1940 WW2 The keel for corvette Trillium was laid down. 
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20 Feb 1940 WW2 German submarine U-96 sank British merchant ship Empire Seal 75 miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, killing 1. 56 survivors were rescued by British ship Empire Flame. Empire Seal was carrying steel from the United States to Belfast. At 0453, U-96 struck again, sinking American merchant ship Lake Osweya at 0453 hours, killing the entire crew of 39. 
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20 Feb 1940 WW2 Representatives of the German Gestapo organization (including Adolf Eichmann) and the Soviet NKVD organization (including Grigoriy Litvinov) met at Zakopane, Poland to coordinate the suppression of Polish resistance efforts. 
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20 Feb 1941 WW2 Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies arrived in Britain for talks with Winston Churchill. 
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20 Feb 1941 WW2 The German Africa Korps made contact with British patrols for the first time in North Africa, near El Agheila between Benghazi and Tripoli in Libya. In the sea, British submarine HMS Regent attacked German ships Arta, Heraklea, Menes, and Martiza carrying German Afrika Korps troops from Naples, Italy to Tripoli escorted by Italian destroyers Freccia, Saetta, and Turbine; Menes was damaged by a torpedo hit but was able to be towed to Tripoli; Saetta counterattacked HMS Regent, causing damage. 
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20 Feb 1941 WW2 British minesweeping trawler HMT Ouse hit a mine and sank off Tobruk, Libya; 12 were killed and 9 survived. 
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20 Feb 1941 WW2 Italian ship Eritrea, Italian armed merchant cruisers Ramb I and Ramb II, and German supply ship Coburg broke out of Massawa, Eritrea, Italian East Africa and sailed into the Indian Ocean. Ramb I and Ramb II were ordered to sail east to raid Allied shipping in the Pacific Ocean. 
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20 Feb 1941 WW2 German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer sank Greek steamer Grigorios C II (27 survivors were taken prisoner) and captured British tanker British Advocate west of the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. Advocate was to be sent to France as a prize ship. 
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20 Feb 1941 WW2 German Luftwaffe bombed Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom for the second consecutive night. 
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20 Feb 1941 WW2 The first Beaufighter IF figher (X7540) built at Bristol's new factory at Weston-super-Mare, England, United Kingdom was completed. 
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20 Feb 1941 WW2 Hans-Joachim Marseille returned to his unit at Berck-sur-Mer, France after a period of rest at home. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 The Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki, began a series of war games aboard Yamato to test plans for the second-stage operations. Rear Admiral Shigeru Fukudome (Chief of the 1st Bureau (Plans and Operations) of Naval General Staff), Captain Baron Sadatoshi Tomioka (Naval General Staff), Commander Prince Takamatsu Nobuhito (brother of Emperor Showa), and Army Major Prince Tsunenori Takeda observed the war games. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 German submarine U-432 sank US freighter Azalea City 100 kilometers off Virginia, United States, killing the entire crew of 38. German submarine U-129 sank Norwegian ship Nordvangen 30 miles east of Trinidad at 0400 hours, killing all 24 aboard. Finally, Italian submarine Torelli sank British ship Scottish Star 770 miles east of Martinique; 4 were killed, 69 survived. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki departed Kavieng, New Ireland, Bismarck Islands. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 The Japanese attacked the positions of 16th and 46th Indian Brigades at Kyaikto, Burma, delaying the retreat from the Balin to the Sittang Bridge for forty-eight hours, and causing total confusion among the withdrawing columns. To make matters worse the Indians came under friendly air attack from RAF and AVG aircraft. In addition most of the Divisional Headquarters' radio equipment was lost in the confusion. In Rangoon, Hutton's implementation of the second part of the evacuate Europeans caused wide-spread panic with much looting by drunken natives, and the emptying of the cities goals of lunatics and criminals. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered that any Russian who refused to work would be punished with death by hanging. Additionally, Russians working in German-occupied lands had no limit to their work days, and their employers were free to issue corporal punishment. