The August 1942 landing on Guadalcanal was a colossal improvisation, concocted on the fly to take advantage of a recent dramatic turn in the Pacific war. 
 

“It was too much death to contemplate, too much savagery and suffering; and in August 1945 no one was counting. For those who had seen the face of battle and been in the camps and under the bombs—and had lived—there was a sense of immense relief.”

Dr. Rana Mitter depicts how China held a critical role in the Pacific theater during the war as a key ally for the United States. The war's end, however, brought a devastating blow to American diplomacy as China ultimately fell to communism, forever changing the global balance of power in the emerging Cold War.

Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries retraces the grueling trail that led from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay by way of New Guinea and Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, Burma, the islands of the Pacific, China, India, and Alaska.

On December 7, 1941, Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, severely damaging the US Pacific Fleet. When Germany and Italy declared war on the United States days later, America found itself in a global war.

The National WWII Museum’s new original special exhibit, Come Back Fighting: USS New Orleans at War, follows the prolific history and remarkable resilience of the decorated heavy cruiser USS New Orleans (CA-32) and her veteran crew that mirror the indomitable spirit of her namesake city.

On December 7, 1941, Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, decimating the US Pacific Fleet. When Germany and Italy declared war on the United States days later, America found itself in a global war. 

On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, join Charles Neimeyer, PhD, as he discusses the history of the US Marine Corps and its ties to this defining battle. Neimeyer recently retired as Director of Marine Corps History and the Gray Research Center at Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia.

After the US strategic victories at the Battles of the Coral Sea (May 7–8, 1942) and Midway (June 4–7, 1942), the Japanese Imperial Navy was no longer capable of major offensive campaigns, which permitted the Allies to start their own offensive in the Pacific.

Richard B. Frank, author of Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle (1990); Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire (1999); and MacArthur (2007); lectures on the decisive battles of the Pacific war.  

The idea of using American Indians who were fluent in both their traditional tribal language and in English to send secret messages in battle was first put to the test in World War I with the Choctaw Telephone Squad and other Native communications experts and messengers. However, it wasn’t until World War II that the US military developed a specific policy to recruit and train American Indian speakers to become code talkers.

The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal

Part Three: The Final Offenses and Legacy of Guadalcanal