World War II (1939-45)

Chronology of Coverage

1. Sep. 30, 2014

   Op-Ed article by Prof Herbert P Bix criticizes Japanese government's new official biography of Emperor Hirohito; argues account perpetuates false but persistent image of Hirohito as a benign, passive figurehead, ignoring his role in atrocities of World War II; holds that such omissions are even more pernicious in light of Japanese government's avoidance of full-scale reckoning of its wartime conduct. MORE

2. Sep. 30, 2014

   Report declassified by Energy Dept makes it clear that Manhattan Project, 1940s effort to develop nuclear weapon, was threatened by leaks and espionage; report also reveals United States government's lack of awareness that wartime ally, the Soviet Union, was bent on stealing Manhattan Project secrets and developing its own nuclear bombs. MORE

3. Sep. 18, 2014

   Nijmegen Journal; showpiece bridge in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, connects old and new parts of rapidly growing community, and memorializes a bold World War II crossing. MORE

4. Sep. 14, 2014

   Exhibit June 13, 1942: Saboteurs Land in Amagansett, at East Hampton Historical Society's Clinton Academy Museum, presents details of Nazi plot to blow up processing plants, canals and bridges and young Coast Guardsman’s quick response (Metropolitan/Long Island). MORE

5. Aug. 28, 2014

   Japanese government spokesman says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent message of support to an April ceremony honoring more than 1,000 Japanese war criminals from World War II; move could worsen frictions between Japan and its neighbors, particularly China, over bitter war memories. MORE

6. Jul. 30, 2014

   Pfc Randolph Allen, killed in 1943 in the Battle of Tarawa, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors; his body had lain undiscovered along with about 500 of his fellow Marines and thousands of Japanese fighters for seven decades; each year, the military identifies remains of 60 to 80 service members who died in the last century’s wars. MORE

7. Jul. 30, 2014

   Theodore (Dutch) Van Kirk, navigator and last surviving crew member of the Enola Gay, B-29 Superfortress that dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the last days of World War II, dies at age 93. MORE

8. Jul. 5, 2014

   Officials at Old Bethpage Village Restoration, Nassau County park, are preparing for the opening of the Museum of American Armor on park's grounds; created with both private and public funds, museum will offer re-enactments of the sights and sounds of World War II; among the 27 operational military vehicles to be used in the re-enactments is a Sherman tank brought in from Europe. MORE

9. Jul. 4, 2014

   Louis Zamperini, Olympic runner and airman who was captured by Japanese during World War II, dies at age 97; remarkable story of his survival gained new attention with publication of Laura Hillenbrand biography Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption. MORE

10. Jun. 22, 2014

    Battle of Kohima and Imphal was the bloodiest battle of World War II in India, costing Japan much of its army in Burma; battle has been largely forgotten in India, however, as an emblem of the country's colonial past; 70th anniversary of one of the most extraordinary fights of WWII has generated little interest in the country, and so far only local officials and a former top Indian general have agreed to participate in week's closing ceremonies. MORE

11. Jun. 21, 2014

    Group of government-appointed Japanese scholars seems to raise doubts about accuracy of landmark 1993 apology to women forced to work in military brothels during World War II; finding could worsen tensions between Japan and South Korea over wartime history. MORE

12. Jun. 21, 2014

    The Upshot; Ansel Adams photograph depicts Japanese-Americans playing baseball during their detention at the Manzanar internment camp during World War II; male inmates formed 100 baseball teams at camps, while women formed 14, defiantly asserting their Americanism through the national pastime even as they suffered a humiliating injustice. MORE

13. Jun. 8, 2014

    Thousands of military enthusiasts in trucks, jeeps and other Army vehicles converge in Normandy, France, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion; historic event involves some 50,000 tanks, halftracks, armored cars, bulldozers, motorcycles and other assorted machines that have fascinated collectors ever since. MORE

14. Jun. 8, 2014

    Francis X Clines Quick History column reflects on events of the week, including 70th anniversary of D-Day invasion, release of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl and attempt by French Pres Francois Hollande to get beyond Pres Obama's shunning of Russian Pres Vladimir V Putin because of aggressive moves in Ukraine. MORE

15. Jun. 7, 2014

    Invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, has taken on aura of myth and has become touchstone for leaders of Allied nations; event has also inspired transformation of part of Normandy into a sort of history theme park. MORE

16. Jun. 7, 2014

    Edward Rothstein reviews exhibit The Power of Words and Images in a World at War, which explores ephemera from World War II, at the Grolier Club. MORE

