Prior to World War II, there was a thriving American wristwatch industry, but it became a casualty of the war. 

The Longoria Affair, as it came to be known, drew national attention to the systemic discrimination that Latino Americans faced and served as a rallying point for the American GI Forum’s campaign against pervasive racism and inequality.

Second Lieutenant Rudolph B. Davila, of Spanish-Filipino descent, received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions near Artena, Italy, during World War II. 

German technology surpassed the Allies' with the production of radio-guided weapons that worked in a combat environment. As early as 1943, the Henschel (Hs) 293 and the Ruhrstahl X-1 (Fritz X) were the first guided bombs employed in combat. These weapons debuted around the time of the Allied assault on Salerno and were a new concern for fleet defense. 

After parachuting on Tagaytay Ridge, Manuel Pérez participated in the horrendous fighting with the Japanese in the Philippines' capital city of Manila, the scene of some of the bloodiest urban combat of the war.