World War 2 Flashcards

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