William M. Armstrong, Military Historian

10/25/2025

Douglas R4D of Marine Aircraft Group 25:

Immediately after landing, C-47s are refuelled, checked over and made ready for the next trip at Torokina Airstrip, Bougainville. 29 March 1944. US Archives pic.

05/29/2023

This Memorial Day, please remember to include those from MAG-25 and S**T who made the ultimate sacrifice:

This is a list of all known members of Marine Air Group 25 and the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command who gave their lives during World War II or Korean War era service. Updated as new information becomes available.

12/18/2022

These were popular within MAG-25 and its USAAF counterparts:

Dwight D. Eisenhower and Marlene Dietrich both belonged to this unusual club.

12/16/2022

12/14/2022

Our team was busy this year! Check out our latest newsletter for a recap of some of our most interesting research projects from 2022. https://bit.ly/3YoWwJF

09/16/2022

Did you know that the First Lady flew aboard S**T during her tour in the South Pacific? The 13th Troop Carrier Squadron provided a C-47 named “Our Eleanor” for her flight to Espiritu Santo.

"First lady Eleanor Roosevelt visiting combat wounded in a United States Navy field hospital at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides during her tour of the South Pacific on behalf of the Red Cross, 14 September 1943" (National Archives)

08/26/2022

Sadly, it became apparent that this was necessary:

I never saw this space as a place for book reviews, but after fielding some inquiries about a new publication I feel compelled to include one. The book at issue is Pacific Profiles, Volume 7: Allied Transports: Douglas C-47 Series: South & Southwest Pacific 1942-1945 by Michael John Claringbould (Ke...

03/30/2022

03/24/2022

Our team has been at the forefront of PFAS usage and disposal research for years—here’s my latest blog:

Last month, on the heels of our trilogy of blogs related to the Impact of PFAS on Environmental Litigation (Virtual) Conference hosted by Perrin Conferences , TRG attended a subsequent PFAS webinar, which is the subject of this week’s blog. “Do the Homework on Corporate History” was one

03/01/2022

This week we continue our series of blogs reflecting on material covered in the “Impact of PFAS on Environmental Litigation (Virtual) Conference” hosted by Perrin Conferences by examining the growing focus on civilian usage and disposal of PFAS. When certain PFAS chemicals first became cause

02/22/2022

The next in TRG’s series of PFAS blogs:

Last week we began our series of blogs reflecting on material covered in the Impact of PFAS on Environmental Litigation (Virtual) Conference hosted by Perrin Conferences, with a look at the federal government’s recent actions to address PFAS in the environment. This week, we’ll take another look...

02/15/2022

The latest blog over at my day job:

When it comes to PFAS contamination liability, be proactive. That was one of several important messages conveyed at the Impact of PFAS on Environmental Litigation (Virtual) Conference hosted by Perrin Conferences , which Taylor Research Group (TRG) recently attended. Readers familiar with TRG’s wo...