"A date which will live in infamy"

Today marks the 68th anniversary of America’s entry into World War II. The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is an organization that remembers those who served at Pearl Harbor. In honor of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, take a peek at their website for personal accounts, photos, and other information about this “date which will live in infamy.”

Tweeting WWII Memories

Twitter has become a popular way for people to share their thoughts in 140 characters or less and connect with others instantly. 90-year-old Kenneth Bailey has embraced this new form of technology as a way to share his experiences as a WWII Prisoner of War. Follow @POWKen on Twitter to read his fascinating diary. Thank you, Kenneth, for sharing your story with us. We thank you for your service.

Dad's WWII Letters to Mom

Dale Baker has dedicated a blog to his father’s letters to his mother during World War II. Duke’s letters tell the story of his personal journey during the war, focusing on his devotion to Anna Mae. Revealing everything from Duke’s sharp wit to his internal struggles, these letters are a fascinating read. Plus, Dale’s commentary and keen eye for web design add to this blog’s appeal. Thank you, Dale, for sharing your parents’ WWII memories with us.

Red Cross Scrapbooks

Sharing photos online is one of the best ways to keep memories alive. Take a look at what life was like for American Red Cross workers stationed overseas and at efforts from the home front in these online scrapbooks compiled by the American Red Cross Archival Collection. Here are some tips for scanning and preserving your own photos.

A Cartoonist's Experience as a Front Line Soldier

Bill Mauldin, a famous cartoonist, fought on the front line during World War II. Through his cartoons and book that he published in 1945, Mauldin provides an interesting take on the life and hardships experienced by combat soldiers. For more WWII stories, check out this website dedicated to telling eyewitness accounts from historical events.

Pearl Harbor from a Child's Perspective

On this website, Alice Adams recalls the Pearl Harbor attack, which she witnessed firsthand when she was just 10 years old. Her father was an Army Air Corps crewman stationed at Hickam Field adjacent to Pearl Harbor that day. Alice’s story is one of many personal accounts compiled by Ken Arnold to create his website dedicated to memories of World War II.

Remembering Your World War II Veteran- a Great Example

This post on American flyer William Fiske from the RAF Museum is a great example of a technically proficient web design. It tells the story of one American's experience in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. While you may not have all of the resources a museum might, this still serves as a good example to follow.

Map it!

Google Maps is an interesting way to plot your veteran's journey from hometown to theater of war. Relatives of Lt. Robert M. Cohan, a US Army Air Corps navigator, traced his journey after he was shot down on Dec. 28, 1944 to his return to the good old US of A on June 21, 1945. Discover Lt. Cohan's journey.

Tribute Pages: Templated, Fast & Easy

There are many free tools by which you can create a good-looking website devoted to your veteran without being a programming wiz or graphic designer. Tools like Blogger, which this site uses, and Squidoo, can get you up and going quickly and produce great results. Here are two examples:

Tammy Creech's Squidoo tribute to her grandfather Claud W. Creech, a hero of the Bastogne from Harlan, KY.

Craig Hullinger's Blogger site about his father Clifford's WWII unit, the 109th Engineers 34th Division. He's easily embedded video to the site.

Keen on Teen Historians

To extend the reach of any oral history project enlist the help of local teenagers. Young people have little knowledge of the War, but can be trained to ask questions to veterans and get them talking. The town of Littleton, Colorado, paired its teenagers with its WWII vets, including a Pearl Harbor survivor, for their community web page Memories of WWII. Take a look at what they did. Your town can do it, too.

Naval Gazing

The story of the USS Champlin, a wartime naval escort (left), is well-told online. The ship, built in 1942, saw service across the Atlantic, traveling to Italy, Casablanca and Bermuda. The website authors have wisely kept the design simple, and divided into easily navigable chapters: "history", "crew" even some recorded "sounds" - a series of sound files - and a link for reunions. The crew page has created pages for anyone who served, which is especially welcome. This is a good example of how to center wartime memories around an object (the ship), and divide a multi-faceted experience into easily accessible segments.