After delivering vital parts to the island of Tinian for the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis was struck by two enemy torpedoes on July 29, 1945. The ship sank in twelve minutes.

In his Museum oral history, Senior Chief Radioman Walter Nelson recounts the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Diagnosed with Hansen’s disease and unable to access medication in Japanese-occupied Philippines, Josefina Guerrero decided to join the guerrilla movement and become a spy. Her disease allowed her to move untouched by the Japanese, providing critical intel to American forces as they moved towards the Battle of Manila.

World War II shaped the kind of person, musician, and composer Dave Brubeck became.

In this clip, Fred Hollis describes how he learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Walter Broll was present during the German bombing attack on Bari Harbor in Italy on 2 December 1943.

In the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Iwo Jima. No other campaign surpassed that number.

For Jack Vessey, the march through Rome following that city’s liberation was one of the greatest days of the war.

Opal Grapes was one of more than 59,000 nurses in the Army Nurse Corps. Her recollections highlight the highs and lows of nursing wounded men.

R.V. Burgin and his fellow Marines were dug in on Walt’s Ridge during the Battle of Cape Gloucester.

Colonel Jimmie Kanaya, 442nd Regimental Combat Team medic, became a prisoner of war in Germany after his family had been put behind barbed wire at home in the States. He went on to be a decorated three-war veteran and friend of The National WWII Museum who passed away November 7, 2019.

In this clip, George Wichterich describes his experiences on Hill 314 during the Battle of Mortain in August 1944.