Impact of World War 2 on the City of Louisville, Ky

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IMPACT OF WORLD WAR II ON THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE BY: SARAH WINCHELL World War 2 began in 1939 when Germany declared war on Poland hours after the Germans faked an attack from Poland. This resulted in France and Britain, because they had a defensive pact with Poland at the time, declaring war on Germany. Japan wanting more land and resources, had begun taking over China. The U.S. didn’t want to aid the Japanese so they set up embargos cutting off Japanese exports. This would cripple the Japanese forces. Without oil the Japanese were unable to fuel their navy and military thus incapable of taking over another country. Japan responded with a surprise attack to the United States Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese thought if they destroyed the U.S. Navy, the strongest during that time, they would be successful in gaining control over China by the time the U.S. recovered. Luckily some of the ships were out doing routine training at the time of the attack. The day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, December 8, 1941, the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the U.S. had joined the War. When America joined the war it created thousands of jobs. Companies stopped making their regular products and started manufacturing parts and materials needed for the war. Many Louisville factories produced and supplied the Armed Forces during World War 2. When the men got drafted women stepped up and took over their jobs creating war workers all over the city. One of the most important war contributions made by Louisville was the use of Bowman Field as the U.S. Army Air Corps Detachment Squadron base. The 1st Troop Carrier Command was based at Bowman Field as well with the motto, “They Get There First” (Tyler 71). The 1st Troop Carrier Command was a special unit assigned to fly airborne troops and supplies into battlefields in North Africa and the South

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