1942

To the generation of Americans who lived through it, the Second World War was the defining event of the 20th century, and the defining events of that war were played out in the year 1942. It was a time when an unexpected attack on American territory pulled an unprepared country into a terrifying new brand of warfare with a ruthless enemy. Soon after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, German U-boats were sinking hundreds of US merchant ships, some right off the American coast. In the Pacific, Japan's Army and Navy far outmatched those of the United States and was threatening the American mainland…