17. Jun. 6, 2014

    Veterans gather on Normandy beaches for 70th anniversary of D-Day landings of World War II, as political leaders confront conflict's legacy of East-West division; defeat of Nazism led to Europe’s separation into hostile ideological camps, and to Cold War rivalry between Moscow and Washington that many analysts say is being revived by crisis in Ukraine. MORE

18. Jun. 6, 2014

    New York-based warplane Whiskey 7 participates in commemorative jumps associated with anniversary of the storming of Normandy, 70 years after being the lead plane in wave of transports that dropped Allied paratroopers over coastal France. MORE

19. Jun. 6, 2014

    Julian Oleaga, Ben Gebbia and Michael Settanni, New Yorkers who are all veterans of World War II and live in Long Island State Veterans Home at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, reflect on participating in the Allied invasion of Normandy on its 70th anniversary. MORE

20. Jun. 6, 2014

    Op-Ed article by veterans Clinton Riddle, George Batts, Joachim Dahms and Ernest Cote recall their experiences at Normandy on the seventieth anniversary of the largest amphibious invasion in history. MORE

21. Jun. 1, 2014

    Corey Kilgannon Character Study column on Jack Lombardi, World War II veteran who sells imitation poppy flowers outside of Whitestone Shopping Center in Queens to raise money for disabled and hospitalized service members; flowers are made by disabled veterans to honor war dead. MORE

22. May. 29, 2014

    Rep Ralph M Hall, Republican of Texas, loses his primary bid after more than three decades in office, making him and Rep John D Dingell, Democrat of Michigan, the last two combat veterans of World War II to serve in the Capitol; Dingell is giving up his seat, leaving next Congress the first in 70 years that does not have a seated WWII combat veteran. MORE

23. May. 15, 2014

    C-47 military aircraft known as Whiskey 7 is set to take off in central New York and head to France for 70th anniversary of the storming of Normandy; five-person, all-volunteer aircrew is making trans-Atlantic crossing to pay tribute to American soldiers who were killed in World War II. MORE

24. Apr. 23, 2014

    Japanese cabinet minister Yoshitaka Shindo and about 150 lawmakers visit Yasukuni Shrine, fueling anger among Asian neighbors who see shrine as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. MORE

25. Apr. 21, 2014

    Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe sends ceremonial offering to a Tokyo war shrine honoring Japan’s war dead, in move that may anger South Korea and China just two days before President Obama is to arrive in Tokyo. MORE

26. Apr. 9, 2014

    Japan's Foreign Min Fumio Kishida seeks to distance his government from far-right statements about World War II made by political associates of Prime Min Shinzo Abe, including denials of sexual servitude of thousands of Korean, Chinese and other women; his comments come as Japan and United States try to show unity ahead of visit by Pres Obama. MORE

27. Apr. 8, 2014

    Two World War II veterans make memorial flyover to honor 19 soldiers who most likely crashed into the Atlantic off the coast of eastern Long Island in 1944 in two B-24 bombers running training missions; planes and crews were never found, and their stories were largely forgotten at least until May, 2013, when local fisherman off Eastern Long Island snagged piece of airplane landing gear. MORE

28. Mar. 15, 2014

    Japanese Prime Min Shinzo Abe, moving to defuse heated diplomatic dispute over World War II-era history, says government will not revise landmark 1993 apology to women forced to work in Japanese military brothels. MORE

29. Mar. 11, 2014

    Japanese government says it will not revise a landmark apology to women forced to work in military brothels during World War II, even as it moves ahead with a review of the testimony used to create that apology; statement is issued in response to rising criticism from South Korea. MORE

30. Mar. 9, 2014

    Q&A features interview with actor George Takei, who talks about going back to Arkansas, where his family was interned during World War II, and traveling to places in Japan he loves to visit. MORE

31. Mar. 1, 2014

    Japanese government says it will re-examine a landmark apology it made two decades ago to women forced to work in wartime military brothels, in a move that could further outrage South Korea, where many of the women came from. MORE

32. Feb. 2, 2014

    Edward J Saylor, 93-year-old resident of Enumclaw, Wash, is one of 80 Army Air Forces fliers who took part in 1942 mission to strike Japan after its 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor; Saylor is one of four remaining members of group known as Doolittle Raiders. MORE

33. Jan. 28, 2014

    Katsuto Momii, new chairman of Japan's public broadcaster NHK, apologizes after drawing sharp criticism for saying that his nation should not be singled out for forcing women into sexual servitude during World War II. MORE

34. Jan. 28, 2014

    Adam Liptak Sidebar column on Korematsu v United States, Supreme Court's 1944 decision endorsing mass detention of Japanese-Americans during World War II; law has long been thoroughly discredited, but the Supreme Court has not yet repudiated it. MORE

