Arizona during World War II#The Phoenix Massacre
{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox event
| image = Eleanor Roosevelt at Gila River, Arizona at Japanese-American Internment Center - NARA - 197094.jpg
| image_upright =
| image_alt =
| caption = First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Dillon S. Myer visit the Gila River War Relocation Center (April 23, 1943)
| date = 1940–1945
| location = Arizona, United States
| casualties1 = ~2,349
| blank_label = Machita Incident
| blank_data = October 16, 1940
| blank1_label = Thanksgiving Day / Phoenix Massacre
| blank1_data = November 27, 1942
| blank2_label = Great Papago Escape
| blank2_data = December 23, 1944
}}
The history of Arizona during World War II begins in 1940, when the United States government began constructing military bases within the state in preparation for war. Arizona's contribution to the Allied war effort was significant both in terms of manpower and facilities supported in the state. Prisoner of war camps were operated at Camp Florence and Papago Park. Also, two incarceration camps – the Gila River War Relocation Center and the Poston War Relocation Center – housed Japanese-American citizens and Japanese immigrants who had been forcibly removed from the West Coast.
{{History of Arizona}}
The war years provided great economic stimulus, both because of the numbers of troops at camps in the state, and increase in demand, and the expansion of wartime demand for such materials as copper and other metals. Industries expanded, adding to the state's recovery from the Great Depression.
Hispanics
During the war, Mexican-American community organizations promoted efforts to support American troops abroad. They worked both to support the war effort materially and to provide moral support for young American men fighting the war, especially their young Mexican-American men from local communities. Some community projects were cooperative between Anglo and Hispanic communities, but most were localized within the Mexican-American community.Christine Marín, "Mexican Americans on the Home Front: Community Organizations in Arizona During World War II," Perspectives in Mexican American Studies (1993) 4:75–92 Mexican-American women also organized to assist their servicemen and the war effort; an underlying goal of Tucson's Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association was the reinforcement of the woman's role in Spanish-Mexican culture. Members raised thousands of dollars, wrote letters, and joined in numerous celebrations of their culture and their support for Mexican-American servicemen. Membership reached more than 300 during the war. The organization stopped operating in 1976.Julie A. Campbell, "Madres Y Esposas: Tucson's Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association," Journal of Arizona History (1990) 31#2 pp: 161–182,
Casualties
| class="wikitable"
|+Army and Air Forces{{cite web | title=WWII Army Casualties: Arizona| url=https://www.archives.gov/research/arc/ww2/army-casualties/arizona.html| access-date=September 26, 2012}} ! County ! style="width: 100px;" | Killed in ! style="width: 100px;" | Died of ! style="width: 100px;" | Died of ! style="width: 100px;" | Died, ! style="width: 100px;" | Finding of ! style="width: 100px;" | Missing in ! style="width: 100px;" | Total |
| Apache
|27 |3 | |20 |1 | |51 |
|---|
| Cochise
|68 |8 | |24 |10 |1 |111 |
| Coconino
|31 | | |14 |4 | |49 |
| Gila
|47 |12 | |21 |7 | |87 |
| Graham
|31 |4 | |12 |1 |1 |49 |
| Greenlee
|18 |4 | |6 |2 |1 |31 |
| Maricopa
|277 |35 | |161 |40 |1 |514 |
| Mohave
|9 |2 | |9 |2 | |22 |
| Navajo
|36 |5 | |17 |6 | |64 |
| Pima
|145 |13 |1 |67 |12 |1 |239 |
| Pinal
|66 |15 | |32 |2 | |115 |
| Santa Cruz
|28 |1 | |13 |1 | |43 |
| Yavapai
|47 |4 | |22 |7 | |80 |
| Yuma
|55 |6 |1 |13 |5 | |80 |
| State at Large
|31 |3 | |33 |8 |3 |78 |
| Total
|916 |115 |2 |464 |108 |8 |1613 |
| class="wikitable"
|+Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard{{cite web | title=WWII Casualties: Arizona| url=https://www.archives.gov/research/arc/ww2/navy-casualties/arizona.html| access-date=September 26, 2012}} ! Type ! Total |
| Killed in Action (KIA)
|27 |
| Killed in Prison Camps
|11 |
| Missing in Action (MIA)
|17 |
| Wounded in Action (WIA)
|41 |
| Released from Prison Camps
|17 |
| Total
|113 |
Prisoner of war camps
{{see also|List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States}}
Arizona's Camp Florence, on the Florence Military Reservation, was the first permanent alien enemy camp constructed during World War II. Construction began during 1942 to house 3000 internees, with room to expand to 6000. The initial construction budget was $4.8 million. The United States did not detain numerous enemy aliens here, so the Army used Camp Florence as a POW camp.{{Cite web |title=History of Prisoner of War Utilization by the United States Army 1776–1945 |author=George G. Lewis |author2=John Mehwa |work=Center of Military History, United States Army |date=1982 |access-date=16 August 2020 |url= https://history.army.mil/html/books/104/104-11-1/cmhPub_104-11-1.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210127231230/https://history.army.mil/html/books/104/104-11-1/cmhPub_104-11-1.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-date= January 27, 2021}}
Gallery
File:Pearlharborcolork13513.jpg|Eight Arizonans were killed aboard USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor.{{cite book|last=Melton|first=Brad|author2=Dean Smith|title=Arizona Goes to War: The Home Front and the Front Lines during World War II|publisher=University of Arizona Press|isbn=978-0816521906}}
File:Williams Army Airfield - Main Gate 1942.jpg|The entrance to Williams Field in 1942.
File:AT-6C Texans in flight 1943.jpg|Two AT-6 Texans in flight near Luke Field in 1943.
File:Pfc. Ira H. Hayes, a Pima, at age 19, ready to jump, Marine Corps Paratroop School, 1943 - NARA - 519164.tif|Ira Hayes (Pima) seen here preparing to parachute out of an aircraft in 1943, was from Sacaton. He fought in many engagements in the South Pacific before becoming famous for raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
File:VIEW SHOWING ITALIAN PRISONERS OF WAR WORKING ON THE ARIZONA CANAL Photographer- unknown. December 1943 - Arizona Canal, North of Salt River, Phoenix, Maricopa County, AZ HAER ARIZ,7-PHEN.V,1-19.tif|Italian prisoners of war work on the Arizona Canal in 1943.
File:Douglas Army Airfield B-25 - 1944.jpg|B-25 Mitchell crewmen at Douglas Army Airfield in 1944.
File:Kingman AAF Postcard - Skeet FIring.jpg|Skeet shooting at Kingman Field in 1944.
File:The Hirano family, left to right, George, Hisa, and Yasbei. Colorado River Relocation Center, Poston, Arizona., 1942... - NARA - 535989.tif|The Hirano family, ethnic Japanese removed from California, were among thousands interned at the Poston War Relocation Center from 1942 to 1945.
File:Cuidado - Take Care, Bushmasters!.jpg|The Bushmasters during the Philippines Campaign in 1945.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commonscatinline|Arizona during World War II}}
{{Arizona during World War II}}
{{USWWII}}
{{Arizona}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:World War II, History of Arizona during}}