USS Mason was the first US Navy fleet vessel crewed by a majority of African American sailors.

In 1973 a devastating fire in the National Personnel Records Center destroyed about 17 million military personnel files. A loss with long-lasting repercussions, it affects our understanding and knowledge of many individual WWII stories.

Opal Grapes was one of more than 59,000 nurses in the Army Nurse Corps. Her recollections highlight the highs and lows of nursing wounded men.

Classified for 50 years, the sinking of the HMT Rohna remains one of the least known—yet most catastrophic—events of World War II.

Eduardo Peniche came to the United States to obtain an education and became a decorated war veteran and proud American in the process.