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History on the 31st of August

History
Date Text
31 Aug 1688 RELIGIOUS Death of English Puritan clergyman and writer John Bunyan, 69. Imprisoned several times between 1660 and 1672, Bunyan used these periods of isolation to pen his two literary masterpieces, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666) and Pilgrim's Progress (1678).
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31 Aug 1757 RELIGIOUS Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our Master.'
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31 Aug 1824 RELIGIOUS Birth of Anna B. Warner, American hymnwriter. She never married, but lived with her sister Susan in New York state. In 1860, a novel they co-authored contained a poem which became one of the most beloved of all children's hymns: I Know.'
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31 Aug 1861 RELIGIOUS Birth of Jesse Brown Pounds, American hymnwriter. During her lifetime she published nine books, 50 cantatas and over 400 religious song texts. Three of her hymns remain popular today: "Anywhere With Jesus," "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" and "The Way of the Cross Leads Home."
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31 Aug 1870 RELIGIOUS Birth of Maria Montessori, Italian educator. She developed a theory of teaching which emphasized a reinforcement of initiative, and a freedom of movement for the child. Her theory of elementary education has since been named, appropriately, the "Montessori Method."
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31 Aug 1912 WW2 Masafumi Arima left the Kagoshima Prefectural Middle School in Japan without completing his degree. 
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31 Aug 1913 WW2 Prince Hiroyasu was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and was named the commanding officer of the Yokosuka Military District. 
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31 Aug 1917 WW2 George Giffard was awarded the Croix de Guerre medal of France. 
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31 Aug 1919 WW2 The new German constitution was ratified by President Friedrich Ebert. 
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31 Aug 1920 WW2 Kuma was commissioned into service. 
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31 Aug 1922 WW2 Georgy Zhukov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the first time. 
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31 Aug 1929 WW2 The Young Plan, which set the total WW1 reparations owed by Germany at US$26,350,000,000 to be paid over a period of 58 1/2 years, was finalized. 
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31 Aug 1932 WW2 Cruiser Bolzano was launched at Genoa, Italy. 
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31 Aug 1933 WW2 Werner von Blomberg was promoted to the rank of Generaloberst. 
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31 Aug 1935 WW2 At the Nikanor-East section of the Central Irmino coal mine in the Ukrainian Donbass coalfield, a young hewer named Aleksei Stakhanov was challenged by his supervisor to attempt a record breaking shift. In just five and three quarters hours, Stakhanov hewed 102 tonnes (the norm was 6.5 tonnes per worker) to set a new world record. 
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31 Aug 1936 WW2 The United States passed a neutrality bill according to popular isolationist sentiment. The slogan "schools, not battleships" was used by supporters of this bill. 
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31 Aug 1937 WW2 Italian submarine Iride attacked British destroyer HMS Havock off Spain, and HMS Havock responded with depth charges; neither incurred any damage. 
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31 Aug 1937 WW2 The Japanese Navy Kanoya Air Group, based in Taiwan, launched 9 Type 96 G3M2 bombers to attack Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. 8 Hawk III fighters of Chinese 29th Independent Pursuit Squadron were scrambled to intercept; one G3M bomber was shot down, two Hawk III fighters were damaged. 
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31 Aug 1937 WW2 The last Japanese merchant ship departed Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, escorted by submarine tender Jingei. 
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31 Aug 1938 WW2 Winston Churchill suggested that if United Kingdom, United States, and Soviet Union collectively asserted pressure on Germany, Germany might abandon its claims for the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia; he was unable to persuade fellow British politicians. 
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31 Aug 1938 WW2 Aviere was commissioned into service. 
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31 Aug 1938 WW2 Akagi completed her modernization, emerging with the three flight decks removed. In their place was one single flight deck running nearly the length of the ship. Aircraft capacity was increased from 61 to 91. 
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31 Aug 1939 WW2 The formal order for the German invasion of Poland was given; specific instructions were made for German troops on the western border to avoid conflict with the United Kingdom, France, and the Low Countries. 
