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History on the 17th of August

History
Date Text
17 Aug 1635 RELIGIOUS English Puritan Richard Mather, 39, first arrived in Boston. A staunch defender of the congregational form of church government, Mather is remembered today for founding the "dynasty" to which was born his son Increase Mather in 1639, and his grandson Cotton Mather in 1663.
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17 Aug 1761 RELIGIOUS Birth of William Carey, pioneer English missionary to India. He taught at the newly founded Fort William College of Calcutta from 1801 until his death, and helped found the Serampore Press, which made the Bible accessible to over 300 million people.
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17 Aug 1775 RELIGIOUS Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'It is no great matter where we are, provided we see that the Lord has placed us there, and that He is with us.'
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17 Aug 1780 RELIGIOUS Birth of George Croly, Irish churchman and author. During his life he published writings of biographical, historical and religious importance, but is primarily remembered today as author of the hymn, "Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart."
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17 Aug 1809 RELIGIOUS In Pennsylvania, Thomas Campbell, 46, and his son Alexander, 20, formed the American Movement for Christian Unity, which later became the Disciples of Christ Church.
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17 Aug 1914 WW2 The Germans set up a Committee for the liberation of Russian Jews. 
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17 Aug 1914 WW2 Lieutenant-General Sir James Grierson, GOC 11 Corps of the BEF, died unexpectedly of a heart attack shortly after arriving in France. 
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17 Aug 1914 WW1 Begin of Battle of Stalluponen
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17 Aug 1920 WW2 Peace talks commenced between the Poles and Bolsheviks at Minsk, but progress slowly whilst the course of the battle remained undecided. 
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17 Aug 1921 WW2 Kichisaburo Nomura was made a member of the Japanese delegation for the Washington Naval Conference. 
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17 Aug 1922 WW2 USS S-35 was commissioned into service with Lieutenant T. E. Short in command. 
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17 Aug 1929 WW2 Rudolf Höss married Hedwig Hensel. 
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17 Aug 1929 WW2 Masahiro Ota succeeded Kenjiro Kinoshita as the Governor-General of Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China. 
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17 Aug 1934 WW2 Tuscaloosa was commissioned into service. 
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17 Aug 1935 WW2 Viktor Abakumov was assigned to the Department of Guards of the GULAG of the Soviet NKVD. 
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17 Aug 1936 WW2 The Hurricane prototype fighter took another test flight at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, England, United Kingdom. 
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17 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese light tanks halted a Chinese counter attack at Shanghai, China. Meanwhile, the first group of American evacuees departed from the international zone of Shanghai. 
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17 Aug 1937 WW2 Chinese Hawk III fighters flew 17 sorties against incoming Japanese bombers targeting Chinese airfields in the Shanghai-Nanjing area; 1 Japanese bomber and 2 Chinese fighters were lost. 
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17 Aug 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang engaged in aerial combat over Shanghai, China flying a Hawk III fighter, claiming the downing of a Japanese bomber at 1940 hours. 
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17 Aug 1937 WW2 The Japanese government officially abandoned its previous decision not to escalate the situation in China. 
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17 Aug 1938 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered that, in time of war, guard duties of concentration camps would be carried out by older members of the general SS; SS members older than the age of 45 began training for guard duties shortly after. 
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17 Aug 1938 WW2 Hitler issued a decree confirming Himmler's control over the armed SS in peacetime. 
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17 Aug 1938 WW2 Germany passed laws requiring Jews to add either "Israel" or "Sara" to their names, effective 1 Jan 1939. 
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17 Aug 1939 WW2 The Germany military was ordered to supply the SS organization with 150 Polish Army uniforms. 
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17 Aug 1939 WW2 American diplomat Sumner Welles warned the British that the Soviet Union was likely to make an offer to Germany. In the evening, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov contacted Germany in response to the 15 Aug 1939 request for a meeting; he noted skepticism due to the Anti-Comintern Pact backed by Germany, but also noted happily that, unlike Britain, Germany was willing to send a high-level diplomat. 
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17 Aug 1940 WW2 Destroyers USS Walke and USS Wainwright departed Bahia, Brazil for Pará, Brazil. 
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17 Aug 1940 WW2 The Parliament of the Kingdom of Afghanistan was established. 
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17 Aug 1940 WW2 Adolf Hitler announced an air and sea blockade of Britain, threatening that all ships approaching Britain would be sunk without warning. 
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17 Aug 1940 WW2 German leaders designated Berlin as the European financial center after Germany's victory. 
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17 Aug 1940 WW2 HMS Hermes began receiving repairs at Simon's Town, South Africa for damage caused by the 10 Jul 1940 collision with armed merchant cruiser HMS Corfu. 
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17 Aug 1941 WW2 Overnight, British bombers attacked the rail station at Duisburg, Germany. Air crews reported poor visibility due to bad weather. 
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17 Aug 1941 WW2 American ship Longtaker was sunk by a German submarine while delivering supplies to the US military garrison in Iceland. 
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17 Aug 1941 WW2 German troops captured Narva, Estonia. 
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17 Aug 1941 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Yokohama, Japan; Captain Toichi Takahata was replaced by Japanese Navy Reserve officer Captain Sakao Kimura. 
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17 Aug 1941 WW2 Romanian troops captured the water reservoirs of Odessa, Ukraine with heavy casualties. 
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17 Aug 1941 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt arrived in Washington DC, United States. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands, escorting a troop convoy to Buna, New Guinea. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 Ira Eaker personally participated in the first American B-17 bombing mission against a continental European target, Rouen, France. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the Dutch East Indies; both torpedo missed. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 German submarine U-507 sank Brazilian ship Itagiba off Brazil at 1549 hours (36 were killed, 145 survived); later at 1803 hours, as Brazilian ship Arará approached to rescue survivors, U-507 sank her as well (20 were killed, 16 survived). Meanwhile, at 1756 hours, German submarine U-566 sank Norwegian merchant ship Triton 200 miles northeast of the Azores islands; all 43 aboard survived. At 2244 hours, after a 6-hour pursuit, German submarine U-108 sank US tanker Louisiana 200 miles off French Guiana; all 49 aboard were killed. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 German submarine U-658 attacked Allied convoy PG-6 between Cuba and Haiti at 0619 hours, sinking Egyptian ship Samir, sinking British ship Fort la Reine (3 were killed, 41 survived), and damaging British merchant ship Laguna (all aboard survived). 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 British submarine HMS Safari sank Italian sailing vessel Ausonia with her deck gun 10 miles south of Sardinia, Italy. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 German submarine U-83 sank Canadian troopship Princess Marguerite 50 miles north of Port Said, Egypt at 1408 hours; 49 were killed, 1,083 survived. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 German submarine U-209 attacked a Soviet convoy with her deck gun off Matveev Island in northwestern Russia in Pechora Sea between 0526 and 0920 hours, sinking tug Komsomolec, tug Komiles, barge P-4 (305 were killed, 23 survived), and barge Sh-500. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 Tenryu departed Rabaul, New Britain. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 Repair ship Akashi departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 Winston Churchill arrived at Cairo, Egypt. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 The US Eighth Air Force launched its first "All-American" air raid over Europe with 12 B-17E Flying Fortress bombers escorted by four squadrons of Spitfire fighters attacking rail marshalling yards at Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France. Interruption by German fighters caused the damage to be minimal. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 139 British bombers attacked Osnabrück, Germany, destroying 77 houses and 4 military buildings, killing 7 people, and wounding 15 people; 5 bombers were lost on this mission. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 211 men of the US 2nd Raider Battalion attacked Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands; it was the first amphibious assault ever launched from submarines (USS Nautilus and USS Argonaut). 9 of the raiders would be left behind by mistake; they were captured, were brought to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, and were executed. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Hornet departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for the South Pacific. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 Yamato departed Kure, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands escorted by escort carrier Kasuga Maru (later renamed Taiyo), Akebono, Ushio, and Sazanami. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 In Operation Baritone, British carrier HMS Furious launched 32 Spitfire fighters for Malta; 2 of them were lost during takeoff. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 German submarine U-209 spotted Soviet ocean tug Komsomelets and ocean tug Nord at 0700 hours east of the Yugorsky Peninsula in northern Russia; the two tugs were towing barge P4, lighter Sh-500, and tug Komiles. U-209 immediately shelled Komsomelets and fired a torpedo at P4, which missed. At 0800 hours, U-209 shelled Komiles, forcing her crew to abandon ship. At 0810, U-209 shelled and sank Sh-500. Shortly after, U-209 fired another torpedo at P4; 305 were killed (most of whom were penal construction workers), 23 survived. 
