Hawaii’s initial importance to the US Army was not due to long-term planning, but it would become a crucial piece of a defensive network in the Pacific.

Dominic Martello relived traumatic moments of his WWII combat in North Africa for the rest of his life.

William Pena discusses his experiences while fighting the Germans in the Colmar Pocket in January 1945 and how he was wounded by a mine and evacuated to the United States.

Mark Hazard discusses a patrol he led behind German lines just before the assault on Hagenau with the objective of capturing a German soldier to interrogate for information about enemy strength in the area.

Vernon Baker 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. In both war and peace, Baker served as an inspirational leader for the soldiers that served under his command and for generations to come.

The US 79th Infantry Division led the way in assaulting Cherbourg’s Fort du Roule on June 25, 1944, and two Americans would receive Medals of Honor for their heroic conduct.

During a trip to Alexandria, Louisiana in 1970, Maurice P. "Pete" Bowler returned to Camp Claiborne to visit the base where he had trained with the 103rd Infantry Division in 1942.

Thousands of men and women wrote memoirs detailing their experiences in World War II. Here are four lesser known examples that merit a second look.