Hello everyone! This is my second WW2 effects thread, this time on "America's dairyland", Wisconsin. Here is the link to WW2 effects:Georgia I did last week http://ww2f.com/threads/ww2-effects-georgia.70175/#post-816963. I have had the great opportunity of going to Wisconsin for the EAA airventure at Oshkosh (Worlds biggest airshow), and saw both Green Bay and Milwaukee, Gorgeous state! Wisconsin Pre-WW2 Wisconsin before WW2 was and still is, a predominantly agriculture based state. Among some of the goods produced by Wisconsin is Dairy products, corn, beans, lettuce, cranberries, and countless other goods. Wisconsin was hit hard by the Great depression, because of this, government subsidies had to be used to keep farms from going bankrupt, but many farms disappeared anyway. Wisconsin's industrial might was rather weak before WW2, 80% of Wisconsin's factories were in Milwaukee in 1940. Like many other states during the depression, unemployment was high, and it is estimated that only 45% of Wisconsin citizens graduated high school in 1941. Wisconsin WW2 Wisconsin's road to full blown war effort began in 1941 with the enactment of Lend-Lease. Almost all factories and shipyards in Wisconsin were transformed to make military equipment. Manitowoc and Lake Superior cranked out thousands of ships, Badger ordinance company in Milwaukee became the world largest ammunition manufacturer by 1945. With most of the men going off to fight, women took their roles at the factories. In 1941 3% of all factory workers in Wisconsin were women, by 1945, that number reached 28%. The University of Wisconsin let the U.S military use almost half of their facilities for training, Madison airport (Traux field now) was one of the largest radio communication training centers in the U.S during the war. Wisconsin's unemployment was cut in half by wars end. Wisconsin Post-WW2 300,000 Wisconsin natives served during the war, 8,047 were KIA, and another 13,000 wounded. After the war's end factories were initially changed back to normal, and many factories simply were abandoned. Wisconsin once again had an unemployment problem, but not for long. New and old companies from around the country came to Wisconsin to use or refit factories to their needs (John Deere, Briggs & Stratton, Caterpillar inc. etc.) unemployment once again went down and has been in the top 15 in unemployment among U.S states since 1950. Along with the growth and expansion of factories, Farms and agriculture based companies have generally thrived for decades. The war bolstered Wisconsin's economy and diversified the states exports, selling and making new products otherwise non-existent before the war.
Madison Wisconsin, Then and now Submarine being released at Manitowoc in 1944 Factory outside of Milwaukee 1940's Milwaukee today Had to include beer in here somehow.........
C-47 AAF No. 42-92717 “Stoy Hora” 98th TCS, 440 TCG, 9AF. 5 June 1944. These pictures are a tribute to Sheboygan, Wisconsin native Joseph Gorenc. He was photographed in one of the most enduring World War II images, made just before the D-Day invasion of Normandy. The location was Upottery airfield at Exeter, U.K. Next to this is a 1941 high school photo. Gorenc was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, specifically 3rd Battalion of 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. His rank was Technician 4th Grade (Sergeant) and he worked for the HQ Company S-3 section (Planning and Operations). Most of the men that jumped from Joe’s plane were either killed or captured including the battalion commander, his radio operators, and the runner with the carrier pigeons. They all landed near a German Army camp site that was already placed on alert. Initially it was feared that the entire battalion was destroyed, because there were no replies to radio calls. Joe Gorenc was taken prisoner on D-Day but he soon escaped and later made another combat jump during Operation Market-Garden. On 4th June 1944, Gorenc appeared in a U.S. Army Signal Corps publicity film in which a number of scenes were staged inside and around a C-47 transport nicknamed “Lady Lillian” serial 43-15087. Note that in one of the photos, the wartime censor scratched out tactical symbols painted on the helmets. Some movie stills are included where Lt. Alex Bobuck can be seen adjusting Joe Gorenc’s parachute harness. The next day Joe and the rest of the men in his “stick” rode a different C-47 into battle, named “Stoy Hora” serial 42-92717. Another Wisconsin man jumped into Normandy from the same plane; Technician 5th Grade Charles Riley of Milwaukee and he was seated next to Gorenc.
Thank you for sharing the story and pictures EKB! I've never heard of Mr. Gorenc.......he's lucky to have escaped, let alone survive!
General Douglas MacArthur is better known for returning to the Philippines, but he also returned to Milwaukee for a whirlwind vanity tour. MacArthur attended West Division High School, and secured his appointment to West Point through Milwaukee Congressman Theobald Otjen. After being sacked by President Truman during the Korean War, MacArthur visited Milwaukee for the first time since 1912. He said that considered Milwaukee his ancestral home and hinted about making the Brew City a more permanent residence, but it was just a tease. Mac was probably just feeling blue and wanted a parade with lots of dignitaries and thousands of adoring fans fussing over him. The City of Milwaukee threw up a statue of Mac in 1979 and a few years ago the effigy was stored, cleaned up and moved to a new location on the Lake Michigan shore front. The flat bed trailer received a police motorcade (no kidding, see pic) which proves that even from beyond the grave, MacArthur still has a long reach. General Douglas MacArthur: A Biography MacArthur statue moves to visible lakefront location - Milwaukee - Milwaukee Business Journal Douglas MacArthur comes 'home' — in 1951
This book tells the story of Wisconsin companies that provided finished wood products for the de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber. The title is Wisconsin's Flying Trees in World War II: A Victory for American Forest Products and Allied Aviation by Sara Witter Connor. Wisconsin's Flying Trees in World War II: A Victory for American Forest Products and Allied Aviation by Sara Witter Connor | The History Press Books Wisconsin's Flying Trees in World War II
Flatley reminds me of the actor Scott Glenn...he was the commander of the USS Dallas in Hunt for Red October...
Thanks JJ, Over the years my computer was clogged with online books, articles, pictures and scraps of info that seemed unrelated at the time. Your thread got me thinking about connecting some of this in a way that tells a short story. Most people in the forums are collectors, whether they trade data, relics, or campfire tales. They want to know something. And why not, it’s a foundation for all learning, research and progress. Not everyone is an expert and to make information interesting and accessible to a wider audience is equally challenging! I intend to add updates to some pages as I find more information.