35. Jan. 22, 2014

    Italian seaside towns of Nettuno and Anzio are locked in dispute over which has right to commemorate Jan 22, 1944, landing of Allied forces who liberated Rome in World War II; towns, both of whom received troops, have been sharing honor for decades, but Nettuno has stepped up to stake claim. MORE

36. Jan. 18, 2014

    Koichi Hagiuda, top Japanese lawmaker, denounces American criticism of Prime Min Shinzo Abe's visit to a controversial Tokyo war shrine. MORE

37. Jan. 18, 2014

    Hiroo Onoda, an Imperial Japanese Army officer who remained at his jungle post on an island in the Philippines for 29 years, refusing to believe that World War II was over, and who returned to a hero's welcome in Japan in 1974, dies at age 91. MORE

38. Dec. 31, 2013

    China's Foreign Ministry says that Chinese leaders will not meet with Japanese Prime Min Shinzo Abe, citing his visit to a contentious World War II shrine in Tokyo. MORE

39. Dec. 26, 2013

    Japanese Prime Min Shinzo Abe visits contentious Tokyo war shrine, provoking swift condemnation from China and South Korea, both victims of Japan’s wartime aggression; visit to the shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, including war criminals from World War II, is first by a sitting Japanese head of state since former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid his respects there in 2006. MORE

40. Dec. 3, 2013

    Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory reports August discovery of Japanese submarine that the United States sent to the sea floor off Hawaii 1946 to keep it out of the hands of the Soviet Union; announcement was withheld until State Department and Japanese government could be informed. MORE

41. Nov. 24, 2013

    History enthusiast Mark Noah has dedicated himself to finding and recovering the remains of as many as 520 American Marines from the small Pacific atoll of Tarawa, where one of the bloodiest battles in American history was waged during World War II; Noah's attempts have enraged parts of the United States military. MORE

42. Oct. 22, 2013

    European Court of Human Rights rules that Russia has failed to comply with its obligations to adequately investigate the massacre of more than 20,000 Polish prisoners of war in the Katyn Forest near Smolensk by the Soviet secret police in 1940; court says it has no jurisdiction over the massacre itself or the subsequent treatment of the relatives of the dead, prompting an outcry in Poland and expressions of satisfaction among Russian officials. MORE

43. Oct. 21, 2013

    An neglected graveyard in south China has reopened a debate over how the country remembers its World War II veterans. MORE

44. Oct. 18, 2013

    Japan’s Prime Min Shinzo Abe refuses for third time this year supporters’ calls to visit controversial Tokyo war shrine; sends ceremonial offering in apparent effort to avoid angering Asian neighbors, including China; Abe has been closely watched since taking office to see if he makes potentially provocative displays of Japanese nationalism that could isolate his nation and undermine efforts to restore Japan’s stature in a region increasingly dominated by China. MORE

45. Oct. 6, 2013

    Editorial notes that book Bringing Mulligan Home by journalism Prof Dale Maharidge describes the trauma of growing up with a veteran of World War II who was deeply affected by his experience of war; posits that many families of World War II veterans have much more in common than they think, having grown up with men severely damaged by war. MORE

46. Sep. 9, 2013

    Bill Keller Op-Ed column observes the isolationist mood prevalent in America today is similar to that which reigned in 1940; question whether Pres Obama will be able to sell foreign engagement to a war-wary public; points out vigorous national debate over whether to enter World War II is what accounted for country's change of heart; urges Americans to listen with an open mind to Obama's argument for intervention in Syria. MORE

47. Jun. 1, 2013

    Samuel G Freedman On Religion column describes annual commemoration at Chabad Russian Immigrant Program and Synagogue in West Hollywood, Calif, of day Nazi Germany surrendered to Red Army of Soviet Union; Jewish veterans of the Red Army defeated Hitler but did so on behalf of a nation whose own anti-Semitism led millions of Jews to flee once they were able. MORE

48. May. 28, 2013

    Toru Hashimoto, mayor of Osaka, Japan, seeks to quell uproar over his comments suggesting that sexual slavery was necessary evil during World War II by saying that he did not mean to justify wartime brothels or deny women's suffering; also charges that Japan was not the only country that violated women's rights in wartime. MORE

49. May. 26, 2013

    Box Seats column by author Robert Weintraub remembers Elmer Gedeon and Harry O'Neill, among hundreds of major leaguers who served in World War II. MORE

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ARTICLES ABOUT WORLD WAR II (1939-45)