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#### World War II Pilots and Planes

## Gunners in B17 Bomber

Previous Next 1 of 12

Gunners in B17 Bomber: Gunners in Nose Turret of B-17 Bomber during World War II. (Photo Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Corbis)

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## Photo Galleries (12)

Show All

- World War II Pilots and Planes
  World War II Pilots and Planes

  12 Photos

  View photos of World War II pilots and planes.

  (12 Photos)
- Women Factory Workers of World War II
  Women Factory Workers of World War II

  10 Photos

  During World War II, American women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers. The munitions industry heavily recruited women workers, as represented by the U.S. government's "Rosie the Riveter" propaganda campaign.

  (10 Photos)
- World War II Damage and Destruction
  World War II Damage and Destruction

  7 Photos

  View photos of the damage and destruction from World War II.

  (7 Photos)
- World War II Posters
  World War II Posters

  16 Photos

  View photos of famous posters from the World War II era.

  (16 Photos)
- World War II: Rest and Relaxation
  World War II: Rest and Relaxation

  10 Photos

  View photos of soliders from World War II

  (10 Photos)
- Remembering the Holocaust
  Remembering the Holocaust

  14 Photos

  View photos from the Holocaust.

  (14 Photos)
- Holocaust Concentration Camps
  Holocaust Concentration Camps

  12 Photos

  View photos of the concentration camps operated by the Nazi regime.

  (12 Photos)
- World War II Political Leaders
  World War II Political Leaders

  9 Photos

  View photos of World War II political leaders.

  (9 Photos)

- Axis Military Leaders
  Axis Military Leaders

  12 Photos

  View images of Axis military leaders from World War II.

  (12 Photos)
- End of World War II
  End of World War II

  8 Photos

  View pictures from VE day and VJ day as Americans celebrate the end of World War II.

  (8 Photos)
- Allied Military Leaders
  Allied Military Leaders

  11 Photos

  View photos of Allied military leaders

  (11 Photos)
- Presidents: World War II to Today's Presidents
  Presidents: World War II to Today's Presidents

  13 Photos

  View an image slideshow on Presidents from World War II to Today.

  (13 Photos)

## Videos (37)

Show All

- Attack on Pearl Harbor
  Attack on Pearl Harbor

  Video Clip (1:50)

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

  Video Clip (1:50)
- 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 (2:31)

  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 (2:31)

- 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 (2:48)

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

  Video Clip (2:48)
- Battle of Peleliu
  Battle of Peleliu

  Video Clip (2:10)

  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 (2:10)
- 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 (2:17)

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

  Video Clip (2:17)
- Battle of Stalingrad
  Battle of Stalingrad

  Video Clip (2:22)

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

  Video Clip (2:22)
- North Africa Campaign
  North Africa Campaign

  Video Clip (1:42)

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

  Video Clip (1:42)
- Battle of Guam
  Battle of Guam

  Video Clip (2:37)

  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 (2:37)
- 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 (2:52)

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

  Video Clip (2:52)
- 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 (2:05)

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

  Video Clip (2:05)
- Battle of Iwo Jima
  Battle of Iwo Jima

  Video Clip (2:32)

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

  Video Clip (2:32)
- 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)

## Speeches & Audio (30)

Show All

- 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)

- Inside WWII
  Inside WWII

  Interactive
- WWII Experience
  WWII Experience

  Interactive

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