#1 N.M. Helps Win WWII

The Allied Powers, led by England, France, and the Soviet Union, tried to stop German expansion in Europe. Germany and its allies, Italy and Japan, known as the Axis Powers, resisted. The Allies declared war on Germany when Hitler's military invaded Poland in 1939.

As in World War I, the United States tried to stay out of the conflict for as long as it could. President Roosevelt's administration sent ships and supplies to help the Allies defeat Hitler, but he warned Americans that someday they might have to join the fight.

President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan the next day. The president called December 7 a "date which will live in infamy." The United States joined the Allies in their fight against the Axis Powers in both Europe and Asia. 

Many New Mexicans were already in the military when 'World War Il began. More than 1,800 New Mexicans had volunteered to serve in the National Guard. In 1941", many of these soldiers traveled to the Philippine Islands to help defend that U.S. territory just months before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Japanese attacked the Philippines within hours of their attack on Pearl Harbor. American forces, including those from New Mexico, fought the invaders. Although they fought as long and as hard as they could, U.S. forces in the Philippines were forced to surrender

In April 1942, the Japanese captured at least 10,000 American and 60,000 Filipino troops and forced them to march 65 miles to a prison camp where they remained for three years. During the march, Japanese soldiers withheld food and water and viciously, beat many of the prisoners of war (POWs). Execution squads following behind killed those who became too weak or sick to go on. This became known as the Bataan Death March.