Liberty Bond Day, Groton Iron Works, Noank, 1918 – Mystic Seaport and Connecticut History Illustrated
World War I (1917-1918)
When the United States entered Europe’s Great War in 1917, Connecticut manufacturers provided the military with munitions, clothing, and other goods. From Manchester silk and Waterbury brass to Bridgeport’s Remington Arms, which produced 50 percent of the US Army’s small arms cartridges, the industrial ramp up—and curtailed immigration from Europe—produced labor shortages. African Americans migrating from the South sought to fill these jobs. Many found opportunity and settled, but they also encountered racial discrimination from whites and class prejudice within established black communities. In addition to the men and women who worked on the home front, roughly 63,000 state residents served in the US or Allied forces. Among those remembered today are flying ace Raoul Lufbery and Stubby, the canine mascot of the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division.
Featured
World War I Flying Ace Raoul Lufbery
Although his time as a Connecticut resident was short, this aviator left his mark on Wallingford and a generation fighter pilots. …[more]
