A Separate Peace Electronic Time Capsule

James Kemp

The attack on the American Naval base at Pearl Harbor HI was the attack that threw the United States into World War II. The attack came in two waves by Japanese bombers. The pilots attacked the ships and military command bases that were vital to the US. The aftermath included over 2,335 killed men, 1,178 wounded, 640 missing, 48 killed civilians, 188 planes destroyed, 18 ships of different sizes sunk or damaged. Through the attack, on 29 Japanese planes were shot down by American return fire, mostly during the second wave.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The Battle of Midway was fought near the Central Pacific island of Midway, and is considered the decisive battle of WWII in the Pacific. Before Midway, the Japanese fleet had been capturing territory throughout Asia and the Pacific. At Midway, the Japanese planned on trapping and destroying the US Pacific Fleet. Due to US Intelligence, the US forces anticipated the attack and sank four Japanese carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier, while only losing one themselves. After the battle, Allied forces were able to take the offensive in the Pacific.

The Battle of Midway

General George S. Patton

General Patton was legendary for being one of the most successful American field commanders of all time, from any war.

Patton led the only all-American force landing for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. After succeeding in that, he commanded the Seventh Army during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943 with the British Eighth Army and restored Sicily to its people. He stayed with the Seventh until 1944 when he was given command of the Third Army in France. After the Battle of Normandy, Patton and his troops fought across Europe and attacked German weak points successfully, cover 600 miles across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. After liberating the Buckenwald concentration camp, Patton slowed down enforcing a new policy of ensuring that German civilians had control of the camps.

By the end of the war, Patton and his Third Army had liberated or conquered 81,522 square miles of territory.

In October 1945, Patton took command of the Fifteenth Army in American occupied Germany, and on December 9th was injured in an automobile accident. He died 12 days later and is buried among soldiers whom he served with in the Battle of the Bulge in Hamm, Luxembourg.

The Battle of Normandy “D-Day”

On June 6, 1944, 9 battleships, 23 cruisers, 104 destroyers, and 71 landing craft of various descriptions as well as troop transports, mine sweepers, and nearly 5000 ships of every type formed the largest armada ever assembled to attack Normandy, France on D-Day. Normandy gave the Allies a foot-hold in Europe to begin their campaigns across Europe. Even though losing 9,000 Allied Soldiers being killed or wounded, 100,000 Soldiers survived to fight across Europe. The battle officially ended

Nagasaki

Hiroshima

Hiroshima & Nagasaki 1945

The Manhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was the code name of

the project to create the world’s first Atomic Bomb. The Creation was a race between Allies and Germany to create a weapon of mass destruction. Raids on German uranium and heavy water production facilities showed that Germany was far behind the Americans in developing their weapon. By 1944, the scientist thought they were creating a weapon that would deliver a knockout blow to Nazi Germany.

By the spring of 1945, the scientists questioned if it was really necessary to drop any bomb at all, but a decision was made to drop the bombs on Japan.

Testing of the bombs revealed that the bombs were as powerful as 20,000 tons of TNT, and the blast was so bright it was claimed to have been seen by a blind woman from miles away.

The Manhattan Project Cont…The pilots who were to drop the bombs were sworn to secrecy

without ever knowing what the secret they were guarding was, and the crew of the U.S.S. Indianapolis were completely unaware of the magnitude of their cargo, but their operation was so secret, they could not call for help when they where torpedoed by Japanese U-boats on the way home.

At approximately 8:15 am on August 6, 1945, the first bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, and completely obliterated the city. It is estimated that up to 180,000 were killed initially by the bomb, and people would continued to be killed by the radiation for decades to come.

There was controversy over the first drop, , but it was decided that a full invasion would have killed millions. Before, Japan had been preparing the bloodiest reception ever for Allies if they had invaded Japan. Harry Truman never would have been able to stay in office if it was revealed that he had a weapon and didn’t use it.

On August 6 and 7, Allies ordered an unconditional surrender, but due to damage to transportation and communication networks, the Japanese government never really understood what happened in Hiroshima. After receiving no surrender from the Japanese, on August 9, the “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki. This time, the bomb was dropped slightly off target, minimizing the effects of the bomb. Even though the effects were minimized, 70,000 people were killed, and the same aftereffects from the first bomb continued to kill for decades.

The End of World War IIAfter the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,

Japan quickly accepts unconditional surrender to Allied forces, but with one reservation: The Emperor was to remain in power of Japan. The Allies accept, and World War II was over. The estimated death toll for the war was 50-60 million, making it by far the bloodiest war in the history of the world.

