Douglas MacArthur

He was the U.S. Army commander of the Philippines When the Japanese invaded in 1941, he was ordered to retreat and leave behind some of his men and Filipino allies. He stated, “I shall return” as he left He returned to liberate the Philippines in 1945

Bataan Death March

Video The forced transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 76,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II Resulted in the deaths of approx. 10,000 prisoners 1,000 Americans 9,000 Filipinos

Chester Nimitz

Fleet Admiral in the United States Navy Became the commander of all Allied land and sea forces in the Pacific Theater of WWII. From Fredericksburg, Texas.

Flying Tigers

The 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942 Had the mission of defending China against Japanese forces

Navajo Code Talkers

Molded their language to transmit secret communications in every Pacific land battle from 1942 to 1945 Tribal group is from the American Southwest, mostly Arizona. Their unbreakable code played a major role in saving Allied Force lives and shortening the war

Battle of Midway

Video The Japanese attempted to invade the island of Midway The U.S. intercepted the invasion plans and ambushed the Japanese This was one of the most decisive victories of the war The Japanese lost 4 carriers This was the turning point in the Pacific war

Island hopping

The U.S. battle strategy of only invading the islands that were of strategic importance This means that not all of the islands were taken Usually the islands that contained airfields were ones that were taken

Iwo Jima

Taking the Island Taking Mt. Suribachi

Iwo Jima Battle that occurred on an island 750 miles from Japan Island had a tunnel system that protected the Japanese soldiers This is where the marines raised the U.S. flag that is one of the most famous pictures of the war

Battle of Okinawa

Horrors of War The Final Assault This was the first attack on Japanese soil The Japanese were heavily dug in and fought to the last man Perhaps the bloodiest battle of the war The U.S. lost about 49,000 men and the Japanese lost more than 100,000

Harry S. Truman

Became the President after Roosevelt died in office Made the difficult decision to drop the atomic bombs in Japan His slogan – the “Buck stops here.”

Manhattan Project

A top secret project to develop a new weapon called the atomic bomb A group of scientists began work in 1942 on the project They completed and tested the bomb in July of 1944 in New Mexico.

Albert Einstein

A German scientist who moved to the United States shortly before the war began Warned President Roosevelt that the Nazis were attempting to create an atomic weapon.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Hiroshima was the target of the first atomic bomb About 75,000 were killed by the explosion and most of the city was destroyed Nagasaki was the second city targeted by an atomic bomb It killed about 70,000 people Within 5 years about 200,000 died from burns and radiation sickness.