During WWII, countless products were limited in order to help meet the demands both of the military and the citizens back home. Here’s a look at what those war ration books and rationing stamps looked like.
American War history
Looking for events during a specific war period? See Civil War, WWI, WWII — or choose a specific year here.
The hit Matthew Broderick WarGames movie showed such a realistic WW3 scenario that it led to the creation of a 1986 anti-hacking law.
Since “loose lips sink ships,” keeping people from oversharing during WWII was a huge deal. These posters were created specifically to remind people to keep quiet about what the military was doing.
Here’s a close-up look at several vintage WW2 tanks, along with insight on how to ‘jockey’ these huge machines, plus some more about the Sherman and Grant tanks’ impressive military history.
M*A*S*H debuted on TV in 1972, and centered around a team of doctors during the Korean War in the early 50s. M*A*S*H was a huge success, lasting for 11 seasons, and broke records on its way out.
Did a lie and nine blank cartridges win independence for America? The war ended at Yorktown. It was there, on October 19, 1781, that Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. Find out more of the story here!
There is no more sordid or cynical chapter in IG Farben’s entire ugly history than the story of the concentration camp it built and ran for itself.
These WW2 escape & evasion maps were made of strong but lightweight silk cloth, and were issued to troops going into war zones so they could find their way around in hostile territory.
Look back at these D-Day pictures and remember that a German nation with super-race delusions once actually planned to conquer the world.
A traditional Memorial Day celebration is a mix of somber remembrance, family togetherness & fun. We’ve gathered some ideas to help you plan a perfect holiday
Below are a few photos of actor/assassin John Wilkes Booth, along with some theater advertisements that appeared in newspapers during the years leading up to President’s Lincoln’s murder.
The M1 helmet was a WW2 helmet used by the United States military in the 1940s, and the M1C helmet was designed especially for paratroopers. Take a look up-close, inside and out!
Among the most famous letters in history was the one written near the end of the Civil War by President Lincoln to Mrs. Lydia Bixby of Boston.
Take a look back at all kinds of American WWII military medals, decorations, shoulder insignia and other Army and Navy honors from the 1940s and earlier.
In June 1919, a peace treaty with Germany was signed in France, and formally brought an end to the Great War, which we now call World War I.
Here are more 20 colorfully-illustrated vintage Memorial day postcards for the national American holiday originally known as Decoration Day. These patriotic antique cards are all from the early 1900s.
The important events described here were the beginning of the end of the Civil War, though the official declaration was signed on May 10, 1865.
WWII Victory gardens from the 1940s: How people planted them, and how you can grow your own even now
During World War II, people needed to help ease the nation’s burden by growing as much of their own food as possible in what they called Victory Gardens. Here’s how they did it!
This is a detailed account of what would come to be known as The Battle of the Wilderness, which was the first battle of Grant’s
The woman on the iconic ‘We can do it!’ posters from the 1940s encouraged women to join the WWII workforce – and they did. Here, see 46 real-life Rosie the Riveters who built bombers and transport planes.
Find out about the famous B-17 Flying Fortress planes from WWII – how they were invented, built, tested and used – and what happened to them after the war was finally over.
The lads and gents who were out fighting during the hard years of the Civil War didn’t just have battle plans on their minds. They were often bored and lonely, and looked for entertainment, news of home – and love – through letters.
Miracle In The Rain, a classic love story, stars Jane Wyman and Van Johnson as two lonesome people who meet in a small building-doorway during a dismal New York downpour.
By looking back at these old Civil War recruitment posters & broadsides, you can see what was being offered to men as an incentive to sign up to fight in the Civil War — and what exactly the leaders were looking for in troops back in the 1860s.
The Allies weren’t just trying to create the very best WWII fighter planes that they could – they were also constantly evaluating what the Nazis were using. Here’s a look.
The Civil War wasn’t going well for the Union in the early weeks of December 1861 – and it was going still worse for William Tecumseh Sherman. Find out why here.
The Civil War’s bloodiest day: Lee turned back at Antietam (1962) A look back on the centennial, by Merton T. Akers — The Lawrence Gazette
In Gaby, playing off one of the more haunting love mix-ups of World War II, a French-born dancer in London (Miss Caron) meets an American soldier. Then he is sent overseas, and soon presumed lost.
