Pearl Harbor Attack
Shortly after Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, NBC radio reporter H. V. Kaltenborn brings the nation up to date as the events play out in the Pacific.
Related Speeches & Audio (10)
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Pearl Harbor Attack
Pearl Harbor AttackAudio Clip (1:30)
Audio Clip (1:30)
Shortly after Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, NBC radio reporter H. V. Kaltenborn brings the nation up to date as the events play out in the Pacific.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 Labor Day Speech
Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 Labor Day SpeechAudio Clip (1:37)
Audio Clip (1:37)
In his Labor Day radio broadcast in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt reminds his fellow citizens of the need to devote America’s industrial effort to building weaponry in order to "crush Hitler and his Nazi forces."
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Franklin D. Roosevelt on American Progress in World War II
Franklin D. Roosevelt on American Progress in World War IIAudio Clip (1:00)
Audio Clip (1:00)
With the United States now entered into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt uses the occasion of Washington’s birthday to broadcast to the nation on February 23, 1942, an outline of America’s progress in the war.
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Douglas MacArthur Receives the Japanese Surrender
Douglas MacArthur Receives the Japanese SurrenderAudio Clip (1:21)
Audio Clip (1:21)
On September 2, 1945, aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay, World War II comes to a close when Japanese officials sign the unconditional surrender. Gen. Douglas MacArthur presides over the signing and delivers a short speech on the momentous occasion.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fourth of July Address
Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fourth of July AddressAudio Clip (2:07)
Audio Clip (2:07)
In a broadcast from his home in Hyde Park, New York, on July 4, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt warns Americans who wish not to get involved in the war that "the United States will never survive as a happy and fertile oasis of liberty surrounded by a cruel desert of dictatorship."
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Delivers D-Day Prayer
Franklin D. Roosevelt Delivers D-Day PrayerAudio Clip (3:37)
Audio Clip (3:37)
In a national radio broadcast on June 6, 1944, as 160,000 Allied troops land in Normandy in an attempt to liberate France, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asks America to join him in a prayer.
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Truman Announces Japan's Surrender
Truman Announces Japan's SurrenderAudio Clip (1:57)
Audio Clip (1:57)
On September 1, 1945, in a radio address to the American people, President Harry Truman announces the unconditional surrender of Japan, formalized aboard the U.S.S. Missouri.
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Japan's Unconditional Surrender
Japan's Unconditional SurrenderAudio Clip (4:13)
Audio Clip (4:13)
An NBC news report summarizes the events of August 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito of Japan announced that his country will accept unconditional surrender and called for a ceasefire that formally ended World War II.
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John F. Kennedy on Coup in South Vietnam
John F. Kennedy on Coup in South VietnamAudio Clip (6:06)
Audio Clip (6:06)
On October 29, 1963, President John F. Kennedy meets with the National Security Council to discuss whether to support the overthrow of South Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem. During the secretly recorded conversation, Secretary of State Dean Rusk and the president craft a detailed plan involving Henry Cabot Lodge, ambassador to South Vietnam, Gen. Paul D. Harkins and the general of the South Vietnamese military, hoping to avoid setting off a civil war in the country.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Establishes United States as Arsenal of Democracy
Franklin D. Roosevelt Establishes United States as Arsenal of DemocracyAudio Clip (1:08)
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt heralds the defense program of the United States and urges Americans to support an increase in aid to Great Britain to help defeat the Axis powers.
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Atomic Bomb Ends WWII
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The U.S. looked to a new weapon to put an end to WWII.
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Submarine Shooter
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Tom Southwick's father caught amazing moments of life on a submarine on film as a naval photographer during World War II.
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A6M Zero Fighter Plane
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Find out how the world's first strategic fighter plane, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, allowed the Japanese to achieve air superiority in World War II, at least until the Allied planes came along.
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Douglas MacArthur
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The general gains fame in World War II, then infamy when he is removed from his command in the Korean War.
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Charles Scheffel
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Born and raised in Enid, Oklahoma, Captain Jack Scheffel enlisted in the army in order to continue his family's strong tradition of military service. He soon learned that, in war, every decision you make can literally mean the difference between life and death.
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Native Americans Aid War Effort
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Native Americans assist U.S. troops in the war effort (circa 1943).
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Assault of the Japanese Center Force
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Find out about the assault of the Japanese Center Force during World War II.
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Friend or Enemy?
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During WWII, American soldiers were sometimes met by friendly German civilians and Russian allies.
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From Farm to Flyer
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Kay Nehring's father was a pilot in the Pacific during WWII and Kay has found a home for his films shot during the war.
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D-Day Invasion
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On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and turned the tides of World War II.
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Vietnam War: Leaders
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View images of the Presidents, politicians, and military leaders who influenced American involvement in the Vietnam War.
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