Digital Commons Network^™

Eisenhower: From “Do-Nothing” To “Did-Everything”, Holly F. Caldwell

Channels: Where Disciplines Meet

Dwight David Eisenhower was a modest man who led a modest life. The 34^th president of the United States was a country boy who hailed from the rural town of Abilene, Kansas. He was not born into instant greatness; instead, he grew into it. He held several notable positions, culminating in the achievement of being elected to the presidency. His presidential reign was relatively calm, with few drastic disruptions, and this period of tranquility led to a public perception of Eisenhower as a “do-nothing” president.

Contrary to the traditional portrayal, historical revisionism has exhibited Eisenhower as an experienced and …

The American Public’S Reaction To The Japanese American Internment, Nicholas Taylor

West Virginia University Historical Review

The American public voices its concerns over fundamental issues, like the justice system, that pertain to the US Constitution. The American public in World War II, however, faced many challenges in voicing its concerns over the Japanese American internment due to the dominance of racism at the time. This paper explores the background of Executive Order 9066, the document that provoked mass evacuation, in order to understand why President Franklin D. Roosevelt enforced it and why most people, particularly on the West Coast, advocated for Japanese American evacuation. More fundamentally, the bulk of the paper centers on the argument that …

Mayflower Hotel - Washington D.C. (Sc 3568), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3568. Instruction card to guests of the Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C. describing procedures to be followed in the event of a blackout or air raid.

Skiing During World War Ii: Army Mountain Troops First Train On Mount Rainier, Military Personnel Learn To Ski On Snoqualmie Pass, John W. Lundin

Works by Local Authors

Relatively little has been written about the army’s experimentation with mountain troops before the U.S. entered WW II in December 1941. Beginning in late 1940, men from existing army units were stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and trained to ski and in winter warfare on Mt. Rainier. This article discusses that training and civilian efforts to provide winter recreation opportunities for military personnel.

The Good War?: Reinterpreting The Second World War In Contemporary Musical Theatre, Leana Sottile

SURF Posters and Papers

For years, American musicals have contributed to the mythologization of the Second World War and upheld ‘Greatest Generation’ nostalgia in mainstream war memory. For example, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific is effectively silent on the brutality and dehumanization of the Pacific Theater and exoticizes the experience of service members. In the past five years, the New York theatre scene has seen three shows that portray the Second World War more accurately and less romantically: Allegiance, Bandstand, and Alice by Heart. While none of these shows ran for longer than a few months in New York, in that short …

Youth In World War Ii, Alyson Griggs

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis project consists of two focuses. The first part focuses on the experiences of Japanese American adolescents who were interned with their parents at the Central Utah Relocation Center during World War II. Although these students were born in the United States and therefore U.S. citizens, they were considered "Japanese" by the U.S. government and many of its citizens. When the U.S. government forcibly removed Japanese American youth and their families from the West Coast, this heavily affected Japanese American youth's perceptions of themselves and the country of their birth. This portion of the project includes a digital exhibit, …

Sumpter Family Papers (Sc 3545), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3545. Contracts, deeds, mortgages, bills of sale and associated documents of the Sumpter family of Bowling Green, Kentucky relating to the acquisition, subdivision and development of the Cedar Ridge neighborhood. Includes a 1962 plat map of a subdivision extension, a 1990 plan for a sanitary sewer extension, and a narrative history of the neighborhood. Also includes a Sumpter estate document and a promissory note and deed of the Patillo family.

Desegregation Through Entertainment: Rodgers And Hammerstein’S South Pacific As An Instrument Of Military Policy, Leana Sottile

Voces Novae

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific became a staple of mainstream popular culture. However, the musical also served a specific function within the American military where its usage by the United Service Organizations and Department of Defense was widespread. This case study examines how South Pacific arguably served a way to ease the blow of desegregation on the military by other means, in this case, entertainment. This was achieved by combining the show’s progressive views on racial tolerance with the prevalent wartime nostalgia and romanticism in the piece. All of …

All Hands On Deck: German U-Boats And The Civil-Military Defense Of The Gulf, 1941 - 1943, Richard Brunies

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

During the Second World War, Germany unleashed a relentless U-boat campaign against shipping in the coastal waters of the United States. While most of this campaign was fought in the Atlantic Ocean, merchantmen in the Gulf of Mexico also received their fair share of U-boat attacks. The presence of the U-boats in the Gulf was brief but endangered vital merchant shipping, and the U.S. armed forces had to meet this threat. In nearly all aspects of defending the Gulf Coast and improving antisubmarine warfare, civilians participated with a will. Civilians were involved in reporting U-boat activity, monitoring coastal waters, reporting …

A Red River City During War: Shreveport, Louisiana's Experiences During World War Ii, Katelyn N. Woodel

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This project provides research that details Shreveport, Louisiana’s experience during World War II. A physical exhibit at the Spring Street Museum and a digital exhibit display Shreveport’s World War II history, based on research conducted for this thesis. Based on a combination of archival collections, and Shreveport Times articles, the project tracks Shreveport communities and the contributions to war efforts from the broader community and local industry. Shreveport’s involvement in World War II began with the Louisiana Maneuvers in 1941. Support for the war continued with heavy metals manufacturing such as the production of shells at the J.B. Beaird Company …

