The British torpedo bomber strike on the Italian naval base of Taranto in November 1940 changed the balance of power in the Mediterranean, and set the stage for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Colonel Jimmie Kanaya, 442nd Regimental Combat Team medic, became a prisoner of war in Germany after his family had been put behind barbed wire at home in the States. He went on to be a decorated three-war veteran and friend of The National WWII Museum who passed away November 7, 2019.

The National WWII Museum announces Memory Wars: World War II at 75 and Beyond conference, a first-of-its-kind, virtual event taking place March 24 – 26 that will examine World War II’s place in public memory and how historians, filmmakers, media, memorials and museums help shape the legacy of the global conflict.

On June 10, 2017, The National WWII Museum will open its newest permanent exhibit—The Arsenal of Democracy: The Herman and George R. Brown Salute to the Home Front. Located on the second floor of the Museum’s original Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, the exhibit will tell the story of the road to war and the Home Front, including the political discord of the prewar years, the terror of the Pearl Harbor attacks, the massive mobilization in personnel and manufacturing, and the experience of ordinary Americans. Visitors will find themselves inside the story through nine immersive galleries, which re-create a newsstand, factory floor, 1940s home and more as the evocative backdrop for artifacts, digital interactives and personal narratives.

Nurses like US Army Nurse Opal James made vital contributions to the American struggle for victory in World War II.