As the war concludes a buoyant time of grand expectations and an unprecedented faith in our
government, and our leaders is embodied in an optimistic spirit about the post war world.
TIME LINE SUMMARY
1939: On August 23, Germany and the U.S.S.R. signed the Non-Aggression Pact.
1939 On September 1, Germany invaded Poland. World War II officially began on September 3, when Great Britain and France declared war on Germany.
1940: Germany occupied the neutral countries of Norway and Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and Luxemburg were conquered when German troops bypassed the Maginot Line (a defensive line of fortifications between France and Germany). In June, France surrendered to German forces leaving Great Britain alone to fight Germany. The first turning point for the Allies was the Battle of Britain in August. The Royal Air Force repulsed the German Luftwaffe, and saved Britain from attack. In November, Romania and Hungary joined the Axis alliance.
1941: On June 22nd, Hitler broke the Non-Aggression Pact and invaded the Soviet Union.
1941 On December 7,Japan attacked Pearl Harborbringing the U.S. into World War II. Japan simultaneously invaded Wake Island, Guam, British Malasia, Singapore, Dutch East Indies, Burma, Thailand, and the Philippines. In November, General Dwight Eisenhower landed in Africa and took Casablanca, Oran, and the Algiers.
1942: On June 3-6, the Battle of Midway took place in the Pacific. Japan lost four aircraft carriers and about 275 planes. This was the turning point in the Pacific War for the U.S. Soviet troops stopped the Nazi offensive at Stalingrad in the fall. Over 300,000 German troops were captured and Soviet troops began an offensive which lasted until 1945 when Soviet troops invaded German soil.
The American success at Midway was a major victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy.
1943:Over 250,000 Axis troops surrendered on May 13 bringing the North Africa campaign to a close. On July 9, the Allies invaded Italy on the island of Sicily. Mussolini was overthrown on July 25.
1944: General Eisenhower was made Supreme Commander of Allied troops in June. On June 6, “D-Day,” Allied troops successfully invaded Europe by crossing the English Channel opening up a second front against Nazi Germany. By September, American troops were on German soil. In the Pacific war, the Philippines fell to the United States.
Greenham Common Airfield in England about 8:30 p.m. on June 5, 1944. Wallace Strobel's 22nd birthday.
The photograph of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower speaking to 1st Lt. Wallace Strobel of Company E, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on the eve of D-Day, June 5, 1944, remains one of the most compelling and iconic images of World War II. "He (Eisenhower) asked my name and which state I was from," Strobel related. "I gave him my name and that I was from Michigan. He then said, "Oh yes, Michigan, great fishing there. Been there several times and like it.'"
1945:Battle at Iwo Jima [Feb 19, 1945 to Mar 26, 1945 in the Pacific War theater]
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a brutal five-week conflict (February 19-March 26, 1945) where approximately 70,000 U.S. Marines fought against 21,000 Japanese defenders on a strategic volcanic island, resulting in nearly 7,000 American deaths and 20,000 wounded, while all but 216 of the Japanese garrison were killed, marking one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history
Sergeant Michael Strank(August 3, 1921 – March 13, 1979) from Pennsylvania
He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, served for 18 months, and afterwards became a Pennsylvania state highway laborer.
Corporal Harlon Block(November 6, 1924 – March 1, 1945) from Texas
Private First Class Franklin Sousley(September 19, 1925 – March 21, 1945) from Kentucky
Survived
Corporals (then Privates First Class)
Ira Hayes(January 12, 1923 – January 24, 1955) from Arizona
Harold Schultz(January 12, 1923 – January 24, 1955) from Michigan
Harold Keller(August 3, 1921 – March 13, 1979) from Iowa
The firefighters pictured were Brooklyn-based firefighters. Daniel McWilliams and George Johnson are still active firefighters. William “Billy” Eisengrein is now retired. The original flag in the photo went missing shortly after the image was taken and its whereabouts remain unknown. The mystery was explored in CNN's 2013 film The Flag.
1945 May 8th Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day (United Kingdom) or V-E Day (America), is a day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces.
The Atomic Bomb (1942 to 1946) The Manhattan Project was responsible for developing the atomic bomb for the U.S. On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was detonated in the desert of New Mexico. Three weeks later, on August 6, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan and three days later on Nagasaki, Japan. Japan officially surrendered on August 14th.
“ Nobody was more disturbed over the use of the atomic bomb than I am, but I was greatly disturbed over the unwarranted attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor, and then murder of our prisoners of war. The only language they seem to understand is the one we have been using to bombard them. When you have to deal with a beast, you have to treat him as a beast.” Harry Truman
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