The courageous Free French defense of the remote desert fortress of Bir Hacheim in May 1942 helped turn the tide of the war in North Africa.

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.

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.

Louisiana was dotted with Army Air Fields during World War II. Most of them exist today as civilian airports, their military history long forgotten.

The roundtable discussion explores how history offers lessons for understanding the clash between individual liberties and collective effort.

By VE-Day, 1.6 million American soldiers stood on German soil. Their first months in the land of their former enemy were marked by a number of surprising observations and interactions.

Even though the fighting ended in Europe with VE-Day on May 8, 1945, the effects of the war and its legacies continue up to this day. 

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

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.

Historical fiction has a power all its own to communicate experiences of war and atrocity.

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.