WWII

WWII

Cherbourg & the Cotentin Peninsula: A Veteran Remembers

Like many true combat veterans, my father didn’t talk much about the war—in his case, World War II. Read more

WWII

Campaign on Land & Sea and in the Air

After the U.S. victory at Midway in June 1942, the focus of the War in the Pacific moved south. Read more

WWII

Books as G.I. Gear: The Story of ‘Armed Services Editions’

The American forces serving in World War II were composed primarily of citizen soldiers—people who had no notion of going to war until Pearl Harbor was attacked. Read more

WWII

Touring the Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge lasted an entire month, and was fought over almost the entire Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and half of Belgium, yet finding all of the battlefields and historic sights is a bit more difficult than locating the D-day beaches. Read more

WWII

WWII Relics: Lausdell Artifacts From the Battle of the Bulge

By Bill Warnock

…He pulled a rusty American helmet from the ground. It had been an easy target for his metal detector, and as WWII relics went, this one proved something special. Read more

WWII

Charles E. Kelly: The First European Theater Medal of Honor Recipient

He killed 40 Germans in less than an hour. The next day, he earned the Medal of Honor for killing more. Read more

WWII

The USS West Virginia & The Attack on Pearl Harbor

During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the primary target was Battleship Row. These capital ships had to suffice since the American carriers were away. Read more

WWII

POWs

Dear Editors,

I received the November issue of your magazine today and I enjoyed it very much. I found one item in this particular issue troubling though. Read more

WWII

Protecting & Repatriating American Remains at the Battle of Saipan

Many vestiges of World War II in the Pacific linger, denying the ravages of time.

The battleship USS Missouri, where the war ended nearly 70 years ago, remains as a floating monument and museum at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Read more

WWII

Literally Cutting Down Your Enemy in a Vought F4U Corsair

The Battle of Okinawa raged not only on the island itself but in the skies overhead. Japanese aircraft attacked the invading Americans not only through conventional bombing attacks but also by using the dreaded Kamikaze—suicide pilots who turned their planes into guided missiles to inflict more damage. Read more

WWII

‘Goosebumps’: Flint Whitlock Visits the D-Day Invasion Landings

I feel deeply honored to have been chosen by the Smithsonian Institution to lead D-Day trips to England and France (one took place in May; the other two were scheduled to take place in September and October). Read more

WWII

The Battle of the Bulge: Why Counterattack in Belgium?

As it turns out, Belgium was the perfect place to hide a counteroffensive against the Allies. It is a mountainous country where towns are squeezed close together; the hills are punctuated by forests and small farms; and the forests are filled with small, thin trees while most farms are on slopes. Read more

WWII

Joseph Goebbels: Shaping Nazi War Propaganda

Nazi war propaganda was designed in large part by the dictates of Joseph Goebbels (29 October 1897-1 May 1945), based on his read of German public opinion. Read more

WWII

Daring POW Escapes: Allied Officers at Austria’s Oflag XVIIA

Spring had finally arrived in the mountainous area of the Austrian Waldviertel, land of long winters and short summers. Read more

WWII

The Bell XP-59A Fighter Jet: America’s First Jet Plane

The planning was done behind closed doors. The work was done at secret facilities. The result? America’s first jet plane—a fighter that might have seen combat in World War II, had things gone differently. Read more

WWII

Taking Guam from Japan in 1944

Above all, the island was defendable.

From Ritidian Point in the north to the extreme southern coastline, Guam is 34 miles long, made in an irregular shape covering 228 square miles, the largest of all Pacific islands between Japan and New Guinea. Read more

WWII

Looking Back on the Battle of the Bulge

In the Ardennes region of eastern Belgium, Adolf Hitler rolled the dice for the last time in World War II. Read more

WWII

Low Level, No Guns

Major Sam P. Bakshas woke up that morning with the secrets in his head.

Bakshas was one of the men flying B-29 Superfortress bombers from three Pacific islands—Guam, Saipan, and Tinian. Read more

WWII

General Anthony McAuliffe

When word of the German breakthrough in the Ardennes Forest began to move back to the rear echelons of the American command in Western Europe, General Maxwell Taylor, commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division, was attending a conference in Washington, D.C. Read more

WWII

Operation Husky: The Allied Invasion of Sicily

The necessity for another front as a diversion to German operations in the Soviet Union was early recognized by both the Western Allies and the Russians. Read more