African Americans and World War II



African Americans in World War II

During the war. For many African Americans, the war offered an opportunity to get out of the cycle of crushing rural poverty. Blacks joined the military in large numbers, escaping a decade of Depression and tenant farming in the South and Midwest. Yet, like the rest of America in the 1940s, the armed forces were segregated.

The Army accepted black enlistees but created separate black infantry regiments and assigned white commanders to them. The Army Air Corps' black fighter wing was completely separate, training at an all black university at Tuskegee, Alabama. The Navy segregated Negro units and gave them the most menial jobs on ships. And the Marines, at least initially, didn't even accept African Americans. At every training base, black and white soldiers were kept apart.

But in the chaos of war, segregation broke down. It's hard to keep the races apart when both are being attacked.

The breakdown began as early as Pearl Harbor. As the battleship U.S.S. Arizona was sinking and still under attack, a Negro seaman who had been trained as nothing but a mess man rushed to the deck, grabbed an unmanned anti-aircraft machinegun and kept firing until his ammunition ran out. Only then did he abandon ship. For months, the Navy refused to even identify the sailor. Negro newspapers kept the story alive, and the Navy finally identified him as Dorie Miller and awarded him a medal.

The Tuskegee Airmen were assigned to North Africa and later to Italy. They flew 200 bomber escort missions over southern Europe without allowing a single bomber to be shot down by enemy fighters. Their longest mission took them over Berlin where they encountered at least eight of the new, fast jet fighters. They shot down two and damaged the other five. The unit received two Presidential citations, and individual flyers received 150 medals.

Yet discrimination continued at home. Thurman Hoskins left the rural community of York, Nebraska, for basic training in Louisiana. At first, his black unit was issued sticks instead of guns. "We were trained with sticks how to do all of the things that you do," he says. Later they were issued the same Garand M-1 rifles the white troops had had. "It was kind of nice to have a gun instead of a stick."

After the war. When Black, Hispanic, and Native American soldiers returned they found a country that still did not grant them full rights, but a movement for the expansion of civil rights had been born. Some black soldiers who had left farm jobs in the South decided not to return home. Instead, they moved to cities, looking for work that was similar to what they had learned in the armed forces. This movement represented an intensification of the black migration that began around the turn of the century.

Many, like Birdie Farr, credit the war with helping break up discrimination. "The war broke up a lot of that prejudice," she says. "You were there to do a job. And if you can do it, you're going to do it not matter what color you are. You work next to the next guy. Your life depended on him regardless of what color they are."

WOMEN AND WWII

When the United States entered World War II, American women were called on to serve the nation in many ways. Unprecedented numbers of women entered the ranks of factory workers, helping American industry meet the wartime production demands for planes, tanks, ships, and weapons. It was through this aspect of war work that the most famous image of female patriotism in World War II emerged, Rosie the Riveter. Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories during World War II, many of whom worked in the manufacturing plants that produced ammunitions and material. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. The character is considered a feminist icon in the US.

Employment

Women took on many paid jobs in new factories or old factories that were converted from civilian products; like cars. They also filled many traditionally female jobs that were created by the war boom—as waitresses, for example. And they broke into jobs that had almost always been held by men—such as bank teller or shoe salesperson. Nearly one million women worked as so called "government girls," taking jobs in the federal government, mainly in Washington, DC, that had previously been held by men or were newly created to deal with the war effort. During World War II, women began to gain more respect and men realized that women actually could work outside of the home. They fought for equal pay and made a huge impact on the United States workforce. They began to take over "male" jobs and gained confidence in themselves.

In general when they replaced men they came with fewer skills. Industry retooled its machine jobs so that unskilled workers could handle them. (This opened many jobs for men who had been unemployed in the 1930s). Some unions tried to maintain the same pay scale as men had because they expected men to resume their jobs after the war. At the Oak Ridge plant separating U-235 for the Manhattan Project, it was noted that the girl "hill-billy" operators employed by Tennessee Eastman outperformed the scientists first used on the calutrons.

Women staffed millions of jobs in community service roles, such as USO and Red Cross while the men were at war. Here, many women held stereotypical jobs as nurses.

Women Air force Service Pilots

The Women Airforce Service Pilots, also known as WASP, and the predecessor groups the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) (official from September 10, 1942) were each a pioneering organization of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces during gender-sensitive days of World War II that eventually would number in the thousands of female pilots, each freeing up a male pilot for combat service and duties. The WFTD and WAFS were combined on August 5, 1943 to create the para-military WASP organization.

