Contributions of Americans During WW II. US Contributions to WW II 16 million Americans were in the military during WW II, the most of any US war 750,000.

Contributions of Americans During WW II

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.









US Contributions to WW II• 16 million Americans

were in the military during WW II, the most of any US war

• 750,000 Americans were wounded

• 450,000 were killed



Latinos in Combat• Over a half a million

Hispanics fought in WW II

• There were 400,000 Mexican Americans in the armed forces fighting in Europe, North Africa and the Pacific

• 17 received the Medal of Honor



Bracero Program• The US government

arranged for 200,000 Mexican farm workers to come to the US to harvest fruit and vegetables

• Mexican workers also maintained the railroads in the Southwest

• The Bracero program continued until 1964



African Americans in WW II• Most of the armed

forces had segregated units

• However, the Navy was the first branch of the service to integrate fighting units.

• Dorie Miller won the Navy cross for his heroic actions at Pearl Harbor



Blacks in the Army• The 761st all black

tank battalions fought in Europe with General Patton

• The 93rd battallion was an all black unit fighting against the Japanese



Tuskegee Airman• The first Army-

Aircorp training of black pilots was in Tuskegee Alabama

• The 332 Fighter Group escorted US planes in Europe, never losing a bomber to enemy fighters



African American Women• There was a large

migration of African American women from the South to work in the war industries and ship yards.

• The SF Bay Area had four shipyards where these women aided in war production



The Fighting Filipinos• The day after Pearl

Harbor was bombed the Japanese attacked the Philippines

• US and Filipino Forces together fought the Japanese until they were captured in April

• The captured soldiers suffered at the hands of the Japanese during the Bataan Death March



The Liberation • During the war Filipinos

formed a guerilla movement against the Japanese

• Late in 1944 US forces returned to the Philippines under General Mac Arthur

• Together the Filipinos and the Americans defeated the Japanese



Women in the Military• Thousands of women

served as nurses in the armed forces. In addition:

• The WASPs were women airforce pilots.

• The WAVES were women in the Navy

• The WACs were the Women’s Army Corps



Navajo Code Talkers• The US Marines

recruited members of the Navajo tribe, to serve as radio men in the Pacific Theater

• The Navajo created a code using their language to send and receive messages during battle



An Unbreakable Code• The Japanese military,

who had skilled code breakers, were not ever able to break the Navajo code

• In 1992 the Pentagon honored the code talkers for their invaluable contributions in WW II.



Island Hopping Strategy







D-Day InvasionJune 6, 1944


are needed to see this picture.QuickTime™ and a

decompressorare needed to see this picture.







Saving Private Ryan• This is the story of

the American assault on the Normandy beaches on D-Day

• Tom Hanks stars in this academy award winning film



Zoot Suit Riots• After hearing rumors

that zoot suitors attacked several sailors, 2500 sailors stormed Mexican American neighborhoods in LA

• Police did not intervene and the press blamed zoot suitors

• The city banned zoot suits



The Zoot Suit• Do you think that the

Zoot suit still influences youth fashion today?

• What caused the Zoot Suit riots?



Contributions of Americans During WW II. US Contributions to WW II 16 million Americans were in the military during WW II, the most of any US war 750,000.

Documents

japanese slide

battle slide

strategy slide

war production slide

pearl harbor slide

medal of honor slide

us forces

us war