"New York at War" was a

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

and civilian

home front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin#During World War I, Zeppelin raids and endured Rationin ...

procession held supporting the World War II

mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

effort on June 13, 1942. It was considered at the time the largest parade ever held in New York City, with up to 500,000 marching up

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

(from

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...

to 79th Street) and 2,500,000 spectators in attendance. The parade coincided with a global "

United Nations Day United Nations Day is an annual commemorative day, reflecting the official creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, ...

" launched by President Franklin Roosevelt tied to US Flag Day on June 14, six months after the

Declaration by United Nations The Declaration by United Nations was the main treaty that formalized the Allies of World War II and was signed by 47 national governments between 1942 and 1945. On 1 January 1942, during the Arcadia Conference, the Allied "Four Policemen, Big Fo ...

Hugo Gellert Hugo Gellert (born Hugó Grünbaum, May 3, 1892 December 9, 1985) was a Hungarian-American illustrator and muralist. A committed radical and member of the Communist Party of America, Gellert created much work for political activism in the 1920s ...

led a committee of artists that designed the approximately 300 floats in the parade. The march was organized by Mayor

Fiorello H. La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

as honorary chairman, his deputy

Grover Whalen Grover Aloysius Whalen (1886–1962) was a prominent politician, businessman, and public relations guru in New York City during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Whalen was born on July 2, 1886, in New York City, the son of an Irish immigrant fath ...

as chairman, and General

Hugh Aloysius Drum Hugh Aloysius Drum (September 19, 1879 – October 3, 1951) was a career United States Army officer who served in World War I and World War II and attained the rank of lieutenant general. He was notable for his service as chief of staff of the F ...

grand marshal Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military rank, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. ...

. Other dignitaries on the reviewing stand included Governor

Herbert H. Lehman Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American Democratic Party politician from New York. He served from 1933 until 1942 as the 45th governor of New York and represented New York State in the U.S. Senate from 194 ...

, Vice President Henry A. Wallace, the exiled King

George II of Greece George II ( el, Γεώργιος Βʹ, ''Geórgios II''; 19 July Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S.:_7_July.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O.S.:_7_July">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="nowiki/ ...

and Prime Minister

Emmanouil Tsouderos Emmanouil Tsouderos ( el, Εμμανουήλ Τσουδερός, also transliterated as ''Emmanuel Tsouderos''; 19 July 1882 – 10 February 1956) was a political and financial figure of Greece. During World War II, he was the internationally r ...

, President of the Philippines

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...

, Duchess of Windsor

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

, and

Princess Märtha of Sweden Princess Märtha of Sweden (Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra; 28 March 1901 – 5 April 1954) was Crown Princess of Norway as the spouse of the future King Olav V from 1929 until her death in 1954. The presently reigning King Harald V is he ...

. Despite a celebration of groups including German Americans and Italian Americans,

Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

were excluded from the march, leading to objections from the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

References

External links

Mayor's Committee for Mobilization "New York at War" - The Plan of the Demonstration, 1942''American on the March!''

Paramount News Paramount News is the name on the newsreels produced by Paramount Pictures from 1927 to 1957. History The Paramount newsreel operation began in 1927 with Emanuel Cohen as an editor. It typically distributed two issues per week to theaters across t ...

{{Authority control United States home front during World War II 1942 in New York City Military parades in the United States Parades in New York City 1942 in military history June 1942 events

See also

References

External links