Traveling
Tuesday: Ohio Does its Bit
I recently read Tamera Lynn Kraft’s Red Sky Over America, a novel about
Oberlin College, and the role it played during the Civil War. The book’s
Afterward included lots of information about the college and Ohio’s stance on
slavery. Fascinated, I got to wondering about how Ohio contributed to WWII,
another war that heavily impacted the U.S.
The war hit Ohio immediately when it took dozens of
its citizens during the attack at Pearl Harbor. Three Ohioans were posthumously
awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their heroism during the incident,
including Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, Machinst’s First Mate First Class
Robert R, Scott, and Seaman First Class James Richard Ward. About twelve
percent of the state’s population served in the armed forces during the war. Of
that number approximately 23,000 lost their lives, making the ultimate
sacrifice.
Like many other states, Ohio’s manufacturing plants
were converted from civilian to defense industry production. (Click for photos of a Tire Plant Conversion). One of those businesses was Willys-Overland Motor
Company, now famous for its Jeeps.

Goodyear Aircraft Company located in Akron also
participating in producing wartime materiel by manufacturing 104 airships for
the military. The plant also manufactured the F4U Corsair for the Navy. From
its humble beginnings of thirty-nine employees, Goodyear grew to over
thirty-five thousand employees by 1942.

As with citizens all over the country, Ohioans
collected scrap, grew victory gardens, and lived with rationing. They purchased
war bonds, operated Red Cross and USO centers, and performed myriad Civil
Defense duties. Their men went to war or worked in the defense industry, and
their women joined the ranks of the employed, doing their bit to ensure the
future of freedom.
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