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 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 Womens 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 Invasion June 6, 1944

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?