Collegiate Codebreakers: Winthrop, Women, And War, Marlana Mayton

Graduate Theses

During World War II, college-aged women from across the nation filled United States Army and Navy secretive cryptanalysis facilities to help win the war. For many women, colleges facilitated involvement in codebreaking. Through information gathered in oral histories, this thesis primarily explores war related programs at American colleges and the young women that became cryptanalysts. Academic institutions, like Winthrop College, became the nuclei for colligate codebreakers. They acted as early crypt education centers, through the offering of cryptology classes, functioned as recruitment centers, and operated as essential training hubs. While in school, young women were saturated by a climate of …

Requisitioned: American War Art Of The Second World War, Spenser Carroll-Johnson

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

The United States requisitioned artists to assist with military objectives and servicemen requisitioned art as a form of rhetoric. This research reexamines the role of “official artists” and thereby extends its definition to include the multitude of art they produced during the Second World War. The underpinnings of this thesis reside during the economic crises of the 1930s that brought about American emergency relief initiatives for artists under the direction of Holger Cahill and, by extension, Edward Bruce. For the first time in history, the American public engaged with state-sponsored art. Due to a symbiotic relationship that formed between the …

Between The Devil And The Deep Sea: The Korean American War For Independence (1910-1945), Andrew Chae

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

From 1910 to 1945, while the Korean peninsula was a protectorate- and eventual colony- of the Empire of Japan, Koreans in the United States began an arduous process to maintain their sense of identity in a new land, and struggled to have a voice in a society that rejected their race. As a people in diasporic exile, Korean Americans engaged in a collective war for their independence by gathering resources to liberate Korea and committing extraordinary effort to deconstruct contrived stereotypes of Koreans. There are a number of forms of primary sources that corroborate the major arguments of the thesis, …

Duff Collection (Mss 692), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 692. Correspondence, photos, diaries, and other family related memorabilia from the families of Michael Edward Jelley and his wife Laura Josephine (Duff) Jelley. Most of the material relates to Laura’s family, the Duffs of Jackson, Kentucky, and to Michael and Laura’s immediate family. The bulk of the collection consists of Laura’s diaries, correspondence, recipes, and scrapbook.

Serving With Pride: Military Experience And The Formation Of The Queer Female Identity In Mid-Century America, Kathlene Ward, Elizabeth Escobedo, Susan Schulten

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

At the inception of World War II, the United States military adapted to include women within its ranks with the creation of the Women’s Army Corps. Likewise, psychology’s implementation into military procedures legitimized systematic exclusion and removal of queer persons seeking military involvement. Such factors resulted in a particularly unique environment for queer servicewomen. The birth of the Cold War brought about a new wave of heterosexual expectations that forced queer individuals in the U.S. military even further into the closet. This project seeks to uncover how gender and sexuality expectations placed upon queer women serving in the World War …

Cives Arma Ferant: Reconstructing Infantry Combat And Training In The European Theater Of Operations, Phil R. Kaspriskie

Student Publications

A common theme in memoirs, oral histories, and other sources dealing with servicemen in World War II seems to be a focus on the experience of combat. Training, particularly individual training, is rarely discussed beyond a cursory mention, and if it is discussed at all, the overwhelming tendency is to paint a picture of half-trained cannon fodder, at best.

This paper’s goal is twofold: First, explore methods of instruction at the individual and unit levels, and explain the reasoning behind the evolution of training as the Army Ground Forces’ understanding of contemporary warfare changed; second, provide a case study at …

Lightning Strikes The Axis: Century Storm Boats During World War Ii, Geoffrey Reynolds

Faculty Publications

January 1941 dawned with most of the world at war with Germany, Italy, and Japan. At the 1941 National Boat Show in New York, many boat building companies were absent because they were focused on producing boats for Allied forces overseas or the defense of the United States. The Century Boat Company was the only company that displayed a small boat used for warfare alongside its pleasure craft line. This model and others would later be credited with helping win World War II.

Elmer Mckee: A Window Into The Past, Erin H. Keener

Student Publications

Elmer McKee was a Gettysburg College graduate, decorated World War II soldier, successful in his career, and a humble family man. This paper examines his correspondence with his then girlfriend "Diz," from February 25, 1945 to April 5, 1945, it is in this time that he is awarded the Bronze Star Medal. This work attempts to piece together his experiences overseas and how he coped with the experience at such a young age, examining as well what image he wanted to project outwards to his friends and family.

Forgotten Mistakes: Crossing The Rhine Gorge, 1945, Michael Duncan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In the years following World War II, official military records along with news reports and personal accounts of senior military leaders formed a narrative that emphasized American exceptionalism and focused on the success of the United States military. That original narrative became a foundation for foreign policy and military doctrine, and its characterization of the tactical and operational decisions made by American military leaders has remained almost entirely unchallenged. This thesis seeks to reverse that trend by carefully analyzing the tactical and operational aspects of one specific event, the crossing of the Rhine Gorge by the 89th Infantry Division.

