The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment center for members of the armed forces during World War II. The original Stage Door Canteen was on 44th street in New York City, but a second Stage Door Canteen was opened in the basement of the Academy of Music building in Philadelphia, … Continue reading
In this laconic letter of Lincolnesque eloquence is the barbed challenge of the soldier to the scoffers of democracy’s virility and courage. Selfish interest is completely submerged. Before the war, Lt. Robert Hardart was boxing champion, cheer leader and captain of the cross-country track team at Fordham University. His classmates … Continue reading
Paul Hackett was a Storekeeper 2nd class on the USS Mindanao when the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood exploded on November 10, 1944. All crew members aboard the USS Mount Hood that day were killed in the explosion. The Mindanao was only 350 yards away from Mount Hood at the … Continue reading
Ruth Voorhies, born and raised in San Diego, California, describes her experience during World War II as her family was placed in a Japanese Internment Camp in Arizona. Over 110,000 people of Japanese heritage were imprisoned in internment camps on grounds of Executive Order 9066, signed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, … Continue reading
During World War II, British Prisoners of War were used by the Japanese to build a railway linking Bangkok, Thailand to Rangoon, Burma. Over 12,000 POWs were killed building the railway. In this video, British POWs recall building the railway. Remembering the harsh working conditions, one POW says: “If you … Continue reading
On September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain arrived in Great Britain with a signed copy of The Munich Agreement. Dated September 29, The Munich Agreement allowed Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia that were predominately inhabited by German speakers, designating this territory “Sudetenland”. Czechoslovakia was not present at … Continue reading
Ethel LaSalle served in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II from 1944 to 1945. The Women’s Army Corps became a full status branch of the Army in 1943, with around 150,000 women serving in it during World War II. Women who served in the WAC were the … Continue reading
Frank Chebetar was a 20-year old cook on a ship at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II on the morning of December 7, 1941. On the 70th anniversary of the attack, Chebetar describes what he saw on that day as the memories move him … Continue reading
On August 25, 1944, French General Charles de Gaulle entered Paris, which had been liberated the day before. From the Hôtel de Ville, he made a spirited speech to a large crowd with these famous lines, “Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated!” An audio recording of Gaulle’s speech is available below. The … Continue reading
In this Legacy Project interview from 2006 with Raymond Aubrac, a leader of the French Resistance, he describes his efforts to oppose Nazi Germany’s occupation of France during World War II. He says of his brave peers in the Resistance: “That’s very amazing to consider–all these people were volunteers. Nobody had been forced into … Continue reading