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17 Aug 1942 WW2 The Karenko Prisoners of War Camp in Karenko (now Hualien) in eastern Taiwan was opened. It would hold high-ranking prisoners of war such as Jonathan Wainwright and Arthur Percival. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 Allied artillery began shelling Italian mainland from Messina, Sicily. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 The Germans made the first operational use of the Hs 293A-1 radio controlled bomb. It was launched from a Do 217E5s of II/KG100 against British shipping in the Bay of Biscay. Ten days later, an Hs 293 would claim the corvette HMS Egret. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 During the Quadrant Conference in Quebec, Canada, Orde Wingate shared with the Americans his plans for an offensive into Burma; the US Army showed interest in this plan. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 Minesweeper USS Apex was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 As a build up to the landings at Lae, Australian Papua the US 5th Air Force commenced a two-week blitz on the Japanese airfield in the Wewak area in Australian New Guinea. 12 B-17 and 26 B-24 bombers from Jackson Field and Ward's Strip at Port Moresby, Australian Papua hit the two Japanese airfields at Wewak starting at about 0000 hours; the Americans lost 3 B-24 bombers while the Japanese suffered 13 aircraft destroyed, 20 heavily damaged, 34 slightly damaged, and 70 men killed. At 0600 hours, 61 modified B-25 bombers, with fighter escort, were launched from Port Moresby; although 21 aircraft turned back due to poor weather, the remainder hit Wewak between 0750 and 0845 hours, destroying about 30 aircraft that were parked in rows in preparation of the arrival of a high ranking Japanese officer. The series of blitz paved the way for the autumn invasion that resulted in the capture of the western flank of Rabaul, New Britain. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 The US 8th Army Air Force lost 59 heavy bombers during daylight raids upon Regenburg and Schweinfurt, Germany, which was about 25% of the attacking force. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 British bombers launched to attack German rocket research site at Peenemünde at 2100 hours London time. At 2230 hours London time or 2330 hours Berlin time, air raid sirens went off at Peenemünde, but many ignored it, thinking it was to be yet another false warning as Allied bombers flew over the region to bomb German cities further inland. At 2317 hours London time or 0017 hours Berlin time on the next day, the first of the British bombers struck Peenemünde. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 Yamato departed Yashima, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a freighter in the Sea of Japan at 0200 hours; the torpedo missed. At 2200 hours, she attacked another ship, again missing with one torpedo. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 Submarine Tang was launched at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States; she was sponsored by Mrs. Antonio S. Pitre. 
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17 Aug 1943 WW2 Wasp was launched at Bethlehem Steel Company's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, sponsored by Miss Julia M. Walsh, the sister of US Senator David I. Walsh. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Sargent Bay joined US Navy 3rd Fleet at Pearl Harbor. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Croaker sank two Japanese oilers with 2 of 6 torpedoes fired. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 Walter Model was appointed the commanding officer of the German Army Group B (Heeresgruppe B), replacing Günther von Kluge. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 Remnants of Vichy government fled for Germany as French Resistance began taking Parisian strongpoints. Pétain and his staff were interned by Hitler, while Laval's government resigned. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 Canadian troops captured Falaise, France, and the German troops in the region began to be threatened with being surrounded. Montgomery ordered troops to move to seal the pocket. Meanwhile, US forces captured Chartres, Orleans, and Chateaudun. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 British 14th Brigade, 3rd West African Brigade, and elements of the British 36th Infantry Division received orders to withdraw from northern Burma. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Marblehead bombarded Axis positions near Saint-Raphaël, France. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 Soviet troops reached the East Prussian border. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Third commanding officer, Capt Erl CB Gould USNR assumed command of station. Sixteen aircraft (Model F6F), 33 officers and 24 men of Night Fighting Squadron 103 (VF(N)-103) arrived on board. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Bluefish and USS Puffer sank a Japanese oiler off of Mindoro, Philippine Islands; USS Bluefish hit her with 1 of 1 torpedo fired. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 Ion Antonescu signed an armistice with the anti-German opposition in Romania; this was viewed as an act of betrayal by the Germans. 
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17 Aug 1944 WW2 Nicholas Winton was promoted to the brevet rank of pilot officer. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 U-977 arrived at Mar del Plata, Argentina and surrendered to the Argentine Navy. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 Prince Naruhiko of Higashikuni was named the 43rd Prime Minister of Japan. Among the new government's first actions was to appeal to General MacArthur to help stop the offensive still being pursued by the Soviet Union. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 A death sentence on Marshal Philippe Pétain, former head of the Vichy French Government, was commuted to life imprisonment. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 The American government drafted plans for the swift conversion of factories from war to commercial production following predictions that five million will be unemployed in six months and nine million within a year. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 In the United States, petrol rationing was removed. Fuel rationing would not be lifted in the United Kingdom until May 1950. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Bugara arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her third and final war patrol. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 Vice Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka was name the commanding officer of the Japanese Navy 5th Air Fleet. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 Joseph Stalin ordered Aleksandr Vasilevsky to continue the fighting with Japan despite of the Japanese intention to surrender. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Chub arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her third and final war patrol. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 Sukarno, the pro-Japanese independence leader in the former Dutch East Indies proclaimed a Provisional Indonesian Republic government on Java; armed conflicts ensued for the following four years. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Springer departed Guam, Mariana Islands. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Gabilan arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her sixth and final war patrol, during which she rescued 17 downed American aviators, 3 of whom were picked up inside of Tokyo Bay, Japan prior to the Japanese surrender. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Air Group 36 arrived. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Dragonet arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands, ending her third war patrol. 
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17 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Mero was commissioned into service with Commander John H. Turner in command. 
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17 Aug 1946 WW2 Darlowo, Poland (formerly Rügenwalde, Germany) began a second round of deportation of its German citizens. By 1949 only about 70 ethnic Germans would remain in the town. 
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