Voices of War: Chapter Five: World War II Home Front (Experiencing War, Veterans History Project, Library of Congress)

Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project (Voices of War)

The Second World War created a homefront culture unlike any other in this nation’s history. There were soldiers, trained and primed to confront the enemy, who never got the call to go overseas. And there were homefront workers and wives who made their own sacrifices to winning the war.

Clare Marie Morrison Crane,
wedding photo with Herbert Johns.
(page 216)

{ ONE WOMAN'S STORY }

MEDA HALLYBURTON
BRENDALL

In 1941, Baltimore’s Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards was in desperate need of qualified workers. They accepted the application of a 30-year-old single mother from North Carolina. When Meda Montana Hallyburton showed up for work in the mostly male preserve of the shipyard, her new bosses quickly found out that they were dealing with a woman who knew -- and spoke -- her mind.

Learn more about Meda Hallyburton Brendall (pages 244-247)

Jump to other stories featured in Chapter Five
* Page numbers refer to the pages in Voices of War on which the veteran appears.

“We were let down—we really thought we were going to fight the enemy.”
–Walter Morris

Image of Clare Marie Crane on wedding day

"Seeing all the other fellows ... with their girls made me so darn lonesome ... that I just up and left."

Clare Marie Morrison Crane's story
(pages 216, 230, 231-238)

"Goofeins Celebrate 3rd Year of Marriage. 'Does This Last Year Count?' Queries Famous Beauty."

Marion Reh Gurfein's story
(pages 226, 227, 228, 229, 238-243)

"We ... focused ... on proving that colored troops were no different than white troops."

Walter Morris ' story
(pages 218, 219-224)

"How did I feel through all of this? Scared to death, naturally..."

Marie Brand Voltzke's story
(pages 223, 224-225)

Chapter Five: World War II Home Front

The Library of Congress
March 17, 2005

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