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Attack on Pearl Harbor (1:49)

On December 7, 1941, Japan launches a surprise attack on American soil at Pearl Harbor.

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Videos (37)

  • Attack on Pearl Harbor
    Attack on Pearl Harbor

    Video Clip (1:49)

    On December 7, 1941, Japan launches a surprise attack on American soil at Pearl Harbor.

    Video Clip (1:49)
  • D-Day Invasion
    D-Day Invasion

    Video Clip (3:07)

    On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and turned the tides of World War II.

    Video Clip (3:07)
  • D-Day Invasion of Normandy
    D-Day Invasion of Normandy

    Video Clip (3:19)

    On June 6, 1944, Allied troops invade German-occupied France and face near certain death on the beaches of Normandy.

    Video Clip (3:19)
  • Hitler's Military Blunders
    Hitler's Military Blunders

    Video Clip (3:27)

    During WWII, Hitler's decentralized and paranoid military command structure spells disaster on the battlefield.

    Video Clip (3:27)
  • WWII Spy Strategy
    WWII Spy Strategy

    Video Clip (2:37)

    The Allies use double agents, code breakers and spies to undermine the German military throughout WWII, but cracking the Enigma code proves to be their greatest breakthrough.

    Video Clip (2:37)
  • D-Day Deception
    D-Day Deception

    Video Clip (3:24)

    During WWII, a shrewd deception dubbed "Operation Fortitude" convinces the German military command that Allied forces will land at Pas de Calais rather than Normandy.

    Video Clip (3:24)
  • Allied Advance Stalls at Normandy
    Allied Advance Stalls at Normandy

    Video Clip (3:33)

    After the D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944, the Allied advance is mired in the thick hedgerows of Normandy's bocage country.

    Video Clip (3:33)
  • Motorcycle MP
    Motorcycle MP

    Video Clip (3:18)

    Rick Conte was surprised to find out that his father--an Army MP during World War II-- appeared briefly in a television documentary some 60 years after the war.

    Video Clip (3:18)
  • War Photographer
    War Photographer

    Video Clip (3:00)

    Albert Fagler's grandfather was an Army Air Corps photographer during WWII and left behind film reels featuring dogfights and his own wedding.

    Video Clip (3:00)
  • FDR: A Voice of Hope
    FDR: A Voice of Hope

    Video Clip (4:06)

    Elected in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was a reassuring presence for many Americans through the trials of the Great Depression.

    Video Clip (4:06)
  • Charles Scheffel
    Charles Scheffel

    Video Clip (2:44)

    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.

    Video Clip (2:44)
  • Submarine Shooter
    Submarine Shooter

    Video Clip (3:20)

    Tom Southwick's father caught amazing moments of life on a submarine on film as a naval photographer during World War II.

    Video Clip (3:20)
  • Women in the Cockpit
    Women in the Cockpit

    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.

    Video Clip (3:52)
  • Flying in the South Pacific
    Flying in the South Pacific

    Video Clip (3:31)

    Fred Linden's father was a PBY naval aviator during World War II and left behind two reels of film documenting his service in the South Pacific.

    Video Clip (3:31)
  • Jack Yusen
    Jack Yusen

    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.

    Video Clip (2:20)
  • Battle of Okinawa
    Battle of Okinawa

    Video Clip (2:30)

    On April 1, 1945, Allied forces invade the island of Okinawa and engage the Japanese in the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War.

    Video Clip (2:30)
  • Coroner's Report: Atomic Bomb
    Coroner's Report: Atomic Bomb

    Video Clip (2:17)

    In August 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What happened to people on the fringes of the blasts?

    Video Clip (2:17)
  • Japanese Internment in America
    Japanese Internment in America

    Video Clip (2:47)

    In 1942, thousands of Japanese Americans living in the United States are forced into war relocation camps.

    Video Clip (2:47)
  • Battle of Peleliu
    Battle of Peleliu

    Video Clip (2:09)

    In a costly battle, U.S. forces assault Peleliu in the Palau Islands to diminish its potential threat to their future invasions in the Pacific.

    Video Clip (2:09)
  • MacArthur and Me
    MacArthur and Me

    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.