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31 Aug 1939 WW2 Adolf Hitler offered the United Kingdom that Germany would not risk war if Poland was willing to turn over Danzig and a small section of the Polish Corridor, and that Poland was to allow a plebiscite for the remainder of the Polish Corridor in the near future; British Ambassador in Germany Nevile Henderson expressed that the United Kingdom, while desiring peace, could not sacrifice Poland to achieve that goal. Meanwhile, Henderson continued to press Poland to send a delegation to Germany in a last attempt to negotiate peace over Danzig and the Polish Corridor. When Polish Ambassador in Germany Józef Lipski attempted to send Henderson's message to Poland later in the evening, he found that Germany had cut telephone and telegraph communications to Poland. 
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31 Aug 1939 WW2 In Italy, Galeazzo Ciano sent the United Kingdom and France a secret message noting that Italy would not fight should Germany start a war over Poland. 
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31 Aug 1939 WW2 Japanese 23rd Infantry Division was effectively wiped out at Nomonhan, Mongolia Area, China. 
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31 Aug 1939 WW2 German official Hermann Göring hosted British Ambassador Nevile Henderson and Swedish businessman Birger Dahlerus at his home in Berlin, Germany for tea between 1700 and 1900 hours, during which the latter two made a last attempt to broker peace. 
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31 Aug 1939 WW2 Evacuation order for London civilians orders given by the United Kingdom Ministry of Health, to be executed on the next day, with special note stressing that it did not necessarily meant war was inevitable. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 By the end of Aug 1940, a little over 51,000 British citizens had registered as conscientous objectors. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 Battleship Bismarck fired 46 3.7cm shells against raiding British aircraft without any hits. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 Five British destroyers, ordered to intercept German ships, sailed into a new German airfield. HMS Express hit a mine and received serious damage; 56 were killed. HMS Esk moved closer to HMS Express to assist, but also ran into a mine, caused her sinking; 135 were killed and 25 survivors were captured on the beach. HMS Ivanhoe, also trying to help HMS Express, hit a mine and was damaged, killing 8 and wounding 3; she would be scuttled on the next day, and 23 of her survivors would be taken prisoner. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 8,000 British and French troops departed from Britain for Freetown, Sierra Leone, escorted by British cruisers HMS Devonshire and HMS Fiji and five destroyers. Their destination would ultimately be Dakar in French West Africa, which was still under Vichy control. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 Werner Mölders claimed two victories against British Hurricane fighters. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 US President Roosevelt called 60,000 men of the National Guard into federal service with the US Army. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 Chen Cheng was relieved from his position as the head of the political bureau of the Nationalist military. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 Allied convoy OB-205 was attacked by German submarines 100 miles north of Ireland; at 0000 hours, German submarine U-60 hit Dutch passenger ship Volendam, carrying 273 crew and 606 British passengers (many were children) for Canada, killing 1 though the death occurred during the evacuation rather than during the attack; at 0206 hours, German submarine U-59 sank British ship Bibury, killing the entire crew of 38 and 1 gunner; at 0615 hours, German submarine U-38 sank British ship Har Zion; 33 were killed and 1 survived (rescued by Polish destroyer Blyskawica on the next day). To the west, 100 miles northwest of Ireland, German submarine U-46 sank Belgian passenger ship Ville de Hasselt; the entire crew of 53 survived on 4 lifeboats. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 RAF bombers attacked targets in Berlin, Cologne, Hanover, and Emden, Germany. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 The Ca.331 OA prototype aircraft took its first flight at Ponte San Pietro, Italy with test pilot Ettore Wengi at the helm. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 While escorting the Operation Hats convoy toward Malta, Garland was lightly damaged by Italian aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 Overnight, the British complete enough repairs to bring RAF Biggin Hill back to operational status. At 0800 hours, radar installations in Kent in southern England, United Kingdom picked up German formations; it was soon discovered to be all fighters, thus fighters already dispatched to intercept were called back, and only 3 fighters (all Canadian) were lost. Before noon, the real German raids arrived. 200 bombers attacked Essex; No. 56 Squadron RAF shot down 1 bomber but lost 4 fighters to German escort fighters from III./ZG26 and III./JG26. Debden, North Weald, Eastchurch, Dietling (strafed by fighters), Croydon (bombed by Bf 109 fighter-bombers of Erprobungsgruppe 210), and Hornchurch were all attacked in the morning. In the afternoon, Hornchurch was attacked again, destroying 2 Spitfire fighters on the ground but at the cost of 5 Bf 109 fighters. At 1800 hours, Biggin Hill was bombed from low level, destroying 2 of the 3 remaining hangars, cutting telephone lines, and destroying the operations room. On this day, the RAF lost 41 fighters and 9 pilots, while the Luftwaffe lost 56 fighters and 29 bombers. After sundown, Liverpool was bombed for the fourth consecutive night; other cities received bombs, too. 
