Museum oral history recalls brutal combat on Tinian, Saipan, and Iwo Jima.  

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans presents WWII veteran Richard Greer with Silver Service Medallion in Guadalcanal on May 4, 2011, for his service in the Battle of Guadalcanal.

On August 14, 1945 the world learned that Japan had surrendered, effectively ending World War II, a war that Americans thought would go on indefinitely. No newsflash in modern history has ever been greeted with such overwhelming celebration. The iconic images of happy throngs holding up the newspapers that would go into countless scrapbooks and frames, the impromptu parades, hands in the air forming a “V” for victory, and the iconic images from Times-Square – including one very famous kiss between a nurse and a sailor.

The National WWII Museum President and CEO Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller today received the French Legion of Honor alongside Tom Brokaw and Tom Hanks at a private ceremony at the Grand Chancellery in Paris. The Legion of Honor Medal, which was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, acknowledges services rendered to France by persons of exceptional merit and accomplishments. It is the highest distinction awarded by the French government.

Larry Decuers is a former Curator at The National WWII Museum and veteran of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division.