As World War II swept American soil, children craved to hasten their fathers’, uncles’ and grandfathers’ journey home. Furthermore, they began scrap drives to provide material for military armory and other necessities. The youth collected aluminum, rubber, paper, tires, tin, silk stockings and coats. Children essentially salvaged millions of products that were vital for the soldiers at war. The gathered supplies would eventually be used for necessities such as bullets, cars, weapons and tires. They even sacrificed their own toys for the brave soldiers across the Pacific and throughout Europe. Children played a crucial role in the scrap drives; often times they served as the main collectors. Even such simple uses like gum-wrappers would be
Are you born in America but you have a different heritage? During World War II, even though Mine Okubo was born in America, she was identified as a rival to the Americans because she had a Japanese background. This led to her being transferred to isolated internment camps. Louie Zamperini was an Olympian runner who enlisted into the army. After a disaster of his assigned plane crashing into the ocean, he was captured by the Japanese and transported to camps. Both Mine Okubo and Louie Zamperini had to endure challenges in the course of World War II. Japanese-American internees and American Prisoners of War (POWs) felt “invisible” and “resisted invisibility.”
This campaign mission must convey the importance of the programs the WWP provides and stress the need for the financial support of the public. WWP over the years has demonstrated that it is successful at raising funds for its organization and programs with an extensive list of corporate sponsors (Current Corporate Sponsors, n.d.). An area that the WWP has not developed is a marketing campaign that targets Americans age 25-40 years old who are the exact same age as veterans the WWP is dedicated to serving. Focusing on this age group similarity in our campaign would allow our target audience to identify with the WWP alumni while at the same time increasing awareness about the WWP. While the monetary donations may not add up to the big donations from corporations, brining public awareness to the organization will allow the organization to expand nationally and have locations in all 50
Throughout the story, the author goes into great detail about the heavy physical loads that the soldiers had to carry with them. Even the way O’Brien describes the many loads seems to grab your attention on the extreme conditions these men had to go through just to survive another day. The most interesting thing I found while reading this story is that even though the soldiers carried a ton of weight around with them, they insisted on carrying as much as possible to insist they were prepared for any given situation. Also, just as we are all different individuals, each soldier carried their own personal things that depended on their own habits and hobbies. Some examples of the necessities the soldiers had to carry with them include, “Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pockets knives, heat tabs, wrist-watches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C-rations, and two or three canteens of water (O’Brien 125). These were just some of the things these men had to carry with them just to undergo some of the conditions surrounding them. Besides those items I explained things like weapons and magazines made up most of the majority of the weight. What really shocked me at this point is that with all this weight the soldiers had to carry with them, they were expected to be very mobile and able to haul around everything for miles at a time. The only benefit I could possible see coming out of all the things they carried is the protection the backpack gave the soldiers from the spraying of bullets during battle. Other than that, the more the men carried, the more their moral went down under those conditions. I think that the author brilliantly described this story. It was almost like I felt my backpack getting heavier as I was reading on and the items kept increasing. Towards the end of the story I kind of felt just as the soldiers did, weighed down and dead tired.
Most of the men had to carry around 30 to 40 pounds of supplies in knapsacks or that they
Jeffries, John. Wartime America: The World War II Home Front. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1996. Print. American Way.
During World War II propaganda was ubiquitous. It consisted of a wide range of carriers including leaflets, radio, television, and most importantly posters. Posters were used based on their appeal: they were colorful, creative, concise, and mentally stimulating. Posters often portrayed the artist's views on the war. They demonstrated the artist concern for the war, their hopes for the war, and reflected the way enemies were envisioned. Posters also show a nations political status: they reflect a nations allies and enemies, how the nation saw itself, and its greatest hopes and fears of the war.
The second picture is that of a farmer in a field with three horses, riding one of them. This shows what is needed on the farms. These pictures are relative to each other in relation to what the poster is advertising. The poster advertises the need for boys between the ages of 15 – 19 to help work on farms to help the men that are going to war or those who are already fighting. The boys working on these farms helps keep them running, maintained, and bring in the crops until the men from war return. The poster also says that there will be a reward for those who help, receiving a badge of honour. I believe that this poster would not only have helped get Canadian farms but also the Canadians fighting in the First World War as well. Getting help on the farms would have meant that men eligible to join the war would have felt more comfortable leaving their homes and farms and go help fight. This poster isn’t overly serious and urgent for all but should be taken as important for boys wanting to do their part for the First World War. The boys that were recruited were called “Soldiers of the Soil” and were given special uniforms to wear.
Danzer, Gerald A., Klor De Alva, Krieger, Wilson, and Woloch. "Chapter 25 - The United States in World War II." The Americans. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2007. 874-903. Print.
The documentary Ken Burns: The War, provided an in depth view on World War II and its impact on the United States from the vantage point of Americans. Residents from Minnesota, Connecticut, Alabama and California attested to the many effects of the war. There were many testaments of the lackadaisical attitudes Americans displayed at the beginning of the war, the impact that the war had on the economy, as well as the impact on the lives of women of every race, the strong sense of family and community, as well as the many issues with race relations during the war given from the viewpoints of actual people whose families were impacted. World War II although very
In order to success on the home-front and to be able to support the troops, African Americans and women were given identities to help with victory. In order to success on the warfront, rapid effort of expansion in both industrial and military power was needed. On both the home and warfront, victory highly depended on the continuous provision of warfare such as ammunition, guns, tanks, naval vessels and planes as, “The necessity of winning the war opened the economy to millions of black men and women who surged into defense plants” (African Americans and the Military: World War II and Segregation). Without the support of other ethnic races and involvement of typical household women, the American Dream would not have been achievable. For the sole purpose of achieving that well desired dream alongside the American pursuit of happiness, Americans allowed discriminated individuals to support their victory as it would not have been possible without them. Through unequal opportunity presented by Americans within the union, the nation was physically and physiologically left disrupted and shattered by varying opinions through discrimination and
"Childhood Lost: Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution." Eastern Illinois University. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.
Singer, P.W. “Children at War.” Military History 24.6 (2007): 1-5. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 14 Feb. 2011.
One of the significant concepts in The Things They Carried is that of the importance of certain objects or feelings used by the soldiers of Alpha Company to survive the war. Some examples of these items are the picture of the girl carried by Jimmy Cross, the Bible carried by Kiowa, and the stockings carried by Henry Dobbins. All the items helped the respective soldier to survive from day to day and to continue fighting the war. One of the most important things that helped the soldiers is their friendship with each other. This bond that the soldiers form helped them to survive, excluded someone who was outside their group, and helped the men of Alpha Company to cope with the war after they returned to the United States.
The 1970’s in America weren’t a time of peace for youth. The Vietnam War was still in full effect until 1975 leaving teenagers approaching 18 with the constant fear of being drafted. Post-Vietnam War was no better for American youth. Heroism and respect for the troops fell greatly due to the disastrous failing of the Vietnam War. One man spoke of his childhood du...
Girl Scouts was founded over a century ago, and ever since then, the organization has been helping people out in several different ways. During World War I, girls were doing all sorts of services for their country. They sewed for Red Cross, volunteered at railroad stations and hosp...