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31 Aug 1940 WW2 James Lacey shot down a German Bf 109 fighter over Britain. 
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31 Aug 1941 WW2 The Soviet Baltic Fleet completed its evacuation from Tallinn, Estonia to Kronstadt off Leningrad, Russia. 165 vessels arrived in Leningrad with 28,000 military personnel and civilians on aboard. 
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31 Aug 1941 WW2 German bombers attacked Alexandria, Egypt, killing 2 British Royal Navy officers but otherwise doing little to no damage to ships and port facilities, which were the primary targets. 
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31 Aug 1941 WW2 Kasuga Maru completed her conversion into an escort carrier at Sasebo, Japan. She was renamed Taiyo. 
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31 Aug 1941 WW2 A mixed-gender anti-aircraft battery with 200 men and an equal number of women was established, with great public interest, in Richmond Park, London, England, United Kingdom. The women were the first to take a combat role in Britain. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Georg von Bismarck was killed by mortar fire during the Battle of Alam el Halfa. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Japanese submarine I-26 damaged USS Saratoga by torpedo 240 miles east of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, leaving her dead in the water. There were no casualties from this attack. She would be out of action for next three months for repairs. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Before dawn, the newly arrived 1,000 fresh troops (delivered by 8 destroyers before the previous midnight) began organizing an attack toward Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. During the day, the USMC 1st Raider Battalion and the USMC 1st Parachute Battalion arrived at Guadalcanal from Tulagi as reinforcements. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki departed Ocean and Nauru Islands area. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered Wilhelm List to launch a major offensive to gain the Caucasus region in southern Russia. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Kasuga Maru was renamed Taiyo. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 German submarine U-516 sank US tanker Jack Carnes 200 miles north of the Azores islands at 0154 hours; all 56 aboard survived but 28 of them would become missing. At 1004 hours, U-609 attacked Allied convoy SC-97 300 miles southeast of Greenland and sank Panamanian ship Capira (5 were killed, 33 survived) and Norwegian ship Bronxville (all 39 aboard survived). At 1417 hours, U-66 sank British tanker Winamac 390 miles east of Trinidad; 30 were killed, 21 survived. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Two US PBY Catalina floatplanes damaged Japanese submarine RO-61 with depth charges off Adak, Aleutian Islands, US Territory of Alaska. Destroyer USS Reid followed up and attacked with more depth charges, forced RO-61 to surface, and sank her with gunfire; 60 were killed, 5 survived. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down two Hurricane fighters during the morning sortie over El Alamein, Egypt at 1003 and 1004 hours. In the afternoon sortie, he shot down a Spitfire fighter over Alam Halfa, Libya at 1825 hours. His score by the end of the day stood at 104. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 During the day, Australian troops attacked from the unfinished Turnbull airstrip near the coast of Milne Bay, Australian Papua, pushing the Japanese back to the KB Mission; at dusk, the Australians captured KB Mission with a bayonet charge, killing 60 Japanese; overnight, a Japanese raid killed 90 Australians. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 US Army Air Force A-20 Havoc bombers participated on their first offensive operation, attacking Japanese positions north of Port Moresby, Australian Papua. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 German and British tanks engaged in combat near Alam el Halfa, Egypt, reaching no conclusion by nightfall as the British refused to fight in open terrain as the Germans wanted. German tanks broke off the attack at sundown after losing 22 tanks; the British lost 21 tanks in the day's battle. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Repairs to I-168 was finished and she departed Sasebo, Japan. Lieutenant Commander Katsuji Watanabe became the commanding officer of the submarine. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 Tanks of the German 4th Panzer Army reached the Stalingrad-Morozovsk railway on the outskirts of Stalingrad, Russia. 
