Home Front Heroes: Women in World War II

During World War II, American women made enormous contributions to the war effort. Yet, much of their "fighting" took place not on the battlefront, but on the home front. Their home front activities offered challenges and opportunities never available before to women -- even everyday tasks took on greater meaning and depth. The contributions of millions of American women on the home front were vital -- they helped win World War II.

Women worked in factories to produce military equipment; helped care for wounded soldiers and provided emotional support for troops. They grew Victory Gardens in the city and cultivated crops on America's farms, feeding those at home and abroad. Women even flew airplanes.

In this video, Curator of Domestic Life Jeanie Miller shows how four different garments tell the stories of our home front heroes during World War II.

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0:00 Introduction
1:28 Training to be a Pilot
2:32 Working in Defense Industries
3:25 Volunteering for the Red Cross
4:37 Providing a Connection to Civilian Life
5:51 Closing

[USNveteran]

My mother in law stitched parachutes at a place in Pennsylvania in WWII. My father in law joined the Navy on 12/8/41 at 16 they both were what I call true card carrying members of that GREATEST GENERATION. FLY NAVY!!!

[CapCarter]

Thank you for making and uploading this video. I love learning about women’s roles during WWII. Learning about the WAVES, WASPs, WACs, SPARS, and USWMCR is endlessly fascinating to me. The dresses and uniforms shown here are so cool.

[The_Super_NOVA]

The factory uniform reminds me of modern USPS uniforms