Training in twin engine B-25 “Mitchell” bombers, the 477th never actually saw combat overseas, but fought another battle here in the United States. Formed as an all-Black unit, it became famous not for its combat record, but for its fight against the military version of “separate but equal.”

The British intelligence services’ bizarre deception plan created by a spy novelist, a lawyer, and an RAF officer proved successful beyond expectations, deceiving the Germans about Allied plans for the invasion of Sicily.

The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and the Special Air Service (SAS) were the inspiration for a kitschy American TV show of the 1960’s.

The US military was a nearly unstoppable force during WWII, but the challenges of weather and natural disasters meant that the power of American bombs and bullets could pale in comparison to the power of nature.

With the German Afrika Korps driving toward the Suez Canal in July 1942, heroic resistance by a small band of Indian soldiers and anti-tank gunners stopped Rommel in his tracks, setting the stage for the climactic battle of El Alamein.

Vernon Baker was one of seven African Americans to receive the Medal of Honor for service in World War II, an award delayed decades by bias and discrimination. In both war and peace, Baker served as an inspirational leader for the soldiers that served under his command and for generations to come.

The courageous volunteer pilots of three obsolete British biplanes nicknamed Faith, Hope, and Charity engaged enemy raiders in combat over Malta in June 1940.

Syria became a battleground in July 1941, when British forces launched an invasion to secure their hold on the Middle East. General "Bill" Slim's strike at Deir-ez-Zor was a critical victory.

Captain Daniel Inouye witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor and overcame discrimination to serve his country in war and peace.

The British torpedo bomber strike on the Italian naval base of Taranto in November 1940 changed the balance of power in the Mediterranean, and set the stage for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

More than 14,000 African American men served in the US Army Air Forces in segregated units during World War II. Only about 1,000 of them were pilots. Many others, like Louisiana native Albert Porche, filled vital support roles which kept the famed Red Tails flying in Italy. 

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.