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31 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Growler sank Japanese ship Eifuku Maru 35 miles north of Taiwan. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 Hitler authorized limited withdrawals in Ukraine. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-31 made a daylight attack on a Japanese submarine; three torpedoes were fired, but none hit the target. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 The first combat mission of the US Navy's latest fighter aircraft occurred when F6F-3 Hellcat fighters of VF-5 operating from the carrier USS Yorktown assisted in an attack on Japanese installations on Marcus Island. This was a mere eighteen months after the prototype's first flight. Altogether some 2,545 examples of the F6F-3 aircraft were delivered during 1943. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Langley was commissioned into service. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 Velite was commissioned into service. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Commander Bernard Bowick was named the commanding officer of HMS Dianthus. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 British RAF aircraft attacked Berlin, Germany. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: F6F-3's of Fighting Squadron 1 (VF-1) on board. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 Eleanor Roosevelt arrived at Rotorua, New Zealand and visited Whakarewarewa with the famous guide Rangitiria Dennan. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 German submarine U-703 arrived at Narvik, Norway and dropped off four survivors of Russian freighter Dekabrist. 
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31 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Ray arrived at the submarine base of Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Franklin launched strikes against Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima through 2 Sep 1944. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 British 11th Armoured Division captured Amiens, France. Meanwhile, US Third Army reached the Meuse River. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 While attacking a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea with other submarines of her wolfpack, USS Tunny was attacked by gunfire and depth charges. Tunny did not fire any torpedoes. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Wake Island departed Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 Captain R. C. Parker was named the commanding officer of USS ABSD-1. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 Roza Shanina reached 42 confirmed kills. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Luce arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Ray arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 Two divisions of Slovakian resistance fighters were disarmed by German troops at Presov, Czechoslovakia. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 US 5th Army crossed the Arno River in northern Italy as British 8th Army attacked the Gothic Line. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Sunfish fired a torpedo a small Japanese vessel south of Japan; the torpedo missed. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 Soviet forces captured Bucharest, Romania. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt departed Washington DC, United States by train. 
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31 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Croaker arrived at Midway for refitting, ending her first war patrol. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 Battleship Yamato was removed from the Japanese Navy list. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Cod departed Fremantle, Australia. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 Truman wrote Attlee, requesting the United Kingdom to accept the immigration of 100,000 European Jews into Palestine. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Segundo arrived at Sagami Wan, Japan at 0500 hours and was relieved of the duty of escorting the captured Japanese submarine I-401. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Cabrilla departed Fremantle, Australia for the United States. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Brill departed Fremantle, Australia. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 Shokaku was removed from the Japanese Navy List. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 At 0500 hours, Japanese submarine I-401 lowered its naval ensign while in Sagami Wan, Japan. Nobukiyo Nambu, the submarine's commanding officer, secretly ordered his signal officer to burn the flag to prevent US capture. The US naval ensign was soon hoisted. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 Around 1,000 Allied prisoners of war from camps in the Tokyo, Japan area were transferred to hospital ships offshore. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 MacArthur established the Supreme Allied Command in Tokyo, Japan. 
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31 Aug 1945 WW2 Tatsunosuke Ariizumi committed suicide aboard submarine I-401 by taking a pistol to his mouth at 0420 hours. He was buried at sea in a ceremony that somehow evaded the US boarding party. 
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31 Aug 1946 WW2 Light carrier Hosho was transferred to the Home Ministry for deactivation. 
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31 Aug 1947 WW2 Ira Eaker retired from the US Army. 
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