Battle of Bataan
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they invaded Luzon, Philippines in January 1942. Despite insufficient supplies, American and Filipino troops were able to fight for three months. Eventually, they surrendered to Japanese troops and were forced into the Bataan Death March—where some of the most horrific war crimes were committed by the Japanese.
The Destruction of Monte Cassino
A stalemate on the Gustav Line in January 1944 brought about one of the more controversial Allied decisions of Italian campaign.
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Article Type“From St. Paul to the Sons of Satan – Captain Richard Fleming’s Medal of Honor”
Richard Eugene Fleming not only embodied the concept of a “gentleman and a scholar”- he expanded it to include war hero for his fearlessness in the face of serious risk in the Battle of Midway.
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Secret Agents, Secret Armies: Operation Mincemeat
The British intelligence services’ bizarre deception plan created by a spy novelist, a lawyer, and an RAF officer proved successful beyond expectations, deceiving the Germans about Allied plans for the invasion of Sicily.
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A Marshall Plan for Wartime Destruction in Ukraine?
In an address to the Harvard graduating class on June 5, 1947, General George C. Marshall called for a European Recovery Plan for war torn Europe. Marshall’s call, and the Marshall Plan that bears his name, continues to resonate today with respect to the war in Ukraine and the need to rebuild in its aftermath.
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Secret Agents, Secret Armies: The Real Rat Patrol
The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and the Special Air Service (SAS) were the inspiration for a kitschy American TV show of the 1960’s.
Medal of Honor Recipients of World War II
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“From St. Paul to the Sons of Satan – Captain Richard Fleming’s Medal of Honor”
Richard Eugene Fleming not only embodied the concept of a “gentleman and a scholar”- he expanded it to include war hero for his fearlessness in the face of serious risk in the Battle of Midway.
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Captain Robert H. Dunlap's Medal of Honor
In the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Iwo Jima. No other campaign surpassed that number.
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Corporal Charles J. Berry's Medal of Honor
In the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Iwo Jima. No other campaign surpassed that number.
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Private First Class William R. Caddy's Medal of Honor
In the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Iwo Jima. No other campaign surpassed that number.
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Colonel Justice M. Chambers Medal of Honor
In the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Iwo Jima. No other campaign surpassed that number.
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Sergeant Darrell S. Cole's Medal of Honor
In the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Iwo Jima. No other campaign surpassed that number.
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Sergeant Ross F. Gray's Medal of Honor
In the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Iwo Jima. No other campaign surpassed that number.
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PFC Willy F. James, Jr's Medal of Honor
Willy F. James, Jr. was one of seven African Americans to receive the Medal of Honor for service in World War II, an award delayed decades by bias and discrimination.
The Hesse Heist
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The Family von Hessen
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The Fate of the Family von Hessen
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The Jewels Are Stolen
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The Accused Are Tried
European Theater of Operations
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The Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943-45: A Timeline, Part Three
Contrary to Winston Churchill's belief that Italy was the "soft underbelly" of Axis-dominated Europe, the Allied campaign in Italy was a long and bloody undertaking.
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The Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943-45: A Timeline, Part Two
Contrary to Winston Churchill's belief that Italy was the "soft underbelly" of Axis-dominated Europe, the Allied campaign in Italy was a long and bloody undertaking.
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The Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943-45: A Timeline, Part One
Contrary to Winston Churchill's belief that Italy was the "soft underbelly" of Axis-dominated Europe, the Allied campaign in Italy was a long and bloody undertaking.
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Seeing in The Dark, Through Clouds, with Mosquitos Making Microwaves
If you are like most Americans, you have in your home the key technology that helped the Allies win WWII. Of course, it serves a very different function in your home than it did back then.
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“The Last Million:” Eastern European Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany
After World War II 1.2 million Eastern European displaced persons refused to return home, creating a large-scale refugee crisis.
