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Selective Service Act
This Selective Service Act required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards. Later, when the U.S. entered World War II, all men aged 18 to 45 were made liable for military service, and all men aged 18 to 65 were required to register. This was the first peacetime conscription in United States history. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
While Japan and China are at war the U.S. sends additional aid to China. Japan doesn't like this. They launch a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 21 ships were sunk or damaged. 2,403 Americans were killed & 1,178 Americans were injured. -
U.S enters WWII
December 8, 1941 was the date of the US declaration of war, but in fact the US was at war on December 7, 1941 at about 7:55 AM when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States, led by US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, declares war on the Axis powers. -
Women's Army Corps
The Woman's Army Corps was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, on 15 May 1942 by Public Law and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943. Its first director was Oveta Culp Hobby, a prominent society woman in Texas. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely known as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The American naval victory marks turning point in Pacific War - 4 Japanese carriers sunk. -
Italy surrenders
Mussolini had been thrown out of office and the new government of Italy surrendered to the British and the USA. They then agreed to join the allies. The Germans took control of the Italian army, freed Mussolini from imprisonment and set him up as head of a puppet government in Northern Italy. This blocked any further allied advance through Italy. -
D-Day
D-Day was the first day of the Normandy landings , codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord. The landings were conducted in two phases; an airborne assault and decoy operations. Germany had estimated between 4,000 and 9,000 casualties & we had
at least about 12,000 overall casualties. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
The German leader, Adolf Hitler committed suicide together with his wife, Eva Braun, who he had, at the last minute, made his wife. -
Nuclear Weapons
To put an immediate end to the war the US using nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. Effects of the bombs killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, with about half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day. -
Japanese Instrument of Surrender
The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that enabled the Surrender of Japan, marking the end of World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Dominion of New Zealand.
