Pacific Theater
Defending Bataan
By Arnold BlumbergIn 1941, the Philippine Islands, 7,000 in number, an American-controlled mandate, formed a natural barrier between Japan and the rich resources of East and Southeast Asia. Read more
Pacific Theater
The Pacific Theater during World War II is generally regarded as the area of military confrontation between the Allied powers and Imperial Japan. The Pacific Theater consists of the entire operational expanse of the war from the Aleutian Islands in the north to Australia in the south, including island chains such as the Solomons, Gilberts, Marshalls, and Marianas. The China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater is also considered a major component of the Pacific Theater.
Pacific Theater
4th Marine Division in the Marshall Islands: First Time Under Fire
By Cleve C. BarkleyAs 1943 drew to a close, Admiral Chester Nimitz’s Central Pacific campaign was gaining momentum. His forces had taken the Gilbert Islands that November and now targeted the Marshall Islands as the next step on the long road to Tokyo. Read more
Pacific Theater
“John Ford’s Navy”: A Filmmaker in the OSS
By Michael D. HullWith such award-winning films as Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Grapes of Wrath, The Long Voyage Home, and How Green Was My Valley behind him, John Ford was one of Hollywood’s most respected directors by the time World War II broke out in 1939. Read more
Pacific Theater
An American Invasion in New Zealand
By Bruce M. PettyEarly in the 20th century, the population of New Zealand was just under a million. According to official sources, 20 percent of New Zealand’s eligible manpower served in uniform during World War I. Read more
Pacific Theater
The Big Three in Tehran: The Meeting That Shaped WWII
By Michael D. HullWorld War II made a disparate trio of allies —British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Marshal Joseph Stalin, and American President Franklin D. Read more
Pacific Theater
Silver Screen Surprise: Norvald Flaaten Recalls His Wartime Careers
By Jason AntonioNorvald Flaaten never expected he would appear in a movie when he signed up with the Canadian Army during World War II, but the subject of the movie and what he had to do was too good to pass up. Read more
Pacific Theater
The FCC’s RID and Japan’s Surrender
By Susan L. BrinsonGeorge Sterling received a teletype message from the War Department just after 5:15 am on August 15, 1945. Read more
Pacific Theater
Japan’s Underwater Aircraft Carriers
By Phil ZimmerLieutenant Commander Stephen L. Johnson had a problem on his hands; a very large problem. His Balao-class submarine, the Segundo, had just picked up a large radar contact on the surface about 100 miles off Honshu, one of Japan’s home islands, heading south toward Tokyo. Read more
Pacific Theater
The Fall of Beijing, 1937
By Jiaxin DuMost people think that World War II broke out on September 1, 1939, when the Wehrmacht crossed the German-Polish border. Read more
Pacific Theater
The Japanese Raid on Sydney Harbor: “One in a Thousand Chance”
By Christopher MiskimonThe year 1942 was one of crisis for the Allied cause in the Pacific. Until May, almost everything had gone in favor of Imperial Japan. Read more
Pacific Theater
Seaplane Destroyers in the Pacific
By Gary McintoshThe Fletcher-class destroyer was one of the finest, most versatile warships of World War II. More than 170 of them were built, a figure that far exceeds the total of any other type of warship of the era. Read more
Pacific Theater
Military Book Reviews: George S. Patton and Erwin Rommel
by Lt. Col. Harold E. Raugh, Jr.American General George S. Patton, Jr., and German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel both demonstrated the masterful employment of armored forces in many World War II military campaigns. Read more
Pacific Theater
Why the Japanese Lost the Battle of Midway (And How it Changed WWII)
by Mike HaskewSix months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, sought to extend Japan’s defensive perimeter in the central Pacific with the seizure of Midway atoll, about 1,300 miles west of Hawaii. Read more
Pacific Theater
Paul Tibbets: The Man Who Piloted the Enola Gay
By Bill Van OrmanToday, in his nineties, Paul Tibbets is still a handsome man. He has a full head of silver hair. Read more
Pacific Theater
The “George Medal” and Guadalcanal
by R.D. Camp Jr.In the long and distinguished history of the U.S. Marine Corps, thousands of marines have been awarded medals for meritorious service on the battlefield. Read more
