The valiant defense of Wake Island by US Marines, sailors, soldiers, and civilians became a potent rallying point for Americans in the dark days after Pearl Harbor.

As 1943 turned to 1944, PT-305 departed New Orleans, and she would not be back for more than six decades. 

Ed Bearss, a US Marine who was severely wounded in combat in 1944 and went on to become a great Civil War historian, passed away on September 15, 2020, at the age of 97. He stood for the finest values and traditions of the US Marine Corps.

President Harry Truman's Independence Day message of July 4, 1945 offered words of consolation and hope at a time of immense stress for the nation—and himself.

A look at the personal objects American soldiers collected during the D-Day landings, revealing how everyday items became lasting symbols of war, survival, and memory.