Cobblestone American History and Current Events for Kids and Children November/December 2024

If you look at a map of the North Pacific Ocean, Midway Atoll appears to be a speck in the middle of it, located about halfway between the continents of Asia and North America. Sometimes called Midway Island or simply Midway, it is part of the Hawaiian archipelago. That chain of islands extends 1,500 miles across the North Pacific. Midway is one of the western-most points. It is a remote, unincorporated U.S. territory and the only part that is not included in the state of Hawaii. Like the eight main Hawaiian Islands, which are the tips of ancient volcanoes created more than 27 million years ago, a volcano once existed at Midway Atoll, too. But the island slowly eroded. Its central part fell below sea level, leaving a six-mile-wide lagoon.…

Japan seemed to be itching for a fight in the 1930s. It had spent a number of years engaging in battles with China. But in July 1937, Japan launched an all-out war to dominate that country. By 1939, it controlled parts of eastern China, but China’s determined resistance resulted in a military stalemate. Hoping to put an end to the conflict in Asia, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt sent Japanese officials a warning. He threatened to cut trade with Japan if it did not withdraw from China. In February 1941, he moved the U.S. Pacific Fleet from San Diego, California, to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as a further warning to Japan. But World War II (1939–1945) was being fought in Europe, and Germany’s invading forces had quickly defeated a number of…

After the Battle of Midway, Allied forces went on the attack. On August 7, 1942, U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. For the next six months, with U.S. Navy and Army support, the Marines held their position against Japanese ground, air, and sea attacks. In February 1943, the Japanese abandoned both Guadalcanal and New Guinea. As the war continued, Japan could not recover from the heavy losses it sustained. America’s wartime industry, meanwhile, kicked into high gear and was able to replace U.S. losses. New navy vessels led the offensive that was launched in 1943. Using air and sea attacks, the Allied forces adopted a new strategy. They skipped over locations where there was a large Japanese force and landed instead on islands where they could establish…

Japan had a basic three-step plan for its Pacific Ocean conquest. Step 1: Destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor and seize territory in the South Pacific while the United States was unable to retaliate. Step 2: Create a defensive perimeter that extended eastward and southward in the Pacific Ocean. Step 3: Seize natural resources from newly captured territory while exhausting the enemy to the point that it must sue for peace. Beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese leaders believed that they had six months to complete their plan. They wasted no time. The Philippines (a U.S. commonwealth), Guam and Wake Island (U.S. territories), Malaya and Singapore (parts of the British Empire), and the country of Thailand were attacked at almost the same…

The earsplitting Klaxon horn sounded, and the loudspeakers of the USS Hornet blared: “Now hear this! Army pilots, man your planes!” Rain pelted the pilots as they ran toward their aircraft. Large waves sent water over the ship’s bow and caused the large carrier to toss up and down. On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25s, each carrying four 500-pound bombs, were readied for takeoff on a daring mission: a long-range attack on Tokyo, Japan, led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle of the U.S. Army Air Force. The story of the Doolittle raid began several months earlier. After bombing the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Japanese went unchecked as they seized territory in the Pacific Ocean. The United States lost both personnel and territory in…

Japan had big plans for expanding its empire in the South Pacific Ocean. Among other things, it wanted to isolate the Allied nations of Australia and New Zealand. One of its initial steps toward that goal was the capture of Rabaul, New Britain, on January 23, 1942. Japanese forces established a large air and naval base on the island. From it, they could launch other attacks. Within a few months, the stage was set for Operation MO. Operation MO referred to the planned Japanese invasion of two locations defended by Australian forces: Tulagi in the Solomon Islands and Port Moresby in southeastern New Guinea. Port Moresby is just across the Coral Sea from Australia. The Japanese thought that once they controlled that city, Australia and points south would be cut…