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.

Alberta Hunter was already a seasoned performer when she and the “Rhythm Rascals” traveled to the “forgotten” China-Burma-India (CBI) theater as the first African American entertainers to visit there, and she later sang for Eisenhower himself. Her service in World War II, however, is but one of many extraordinary stories of this highly regarded woman’s life.

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.

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 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.

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.