A
COMMEMORATIVE HISTORY SERIES
Helping to Secure the Peace, Part 1: The FBI in WWII
05/27/05
The dates are forever
etched in the annals of U.S. history:
... May 7, 1945, the unconditional surrender of the German
High Command;
... May 8, 1945, V-E (Victory in Europe) Day;
... August 14 1945, the official surrender of Emperor Hirohito
and the Japanese military;
... September 2, 1945, V-J (Victory in Japan) Day.
This year marks the
60th anniversary of these historic events for America and the Allies.
This Memorial Day weekend, the men and women of the FBI are proud to
join the nation in honoring the sweat, sacrifices, and courage of all
who served in World War II and all who continue to protect and defend
freedom around the globe.
We also thought you
might be interested in helping us commemorate the FBI’s behind-the-scenes
role in protecting the American homeland and supporting the Allied cause
overseas during WWII.
In previous
history stories, we've already...
This summer, we’ll
add to this collection, highlighting our war-time activities, challenges,
and successes.
Among other things,
we'll talk about:
- How our
size, resources, and responsibilities grew exponentially during the
war;
- How we investigated
tens of thousands of sabotage, espionage, and subversion cases on
top of a full load of criminal cases; and
- How we first
learned that Soviet spies working with the Communist Party of the
U.S. were infiltrating the Manhattan Project, one of the war's greatest
secrets.
We'll also
bring you reminiscences of people who were there: FBI agents
and professionals who served during the war and in the military. And
look for original materials from that time period documenting our work
at home and abroad.
Stay tuned! In the
meantime, check out our history
of the FBI during the WWII years and all of our Byte
Out Of History stories.
Above
photo, circa 1945: U.S. Army Sec. Lt. Donald R.
Burns, an FBI employee on military leave, is congratulated
by Brig. Gen. Charles W. Lawrence after being awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross.
