Hello everyone, sorry I'm a little late with bringing this weeks WW2 effects. I haven't had the time to do any more Planes of Fame airshow reviews either unfortunately, but I think I've shown how great the airshow is. Today's WW2 effects will be about Montana, One of the last Western states I have yet to visit, but that will change come June of this year! Montana Pre-WW2 Montana has always been an afterthought, one of the less popular and largely forgotten states in the Union, Montana has only recently gained more attention. Back in 30's and early 40's, Montana was reeling from the effects of the Great Depression. Unfortunately for Montana, as soon as the depression hit, 20,000 of Montana's 550,000 citizens got up, and left the state for good. Montana had struggled since it's admission to the union in 1889, to find ways to make money, and more importantly, to attract people to move there. Montana's only real saving Grace it it's abounding wealth in natural resources, mostly minerals and metals. Montana's Mountain's and fields hold Gold, Silver, Copper, coal, talc, and vermiculite, all valuable and important minerals in modern society. Before, and during WW2, Montana also had a large lumber industry. Despite these successful industries, they simply weren't enough to keep Montana's sinking economy afloat, or motivate people to move in. Montana's agricultural base was, and still is very limited due to the state's harsh winters and climate, Wheat is the only major agricultural export Montana has. Outside of Helena and Billings, Montana remained largely remote and undeveloped, only a handful of railroad tracks, airports, and paved roads were available in the state in 1940. This would soon change.... Montana WW2 Before the U.S became involved in WW2, the U.S Government scrambled to develop and use much of Montana's land. 6 Army Air Fields were constructed, and many more rail lines and paved roads came were also created to prepare for an all out war. That war would come in December of 1941. (Fun fact, Montana Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin was the only dissenting voter to the declaration of war against Japan following Pearl Harbor). Montana's industry was incredibly small, with factories being located only in the capital Helena, and the largest city Billings. Montana however didn't have the smallest industrial output during the war, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota were below Montana in that regard. Montana found other ways to contribute to the war however, and was a big supplier of minerals and lumber needed for the war effort. Nearly 10% of Montana's population enlisted to fight in the war, and many of those were of Native American descent, (Many went on to be codetalkers). Montana was also where the famous "Devils Brigade" would train at, this training took place in Fort William Henry Harrison. Montana was also used as a staging area for aircraft and supplies traveling to the Soviet Union. Montana Post WW2 1,553 of Montana's young men died in the war, nearly 2% of all who served in Montana. Montana's experience in WW2 is unique in that the state's economic condition only slightly improved. It wouldn't be until about the 80's that Montana fully recovered from the Depression. A little more than a million people live in Montana now, and while there hasn't been much economic change to the state, tourism of the beautiful land has helped bring many jobs and much more money into the state. Helena in 1940 Fort William Henry Harrison 1944 B-24 with a crew from Montana Helena today Glacier National Park
A place to retire by the looks...reminds me of Tasmania. The buildings look taller in the 40s than today...might have a height restriction in place to preserve the views..?
Montana is really where people go to escape city and urban life, it's not really known as a retirement state as much, It's heaven for nature lovers and hunters alike. I'm not sure about the buildings CAC, I don't think they need height restrictions, there aren't really any companies or offices that need that big a building, it's funny that the Old Helena church shown in both images is the largest building in the town to this day. The town I live in here in Arizona (Gilbert) is almost 3 times bigger than Helena's population.
Western Montana has some really impressive terrain. Eastern Montana has miles and miles of rolling plains.
She also voted against our declaration of war on Germany in WWI, although she was not the only one on that occasion. She served just two terms in Congress, separated by over twenty years, but each included our entry into a world war.
One more bit of trivia - Montana was the only one of the 48 states never to have an active battleship named for it. There was an armored cruiser Montana, one of the "Big Ten" of the early 1900s. The expansion of the Navy eventually outpaced the supply of state names, so cruisers and monitors named for states were renamed, usually for a principal city in the state; Montana became Missoula. The name Montana was assigned to one of the South Dakota class battleships cancelled under the Washington Naval Treaty. Montana was also going to be lead ship of our next class of BBs in WWII, but they were also cancelled. Montana is the only US battleship name assigned and cancelled twice.
Crown of the Continent As the Crown of the Continent, Glacier is the headwaters for streams that flow to the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and to Hudson's Bay. What happens here affects waters in a huge section of North America. (National Parks description) Probably my favorite place on the planet. Not too hard to find a decent flight into Kalispell and you are right there. With great names like Going to the Sun Highway, Two Medicine, Many Glacier, Apgar, Rising Sun, Flathead Middle Fork, Kintla Lake and St. Mary; the sacred history of the place remains intact for the most part. The Park continues into Alberta as Wateron Lakes N.P. 250 miles north is Banf, another mountain paradise. Enjoy the webcams: Glacier National Park Webcams - Glacier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Miners, mountaineers, open range herders tough blokes out here. Plenty of Jeremiah Johnson types trading with the native Americans here. Fairly famous picture "The Missouri Breaks", depicts some of the life out there on the frontier. Native American Heritage of Montana - source wikipedia Native Americans in World War 2 – Access Genealogy A Anishinaabe Assiniboine B Bannock people Bitterroot Salish Blackfoot Confederacy C Cheyenne Chippewa Cree Coeur d'Alene people Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation Crow Nation E Early Indian treaty territories in Montana G Gros Ventre K Ktunaxa Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council L Lakota people Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana N Nakoda (Stoney) Nakota Nez Perce people O Ojibwe Ojibwe in Montana P Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians Pend d'Oreilles Piegan Blackfeet S Shoshone Sioux T Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation U Upper Columbia United Tribes
We shouldn't forget one of Montana's greatest a former poster here brndirt1. One could do worse than looking through his posts.
