1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945

"In all of the far-flung operations of our own armed forces - on land and sea and in the air - the final job, the toughest job, has been performed by the average, easy-going, hard-fighting young American, who carries the weight of battle on his own shoulders. It is to him that we and all future generations of Americans must pay grateful tribute."- Franklin D. Roosevelt "United in this determination and with unshakable faith in the cause for which we fight, we will, with God's help, go forward to our greatest victory." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower "It is my earnest hope - indeed the hope of all mankind - that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past, a world found upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance and justice." - General Douglas Macarthur "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." - Sir Winston Churchill.

Key Events of the War July 7, 1937 Japan invades China. Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland. Mar. - Apr. 1940 Germany conquers Denmark, Norway, Netherlands and Belgium. May - Jun. 1940 Germany conquers France. Jun. - Sept. 1940 Battle of Britain, German Luftwaffe fails to defeat Royal Air Force. Jun. 21, 1941 Germany invades USSR. Dec. 7, 1941 Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. Jan. - Mar. 1942 Japanese conquer Philippines, Malaya, Indonesia. April 1942 U.S. bombs Tokyo. June 1942 U.S. Navy defeats Japanese at Battle of Midway. 1942 - 1943 British and Germans battle for control of N. Africa. 1942 - 1943 Soviet victory in Battle of Stalingrad. 1943 - 1944 Red Army slowly pushes Wehrmacht back to Germany. Jun. 6, 1944 U.S., British and Canadian troops land in Normandy. May 7, 1945 Germany surrenders. Aug. 6, 1945 U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Aug. 14, 1945 Japan surrenders.