On April 1, 1945, more than 60,000 soldiers and US Marines of the US Tenth Army stormed ashore at Okinawa, in the final island battle before an anticipated invasion of mainland Japan.

In 1945, US forces bounded forward in the Central Pacific as combat reached ever bloodier crescendos. 

On December 16, 1944, the German army launched a massive offensive in the Ardennes Forest. The Battle of the Bulge would be the largest engagement ever fought by the US Army—and ultimately hasten the end of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.

Masters of the Air, a historical narrative book by Donald L. Miller, PhD, and Apple TV+ miniseries about the 100th Bombardment Group, explores the stories of the American bomber boys who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. Discover more on the 100th Bombardment Group—the “Bloody Hundredth”—and other Masters of the Air-related content available from the Museum. 

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they invaded Luzon, Philippines in January 1942. Despite insufficient supplies, American and Filipino troops were able to fight for three months. Eventually, they surrendered to Japanese troops and were forced into the Bataan Death March—where some of the most horrific war crimes were committed by the Japanese.