Joseph R. Beyrle's experience captures the initiative demanded of airborne soldiers, the brutality endured by prisoners of war, and the unlikely battlefield cooperation between American and Soviet soldiers during the final months of the war.

In the letter, Major Richard “Dick” Winters responded to Stephen Ambrose's request for his thoughts on the strain of command, the problems he faced during the war, and the living conditions his soldiers endured. What emerged was also a concise explanation of Winters’s leadership philosophy.

At The National WWII Museum, remembering the anniversary of September 11 means remembering all those who perished that day and recognizing the many different stories they carried with them. 

During World War II, ship names often referenced earlier eras of American history. Today, the US Navy continues its efforts to memorialize the country’s origins by upholding naming traditions that hark back more than 160 years.  

Initially, hell ships moved Allied POWs to areas where their labor was needed, such as the Japanese main islands and other recently conquered regions, but later, they also moved prisoners to prevent them from being liberated by advancing Allied forces.

The National WWII Museum was proud to collaborate on The HISTORY Channel’s 20-part series World War II with Tom Hanks. See what the Museum’s leading historians had to say about working on the show.

A product of post Great War naval treaties and launched amid rising global tensions, the USS New Orleans forged a bond with its namesake city in the years before World War II

A surplus of Army rations and goodwill helped improve the lives of many Europeans impoverished by World War II.

American soldiers liberated the concentration camp at Buchenwald on April 11, 1945, and were profoundly shaken by what they discovered.

The True Glory chronicles the Allied liberation of Western Europe, from the preparations for Operation Overlord to the fall of Berlin. 

Few American generals of World War II inspired as much admiration or as much controversy as George S. Patton.

The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) plans for the 1940 Summer Games took many unexpected turns as the world drifted toward global war.