Lynchburg native Desmond T. Doss (1919-2006) was the first conscientious objector to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. A conscientious objector is one who is opposed to serving in the armed forces and/or bearing arms on the grounds of moral or religious principles. By law, only U.S. service members who distinguish themselves “through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty” can receive the medal.
Corporal Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist, objected to killing and refused to carry a weapon. He served as an Army medical corpsman, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Medical Detachment, 77th Infantry Division. Doss is credited with saving the lives of at least 75 wounded soldiers. Part of his citation states, "Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty."Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the photograph. What do you think is happening in the photograph? What do you notice about the man who is the subject of the photograph?
Post Activities
Think About It: Corporal Doss was a conscientious objector and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions as and Army Medic. Why might someone become choose to be a conscientious objector? Why might the be allowed in a time of war?
Current Connections: Today and throughout the last decade, there have been military actions taken around the world. Although being a conscientious objector is still permitted in all branches of military service, the public may not be aware of this option or how often it is used. Why might this be the case? Explain.
Be the Journalist: Write an editorial of short news article as if you were the Editor- in Chief of a local Bedford newspaper on the one-year anniversary D-Day. How would you commemorate the sacrifice of your fellow citizens?
Analyze: View the records of Bedford residents, including John Wilkes on Out of the Box. What similarities do you see in their pre-war occupations, ages, and personal information?
Based in New York, N.Y., 1942-1946. Artists for Victory, Inc. was a non-profit organization of more than ten thousand artists was formed to assist in the war effort by using their artistic abilities to inform the public about the war effort and to gain support for the war effort. Their activities included a British-American goodwill exhibition, sponsoring portrait drawings, demonstrations of arts and crafts, and instruction in military hospitals. Often, the art created was used as a form of propaganda using purposefully designed goals and strategies to persuade the American public to back the military fighting in World War II.
In the fall of 1942, Artists for Victory, Council for Democracy, and the Museum of Modern Art sponsored the National War Poster Competition. Artists from 43 states submitted 2,224 designs. The posters portrayed 8 themes selected from the President's first war message to Congress on January 6, 1942, as well as 20 slogans. The eight war themes selected were: Production, War Bonds, The Nature of the Enemy, Loose Talk, Slave World or Free World?, The People are on the March, and Deliver Us From Evil.
Artists for Victory selected 50 images and had them reproduced as war posters which would be distributed around the country. Many of the posters juxtaposed the strength and goodness of the Allies' cause with the tyranny and destruction of the nations that fought against them, the Axis powers of Japan, Italy, and German.
Citation: No. 44 of the First Series of 50 War Poster Labels sponsored by Artists for Victory, Inc. Artist - Clarence West, 1943, Records of the World War II History Commission, Miscellaneous Records, Box 1b, Folder 100, Accession 27544, State Records Collection, Library of Virginia.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the war poster. What message is the artist trying to convey? How does it related to the subject indicated in the text on the poster?
Post Activity
Analyze: The poster is a powerful piece of propaganda art. How do these artistic choices affect the impact of the image as a whole? Would you classify these as propaganda compared to other image campaigns of the time period? Why or why not?
Artistic Exploration: Select one of the themes from the poster collection and create your own entry as if you were part of the 1942 competition.
Up for Debate: Do you think propaganda messaging is something that a government should sponsor? Why or why not? Find other examples of WW II-era imagery to support your position.
American society underwent changes during both WWI and WWII. The roles of women shifted from domestic roles as caretakers and home makers to working in male- dominated fields like agriculture and manufacturing in factories. Many factories shifted from producing domestic products to manufacturing needed equipment to support the needs of the military. As part of doing their part to support the war effort, thousands of Virginia women held potions in industry and other war- related jobs which would not have been open to them before the war. As men went off to fight and the job shortage caused by the Great Depression of the 1930’s coming to an end, women had new opportunities to fill positions that would have typically been held by men. After the war ended, returning servicemen wanted to return to their previous employment and, in many cases, the women were replaced by men. Women were expected to return to their domestic roles.
