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Navy buys 200 amphtracs
Amphtrac, amphibious tractor, designed to rescue swamp people in Florida bought by Navy but had never been used in combat. -
Philippines fall to Japan
Troops had surrendered but small force held out in Manila Bay until May when the Philippines fell to the Japanese -
Japanese attack New Guinea
Admiral Nimitz sent two carriers, the Yorktown and the Lexington to intercept the Japanese in the Coral Sea. Japanese sank the Lexington and badly damaged the Yorktown but prevented the Japanese from landing on New Guinea’s south coast -
Guadalcanal
MacArthur’s troops began their campaign in the southwest Pacific by invading Guadalcanal -
Bataan Peninsula surrendered
78,000 prisoners of war were forced to march 65 miles to a Japanese prison camp. Was later called the Bataan Death March -
Battle of Midway
Code breaking team alerted Americans of Japanese attack on Midway. Americans shot down 38 planes and destroyed 4 Japanese Carriers. The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war destroying the heart of the Japanese fleet. -
Island hopping
In the fall of 2943 the Pacific fleet commanded by Admiral Nimitz advanced through the Pacific by hooping from one island to the next closer and closer to Japan. General MacArthur’s troops would advance through the Solomon Islands. -
MacArthur Returns
160,000 troops began to land on Leyte. When MacArthur reached the shore he announced, “People of the Philippines, I have returned. By the grade of the Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil -
MacArthur captures Manila
After a long and grueling campaign, MacArthur’s troops captured Manila in March of 1945. 80,000 Japanese were killed and 100,000 Filipino civilians died. -
Congress Awarded Code Talkers the Congressional Medal of Honor
Congress Awarded Code Talkers the Congressional Medal of Honor For their contribution in the war and Battle of Iwo Jima