The Ceremony Marking the End of World War II
October 17, 2018September 2, 1945. More than two weeks had passed since the Japanese laid down their arms and declared they would no longer fight the Allies in the Pacific. The United... Read More
September 2, 1945. More than two weeks had passed since the Japanese laid down their arms and declared they would no longer fight the Allies in the Pacific. The United... Read More
As World War II started to draw to its inevitable conclusion, the Japanese became increasingly desperate. Japan, which had had been suffering crippling defeats, wasn't about to go down without... Read More
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the devastating war that followed, many Americans wanted revenge, and some got in the most unexpected ways. One of the oddest might... Read More
Japanese Prime Minister Gen. Hideki Tojo hadn’t even seen the results of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor when he started to declare Japan’s ability to defeat the... Read More
Hideki Tojo was born on December 30th, 1884. His father was Hidenori Tojo, a well-respected officer in the Imperial Japanese Army. Tojo received a typical education for Japanese young men of... Read More
In September of 1941, 33-year-old Lt. Cmdr. Shigekazu Shimazaki was assigned to be the equipping officer of the aircraft carrier Zuikaku, which had been commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy... Read More
Causing the deaths of 2,403 individuals would in most cases be considered illegal without question. In times of war, however, the rules can be a bit murkier. In the Pacific... Read More
To many in the Japanese leadership in 1941, there appeared to be only one way to get the United States to back off and allow their expansion across Chinese territories:... Read More
When the decision to attack the naval base at Pearl Harbor was brought to the table in response to the American involvement in what Japan considered its Pacific affairs, it’s... Read More
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor remains one of the most important events in American history. The horrific loss of life and the sinking of vital American ships on the... Read More
The attack on Pearl Harbor wasn’t some last-minute plan that was thought up over the course of several hours. It was a complex, highly-orchestrated assault that took many months to... Read More
Japan’s Pearl Harbor Visit On December 7th, 1941, Japanese bombers flew in to Pearl Harbor, dropping bombs, torpedoes, and machine gun fire on unsuspecting American servicemen and citizens, marking a... Read More
The following is a translation of Emperor Hirohito's radio address from August 15, 1945 accepting the Allies terms of surrender. The language that he spoke in was very difficult for... Read More