The photograph shows women working in a plant on January 8, 1944 in Newport News, VA. The women worked as part of a team manufacturing hydraulic bridge parts which were to be shipped overseas during WWII. It was not uncommon for women were to be referred to as “girls” in the time period and this is reflected in the title of the photograph.
Citation: U.S. Army Signal Corps. View of Girls Processing a Hydraulic Bridge Erecting Crane, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, 1944, Print & Photographs, Special Collections, Library of Virginia
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the photograph. What are the women doing? How are they dressed? Why might they have been photographed in this way?
Post Activities
Up for Debate: Do you think the term "girls" was appropriate for this photographer to use? Why or why not? What might the public reaction be today to such a title?
Form an Opinion: Write a journal entry as if you were one of the women who found herself out of a job when men returned home from the battlefield.
Another Perspective: You are a serviceman who has returned home and found that your job has been given to a woman. Write a letter to the company asking for your job back. Use relevant information about the roles of men and women during war time to bolster your claim.
STEM Stat: The women shown in the photograph were processing a hydraulic bridge erecting crane. The purpose of this type of crane is to allow for a bridge to be pre- assembled and them moved into place using the hydraulic erecting crane. How might this technology been helpful to US and allied troops in Europe during WW 2? Think of the geographic locations of many of the battles, the presence of bodies of water, and the importance of bridges during the war.
Citation: U.S. Army Signal Corps. View of Girls Processing a Hydraulic Bridge Erecting Crane, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, 1944, Print & Photographs, Special Collections, Library of Virginia
From September 1939 - December 1941, the United States was not officially at war with any of the Axis powers. While support was given to the Allies through programs such as Lend-Lease, there was a strong isolationist sentiment following World War I and the failure of the League of Nations.
Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked Pearl Harbor, an American naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. The fleet was devastated, losing almost 200 airplanes and nearly 20 vessels, including eight battleships. Over 2,000 American soldiers and sailors lost their lives, including over 1,000 men who lost their lives when the USS Arizona sank into the harbor.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation soon after the attack and described it as "A date which will live in infamy." Congress swiftly approved his declaration of war against Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. Pearl Harbor became a rallying point for the war effort. Across the nation, posters were created to show support for the troops being sent to fight the second World War.
Citation: Saalburg, Allen Russell. Remember Dec. 7th! Office of War Information, Washington, D.C. , 1942, Prints & Photographs, Special Collections, Library of Virginia
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the image. What emotions does it evoke? What event would have led to the creation of such an image?
Post Activities
Analyze: The quote on this poster comes not from FDR's rousing speech, but from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Why do you think the creators of this poster would have selected this quote?
Art Exploration: Design another version of this poster. Write a description of your poster in which you explain your design decisions.
Social Media Spin: Create a social media post, using this image to report on the anniversary the event.
On April 14, 1945, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was buried in Hyde Park, New York following funeral services at the White House. Roosevelt had been elected four times to the office of President, a feat never matched, and now prohibited by the 22nd Amendment.
FDR was famous for several major decisions and policies. He regularly held "Fireside Chats" which were broadcasted on the radio. These radio programs changed the way the office of President addressed U.S. citizens. FDR’s New Deal programs and policies sought to alleviate and eradicate the hardships cause by the Great Depression. Programs created in the New Deal included the creation of Social Security, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Works Progress Administration. As a wartime President, FDR led the United States in its fight against Hitler in Europe and Japan in the Pacific during World War Two. He is remembered for his rousing address after the bombing of Pearl Harbor which stirred support for the US entry into the war.
In this proclamation, J.L. Bland, the Mayor of West Point, Virginia, calls for all businesses to close at 4:00 pm in recognition of the funeral services which were scheduled for that time.
Learn more about FDR from WhiteHouse.gov
Citation: Bland, J.L. Proclamation in recognition and honor of our beloved president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, West Point, Va., 1945. Broadside 1945 .B5 BOX, Special Collections, Library of Virginia
Preview Activity
Scan It: Scan the document. What is it announcing? Why would someone write such an announcement?
