This Date in History: August 31

 

West of Stalingrad on August 31, 1942, the 384th Infantry Division defended in sector northeast of Vertiachii opposite the 214th Rifle Division.  The division suffered 11 NCOs/enlisted killed in action; 63 NCOs/enlisted were wounded in action; 18 men were reported missing in action.  From August 15 through August 31, the division lost 16 officers, 101 NCOs and 408 enlisted men killed in action; 54 officers, 317 NCOs and 1,705 enlisted men were wounded in action; one officer, 13 NCOs and 141 enlisted men were missing in action.  To the north was the 305th Infantry Division; to the southeast was the 76th Infantry Division.  (Stalingrad: The Death of the German Sixth Army on the Volga, 1942-1943)

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Forest K. Weaver, the first lieutenant who examined the power source at Eniwetok associated with the electrocution of Master Sergeant John C. Woods, went on to have a distinguished military career; his fitness reports praised his technical expertise in all his positions until he retired as a major.  Forest Weaver died on August 31, 2000 in Seattle, Washington and is buried at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Section 9B in site 173.  (American Hangman: MSgt. John C. Woods: The United States Army’s Notorious Executioner in World War II and Nürnberg)