Arizona during World War II
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The history of Arizona during World War II begins in 1940, when the United States government began constructing military bases within the state in preparation for war.
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
's contribution to the
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
war effort was significant both in terms of manpower and facilities supported in the state. Prisoner of war camps were operated at
Camp Florence , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = Main Street original town-site of Florence Arizona National Register of Historic Places.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Main Street of the original town ...
and
Papago Park Papago Park () is a municipal park of the cities of Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, United States. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride. It includes Hunt's Tomb, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Description ...
, and there was an internment camp to house Japanese-Americans, most of them citizens, who had been forcibly deported from the West Coast. The war years provided great economic stimulus, both because of the numbers of troops at camps in the state, and increase in demand, and the expansion of wartime demand for such materials as copper and other metals. Industries expanded, adding to the state's recovery from the Great Depression.


Hispanics

During the war, Mexican-American community organizations promoted efforts to support American troops abroad. They worked both to support the war effort materially and to provide moral support for young American men fighting the war, especially their young Mexican-American men from local communities. Some community projects were cooperative between Anglo and Hispanic communities, but most were localized within the Mexican-American community. Mexican-American women also organized to assist their servicemen and the war effort; an underlying goal of Tucson's Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association was the reinforcement of the woman's role in Spanish-Mexican culture. Members raised thousands of dollars, wrote letters, and joined in numerous celebrations of their culture and their support for Mexican-American servicemen. Membership reached more than 300 during the war. The organization stopped operating in 1976.Julie A. Campbell, "Madres Y Esposas: Tucson's Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association," ''Journal of Arizona History'' (1990) 31#2 pp: 161–182,


Casualties


Prisoner of war camps

Arizona's Camp Florence, on the
Florence Military Reservation Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, was the first permanent alien enemy camp constructed during World War II. Construction began during 1942 to house 3000 internees, with room to expand to 6000. The initial construction budget was $4.8 million. The United States did not detain numerous enemy aliens here, so the Army used Camp Florence as a POW camp.


Gallery

File:Pearlharborcolork13513.jpg, Eight Arizonans were killed aboard USS ''Arizona'' during the attack on Pearl Harbor. File:Williams Army Airfield - Main Gate 1942.jpg, The entrance to Williams Field in 1942. File:AT-6C Texans in flight 1943.jpg, Two AT-6 Texans in flight near Luke Field in 1943. File:Pfc. Ira H. Hayes, a Pima, at age 19, ready to jump, Marine Corps Paratroop School, 1943 - NARA - 519164.tif,
Ira Hayes Ira Hamilton Hayes (January 12, 1923 – January 24, 1955) was an Akimel O'odham Native American and a United States Marine during World War II. Hayes was an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community, located in Pinal and Maricopa ...
(
Pima Pima or PIMA may refer to: People * Pima people, the Akimel O'odham, Indigenous peoples in Arizona (U.S.) and Sonora (Mexico) Places * Pima, Arizona, a town in Graham County * Pima County, Arizona * Pima Canyon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains ...
) seen here preparing to parachute out of an aircraft in 1943, was from Sacaton. He fought in many engagements in the South Pacific before becoming famous for raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the
Battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJ ...
. File:VIEW SHOWING ITALIAN PRISONERS OF WAR WORKING ON THE ARIZONA CANAL Photographer- unknown. December 1943 - Arizona Canal, North of Salt River, Phoenix, Maricopa County, AZ HAER ARIZ,7-PHEN.V,1-19.tif, Italian prisoners of war work on the Arizona Canal in 1943. File:Douglas Army Airfield B-25 - 1944.jpg,
B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
crewmen at Douglas Army Airfield in 1944. File:Kingman AAF Postcard - Skeet FIring.jpg,
Skeet shooting Skeet shooting is a recreational and competitive activity where participants use shotguns to attempt to break clay targets which two fixed stations mechanically fling into the air at high speed and at a variety of angles. Skeet is one of the t ...
at
Kingman Field Kingman Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located northeast of the central business district of Kingman, a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The Kingman Municipal Airport, also known as the Kingman Army Airfield, was ...
in 1944. File:The Hirano family, left to right, George, Hisa, and Yasbei. Colorado River Relocation Center, Poston, Arizona., 1942... - NARA - 535989.tif, The Hirano family, ethnic Japanese removed from California, were among thousands interned at the Poston War Relocation Center from 1942 to 1945. File:Cuidado - Take Care, Bushmasters!.jpg, The Bushmasters during the Philippines Campaign in 1945.


See also

*
American Theater (World War II) The American Theater was a theater of operations during World War II including all continental American territory, and extending into the ocean. Owing to North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of ...
*
Battle of Ambos Nogales The Battle of Ambos Nogales (The Battle of Both Nogales), or as it is known in Mexico ''La batalla del 27 de agosto'' (The Battle of 27 August), was an engagement fought on 27 August 1918 between Mexican military and civilian militia forces and ...
*
Bisbee Riot The Bisbee Riot, or the Battle of Brewery Gulch, occurred on July 3, 1919, between the black Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry and members of local police forces in Bisbee, Arizona. Following a confrontation between a military policeman a ...
* Fort Lawton Riot *
Military history of the United States during World War II The military history of the United States during World War II covers the victorious Allied war against the Axis Powers, starting with the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and ending with the 2 September 1945 surrender of Japan. During ...
* Nevada during World War II * New Mexico during World War II *
Arizona World War II Army Airfields During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Arizona for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers. Most of these airfields were under the command of Fourth Air Force or the Arm ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World War II, History of Arizona during 1940s in Arizona History of Arizona Military history of Arizona
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
Economy of Arizona Wars fought in Arizona