Today in U.S. military history: MacArthur hearings begin and the first transcontinental flight

Unto the Breach ^ | May 3, 2017 | Chris Carter

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1898: Following the Battle of Manila Bay, Marines from the cruisers USS Baltimore (C-3) and USS Raleigh (C-8) raise the Stars and Stripes for the first time in the Philippines over Cavite, the historical capital.

1923: 26 hours and 50 minutes after taking off in New York, Army Air Corps First Lieutenants Oakley Kelly and John Macready touch down at Rockwell Field, San Diego, becoming the first aviators to fly non-stop across the United States. The specially modified Fokker T-2 passenger plane averaged a blistering 92 mph.

1942: The first air-naval battle in history takes place between American and Japanese carriers in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Aircraft carriers used aircraft to fight each other instead of the ships directly engaging each other with guns. 66 American and 70 Japanese warplanes are shot down.

1946: Prosecution of 28 Japanese military and political leaders begin at the War Ministry Office in Tokyo. After two-and-a-half years...

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MacArthur served in the Veracruz Campaign, was the aide-de-camp to Pres. Teddy Roosevelt, and served in World War I before retiring for the first time in 1937. He was also a field marshal for the Philippines and president of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He was recalled for World War II and Korea before retiring a second time in 1951.