As we examined in the previous post, it seemed like everyone, young and old alike, in America was mobilized for the Allied war effort creating what FDR called an "arsenal of democracy". Aside from the mobilization of the American homefront, America also mobilized its armed forces and civil defense volunteers. This post will take a look at how the American military mobilized to fight abroad and how civil defense volunteers mobilized to keep the homefront safe in case war reached the American mainland.
Recruitment
A little over a year prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, in September 1940, FDR and Congress for concerned with the growing threat of war. Due to this concern the nation's first peacetime military draft was approved. By December 1941, America's military had grown to nearly 2.2 million soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines.
America's armed forces consisted largely of "citizen soldiers", men and women who had been drawn from civilian life. Many were volunteers rather than draftees, and they came from every state in the nation and from all socioeconomic levels. Although many of these citizen soldiers voluntarily joined the armed forces, about 10 million more would enter the ranks via the draft, with most being drafted into the US Army.
In 1940, the Selective Training and Service Act was passed, requiring all men ages 18 to 64 to register for the draft. Eventually, 36 million men had registered for the draft.
From the Selective Services pool, individuals were selected for examination by a draft board that would determine if a man was fit to enter military service.
After being chosen by the draft board, potential servicemen reported to induction centers where they went through physical and psychiatric examinations. Upon passing these exams the man was fingerprinted, signed his induction papers, was issued a serial number, and was administered the oath of office. The man was then shipped to a training camp for basic training, more medical examinations, inoculations, and aptitude tests.
Training and Barracks Life
Basic training is real boys became men in ordinary civilians became soldiers.
At the training camps new recruits underwent rigorous physical conditioning. They were trained to use and maintain their weapons; they were trained to work as a team; they took examinations to determine their talents and were taught more specialized skills; and those who were moving on to become paratroopers, anti-aircraft teams, desert troops, and other unique units were trained at specialized training camps.
Military life in the 1940s was much like it is today. Upon their arrival at the camps for basic training, recruits were stripped of the freedom and individuality they enjoyed and their civilian lives. Recruits were given identical haircuts, uniforms, and equipment; they were assigned to spartan barracks that afforded no privacy and little room for personal belongings; and their daily lives and vault rigorous physical and combat training, routine inspections, and overall strict military conduct.
Civilian Defense Volunteers
Americans didn't just volunteer get drafted into the war. Many Americans trains to keep the American mainland safe as well.
Civilian defense volunteers, as these individuals were known, trained to defend the nation from enemy bombing and/or invasion. They trained in first aid, aircraft spotting, bomb removal, and firefighting; air raid wardens led practice drills and blackouts; and a total of over 10 million Americans were trained as a civilian defense volunteers.
Americans from all walks of life aided in the military's effort at home and abroad. Next time on the blog, we'll examine the American shopping mall and its role in World War II and beyond.
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