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Twenty-six Allied countries signed the Declaration by United Nations during the Arcadia Conference.
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Americans continue their defence of Bataan against General Homma's troops.
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The Secretary of War reorganizes the General Headquarters (GHQ), United States Army into three major commands - Army Ground Forces, Army Air Forces, and Services of Supply, the latter of which is later redesignated Army Service Forces
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The U.S. Navy announces that, except for the U.S.S. Arizona, U.S.S. Utah, and U.S.S. Oklahoma, all warships sunk at Pearl Harbor have been repaired and returned to sea.
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A Japanese destroyer rams and sinks a small U.S. Navy vessel, PT-109, commanded by Lt. (and future President) John F. Kennedy. He and other survivors swim for five hours to reach a small island, where they are later rescued.
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U.S. Marines land on Tarawa, an atoll in the Gilbert Islands.
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U.S. troops enter Rome. On D-Day, June 6, 155,000 Allied troops land on the beaches of Normandy, France, to begin the liberation of Europe.
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U.S. troops enter Rome.
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A U.S. Navy torpedo plane, piloted by Lt. (and future President) George Bush, is shot down near Okinawa. He parachutes into the sea; a U.S. submarine rescues him.
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U.S. troops in Germany begin a drive to reach the Rhine River.
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Vienna, Austria falls to Soviet troops.
Soviet troops enter Berlin, beginning a street-by-street battle. -
U.S. soldiers free 32,000 survivors of the Dachau concentration camp. It will become a memorial for victims of the Nazi Holocaust.
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Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler kills himself.
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The first atomic bomb
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Japan surrenders (August 14). At least 100,000 people died in the atomic bombings.
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Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9).
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Japanese officials sign the surrender document on the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Harbor.