    Video Clip (3:44)
  • Manhattan Project
    Manhattan Project

    Video Clip (3:09)

    Explore the top-secret American project to build the world's first atomic bomb.

    Video Clip (3:09)
  • Concentration Camp Liberation
    Concentration Camp Liberation

    Video Clip (2:15)

    As Allied troops move across Europe, they encounter the horror of thousands of prisoners in Nazi camps.

    Video Clip (2:15)
  • Battle of Stalingrad
    Battle of Stalingrad

    Video Clip (2:21)

    In July 1942, the Nazi Army bombs the Soviet city of Stalingrad, launching one of the bloodiest battles in history.

    Video Clip (2:21)
  • North Africa Campaign
    North Africa Campaign

    Video Clip (1:41)

    After Italy declares war, the Allies fight the Axis powers in North Africa for control of the Mediterranean.

    Video Clip (1:41)
  • Battle of Guam
    Battle of Guam

    Video Clip (2:35)

    On July 21, 1944, U.S. forces advance in the Mariana Islands to capture the former American territory of Guam from the Japanese.

    Video Clip (2:35)
  • At the Battle of the Bulge
    At the Battle of the Bulge

    Video Clip (3:34)

    Jim Banks' neighbor, Herm Graebner, shared with him the films of his journey through Germany and France during WWII.

    Video Clip (3:34)
  • Battle of the Bulge
    Battle of the Bulge

    Video Clip (2:50)

    In December 1944, a major German offensive is launched against the Allies in the Ardennes Mountains region on the Western Front.

    Video Clip (2:50)
  • Chaplain G.I.
    Chaplain G.I.

    Video Clip (3:57)

    The experiences of Bob Marken's father as a chaplain during WWII are preserved on films he left behind for his family.

    Video Clip (3:57)
  • French Resistance
    French Resistance

    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.

    Video Clip (3:15)
  • From Farm to Flyer
    From Farm to Flyer

    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.

    Video Clip (3:36)
  • Battle of Saipan
    Battle of Saipan

    Video Clip (2:17)

    On June 15, 1944, the U.S. launches a critical attack on Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

    Video Clip (2:17)
  • Battle of Kwajalein
    Battle of Kwajalein

    Video Clip (2:04)

    The U.S. invades Kwajalein on January 31, 1944, breaking the outer ring of the Japanese Pacific territory.

    Video Clip (2:04)
  • Battle of Iwo Jima
    Battle of Iwo Jima

    Video Clip (3:38)

    On February 19, 1945, American soldiers make their first strike on the Japanese Home Islands at Iwo Jima.

    Video Clip (3:38)
  • Shelby Westbrook
    Shelby Westbrook

    Video Clip (2:20)

    First Lieutenant Shelby Westbrook enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and joined the nation's first all-black air corps shortly after Pearl Harbor. There he not only fought the enemy abroad, but worked hard to set an example for other African Americans struggling for equal rights.

    Video Clip (2:20)
  • Rockie Blunt
    Rockie Blunt

    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.

    Video Clip (2:05)
  • Jimmie Kayana
    Jimmie Kayana

    Video Clip (2:39)

    The son of Japanese immigrants, Army Medic Jimmie Kanaya joined the U.S. Army in 1941. Although his family was relocated to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor and he himself was treated as an enemy for some time, he eventually volunteered for America's first all-Japanese Regiment.

    Video Clip (2:39)
  • Jack Werner
    Jack Werner

    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.

    Video Clip (2:41)

Photo Galleries (12)

Speeches & Audio (30)

  • Eisenhower Broadcasts D-Day Invasion Order
    Eisenhower Broadcasts D-Day Invasion Order

    Audio Clip (1:43)

    On June 5, 1944, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower orders the massive Allied Expeditionary Force into action.

    Audio Clip (1:43)
  • Clark Gable reports on the WWII air war
    Clark Gable reports on the WWII air war

    Audio Clip (1:35)

    Clark Gable served in the U.S. Army Air Corps by dividing his time between military documentaries and combat. Gable participated in bombing raids over Nazi Germany, rose to the rank of major, and received the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross.

