Tens of thousands of Allied civilians, including children, were caught in the crossfire of World War II in the Pacific and interned in camps such as Santo Tomas in the Philippines.

Desperate for slave labor to continue the doomed war effort and fearful of camp survivors exposing Nazi crimes, German decision-makers put in motion nearly three-quarters of a million concentration camp prisoners. Of this number, 250,000 died in these death marches.

Torn and warped by Japanese bullets, this piece of protective gear is a rare testament to the ferocious fighting of the oft-forgotten Aleutian Islands Campaign. 

2024 agency numbers estimate fewer than 0.5% of Americans who served in the war still living. 

Without the structure of an official branch of the military, the US Merchant Marine would have to rely on the strength of their numbers leveraged through labor unions to protect themselves.