#1 Vietnam War Pow Doug Hegdahl Pretended To Be Illiterate To Fool His Captors, Who Believed Him To Be So Stupid That They Gave Him Almost Free Rein Of The Camp
#2 The Most Decorated Unit Of World War II
#3 West German Chancellor Willy Brandt At The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial In Poland, Showing Remorse For German Atrocities Against Jews During The Uprising And War, 1970
Many of the photos on this list are related to the military and World War II. And as momentous as this historic event was, there are many myths about it that many people are likely unaware of.
Dr. Rob Citino, a senior historian at the National World War II Museum, debunked these myths in an interview with Time Magazine.
#4 In 1962, The U.S. Aircraft Carrier Uss Independence Encountered Italy's Amerigo Vespucci In The Mediterranean And Asked For Identification, After Receiving A Reply, The Americans Responded: "You Are The Most Beautiful Ship In The World"
#5 Just Picked Up 200 Stereoscopic Slides And Half Are WWI
One myth that Dr. Citino mentioned is that Adolf Hitler was solely to blame for the German defeat in World War II. It had even been in most of the books written about the war across Europe.
Dr. Citino clarified that in reality, the German generals also share part of the blame because they carried out Hitler’s plans, despite them being flawed.
#7 Nurse Dorothy Davis, A Member Of The Famed Angels Of Bataan, Smiles With Her Sister After Being Freed From Years Of Suffering As A Prisoner Of War At Santo Tomas In The Philippines. Feb 1945
#8 As Part Of Operation Chowhound In May 1945, An American B-17 Unloads A Load Of Food For The Starving Dutch Population Above The Completely Destroyed Schiphol
Another myth about WWII was that President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew about the Pearl Harbor attack in advance. People had blamed FDR for letting the attack happen anyway, which led to the demise of more than 2,500 American servicemen.
“People are willing to entertain the craziest conspiracy theories. There are no documents that come anywhere close to saying that FDR knew about Pearl Harbor in advance,” Dr. Citino said.
#10 Ho Chi Minh, Then Known As Nguyen AI Quoc, In France In 1919 To Advocate For The Independence Of Vietnam
#12 German Soldier Crying After Being Captured By The Us Army, Germany, April 1945
Dr. Citino has been advocating for education and the correction of misconceptions stemming from these myths about the war. As he noted, delving into the “why” often leads to uncovering the myths about these historical events.
#13 A US Soldier And His Girlfriend Waiting For A Train At Chicago Union Station In February 1943
#14 This Is Ruth Malcolmson, The Woman Who Won The 1924 Miss America Pageant
“Historians owe it to the millions of people who participated in this event,” Dr. Citino said. “When you try to dig as deeply as possible, you’ll often peel back the layers that you did not even suspect were there.”
#17 A Student Protester Flashes The Victory Sign In Front Of Chinese Pla Soldiers At Tiananmen Square, June 1, 1989
#18 An American Soldier Carries An Injured Filipina Girl Through The Rubble Of Manila, 23 February 1945
#20 Photo Of A German Mother Crying After Finding Out Her Captured Son Didn’t Survive In Soviet Union Pow Camps (1955)
