Pacific Theater
WWII Fighter Planes: The Grumman F4F Wildcat Fighter
By David Alan JohnsonThe Grumman F4F Wildcat is usually described as chunky, “square,” squat, or stubby—not exactly adjectives that suggest grace or elegance. 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
The Eastern Solomons: Death Struggle Off Guadalcanal
By David Alan JohnsonLieutenant David C. Richardson spotted the four-engined flying boat silhouetted against the ocean by the late morning sun. Read more
Pacific Theater
Operation Dovetail: Guadalcanal Rehearsal
By Arnold BlumbergBy June 1942, the military might of Imperial Japan threatened Australia. The string of spectacular Japanese conquests in the South Pacific menaced lines of supply and communication between the United States and its allies and bases in the region. Read more
Pacific Theater
Heroes of the Red Duster: The British Royal Merchant Navy
By Michael D. HullNone of the Allied services engaged in World War II was in action longer or suffered a higher percentage of casualties than the British Merchant Navy. Read more
Pacific Theater
The Odyssey of the Australian Destroyer HMAS Vendetta
By Glenn BarnettOn October 20, 1941, the Australian destroyer Vendetta weighed anchor in the port of Alexandria, Egypt. After spending nearly two years supporting the Royal Navy in the fight for control of the Mediterranean Sea, the aging engines of the busy warship could no longer give her the speed needed to escort convoys, screen the fleet, or dodge dive- bombers. Read more
Pacific Theater
Subhas Chandra Bose: Champion of Indian Nationalism
By Blaine TaylorWhen British diplomat Lord Halifax arrived at the Berghof in the Bavarian Alps on November 19, 1937, he mistook German Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler for a footman and was about to hand him his coat and hat when Foreign Minister Baron Constantin von Neurath hissed, “The Führer! Read more
Pacific Theater
Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa)’s Triumph
By Blaine TaylorIt was fated to be the last wartime conference of the Big Three Allies of World War II, but it was the first not attended by the late American President Franklin D. Read more
Pacific Theater
Action off Santa Cruz: Last Stand of the USS Hornet
By David Alan JohnsonDuring the early morning hours of October 26, 1942, several hours before the sun came up, Admiral William F. Read more
Pacific Theater
The U.S. Navy in World War II: Problems with Torpedoes
by David Alan JohnsonAny American submarine that had made contact with a Japanese task force a year or two earlier would almost certainly not have had the success that Darter and Dace had with Admiral Kurita’s task force. Read more
Pacific Theater
Darter & Dace at the Battle of Leyte Gulf
by David Alan JohnsonAs soon as he arrived on the bridge of the submarine USS Dace, Lt. Cmdr. Rafael C. Read more
Pacific Theater
Merrill’s Maurauders: Into Myitkyina
by Al HemingwayWhy, with the Marauders riddled with disease and fatigue, were they given the mission to attack Myitkyina? Stilwell and Merrill had to be aware that the unit was decimated. Read more
Pacific Theater
Franklin Sousley & The Battle of Iwo Jima
By Randall B. IngramEveryone has seen the now famous photograph of the three firefighters hoisting Old Glory over the ruins of the World Trade Center. Read more
Pacific Theater
A Gamble for Peace: Ellis Zacharias & the South Pacific
By Todd Raffensperger“I submit that it was the wrong decision. It was wrong on strategic grounds. And it was wrong on humanitarian grounds.” Read more
Pacific Theater
Unnecessary Hell: The Battle of Peleliu
By Eric NiderostIn the predawn hours of September 15, 1944, the official start of the two-month Battle of Peleliu, a powerful fleet of U.S. Read more
Pacific Theater
Top Flying Tiger: General Claire Chennault
By Michael D. HullLaden with 500-pound bombs and incendiaries, 10 Japanese twin-engine Mitsubishi Ki21 Sally bombers took off from the Hanoi airfield in Indochina on the morning of Saturday, December 20, 1941. Read more
