Another inspiring and informative essay….thank you E. All I can think of is how noble these Americans were and how appalled they would be by what this horrible administration has brought us to.
Nice post Elisa. My wife Diane’s father worked during the war at Bethlehem Steel. They made steel for their shipyards that manufactured over 1000 Liberty ships during the war. They were able to launch one per day! Those were the ships that transported our troops, equipment, ammunition and medical supplies to our armed forces and allies. Hundreds were sunk during the war.
My wife Betty's parents met during the WW2 years when they were working at the Evansville Shipyard, in Evansville, Indiana, where hundreds of LSTs (Landing-ship, tanks) and other vessels were built, then sent down the Ohio to the Mississippi & the ocean. There's a great museum in Evansville centered around an LST like the ones built in Evansville (I believe it was built in New Orleans). It was purchased from the Greek Navy after it had been decommissioned and marked for the scrapyard. A bunch of vets rehabbed it and sailed it all the way back home. Betty & I took a tour of the boat with her mother one hot summer day; it was remarkable how much she remembered about how those things were built. Not long after that day she began her sad slide into Alzheimers and dementia. I'm so happy that we made that visit — even if it was sweltering hot that day! https://lstmemorial.org/
Great story, John. How lucky you were to get her first-hand report! There are a few Higgins veterans still around in New Orleans, and a great exhibit at the National WW2 Museum if you’re ever in need of a road trip. You can even stay next door at the Higgins Hotel.
You no doubt have heard about/read Michael Lewis’ latest, Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service- he was at the New Orleans Book Fest this year and talking about it there. Your piece reminded me of that (I haven’t read it yet- just heard him (and Sara Vowell) talk about it on a podcast. It is most definitely on my list.
It includes a great sidebar chat betw host Tim Miller (who now lives here) and Michael Lewis on the “Yes, and” nature of New Orleans and how that influences its storytellers. Plus Sara Vowell!
I am listening to a segment of CBS on the morning of June 6th - the crackling shortwave broadcast at 3:30 AM Eastern War Time consists now of a series of announcements by the heads of state in exile somewhere near London. In their native languages they warn their citizens against engaging in any independent acts of reprisal and to let those who are part of the resistance to do the work.
Your post led me to imagine the group of unsung heroes working the overnight shift at Willow Run. Over the Public Address system, they hear the announcement: “Attention all workers: Allied forces have begun a massive landing operation in France. General Eisenhower confirms the operation is underway. Production today is critical. Every bomber counts.” Morale visibly shifts across the plant floor. Some cheered. A few wept silently while continuing to work.
I checked. They could have been listening to WJR in Detroit. Someone quickly tunes a Philco farm radio and those lucky enough to be in the break room, the unsung workers from the farms and small towns around Ypsilanti, Belleville, and rural Michigan listen. The radio in the break room was next to a sign that read: "We are all in this together." The reporter describes the planes flying in a moonlit night into enemy territory. We are all in this together.
Here's what AI told me about those working there on June 6 - here's to those unsung heroes.
White Male Workers, 2,400, Mostly from Michigan, Ohio, and rural Kentucky/Tennessee. Many ex-Ford workers.
Black Male Workers, 500, Primarily in foundry, material transport, and night maintenance.
Black Female Workers, 250, Janitorial and limited machine operation; facing heavy discrimination.
European Immigrant Workers, 600, Polish, German-American, and Italian-American; some WWII refugees.
Union Reps (UAW), 12, Monitoring complaints over pay differentials and race-based assignments.
Thanks to your post, I thought some more about those planes built that night. AI tells me that it took "Approximately 3 to 5 weeks for those aircraft to make it to the UK and the Eighth Airforce. Willow run produced 1 B-24 Liberator every 63 minutes and the factory employed up to 42,000 workers, including many women, often known as “Rosie the Riveters” (more unsung heroes.)
There's a chance one of those planes built that night was "part of the December 9, 1944 daylight bombing raid on Stuttgart. The Liberators were from the 2nd Bomb Division based at "RAF Horsham St. Faith, RAF Rackheath" The target in Stuttgart was "Industrial and rail infrastructure."
My mother was and an Ost-Arbeiter in Kornwestheim, a suburb of Stuttgart. She worked at the Salamander Shoe Factory. She was from Greece - where the family fled to after the Armenian Genocide and left for Germany after the invasion of Greece in 1941. She was seventeen years old.“Ost-Arbeiter” literally means “Eastern Worker” in German. They were mostly civilians, many young women and teenagers, abducted or coerced into labor by the Nazi regime from the occupied Eastern territories. Ost-Arbeiter were part of a broader forced labor system that included POWs, Jews, Western Europeans, and others." "Estimated 2.8 to 3 million Ost-Arbeiter were deported to Germany between 1941 and 1945. By 1944, they made up a large portion of Germany’s industrial workforce, especially in armaments production."
