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.

This is the story of Michael McShane and how he survived the sinking of the SS Athenia, the first ship torpedoed by a U-boat in World War II.

Walter Jacobs talks about encountering a wounded Japanese soldier during the fighting on Ie Shima and how he believes that his sparing of an enemy soldier’s life resulted in him surviving the fighting there and later on Okinawa.

The USS Benevolence was one of three hospital ships in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. The ship served as a haven and first stop in rehabilitation for thousands of Allied POWs.

Every aspect of the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri was carefully choreographed, with one eye on the past and another on the future.

The final liberation of the Philippines at the end of World War II released Filipinos from years of torment—but recognition of their courage and sacrifice was slow in coming.

Severely damaged by Japanese torpedoes at Pearl Harbor, USS West Virginia returned to service in October 1944. When the Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945, she was in Tokyo Bay, a symbol of the resilience of the United States Navy.

On V-J Day, MacArthur invited two unexpected guests to witness the signing.

In 1945 the American intellectual, Norman Cousins, was one of the first to raise terrifying questions for humanity about the successful splitting of the atom.

The combined force of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings was minuscule in comparison to the Tsar Bomba, the most awesome nuclear weapon ever detonated.

One of the Museum's longest-serving employees reflects on one of the most trying times in the institution's history.

The Soviets inflicted terrible brutality on their Japanese captives.