Video: Collections: Iowa's WWII Stories
On December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II. By the time the war ended on August 15, 1945, almost every person on earth was affected in one way or another. Iowans who were at home had major roles to play in winning the war as well. Their sacrifice helped determine what kind of conditions, both political and social, would exist once the war was over. More than 276,000 Iowans went into military service during World War II. 8,398 never returned. Iowa Public Television's collection of veteran's oral histories is a tribute to those Iowans who put their lives on hold for more than three years to fight against the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan. This collection preserves the memories of some of those Iowans who served on the home front and the battlefront.
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World War II and the Home Front: Jeanne Ersland and the Des Moines Ordnance Plant
As more men were sent away to fight, women were hired to take over their positions on the assembly lines. Before World War II, women had generally been discouraged from working outside the home. Now, ...
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World War II Veteran: Ruth Miller
After being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, Ruth Miller was assigned to the 110th Evacuation Hospital and sent to Europe in 1944. The 110th's job was to set up near the battle front, bandage wounded ...
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World War II and the Home Front: Vivian Schleihs Builds Aircraft in Des Moines
During some of the breaks between flying missions there was time for relaxation and, of course, letter writing, the most common long distance communication device of the day. Back in Iowa, Ray Schleihs' ...
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World War II Veteran: Al Rolfes
After landing on Saipan in June of 1944, First Lieutenant Al Rolfes had dug in above Tannipeg harbor.
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World War II Veteran: Russell Smith
By mid-summer 1944, members of company "I" were attacking German troops somewhere north of Rome, Italy. "Bill" Smith was returning to the battlefield after requesting an artillery barrage when he came ...
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World War II Veteran: Ray Schleihs
In April of 1944, 27-year old Second Lieutenant Ray Schleihs of Johnston, was starting his overseas tour of duty. Schleihs had joined the Army Air Corps in March of 1942 and was now piloting B-17 Flying ...
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World War II Veteran: Paul Aschbrenner
Aschbrenner was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Oklahoma was docked in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack began at 7:55am, Hawaiian time.
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World War II Veteran: Malcolm Amos
Army Corpsman Malcolm Amos of Afton was among those captured in the Philippines on April 9, 1942. He became one of the more than 75 thousand allied forces, including and estimated 12,000 Americans, who ...
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World War II Veteran: Dean Lettington
As part of the 559th Field Artillery Battalion, Lettington had spent the last few months fighting across France.
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World War II and the Home Front: Ed Tubbs
To help win the fight from the home front, the U.S. government asked its citizens to increase production of everything from ammunition to food. Ed Tubbs went to work for the Jasper Country Extension Service ...
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World War II Veteran: Elvin Moritz
Moritz and other members of the 168th were surrounded by German troops at the Battle of Faid Pass in February of 1943. Major Robert Moore of Villisca was in command of the more than 900 men cut-off from ...
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World War II Veteran: Galen Kittleson
In early 1945, 20-year old Galen Kittleson from St. Ansgar was stationed in the Philippines as part of an elite unit called the Alamo Scouts. The Scouts were made up of small highly trained units that ...
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World War II Veteran: Glenn McDole
McDole was at the Cavite Naval Base in the Philippines when the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor began. Because the Philippines are on the other side of the international dateline, the battle began on ...
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World War II Veteran: Henry Leonard
Private First Class Henry Leonard, a 19-year old draftee from Ryan, was sent to fight in the Philippines in January of 1945. He was assigned to the Bush Masters, a group of National Guardsmen from Arizona, ...
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World War II Veteran: Aurelio Barron
During the battle for Faid (fa-YEED) Pass, Sergeant Barron's mortar squad was nearby, perched on a hill, waiting to protect the retreating Allied troops. Barron began to survey the road below his position ...
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