Who is someone you find inspiring? Bell Ringer & Vocab Content Vocab Tuskegee Airmen Navajo Code Talkers 442nd Combat Regiment Manhattan Project Academic Vocab Hero Who is someone you find inspiring?

World War Two Memorial- Washington DC American WWII Heroes World War Two Memorial- Washington DC

American Heroes American Military Women in the War Tuskegee Airmen Navajo Code Talkers 442nd Unit Manhattan Project

Creating an Army 1940- Before the United States enters the war Congress approved the first peacetime draft in History At first, the numbers of draftees was overwhelming. The GIs, named after the initials on their uniforms meaning “Government Issue,” went through basic training for eight weeks.

Segregated Units At the beginning of the war, the United States military was completely segregated. African Americans were organized into their own military units with white officers in command. In the army, African Americans also performed well, receiving various awards for distinguished service. Segregation did not end during the war, but led to full military integration in 1948

Getting the Job Done In 1941 the American troops were untrained and had little military experience. They did, however, get the job done and suffered the fewest casualties in combat of all the major powers in the war.

Checking for Understanding TRUE or FALSE: The military was segregated (separated by race) during WWII? TRUE

Tuskegee Airmen Due to racial discrimination, African American servicemen were not allowed to learn to fly until 1941, when African American college graduates were selected for what the Army called "an experiment”. The army air force turned the experiment into the 99th Pursuit Squadron, an African American unit. Known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

When Eleanor Roosevelt visited Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1941, she insisted on taking a ride in an airplane with a black pilot at the controls. ER's pilot was Charles Anderson. ER then insisted that her flight with Anderson be photographed and the film developed immediately so that she could take the photographs back to Washington when she left the field. ER used this photograph as part of her campaign to convince FDR to activate the participation of the Tuskegee Airmen in North Africa and in the European Theater.

Tuskegee Airmen Painted tails RED In June 1943, the Tuskegee Airmen entered into combat over North Africa. The airmen They were involved in more than 15,000 attacks, completing over 1,500 missions during the war. They never lost an American escorted bomber to enemy fighters. No other escort unit could claim such a record. When the war ended, the Tuskegee Airmen returned home with 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Legions of Merit and the Red Star of Yugoslavia

Checking for Understanding What was the African American experimental Air force Unit? Tuskegee Airmen

Women in the War

Women in the War Congress established the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp (WAAC) Coast Guard, navy, and marines quickly followed the army and set up their own women’s units But were banned from combat In addition to serving in these organizations, another 68,000 women served as nurses

Checking for Understanding In what ways were women part of the US military? WAAC- Army WASP, coast guard, navy, nurses

Navajo Code Talkers

Navajo Code Talkers Over 400 Navajo served in the marine corps as code talkers Sworn to secrecy, their mission was not revealed until many years after the war

Navajo Code Talkers Transmitted vital messages during the war Only unbreakable military code Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3j2EBkTA-o

Checking for Understanding What did the Navajo Code talkers do? Transmitted vital messages during the war

442nd Regiment In May 1943, approximately 1,500 Japanese Americans volunteers from the mainland and 3,000 from Hawaii assembled for training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. In less than two years of combat, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team earned more than 18,000 honors The 442nd Regimental Combat Team is the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.

Checking for Understanding Japanese American loyalty to the United States during World War II is demonstrated best by what combat unit? 442nd Combat Regiment

The Manhattan Project The U.S had a top secret program code-named the Manhattan Project led by Gen. Groves. Groves organized a team of engineers and scientists to build an atomic bomb. The secret laboratory was located in Los Alamos, New Mexico

Uranium enrichment site in Oak Ridge, TN

So What Does the Bomb Do? The atomic bombs were either uranium or plutonium based and involved fission(splitting atoms) or fusion (joining atomic nuclei). The bombs are designed to be detonated about 1900ft. in the sky. The explosions generated heat estimated at 3,900 degrees Celsius (7,000 degrees Fahrenheit) and winds that were estimated at 1005 km/h (624 mph) and extreme radiation. Click http://www.history.com/shows/america-the-story-of-us/videos/manhattan-project#manhattan-project

Checking for Understanding What is the code name for the top secret mission of creating the atomic bomb? Manhattan Project