This Day in American Military History

15 July 1942: The first ship specifically designed to lay mines—Terror (CM-5)—was commissioned. Terror gave valuable support for Operation Torch in North Africa at Casablanca. The minelayer was also involved at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. A kamikaze attack on May 1, 1945, took 41 lives and injured 123.

Quote of the Day: “Duties were routine, like calling 155mm artillery when Charley hit a South Vietnamese outpost, and he always did. But the American TOC [tactical operations center] officer didn’t call the fire directly, a Vietnamese had to radio the final artillery request and coordinates. After all, we were advisers.” Thomas R. Hargrove, recalling the summer of 1969 in Vietnam in his memoir A Dragon Lives Forever (1994)

Brandus, Paul. This Day in U.S. Military History (p. 174). Bernan Press. Kindle Edition.