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Minorities during World War II
Women
Mexican Americans
African Americans
Japanese Americans
Native Americans
Minorities During World
War II
Minorities at War
Betty Grable: Allied Pinup Betty Grable: Allied Pinup GirlGirl
Betty Grable: Allied Pinup Betty Grable: Allied Pinup GirlGirl
She Reminded Men She Reminded Men What They Were Fighting ForWhat They Were Fighting For
Women’s Army Corps
• The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) bill passed Congress on March 15, 1942.
• With the exception of nurses, never had women served within ranks of the United States Army.
• Over 140,000 women served in the WAAC during World War II.
• The WAAC volunteers were not treated fairly: • They experienced unequal pay• They lacked military rank
Join the WomenJoin the Women’’s Army Corpss Army CorpsJoin the WomenJoin the Women’’s Army Corpss Army Corps
Women’s Army Corps• This changed after the passing of
the Women’s Army Corps Bill.• It was put into law on July 1,
1943.• Under this the WAAC became
the WAC (Women’s Army Corps) and the women received full military status.
* This is a WAC Service Medal
The Army Nurses Corps
• More than 59,000 American nurses served during WWII.
• Nurses had many jobs. Such as: • Serving under fire in field hospitals and evacuation
hospitals• Serving on hospital trains and hospital ships• Serving flight nurses on medical transport planes
• Fewer than 4% of American soldiers who got medical care in the field or underwent evacuation died from wounds or disease.
The Army Nurses Corps
• The Army Nurses Corps had only 1,000 nurses listed on December 7 1941.
• On the day of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 82 nurses were stationed in Hawaii.
• After Pearl Harbor there were 12,000 listed nurses. Most of these nurses had no previous training or experience.
• In July 1943, Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell authorized a formal four week training course for all the newly commissioned Army Nurses.
The Army Nurses Corps
• From July 1943 through September 1945 approximately 27,330 newly inducted nurses graduated from 15 Army training centers.
She was a First Lieutenant in Army Nurses Coprs.
She was the first woman to receive The Purple Heart Medal because of combat.
Annie G. Fox
Women Air force Service Pilots
• Many women pilots all over the United States quit their jobs, and left the safety of their homes and families to go to Texas.
• In 1942 there was a shortage of pilots.
• Jackie Cochran and Nancy Harkness Love were the two women who were the driving forces behind the forming of the WASP.
• The women pilots would take the place of the men the Army were sending overseas.
• Once the women heard about this about 25,000 women volunteered.
WomenWomen’’s Army Air Corps s Army Air Corps PilotsPilots
WomenWomen’’s Army Air Corps s Army Air Corps PilotsPilots
Women Air force Service Pilots
• Only 1,830 of those women were accepted for training because the pilot requirements for women were more difficult than for men.
• There was only one base in the entire country for training women Air force pilots.
• Only 1,037 women graduated the training out of of the 1,830 who were accepted.
• On December 20, 1944 the WASP were disbanded.
WASP Wings
• Despite discrimination many minorities joined the armed forces
-300,000 Mexican Americans-1 million African American (served in segregated units and were limited to mostly non combat roles until the last year of the war)-Asian Americans, 13,000 Chinese, 33,000 Japanese (spies and
interpreters)-25,000 Native Americans (800 women)
“Just carve on my tombstone, ‘Here lies a black man killed fighting a yellow man for the protection of a white man.’”
“Why die for democracy for some country when we don’t even have it here?”
• African Americans called for Double “V”- a victory against fascism overseas and at home
Tuskegee Airmen
• All-Black 99th Pursuit Squadron• Trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama• Received 1st victory in Sicily• Shot down 111 enemy aircraft and destroyed 150
on ground– Lost only 66
• Won 2 Distinguished Unit Citations– Highest military commendation
• Benjamin O. Davis Jr.- Leader
“Buffaloes”
• Nicknamed by Native Americans • 92nd Infantry Division• 6 months of fighting won– 7 Legion Merit awards– 65 Silver Stars– 162 Bronze Stars for courage under fire
Received a Medal Received a Medal of Honor due to of Honor due to his actions his actions during the during the bombing of Pearl bombing of Pearl Harbor aboard Harbor aboard the USS West the USS West Virginia.Virginia.
Japanese in Military• Jan 1944- reinstated draft for Japanese• 315 Nisei refused to report 267 convicted of draft
resistance• Volunteers (prove loyalty)• Translated documents, interrogated Japanese
POW’s, and convinced enemy soldiers to surrender– End of war 18,000 joined army– 442nd Infantry- awarded 3,000 Purple Hearts, 810 Bronze
Stars, 342 Silver Stars, 47 Distinguished Service Crosses– Lost 3x its original strength
Navajo Code Talkers used their native Navajo Code Talkers used their native language of Navajo to code language of Navajo to code communication against the Japanese.communication against the Japanese.
