Cities, birds, and denizens of the deep. Three items which on the surface have nothing in common, yet they were all conventions for naming US warships in the WWII era.

World War II transformed the United States from a midlevel global power to the leader of the “free world.” With this rapid rise in power and influence, the United States had to take on new responsibilities, signaling the beginning of the "American era."

Halloween today still brings with it traditions that were familiar during the 1940s. However the home front festivities during the war years also held some key differences as well. 

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.

The end of World War II brought unexpected challenges for American servicemembers in both Europe and the Pacific. Fighting forces turned into forces of occupation, working to maintain a fragile peace while living amongst former enemies.

Absentee ballots gave American citizens in uniform a voice in their nation’s government during World War II.

During World War II, a new program gave young men who refused to wear a uniform other ways to serve their country.

B-17 pilot John Noack describes the bravery of his top turret gunner and flight engineer, Kenneth Fox, who even after being severely wounded during the mission to Schweinfurt on October 14, 1943, refused to abandon his post in the plane’s top turret.

The first Medal of Honor awarded to a Hispanic American in World War II was also the first awarded for actions on the North American continent since 1898.

On October 12, 1945, US Army medic Desmond Doss became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Mexican American Cleto Rodriguez brazenly attacked an enemy fortress to save his platoon during the Battle of Manila, heroics for which he received the nation’s highest military honor.

There is insufficient attention paid to the long history of the Roma within European culture.