World War II

The oldest living survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining survivor of the USS Utah has died at age 105. Warren Upton died Wednesday at a hospital in Los Gatos, California.

A new film about the experience of the decorated veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team will be shown this Sunday. The Conversation talked to two of the actors featured in the film, Dann Seki and Allan Okubo.

A 100-year-old survivor of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor has died. Bob Fernandez died on Wednesday in Lodi, California, shortly after deteriorating health prompted him to skip a trip to Hawaiʻi to attend a remembrance ceremony marking the 83rd anniversary of the attack that propelled the U.S. into World War II.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor 83 years ago launched the United States into World War II. Two survivors returned to the Hawaiʻi military base for a remembrance ceremony on the attack's anniversary.

Today on the Conversation, we're re-airing a selection of interviews that focus on World War II.

HPR talked to USS Battleship Missouri Memorial curatorial assistant Molly Hagan about the practice called Yosegaki Hinomaru, which was meant to bring good luck to the soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army.

Two Hawaiʻi soldiers lost their lives 80 years ago in the Battle of Bruyere. They will be remembered at the American Cemetery at Epinal in France this weekend. The Conversation talked to Charles Djou who has served as Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission for the last two years.

The collections, hosted by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association, focus on war and genocide during the 1930s and 1940s. UH Mānoa is one of 50 U.S. libraries selected for the traveling exhibit.

We transport you to an island whose World War II history is unknown to many: Guam — "Where America's Day Begins." In December 1941, Japan seized Guam from the United States and controlled it for nearly three years. The U.S. recaptured the island on July 21, 1944 — now known as Liberation Day.

On June 6, 1944, the Allied nations stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, to push out the Germans. The Conversation talked to Russell Hart, a war historian and Hawaiʻi Pacific University professor, to give us context on this 80th anniversary.