History of the United States Army that captured North Africa and Sicily and later fought in Italy. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, and in the subsequent liberation of Europe and defeat of Nazi Germany, millions of U.S. Army troops played a central role. In the Pacific, Army soldiers participated alongside the U.S. Marine Corps in the "island hopping" campaign that wrested the Pacific Islands from Japanese control. Following the Axis surrenders in May (Germany) and August (Japan) of 1945, Army troops were deployed to Japan and Germany to occupy the two defeated nations. The U.S. Army Air Force, which was an outgrowth of the earlier Army
Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson, Senator George P. Wetmore, Representative Samuel W. McCall, General Louis Wagner, and Thomas S. Hopkins. The soil at the chosen site, present-day Indiana Plaza, could not support the memorial's weight, so the concrete foundation had to be expanded. The Stephenson memorial was formally dedicated at 2:30pm on July 3, 1909. Hundreds of elderly veterans attended the event, many wearing their military uniforms. Prominent attendees included President William Howard Taft and Senator William Warner. Following the invocation, GAR commander-in-chief Colonel Henry M. Nevius gave an impassioned speech about the sacrifices made by Union forces during