‘War of the Worlds’ remembered

• On July 12, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signs into law a measure calling for the awarding of a U.S. Army Medal of Honor. In 1863, the Medal of Honor was made a permanent military decoration available to all members of the U.S. armed forces.

• On July 11, 1938, the “Mercury Theater on the Air” radio drama featuring Orson Welles debuts. The show is best remembered for its 1938 broadcast of “The War of the Worlds,” a fictional drama about a Martian invasion in Grovers Mill, N.J.

• On July 13, 1943, the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history, ends as the Soviets repulse a German offensive at heavy cost. Some 6,000 tanks, 2 million men and 5,000 aircraft were involved in the fighting.

• On July 14, 1955, Volkswagen introduces the Karmann-Ghia. The car’s sleek lines and hand craftsmanship attracted the attention Volkswagen had hoped for. Nevertheless, the Ghia’s power suffered from its 36-horsepower, flat-four engine. The car was last produced in 1974.

• On July 15, 1965, the unmanned spacecraft Mariner 4 passes over Mars at an altitude of 6,000 feet and sends back to Earth the first close-up images of the red planet. The pictures revealed a vast, barren wasteland of craters and rust-colored sand, dismissing 19th-century suspicions that an advanced civilization might exist on the planet.

• On July 10, 1989, Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, dies from complications of heart disease. Other character voices that Blanc created included the Road Runner, Sylvester, Tweety Bird and Woody Woodpecker’s signature laugh.