Video: 'The Lost Evidence Of WWII Episode 17 Okinawa' (June 4, 1945, at 38:59)
(Monday, June 4, 1945, 5:57 a.m. Japan Standard Time; during the Battle of Okinawa, part of the Pacific Theatre of World War II) — Elements of the 6th Marine Division launched an amphibious assault today on Oroku Peninsula.
Video: 'Anne Frank (The Whole Story)' (June 3, 1945, at 2:47:31)
(Sunday, June 3, 1945; during World War II) — Otto Frank, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, returned to Amsterdam today, not knowing whether his daughters, Anne and Margot, are still alive. Continue reading Anne Frank’s father, Otto, returns to Amsterdam 80 years ago today (June 3 1945)
(Saturday, June 2, 1945) — “Sentimental Journey” by Les Brown and His Orchestra (vocal by Doris Day) was the #1 song on today’s Billboard Best Selling Retail Records chart for nine consecutive weeks (June 2/9/16/23/30, July 7/14/21/28, Aug. 4, 1945). Continue reading ‘Sentimental Journey’ by Les Brown Orchestra peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago today (June 2 1945)
Video: '' (May 31-June 1, 1945, at 8:28)
(Friday, June 1, 1945, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m./1:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EWT; during World War II) — The Interim Committee met again secretly today at the Pentagon, formally deciding that the atomic bomb “should be used against Japan as soon as possible; that it be used on a war plant surrounded by workers’ homes; and that it be used without prior warning.”
Video: 'Peter Jennings - Hiroshima: Why the Bomb was Dropped (1995)' (June 1, 1945, 41:05)
Member James F. Byrnes then went to the White House and briefed President Harry S. Truman of the decision (click here for a clip of this event from “American Experience: Truman” at 1:46:11).
Video: 'Peter Jennings - Hiroshima: Why the Bomb was Dropped (1995)' (May 31, 1945, 32:09/39:27)
(Thursday, May 31, 1945, 10:00 a.m.-1:15 p.m./2:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m. EWT; during World War II) — The Interim Committee, created by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson at the urging of leaders of the Manhattan Project (a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs), met secretly today at the Pentagon to consider the idea of giving the Japanese a non-combat demonstration of the new weapon of mass destruction.
Video: 'Harry S. Truman — Bess Truman Christens an Ambulance Plane'
(Memorial Day, Wednesday, May 30, 1945; during World War II) — In her first public appearance as first lady, Bess Truman today tried to christen an ambulance plane at Washington’s National Airport with a unprepared bottle of champagne. Continue reading First lady Bess Truman christens ambulance plane 80 years ago today (May 30 1945)
Video: 'Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh'
(Monday, May 28, 1945) — The novel Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to World War II, was published today in London by Chapman & Hall.
Video: 'Death Of Himmler (1945)'
(Wednesday, May 23, 1945, 11:14 p.m. CEST; on the Western Front and Eastern Front during World War II) — Nazi official Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the people most directly responsible for the Holocaust, committed suicide tonight by biting into a cyanide capsule while in British custody in Luneburg, Germany. Continue reading Nazi war criminal Heinrich Himmler commits suicide while in British custody 80 years ago this hour (May 23 1945)
Video: ‘Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall Wedding at Malabar’
(Monday, May 21, 1945, shortly after noon EWT; during World War II) — Actors Humphrey Bogart, 45, and Lauren Bacall, 20, were married today in the spacious hallway of the twenty-room house of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield on Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio, in a three-minute ceremony. Continue reading Film actors Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall wed in Lucas, Ohio 80 years ago this hour (May 21 1945)
Video: 'USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) damaged by suicide planes - 11 May 1945'
(Friday, May 11, 1945, shortly after 10:00 a.m. JST; during the Battle of Okinawa, part of the Pacific Theatre of World War II) — The aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill was attacked and severely damaged today by two kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa; according to the U.S. Navy’s official website, 346 men were killed, 43 were left missing, and 264 were wounded.
