Associated Press war correspondent Bill McGaffin provides a firsthand account of the Battle of France and the London Blitz in a radio interview on February 12, 1944.

FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

RELATED CONTENT

In May 1940, Winston Churchill speaks on national radio for the first time as prime minister and calls for a struggle to the last breath against Nazi conquest and oppression.

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.

Brig. Gen. H.S. Hansell delivers a report in June 1944 on American B-29 bomber strikes against Germany and Japan.

When the United States was thrust into World War II in 1941, it wasn't just anonymous Americans who answered the call to service. Many of Hollywood's finest volunteered for the war effort, along with numerous musicians and professional athletes. Hollywood director Frank Capra made films for the U.S. government, including the seven-part Why We Fight (1942-44), designed to explain the war to servicemen and civilians alike. Yankee star Joe DiMaggio and boxing heavyweight champion Joe Louis gave morale-boosting demonstrations to U.S. Army troops around the world. Big-band leader Glenn Miller led the U.S. Army Air Force band in Europe and gave his life to the war when his plane went down in the English Channel. Hollywood stars Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart both served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, dividing their time between appearances in military documentaries and actual combat. Gable, who decided to enlist after his wife was killed in a plane crash returning from a war-bond drive, served with distinction, participating in several bombing raids over Nazi Germany, rising to the rank of major, and receiving the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross.

A September 14, 1950, a live report from the battlefield by combat correspondent Ens. Jack Seigal captures the U.S. Marines landing at Wolmi Do Island in Ichon Harbor, Korea.

Los Angeles Times war correspondent Tom Treanor recounts his firsthand experience landing on the beach at Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.