44 years after the Battle of Attu:
Tomoyuki Omura, a Japanese dignitary whose father was killed on the island during World War II, and U.S. Coast Guard CMDR. Alex Montanez, whose father was also killed during the island battle, share pictures of their parents… 06/30/1987
In the only land battle of World War II to take place on incorporated U.S. territory, American forces began the invasion of Attu, in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, to dislodge occupying Japanese Forces on May 11, 1943.
U.S. FORCES BLAST JAPANESE FROM ATTU [ETC.], 1943
From the “United News” Newsreels series from the Office of War Information
May 9, 1942: These California farm families are preparing to evacuate to internment camps, as documented by photographer Dorothea Lange.
Centerville, California. Farm families of Japanese ancestry awaiting the evacuation buses which will take them to the Tanforan Assembly center along with 595 others evacuated from this district under Civilian Exclusion Order Number 34. 05/09/1942
Dorothea Lange, photographer. From the Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority
May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. You can find our past posts on Japanese American Internment & Relocation under the #Japanese American Internment tag.
“The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945.
EISENHOWER”
Top secret document sent by General Eisenhower to his superior officers to inform them that his mission was fulfilled - Germany was defeated and the war in Europe was over.
-from the Eisenhower Library
Kaiser shipyards, Richmond, California. Miss Eastine Cowner, a former waitress, is helping in her job as a scaler to construct the Liberty Ship SS George Washington Carver launched on May 7, 1943.
From the series: Negro Activities in Industry, Government, and the Armed Forces from the Records of the Office of War Information.
Captured Japanese photograph. U.S. soldiers and sailors surrendering to Japanese forces at Corregidor, Philippine Islands, 05/1942
On May 6, 1942, 11,000 U.S. and Filipino troops surrendered on the island fortress of Corregidor, known as the Gibraltar of the East. This marked the final Japanese conquest of the Philippines. U.S. and Filipino forces would recapture the island in 1945.
“Tule Lake Relocation Center, Newell, California. Construction of this War Relocation Authority center has commenced. Approximately 10,000 evacuees of Japanese ancestry will be housed here for the duration.” 4/23/1942
Clem Albers, photographer. From the Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority.
Choked with debris, a bombed water intake of the Pegnitz River no longer supplies war factories in Nuremberg, vital Reich industrial city and festival center of the Nazi party, which was captured April 20, 1945, by troops of the U.S. Army.
Operation Vengeance
70 years ago on April 18, 1943, a squadron of American P-38 Lightnings intercepted and shot down a flight carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy and planner of the attack on Pearl Harbor. In an intelligence coup, U.S. Naval Intelligence had earlier decrypted Japanese transmissions detailing Yamamoto’s travel plans to the Solomon Islands. The P-38 Lightning was selected as one of the few fighter aircraft capable of making the 1000 mile roundtrip intercept mission.
April 8 is Holocaust Remembrance Day:
Liberated prisoners in the Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz, Austria, give rousing welcome to Cavalrymen of the 11th Armored Division. The banner across the wall was made by Spanish Loyalist prisoners., 05/06/1945
The theme of this year’s remembrance day is Never Again: Heeding the Warning Signs.
![San Francisco, California. This restaurant, named “Nisei” after second-generation children born in this country to Japanese immigrants was closed prior to evacuation of residents of Japanese ancestry; and, according to sign in the window, was scheduled to re-open under new management. Evacuees will be housed at War Relocation Authority centers for [the] duration. 04/07/1942
Dorothea Lange, photographer. From the Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority.
Professional photographers such as Lange were commissioned by the WRA to document the daily life and treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/c767c20f6c1d005a9d405285529a30ce/tumblr_mkn7gjqhi41qhk04bo1_1280.gif)
San Francisco, California. This restaurant, named “Nisei” after second-generation children born in this country to Japanese immigrants was closed prior to evacuation of residents of Japanese ancestry; and, according to sign in the window, was scheduled to re-open under new management. Evacuees will be housed at War Relocation Authority centers for [the] duration. 04/07/1942
Dorothea Lange, photographer. From the Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority.
Professional photographers such as Lange were commissioned by the WRA to document the daily life and treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
April is National Poetry Month!
Deck Log, USS RINGGOLD (DD-500), January 1, 1945.
While records held by the National Archives document the functions and activities of the Federal government, there is also a literary side to bureaucracy. Records include material related to Walt Whitman’s employment with the Department of Justice, the death of Joyce Kilmer during World War I, and Allen Ginsberg’s service in the Merchant Marines.
Also among our holdings are the unsung poets of the U.S. Navy which has a tradition of placing a poem in the ship’s deck logs on the first day of the New Year.
Lt. Woody J. Cochran holding a Japanese flag, New Guinea, 04/01/1943
A Cherokee from Oklahoma and a bomber pilot, Lieutenant Cochran earned the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Air Medal.
Ration Coupon for Meat, Fats, Fish, and Cheeses
The rationing of meat, butter, and cheese began during World War II on March 29, 1943.
“An eager school boy gets his first experience in using War Ration Book Two. With many parents engaged in war work, children are being taught the facts of point rationing for helping out in family marketing.”, 02/1943
The rationing of meat, butter, and cheese began during World War II on March 29, 1943.
