World War 2 Flashcards

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FDR

FDR

• Strategy was defeating Germany 1st

• Met with allies "The Big Three" during the war at conferences like Casablanca, Cairo, Tehran, and Yalta

• Signed Executive Order 9066 which authorized internment of 110,000 "Issei" and "Nisei" (2nd Gen. Japanese Americans)

• Said US would be an "Arsenal of Democracy"

• Died April 12, 1945

Harry S. Truman

• Ordered Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945

• 33rd President (1945-1953

• 3rd Vice President to serve with FDR

• Took office after FDR death

• Though new to office, he led America and presided of VE Day and VJ Day

Admiral Chester Nimitz

• Turned around US's fortune in Battle of Midway

• Kamikaze attacks off Okinawa led him to resist plans to invade mainland Japan

• After Pearl Harbor, he took command of US Navy in Pacific

• Closed war with operations in the Leyte Gulf and Okinawa

General Douglas MacArthur

• He promised "I shall return" after being ordered by FDR to abandon the Philippines

• His strategy of maneuver, island hopping, result in fewer casualties under his command

• Returned to the Philippines in 1945

• Presided over Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945

Dori Miller

• The 1st black person to be awarded the Navy Cross

• Mess attendant assigned to USS West Virginia

• Hero of the pearl harbor attack

• His bravery as heavily publicized in black press making him an emblem of the war for blacks

• Killed in 1943 when the Japanese sank his ship

Henry Kaiser

• Nicknamed "Sir Launchalot" because his shipyard could build an entire ship in 14 days

• American Industrialist that became known as the Father of modern American Shipbuilding

• Established Kaiser Shipyards on West Coast which built liberty ships to transport supplies and equipment for war

Audie Murphy

• Most decorated American soldier in WW2

• Received Congressional Medal of Honor

• His story is basis of the film "To Hell and Back"

• Enlisted at 17

• Received battlefield promotions

General Dwight Eisenhower

• Commander of SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters American Expeditionary Forces)

• Led operation torch (an invasion of North Africa)

• Picked by FDR to head liberation of Europe on Eastern front

Jacqueline Cochran

• Contributor to formation Women Airforce Service Pilots

• Aviator

• Supervised training of hundreds of women who flew planes from the factories to frontlines

• Holds more records than any other pilot dead or alive

Virginia Hall

• Spy for OSS (Office of Strategic Services)

• Nicknamed Artemis

• Reported as "the most dangerous of all Allied spies" by the Gestapo (German Secret Police)

• Forerunner of Central Intelligence Agency

• Smuggled into France before D-Day to organize resistance fighters

• Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism

Oveta Culp Hobby

• Director of the WACs (Women's Army Corps) which was created to fill the gaps due to shortage of men

• WACs were the 1st women other than nurses to be in Army uniform

• Achieved rank of colonel

• First women in the Army to receive Distinguished Service Medal

Veronica Lake

• Publicly restyled her "peek-a-boo" hairstyle because she feared that the thousands of women copying her hair were endangering themselves

• Accident rates for women fell 22% after her heroic haircut

• Movie Star

• Endured a famous haircut for patriotism

• Her movie career never really recovered

Charles Lindbergh

• Leader in anti-war America First movement

• FDR refused to reinstate his Army Air Corps commission that he had resigned in April 1941

• After Pearl Harbor, he flew 50 combat missions in Pacific as a civilian advisor to Air Force

Robert Oppenheimer

• He served as director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during the development of atomic bomb "the Manhattan Project"

• Physicist

• Angered by use of 2nd atomic bomb on Nagasaki

• Said "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." after testing the a-bomb

Anthony McAuliffe

• Acting division commander of 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles)

• Defended Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge

• Famous for saying "Nuts" in response to German Surrender Ultimatum

A. Philip Randolph

• Led March on Washington, convincing FDR to issue Executive Order 8802 in 1941, banning discrimination in defense industries during WW2

• Led 1st predominantly black labor union

General Mark Clark

• Commander of US 5th Army in Italy

• Ordered destruction of religious abbey at Monte Cassino

• Captured Rome on June 5, 1944

• Critics argued that his tactics led to high casualties

General George C. Marshall

• Army Chief of Staff

• Commander of US army during WW2

• Chief Military adviser of FDR

• Led the rapid growth of US forces , coordinated the Allies, and promoted post war reconstruction of Europe

Henry Stimson

• Secretary of War to FDR (1940-1945)

• Led charge calling for war on Germany

• Oversaw the training 13 million soldiers/aviators

• Supervised spending of 1/3 of nations GDP on Army and Air Forces

• Took personal control of construction and use of atomic bomb

Fred Korematsu

• December 1944, Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Korematsu vs US that exclusion order was justifiable in times of "Emergency and Peril"

• Challenged internship of Japanese-Americans

• Japanese-Americans were imprisoned without right to a trial

General Curtis LeMay

• Oversaw B-29 raids on Japan (US Army Air Corps)

• Ordered bombers to strike at night using incendiary bombs

• Firebombing Japanese cities created firestorms

• High altitude bombing proved ineffective over Japan

• March-August 1945, the raids killed around 330,000 Japanese

General George S. Patton

• Commander of US 3rd Army "Old Blood and Guts"

• Organized a relief operation to counter attack German Wehrmacht at the Battle of the Bulge

• Aggressive General who was nearly fired for slapping a soldier for cowardice

• Adopted German tactic of armored blitzkrieg

• One of the most effective combat commanders of WW2

General Holland Smith

• "Father" of modern US amphibious warfare

• Led invasion of Iwo Jima

• "Howlin' Mad"

• Trained military in ship to shore warfare (major factor in successful US landings in Europe and Pacific

Jimmy Doolittle

• The Doolittle Raid: Viewed as a major-morale building victory for US in opening months of Pacific War

• Led top-secret attack on Tokyo by 16 B-25 bombers from aircraft carrier USS Hornet