Standard World War II Equipment

M1 Carbine

M1 Garand

M1903 Springfield

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle

aka BAR

The M1 Carbine was a .30 Caliber semi-automatic rifle that was a standard issue weapon during WWII and the Korean War.

The M1 Garand was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally used by infantry. General George S. Patton called it the “Greatest Battle Implement Ever Devised.” It was much like the Carbine and Springfield, but had the action of the Carbine and Cartridge of the Springfield.

The Springfield was a clip-fed, 5-shot, bolt action service rifle that was replaced by the semi-automatic Garand.

The BAR was the lightest machine gun to fire the .30 caliber bullet, and the only one used as standard issue in the US Army during WWII. The BAR was designed during WWI, but was perfected for WWII.

Colt M1911 Pistol

Standard World War II Equipment Cont…

The Colt M1911 Pistol was the standard issue sidearm for American soldiers in both World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. The weapon was very reliable, and even so it is still used today by some military and law enforcement agencies in the US.

The Presidents of World War IIFranklin Roosevelt was the president at the time

of the beginning of World War II. He declared war on the Japanese Empire, entering the United States into World War II after the vicious attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor.

On December 8, 1941 he made his famous “Infamy” speech asking Congress to declare war on Japan. By going to war with Japan, they had also gone to war with Germany, Italy, and others.

Here is a video of the speech. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrVI6ENDL8Y

The Presidents of World War IIAfter taking office in 1945, Harry

Truman received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb, or growing difficulties between the United States and Soviet Russia. Truman had a number of wartime problems like these pop up for him to solve.

Truman ordered the dropping of the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In June 1945, Truman witnessed the signing of the charter of the United Nations, established to preserve peace after World War II.

The Draft

During WWII, and other major wars that the US has participated in, they have instituted a draft to involuntarily get soldiers into the military. Local draft boards would have a lottery style drawing to pick someone to go into the army.

1. White Christmas - Bing Crosby2. Moonlight Cocktail - Glenn Miller 3. Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller 4. Jingle Jangle Jingle - Kay Kyser5. I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo - Glenn Miller 6. Tangerine - Jimmy Dorsey 7. Sleepy Lagoon - Harry James8. String of Pearls - Glenn Miller 9. Blues in the Night - Woody Herman10. Deep In the Heart of Texas - Alveno Rey11. The White Cliffs of Dover - Kay Kyser 12. Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree - Glenn Miller13. The Pennsylvania Polka - The Andrews Sisters 14. Jersey Bounce - Benny Goodman15. American Patrol - Glenn Miller 16. Strip Polka - Kay Kyser17. There Are Such Things - Tommy Dorsey w/Frank Sinatra18. Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree - The Andrews Sisters19. Night and Day - Frank Sinatra20. Somebody Else is Taking My Place - Benny Goodman

Jazz and swing were big during the 1940’s, and Glenn Miller was the biggest name in swing at the time. Miller’s music consisted of simple melodies with comples free-flowing riffs, and usually had saxaphone solos by Tex Beneke.

1. Casablanca

2. Cat People

3. Yankee Doodle Dandy

4. Bambi

5. Road to Morocco

6. To Be of Not to Be

7. Holiday Inn

8. The Talk of the Town

9. The Black Swan

10. This Gun for Hire

Top Movies of 1942

Work Cited“The Attack on Pearl Harbor.” Remembering Pearl Harbor. 2001: 1. Google. Online.14 Sept. 2010.

“Battle of Midway.” Naval History & Heritage Command. 7 May 2009: 1. Google Online. 14 Sept. 2010.

“General George S. Patton WW2.” Time Line Index.com. 2009: 1. Google. Online. 14 Sept. 2010.

“D-Day.” U.S. Army. 2010: 1. Google. Online. 14. Sept. 2010.

“The Atomic Bomb 1945.” World War II Multimedia Database. 2007: 1. Google. Online. 14 Sept. 2010.

 

Work Cited

“List of World War II Weapons of the United States” Wikipedia. 17 Aug. 2010. Online.

14 Sept. 2010. “Franklin Roosevelt For a Declaration of War.” The History Place. 2009. Online.

14 Sept. 2010. “Harry S. Truman.” The White House. 2010. Google. Online. 14. Sept. 2010. “Popular Songs 1942.” Popular Songs.org. 2007. Google. Online. 14 Sept. 2010. “All Time Top Movies By Year 1942.” Top Ten Reviews. 2010. Google. Online.

14 Sept. 2010.