2/11 Women in WWII: What Story Should Be Told?
In this assignment, you will explore the important roles that women played during World War II, with a focus on women from Georgia. You will read a background essay and several primary source documents, then answer questions to help you understand the contributions and challenges faced by women during this time. At the end, you will write a short proposal for a podcast episode, explaining which women's stories should be highlighted and why.
Group 1
Read the background essay and answer the following questions.
Source 1.1
From December 1941 until August 1945, the United States was deep into fighting World War II. More than 16 million Americans served in the military and millions more worked in field and factory, supporting the troops overseas. When historians write about World War II, the focus is often on men. But men were not alone in contributing to the war effort. Nearly 350,000 women served in the military. Another 19 million labored in the civilian workforce. It was definitely not just a man’s war.
In the military, women served in several branches. These included the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), a Navy branch called the WAVES, and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). In addition, more than 60,000 women served as nurses. About 70 percent of the female military personnel held more traditional jobs, such as clerks and typists. Women of color were allowed to enlist, but they served in segregated units.
World War II also created a need for women in civilian jobs. Because so many men joined the military, there were huge vacancies to fill in the industrial workforce. By 1945 more than a third of all workers in the US were women. Women played an especially large role in the aircraft industry. By 1945, two out of every three aircraft factory workers were women.
While there was an increase in the number of working women during World War II, there were still barriers. Blacks and Latinos were often not hired for factory work because of their race. Some companies went so far as to claim they could not hire African-American women because they lacked separate bathroom facilities. And for women of all races there were problems of sexism and harassment. Though wartime helped to even the playing field for women, they still faced considerable discrimination.
Despite the obstacles, women in World War II carried on. In fact, many thrived. But then the war ended. When the men came home and returned to their jobs, many women went back to their traditional roles of being moms and housewives.
We know that women—including Georgia women—had an immense impact on World War II. But generations later, how should their contributions to the war effort be remembered?
Here is your task in this Mini-Q. You are a writer for a new podcast called Georgia: Untold Stories. Your producer calls you into her office and hands you six documents. The documents deal with women in Georgia during World War II. These women all had different but important roles. Your job is to read over the documents and write a short proposal on how to handle the material. Your producer reminds you that you must follow the 15-10-5 program format. This means you must decide which group of Georgia women will get 15 minutes of air time, which will get 10 minutes, and which will get 5 minutes. The object is both to explain why each group’s contribution was important and to decide which group deserves a bit more attention. The working title of this podcast is “Georgia Women in WWII: What Story Should Be Told?”
Question 1a
About how many women served in the U.S. military during World War II?
Question 1b
Which of the following was NOT a branch in which women served during WWII?
Question 1c
What was a major barrier faced by African-American women seeking factory jobs during WWII?
Question 1d
According to the background essay, why did women’s roles in the workforce increase during World War II?
Group 2
Read Document A and answer the following question.
Source 2.1
Mrs. F. G. Raines, of 212 Riverdale Drive, Macon, Georgia, has the distinction of being the first Georgia mother with a daughter in England’s Ferry Service.... When I interviewed her for the journal’s magazine, she said: No one, more than I, appreciates the fact that it is a wonderful thing to have a daughter who is capable of working in our first line of defense. And I don’t oppose Hazel’s going over... as she had her heart so set on it, but it seems to me it would be an unnatural mother who could work up enthusiasm over such an undertaking. Hazel said, “If you tell me I cannot go, Mother, I’ll give up the thought, but it will break my heart.” So, you see, I couldn’t say ‘no,’ I just didn’t say ‘yes’.... This business of being in the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) calls out all the ability a pilot has. She has to move aircraft that are very valuable and thousands of dollars are entrusted to her every time she takes off. Many of these planes have been damaged, having just returned from a bombing expedition over Germany, and she must carry them back to the factory for repairs. Sometimes the territory over which she must fly is dangerous because of enemy planes, and ferry pilots must learn to fly without benefit of radio beam or any weapons with which they might protect themselves. Hazel is subject to call at any time, and she must know how to pilot all types of aircraft, and how to get to and from all factories... or stations anywhere in the British Isles. In fact, the slogan of the ATA is this: ‘any aircraft, any time, any address.’
Mary M. Holzclaw, “Macon Girl Ferries War Planes,” The Atlanta Journal, July 5, 1942.
Question 2a
What was Hazel Jane Raines’s main responsibility as part of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA)?
Group 3
Read Document B and answer the following question.
Source 3.1
We had a bit of excitement the other day. Just as we started out to go to work, ‘Jerry’ (the Germans) paid us a visit ... that’ll teach us to pay more attention and heed Air Raid Warnings from now on cause as a rule we take no notice of them but just go on with our work. The other day I delivered a Spit (Short for Spitfire, a British fighter plane) to an aerodrome and after landing and getting out of my ship, I looked around for someone to turn the papers over to but couldn’t find anyone. Thinking they had all gone out to tea. I just sat down by my ship and waited but not for long—I soon found out there was a raid on—so still and waited till it was all over. Some fun! What burns me up is they give us the fighters built to fly but minus ammunition. How I would like to take a shot at one of those so-in-sos.