The …

The German-American Community During World War Ii, Monica Forsthoefel

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This work examines the German-American community in the United States and its experiences during the turbulent years of World War II. It explores and analyzes the opinions German-Americans had of Hitler and his regime, as well as the effect that was wrought by the anti-German sentiment prevalent in the United States at the time. Furthermore, this work touches on the Nazi presence in the United States during the pre-war years and the most prominent American Nazi organization at the time, the German-American Bund. Finally, it addresses the sudden and protracted internment of thousands of German-Americans perpetrated by a fearful and …

Buckberry, Ray B., Jr., B. 1934 - Collector (Mss 688), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and digital scans for some files for Manuscripts Collection 688. Material collected by Bowling Green, Kentucky attorney, Ray B. Buckberry, Jr. for presentations he prepared about the history of grocery stores locally and nationally and about Operation Tiger, the practice battle for D-Day on Slapton Sands, Devon, England on 28 April 1944 during World War II.

Exhibit Curriculum For Fighting For Democracy: Unit Three, Sarah Aponte, Martin Toomajian

Open Educational Resources

Exhibit curriculum for the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute exhibit, Fighting for Democracy: Dominican Veterans from World War II.

Students in Global History and U.S. History courses often spend extensive class time studying World War II. Dominicans were involved in virtually every facet of the U.S. war effort. The Dominican Studies Institute's exhibit highlights Dominican veterans who served in both the European and Pacific theaters, in multiple branches of the U.S. armed forces. These same veterans, like other people of color, faced discrimination as soldiers in the U.S. An exploration of these veterans' experiences would be memorable and valuable for secondary …

Exhibit Curriculum For Fighting For Democracy: Unit One, Sarah Aponte, Martin Toomajian

Open Educational Resources

Exhibit curriculum for the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute exhibit, Fighting for Democracy: Dominican Veterans from World War II.

Students in Global History and U.S. History courses often spend extensive class time studying World War II. Dominicans were involved in virtually every facet of the U.S. war effort. The Dominican Studies Institute's exhibit highlights Dominican veterans who served in both the European and Pacific theaters, in multiple branches of the U.S. armed forces. These same veterans, like other people of color, faced discrimination as soldiers in the U.S. An exploration of these veterans' experiences would be memorable and valuable for secondary …

The Passive Side Of Conflict Archaeology: The 2016 To 2019 Excavations Of A Pow Mess Hall In The Honouliuli Internment And Pow Camp, Island Of O‘Ahu, Hawai‘I, William Belcher

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The archaeological investigation of Prisoner of War (POW) camps offers a glimpse into the passive side of conflict archaeology; that is, those parts of conflict related to imprisonment of enemy combatants and not active areas like forts and battlefields. This paper presents the research and field operations conducted at the Honouliuli National Historic Site during the 2016 to 2019 field seasons as part of the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu (UH West Oʻahu) archaeological field schools, particularly focused on the discovery and partial excavation of a mess hall concrete foundation or platform associated with a POW population during World War …

Seasons Past: Wildcat Strikes And The Smith-Connally Act During World War Ii, Andrew Robert Mccloskey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This thesis explores the phenomenon of wildcat strikes during World War II in the United States, the raging public opinion about these wartime strikes, and the passage of the War Labor Disputes Act (popularly known as the Smith-Connally Act) of 1943. Broadly, this thesis examines the wellsprings of working-class anger and frustration which underscored the spontaneous wildcat strikes, the No-Strike Pledge, and the various factions within the public’s perception of these strikes. This thesis furthermore analyzes the congressional debate surrounding the SmithConnally Act and the American public’s reaction to the passage of this restrictive legislation. Finally, this thesis posits that …

Exhibit Curriculum For Fighting For Democracy: Unit Two, Sarah Aponte, Martin Toomajian

Open Educational Resources

Exhibit curriculum for the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute exhibit, Fighting for Democracy: Dominican Veterans from World War II.

Students in Global History and U.S. History courses often spend extensive class time studying World War II. Dominicans were involved in virtually every facet of the U.S. war effort. The Dominican Studies Institute's exhibit highlights Dominican veterans who served in both the European and Pacific theaters, in multiple branches of the U.S. armed forces. These same veterans, like other people of color, faced discrimination as soldiers in the U.S. An exploration of these veterans' experiences would be memorable and valuable for secondary …

The Sounds Of Being "Un-American": Embodied Cultural Trauma Within Japanese American Musical Worlds, Kyle Przybylski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

WWII saw the forced removal of around 120,000 Japanese Americans to concentration camps across the United States. Despite being incarcerated in often unforgiving social, political, and physical environments, many incarcerees developed means of continuing Japanese cultural traditions and music. Since that time, former incarcerees have largely avoided detailed discussion of their experiences of imprisonment, and as such, there is little information to determine what kind of impact incarceration had on their individual and collective musical worlds.

This thesis explores transgenerational cultural trauma using the incarceree experiences of the Granada Relocation Center (a National Historic Landmark) in southern Colorado. The cultural …