“President Franklin D. Roosevelt (standing) and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (right) speak from the south portico of the White House while lighting the official tree on Christmas Eve, 1941.”  Imagine the heavy hearts and trepidation for the world at this time.

Although the war began with Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland in September 1939, the United States did not enter the war until after the Japanese bombed the American fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.  The United States declared war against Japan the next day, December 8, 1941.

Inspirational photo by White House Archives