Letter from Hazel Jane Raines to her sister, Martha, February 18, 1943.
Question 3a
According to Hazel Jane Raines’s letter, what was a danger she faced while delivering planes?
Group 4
Read Document C and answer the following question.
Source 4.1
In February 1945, warehouses in Birmingham, England, were filled with millions of pieces of mail intended for members of the US military. ... Airplane hangars held undelivered Christmas packages, and a constant stream of incoming mail added to the already massive backlog of letters and packages. Oftentimes the mail was addressed simply to “Junior, U.S. Army” or “Buster, U.S. Army.” ... With seven million Americans in the European Theater, many shared common names (7,500 were named Robert Smith). Service members noticed that they weren’t getting mail from home, and Army officials reported that the lack of reliable mail delivery was hurting morale. One general predicted that the backlog in Birmingham would take six months to process....
[A] battalion of 817 enlisted personnel and 31 officers, all African-American women, was created and eventually designated as the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, nicknamed “Six Triple Eight.” ... The battalion was trained for their overseas mission at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. “They crawled under logs wearing gas masks and jumped over trenches,” according to a Washington Post article .... The women learned to identify enemy aircraft, ships, and weapons; to climb ropes; to board and evacuate ships; and to do long marches with rucksacks.... With the new tracking system they created, the women processed an average of 65,000 pieces of mail per shift and cleared the six-month backlog of mail in three months. The women adhered to the motto of, “No mail, low morale.”
Question 4a
What was the main job of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion?
Group 5
Read Document D and answer the following question.
Source 5.1
Myrtle Rhoden of the 6888th: We found the same conditions in France that we found in England; the mail had been held up for months. There was mail that was two or three years old. So we had to rewrap packages and reroute mail. They gave us six months to get the mail out in France and we were determined to get it out in three.
Major Charity Adams Earley (commanding officer) and Captain Abbie Campbell (executive officer) of the 6888th: While we were observing what was strange to us, we were being observed. We had forgotten how strange we seemed to military as well as civilian personnel. Again, we were among US military personnel who could not believe Negro WAC officers were real. Salutes were slow in coming and frequently [were] returned with great reluctance. The old familiar problem was beginning all over again.
Question 5a
What challenge did the women of the 6888th face in France?
Group 6
Read Document E and answer the following question.
Source 6.1
Note: When the Bell Bomber Plant was built, it was the largest plant facility in the Deep South, with floor space in the main assembly building (right photo) equal to fifty football fields. It employed more than 28,000 workers. About 10,000 were women, mostly Georgians. More than 2,000 workers were African American. The Marietta plant produced more than 600 B-29 Superfortress Bombers during the war.
Question 6a
What was significant about the Bell Bomber Plant in Georgia during WWII?
Group 7
Read Document F and answer the following question.
Source 7.1
BW: After [the wing] had an inspection stamp on the whole thing, then I would check my blueprints. Then we would start the countersinking. Countersinking is completely different from riveting, because it’s making a little funnel-shaped hole so that the rivet will fit down in it. Now, if the countersinker makes the hole too large or too small, they are in trouble. TS: ...How long does it take before you’re in a supervisory position? BW: ...It wasn’t that I was intelligent. It was just that they did not have any people here that had experience. That’s why within three or four months I was in the supervisor capacity. TS: Now how many people did you supervise, would you say? BW: It would be between 13 and 25 on a crew. It was according to how fast they had to have that job done. For instance, if my countersink people were not doing their job, then they held up the riveters that would come in behind them. Then in turn they would hold up something else. It would get to where it would hold up the actual assembly line. TS: All right. I understand that this was men and women that you were supervising. How unusual ... was that to have women who were supervising men on the assembly line? BW: Very bad. [chuckle] TS: Not too many were there? BW: No, no, and they didn’t like it. Oh, mercy. TS: They didn’t? BW: Well, they weren’t against me. It was just that I was a woman. You’re a woman and you should be home doing the pots and pans and cooking cornbread. TS: ...How long were you in the supervisory job? BW: I guess it’d be a year and a half until I left. After my husband got killed I left and went back up to Indiana for a while. Then when I came back that’s when they were closing Bell down.
Interview with Betty L. Williams conducted by Thomas A. Scott, Cobb County Oral History Series, Kennesaw State University, October 22, 2000.
Question 7a
What challenge did Betty Williams face as a supervisor at the Bell Bomber Plant?
Question 8
DBQ Question: Georgia Women in WWII: What Story Should Be Told? Based on the background essay and at least 2 other documents (include title or source number), write a short proposal explaining which group of Georgia women should get the most attention in a podcast episode and why.
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