Williams County World War II Memorial

Williams County World War II Memorial. . , U.S. Forces crossed the Rhine River on the 7th of March 1945 at Remagen, Germany after seizing a railroad bridge. Nazi-German forces, severely weakened from lösses during the recent Battle of the Bulge and starving for petroleum products because of constant aerial bombings by U.S. Army Air Forces, were in the process of withdrawing back into Germany. The bridge enabled the U.S. Army to cross six Armor and Infantry Divisions into Germany. On the 17th of March 1945 the bridge collapsed, too late to prevent the ultimate outcome of the war. Following the suicide of Adolph Hitler, the leader of Nazi-Germany on the 30th of April 1945, the German Government surrendered unconditionally to the Allied Powers on the 7th of May 1945, this day is known as V-E Day., The Battle of Iwo Jima started on the 19th of February 1945. The goal was to capture the island with its three airfields as a staging area for the invasion of Japan. A total of l10,000 U.S. Marines, Soldiers, Navy corpsmen and over 500 ships participated in the battle. Defending the island were approximately 21,000 troops of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy with 471 heavily protected artillery pieces. U.S. forces landed and were drawn into areas within range of the Japanese defenders. On 23 February 1945 American flags were raised atop Mt Suribachi, the second one of which became an iconic symbol of the United States Marines. On August 6th, 1945 the United States Army Air Force dropped the first of the newly invented Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima, Japan. A second Atomic Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9th. Japan surrendered on the 15th of August 1945, this day is known as V-J Day.