    Audio Clip (1:35)
  • Paul Tibbets on Dropping the Atomic Bomb
    Paul Tibbets on Dropping the Atomic Bomb

    Audio Clip (2:38)

    On July 3, 1987, 42 years after dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets recalls his mindset during the fateful mission on August 6, 1945.

    Audio Clip (2:38)
  • Firsthand Account of Hiroshima Bombing
    Firsthand Account of Hiroshima Bombing

    Audio Clip (3:33)

    A Catholic missionary who had been living near Hiroshima at the time the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on the city on August 6, 1945, delivers a firsthand account to Marine Corps radio correspondent Sgt. Eddie Pendergast.

    Audio Clip (3:33)
  • FDR Asks Congress to Declare War on Japan
    FDR Asks Congress to Declare War on Japan

    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.

    Audio Clip (7:47)
  • Chamberlain Secures Peace in Our Time
    Chamberlain Secures Peace in Our Time

    Audio Clip (1:07)

    Seeking to avoid war in Europe, leaders from Britain, France and Italy signed the Munich Pact on September 29, 1938, agreeing to Hitler's demands and ceding Czechoslovakia to Germany. Upon his return to England the following day, the architect of the appeasement policy, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, declares "peace in our time."

    Audio Clip (1:07)
  • Mussolini Declares War
    Mussolini Declares War

    Audio Clip (1:48)

    On June 10, 1940, in a rousing speech to his country, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declares war on France and England.

    Audio Clip (1:48)
  • Pearl Harbor Attack
    Pearl Harbor Attack

    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.

    Audio Clip (1:30)
  • World War II Rationing on the Homefront
    World War II Rationing on the Homefront

    Audio Clip (2:11)

    To ensure that there is enough food available to reach U.S. soldiers fighting abroad, the United States enacted a canned goods rationing program in 1942. Paul M. O'Leary of the Office of Price Administration carries on a "conversation" with a housewife and grocer in a December 12 radio broadcast.

    Audio Clip (2:11)
  • Italy Surrenders to the Allies
    Italy Surrenders to the Allies

    Audio Clip (3:00)

    A September 8, 1943, war report from Allied Force Headquarters outlines Italy's unconditional surrender, known as a "volte-face," announced earlier that day by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower.

    Audio Clip (3:00)
  • Germany's Surrender in WWII
    Germany's Surrender in WWII

    Audio Clip (2:39)

    On May 7, 1945, a report from the WOR Newsroom announces the unconditional surrender of all German forces on all fronts. German Gen. Alfred Johl signed the document in Reims, France, at 2:41 a.m. local time, ending the European phase of the war.

    Audio Clip (2:39)
  • Douglas MacArthur Receives the Japanese Surrender
    Douglas MacArthur Receives the Japanese Surrender

    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.

    Audio Clip (1:21)
  • Iowa Celebrates V-J Day
    Iowa Celebrates V-J Day

    Audio Clip (4:01)

    Live coverage of the V-J Day celebration from Des Moines' WHO radio captures the excitement of revelers in the streets at the end of World War II.

    Audio Clip (4:01)
  • Adolf Hitler on the Sudetenland Crisis
    Adolf Hitler on the Sudetenland Crisis

    Audio Clip (3:05)

    In 1938, Adolf Hitler began to support the demands of Germans living in the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia who were seeking closer ties with Germany.

    Audio Clip (3:05)
  • Austria Capitulates to Hitler
    Austria Capitulates to Hitler

    Audio Clip (1:47)

    A news reporter reads the resignation of Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg, who had struggled to prevent a Nazi takeover of his homeland. Schuschnigg's resignation came two days before Adolf Hitler's troops marched unopposed into Austria on March 12, 1938.

    Audio Clip (1:47)
  • Marshall Plan Announced
    Marshall Plan Announced

    Audio Clip (1:58)

    On June 5, 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall gives a speech at Harvard University initiating the postwar program to rebuild the economies of western Europe, known as the Marshall Plan.

    Audio Clip (1:58)
  • Winston Churchill Rallies British Citizens
    Winston Churchill Rallies British Citizens

    Audio Clip (1:36)

    In one of his greatest speeches, delivered first before the House of Commons on June 18, 1940, and then broadcast to the nation, Winston Churchill inspires his countrymen to soldier on after the fall of France, assuring them that if Great Britain upholds its duty to fight, "men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' "

    Audio Clip (1:36)
  • Churchill Calls for Britain to Meet Nazi Threat
    Churchill Calls for Britain to Meet Nazi Threat

    Audio Clip (4:52)

    In a speech delivered on November 16, 1934, Winston Churchill questions his country's policy of appeasing Hitler and raises concerns over the rising power of Nazi Germany.

    Audio Clip (4:52)
  • Conditions at Japanese Internment Camps
    Conditions at Japanese Internment Camps

    Audio Clip (3:47)

    In a 1943 radio broadcast, Dillon S. Meyer, director of the War Relocation Authority, conveys his disapproval of the Japanese internment camps, which he has been overseeing since they were instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942.

    Audio Clip (3:47)
  • Tuskegee Airmen Fly First Mission by Black Pilots
    Tuskegee Airmen Fly First Mission by Black Pilots

    Audio Clip (2:31)

    In an interview, 2nd Lt. William A. Campbell describes his experience flying as a wingman in the first combat mission for the 99th Fighter Squadron, which was sent to North Africa in April 1943.

    Audio Clip (2:31)
  • Fall of Monte Cassino
    Fall of Monte Cassino

    Audio Clip (2:03)

    On location in Naples, NBC News reports the May 18, 1944, Allied capture of Monte Cassino, site of an ancient hilltop monastery that the Germans had transformed into a fortress along the Gustav Line.

    Audio Clip (2:03)
  • U.S. Celebrates Liberation of Paris
    U.S. Celebrates Liberation of Paris

    Audio Clip (1:29)

    On August 25, 1944, Germany surrenders Paris, ending four years of occupation. In a radio broadcast, Jennings Randolph, a West Virginia congressman, sends his congratulations to the French people.

    Audio Clip (1:29)
  • Allied Progress in the Battle of the Bulge
    Allied Progress in the Battle of the Bulge

    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.

    Audio Clip (2:32)
  • Battle for Iwo Jima
    Battle for Iwo Jima

    Audio Clip (3:38)

    Two war correspondents deliver a dramatic account of the U.S.'s hard-won battle for Iwo Jima in March 1945.

    Audio Clip (3:38)
  • Easter on Recently Captured Iwo Jima
    Easter on Recently Captured Iwo Jima

    Audio Clip (3:21)

    A chaplain's service for U.S. troops on Iwo Jima is broadcast live. On March 26, 1945, after 36 days of bloody battle, the United States took control of the strategically important Japanese island.

    Audio Clip (3:21)
  • Report on the Battle of Okinawa
    Report on the Battle of Okinawa

    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.

    Audio Clip (1:50)
  • Meeting of U.S. and Soviet Forces on the Elbe River
    Meeting of U.S. and Soviet Forces on the Elbe River

    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.

    Audio Clip (2:17)
  • Reports of Adolf Hitler's Death
    Reports of Adolf Hitler's Death

    Audio Clip (0:38)

    An American news report describes the Allies' skepticism over Hamburg Radio's claim that Hitler had died on May 1, 1945, while fighting with his troops. Later, it was revealed that Hitler, along with his wife Eva Braun, had committed suicide the previous night.

    Audio Clip (0:38)
  • Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
    Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech

    Audio Clip (0:21)

    On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill receives an honorary degree from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. In a speech delivered on the occasion, Churchill introduces the phrase "Iron Curtain" to describe the division of power between the Eastern Bloc and the West, and warns against Soviet designs for expansion.

    Audio Clip (0:21)
  • U.S. Goals in World War II
    U.S. Goals in World War II

    Audio Clip (0:31)

    In his speech delivered July 23, 1942, Secretary of State Cordell Hull explains the aims of the United States in World War II.

    Audio Clip (0:31)

Interactives (2)

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An international military conflict, World War II involved most countries around the world and lasted from 1939 to 1945.

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