By January 1945 the African American soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion, the Black Panthers, were battle-tested veterans. But they would encounter one of their toughest fights in January 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge.

Charles Bishop describes his experiences during the first patrol of the USS Piranha (SS-389).

The 156th Infantry Band from Louisiana brought a New Orleans flair to one of the most influential postwar moments in Europe, when they were selected to provide the musical backdrop for the Potsdam Conference as the “house band” at the Little White House.

The fight for Mount Austen witnessed some of the hardest fighting on Guadalcanal. Its successful capture ensured the security of Henderson Field from Japanese artillery fire and infiltrators.

P-51 Mustang pilot Clarence “Bud” Anderson describes scoring the first of his 15 aerial victories in the skies over Europe.

A snapshot of Roland Martin's course from boyhood in California to a B-17 Pilot stationed in England, ending as a POW in Germany.

Sterling Cale discusses his experiences during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

On July 7, 1944, the US Army 27th Infantry Division bore the brunt of the largest Banzai attack of the war. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, over 4,000 Japanese troops were dead, and American dead and wounded numbered nearly 1,000.

Richard B. Frank, author of Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War Volume 1: 1937-1942, discusses the opening moves of the war in Asia, and why it is important today.

Bill Garbo describes advancing past Baker Hill during the battle of Leyte.

On July 5, 1945 General Douglas MacArthur released a communique announcing that major combat operations in the Philippine Islands had concluded.

President Harry Truman's Independence Day message of July 4, 1945 offered words of consolation and hope at a time of immense stress for the nation—and himself.