Front: Text describes action on various war fronts: Iwo Battle Bitter; Americans Take Cologne - Soviets Reach Baltic. Maps: Pacific spearheads; The Rhine. Back: Text and photographs highlight the bitter battle on the tiny island of Iwo Jima.

Front: Text describes action on various war fronts: Americans Cross Rhine; New Philippine Landings; Allies in Mandalay. Maps: Red Army menaces Oder line, Road to Mandalay, Mindanao P.I. Includes distance scale from Linz east to Berlin and from Zehden west to Berlin. Back: Map of the Pacific and the Far East. Inset maps: Ryukyu Retto, Okinawa, Saipan, Iwo-Jima, Paramushiru, Chisima Retto (Kurile Is.).

Letter from Beal S. Powell to Lena Lawson, March 7, 1945, discussing what to do about their taxes and the deed to their house. Powell also writes that he gets depressed when he does not get mail for a week or more.

Photograph of a soldier looking up at a propaganda poster hanging from a cafe building in Manila. The poster depicts two American soldiers standing on an outline of the country of Japan, with the words "Crush Japan! Onward March to Tokyo!" written in English and another language.

Photograph of two unidentified men standing at the top of a slide at a playground in Manila.

Photograph of ruined buildings in Manila. There are large piles of rubble along the streets, and a man is visible at the bottom of the photo.

Text outlining major events in the Pacific Theater throughout World War II, organized by date. It also includes text for the Instrument of Surrender, appendices containing military and war data, a bibliography, and list of related Web sites.

Photograph of the 44th Tank Battalion on parade in a field in the Philippines. Tents are visible in the background.

Photograph of a soldier standing outside a house with a Filipino family. A handwritten note on the back of the photo says "Verne Mauer."

Interview with Alfonso Nava, a technical sergeant in the US Army during WWII. He answers questions about his decision to enlist and his experiences in the military.

Interview with Ben Kelley regarding his experiences in the military and as a prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War II. He was part of the 36th Division, Texas National Guard, 131st Field Artillery, 2nd Battalion. He was captured on the island of Java in March of 1942 and spent the duration of the war thereafter as a prison of war in camps in South East Asia and in Japan.

Interview with Billy Allen, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Van Alstyne, Texas. Allen discusses his entry into the Marine Corps, deployment to Shanghai with the China Marines in 1940-41, arrival in the Philippines, the Japanese attack on Mariveles Navy Yard, the retreat to Corregidor, capture by the Japanese, and experiences in internment at Bilibid Prison in Manila, Cabanatuan, Osaka, and Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.

Interview with J. L. "Smokey" Sherman, an Army WWII veteran and POW from Ponder, Texas. Sherman discusses joining the Army in 1940, going to the Philippines and being stationed on Corregidor, the siege and fall of the island, his escape from capture and time as a guerrilla, surrender, and experiences in internment at Cabanatuan and Kobe.

Interview with Howard Charles, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Partridge, Kansas. Charles discusses growing up in the Great Depression; joining the Marine Corps and training; assignment to the USS Houston (CA-30) at Manila as a heavy machine gunner and events before the war; the Battle of Sunda Strait and sinking of the Houston; capture by the Japanese and being held at Serang, Java; experiences in internment and forced labor at Bicycle Camp in Batavia, Changi Camp in Singapore, various camps along the Burma Railway, and Saigon; liberation; psychological treatment, trauma, and adjusting to civilian life. In appendix is a letter written by Charles to Marcello including additional information for the interview.

Interview with Tom Blaylock, an Army Air Corps WWII veteran and POW from Dallas, Texas. Blaylock was stationed in the Philippines during the Japanese invasion of December 1941, was captured, forced to partake in the Bataan Death March, and was interned at several major POW camps in the Philippines before transferring to a coal mine camp at Omine-machi, Yamaguchi, Japan.

Interview with Margaret Gillooly, a civilian internee of the Japanese in WWII from San Francisco, California. Gillooly discusses her family's move to the Philippines in 1938, schooling, the start of war and the Japanese invasion, staying in Cebu City, her parents' escape from Manila and surviving a sinking in Manila Bay, Japanese occupation of Cebu, being moved to Manila, various experiences surviving internment at Santo Tomas Prison Camp, bombings, the American invasion and liberation, a Japanese counterattack and siege, emotional and mental impacts, and evacuation.

Interview with Colonel John E. Olson, a Army WWII veteran and POW from Leavenworth, Kansas. Olson discusses his family background, commissioning in the Army from West Point, assignment to the Philippines in 1939 as an infantry officer, the start of the war, withdrawal to Bataan and the ensuing battle and surrender, the Bataan Death March, internment at Cabanatuan, transfer to Osaka, experiences there in internment at a factory labor camp, liberation, organizing the evacuation of POWs, returning to the US, and his postwar career.

Interview with Gale E. Nevill, a Army WWII veteran from Houston, Texas. Nevill discusses his family background and upbringing, jobs in the oil business, joining the National Guard, attending Rice University, getting commissioned, overseeing a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, working through the Depression, activation and assignment to 6th Army HQ, deployment to Brisbane, 6th Army operations in the South Pacific and Philippines, the end of the war and life afterwards.

Transcript of an interview with General Robert E. Galer, a Marine Corps veteran (VMF-224) and recipient of the Medal of Honor, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Galer discusses his pre-war training at Pensacola and Quantico; assignment to Saint Thomas and reminiscences about the "destroyers-for bases" deal, 1940; experiences at Ewa during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; assignment to Guadalcanal as commander of VMF-224, August 30, 1942-December 31, 1942; air combat around Guadalcanal; his receiving the Medal of Honor; reassignment to the States for war bond drives; experiences on Iwo Jima, February-March, 1945, as commander of a 584 Radar Team; and assignment to the Philippines and Okinawa, 1945.

Transcript of an interview with Captain Victor Delano, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Delano discusses his first assignment to the battleship USS West Virginia and his experiences during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; assignment to the antiaircraft cruiser USS San Juan, 1942; naval battles around Guadalcanal; Battle of Savo Island; assignment to the destroyer USS Wedderburn, 1944; Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944; Pacific typhoons; Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations, 1945.

Transcript of an interview with John R. Bumgarner, physician, U.S. Army WWII veteran, and prisoner-of-war of the Japanese following the fall of the Philippines in World War II. He discusses the fall of Bataan and capture; Bilibid Prison, Manila, 1942; Cabanatuan, 1942-44; hell ship to Japan, 1944; Hakodate, Hokkaido, 1944-45; and his liberation.

Interview with Ray Hunt, U.S. Army Air Corps WWII veteran, concerning his experiences as a prisoner of war and guerrilla fighter in the Philippines during World War II. He discusses his escape during the Bataan Death March and guerrilla operations before and after the American landings on Leyte and Luzon, 1944.

Interview with Ken Towery, journalist, Army veteran (59th Coast Artillery Regiment), and survivor of the siege of Corregidor, concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Towery discusses the fall of Corregidor and his capture, Cabanatuan (1942), Mukden, Manchuria (1942-1945), and his liberation by Russian troops.