History of Memorial Day (3:37)
A look at the official beginning of summer and America's most solemn holiday.
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Videos (26)
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History of Memorial Day
History of Memorial DayVideo Clip (3:37)
Video Clip (3:37)
A look at the official beginning of summer and America's most solemn holiday.
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A Memorial Day Tribute
A Memorial Day TributeVideo Clip (2:53)
Video Clip (2:53)
HISTORY salutes the American soldier.
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Blacks in the Military
Blacks in the MilitaryVideo Clip (3:12)
Video Clip (3:12)
Learn how blacks serving in WWII helped forward the Civil Rights Movement.
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D-Day Invasion
D-Day InvasionVideo Clip (3:07)
Video Clip (3:07)
On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and turned the tides of World War II.
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America and the Civil War
America and the Civil WarVideo Clip (4:04)
Video Clip (4:04)
Discover how the bloodiest war in American history transformed the face of the nation.
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Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl HarborVideo Clip (1:49)
Video Clip (1:49)
On December 7, 1941, Japan launches a surprise attack on American soil at Pearl Harbor.
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From Farm to Flyer
From Farm to FlyerVideo Clip (3:36)
Video Clip (3:36)
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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MacArthur and Me
MacArthur and MeVideo Clip (3:44)
Video Clip (3:44)
Judy Kent's neighbor, George Dibbs, was a combat photographer follwing General MacArthur during WWII and shared his films with her.
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Rockie Blunt
Rockie BluntVideo Clip (2:05)
Video Clip (2:05)
Born in 1925 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Army Infantryman Rockie Blunt battled his way across Europe and into the heart of Hitler's Third Reich. What he saw and experienced during the war continues to impact his life today, over 60 years later.
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Women in the Cockpit
Women in the CockpitVideo Clip (3:52)
Video Clip (3:52)
Dawn Letson befriended a World War II veteran who was a member of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program, and shares her films from WASP training camp.
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French Resistance
French ResistanceVideo Clip (3:15)
Video Clip (3:15)
David Keran's grandfather was an OSS agent working with the French Resistance during WWII and left behind films of his experiences.
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At the Battle of the Bulge
At the Battle of the BulgeVideo Clip (3:34)
Video Clip (3:34)
Jim Banks' neighbor, Herm Graebner, shared with him the films of his journey through Germany and France during WWII.
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American Revolution
American RevolutionVideo Clip (3:20)
Video Clip (3:20)
Get the story of how a fledgling, largely disconnected nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.
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Yorktown
YorktownVideo Clip (3:00)
Video Clip (3:00)
The British were forced to surrender 2 days after patriot soldiers captured the fort at Yorktown in 1781.
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National WWII Memorial
National WWII MemorialVideo Clip (3:14)
Video Clip (3:14)
Thanks to WWII veteran Roger Durbin the National WWII Memorial opened at the Rainbow Pool in 1995.
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Bet You Didn't Know: Veterans Day
Bet You Didn't Know: Veterans DayVideo Clip (2:11)
Video Clip (2:11)
Do you know why Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11th every year? Get the whole story behind the holiday.
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Vietnam in HD Classroom Preview
Vietnam in HD Classroom PreviewVideo Clip (5:26)
Video Clip (5:26)
Watch a short preview of Vietnam in HD, a gripping portrait of the war told through the stories of those who experienced it firsthand
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Homefront Funeral
Homefront FuneralVideo Clip (2:29)
Video Clip (2:29)
Kathy Wilczynski's father was a veteran of WWII and was chosen to give the eulogy of a fallen soldier shortly after the war.
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Green Berets: Men of Honor
Green Berets: Men of HonorVideo Clip (2:12)
Video Clip (2:12)
The Green Berets are a dedicated group of special forces soldiers who put their lives on the line.
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World War II Soldiers Come Home
World War II Soldiers Come HomeVideo Clip (2:13)
Video Clip (2:13)
After WWII, soldiers went about the difficult process of readjusting to civilian life.
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WWII Veteran Harold Nebenzal
WWII Veteran Harold NebenzalVideo Clip (3:23)
Video Clip (3:23)
WWII veteran Harold Nebanzal recalls his experience during the war.
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Mentality of WWII Infantry Soldier
Mentality of WWII Infantry SoldierVideo Clip (1:18)
Video Clip (1:18)
Save Our History gives us an exclusive interview with a retired U.S. Army Captain and listens to some of the sad, brutal stories of being in World War 2. Hear what he has to say and find out some extraordinary things about being in the army.
