Seeing the cemetery for the German war dead at Futa Pass was a stark reminder of the human cost of defeating fascism.

While many Americans are familiar with the idea of “code talkers,” knowledge about the fuller lives, stories, and experiences of American Indian Code Talkers is incredibly limited. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, in partnership with Native communities, wants to help change that.

A member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Ernest Childers became the first American Indian to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II.

William Pena discusses his experiences while fighting the Germans in the Colmar Pocket in January 1945 and how he was wounded by a mine and evacuated to the United States.

Even while held as POWs by the Germans in the POW camp Stalag Luft IV, American servicemen exercised their civic duty and made their voices heard, at least to each other, when they held a straw vote for the 1944 presidential election.