Although World War II began in Europe with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the United States refused to commit its armed forces to the conflict until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Once committed, the U. S. military shared the burden of war against Nazi Germany with the Soviet Union and Great Britain. In the Pacific, however, American forces bore most of the weight of the war with Japan. While the U. S. Army and Army Air Corps took the lead in Europe, leadership in the Pacific Theater was assigned to the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps. Sioux City area residents were involved in every major engagement of the Pacific War from the Battle of Midway and the fight for Guadalcanal in 1942 to the Battle of Iwo Jima and the recapture of the Philippines in 1945.
Join Matt Anderson for an overview of the Pacific campaign and accounts of the contributions made by local people.