Dec. 7, 2011, marks the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In interviews from Ohio Historical Society collections, see and hear service members and those who were on the home front recall life during World War II. ]
WWII Poster from the collections of the Ohio Historical Society
A Day That Will Live in Infamy President Roosevelt called the unprovoked attack “a day that will live in infamy.” Almost overnight, the United States moved from an officially neutral observer to a key participant in a world-wide war. By attacking the United States, Japan brought the world’s greatest industrial complex, a skilled and resolved labor force and the largest supply of strategic raw materials into the war on the side of the Allies. The war turned into global conflict involving every major power in the world.
Oral History Project Gathers Stories of Those Who Served
Since 2000, the Ohio Historical Society has been involved in oral history projects to capture stories of the World War II generation. Our World War II Oral History Project collection contains interviews of 17 World War II service members and individuals who served on the home front and abroad. The project asked participants a series of questions about what life was like during the Depression through the end of World War II. Their answers are now part of the permanent record and provide unique insight into this significant period in American history. Another collection, My War: Northwest Ohioans Remember World War II, also contains interviews with veterans and family members of those who served in World War II. A collaborative project of the Northwest Ohio Regional Library District and seven of its member libraries, the My War collection contains interviews of 140 northwest Ohioans remembering World War II.
See Interviews Online
All of these interviews can be found in Ohio Memory, our online digital repository, at ohiomemory.org. Or, see these and other oral histories in the exhibit Connecting to Your History, now at the Ohio History Center in Columbus.