Women played a huge part in transforming gender roles during WWII. They worked in jobs usually designed for men. Rosie the Riveter encouraged them to work in factories and industries, while some stayed in the nursing or education fields. By 1945, 40% of all women were working, which was a huge increase. At the end of WWII, the men came back, and many reclaimed their jobs in factories. Women were replaced, and most went back to jobs as teachers, secretaries, or homemakers.

Mexican Americans and World War II

World War II had an enormous impact on Latinos in the United States, including Mexican Americans. Mexican Americans were drafted into or volunteered for the U.S. armed services, where they had the highest percentage of Congressional Medal of Honor winners of any minority in the United States.

The war also fueled Latino migration to the United States. As defense industries grew and many workers went off to war, industries experienced acute labor shortages. Women and African Americans entered industry in large numbers to help address these shortages, and temporary workers from Puerto Rico and Mexico, or braceros, were through the Bracero Program, a 1942 labor agreement between the United States and Mexico.

Although the Bracero Program brought Mexicans to the United States to work primarily in agriculture, some workers were also employed in various industries. Over 100,000 contracts were signed between 1943 and 1945 to recruit and transport Mexican workers to the United States for employment on the railroads. By early 1945, the bracero population in the Philadelphia area numbered approximately 1,000, most of who worked on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Living in substandard conditions in “box car camps,” the laborers had little contact with the general population and limited access to healthcare, recreation, translators, or legal aid.

Since most war-related job opportunities existed in urban centers, there was considerable migration of Mexican Americans to the cities in the decades of the 1940s and 1950s. In Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona, there was a large exodus of the population to the urban centers. California had the largest population increase, giving it a Mexican-American population equal to that of Texas.

One of the most serious incidents of discrimination occurred during World War II in the Zoot-Suit Riots of Los Angeles. The incident received its name from the type of clothing, known as a “zoot suit,” worn by many young Mexican Americans of the early 1940s. In the summer of 1943, a dispute between a Mexican American and an Anglo erupted into widespread rioting. Anglo members of the armed forces were soon joined by civilians in a spree of attacking and beating Mexican Americans wherever they were found.

With the end of the war and the return of troops from overseas, the railroad workers were required to return to Mexico (many Puerto Ricans, who were citizens, decided to remain).

Serving or working abroad, or moving to a large city expanded the horizons of a generation of Mexican Americans. Like many African Americans, they had sacrificed for their adopted country, they began to want more of the American Dream: better education, better jobs, and an end to racism and discrimination. They considered themselves as Americans and wanted their full civil rights. Many decided to change the system in which they were reared.

The termination of the war also brought into being the "G.I. Bill." This act provided veterans with opportunities for employment, high school and college education, job training, and resources for purchasing homes and life insurance. Many Mexican Americans took advantage of the G.I Bill. For the first time, they entered college in large numbers. Within a few years after the war, their slightly higher educational achievements would lead to greater opportunities.

Native Americans and World War II

Some 44,000 Native Americans served in the United States military during World War II. By 1940, a large fraction of American Indians lived off reservations; their experiences in the war mirrored the general population. Of special interest was the enormous impact the war had on Indians living on reservations, mostly in remote western areas. The war meant the draft for young men, and high paying war jobs in far-away cities for others. Most of those who left the reservations did not return permanently after the war.

The young men were drafted and served in integrated units. For the first time they got to know whites of diverse backgrounds and were given technical training in the many skills needed by the military. Their fellow soldiers often held them in high esteem, in part since the legend of the tough Indian warrior had become a part of the fabric of American historical legend. White servicemen sometimes showed a lighthearted respect toward American Indian comrades by calling them "chief."

The resulting increase in contact with the world outside of the reservation system brought profound changes to American Indian culture. "The war," said the U.S. Indian commissioner in 1945, "caused the greatest disruption of Indian life since the beginning of the reservation era", affecting the habits, views, and economic well-being of tribal members. The most significant of these changes was the opportunity—as a result of wartime labor shortages—to find well-paying work.

Code Talkers

Code talkers was a term used to describe people who talk using a coded language. It is frequently used to describe Native Americans who served in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages. Code talkers transmitted these messages over military telephone or radio communications nets using formal or informally developed codes built upon their native languages. Their service was very valuable because it enhanced the communications security of vital front line operations during World War II.

The name code talkers is strongly associated with bilingual Navajo speakers specially recruited during World War II by the Marines to serve in their standard communications units in the Pacific Theater. Code talking, however, was pioneered by Choctaw Indians serving in the U.S. Army during World War I. These soldiers are referred to as Choctaw Code Talkers.