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Presidents Who Served
Presidents Who ServedVideo Clip (3:39)
Video Clip (3:39)
Military service helped build character for Presidents George Bush and Henry Ford.
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761st Enters Combat
761st Enters CombatVideo Clip (2:16)
Video Clip (2:16)
Two Months after D-Day the first all black panther tank battalion was ordered to the front lines.
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Jack Werner
Jack WernerVideo Clip (2:41)
Video Clip (2:41)
U.S. Army Sergeant Jack Werner was born in Austria in 1920 to a middle class Jewish family. in 1939 he fled Austria to escape Nazi persecution and soon joined the U.S. Army so he could help fight Hitler.
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Jack Yusen
Jack YusenVideo Clip (2:20)
Video Clip (2:20)
Raised in Queens, Navy Seaman 1st Class Jack Yusen enlisted in the navy in 1943. In 1944, his ship was sunk off the coast of the Philippines, but he managed to survive the harrowing ordeal.
Photo Galleries (6)
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Memorial Day
Memorial Day(17 Photos)
17 Photos
Images of memorials and celebrations of the Memorial Day holiday.
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World War II: Rest and Relaxation
World War II: Rest and Relaxation(10 Photos)
10 Photos
View photos of soliders from World War II
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End of World War II
End of World War II(8 Photos)
8 Photos
View pictures from VE day and VJ day as Americans celebrate the end of World War II.
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Civil War: Gettysburg
Civil War: Gettysburg(12 Photos)
12 Photos
Explore the historic Civil War battle of Gettysburg through photographs of the battlefield, the soldiers, and the memorials.
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American Revolution: Events and Battles
American Revolution: Events and Battles(12 Photos)
12 Photos
Explore Revolutionary battle sites such as Lexington, Concord and Yorktown, and learn how the events that took place there shaped the course of the war.
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World War I: Trench Warfare
World War I: Trench Warfare(11 Photos)
11 Photos
Trench warfare reached its highest development on the Western Front during World War I (1914–18), when armies of millions of men faced each other in a line of trenches extending from the Belgian coast through northeastern France to Switzerland.
Speeches & Audio (20)
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FDR Asks Congress to Declare War on Japan
FDR Asks Congress to Declare War on JapanAudio Clip (7:47)
Audio Clip (7:47)
On the day after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt tells a joint session of Congress that the United States must take up arms in response.
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Eisenhower Announces Korean War Armistice
Eisenhower Announces Korean War ArmisticeAudio Clip (0:46)
Audio Clip (0:46)
On July 27, 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed, ending three years of fighting that involved two dozen nations. In his public statement delivered an hour after the signing, President Eisenhower commemorates those who fought to keep freedom alive.
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George H. W. Bush Addresses U.S. Troops in Somalia
George H. W. Bush Addresses U.S. Troops in SomaliaAudio Clip (0:28)
Audio Clip (0:28)
In an effort to provide humanitarian aid to Somalia, President George H.W. Bush ordered 30,000 U.S. troops into the East African country on December 4,1992. In a speech to the troops on the mission, President Bush assures them that an end is in sight.
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Vietnam POWs Return Home
Vietnam POWs Return HomeAudio Clip (1:07)
Audio Clip (1:07)
On February 14, 1973, 18 days after the Vietnam peace agreement was signed, the first American prisoners of war returned home from Vietnam. The first man off the plane, Capt. Jeremiah A. Denton Jr., calls for U.S. citizens to unify.
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Truman Orders U.S. Forces to Fight in Korean War
Truman Orders U.S. Forces to Fight in Korean WarAudio Clip (0:23)
Audio Clip (0:23)
On July 19, 1950, in a radio and television address, President Harry Truman announces to the world that America will intervene in the Korean conflict in order to stem the spread of communism.
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First Allied Crossing of the Rhine
First Allied Crossing of the RhineAudio Clip (1:52)
Audio Clip (1:52)
Despite a partial news blackout, reporters are able to deliver some information about the U.S. Army's successful crossing of the Rhine on March 7, 1945, though it is not yet known whether the Allies have captured the Ludendorff Bridge from the Germans.
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Liberation of Paris
Liberation of ParisAudio Clip (1:55)
Audio Clip (1:55)
Street battles are heard in a live broadcast as American troops enter Paris, joining the Allied fight to liberate the city from German control. On August 25, 1944, after many days of fighting, Germany surrendered Paris to the Allied forces, ending four years of occupation.
