Description
Book SynopsisWhile World War II has long been viewed as a pivotal period that allowed women expanded opportunities in the military and the labor force, locally focused considerations have long been left out of the national narrative. New Jersey Women during World War II: On the Home Front and Abroad by Patricia Chappine explores the experiences that detail the wartime narrative of New Jersey women on the home front and abroad and describes the impact these women had as they pushed past gendered social boundaries and joined the war effort in numbers greater than any previous generation of Americans. Through expansive research, Chappine examines the critical role the women of New Jersey played as they stepped into newly formed military branches and entered the labor force in areas never-before open to them, volunteering in staggering numbers. Focusing on the nuances of women’s wartime experience, this book blends the personal with the social, political, and economic climate of New Jersey and the communicated aspirations, uncertainties, and fears of women during World War II to offer new insights into the role they all played.
Trade ReviewPatricia Chappine tells an engrossing story of the diverse New Jersey women who participated in World War II using their dramatic words culled from diaries, letters, oral histories, and newspapers. This book should be read widely and used as a model to expand understanding of the challenges women faced, and the changes that did and did not follow.
-- Maxine N. Lurie, Seton Hall University
During World War II, New Jersey women served their country in a multitude of ways, from 'Rosie the Riveter' factory workers to clerical service in all branches of the military in the United States, to nurses in combat theaters and Red Cross volunteers boosting military morale across the world. Patricia Chappine's book, New Jersey Women during World War II: On the Home Front and Abroad covers it all, in a work you must have on your shelf if you are interested in New Jersey history. It fills a void and does it well.
-- Joseph Bilby, National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey
You will feel transported to an inspiring era of coming together of the Greatest Generation of Garden State women, whose unique voices and lesser-known sacrifices bloom forward in this first-person historically sourced book by Patty Chappine, New Jersey Women during World War II: On the Home Front and Abroad. How gratifying to have Chappine pull together and highlight those oral history interviews from our collection at the National Guard Militia Museum of NJ in Sea Girt.
-- Carol Fowler, National Guard Militia Museum of NJ
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1: “Do with less-so they’ll have Enough”: The Home Front
Chapter 2: “Investigate, Agitate, Legislate”: The League of Women Voters and the Consumers League
Chapter 3: “Do the Job he Left Behind”: War Workers
Chapter 4: “Above and Beyond the Call of Duty”: Black Women in World War II
Chapter 5: “Are you a Girl with a Star-Spangled Heart?”: The Women’s Army Corps
Chapter 6: “Free a Man to Fight”: The WAVES, SPAR, Marines, and WASP
Chapter 7: “Your Country Needs You”: Military Nurses
Chapter 8: “Doing Their Bit”: The USO
Chapter 9: Organizing the Home Front: The American Women’s Voluntary Services
Chapter 10: “Volunteer for Victory”: The Red Cross
Conclusion
Bibliography
About the Author
