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Great Depression
Stock market crashed and millions of people lost their jobs and the economy was broken. -
U.S. Aircraft Carriers
When the war first started, the U.S. only had 7. By war's end in 1945, the United States Navy had added twenty-seven aircraft carriers. -
Start of WWII
Germany invades Poland using Blitzkreig (lightening warfare) -
War Bonds of WWII
War Bonds were a loan to the government to help finance the war effort. War bonds were seen as a way to remove money from circulation as well as reduce inflation. It is an emotional appeal to patriotic citizens to lend the government their money as these bonds offer a rate of return below the market rate -
Auschwitz
It was Germany's largest concentration camp and extermination camp. Located near the town of Oswiecim in southern Poland. It is estimated that over 1.1 million people in a 4 year span. -
Lend Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The surprise attack by some 350 Japanese aircraft sunk or badly damaged eighteen US naval vessels, including eight battleships, destroyed or damaged 300 US aircraft, and killed 2,403 men. -
Japan Invades Philippines
One day after Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded a U.S. territory, the Philippines. They killed thousands of Philippine citizens and American Soldier during the Bataan Death March. -
Island Hopping Campaign
It was a military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against Japan and the Axis powers during World War II. The U.S. traveled to many Japanese colonies for resources and to gain a lead over Japan -
John Brown Liberty Ships
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II. -
Doolittle's Raid
It was the first U.S. offensive battle, which was an airstrike, in WWII against Japan in the Pacific. It did little damage but the U.S. learned how valuable aircraft carriers were. -
Coral Sea
It was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. It was the first pure carrier-versus-carrier battle in history as neither surface fleet sighted the other. Though a draw, it was an important turning point in the war in the Pacific because, for the first time, the Allies had stopped the Japanese advance. -
Midway
The battle of Midway was a naval battle between the U.S. and Japan. It was the U.S.' first victory in WWII. -
Operation Fortitude
It was the deceptive plan made by the U.S. to make Germany think they were going to invade somewhere other than Normandy -
Rosie the Riveter
She was an icon for women on the U.S. home front to encourage them to take on the men's jobs while they were at war. -
Japanese Tunnels
The Japanese military used a system of tunnels at multiple battle sights to relay ammunition, weapons, and news. They also used them to hide from the U.S. troops. -
Operation Overload
Also known as the Battle of Normandy, the U.S. stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. German troops killed over 37,000 U.S. troops on that beach alone. The U.S. however, overtook the Germans and continued to advance throughout France. -
Battle of the Bulge
It was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. Battle of the Bulge is the second-most lethal American battle by estimated number of Americans killed (19,276 killed). -
Iwo Jima
U.S. Marines made an amphibious landing on Iwo Jima. Americans struggled to get a foothold on the beaches of Iwo Jima, so Japan's artillery positions in the mountains above opened fire. The U.S. suffered numerous causalities. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. The Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. As a result, countless took their own lives. The Americans bore over 49,000 casualties including 12,520 killed. about 110,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives. It’s estimated between 40,000 and 150,000 Okinawa citizens were also killed. -
Little Boy
Little Boy was the first atomic bomb that the U.S. dropped on Japan in Hiroshima. -
Enola Gay
the B-29 bomber that was used by the United State to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, the first time the explosive device had been used on an enemy target. The aircraft was named after the mother of pilot Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. -
Fat Man
Fat Man was the second atomic bomb that the U.S. dropped on Japan in Nagasaki. -
End of World War II
Japan "surrenders" after the U.S. dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki. The end of WWII is also known Victory in Japan Day. It came with a lot of deliberation and back and forth between the U.S. and Japan but in the end, Japan signed the unconditional surrender.
