This Month in
U.S. Military History
October — Stories of service, sacrifice, and pivotal moments in American military history.
Oct. 3, 1993
Battle of Mogadishu - Ranger personnel engaged in a 15-hour battle after two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down
Oct. 4, 1947
U.S. Air Force Active Duty - Following its creation via the National Security Act, the first official operation directives went into effect this month.
Oct. 7, 1780
Battle of Kings Mountain - Frontier riflemen decimated loyalist forces in South Carolina, shifting momentum in the Southern theatre.
Oct. 13, 1775
U.S. Navy Founded - Authorized by the Continental Congress.
Oct. 14, 1943
Second Raid on Schweinfurt - Know as “Black Thursday”, the U.S. Eighth Air Force lost 60 B-17 bombers in a single day during unescorted strategic bombing
Oct. 14, 1962
Cuban Missile Crisis Begins - A U.S. U-2 spy plane photographed Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba, sparking a 13-day nuclear standoff.
Oct. 19, 1781
Surrender at Yorktown - General Cornwallis surrendered his army to Washington, effectively ending major combat operations in North America.
Oct. 23-26, 1944
Battle of Leyte Gulf - The largest naval battle in modern history crippled the Imperial Japanese Navy and saw the first organized Kamikaze attacks.
Oct. 25, 1983
Operation Urgent Fury - U.S. forces invaded Grenada to protect American medical students and depose a Marxist military regime.