Other Native American code talkers were used by the United States Army during World War II, using Cherokee, Choctaw and Comanche soldiers. Soldiers of Basque ancestry were used for code talking by the US Marines during World War II in areas where other Basque speakers were not expected to be operating.

The code talkers received no recognition until the declassification of the operation in 1968. In 1982, the code talkers were given a Certificate of Recognition by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who also named August 14, 1982 "Navajo Code Talkers Day".

On December 21, 2000 the U.S. Congress passed, and President Bill Clinton signed, Public Law 106-554, 114 Statute 2763, which awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to twenty-nine World War II Navajo code talkers. In July 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush personally presented the Medal to four surviving code talkers (the fifth living code talker was not able to attend) at a ceremony held in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC. Gold medals were presented to the families of the 24 code talkers no longer living.

Japanese Americans

In any time of war, groups are often “demonized” if they are a member of the “enemy” race, culture, religion, or heritage. This was especially true for Japanese-Americans during WWII. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, many citizens viewed Japanese-Americans as a potential threat. Even the U.S. government considered this an issue of national security. This internal fear led to Japanese internment.

Executive Order 9066, issued February 19, 1942 by President Roosevelt, allowed local military commanders to designate "military areas" from which "any or all persons may be excluded." This power was used to declare that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire West Coast, including all of California and much of Oregon, Washington and Arizona, except for those in government camps. Approximately 5,000 "voluntarily" relocated outside the exclusion zone, and some 5,500 community leaders arrested after Pearl Harbor were already in custody, but the majority of mainland Japanese were "evacuated" from their West Coast homes over the spring of 1942.

The United States Census Bureau assisted the internment efforts by providing confidential neighborhood information on Japanese Americans. The Bureau denied its role for decades, but it was finally proven in 2007. The internment was applied unequally as a geographic matter: almost all who lived on the West Coast were sent to camps, while in Hawaii, where 150,000-plus Japanese Americans comprised over one-third of the population, only 1,200 to 1,800 were interned. In total, 110,000 – 120,000 Japanese were interned. Sixty-two percent of the internees were American citizens.

Since Japanese Americans were forcibly interned, most lost their homes, businesses, and property. When they were allowed to return after WWII, most of their belongings were gone.

The distrust and paranoia directed at Japanese Americans also led to a wave of racial violence and prejudice throughout the U.S. as seen by these depictions in the media:

"A viper is nonetheless a viper whenever the egg is hatched - so a Japanese American, born of Japanese parents - grows up to be a Japanese, not an American.“ (Los Angeles Times)

"I am for the immediate removal of every Japanese on the West Coast to a point deep in the interior. I don't mean a nice part of the interior either. Herd 'em up, pack 'em off and give 'em the inside room in the badlands. Personally, I hate the Japanese. And that goes for all of them.“ (Henry McLemore, columnist)

In 1944, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the removal when Fred Korematsu's appeal for violating an exclusion order was struck down. In Korematsu vs. U.S., the Supreme Court ruled that their actions were not based on race and were necessary to protect national security; and therefore, constitutional.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Civil Liberties Act, which apologized for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government and authorized a payment of $20,000 to each individual camp survivor. The legislation admitted that government actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” The U.S. government eventually disbursed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to 82,219 Japanese Americans who had been interned.

Besides internment, many Japanese-Americans actually enlisted to serve in the military. The U.S. military did not allow Japanese-Americans to serve until 1943, but once they were allowed to fight, more than 17,000 signed up to fight for the U.S. In fact, the soldiers of the all-Japanese 442nd Regimental Combat Team won more medals for bravery than any other unit in U.S. history.

The Draft in WWII

The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke-Wadsworth Act, Pub.L. 76-783, 54 Stat. 885, enacted September 16, 1940, was the first peacetime conscription in United States history. This Selective Service Act required men, between the ages of 21 and 35, register with local draft boards. Later, when the U.S. entered World War II, all men aged 18 to 45 were made liable for military service, and all men aged 18 to 65 were required to register. It was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940.

Under the Selective Training and Service Act, all American males between twenty-one and thirty-five years of age registered for the draft. The government selected men through a lottery system. If drafted, a man served for twelve months. According to the Selective Training and Service Act's provisions, drafted soldiers had to remain in the Western Hemisphere or in United States possessions or territories located in other parts of the world. The act provided that not more than 900,000 men were to be in training at any one time, and it limited service to 12 months.