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze escorted the Japanese invasion force for eastern Java, Dutch East Indies and was engaged in the Battle of the Java Sea, firing torpedoes on Allied warships. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 German submarine U-156 damaged US ship Delplata with 3 torpedoes 60 miles west of Martinique at 1131 hours; all 53 survived and abandoned ship. Meanwhile, four Italian submarines operating in the Caribbean Sea commenced an operation that would see the sinking of fourteen merchant vessels over a four day period. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Japanese submarine I-65 sank British merchant ship Bhima 30 miles north of the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean; all 70 aboard survived. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 For not revealing the whereabouts of his commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel J. J. Scanlan, Japanese troops executed Australian prisoner of war John R. Gray at Rabaul, New Britain by slashing his chest open and removing his heart while he was still alive. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Oberleutnant Hansgeorg Bätcher, commanding officer of 1. Staffel of I./KG 100 of the German Luftwaffe, flying a He 111 bomber, sank a 2,000-ton Soviet freighter in the Black Sea with supplies for the Soviet garrison of Sevastopol, Russia. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Tenryu interrupted her anti-aircraft weaponry refitting at Truk, Caroline Islands to sortie for American raiders. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 At 0130 hours, a fresh ABDA force consisted of a Dutch cruiser and four US destroyers attempted to intercept a Japanese transport fleet in the Badung Strait in the Dutch East Indies for the second time. Dutch cruiser Tromp (10 killed) and American destroyer Stewart were damaged on the Allied side, while Japanese destroyers Asashio (4 killed) and Oshio (7 killed) also suffered damage. At 0220 hours, Japanese destroyers Arashio and Michishio joined in the action; Michishio became the target of all four American destroyers, suffering several hits and 13 killed, but was able to be towed away from battle. Elsewhere, at dawn, Japanese troops landed at Dili, Portuguese Timor and Koepang, Dutch Timor. Portuguese defenders at Dili was overrun and Portugal accepted the Japanese occupation for the duration of the war; Australian defenders at Koepang resisted, however. At 1045 hours, 323 Japanese paratroops were delivered to Koepang airfield, but most of them did not land in the drop zone, and 245 of them were killed by the Australians. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Japanese troops massacred 72 Dutch prisoners of war and 2 Dutch civilians at Balikpapan, Borneo, Dutch East Indies by beheading and gunfire for the destruction of oil facilities prior to Japanese occupation. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Rensuke Isogai was named the governor of Hong Kong. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 A Japanese H6K flying boat piloted by Lieutenant (jg) Noboru Sakai spotted a US carrier force 460 miles northeast of New Britain; US pilot Jimmy Thatch of USS Lexington shot down Sakai's aircraft at 1112 hours, but not before Sakai had alerted others. At 1202 hours, Burt Stanley and Leon Haynes shot down another H6K aircraft, flown by Warrant Officer Kiyoshi Hayashi, north of Lexington. At 1420 hours, 17 Type 1 bombers of Japanese 4th Air Group, led by Lieutenant Masayoshi Nakagawa, were launched from Rabaul, with the first wave reaching Lexington at 1625 hours. The first wave of 9 bombers were all shot down without causing any damage to Lexington; Nakagawa tried to crash into Lexington as he fell from the sky, but fell short by less than 1 mile). The second wave attacked USS Lexington and USS Minneapolis at 1705 hours, still causing no damage; Edward "Butch" O'Hare shot down 3 and damaged 4 Japanese bombers. Only 2 Japanese bombers arrived back at Rabaul at the end of the day; 100 Japanese bomber crewmen were lost during the attacks, and Japan also lost 20 men with the H6K reconnaissance flights earlier in the morning. O'Hare was given credit for 5 kills, making him an "Ace in a Day" and setting him up for a Medal of Honor award. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 The experimental rocket engine for the BI-1 prototype aircraft exploded during a test in Bilimbay, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, spraying nitric acid fuel all over aircraft engineer Arvid Pallo; mechanics saved him from severe burns by quickly dumping him in a tank full of a sodium carbonate solution kept nearby for the very purpose of neutralizing the acid. Test pilot Grigory Bakhchivandzhi was slightly injured as the head of the rocket engine punched into the cockpit. 
