World War II Chronicles

During June of 1945, U.S. forces were still out fighting Japan but many people on the home front were celebrating the victory over Germany. Millions of people gathered in Southern California to watch the victory parade that was held to honor Generals George S. Patton and James Doolittle. After the parade General Patton when on to give a speech in Boston and General Doolittle prepared to go back into battle to help his country in the fight against Japan.

Operation Pluto was an abbreviation for "Pipeline Under-water Transport of Oil. The pipe which laid under the English Channel was constructed by British engineers to be used as an asset during World War II. The pipelines were meant to deliver a substantial amount of fuel to Europe, specifically during the allied invasion of Normandy.

By the end of May and the beginning of June, 1945 thousands of U.S. soldiers were dead and injured in the battle against Japan. In a final effort to take down the Japanese resistance the U.S. Army and Marine forces teamed up to storm the beach of Okinawa. The Japanese were resilient until U.S. soldiers pushed them south to retreat to the city of Naha. As the battle continued President Truman broadcasted a warning to the Japanese telling them to surrender or face the same consequences as Germany.

By the 27th of May, 1945 the U.S. air craft carrier USS Franklin had been struggling for almost a week to stay afloat after being hit on the 19th by a Japanese dive bomber. The bomb left the ship in pieces and took many American lives. Even with all the damage the USS Franklin and what was left of its brave crewmen returned to the U.S. through the Panama Canal.

While the war in Europe had ended in May of 1945, many American soldier were still out fighting the Japanese at the Battle of Okinawa. At this stage in the battle the Japanese Kamikaze warfare tactics were greatly damaging U.S. carriers and causing many casualties. In efforts to try and stop the Japanese, the U.S. began to attack Japanese air bases on the island.

By the third week in May forty six delegates from around the world were gathered at the San Francisco Conference trying to draw up the United Nations Charter to preserve peace. The nations that were invited to this conference were nations that declared war on Germany and Japan and had subscribed to the United Nations Declaration. A great number of sessions were held through May and June of 1945 before the final draft of the UN Charter was made.

By May of 1945 America and its allied forces had finally won the war in Europe. On may 7th it became official when the German delegation signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces. The following day President Truman broadcasted the announcement and people filled the streets to celebrate the end of the 5 year long war.

On the last weeks of April, 1945 American forces had reached the Elbe River which lied only miles outside of Berlin. Alongside the river Americans ran into the Soviets Red Army who proceeded into the city of Berlin. General Eisenhower held the American Army back and allowed the Soviets to fight the battle of Berlin because he didn't want to suffer thousands of more casualties.

On April 12th, 1945 Harry S. Truman took the oath of office only hours after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death. The week following President Truman gave a speech in which he stated that he planned to continue his predecessors commitment and the U.S. would continue to fight Germany and Japan.

On the second week of April 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died from a hemorrhagic stroke. President Roosevelt was only several weeks into his fourth term when his physical health took a turn for the worst. Thousands of people including his successor Harry S. Truman gathered in the nationals capital to honor him at his memorial.