There have been tales of what happened at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota in 1890. Here, see original vintage news reports of the battle, plus a historical review of the events from 1976.;
Dorothy Lamour, American actress and singer, wasn’t just a star on the screen – she also threw her weight behind numerous WWII war bond sales efforts, and topped those charts.
See what it looked like during President Lincoln’s historic Gettysburg Address speech, plus eyewitness accounts, analysis, full text & and a handwritten copy of the speech.
What is VJ Day? It means “Victory in Japan” day – the celebration that marked the end of WWII when Japan finally announced its surrender to Allied forces in the summer of 1945. Here’s a look back.
Take a few minutes to reflect on the awesome and terrifying power unleashed on the world in the summer of 1945 during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki while remembering the lives lost – and those possibly saved.
Women’s Army Corps recruitment ads and posters during WWII tempted the ladies with things like, ‘Are you a girl with star-spangled heart? Join the WAC now! Thousands of Army jobs need filling!’
The slogan ‘Navy. It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure’ was the core one of the most successful military ad campaigns in history. Here, see how it was used.
The Rosedown mansion in Louisiana was built in 1835, and after eventually falling into disrepair, was renovated in the ’60s. Here’s a look inside!
During World War I, patriotic citizens were asked to eat less of certain foods, and to avoid waste. See how WWI food rationing posters promoted these goals.
Take a look back at how America – and the world – celebrated Victory in Europe Day, meaning World War II was nearly over.
Camp Roberts, in central California, was one of the military’s top training sites during World War II. Here’s a peek at what life was like there.
‘Donald Gets Drafted,’ was a vintage movie short released by Disney early in World War II. Shown nationwide, the cartoon earned the high marks of a ‘swell’ rating.
As new Navy torpedo boats were launched during WWII, Walt Disney was asked to design an insignia. He did – then did created dozens more.
In October 1918, near the end of WWI, The New York Tribune and other newspapers nationwide carried the line at the top of the front page: AMERICA’S HISTORIC ANSWER: UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.
See clips of past Civil Defense films from the ’50s & ’60s, plus how to make a bomb shelter, what to stock, and more details from the Cold War era.
With a blinding flash of light, 100,000 people or more were killed instantly when the United States dropped a bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945.
Frederick Douglass, who was born a slave in Talbot county, Maryland, in 1817, was the one conspicuous anti-slavery agitator who spoke of the wrongs and cruelty of slavery from personal experience.
Find out why vintage Iver Johnson safety revolvers were said to be safe – including a little demonstration with a hammer.
At the height of his fame, Elvis Presley was drafted into the US Army. Here, see 20 photos of the man in uniform.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war.
To obtain some guidance for young men and their parents about the draft during the Vietnam War era, US News & World Report asked draft officials 20 questions.
See original vintage headlines, news stories, photos and more from the Japanese attack on Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor, marking the American entry into WWII.
M*A*S*H actress Loretta Swit snagged the role of the haughty, by-the-book chief nurse, Major Margaret (Hot Lips) Houlihan for the TV series, and made it all her own.
Model kits: Build guided missile ships… jet planes (1956) with Revell Authentic Kits from Woolworth’s U.S.S. BOSTON, first Guided Missile Cruiser, built 1955. Revell model
Are you an undiscovered military genius? You could find out with these Vintage Gamemaster board games from MB, by living the drama of history’s most exciting battles.
Find out what set in motion the deadly chain of events that led to General Custer’s troops being overwhelmed by Sitting Bull’s force of 8,000 Lakota & Cheyenne during The Battle of Little Bighorn.
The postcards below were published in Ladies’ Home Journal magazine back in 1918, at the height of World War I. There were four categories —
To help keep an eye on the war, during both WWI and WWII, the Navy asked to borrow binoculars from American citizens, paying them $1 per pair – which was much cheaper and simpler than buying new optics for the military.
‘Let us always be willing to give them whatever credit is their due.’ 186,000 men of African descent fought for the Union in the Civil War. Here are some antique portraits showing just a few of these soldiers.
Here are some sweet, small-town Fourth of July parade, picnic and other carefree fun of the Independence Day celebrations in Vale, Oregon on July 4, 1941.
