February 5, 2012
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Interesting Facts
Stats and Figures

PT Boats were used by the U.S. Navy in World War II. They were designed by a British engineer, Hubert Scott-Paine, to be lighter armed and to depend exclusively on speed for defense.

Did you know that the "PT" in PT Boats stands for plywood torpedo?

Did YOU KNOW?
Stats and Figures
  1. At least one-third of all vegetables in the U.S. during WWII were from an estimated twenty-million Victory Gardens were planted by civilians.

    Did You Know that this sacrifice by civilians enabled farmers to focus on feeding the soldiers?


  2. The first Series-E Bond was sold on May 1, 1941 to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

    Did You Know that at that time they were called Defense Bonds, but after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the name was changed to War Bonds?


  3. Did You Know that the term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards"?


  4. Executive Order 9066 (1942) required the internment and relocation of all Japanese in the Western U.S.

    Did You Know that despite this treatment, 18,000 Nisei, second-generation Japanese who were the first generation to be born abroad, volunteered for military service?


  5. Between 1939 and 1945 the Allies dropped 3.4 million tons of bombs.

    Did You Know that averaged about 27,700 tons of bombs each month?


  6. There were 16,112,566 men from the U.S. engaged in war from 1939-1945.

    Did You Know that 291,557 lost their lives?


  7. Did You Know an invasion of Italy by the U.S. forced that country to surrender and join the Allies in 1943?


  8. The youngest U.S. serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham, U.S. Navy. He was wounded in combat and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age.

    Did You Know that his benefits were later restored by an Act of Congress?


  9. 40,000 men served on "U-Boats" during World War II.

    Did You Know that 30,000 never returned?


  10. There were 433 Medals of Honor awarded during World War II.

    Did You Know that 219 of them were given after the recipient's death?


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