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I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE,
BUT I SHALL SAY IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.
YOUR BOYS ARE NOT GOING TO BE SENT INTO ANY FOREIGN WAR.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
Narrator: IN 1940, FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT CAMPAIGNED
ON THE PROMISE TO KEEP THE NATION
OUT OF FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENTS,
WELL AWARE THAT THE AMERICAN VOTER HAD NO TASTE FOR WAR.
BUT THE PRESIDENT -- AND THE COUNTRY --
HAD CAUSE FOR ALARM.
WITH EACH PASSING MONTH,
THE AXIS POWERS' TIDE OF AGGRESSION SPREAD,
THREATENING TO ENGULF THE WORLD.
BY THE FALL OF 1941,
ADOLF HITLER'S BLITZKRIEG
HAD CRUSHED RESISTANCE ACROSS EUROPE,
LEAVING A WAKE OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.
A NAZI INVASION OF BRITAIN WAS STALLED,
BUT HITLER VOWED TO SMASH THE ISLAND NATION.
HALF A WORLD AWAY, IN THE PACIFIC,
JAPAN'S MINISTER OF WAR, HIDEKI TOJO,
FORGED A BRUTAL REPUTATION
WITH A MURDEROUS INVASION OF MANCHURIA
AND AN ATTACK ON FRENCH INDOCHINA.
ON DECEMBER 7, 1941,
THE FOREIGN WAR CAME TO AMERICA.
IN THE SPACE OF TWO HOURS,
A JAPANESE AIR ASSAULT ON PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII,
DECIMATED THE U.S. PACIFIC FLEET
AND KILLED NEARLY 2,500 SERVICEMEN.
WITHIN THREE DAYS, THE WORLD WAS AT WAR.
THE PRESIDENT BRACED THE COUNTRY
FOR THE CHALLENGES THAT LAY AHEAD.
WE ARE NOW IN THIS WAR.
WE'RE ALL IN IT, ALL THE WAY.
EVERY SINGLE MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD IS A PARTNER
IN THE MOST TREMENDOUS UNDERTAKING
OF OUR AMERICAN HISTORY.
Narrator: JUST TWO YEARS EARLIER,
THE U.S. MILITARY WAS WEAK,
AND THE NATION ILL-PREPARED FOR BATTLE.
BUT AS EVENTS OVERSEAS BECAME INCREASINGLY OMINOUS,
THE COUNTRY BEGAN TO REBUILD ITS ARMED FORCES.
DECEMBER 7th SHOCKED THE NATION INTO DRAMATIC ACTION.
"REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR" BECAME AMERICA'S BATTLE CRY.
EAGER YOUNG MEN ANXIOUS TO FIGHT
FLOCKED TO ARMED SERVICES RECRUITING OFFICES.
OVER FIVE MILLION VOLUNTEERED FOR DUTY.
10 MILLION MORE WERE DRAFTED DURING THE WAR.
AFTER EIGHT WEEKS OF BASIC TRAINING,
THESE NEW RECRUITS WERE BATTLE-TRAINED
AND READY TO FIGHT.
NEW SOLDIERS WERE GIVEN UNIFORMS, WEAPONS, SUPPLIES,
AND STANDARD HAIRCUTS.
EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED WAS GOVERNMENT ISSUE.
IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE SOLDIERS THEMSELVES
WERE BEING REFERRED TO AS GOVERNMENT ISSUE, OR G.I.'s.
AMERICANS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS
SIGNED UP FOR THE ARMED FORCES.
OVER ONE MILLION AFRICAN-AMERICANS
SERVED DURING THE WAR,
THOUGH SEGREGATION AND PREJUDICE
FORCED THEM INTO SUPPORT POSITIONS
UNTIL NEAR THE END OF THE WAR.
WOMEN JOINED THE FIGHT, TOO.
DURING THE WAR, OVER 250,000 WOMEN
SERVED IN MANY ROLES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD,
SUCH AS PILOTS, NURSES, AND MECHANICS.
