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World War II
Army-Navy “E” Award Honors Connecticut for Support Against the Axis Powers
During WWII, the US military bestowed 175 Connecticut war plants with the Army-Navy “E” Award for outstanding production contributions to the army and navy.
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Photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White: “No Picture Was Unimportant to Her”
Margaret Bourke-White photographed some of the 20th century’s most significant people and events, but spent her later years in Darien, Connecticut.
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A New Source of Farm Labor Crops Up in Wartime
During times of war, in Connecticut, as in many other states, women became an increasingly important resource in food production.
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Bradley Airport’s Military Origins
In 1941, the United States government anxiously pursued opportunities to establish an air base in Connecticut to bolster defenses along the East Coast.
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The Debate Over Who Could Occupy World War II Public Housing in West Hartford
In the 1940s, African American war workers eligible for government-funded housing found access restricted to some properties despite vacancies.
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Colonel Ruth A. Lucas: Literary Advocate
In 1968, Ruth A. Lucas became the first African American woman in the air force to attain the rank of colonel and advocated for literacy her whole career.
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Boone Guyton Tested the Limits of World-Famous Aircraft
A long-time resident of Woodbridge, Boone Guyton was one of the most prolific test pilots in US aviation history.
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A Busy Airfield in Bethany
In its first few years, the airfield in Bethany served the interests of small-time aviation enthusiasts.
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Joseph Alsop: Cunning Political Columnist of Mid-Century America
Joseph Wright Alsop was one of the country’s most well-known political journalists of the 20th century and was drawn into some of the most influential power circles in the world.
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Daring World War II Escape of a Bethany Soldier
A member of the glider service, Rollin Booth Fowler crash landed in Normandy during World War II and was captured, only to execute a daring and dramatic escape.
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Papier-Mache Clocks – Who Knew?
The William L. Gilbert Clock Corporation of Winsted was one of the few clock-making firms in Connecticut allowed to continue the manufacture of clocks during World War II.
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“Take Five” with Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck was one of the leading jazz pianists and composers of the 1950s and 60s and made his home in Wilton.
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Road Signs of the Air
In the 1920s, most pilots navigated using road maps and by following highways, rivers, and other landmarks that they could see from the air.
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Mounds Candy Bar Involved in Espionage – Who Knew?
A storied Naugatuck business had its own “navy” and that it performed espionage services for the United States government during World War II.
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Providing Bundles for Britain and News for America
Janet Huntington Brewster Murrow was a Middletown native who grew up to be one of America’s most trusted news correspondents, philanthropists, and the wife of Edward R. Murrow.
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A Godmother to Ravensbrück Survivors
Philanthropist Caroline Ferriday aided women whose internment at a German concentration camp during WWII left them scarred, physically as well as psychologically.
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Chief G’tinemong/Ralph W. Sturges
This Mohegan Chief is remembered for successfully guiding the Tribe through the final stages of Federal Recognition, which it obtained in 1994.
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The Early Years of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company
Wasp and Hornet engines secure the reputation and success of this 1920s start-up venture.
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Reporting News of Pearl Harbor – Today in History: December 7
On December 7, 1941, Mansfield resident and UConn history professor Andre Schenker took to the airwaves to report on the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Cromwell’s Iron Men Made Toys for Boys and Girls
The J & E Stevens Company eventually became the largest manufacturer of cast-iron toys in the country.
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Connecticut Servicemen in the “Bloody Bucket” Division
Nicknamed the “Keystone Division,” the United States Army’s 28th Infantry Division came together in 1917 by combining units of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
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Hiram Bingham IV: A Humanitarian Honored for Saving Lives during WWII
Career diplomat Hiram Bingham IV, whose family has lived in Salem, Connecticut, for generations, was born in 1903.
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The Vonsiatsky Conspiracy Case
In 1942, Anastase Vonsiatsky of Thompson, Connecticut, was convicted of conspiring to betray state secrets to Nazi Germany.
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Ernest Borgnine: Breaking the Hollywood Mold
Ernest Borgnine, a native of Hamden who served ten years in navy, became one of the world’s most recognized and revered actors.
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Portland’s Guy Hedlund: Actor and Activist
Guy Hedlund was a Connecticut native made famous through his roles as a theater and motion picture actor.
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Leroy Anderson Composed Iconic Music in Woodbury
Leroy Anderson, a long-time resident of Woodbury, was one of the most popular composers of light concert music in the 20th century.
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The Atheneum Joins War Effort – Who Knew?
The Wadsworth Atheneum contributed to home front morale and fundraisers during World War II.
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Women and Defense: World War II on the Connecticut Home Front
Women who stepped into civil defense positions managed and implemented programs that educated the public, promoted war bond sales, and aided emergency preparedness.
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A Connecticut Nazi Spy Has a Change of Heart
A Connecticut-born Nazi spy, William Colepaugh, had a change of heart and turned himself in to the FBI on December 26, 1944.
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Connecticut Lawyer Prosecutes Nazi War Criminals at Nuremberg
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Thomas Joseph Dodd served on the United States’ prosecutorial team as Executive Trial Counsel at the International Military Tribunal (IMT).
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Connecticut’s “Yankee Watch” Squadron Protects the Skies Here and Abroad
Based in Orange, Connecticut, the 103rd Air Control Squadron of the Air National Guard is one of the oldest of its kind.
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Hometown Hero: Wallingford Remembers Stanley Budleski
Stanley Budleski was the first serviceman from Yalesville to be killed in World War II.
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War and the Fear of Enemy Aliens – Who Knew?
…that Greenwich had a special police unit trained to handle suspected foreign agents operating in Connecticut.
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Spring Training Baseball Comes to Wallingford
During World War II, travel restrictions limited the distance baseball teams traveled to begin their training; the National League’s Boston Braves trained in Wallingford.
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A Woman Who Developed Tolerance: Leila T. Alexander
As a member of the War Council, Leila T. Alexander served on several Council committees including education, employment, advisory, social service, and welfare.
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The Bazooka Changes War – Today in History: June 14
On June 14, 1942, the General Electric Company in Bridgeport finished production on the “Launcher, Rocket AT, M-1,” better known as the bazooka.
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An Orderly & Decent Government: Searching for the Common Good, 1929-1964
Organized labor grew strong during wartime while discriminatory practices in housing and education persisted throughout the state.
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Waterbury’s Radium Girls
In the early 20th century, girls working at the Waterbury Clock Company faced death and disease from exposure to radium in the workplace.
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Danbury Prison Protest – Today in History: August 11
On August 11, 1943, conscientious objectors and other prisoners staged a 135-day hunger strike to protest racial segregation in the Danbury prison’s dining hall.
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D-Day – Today in History: June 6
On the WWII homefront, night watchmen in Naugatuck’s factories heard the news of D-Day first.
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First Human Test of a Nylon Parachute – Today in History: June 6
On June 6, 1942, Adeline Gray made the first jump by a human with a nylon parachute at Brainard Field in Hartford.
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Southbury Takes On the Nazis
When the Nazis moved into Southbury, however, local citizens reacted forcefully, eventually pushing the anti-Semitic settlers out of the state.
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Connecticut Daredevil Andrew Mamedoff Joins Royal Air Force
Andrew Mamedoff was a daredevil, pilot, and war hero who became one of the first Americans to join England’s Royal Air Force.
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