This submarine crew killed 5 destroyers in 4 days
The American submarine USS Harder and its crew quickly established themselves as avid hunters in World War II. Sent against Japanese merchant shipping, the sub quickly claimed 14 Navy and…
A British soldier fought an entire Japanese unit with one arm and a katana
World War II Burma might not be the most talked-about theater of World War II, but it was no less brutal, no less important, and saw its share of combat…
The most successful submarine commander ever was captured by the Japanese
When Rear Adm. Richard O’Kane retired from the Navy in 1957, he was (and still is) the most successful American submarine commander, ever. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy,…
How a thousand retreating Japanese troops were eaten by crocodiles in Burma
The Burma Campaign is an often overlooked front of WWII, but it’s an area filled with interesting stories and incredible heroics. The Battle of Ramree Island might be the most…
‘The Battle of the LA Coliseum’ saw the Army attack the Japanese for spectators
Throughout World War II, the United States government launched a series of media campaigns designed to keep Americans’ eyes on the prize: total victory and unconditional surrender. But that’s easier…
This was one of the most terrifying banzai charges of WWII
American attackers across the Pacific faced a hellish task. Marines, soldiers and sailors made landfall again and again. On each island, they faced stubborn, well-trained defenders with knowledge of the…
Khalkhin Gol: The battle that caused Pearl Harbor
America was famously dragged into World War II by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It became the industrial powerhouse of the allies. It sent supplies to Great Britain, Free…
How the battles of Attu and Kiska in Alaska set the stage for Allied victory in the Pacific
“Damn American dogs, we massacre you!” a Japanese soldier screamed through the fog toward the cold, hungry and exhausted American soldiers huddled below in valley foxholes on the island of…
Godzilla exists thanks to this Japanese prisoner of war
With the new Godzilla movie coming out this Friday (May 31), we thought it would be a good time to remind everyone that we only have the iconic movie monster—or the more than dozen other kaiju of the Godzilla universe—thanks to the survival of a…
Why FDR imprisoned 125,000 Japanese Americans on US soil
There’s a long-standing, often forgotten atrocity that occurred in our country: the imprisonment of our own citizens during WWII. Perhaps you’ve heard about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII….