"How and when do nations come into existence, how and when do they pass away, and how and when can men decide the outcome by their action?"1 The most successful attempts at nation building by the United States have been the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and Japan after the Second World War. This research paper compares and contrasts the surrender, occupation, and reconstruction that occurred in each country in order to obtain lessons learned that may be applied to current and future attempts at nation building.