United States President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe deliver remarks following a wreath-laying ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan. Obama describes the horrors of World War Two and the destruction of the first atomic bomb and says that the U.S. and Japan have made choices since the Hiroshima bombing that should give the world hope and that the world needs to change its mindset about war and work toward peaceful cooperation. Prime Minister Abe, via a translator, talks about his address to the U.S. Congress in 2015 on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two and about the friendship between the U.S. and Japan.
Admiral Ellis M. Zacharias discusses his experiences during World War II and his opinions on current world politics in an interview. Zacharias says that there is no imminent or inevitable war coming, in his opinion, and argues that if the communist revolution in China succeeds they will not be influenced by Russia. Zacharias also describes his role in softening Japanese attitudes towards surrender through psychological warfare by focusing on the Japanese Navy.
Prudence Burns Burrell talks about enlisting in the the United States Army Nurse Corps as a registered nurse in 1942 and her service during World War Two in medical units in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. She also talks about the racism she experienced while in the Army, and marrying a medical administrator with whom she worked in the Philippines in a wedding dress made from a parachute.
Sgt. Robert Barry, speaking for all Kalamazoo military veterans, delivers a speech on the first anniversary of the allied victory in World War II. Barry says that veterans returned to find that their country was filled with bickering, confusion, and shortages. Rather than being allowed time to gently return to their old lives, he says, veterans were forced to become involved in their communities and in the nation to repair their country. He also asserts that while veterans may celebrate victory they must also dedicate themselves to ensuring a lasting peace.
NBC announcers set the stage for the only FDR fireside chat ever delivered before a live audience. FDR asks for broader powers to protect all of the Americas from the growing war in Europe.
Irene Hosking discusses her service in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. Hosking talks about meeting her husband as an enlisted soldier, getting married and worrying that their marriage would interfere with her military career. She also talks about serving as a nurse in Sydney, Brisbane, and Townsville, Australia, daily life in a field hospital, her dedication to military service, and her participation in the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. Hosking is interviewed by Kathryn Cavanaugh.
Elizabeth Crane Anesi talks about enlisting for officer training in the Women's U.S. Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942, establishing an embarkation point in San Francisco as her first major assignment, and how the WAAC was changed to the Women's Army Corps (WAC) within a year of her enlistment. Anesi also talks about being transferred to New York, visiting President Roosevelt's grave, establishing a rest and relaxation post at an unused dorm at Vassar College, and her last assignment which was conducting POW separation interviews in Indiana.