During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent in ten concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), mostly in the western interior of the country. Approximately two-thirds of the detainees were United States citizens. These actions were initiated by Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, following Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam, the Philippines, and Wake Island in December 1941. Before the war, about 127,000 Japanese Americans lived in the continental United States, of which about 112,000 lived on the West Coast. About 80,000 were Nisei and Sansei. The rest were Issei immigrants born in Japan, who were ineligible for citizenship. In Hawaii, where more than 150,000 Japanese Americans comprised more than one-third of the territory's population, only 1,200 to 1,800 were incarcerated.
Florence is a town in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. Florence, which is the county seat of Pinal County, is one of the oldest towns in that county and includes a National Historic District with over 25 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The population of Florence was 26,785 at the 2020 census.
The War Relocation Authority (WRA) was a United States government agency established to handle the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It also operated the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York, which was the only refugee camp set up in the United States for refugees from Europe. The agency was created by Executive Order 9102 on March 18, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was terminated June 26, 1946, by order of President Harry S. Truman.
The history of Arizona encompasses the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Post-Archaic, Spanish, Mexican, and American periods. About 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians settled in what is now Arizona. A few thousand years ago, the Ancestral Puebloan, the Hohokam, the Mogollon and the Sinagua cultures inhabited the state. However, all of these civilizations mysteriously disappeared from the region in the 15th and 16th centuries. Today, countless ancient ruins can be found in Arizona. Arizona was part of the state of Sonora, Mexico from 1822, but the settled population was small. In 1848, under the terms of the Mexican Cession the United States took possession of Arizona above the Gila River after the Mexican War, and became part of the Territory of New Mexico. By means of the Gadsden Purchase, the United States secured the northern part of the state of Sonora, which is now Arizona south of the Gila River in 1854.
As many as 25,000 Native Americans in World War II fought actively: 21,767 in the Army, 1,910 in the Navy, 874 in the Marines, 121 in the Coast Guard, and several hundred Native American women as nurses. These figures included over one-third of all able-bodied Native American men aged 18 to 50, and even included as high as seventy percent of the population of some tribes. The first Native American to be killed in WWII was Henry E. Nolatubby from Oklahoma. He was part of the Marine Detachment serving on the USS Arizona and went down with the ship on December 7, 1941. Unlike African Americans or Asian Americans, Native Americans did not serve in segregated units and served alongside white Americans.
Royal Air Force Eye or more simply RAF Eye is a former Royal Air Force station located 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Stowmarket, Suffolk, England on the northwest edge of Eye and south of Diss.
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Arizona for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.
Dateland Air Force Auxiliary Field is an abandoned military airfield located in Dateland, Arizona, 40 miles (64 km) east of Yuma, Arizona. Its last known military use was in 1957.
The 158th Infantry Regiment ("Bushmasters") is an infantry unit of the Arizona National Guard. The regiment has served abroad in World War I, World War II and Afghanistan.
The history of Tucson, Arizona began thousands of years ago. Paleo-Indians practiced plant husbandry and hunted game in the Santa Cruz River Valley from 10,000 or earlier BCE. Archaic peoples began making irrigation canals, some of the first in North America, around 1,200 BCE. The Hohokam people lived in the Tucson area from around 450–1450 CE in a complex agricultural society.
The Desert Training Center (DTC), also known as California–Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA), was a World War II training facility established in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert, largely in Southern California and Western Arizona in 1942.
The history of New Mexico during World War II is characterized by dramatic and lasting changes to its economy, society, and politics. The state played a central role in the American war effort, contributing a disproportionately high number of servicemen and natural resources; most famously, it hosted the sites where the world's first nuclear weapon was designed, developed, and tested.
The U.S. state of Nevada went through a period of dramatic change during World War II that began immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December 1941. The population of Nevada grew significantly, largely due to an influx of servicemen who were stationed at several newly built military bases. The economy also improved as the number of workers steadily increased and new jobs became available.
Many Chinese Americans enlisted in the United States military or served in defense industries during World War II. It has been estimated that around 12,000 to 15,000 Chinese American men, representing up to 20 percent of the Chinese American male population, served during the Second World War. Although the majority of Chinese American servicemen fought in non-segregated units, all segregated units belonged to the 14th Air Service Group or the 987th Signal Company. Chinese American women also served, including two Women Airforce Service Pilots and countless other women in defense industries. Service in World War II played a large role in increasing social acceptance for Chinese Americans, and many Chinese American veterans were able to expedite their naturalization and bring their foreign-born wives and children to the United States.
The Camp Laguna was a sub camp of the US Army, Desert Training Center in Riverside County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Laguna is 16 miles (26 km) miles northeast of Yuma, Arizona, off of U.S. Route 95. Trained at Camp Laguna were the 3rd Armored Divisions the 9th Armored Divisions, the 79th Infantry Divisions, 80th Infantry Divisions and 8th Infantry Division. The camp is named after the nearby town of Laguna, Yuma County, Arizona on the Colorado River. Camp Laguna was first World War II training camp built in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, it trained thousands of troop for war. Most of the land that was Camp Laguna is now part of the vast Yuma Proving Ground.
Camp Ross was a World War II base serving as a staging area under the command of the Army's Los Angeles Port of Embarkation. The camp was located in San Pedro, California and Wilmington, California. The United States Department of War leased 31.026 acres of land starting in 1942. Camp Ross was used by the US Army as staging area for troops ready for deployment and for troop returning home to Naval Operating Base Terminal Island.
California during World War II was a major contributor to the World War II effort. California's long Pacific Ocean coastline provided the support needed for the Pacific War. California also supported the war in Europe. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, most of California's manufacturing was shifted to the war effort. California became a major ship builder and aircraft manufacturer. Existing military installations were enlarged and many new ones were built. California trained many of the troops before their oversea deployment. Over 800,000 Californians served in the United States Armed Forces. California agriculture, ranches and farms were used to feed the troops around the world. California's long coastline also put the state in fear, as an attack on California seemed likely. California was used for the temporary and permanent internment camps for Japanese Americans. The population grew significantly, largely due to servicemen who were stationed at the new military bases/training facilities and the mass influx of workers from around the U.S. in the growing defense industries. With all the new economy activity, California was lifted out of the Great Depression. Over 500,000 people moved to California from other states to work in the growing economy. California expanded its oil and mineral production to keep up with the war demand.
DeWitt General Hospital was a World War II US Army Hospital in Auburn, California, in Placer County at the corner of C Avenue and First Street. The hospital was built in 1944 to care for troops returning home from overseas service and troops that served on the home front. The first patient checked in on February 17, 1944. The hospital had 2,285 beds housed in single story buildings over the 284 acres campus. DeWitt General Hospital was three miles north of downtown Auburn.
Naval Base Noumea was a major United States Navy sea and air base at Nouméa, New Caledonia. Naval Base Noumea was built at Noumea Harbor. Noumea was picked for a naval base as it was beyond the range of Japanese land-based planes. Noumea is on the east side of the Coral Sea, 1,469 kilometres from Brisbane, Australia. The base was built during World War II to support the many ships and aircraft fighting and patrolling in the South West Pacific theatre of war as part of the Pacific War. Naval Base Noumea had an anchorage for large ships. Noumea was protected against submarine attack by a ring of islands and naval minefields. At its peak 50,000 troops were stationed at Naval Base Noumea. New Caledonia has been a colony of France since 1853. Nouméa is the capital city of New Caledonia. On November 8, 1942, US Navy South Pacific headquarters moved to Nouméa.
