All Americans, military and civilians were outraged that so many of our men had been killed in the Pearl Harbor bombing and our battleships badly damaged or sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.   We resolved to win the war, no matter how long it took or what it cost.  The President of the United States was Franklin D. Roosevelt and on December 8, 1941, he went on the radio and declared war on the Axis Powers.

So now, it felt like America was fighting two wars in different parts of the world because we also took on the enemies in Europe.   Civilians were rationed immediately;  we learned to get along without meat, sugar, new clothes, vacations, gasoline, new cars and many other things we had grown to appreciate.   Women sent their husbands, sons and boyfriends to war.   Many never came home again.   These women then went to work in airplane factories or ran the family business, formerly operated by their husbands, who were now fighting a war overseas.

World War II cost America 406,872 military men "Killed in Action" and 78,750 "Missing in Action".   In Europe, the war lasted until June 1945 when Germany surrendered.   Japan formally surrendered on September 2, 1945.   Americans were exhausted by this time, partly from frustration because of our inability to "go in and get" our POWs away from the enemy.   American military forces were stretched to the limit, making a rescue impossible.   Besides, we were aware (and it has been documented) that if we tried to rescue our men with ground troops, the Japanese soldiers would kill all American POWs and leave no evidence they had ever existed.   Japan's surrender came only because America dropped an atomic bomb which caused the surrender, saving the lives of thousands of Americans and Japanese.

As the year 1945 drew to a close, the citizens of the United States were still a free people and a stronger nation than ever before.   The long hard fight, the sacrifices and the loss of thousands meant that American children would be free.   Free to live their lives as human beings are supposed to live.   We have all heard that Freedom isn't Free and we Americans have learned that the hard way many times over the past 200 years.

The ADBC website, carrying this story is about the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and Philippine Scouts who fought the war in the "Pacific".   The price they paid in physical and mental agony was very, very high as most of them were Prisoners of War for almost 4 years.   They were captured in the Spring of 1942 and sent to POW prison camps and work details (forced labor) with no pay and one bowl of rice per day.   Thousands of Americans died of torture, starvation or disease while being held by the Japanese government.   It is now more than 50 years since these brave survivors came home.   Each one is now past 75 years of age, and has a story to tell.   Many of their stories can be found on the "Biography" page of our ADBC website.

Story posted:  April 1999



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