When the flowers are reverently placed on the graves on Memorial Day, there will be many indebted to General John Alexander Logan. Here’s why.
Here’s a Vietnam War map showing men and weapons in South Vietnam at the start of 1968 — US / Allied / South Viet / VC-NVA
Find out more about World War II’s important military offensive, the Battle of the Bulge, and see several pictures from the snowy scene.
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress, and the United States formally declared war – The Great War, which became known as World War 1 – on April 6, 1917.
While his name might not be as well-known as others, Hudson Maxim was an important American inventor, chemist and author.
Being the heavyweight champion didn’t exclude Muhammad Ali from the draft during the height of the Vietnam War in 1967 – but it didn’t mean he was going to go willingly.
Range: Anywhere on Earth — and your Air Force has it! The Consolidated B-36 can carry a 10,000 pound atomic bomb to a target 5,000 miles away, drop it, then return to base.
The history of revolvers, rifles & other guns comes to you from an encyclopedia published in the late 1930s or early 1940s, and offers a unique perspective on these weapons.
As battles in Vietnam go, this one was only a minor skirmish. But it made clear the frustrating array of problems facing U.S. troops as they move into a more active combat role as the buildup goes on.
Memo to June Graduates: Here are your choices under the draft You can take your chances, hoping you never will be called. Many are trying this.
The third-generation carrier sailor parachuted into Truc Ban Lake northwest of Hanoi while his stricken jet plunged into a factory compound. I was going at 500 knots, inverted, and my plane was a spinning fireball. At 4,000 feet, I ejected.”
Harriet Tubman was born Araminta Ross — nicknamed “Minty” — around 1820-1823. She died on March 10, 1913, in Auburn, New York. In the words
President Lincoln’s call to arms – and the start of the Civil War The day after the surrender of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln met with
WAR DECLARED: See 31 consecutive front page headlines from DC from those tumultuous weeks leading to the outbreak of hostilities in WWI back in 1914.
Bob Crane, a breezy, articulate ex-drummer and recent disc jockey-turned-actor, stars in Hogan’s Heroes, a CBS comedy series which has Col. Hogan (Crane) as the leader of Allied prisoners in a German POW camp in World War II.
It is useless to deny that motion picture stars have been getting the best of it (as to immunity from draft). Some have been given special deferments and choice assignments and have been allowed extra months to finish pictures before having to report for active duty.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr has hit in fact on a true science-fiction subject. As an American prisoner, in German hands, he was a witness to the Dresden holocaust, that appalling Day of Judgment for thousands — although who deserves to be judged by whom is less obvious than you may think.
The Allies today sent their invading forces against Adolf Hitler’s occupied Europe. The long-awaited invasion was announced by General Dwight Eisenhower with the promise that the high command would accept nothing short of victory.
Regular US combat units were deployed to Vietnam beginning in 1965, and while America’s direct military involvement ended on August 15, 1973, the last soldiers left Vietnam on March 29, 1975. Here, take a look back at how some of the military action was portrayed stateside by Newsweek magazine.
Fabian said he was taken to Auschwitz 10 months ago with 500,000 other Hungarian Jews, and that 400,000 were gassed and cremated in the first two months, and that only 1,000 remained alive.
This story appeared at the beginning of 1918, but by the time the year had closed out, Hobart “Hobie” Baker was dead — killed by
Americans hurried to flee at the end of the Vietnam War, when the United States pulled out of the fight, and Saigon surrendered to communism.
Amid the most dramatic scenes ever witnessed in Congress, the house early today passed the resolution which formally declared Germany as an enemy and launched the United States in the fight for the democracy of the world.
On D-Day June 6, 1944, after the jump, my group of approximately 80 men met with Colonel Shanley’s group of about 120 men on the outskirts of the town of Picauville.
Even before she wrote Little Women, she was eminent in her family… Louisa May Alcott was a big, lovable, tender-hearted, generous girl, with black hair, thick and long, and flashing, humorous black eyes.
Telegram: Order to appear (1917) Received at SE Corner Pine & Montgomery Sts., San Francisco – Always open San Francisco, Calif – Aug 1 1917 Percy