Post Activities
Up for Debate: Do you think that businesses should have closed to honor the time of the President's funeral? Why or why not?
Social Media Spin: Create a social media post announcing the funeral of FDR. Include information about his historical significance.
After the United States entered WW I in 1917, young men who worked in agriculture left to join the military or find better jobs working for the government and the burgeoning defense industry. The departure of them men left farms without enough people to work the fields and tend the crops. Although the government offered incentives to encourage men remaining in the US to work in agriculture the effort was not successful.
Britain also struggled with food insecurity for the same reasons. The government created the Women’s Land War Army to recruit and train women to work in agriculture. In this capacity, women would provide needed food to their communities and nation. Inspired by this effort, several women’s colleges in the US began to train women to work in agriculture to meet the growing demand for food.
In 1917, the Women's Land Army of America (WWLA) was formed in order to provide essential labor to American farms and farmers. The director of the WWLA was Harriet Stanton Blatch, the daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton who was a leader of the suffrage movement. A number of the WWLA members were also suffragists who believed that their patriotic act of working in agriculture would bring attention to the suffrage movement. From 1943 to 1945 the Women's Land Army recruited, trained, and placed millions of women on American farms. This program sent both rural and urban women to the farms, where they assisted in providing the necessary food products and commodities for a nation at war. Women working outside of the home led to major changes in the societal roles of men and women which would be felt for years to come.
Inspirational, informative, instructive, imploring—posters were a major part of the war effort. Virginians would have seen many of these posters. The most common place to see such posters in Virginia would have been in train stations and other areas of transportation. Other types of posters in the period would have encouraged saving scrap materials, following restricted diets, contacting servicemen, and supporting the war effort through war bonds.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the way the women are depicted in the poster. Why do you think the women portrayed in this image look the way they do? What are they doing?
Post Activities
Analyze: Women were not encouraged to work outside of the home before the war, but they became a critical part of the workforce during the war. Why would women, particularly those in college, choose to receive training in agriculture? What did they hope to gain?
Social Media Spin: Create a social media post in which you encourage women to be trained in agriculture to support the war effort. Be sure to include references to the WWLA and their mission.
Form an Opinion: Write a journal entry in which you describe how you would have felt if you were a woman recruited from the city to move to a rural agricultural community. What challenges might you face?
The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and ends November 30, with the season’s peak occurring between August and October. During the very active hurricane season of 1933, the Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane hit coastal Virginia on August 23, 1933. The intense rain and sustained winds caused catastrophic damage. The storm was first noticed when it was east of the Windward Islands. By mid-August, the tropical storm was 900 miles east of Puerto Rico and within 150 miles of Bermuda. On August 23rd, the storm, now a hurricane, changed track. The eye of the hurricane passed over Norfolk and moved north.
The affected area covered large parts of the city of Norfolk, Princess Anne, Northampton, Accomack, York, Gloucester, Mathews, and Lancaster counties. Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland counties were also affected to a lesser extent. The hurricane caused $27.2 million in damage and fewer than 20 deaths in the state.
Citation: Hurricane Recovery in Tidewater Virginia: A Partial Report on Red Cross Relief and Rehabilitation in the Area Damaged by Wind and Tidal Wave on August, 23, 1933, Mathews County Red Cross Records (Barcode 1184542), Library of Virginia.
Earth Science: ES.12
Preview Activity
Scan It: Scan the document. What words or phrases provide information about the subject of the document?
Post Activity
STEM STAT: Hurricanes can have sustained rain and wind that cause widespread damage across large areas. Where do hurricanes form? Why do they travel across oceans and follow somewhat predictable patterns? Consider how currents impact developing storms and the number of densely populated coastal communities when writing your response.
Current Connections: Hurricanes are more frequent and stronger that in the past. What can be done to make hurricane prone coastal areas safer? Why might it be important to preserve parts of coastal areas? Explain.