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20 Feb 1942 WW2 Lieutenant General Shichiro Higuchi was named the chief of staff of the Taiwan Army. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 US carrier aircraft attacked the Japanese naval base at Rabaul, New Britain. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 American movie studio executives agreed to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 German and Italian troops defeated American troops at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, but the force attacking Sbiba Pass was met with strong resistance. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 The US coastal minesweeper YMS-133 foundered and sank at Coos Bay, Oregon, United States. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 The Germans made the first use of their new 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launcher against the western allies at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 Hubert Lanz stepped down as the commanding officer of Armeeabteilung Lanz. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 A special section was established at the Hinzert Concentration Camp for Polish civilian workers who fraternized with German women. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol. 
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20 Feb 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Commander Albert Burrows was named the commanding officer of USS Whale, relieving Lieutenant Commander John Azer. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 The "Blue Legion" of the Germany Army, which was a regiment-sized unit of Spanish volunteers, began to be withdrawn from the front lines due to Spain's request. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 On Lake Tinnsjo, Norway, a ferry carrying the last of the heavy water produced was sunk by saboteurs. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki became the flagship of Rear Admiral Ko Nakagawa of Destroyer Squadron 3. She departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands as a part of the final destroyer transport mission out of Rabaul. She arrived at Qavuvu, New Britain later on the same day. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 I-53 was commissioned into service. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Kagoshima, Japan to escort carrier Chitose to Saipan, Mariana Islands. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld was named the wing commander of Nachtjagdgeschwader 5. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 Repair ship Akashi departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 USAAF launched the "Big Week", sending 970 bombers against Braunschweig, Hamburg, and Leipzig in Germany. The RAF followed through by hitting Stuttgart. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 Robert Johnson shot down two Bf 110 aircraft over Dümmer Lake, Germany. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 The Germans called off Operation Fischfang aimed at the Allied beachhead at Anzio, Italy. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 18th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 Shokaku departed Singapore for Lingga, Dutch East Indies. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 American troops captured Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 Allied convoy JW-57 departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. It was consisted of 42 merchant ships, was supported by 2 tankers and 1 rescue ship, and was escorted by 4 corvettes (and later reinforced with destroyers and frigates). 
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20 Feb 1944 WW2 USS Marblehead arrived in New York, United States. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 German Armeegruppe Kurland suffered heavy Soviet attacks in Lithuania, but was able to resist. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 HMS Vervain (Lieutenant Commander R. A. Howell) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-1276 off the coast of Ireland. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 HMS Activity arrived in Colombo, Ceylon. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 USS Pintado was detected by a Japanese aircraft in the South China Sea, which damaged her with depth charges. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 USS Hawkbill attacked a Japanese convoy, sinking cargo ship Daizen Maru. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 George Patton wrote to Omar Bradley, urging Bradley to convince Dwight Eisenhower to allow Bradley's army group to attack aggressively toward the Rhine River. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 Du Yuming was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 USS Parche arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: The first major contingent of WAVES arrived this date. Air Group 33 departed. Air Group 5 arrived on board. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 US and Brazilian troops of US 5th Army launched Operation Encore against German positions at Monte Castello and Monte Della Torraca 61 kilometers southwest of Bologna, Italy. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 Unryu was struck from the Japanese Navy list. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 USS Sunfish collided with a piece of ice floe, bending both of her periscopes. She set sail for Guam, Mariana Islands to receive repairs. 
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20 Feb 1945 WW2 German V-2 rocket hit a factory Ilford, London, England, United Kingdom, killing 7 and injuring 94. 
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20 Feb 1950 RELIGIOUS American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'One may know God's work for his soul without understanding it all... Let the heart be warm, at all costs to the head, in the getting of Christianity.'
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20 Feb 1960 RELIGIOUS Death of Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, 80, a British archaeologist who spent more than 40 years in the field. Woolley is remembered for having excavated Ur of the Chaldees, and for discovering the ancient Sumerian civilization.
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20 Feb 1976 RELIGIOUS Death of Kathryn Kuhlman, 69, popular American radio and TV evangelist. A member of the American Baptist Convention, Kuhlman's preaching emphasized the healing power of the Holy Spirit.
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