Articles

Typically, when I think of August I have memories of the summer ending, school starting and cool, fall days ahead. Yet I didn’t realize that August was one of the most significant months during the fight for Pacific dominance in World War II. Those war years were filled with a multitude of military activities: secret meetings, strategic planning, fierce fighting and many lost lives. Eventually peace came through the force of a powerful, secret weapon. All of these events converged in the 1940’s to change the course of history and the world. Surprisingly, many of these activities occurred during August.

Did you know that one of the most significant military proclamations was crafted seventy-two years ago today? If it had been accepted our history, the story of atomic energy, and Japan’s fate would have been very different. I am talking about the Potsdam Declaration that outlined the Japanese terms of surrender in World War II. It was definitely not the path that the Imperial Japanese military wanted to follow. Instead, they choose to keep fighting.

You think security is tight at the airport these days? Well, it is even more so at the Archives in Washington, DC, but not because someone is trying to hijack the place. The National Archives and Records Administration is “the guardian of our nation’s institutional memory.” Thus every precaution is taken so that three centuries of irreplaceable materials will remain safe and secure.