WWII and Texas Lesson Part 2

WWII and Texas Lesson Part 2

How did Texas get involved?

WHAT WAS TEXAS LIKE BEFORE WWII?

• At the beginning of the war, most Texans lived on farms or in small towns.

• Women worked in the home and/or in the fields.

• There were few opportunities for minorities.

WHAT WAS TEXAS

LIKE BEFORE WWII?

• Only 1 out of 10 Texans finished high school.

• Only 1 out of 5 owned a car.

• Only 1 out of 6 had a radio.

HOW WAS TEXAS

INVOLVED IN WWII?

• 750,000 Texans served in the military during the war.

• 22,000 Texans died in the war.

• 1.5 million soldiers came to the many military training bases built in Texas.

Texas was a key training state for the military:

• 175 military installations

• 65 army airfields

• 35 army forts

• 7 naval based

• 60 Prisoner of war camps

Ninety-nine marine volunteers leaving San Antonio from the Southern Pacific Depot.

The largest group to leave from a single station in the southern recruiting district.

5-Star Admiral Chester Nimitz

Nimitz was from Fredericksburg and was the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Ocean Areas for U.S. and Allied air, land, and sea forces.

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HOW WAS TEXAS INVOLVED IN WWII?

33 Texans were awarded the

Medal of Honor.

Audie Murphy

Audie Murphy was from Hunt county and was the most decorated soldier of the war.

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Cleto Rodriguez

Cleto Rodriguez, from

San Antonio, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

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Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman, from Waxahachie, was the first African American female pilot to hold an international pilot license.

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HOW WAS TEXAS

INVOLVED IN WWII?

• People began moving from rural areas to the larger cities to take jobs in the war industry factories.

• Texans rationed (limited) their food and goods to help with the war effort and “made do” with less.

• Scrap metal drives helped to provide metal for war supplies and machines.

Children aid the war effort by collecting scrap metal with help from a donkey.

HOW WAS TEXAS INVOLVED IN WWII?

• Texans saved the kitchen fat and sent it to help in the construction of explosives.

• Texans entertained the troops stationed in Texas for training.

• Oil and gas helped to provide fuel to the military.

HOW WAS TEXAS INVOLVED IN WWII?

• To protect the Texas oil shipments to the East Coast for war efforts, a pipeline was built.

• Approximately 90% of the war effort oil came from Texas, so Texas fueled the U.S. victory of WWII.

• The Navy had a battleship named the “The USS Texas” which served in the invasion of North Africa.

WHAT WAS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF WWII ON TEXAS?

• Oil and gas continued to boom as new oil fields were discovered.

• The movement from rural areas to the cities led to the urbanization of the state.

• Texas went from a primarily rural, agricultural state to a diversified state of not only agriculture and oil but also industry, factories, and big business.

WHAT WAS THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF WWII ON TEXAS?

• Women and minorities were afforded professional opportunities in the military and business that forever changed the face of the Texas workforce.

• This led to the later Civil Rights achievements.

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Women were assimilated into traditionally male-only plants to help with the shortage of workers.

WHAT WAS THE IMPACT

OF WWII ON TEXAS?

Texans played a vital role in supporting the war efforts, which helped launch the modernization and urbanization of Texas.