U.S. in World War II

1939-1945. World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The war involved the many of the world's countries. Two opposing military alliances were formed: the Allies and the Axis. While Japan was already at war with China in 1937, the Second World War began on September 1, 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Germany conquered much of Europe, eventually forming the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Approximately six million European Jews were killed by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and this event would become known as the Holocaust.

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Vanishing Generation, Part 8

Episode 8

Tom Grove, prisoner of war survivor, tells the story of being in his second prison camp, and hearing bombing way off in the distance, and how the noise of artillery got louder and closer, along with...

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Vanishing Generation, Part 3

Episode 3

Don Ziglar, U.S.S. Yorktown Quartermaster, recalls Japanese fighter planes coming toward the Yorktown. The captain was out on the wing of the bridge, at the starboard side. The bridge wasn't big...

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Vanishing Generation, Part 5

Episode 5

Russell Meyne, B-17 pilot, says, "But Pearl Harbor, of course, was one about 4-hour period," and he didn't get hit, didn't get shot..."there was no continuity to it...the beginning and end was right...

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Vanishing Generation, Part 6

Episode 6

Major C. "Buck" Wiley recalls the Red Ball Express, loading up "all those 250 trucks...with ammunition...take them to the front...gasoline...and then when it started snowing, and when the Battle of...

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Vanishing Generation, Part 1

Episode 1

World War II is the most important event of the 20th Century. It changed everything. Fifty million people died in World War II, including 405,000 Americans. The United States became a world power, the...

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Vanishing Generation, Part 2

Episode 2

World War II occurred during the 1940s when segregation was still the norm in America. The African Americans who fought were in a segregated army even overseas in England. One of the reasons the...

Always First: The SC Air National Guard, Part 1 1

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Always First: The SC Air National Guard, Part 1

Episode 1

The South Carolina Air National Guard has grown from a group of just 50 members to an essential fighting force of the United States military. South Carolina Air Guardsmen have served our country in...

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James Francis Byrnes | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 19

James Francis Byrnes (see Governor James Byrnes) rose to prominence in South Carolina and the nation, first in the House of Representatives, and then in the Senate. A supporter of Roosevelt's New Deal...

The Doolittle Raiders | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Doolittle Raiders | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 18

The Columbia Army Air Base in Lexington County became the headquarters of Colonel Jimmy Doolittle's famous "Raiders," who trained there for their bombing run over Tokyo. Courtesy of the Thomas Cooper...

Japan's Surrender | History of SC Slide Collection

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Japan's Surrender | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 17

The end of the Second World War came with the surrender of Japan on VJ Day, August 14, 1945. South Carolinians celebrated the victory with dancing in the streets of Charleston and with great joy. They...

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U.S. in World War II

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