During the memorial service, the whole nation comes to a halt . Airplanes sit on runways; radios are silent; telephone service is cut off; movie theaters are closed; 505 New York subway trains are stopped . The whole nation pays tribute to the man who led it through two of its worst times—depression and world war—with courage and unfailing confidence. And they remember these words of his about the importance of American freedom to the whole world: "In the future days, we look forward to a world founded on four essential freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want. The fourth is freedom from fear ."

On April 30, twenty days after Roosevelt's funeral, Hitler is dead. He has killed himself. A week later, German leaders surrender to General Eisenhower in France. In June, cities all over Japan are firebombed. Millions are homeless, but the Japanese won't surrender. President Harry Truman decides to use the secret super weapon that scientists have been developing. At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the first atom bomb is dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima . The size and fury of the explosion are greater than anything ever created by humans . Ten days later, Emperor Hirohito asks his people to accept the coming of peace and surrender .