Notes on WWII

WII Notes – Notes for Ch. 17

 

1941- Granite tribute to four presidents unveiled in South Dakota. John Borglum’s Mount Rushmore is instant tourist attraction.

 

1941- In Major League Baseball, Yankee center fielder Joe DiMaggio hits safely in 56th straight game. Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams finishes the season with a batting average of .406, the last Major Leaguer to hit over 400 for a season.

 

1941- Thousands in the United States are newly employed – factories gear up for wartime production. Women and minorities make significant gains.

 

1941- Dec. 7th attack on Pearl Harbor brings war declaration on Japan. Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S.

 

1942- Japan continues to take more territory in the south pacific – most of Southeast Asia is in Japanese hands.

 

1942- Philippines fall to Japan – thousands of Americans and Filipinos taken prisoner on Bataan.

 

1942- By executive order 9066 the internment of Americans of Japanese descent begins - 10,000 Americans of Japanese descent volunteer for military service – exceeding the 1,500 quota.

 

1942- Colonel Jimmy Doolittle launches surprise bombing raid on Tokyo using B-25 bombers from the USS Hornet and USS Enterprise.

 

1942- Battle of Coral Sea ends inconclusively – but halts Japanese advance.

 

1942Battle of Midway proves to be the turning point in the Pacific theater.

 

1942- Locally: Shipyards turning out record production. Boeing producing 24/7 unveils new long range bomber B-17 Flying Fortress.

 

1942- U.S. wins critical victory at Guadalcanal – losses are heavy.

 

1942- Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart star in classic wartime love story – Casablanca.

 

1942- Bell Aircraft Corp. demonstrates first jet airplane manufactured in U.S.

 

1943- Combined allied Forces under Patton/Montgomery defeat Rommel’s forces in North Africa. Key victory takes place at El Alamein.

 

1943- Rallying cry “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” – spurs home front effort. Victory gardens, rationing and recycling are a way of life.

 

1943- New Jefferson memorial dedicated in Washington D.C.

 

1943- New Broadway musical – Oklahoma – is huge success.

 

1943- US/British forces take Sicily and then push into the Italian interior despite tough resistance.

 

General Dwight Eisenhower – Commander for all Allied Forces in Europe

General Douglas MacArthur – Commanded the U.S. Army in the Pacific

Admiral Chester Nimitz - Commanded the U.S. Navy in the Pacific

 

1944- Allied bombers (B-17s & B-26s) conduct bombing raids over Germany’s capital – Berlin.

 

1944- June - Allied forces capture Rome - welcomed with open arms by Romans.

 

1944- (6/6) Allied forces begin Operation Overlord - the invasion & liberation of occupied Europe.

 

1944- FDR signs congressional bill - the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act – the “G.I. Bill.”

 

1944- (August) Paris is liberated – done so quickly that Hitler’s plan to destroy the city is thwarted.

 

1944- (October) MacArthur successfully “returns” as Philippines are liberated. Battle of Leyte Gulf is Navy’s largest and most decisive victory.

 

1944- (December) Allies temporarily pushed back in Battle of the Bulge, near the forests of Ardennes.

 

1944- (November) Roosevelt wins fourth presidential election - defeats Thomas Dewey - 432 electoral votes to 99.

 

1945- (February) Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt meet in Yalta to discuss postwar strategy for Germany.

 

1943-1945 - Boeing produces over 3000 new B-29 super fortress bombers - used mostly in Pacific theater.

 

1945- (February) American forces capture Iwo Jima - bloodiest battle in Marines Corps history. Strategic island to be used for bombing raids over Japan.

 

1945- 4/12/45 FDR dies of brain hemorrhage while on a break at his summer home in Warm Springs, Georgia.  VP Harry Truman becomes president.

 

1945-(May 7th) German field marshals surrender. Hitler commits suicide. Allied victory in Europe celebrated - May 8th is V.E. Day.

 

1945- (June) American forces capture Okinawa - this island is the key to the downfall of Japan.

 

1945- (July) Heavy bombing of Japan begins - civilians become targets as many large cities are burned.

 

1945- (August 6th & 9th) U.S. bombers drop atomic bombs on Japanese cities Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

 

September 2nd 1945 - Official Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri. WWII is officially over.