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January 1942
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January 1942
Twenty-six Allied countries signed the Declaration by United Nations during the Arcadia Conference. -
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February 1942
Americans continue their defence of Bataan against General Homma's troops. -
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March 1942
The Secretary of War reorganizes the General Headquarters (GHQ), United States Army into three major commands - Army Ground Forces, Army Air Forces, and Services of Supply, the latter of which is later redesignated Army Service Forces -
May 1943
The U.S. Navy announces that, except for the U.S.S. Arizona, U.S.S. Utah, and U.S.S. Oklahoma, all warships sunk at Pearl Harbor have been repaired and returned to sea. -
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June 1943
A Japanese destroyer rams and sinks a small U.S. Navy vessel, PT-109, commanded by Lt. (and future President) John F. Kennedy. He and other survivors swim for five hours to reach a small island, where they are later rescued. -
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November 1943
U.S. Marines land on Tarawa, an atoll in the Gilbert Islands. -
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June 1944
U.S. troops enter Rome. On D-Day, June 6, 155,000 Allied troops land on the beaches of Normandy, France, to begin the liberation of Europe. -
June 1944
U.S. troops enter Rome. -
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September 1944
A U.S. Navy torpedo plane, piloted by Lt. (and future President) George Bush, is shot down near Okinawa. He parachutes into the sea; a U.S. submarine rescues him. -
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November 1944
U.S. troops in Germany begin a drive to reach the Rhine River. -
April 1945
Vienna, Austria falls to Soviet troops.
Soviet troops enter Berlin, beginning a street-by-street battle. -
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April 1945
U.S. soldiers free 32,000 survivors of the Dachau concentration camp. It will become a memorial for victims of the Nazi Holocaust. -
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April 1945
Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler kills himself. -
The first atomic bomb. July 1945
The first atomic bomb -
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Japan surrenders (August 14)
Japan surrenders (August 14). At least 100,000 people died in the atomic bombings. -
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August 1945
Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9). -
Period: to
apanese officials sign the surrender document, September 2nd 1945
Japanese officials sign the surrender document on the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Harbor.