“Code Talkers”• Talk and transmit information on tactics,
troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield information in their native dialect
• Secure communications• Native Americans served in all six Marine
divisions, Marine Raider Battalion, and Marine parachute units
Code Talkers
Code Talkers
Native American “Code Talker”Accomplishments
• May 1942 first twenty-nine Navajo Recruits attended boot camp and established the code
• Navajos could encode, transmit, and decode a three line English message in twenty seconds compared to machines that took half an hour
• April 2000, legislation passed that awarded original twenty- nine Navajo Code Talkers the Congressional Gold Medal, and a silver medal to each man qualified as Navajo Code Talker
Minorities at Home
Women at Home
All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League • From softball to baseball– Philip Wrigley (1943-1954) – Kept the sport going during the war
as a sense of moral support
• Shows women doing anything possible to help
South Bend Blue Sox (1943)
They won the League Playoff Championship in 1951 and 1952. One of the only teams that participated in every season of All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1943 to 1954.
African-Americans at Home
African-American’s in the Workforce
• At the beginning of World War II about 5 million African-Americans moved from rural areas to urban areas in the north and west to find work.
• Many found work in industrial factories and defense plants.
• Did not make the best wages or have the right to unionize, still great advance since Depression.
Phillip A. Randolph• Born in Crescent City, Florida April
15, 1889• Moved to New York City in 1911 to
study at the City College of New York• Supporter of African-American
integration into the union movement. Organized the Brothers of Sleeping Car Porters – 1st African-American union
• Planned a mass protest on Washington for African-Americans in the workforce.
Phillip A. Randolph
March on Washington• Wanted Roosevelt to pass
executive order to give more African-American freedoms in the workforce.
• Roosevelt convinced Randolph to call off the protest by passing Executive Order 8802-• Prohibited the discrimination of race in defense plants•Established First Fair Employment Practice Committee
The Detroit Race Riots• Tensions between races rose in June 1943. • June 20, 1943- The riots began in an
amusement park named Belle Island. There had been manyfights between teenagers of different races, the white teenagers were aided by sailors who were located nearby–Fights began between 200 African-
Americans and white sailors• Rumors Spread-–African-Americans claimed the riots began
because a group of white men threw an African-American woman and her baby over the bridge connecting Belle Island to the city
–Whites that a black man raped and killed a white woman on the Belle Island Bridge.
Detroit Race Riots (cont..)• June 21, 1943- an angry group of whites
attacked African-Americans as they got off streetcars at around 4am
• 6 policemen were shot, 75 injured• Whites overturned cars belonging to
African Americans and looted stores– Riots overwhelmed the 2000 police officers
• In the end, 34 people died, 25 of them were African Americans
• 1800 people were arrested for looting and disturbing the peace
• 13 murders remain unsolved• $2 million- property damage
Streetcar that was set afire during early hours of the 1943 Detroit Riots.
White mobs overturning an African-American’s car during the
Detroit Race Riots.
A white mob attacks an African-American boy during the race riots.
Detroit Tribune headline about the race riots and racial tensions throughout the city
Mexican-Americans at Home
Mexican Americans
• Wartime needs demand for employees• Reversed Depression policy forcing Mexicans south• Thousands flock north for work, Los Angeles• Menial jobs, yet plenty of work available–Rising living standards for Mexicans
• Greater ratio than national average in armed forces
The Zoot Suit
• Zoot suits were part of the jazz culture• Defied segregation– Minorities were expected to go unnoticed and
blend in as much as possible– Zoot suits were bold and noticeable.
• Young people who wore zoot suits were usually confident
• Many of these young men were Mexican Americans.
• They were singled out as criminals and considered “gangsters”.
A young man sporting the popular zoot
suit in the 1940’s.
Zoot-Suit Riots
• A pair of Zoot-Suiters can be seen in this picture.
The Zoot Suit Riots• June 1943- The tensions between servicemen
and Mexican Americans escalated into a week of fighting.
• May 30, 1943 a group of servicemen taunted a group and Mexican American young men dressed in zoot suits. This turned into a brawl after a servicemen was hit. He was badly hurt.
The Zoot Suit Riots• On June 3, 1943 servicemen went into the city
with makeshift weapons hoping to avenge the previous fight. They first went to Carmen Theater where they looked through the aisles for people wearing zoot suits, many of those attacked were 12 and 13 year olds. They tore the suits off, beat the young men and burned the zoot suits.
Zoot Suit Riots (cont..)• The next night young Mexican Americans
drove around the Armory where the servicemen were located, looking for trouble. The sailors then came out and took the fight to the Mexican American neighborhoods of East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights
• The LA police did not try to step in and protect the civilians. The riots continued for a week. The worse night being June 7, 1943.
Zoot Suit Riots (cont..)• A Los Angeles newspaper printed a guide to
“de-zooting” a zoot suiter. That night the mobs included not only the original servicemen from the armory, but sailors, military, and marines from all over joined.
• The violence soon ended. Los Angeles was off limits to servicemen on leave and the wearing of zoot suits was banned on LA streets.
Two young men after being attacked in the LA Zoot Suit Riots of 1943.
Servicemen walking through Los Angeles before attacks carrying their makeshift weapons.
