US code breakers deciphering Japanese naval messages provided an opportunity for vengeance in April 1943 after intercepting the travel plans of Japan’s naval commander in chief, the mastermind behind the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Nurses like US Army Nurse Opal James made vital contributions to the American struggle for victory in World War II.

Robert D. Booker was born on July 11, 1920, in Callaway, Nebraska, where he joined the US Army in June 1942. After basic training, Private Booker was assigned to the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, and sent to Africa.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, The National WWII Museum connects two instances of remorse for Nazi criminality by leading German politicians.

Modern mechanized armies need a robust logistics chain to provide fuel, ammunition, and other sinews of war to sustain combat operations. Fighting the Allies during the North African campaign of 1942-1943, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps (DAK) was resupplied by a concerted air and sea lift effort.

After a difficult adjustment to the discipline of Army life, James I. Spurrier Jr. deployed to the South Pacific as an infantry soldier. Returning to combat duty after being wounded in New Guinea, he joined the 35th Infantry Division, landing in Normandy on D+1. Excellent in combat, his lack of discipline led to his assignment as a company runner rather than a squad leader. This enabled him to fight on his own, which was his preference.

Much has been made in the historical record of the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany in early March of 1945. However, fewer accounts exist of Operation Flashpoint, Ninth US Army’s assault crossing of the Rhine, which began on March 24. General William H. Simpson, commander of Ninth Army, has received little attention in the historiography of World War II.

Born in the Appalachian Mountains on May 1, 1918, in Cherry Grove, West Virginia, T/Sgt. Clinton Hedrick enlisted in the US Army in September 1940 in Columbus, Ohio, before America’s entry into the war.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Kasserine Pass, US II Corps passed to the command of General Harold Alexander’s 18th Army Group. When Alexander took command on February 20, 1943, one of his first tasks was to assess II Corp’s combat readiness after its setbacks during its early engagements around Kasserine Pass.

Long Overdue: The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion Recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal

Jack Mathis was born the second of three children in San Angelo, Texas, on September 25, 1921.

Morris E. Crain was born on October 7, 1924, in Bandana, Kentucky, on the very western edge of the state.