Hearing stories of World War II always
have fascinated this writer. Hearing them from members of “the Greatest
Generation” who were actually there were downright remarkable. But almost all
of the stories regaled to us as an American people look at the War in Europe, or in the South Pacific: we hardly ever hear
about the war at home. What did WWII mean to people in America, to our
armed forces, and to women and minority groups? What was its effect on our
society as a whole? It is this writer’s intention to show some of the war’s impacts,
and if it helped our country turn out for the better.
WWII, the largest, bloodiest conflict of
the bloodiest century the earth has ever seen, had a much deeper affect on our
nation that most people realize, but how did we get drawn into it? Our allies
had been battling the Third Reich in Europe
since 1939, and while Americans had been supplying the British war effort, we wanted
to stay on our side of the “pond”: part of the isolationist theory popular at
the time. But then, in December of 1941, the Japanese Empire attacked both
American and British holdings all across the Pacific Ocean, most notably the
cowardly sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. The
Japanese specifically targeted Pear
Harbor because the
majority of the U.S. Pacific Fleet was housed there, and it was also home of
the Pacific Fleet’s headquarters. By both diplomatic and military deception,
the Japanese managed to get a massive air fleet of over 350 planes and their
carriers maneuvered into position undetected, and in the early hours of 7
December 1941, they attacked the U.S. in a premeditated act of war.
Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the attack, had intended to launch
the attack after a formal declaration of war, but his superiors ordered it
before any such declaration was given. It was a major tactical victory, but because
of these attacks, the USA
jumped wholeheartedly into the war. Our troops were mobilized; our armed forces
were built up to record numbers and shipped off to both theatres of the war,
leaving many industrialized jobs open. Adm. Yamamoto then declared to his aides
and officers, “I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant.” Enter
“Rosie the Riveter”, as many of America’s
women stepped up and began filling those industrial positions of the ‘sleeping
giant’. Women were not only allowed, but expected to go to work to help the war
effort. This broke years of tradition, in which women needed to stay home and
have a man provide while she looked after the house and children; but now, Jane
Doe could provide for herself. Little did anyone know that this would become a
foundational shift of American culture, and pave the way for everything from
female executives and heads of state to feminism. (Shultz, 2004) Women aviators
also formed the WASPs, or Women Airforce Service Pilots, which shuttled
newly-built aircraft across the United
States to various Army Air Force (AAF) bases
where they were needed.
Women weren’t the only ones to help with
the war effort: many minority groups stepped up to the proverbial plate as
well. One of the most notable is the famed Tuskegee Airmen, or the “Red Tails”.
These Afro-American aviators volunteered for service in the AAF, and were given
their own fighter squadron. They were primarily bomber escorts, and were known
not only as the first all-black combat aviation squadron, but also for the
distinctive red paint on the tails of their P-51 Mustangs. (Factsheets, 2011) At the outset of the
war, blacks were only allowed to be cooks or other labor-intensive, non-combat
positions, but the Red Tails were not only in a combat position, but a very
important one. After many successes in bomber escorting, and a number of pilots
becoming aces, the Tuskegee Airmen began being utilized for other missions like
close-air support and search-and-destroy missions, where they were also quite
successful.
By the end of the war, the Army Air
Forces and other military branches, who were initially forced to accept both
blacks and women, ended up bringing them into the fold as brothers in arms.
When someone fights, bleeds and dies along with you, there is a sense of
camaraderie that is forged stronger than steel, and this sense of camaraderie
was carried through the armed forces for years before the civilian sector. As
these veterans began to be released from the military, however, they began to
realize society hadn’t shifted as much as the military. Women, who were
experienced aviators, were expected to return to their homes and become
housewives again; blacks who were pilots, soldiers and sailors were told to go
back to being second-class citizens alongside the same men they fought with
against the evils of the Third Reich and Japanese Empire. Our society had begun
to change, but it was still a slow process, and it continues to shift today.
So, what did WWII mean to people in America, to our
armed forces, and to women and minority groups? And what was its effect on our
society as a whole? This writer would propose that World War II set in motion a
foundational shift in our thinking about women and minorities, and we probably
will never fully finish shifting. Change is the only constant, and WWII was a
massive catalyst for changes in our society.
References
Schultz, Stanley
K. & Tishler, William P. (2004). American Civil War to the Present.
World War II: The Impact at Home. Retrieved November 21, 2011 from http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture21.html
West, Norman. (2008). Effects of World War II.
Retrieved November 20, 2011 from http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/effectww2.html
Factsheets: Tuskegee
Airmen. (2011) Retrieved
November 21, 2011 from http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1356
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