The National Home Front Project warmly welcomes all stories about the American home front during World War II. We encourage families and communities across the country to nominate their elders to share their lasting memories of the war by contacting our program staff.
Here are some different topics that may inspire you to look all around you for World War II history. We are excited to record and archive oral histories with/about:
- Home front-stationed veterans, including women in the military (WAVEs, WACs, and WASPs)
- All women, including spouses of veterans, teachers, home front nurses, and Rosie the Riveters who worked in wartime manufacturing and production
- All children who grew up during the war, including paperboys, Girl and Boy Scouts, and Korean War veterans with memories of World War II
- State Guards, Civil Air Patrol, and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary members
- Civilian defense contractors, including codebreakers and reserved occupation workers
- Contributors to the agricultural industry, including Bracero Program migrant workers from México, farmers who worked with German prisoners of war, and the German POWs themselves
- Japanese American internment/incarceration camp survivors
- Immigrants, refugees, and Holocaust survivors in America during and shortly after the war
- Conscientious objectors and Civilian Public Service Camp volunteers
- Humanitarian aid, voluntary relief, and United Service Organizations (USO) members
- Communities whose experiences have been historically silenced or not as readily documented during World War II, including:
-
- African Americans
- Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and American Indians of all nations
- Americans with disabilities and individuals who received IV-F designation
- Chinese Americans
- Filipino Americans
- Japanese Americans
- Jewish Americans
- Latinx Americans
- LGBTQ+ Americans
- Japanese Americans
- Muslim Americans
- Multi-lingual and multi-cultural Americans
- First-generation immigrants to the U.S. prior to the war
- Civilians in American wartime territories and commonwealths, including present-day Alaska, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawai’i, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Individuals who witnessed or participated in major home front events, including the bombing of Pearl Harbor; the development of the atomic bomb; union and coal mining strikes; and the protests/uprisings against police violence and racial injustice in Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York, among other cities
- First-hand memories of wartime programs, including rationing, scrap drives, Victory Gardens, V-mail, war bonds, black outs, and air raid drills
- Families who kept in touch with relatives stationed/living abroad during World War II, international love stories, and individuals who would like to honor a loved one who sacrificed their life to the war
- Descendants of World War II participants, who have family stories or wartime keepsakes, including photographs, letters, ration books, newspaper clippings, military medals, etc.
- Individuals who currently volunteer for World War II commemorative organizations, veterans groups, or memorial projects
- And more!
While our focus is on collecting stories of home front service and civilian memories of the war, we would be glad to put you in touch with our institutional collaborators, who have a strong commitment to conducting interviews with foreign service veterans. Or if you have a family keepsake that you would like to donate to an archive, we can also connect you with organizations that preserve World War II artifacts. Please visit our Contact page for more information.