The draft began in October 1940. By the early summer of 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt asked the U.S. Congress to extend the term of duty for the draftees beyond twelve months. On August 12, the United States House of Representatives approved the extension by a single vote. As Karl R. Bendetson said, "Mr. Rayburn banged the gavel at a critical moment and declared the Bill had passed." The Senate approved it by a wider margin, and Roosevelt signed the bill into law on August 18.

Many of the soldiers drafted in October 1940 threatened to desert once the original twelve months of their service was up. Many of these men painted the letters "O," "H," "I," and "O" (OHIO) on the walls of their barracks in protest. These letters were an acronym for "Over the hill in October," which meant that the men intended to desert upon the end of their twelve months of duty. Desertions did occur, but they were not widespread. Following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941, thousands of American men and women swelled the United States' military's ranks by volunteering for service, and thousands more by conscription.

After the United States entered World War II, a new selective service act made men between 18 and 45 liable for military service and required all men between 18 and 65 to register. The terminal point of service was extended to two years after the war. From 1940 until 1947—when the wartime selective service act expired after extensions by Congress—over 10,000,000 men were inducted.

After WWII

In 1948, a new selective service act was passed that required all men aged 19 to 26 to register and that made men aged 19 to 26 liable for 21 months' service, which would be followed by 5 years of reserve duty.

Though the United States halted conscription in 1973, the Selective Service remains as a means to register American males upon reaching the age of 18 as a contingency should the measure be reintroduced. The registration requirement was suspended in April 1975, but reinstituted in 1980. In the past, married people could be deferred, though marital status no longer affects priority of draft call.

RATIONING in WWII

During the Second World War, you couldn't just walk into a shop and buy as much sugar or butter or meat as you wanted, nor could you fill up your car with gasoline whenever you liked. All these things were rationed, which meant you were only allowed to buy a small amount (even if you could afford more). The government introduced rationing because certain things were in short supply during the war, and rationing was the only way to make sure everyone got their fair share.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor dramatically ended the debate over America's entrance into the war that raged around the world.  As eager volunteers flooded local draft board offices ordinary citizens soon felt the impact of the war. Almost overnight the economy shifted to war production. Consumer goods now took a back seat to military production as nationwide rationing began almost immediately.  In May of 1942, the U.S. Office of Price Administration (OPA) froze prices on practically all everyday goods, starting with sugar and coffee.

War ration books and tokens were issued to each American family, dictating how much gasoline, tires, sugar, meat, silk, shoes, nylon and other items any one person could buy.  Across the country 8000 rationing boards were created to administer these restrictions.  The 1943 Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog contains a list of all rationed farm equipment and tells the reasons and benefits of rationing as well as who is eligible.  Even chicken wire fencing was rationed.  A wartime edition of the American Woman's Cook Book contained revised recipes and gave advice on dealing with food shortages.

Types of rationing included: Uniform coupon rationing (sugar is an example) provided equal shares of a single commodity to all consumers;  Point rationing provided equivalent shares of commodities by coupons issued for points which could be spent for any combination of items in the group (processed foods, meats, fats, cheese); Differential coupon rationing provided shares of a single product according to varying needs (gasoline, fuel oil); and Certificate rationing allowed individuals products only after an application demonstrated need (tires, cars, stoves, typewriters).

By the end of 1942, half of U.S automobiles were issued an 'A' sticker which allowed 4 gallons of fuel per week.  That sticker was issued to owners whose use of their cars was nonessential.  Hand the pump jockey your Mileage Ration Book coupons and cash, and she (yes, female service station attendants because the guys were over there) could sell you three or four gallons a week, no more.  For nearly a year, A-stickered cars were not to be driven for pleasure at all. 

The national maximum Victory Speed was 35 miles an hour, and driving clubs or carpools were encouraged.  The main idea was to conserve rubber, not gasoline.  The interior side of the sticker issued for the car's windshield instructed the driver on this point.  Every citizen, military or civilian, was to do their part.  Even in the popular Warner Brothers cartoons, Daffy Duck exhorts the audience to Keep it under 40!  Bugs Bunny's plunging airplane halts just before impact, out of gas as a consequence of the `A' sticker on its windshield.

WAR BONDS in WWII

War bonds are debt securities issued by a government for the purpose of financing military operations during times of war. War bonds generate capital for the government and make civilians feel involved in their national militaries. This system is also useful as a means of controlling inflation in such an overstimulated economy by removing money from circulation until hopefully after the war is concluded. At that point, the funds could be liquidated and serve as a stimulus to encourage consumer spending for the economy transitioning to peacetime activity. Exhortations to buy war bonds are often accompanied with appeals to patriotism and conscience.

