SOUNDING OFF:

The United States had been trying, for several years, to stay out of the European conflict that began in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland.

In fact, since the Great War (as World War I was originally called), the leading powers of the world sought to avoid war at all cost. In 1928, for example, 50 nations signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced war and encouraged all nations to settle their differences peacefully. This was the mindset of Neville Chamberlain, prime minister of Great Britain, when he went to negotiate a peace with Hitler in 1938.

The two men agreed that the lands of the Sudetenland would be returned to Germany if there would be no further aggression for lands in Czechoslovakia or the rest of Europe. Chamberlain was thrilled, proclaiming that there would now be “peace in our time.” Hitler, however, had no intention of keeping his part of the agreement.

Soon German troops were invading the rest of Czechoslovakia, Poland (1939), Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and then France. After the Great War, the French had built a line of defense against any invasion known as the Maginot Line. The Germans troops easily advanced across these defenses, however, with their “blitzkrieg,” or lightning war. The attack on Britain was next. Britain, under the leadership of their new prime minister, Winston Churchill, resolved to “never surrender.” Through all of this, the United States still remained “isolationist” — which meant that Americans continued to want no part of war. They believed the Atlantic was the great barrier to protect them from the conflicts in Europe.

Americans were also still recovering from the economic struggles of the Great Depression which began with the Great Market Crash of 1929. They were busy with problems of their own.

Meanwhile, our isolationist policies were having dire consequences in Asia. A militaristic and increasingly aggressive Japan was determined to conquer and dominate more and more of Asia as they sought to become a large world power. Japan resented the colonial powers in Asia. They resented America’s presence. In 1931, Japan invaded the northern Chinese province of Manchuria. In 1937 Japan invaded Nanking, where 200,000 civilians were killed.

America’s determination to remain uninvolved seemed only to feed the aggressive tendencies of Germany and Japan. President Franklin Roosevelt declared that the “epidemic of world lawlessness is spreading,” but this warning was unpopular, and Roosevelt had to back off this warning as he sought a third term in the election of 1940.

Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor ended this reluctance to participate in war. More than 2,400 Americans were killed. The Battleship Arizona was sunk and now is a memorial in Pearl Harbor. The provoked and angry Americans rallied as Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States. We became embroiled in a full-blown war effort. We aided the Allies in Europe, but fought the War of the Pacific on our own.

In June, 1942, the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands, off of the coast of Alaska. Americans now feared further attacks and even invasions of the American mainland. Submarines were spotted off the West Coast, and periods of blackouts were instituted to avoid silhouetting urban areas for attacks. This intense fear resulted in a roundup of the Japanese and a resettlement into internment camps. While the threat of attack was legitimate and Japanese spies were plotting among the citizenry, many innocent families suffered as their property was confiscated and their businesses destroyed while they were confined for the duration of the war. This was a harsh consequence of war as the American government sought to protect its citizens.

Americans now rallied to an all-out war effort. Men became soldiers and women left their homes to participate in businesses and wartime industries. Rosie the Riveter became a famous icon, signifying that women were willing and able to serve their country, too. American soldiers left for Europe, and preparations for the massive invasion known as the D-Day invasion of Normandy began.

No less important was the war in the Pacific. Americans had to fight this war alone. Some battles, such as the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, were fought in the middle of the Pacific. Then the island hopping began as the Japanese and Americans sought to gain control of the many small islands which could be used as supply bases or airstrips for dominance in the region — Guadalcanal, Tarawa, the Marshall Islands, Guam, the islands of the Marianas including Saipan, New Guinea, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Firebombing of Tokyo and other vital cities began in an effort to break the will of the Japanese people. Their total dedication to their Emperor Hirohito, however, caused them to suffer in silence and submission. Kamikaze pilots deliberately flew their airplanes into aircraft. Japanese soldiers were told to fight to their death. The Japanese were a formidable enemy to defeat. Suffering declining health, President Roosevelt died suddenly in Warm Springs, Ga., in 1945.

When Truman took the helm of the presidency, he was surprised to learn of the top secret development of the atomic bomb. To save the lives of more than 100,000 American soldiers, he decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The Japanese still refused to surrender. After a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the Japanese finally agreed to end the war, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur oversaw the signing of the peace documents in Tokyo Harbor on the battleship Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945.

SHERRY MARRON lives in Costa Mesa.