December 28th, 1945 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Submarine HMS Sentinel commissioned.
GERMANY: Canadian Military Court in Aurich: The trial of SS Brigadefuhrer Kurt Meyer ends. He is accused of the responsibility for the shooting of Canadian prisoners of war by men under his command. Kurt Meyer was accused of having, as Commander of the 25th S.S. Panzer Grenadier Regiment of the 12th S.S. Panzer Division, incited and counselled his men to deny quarter to allied troops ; ordered (or alternatively been responsible for) the shooting of prisoners of war at his headquarters ; and been responsible for other such shootings both at his headquarters and during the fighting nearby. He pleaded not guilty. In connection with the last set of charges and with the alternative charge, the Prosecution referred to the presumptions contained in Regulations 10 (3), (4) and (5) of the War Crimes Regulations (Canada). The accused was found guilty of the incitement and counselling, and was held responsible for the shootings at his headquarters, though not guilty of ordering them, and was found not to be responsible for the shootings outside his headquarters. A charge contained in a second Charge Sheet was abandoned. The sentence of death passed against him was commuted by the Convening Authority to one of life imprisonment.
U.S.A.:
The Congress officially recognizes the "Pledge of Allegiance."
President Harry S. Truman directs that the U.S. Coast Guard be transferred from the Navy and returned to the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had signed Executive Order 8929 transferring the Coast Guard to Navy Department control on 1 November 1941.
Destroyer USS Carpentar launched.