Above: U.S. troops of the 2d Battalion, 165th Infantry, struggle to shore on Yellow Beach on Butaritari (Makin) Island following a naval gunfire bombardment. Photo from the U.S. national Archives and in the Public Domain. Click to enlarge.
Left: M
Read more…Above: Ngardmau, Babeldaob island, Palau Islands, modern day. Rusting remnants of a Japanese anti-aircraft gun. Photo licensed to War History Network. Click to expand.
Wreckage of a crashed Japanese Zero fighter on Peleliu Island in the Republic of
Above: “COLONEL EDSON IS DECORATED--- Col. Merrit Austin Edson, USMC, of Chester, Vt., Commanding Officer of the first Marine Raider Battalion, is decorated with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism in combat. Making the a
Read more…The Battle of Tinian, fought between 24 July and 1 August 1944, was central to the Marianas campaign, and critical in undermining Japanese defenses and enabling American forces to gain a strategic foothold. A prelude to victory, the capture of Sai
Read more…Right: Japanese plane shot down during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, 1944. Photograph licensed to War History Network.
Books: There have been many noteworthy books on the War at sea. Two recent and epic works which put the Battle of the Philippi
Read more…Above: Marine Raiders gathered in front of a Japanese dugout on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. Photograph within the Public Domain. | Video: History Channel: Marine Raiders in WWII
Above: Having flown its last mission, a Japanese Zero res
Edwin “Ed” Cole Bearss was listening to a radio broadcast of a football game between the Chicago Bears and the St. Louis Cardinals on December 7, 1941, when an announcer interrupted with news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He immediately enl
Read more…On 1 August 1942, all but 346 Prisoners of War in PoW Camps near Manila, Philippines were sent to Japan as slave laborers. Those who were left were sent to Puerto Princesa, on Palawan. There was very little food and those who tried to get more were p
Read more…Above: Desmond Doss Point, Okinawa, Japan today. Also known as "Hacksaw Ridge," the site of Desmond Doss's heroism during the Battle of Okinawa. Photograph licensed to WW2 History Network (Click to enlarge). | Video: The Hero of Hacksaw Ridge: Des
Read more…Above: Okinawa, Japan, May 1945. U.S. Marine Corps' Corsair fighter-bombers sit on the flight line at Yontan Airfield, with allied anti-aircraft fire in the background. The largest air, land, and sea battle in history continued until 22 June 1945. O
Read more…Should the U.S. and the Allied Powers have allowed Japan's Emperor Hirohito to remain in Power? What role should General MacArthur have played at War's end--if any?
Read more…On 18 April 1942, the Doolittle Raid was launched by the United States against the Japanese capital of Tokyo and other targets on the island of Honshu. This event marked the first American air operation to directly target the Japanese archipelago d
Read more…Is it fair to blame American Naval Officers Short, Husband, or Stark for Japan's destruction at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941?
Read more…Interesting 5 minute video I found on youtube from Thomas Sowell. I don't think anyone who has studied the war in the Pacific to any extent would ever believe the Japanese would have surrendered easily had the Atomic bomb not been dropped.
Read more…
For 37 days, Bill Montgomery fought on the volcanic Japanese island known as Iwo Jima. After all these years, he still wonders how he survived - when most of the men in his unit did not.
“I never understood how I wasn’t hit. I feel guilt yet thankful,
The flag raising on Mount Suribachi stands as one of the most enduring images of World War II. This image has been represented on everything from stamps to bumper stickers, while the battle of Iwo Jima itself has been the subject of countless movie
Read more…