Pacific Theater
Donald R. Lobaugh: From Delinquent to Medal of Honor Recipient
By Richard A. BerantyDonald R. Lobaugh was a juvenile delinquent, a kid sent to reform school when he was 16 years old. 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
Famous Navy Ships: The USS Tang
By Flint WhitlockDuring World War II, the United States employed 288 submarines, the vast majority of which raided Japanese shipping in the Pacific, thus preventing the enemy’s vital supplies and reinforcements from reaching the far-flung island battlefields. Read more
Pacific Theater
The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair: Whistling Death in the South Pacific
by Sam McGowanThanks to the rather far-fetched mid-1970s TV series Black Sheep Squadron, the bent-wing image of the Chance-Vought F4U Corsair is no doubt one of the most vivid of the World War II fighters in the minds of most Americans. Read more
Pacific Theater
Famous Navy Ships: The Triumph of the USS Batfish
by Robert Barr SmithShe was a sleek, efficient, deadly killer, a home to six officers and 60 enlisted men, and a holy terror to the enemy. Read more
Pacific Theater
Kamikazes Caught on the Ground: Raid on Clark Field
By Robert F. McEniry, Lt. Col. USAF (ret.)General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander Southwest Pacific Area, kept his promise to return to the Philippine Islands when his Sixth Army under the command of Lt. Read more
Pacific Theater
Hiro Onoda’s Surrender: Fighting World War II Until 1974
by Glenn BarnettThe Japanese empire was a fine place for young Hiro Onoda. In 1939, at age 17, he hired on with a lacquerware company that posted him to Hankow (Wuhan) in Japanese-occupied China. Read more
Pacific Theater
The USCGC Taney: Pearl Harbor and Beyond
by Paul B. CoraBuilt in the mid-1930s as one of the famed Treasury class of large U.S. Coast Guard cutters, USCGC Taney had a distinguished career spanning five decades of continuous service. Read more
Pacific Theater
The USS Goodhue & A Torrent of Kamikazes at Okinawa
by Duane E. ShafferMore than 60 years ago, in April 1945, the war in Europe was winding down to its inevitable conclusion. Read more
Pacific Theater
Ralph Coyne: The Dark Blue Double Diamond
by Ken Wright“We shall not be content with a defensive war,” stated British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during his speech to the House of Commons immediately after the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Forces from Dunkirk on June 4, 1940. Read more
Pacific Theater
P-51 Mustang: The Untamed Beast of the Skies
by Sam McGowanIf a single airplane has captured the public imagination more than any other, it is undoubtedly the North American P-51 Mustang fighter. Read more
Pacific Theater
Over the Hump: Supplying Allied Forces over the Himalayas
by Sam McGowanIn truth, it really was not a combat operation. For every airplane lost to enemy action, a hundred were destroyed in accidents. Read more
Pacific Theater
Saving Face After the Surrender of Japan
by Ulrich A. StrausIt will not come as a surprise to American readers that when the Japanese emperor delivered his surrender message on August 15, 1945, Allied forces led by the United States had thoroughly defeated Japan’s naval and air power in the Pacific. Read more
Pacific Theater
Inside the OSS: An Interview With Elizabeth P. McIntosh
by Bob BerginThe Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was America’s first strategic intelligence organization. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized its establishment on June 13, 1942, six months after World War II began, to collect and analyze strategic intelligence and to conduct special services, including subversion, sabotage, and psychological warfare. Read more
Pacific Theater
Bloody Tarawa: Betio’s Lagoon
By John WukovitsColonel Merritt A. Edson, the 2nd Marine Division’s chief of staff, and Colonel David M. Shoup designed a simple plan to seize Betio—land along its northern beaches, drive straight across the narrow island, and kill the defenders. Read more
Pacific Theater
Terrible Tide at Tarawa: Interview with Stan Bowen
By John WukovitsStan Bowen spent the entire war in the U.S. Navy as a pharmacist’s mate, first in the operation at Tarawa, then Saipan and Tinian. Read more
