July 8th, 1945 (SUNDAY)
SOUTH CHINA SEA: Dutch Submarine O-19 ran aground on Ladd Reef. Unable to free herself and deep in enemy waters, O-19 was at the mercy of any Japanese warships and planes in the area. Their situation was desperate, but responding to a coded message about O-19's situation, submarine USS Cod made full speed for the imperilled Dutch submarine and arrived at the scene later that same day. Two days of attempts to pull O-19 free yielded no results and the captains of both vessels agreed that there was no hope of freeing the Dutch sub from the grip of the reef. After removing the 56 Dutch sailors to safety, Cod destroyed the O-19 to keep any of its equipment from falling into Japanese hands. The rescue was the only international submarine-to-submarine rescue in history.
BORNEO: On Borneo, Thirteenth Air Force B-24s and B-25s, supporting Australian forces who arelanding at Penajam, hit the Balikpapan area defensive positions, Samarinda shipyards, various targets along the Samarinda road, and warehouses at Tandjung. B-24s [including some of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)] bomb warehouses at Donggala on Celebes Island.
CANADA:
Corvettes HMCS Asbestos, Moose Jaw and Smiths Falls paid off Sorel, Province of Quebec.
HMC ML 050, 087 and 103 paid off.
U.S.A.: Opinion pollsters asked the following question:
Do you think American soldiers in Germany should be allowed to have dates with German girls?
All Men Women
Yes 30% 41% 22%
No 59% 48% 67%
No opinion 11% 11% 11%
Utah: A soldier opens fire on German PoWs, killing eight and wounding 20.