AS THE U.S. BUILT ITS FIGHTING FORCES,
THE PRESIDENT CALLED UPON THE NATION'S MANUFACTURING MIGHT
TO BUILD THE IMPLEMENTS OF WAR NEEDED TO FIGHT THE ENEMY.
WE SHALL NEED EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE
AND EVERYTHING THAT OUR ALLIES HAVE
TO DEFEAT THE NAZIS AND THE FASCISTS
IN THE COMING BATTLES ON THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE
AND THE JAPANESE ON THE CONTINENT OF ASIA
AND IN THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC.
Narrator: THE U.S. MOBILIZATION FOR WAR
STANDS AMONG THE MONUMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
IN RECORD TIME,
THE U.S. ECONOMY WAS COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED
FROM PRODUCING PEACETIME GOODS TO MAXIMUM WAR PRODUCTION.
FDR ESTABLISHED THE WAR PRODUCTION BOARD --
THE WPB -- TO DIRECT THE EFFORT,
AND HE SET DEMANDING GOALS.
IN THIS YEAR, 1942, WE SHALL PRODUCE
60,000 PLANES,
45,000 TANKS,
20,000 ANTIAIRCRAFT GUNS.
WE SHALL BUILD EIGHT MILLION TONS
OF MERCHANT SHIPS.
Narrator: NATIONWIDE DRIVES WERE ORGANIZED
TO COLLECT SCRAP IRON AND TIN, RAGS, PAPER --
EVEN COOKING FAT -- TO BE RECYCLED INTO WAR SUPPLIES.
AND METALS AND OTHER RAW MATERIALS
WERE DIVERTED FOR USE IN WAR PRODUCTION.
NEW DEFENSE PLANTS AND SHIPYARDS SPRANG UP SEEMINGLY OVERNIGHT,
AND EXISTING FACTORIES WERE CONVERTED
TO MILITARY MANUFACTURING.
INDUSTRIALIST HENRY J. KAISER BECOME A NATIONAL HERO
AS HIS SHIPYARDS BUILT NEARLY 1,500 LIBERTY SHIPS.
HENRY FORD'S MASSIVE ASSEMBLY LINES
TURNED OUT A B-24 BOMBER EVERY 63 MINUTES,
AND THE NATION'S RAILROADS
MADE DELIVERING RAW MATERIALS AND WAR SUPPLIES
THEIR TOP PRIORITY.
AFTER A DECADE-LONG DEPRESSION,
WAR PRODUCTION REVITALIZED THE U.S. ECONOMY.
SUDDENLY, A NATION WITH TOO FEW JOBS
HAD TO WORK OVERTIME TO SUPPLY THE ALLIED EFFORT.
AS THE NATION'S MEN LEFT FOR THE FIGHTING FRONT,
WOMEN JOINED THE WORK FORCE TO FILL THE VACANT POSITIONS.
MANY OF THEM TOOK JOBS IN THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY,
MAKING ROSIE THE RIVETER A LEGEND OF WARTIME PRODUCTION.
AFRICAN-AMERICANS MIGRATED FROM THE RURAL SOUTH
TO WORK IN THE INDUSTRIAL CENTERS OF THE NORTH AND WEST.
MANY WERE REFUSED JOBS BECAUSE OF RACE.
AS A RESULT, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER,
BARRING HIRING DISCRIMINATION
IN DEFENSE INDUSTRIES AND THE GOVERNMENT
AND ESTABLISHED
THE FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE COMMITTEE
TO REPORT ON UNFAIR WORK PRACTICES,
OPENING THE DOORS OF EMPLOYMENT
FOR MORE THAN TWO MILLION AFRICAN-AMERICANS.
BY THE END OF THE WAR,
U.S. INDUSTRY AND THE AMERICAN WORKER
WERE PRODUCING MORE WEAPONS AND FIREPOWER
THAN ALL OTHER NATIONS COMBINED.
SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY WOULD PROVE VITAL TO DEFEATING THE ENEMY.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ESTABLISHED THE OSRD --
THE OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT --
TO BRING AMERICA'S LEADING SCIENTISTS INTO THE WAR EFFORT.
MANY INNOVATIONS DEVELOPED OR IMPROVED DURING WORLD WAR II
ARE STILL USED TODAY,
LIKE RADAR AND SONAR TECHNOLOGY
NEEDED TO SPOT ENEMY AIRPLANES AND SUBMARINES
AND SO-CALLED MIRACLE DRUGS LIKE PENICILLIN,
WHICH PREVENTED THE INFECTION OF BATTLEFIELD WOUNDS.
SECRETLY, THE OSRD WAS SUPERVISING A WEAPONS PROJECT
THAT WOULD PLAY A DECIDING ROLE IN THE WAR --
THE CREATION OF THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB.
THE COST OF WAR WAS STAGGERING.
TO FINANCE THE EFFORT,
GOVERNMENT ADVERTISEMENTS ENCOURAGED CITIZENS
TO "BUY WAR BONDS."
[ BUGLE PLAYS "TAPS" ]
Man: WHAT DO THEY ASK OF US, THE HEROES WE MOURN?
WHAT DO THEY ASK OF US,
OUR MARCHING SONS ACROSS THE SEAS?
TO STAND SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH THEM.
HERE AT HOME TO DO THE JOB OF FORGING THE GUNS OF VENGEANCE.
BONDS ARE OUR WEAPONS. STOP ON THE WAY OUT.
YOU WANT TO SAY WHAT'S IN YOUR HEART.
SAY IT WITH BONDS!
Narrator: AMERICANS RESPONDED,
INVESTING OVER $185 BILLION TOWARD VICTORY.
CONGRESS RAISED INCOME TAXES
AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME,
DEDUCTED FEDERAL TAXES FROM PAYCHECKS EACH WEEK.
TO CONTROL INFLATION,
CONGRESS CREATED THE OFFICE OF PRICE ADMINISTRATION --
THE O.P.A. --
WHICH FROZE THE PRICE OF MANY GOODS.
THE O.P.A. ISSUED RATION BOOKS,
LIMITING THE PURCHASE OF GROCERIES,
CLOTHING, AND FUEL,
AND SENDING THE BADLY NEEDED SURPLUS
TO SUPPLY ALLIED SOLDIERS.
AMERICANS GREW VICTORY GARDENS FOR FOOD.
THEY CUT BACK ON TRAVEL
AND CARPOOLED OR RODE BICYCLES TO SAVE PRECIOUS GASOLINE.
DRIVING ALONE WAS CONSIDERED UNPATRIOTIC.
THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR
UNIFIED THE COUNTRY IN MANY WAYS,
BUT IT ALSO STIRRED LONG-STANDING PREJUDICE
AGAINST JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA.
BOWING TO POLITICAL PRESSURE,
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ORDERED THE IMMEDIATE RELOCATION
OF OVER 110,000 JAPANESE-AMERICANS
TO REMOTE DETENTION CAMPS.
THEY WERE FORCED TO ABANDON OR SELL THEIR HOMES AND BUSINESSES,
IN SOME CASES OVERNIGHT.
MANY LOST EVERYTHING.
MORE THAN 70,000 OF THE RELOCATED WERE NISEI,
JAPANESE-AMERICANS BORN IN AMERICA
AND CITIZENS OF THE U.S.
DESPITE THE UNFAIR TREATMENT,
THE INTERNED JAPANESE-AMERICANS DID THEIR BEST
TO MAKE THE CAMPS TOLERABLE
AND REMAINED LOYAL TO THE UNITED STATES.
MANY NISEI EVEN BECAME U.S. SOLDIERS.
REGRETTABLY, MORE THAN 100,000 JAPANESE-AMERICANS
SPENT THE ENTIRE WAR IN DETENTION CAMPS.