By the summer of 1940, the victories of Nazi Germany against Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and France brought urgency to the government discreetly preparing for possible United States involvement in World War II. Of principal concern were issues surrounding war financing. Many of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s advisers favored a system of tax increases and enforced savings program as advocated by British economist John Maynard Keynes. In theory, this would permit increased spending while decreasing the risk of inflation. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. however preferred a voluntary loan system and began planning a national defense bond program in the fall of 1940. The intent was to unite the attractiveness of the baby bonds that had been implemented in the interwar period with the patriotic element of the Liberty Bonds from the First World War

Three new series of bond notes, Series E, F and G, would be introduced, of which Series E would be targeted at individuals as “defense bonds”. Like the baby bonds, they were sold for as little as $18.75 and matured in ten years, at which time the United States government paid the bondholder $25 Large denominations of between $50 and $1000 were also made available, all of which, unlike the Liberty Bonds of the First World War, were non-negotiable bonds. For those that found it difficult to purchase an entire bond at once, 10 cent savings stamps could be purchased and collected in Treasury approved stamp albums until the recipient had accumulated enough stamps for a bond purchase. The name of the bonds was eventually changed to War Bonds after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, which resulted in the United States entering the war.

The War Finance Committee was placed in charge of supervising the sale of all bonds, and the War Advertising Council promoted voluntary compliance with bond buying. Popular contemporary art was used to help promote the bonds such as the Warner Brothers theatrical cartoon, Any Bonds Today?. More than a quarter of a billion dollars worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. The government appealed to the public through popular culture. Norman Rockwell’s painting series, the Four Freedoms, toured in a war bond effort that raised $132 million. Bond rallies were held throughout the country with famous celebrities, usually Hollywood film stars, to enhance the bond advertising effectiveness. Over the course of the war 85 million Americans purchased bonds totaling approximately $185.7 billion.

VICTORY GARDENS in WWII

As part of the war effort, the government rationed foods like sugar, butter, milk, cheese, eggs, coffee, meat and canned goods. Labor and transportation shortages made it hard to harvest and move fruits and vegetables to market. So, the government turned to its citizens and encouraged them to plant "Victory Gardens." They wanted individuals to provide their own fruits and vegetables.

Nearly 20 million Americans answered the call. They planted gardens in backyards, empty lots and even city rooftops. Neighbors pooled their resources, planted different kinds of foods and formed cooperatives, all in the name of patriotism.

Farm families, of course, had been planting gardens and preserving produce for generations. Now, their urban cousins got into the act. All in the name of patriotism.

Magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and Life printed stories about victory gardens, and women's magazines gave instructions on how to grow and preserve garden produce. Families were encouraged to can their own vegetables to save commercial canned goods for the troops. In 1943, families bought 315,000 pressure cookers (used in the process of canning), compared to 66,000 in 1942. The government and businesses urged people to make gardening a family and community effort.

The result of victory gardening? The US Department of Agriculture estimates that more than 20 million victory gardens were planted. Fruit and vegetables harvested in these home and community plots was estimated to be 9-10 million tons, an amount equal to all commercial production of fresh vegetables. So, the program made a difference.

Kelly Holthus remembers that it was hard to find fresh produce, and it was a way for individuals to do their part on the home front. "It was a great moral thing," he says. "And for young people like me, it was, you know, I could do my part. I was a part of the effort!"

When World War II ended, so did the government promotion of victory gardens. Many people did not plant a garden in the spring of 1946, but agriculture had not yet geared up to full production for grocery stores, so the country experienced some food shortages.

The Fenway Victory Gardens in the Back Bay Fens of Boston, Massachusetts and the Dowling Community Garden in Minneapolis, Minnesota, remain active as the last surviving public examples from World War II. Most plots in the Fenway Victory Gardens now feature flowers instead of vegetables while the Dowling Community Garden retains its focus on vegetables.

Since the turn of the 20th to 21st century, there has existed a growing interest in victory gardens. A grassroots campaign promoting such gardens has recently sprung up in the form of new victory gardens in public spaces, victory garden websites and blogs, as well as petitions to both renew a national campaign for the victory garden and to encourage the re-establishment of a victory garden on the White House lawn. In March 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama, planted an 1,100-square-foot (100 m2) "Kitchen Garden" on the White House lawn, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt's, to raise awareness about healthy food

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