On Memorial Day and every day, the name of Richard McCurdy, killed in action during Operation Torch, and other boys like him should be kept alive and their sacrifices and those of their families remembered. They were and are part of a nation, a city, a neighborhood, and a family.

Among the Museum's collection are many stories of those who did not return, like PFC Darrel “Happy” Neil, killed in action on July 7, 1944 in France.

Few fighter aircraft have had an impact on a conflict like the P-51 Mustang.

In 1945, one of history’s most notorious figures committed suicide by ingesting cyanide. Heinrich Himmler, known for his role in the implementation of the “Final Solution,” is remembered today for his heinous acts across Europe during World War II.

William Holloman, III, discusses fighting for a country that viewed him as a second class citizen.

Before John Coltrane became recognized as an influential jazz musician, he served with the US Navy band the Melody Masters. 

The Greek Civil War erupted in December 1944, pulling British forces into combat in Athens. Over the next five years this devastating conflict would shatter Greece and transform Europe.

In this clip, Richard Candelaria discusses how he and the other P-51 Mustang pilots in his group favored bomber escort missions as they knew they would likely get a chance to engage any German fighters that arrived to attack the bomber formations.

Eighty years ago, the census of 1940—16th in the nation’s history—was carried out beginning in April. It would hold both immediate and long-lasting ramifications for the country and its citizens, some of which have only recently begun to come to light.

Before he became famous as the creator of James Bond in the 1950s, Ian Fleming (1908-1964) was an officer in the Royal Navy’s Naval Intelligence Department. He devised a number of wartime schemes worthy of a Bond novel. Some were successful and some were too wild to carry out.
 

Merchant Marine, Louis Taix of New Orleans, Louisiana, was lost at sea when the SS Nicarao was sunk by a German submarine U-751 on the night of May 15, 1942, in the Bahama Islands.

Private Snafu, a Warner Bros. Studios cartoon produced for the war effort, educated and entertained GIs.