In 1942, Nixon joined the Navy, serving in the South Pacific during World War II.

24: American troops land in Samoa, as part of a strategy to stop the Japanese advance in the Pacific. 23: The Battle of Rabaul, on New Britain begins. : At the Vilna Ghetto the Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye a Jewish partisan organisation is established, including Aba Kovner.

21: Rommel's Afrika Korps begins a surprise counter-offensive at El Agheila his troops, with new reinforcements and tanks, capture Agedabia, then push north to Beda Fomm. Japanese bomb Singapore as their troops approach the city. 20: Nazis at the Wannsee conference in Berlin decide that the ' final solution to the Jewish problem' is relocation, and later extermination. 19: Japanese forces take large numbers of British troops prisoner, north of Singapore. 15: German authorities begin to deport Jews from the Lodz ghettos to the Chelmno Concentration Camp. Allied governments-in-exile in London issue a declaration entitled Punishment for War Crimes demanding post-war legal retribution for atrocities in German-occupied Europe. The German U-boat offensive comes closer to the US shores starting the Second Happy Time. 13: The Red Army takes Kirov and Medya, as its counter-offensive continues. 11: Japanese troops capture Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. 10: Japan declares war on the Netherlands. 9: Japanese advances in Borneo met with little opposition. 8: Japanese troops penetrated the outer lines of defense at Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. Heavy air attacks on Malta it is estimated that the bomb tonnage dropped on the island is twice that dropped on London. 7: The Soviet Winter counter-offensive comes to a halt, after having pushed the exhausted and freezing German Army back 62–155 mi from Moscow.

In his State of the Union speech, President Roosevelt promises more aid to Britain, including planes and troops. 6: The British advance continues to El Agheila, on the western edge of Libya. 5: The beginning of a major Red Army offensive under General Zhukov. They also take Cavite naval base, and the American and Filipino troops continue the retreat into Bataan. 2: Manila is captured by Japanese forces.

January 1: Twenty-six Allied countries signed the Declaration by United Nations during the Arcadia Conference.

In 1942, Nixon joined the Navy, serving in the South Pacific during World War II.