Dame Vera Lynn, who died on June 18, 2020 at age 103, inspired millions of people in Great Britain and the United States through the darkest days of World War II. 

During the war, nearly 1,100 highly trained women tested, flew, and ferried 12,650 aircraft over 60 million miles as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

Underscoring its ferocity, future commandant of the Marine Corps General Clifton Cates argued that “the fight for Peleliu was one of the most vicious and stubbornly defended battles of the war.” 

In the midst of the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans launched Operation Nordwind, a lesser-known but significant offensive in Alsace in January 1945.

Despite their commendable service during World War II, the Marines of Montford Point would regularly contend with societal forces that vehemently resisted all measures taken toward racial integration.