Edgar Cole describes being drafted into the Marine Corps and the racism he experienced during his initial days in the service.

Syria became a battleground in July 1941, when British forces launched an invasion to secure their hold on the Middle East. General "Bill" Slim's strike at Deir-ez-Zor was a critical victory.

In 1945, members of the American "Deer Team," part of the OSS, worked with Vietnamese guerrilla fighters to throw Japanese troops out of Indochina. As the war ended, the people of Vietnam looked to the United States to support their dreams of independence.

July 17 marks the 76th anniversary of the Port Chicago Disaster. The Port Chicago 50 have yet to be exonerated.

The African American Black Panthers of the 761st Tank Battalion completed their distinguished combat record by breaching Germany's Siegfried Line and crossing the Rhine in 1945.

At 5:29 a.m. (MST) on July 16, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb detonated in the New Mexican desert, releasing a level of destructive power unknown in the existence of humanity. Emitting as much energy as 21,000 tons of TNT and creating a fireball that measured roughly 2,000 feet in diameter, the first successful test of an atomic bomb, known as the Trinity Test, forever changed the history of the world.

As Allied troops gained ground in Europe, members of the Women’s Army Corps [WAC] were there to serve. Bringing vital communication skills, they jumped into seats at switchboards still warm from the enemy operators who had just vacated their posts. In July 1945, the WAC telephone operators were selected to manage the "Victory switchboard" at the Potsdam Conference.

The British torpedo bomber strike on the Italian naval base of Taranto in November 1940 changed the balance of power in the Mediterranean, and set the stage for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1943, the US Army’s 7th Infantry Division captured Attu in the Western Aleutians, effectively removing the Japanese threat from America’s backyard.

Although the star was used as the main identification for Allied vehicles in World War II, its design changed over time.