A Power Point Presentation by Becky Johnson Taking a look at… One of the bloodiest wars ever!

World War II actually began without The United States being a key participant. President Roosevelt had sent financial assistance but was earnest to remain out of the military action. Many factors contributed to The United States’ reluctance to become militarily involved with this war. Economically, The US was recovering from the crash of its economic base and its citizens were trying to get back on their feet.

In 1933 the New York Stock Market crashed leaving many people penniless. The country’s economy was crippled and its citizen’s were in shock.

The economic situation was chaotic,and very long lines formed to collect any money available. But at the heart of this economic disaster was the American family. Concerns were for our own and not those in other countries until…

President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." On that day, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans. It completely destroyed the American battleship U.S.S. Arizona and capsized the U.S.S. Oklahoma. The attack also sank three other ships, damaged many vessels, and demolished 180 aircraft. The attack took the country by surprise, especially the ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base. The Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941

With the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed the declaration of war against Japan in December 1941.

The war effort involved thousands of men and women, both fighting abroad and working at home around the clock to build weapons and machines and to raise money.

Marine Corps Major in summer uniform Marine Corps Major in winter uniform Marine Corps Captain in dress blues

In World War II in Europe and North Africa, the tank and armored warfare quickly emerged as the most decisive means of land warfare. With this development, George S. Patton, Jr. moved into the spotlight and soon distinguished himself as America's most successful combat commander of armored troops.

During the war, Patton kept a diary in which he noted nearly every day his activities and observations. It is a remarkably candid work and an indispensable source of information not only on Patton himself but on American ground combat operations in North Africa and Europe from 1942 to Patton commanded major combat units in the North African campaign, the invasion of Sicily, the liberation of France, and the final assault on Germany.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur was one of most prominent United States military figures of the first half of the twentieth century. In July 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt recalled him to active service and placed him in command of United States forces in the Philippines after the Japanese attack in December As Supreme Commander Southwest Pacific Area, MacArthur organized the defense of Australia, stopped the Japanese offensive in New Guinea, and began an island- hopping campaign that by 1945 liberated all that had been lost to the Japanese. MacArthur was promoted to general of the army, the highest rank in the United States military. After Japan surrendered, MacArthur was made Supreme Allied Commander and presided over the American occupation of the country and its transition to democratic self-rule. MacArthur’s April 9, 1951 retirement speech to Congress Captain Villamoor of the Philippine Air Force awarded the Distinguished Service Cross

At the Crimean Conference Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin plan the final assault on Germany. Then, on June 6, 1944, D-Day, the Americans and British invaded Western Europe on the beaches of Normandy, France almost one year after the German army began its retreat from Russia.

Early in the morning of June 6, 1944, Americans heard on their radios that thousands of American and British soldiers had landed on the beaches of northern France. They were fighting German soldiers. This day marked the beginning of the end of one of the bloodiest wars ever: World War II. D-Day June 6, 1944