Vernon Baker was one of seven African Americans to receive the Medal of Honor for service in World War II, an award delayed decades by bias and discrimination. In both war and peace, Baker served as an inspirational leader for the soldiers that served under his command and for generations to come.

International Peace Day focuses on building a peaceful and prosperous future. The exhibition Remembered Light spotlights the McDonald Peace Windows and how one chaplain’s remembrances of destruction were woven into new, imaginative works of art out of the ruins and devastation of war.

At the end of the war, more than 12,000 American POWs were scattered in camps across the Pacific in desperate shape. From August 30-September 20, 1945, in Operation Swift Mercy, B-17s and B-29s flew 1,000 missions and dropped 4,500 tons of supplies to American troops no longer prisoner, but still trapped.

The USS Benevolence was one of three hospital ships in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. The ship served as a haven and first stop in rehabilitation for thousands of Allied POWs.

From January 1943 to June 1945, writer Kurt Vonnegut served in the US Army. His experiences with the 106th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge and then later as a prisoner of war in Dresden imprinted his life and provided traumatic (and sometimes comedic) material for his novel Slaughterhouse-Five and other works.

In advance of a discussion on Slaughterhouse-Five, Assistant Director for Curatorial Services Kimberly Guise posed some questions to Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Curator Chris Lafave.

Dr. Rothacker Smith looked death in the eye several times during World War II. In these moments during his wartime service, during captivity as a German POW and beyond, his faith carried him through and indeed directed much of his life, as did the proud tradition of the Buffalo Soldier which he upheld.

As Allied troops gained ground in Europe, members of the Women’s Army Corps [WAC] were there to serve. Bringing vital communication skills, they jumped into seats at switchboards still warm from the enemy operators who had just vacated their posts. In July 1945, the WAC telephone operators were selected to manage the "Victory switchboard" at the Potsdam Conference.

The 156th Infantry Band from Louisiana brought a New Orleans flair to one of the most influential postwar moments in Europe, when they were selected to provide the musical backdrop for the Potsdam Conference as the “house band” at the Little White House.

Foreign-born US troops made a significant contribution to American victory in World War II. Between July 1, 1942 and June 30, 1945, 109,382 foreign-born members of the US Armed Forces became naturalized citizens.