December 13 in U.S. military history

1636: The Massachusetts General Court in Salem orders the creation of a militia, requiring all able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 join, to defend the colony if necessary. Three regiments are created: the North Regiment – today’s 181st and 182nd Infantry Regiments; the East Regiment – today’s 101st Engineer Battalion; and the South Regiment – today’s 101st Field Artillery Regiment. The National Guard is born.

1918: The U.S. Army of Occupation crosses the Rhine and enters Germany.

1951: Air Force pilot George A. Davis Jr. shoots down four MiG-15 jets, the largest one-day total during the Korean War. Davis was the war’s first double ace (10 kills) of the war, shooting down a total of 14 Chinese, Korean, and Soviet jets (adding to seven Japanese planes shot down during World War II), but he would later become the only ace to be killed during the conflict. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

1966: The Pentagon confirms that China is holding captive Capt. Phillip E. Smith, a U.S. Air Force F-104 Starfighter pilot. Smith was escorting an EC-121 Looking Glass aircraft on 20 September 1965 when his navigational equipment failed, causing him to stray into Chinese airspace. After being shot down and captured by the Chinese Army, Smith would spend the next seven years in captivity.

1974: The North Vietnamese Army attacks Phuoc Long Province, just north of Saigon in a “test” attack. South Vietnamese resistance is ineffective and the United States does nothing. In coming weeks, North Vietnamese forces will capture Saigon and South Vietnam will surrender unconditionally.

2003: Soldiers from the Fourth Infantry Division and special operators from Task Force 121 capture deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in a “spider hole” near his hometown of Tikrit.

Featured image: An A-24B-5-DT Banshee aircraft (Army Air Force version of the SBD Dauntless) of the 531st Fighter Squadron follows a Jeep down the runway on Makin Island, 13 December 1943