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.

The courtroom of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg hosted nearly 400 visitors each day, including 250 members of the international press. The Museum’s collection contains items from some of these visitors, American service members who wanted to sit in on one of the most significant trials in history.

The Oscars host for the ages presided over the 1943 ceremony. 

A single squadron of Mexican flyers completed nearly 800 sorties—individual aircraft combat missions—in the waning days of World War II.

The Hollywood Canteen, which had been in operation since October 1942, closed its doors after one last hurrah on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1945. In all, more than 3,000 volunteers, many famous stars among them, had welcomed and entertained nearly four million servicemen and women.