World War II

World War II. , The Second World War, world war two, engulfed the world in bloody conflict from 1939-1945 resulting in more than 70,000,000 dead military and civilians including 6,000,000 European Jews during the Holocaust making this the deadliest and most destructive war in history., More than 50 nations were involved in world war two. The main Allied powers included the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union while the main Axis powers included Japan, Germany and Italy., Japan's invasion of China in 1937 and Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 led to the outbreak of world war two. The United States was brought into the war on December 7, 1941 by Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Navy Base in Hawaii. 2,008 US Navy Sailors, 108 US Marines and 208 US Army Soldiers along with 68 civilians were killed and 1,178 military and civilians wounded. The US Navy Pacific Fleet was severely damaged with several Battleships sunk and damaged., President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the next day that December 7, 1941 would be "a date that will live in infamy" as he requested and Congress granted a declaration of war against Japan. Germany and Italy followed with their declaration of war against the US on December 11th. , US forces along with others from Canada, the British Commonwealth and other allied countries stormed the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. The operation, given the codename OVERLORD, was a success with 133,000 troops landing on the coast on "D-day". These troops and others went on to fight on the western front., The US suffered several early setbacks in the Pacific including the surrender of the Philippines and Wake Island. The US and Filipino POWs would suffer unimaginable brutality and wanton deaths at the hands of the Japanese including the Bataan Death March., World War Il involved land, air and sea forces with many technological advances particularly military aircraft, radar and sonar that helped bring the war to an end and lead to the jet age. The Battles of Guadalcanal, Coral Sea, Midway, Iwo Jima and Okinawa in the Pacific and the Invasion of Normandy and Battle of the Bulge in Europe remain fresh in our national memory., The Manhattan Project's atomic bomb development led to Japan's surrender, ending the war in the Pacific., world war onel ended with VE Day (Victory in Europe) on May 8, 1945 and VJ Day (Victory over Japan) on September 2, 1945. About 130,000 Americans were held as prisoners of war (POWs) by Japan and Germany by war's end. Grievously, between 33 and 40% of the American POWs died in Japanese captivity. 407,300 US Service Members made the ultimate sacrifice and 671,801 returned home with visible wounds. There is no number for those with invisible wounds-PTSD.