Eight terrorist enemy combatants have been captured in the U.S. as they prepared to carry out a wave of attacks in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. Organized in two squads, one group illegally entered the U.S. from a boat June 13 off the shores of Amagansett, New York. The other group waded to shore June 16 at Point Vedra Beach, Florida. The eight were armed with guns, explosives and about $175,000 in U.S. currency. Fortunately for Americans, one of the New York terrorists got cold feet and turned himself into the FBI. By June 27 agents of the FBI arrested the other seven.
In spite of the fact that the eight included two U.S. citizens, they have been tried by a military tribunal on order of the president. Meeting for three weeks in July, the tribunal has handed out eight death sentences. The president commuted the sentences of the two who had gotten cold feet. The other six — including one U.S. citizen — were electrocuted in the District of Columbia electric chair on Aug. 8.
But this was another war against fascism. The year was 1942. The president was Democrat Franklin D Roosevelt. The fascists were German Nazis smuggled from U-boats into America to carry out