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War Report on U.S. Invasion of Grenada
War Report on U.S. Invasion of GrenadaAudio Clip (1:41)
Audio Clip (1:41)
A broadcast from Barbados reports on the events surrounding the U.S. invasion of Grenada on October 25, 1983, and the impending evacuation of American civilians from the island.
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U.S. Forces Surprised by Tet Offensive
U.S. Forces Surprised by Tet OffensiveAudio Clip (1:23)
Audio Clip (1:23)
A war report describes an attack by the Viet Cong on the Presidential Palace. On January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces launched a massive surprise attack on key cities in South Vietnam. It was a major turning point in the war.
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Meeting of U.S. and Soviet Forces on the Elbe River
Meeting of U.S. and Soviet Forces on the Elbe RiverAudio Clip (2:17)
Audio Clip (2:17)
NBC News war coverage details the Allied success at the Elbe. On April 25, 1945, American and Russian troops converged at the Elbe River in Germany. By joining forces, the American and Soviet troops dealt a damaging blow to the Germans by cutting their army in two.
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Report on the Battle of Okinawa
Report on the Battle of OkinawaAudio Clip (1:50)
Audio Clip (1:50)
On April 1, 1945, the U.S. 10th Army under Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner began the invasion of Okinawa, a Japanese-held island in the Pacific considered the final stepping stone in an advance toward the Japanese mainland. Two days into the invasion, a news report relays the story of the U.S. Army's fast-paced advance.
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Allied Advances Against Germany
Allied Advances Against GermanyAudio Clip (2:18)
Audio Clip (2:18)
By March 26, 1945, the main body of U.S. and British forces in Europe had crossed the Rhine, their last major obstacle in the conquest of Germany. Advancing as much as 50 miles a day, the U.S. First and Ninth armies encircled the Ruhr.
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Germany Advances in the Battle of the Bulge
Germany Advances in the Battle of the BulgeAudio Clip (3:54)
Audio Clip (3:54)
On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched a counteroffensive attack intended to cut through the Allied forces. A dispatch describes the situation along the front as the Allies face great adversity in the ensuing battle.
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Allied Progress in the Battle of the Bulge
Allied Progress in the Battle of the BulgeAudio Clip (2:32)
Audio Clip (2:32)
A report delivered in late 1944 offers cautious hope that, with Gen. Patton's Third Army making their way to Bastogne and rescuing American troops in Belgium, the Battle of the Bulge may turn in favor of the Allies.
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FDR War Report to Congress
FDR War Report to CongressAudio Clip (1:58)
Audio Clip (1:58)
See this moving video of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress describing the United State's circumstance and the Nazi's eventual downfall.
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U.S. Troops Deployed to Honduras to Battle Sandinistas
U.S. Troops Deployed to Honduras to Battle SandinistasAudio Clip (0:20)
Audio Clip (0:20)
On March 16, 1988, State Department spokesman Charles Redman describes the Sandinistas' primary objective in destroying resistance supplies in Honduras. President Ronald Reagan deployed combat troops to Honduras in an effort to support the Honduran government in its battle against the Sandinistas.
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Johnson Orders Troops to Dominican Republic
Johnson Orders Troops to Dominican RepublicAudio Clip (1:18)
Audio Clip (1:18)
In a broadcast from the White House on April 28, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson reads a statement to the nation on his decision to deploy U.S. troops to the Dominican Republic. U.S. Marines were ordered to safely evacuate Americans from the Caribbean country, where internal fighting could not be contained.
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Clinton Sends Troops to Haiti
Clinton Sends Troops to HaitiAudio Clip (4:55)
Audio Clip (4:55)
On September 15, 1994, in an address to the nation, President Bill Clinton reviews the reasons behind his decision to launch a U.S.-led military mission to restore a democratic government to Haiti.
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U.S. Forces Enter Czechoslovakia
U.S. Forces Enter CzechoslovakiaAudio Clip (1:50)
Audio Clip (1:50)
A war correspondent reports on the conditions in Czechoslovakia when Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army entered the Sudetenland region in April 1945.
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U.S. Marines Attacked in Lebanon
U.S. Marines Attacked in LebanonAudio Clip (3:05)
Audio Clip (3:05)
On October 23, 1983, a Lebanese terrorist drove a truck packed with more than 2,000 pounds of explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. The next day, President Ronald Reagan holds a press conference to discuss the situation.
Interactives (3)
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Civil War 150
Civil War 150Interactive
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Inside WWII
Inside WWIIInteractive
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WWII Experience
WWII ExperienceInteractive
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Read More about Memorial Day
Memorial Day, observed the last Monday of May, honors men and women who died while serving in the American military.
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