World War II was a total war, devouring the military and civilian
resources of nations. Women in Minnesota--like women across the
country--made bold, unconventional, and important contributions to the
effort. They enlisted in all branches of the military and worked for the
military as civilians. They labored in factories, mines, and shipyards.
They were also tireless peace activists, and they worked to relocate
interned Japanese American citizens and European refugees. They served
as cryptologists, journalists, pilots, riveters, factory workers,
nurses, entertainers, and spies.
In 1938, before the United States joined the conflict, a Minnesota woman
was covering the war in Europe as a reporter. Another was a military
nurse at Pearl Harbor when the bombs fell. Minnesota women witnessed the
fall of France, the defeat of Axis forces in North Africa and Italy, the
Battle of the Bulge, D-Day and the invasion of Normandy, the liberation
of France and of the concentration camp at Dachau, and the dropping of
the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
In this rich chronological account, Virginia Wright-Peterson reframes
our understanding of the war through the specific and powerful stories
of individual women. It was their war, too.