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The Marshall Plan and Postwar Economic Recovery
The Marshall Plan was a massive commitment to European recovery after World War II that was largely supported by Americans.
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Käthe Leichter, Champion for Austria’s Working-Class Women
Käthe Leichter (1895-1942) was a champion for working-class women in the Austrian labor movement.
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First Fruits of Exile: European Art at Pierre Matisse 1942
In March 1942, a special exhibit opened in New York City of 14 pieces of art each contributed by 14 artists who had escaped Nazi-occupied Europe.
Pacific Theater of Operations
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Article Type
“From St. Paul to the Sons of Satan – Captain Richard Fleming’s Medal of Honor”
Richard Eugene Fleming not only embodied the concept of a “gentleman and a scholar”- he expanded it to include war hero for his fearlessness in the face of serious risk in the Battle of Midway.
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The Battle of Coral Sea: A Retrospective
Often overshadowed by the Battle of Midway, the hard-fought carrier naval battle in May 1942 in the waters of the Coral Sea north of Australia marked the end of the phase of Japanese triumphs in the Pacific War and proved to be of strategic significance.
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Against Nature’s Odds: Fighting Weather and Natural Disasters during WWII
The US military was a nearly unstoppable force during WWII, but the challenges of weather and natural disasters meant that the power of American bombs and bullets could pale in comparison to the power of nature.
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“I Paid My Dues to Be Called an American:” Sergeant Frank “Foo” Fujita’s POW Experience in the Pacific
Frank Fujita’s American citizenship and Japanese heritage made his time as a prisoner of the Japanese particularly torturous.
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Honoring a Hero: The Death and Memorialization of Ernie Pyle
The shocking and unexpected death of beloved war correspondent Ernie Pyle spawned many efforts to memorialize his storied life.
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Exposing Atrocity: The Davao Dozen and the Bataan Death March
Thanks to the escape of the “Davao Dozen” from Japanese captivity in April 1943, Americans learned of the Bataan Death March.
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The Legacy of Courageous B-17 Pilot Colin Kelly
Collin Kelly’s story of bravery during the first bombing missions in the Pacific flourished at a time when nearly all war news was grim.
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10 Notable World War II Books of 2021
Must-reads of 2021 picked by historians and scholars in the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.
Home Front
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Making Public What Was Once Secret: Los Alamos and The Manhattan Project
Los Alamos and other Manhattan Project Sites developed across the US in 1942 and 1943.
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The War Refugee Board
When President Franklin Roosevelt created the War Refugee Board in January 1944, he tasked this new government agency with rescuing and providing relief for Jews and other groups facing Nazi persecution and murder in Europe. By that time, more than five million European Jews had already been murdered. The War Refugee Board staff used creativity and the near-certainty of Allied victory to aid hundreds of thousands of people in the final seventeen months of World War II.
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First Fruits of Exile: European Art at Pierre Matisse 1942
In March 1942, a special exhibit opened in New York City of 14 pieces of art each contributed by 14 artists who had escaped Nazi-occupied Europe.
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The Buffalo: 92nd Infantry Division’s Weekly Newspaper during World War II
The 92nd Infantry Division’s unit newspaper earned a place as one of the premier combat division publications in the Armed Forces during World War II.
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Love—Guess Who! Valentine’s Letters from World War II
Forced apart by war, newlyweds and expectant parents Richard and Jean Porritt celebrated Valentine’s Day the only way they could: through greeting cards and love letters.
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First Washington Conference: ARCADIA
The First Washington Conference, code-named ARCADIA, from December 22, 1941 to January 14, 1942, set the strategic direction for the Anglo-American war effort and established the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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Salvage For Victory: World War II & Now
On January 10, 1942, the United States launched one of its most important and also most memorable domestic initiatives of the entire war: the “Salvage For Victory” campaign.
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Making Automobiles Last During World War II
Civilian workers struggle to keep their cars running amid strict wartime restrictions.