The planes made at Willow Run helped end the war. She came to America in 1949 and eventually moved to Watertown, MA because of the Armenian Community that had come there earlier to work at the shoe factory (many Armenians were tailors and shoe makers, that's a story in itself.) The BF Goodrich factory made Jack Purcell sneakers among other things and it was located a few hundred feet from Dexter Ave where Elisa Speranza lived in 1984. I am sure she had some of the Armenian food made by my mother. My mother loved America. We were on a financial aid program for families with dependent children. My father, a merchant marine during WWII did like the main character in the song called Brandy and abandoned my mother right after I was born. Thanks to that welfare program, things were ok and I got to go to Northeastern University and eventually made it to Palo Alto where, thanks to good timing recouped the Governments kindness in taxes many many times over. Thank God we didn't have any big beautiful budget bills in the 1960's! I would never have had the chance to hear E's commentary on the Red Sox among other things.
The actions of those unsung heroes, then and now, will have many amazing and unknown effects for future generations. That's how it seems to work.
Thanks. I could be a one hit wonder and I'm toying with the following line: "Vahe wears a braided chain, Made of finest silver from the north of Maine....." ;-)
Elisa, I so enjoy your posts. This one really landed for me - the tie of your stories to the very real, very current fight against fascism. Lifted me up, for sure, with not a small amount of renewed motivation to carry on in my own way. As always, so great to hear what you're thinking! Thanks!
Another inspiring and informative essay….thank you E. All I can think of is how noble these Americans were and how appalled they would be by what this horrible administration has brought us to.
Thanks, Kathy. A lot of people are rolling over in their graves these days.
Nice post Elisa. My wife Diane’s father worked during the war at Bethlehem Steel. They made steel for their shipyards that manufactured over 1000 Liberty ships during the war. They were able to launch one per day! Those were the ships that transported our troops, equipment, ammunition and medical supplies to our armed forces and allies. Hundreds were sunk during the war.
Thanks, Bevin! Yeah, it's astonishing the volume the "arsenal of democracy" cranked out back then.
Well said.
Thanks, Bruce.
My wife Betty's parents met during the WW2 years when they were working at the Evansville Shipyard, in Evansville, Indiana, where hundreds of LSTs (Landing-ship, tanks) and other vessels were built, then sent down the Ohio to the Mississippi & the ocean. There's a great museum in Evansville centered around an LST like the ones built in Evansville (I believe it was built in New Orleans). It was purchased from the Greek Navy after it had been decommissioned and marked for the scrapyard. A bunch of vets rehabbed it and sailed it all the way back home. Betty & I took a tour of the boat with her mother one hot summer day; it was remarkable how much she remembered about how those things were built. Not long after that day she began her sad slide into Alzheimers and dementia. I'm so happy that we made that visit — even if it was sweltering hot that day! https://lstmemorial.org/
Great story, John. How lucky you were to get her first-hand report! There are a few Higgins veterans still around in New Orleans, and a great exhibit at the National WW2 Museum if you’re ever in need of a road trip. You can even stay next door at the Higgins Hotel.
You no doubt have heard about/read Michael Lewis’ latest, Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service- he was at the New Orleans Book Fest this year and talking about it there. Your piece reminded me of that (I haven’t read it yet- just heard him (and Sara Vowell) talk about it on a podcast. It is most definitely on my list.
I’ve heard about it but haven’t read it yet. He’s always good. What’s the podcast?
It includes a great sidebar chat betw host Tim Miller (who now lives here) and Michael Lewis on the “Yes, and” nature of New Orleans and how that influences its storytellers. Plus Sara Vowell!
Thanks for the tip!
Very troubling but yet inspiring piece. Well done.
Thanks, Tony. Keep the faith!
I am listening to a segment of CBS on the morning of June 6th - the crackling shortwave broadcast at 3:30 AM Eastern War Time consists now of a series of announcements by the heads of state in exile somewhere near London. In their native languages they warn their citizens against engaging in any independent acts of reprisal and to let those who are part of the resistance to do the work.
Your post led me to imagine the group of unsung heroes working the overnight shift at Willow Run. Over the Public Address system, they hear the announcement: “Attention all workers: Allied forces have begun a massive landing operation in France. General Eisenhower confirms the operation is underway. Production today is critical. Every bomber counts.” Morale visibly shifts across the plant floor. Some cheered. A few wept silently while continuing to work.
I checked. They could have been listening to WJR in Detroit. Someone quickly tunes a Philco farm radio and those lucky enough to be in the break room, the unsung workers from the farms and small towns around Ypsilanti, Belleville, and rural Michigan listen. The radio in the break room was next to a sign that read: "We are all in this together." The reporter describes the planes flying in a moonlit night into enemy territory. We are all in this together.
Here's what AI told me about those working there on June 6 - here's to those unsung heroes.
White Male Workers, 2,400, Mostly from Michigan, Ohio, and rural Kentucky/Tennessee. Many ex-Ford workers.
White Female Workers, 1,800, Riveters, assemblers, tool clerks; mostly first-time industrial workers.
Black Male Workers, 500, Primarily in foundry, material transport, and night maintenance.
Black Female Workers, 250, Janitorial and limited machine operation; facing heavy discrimination.
European Immigrant Workers, 600, Polish, German-American, and Italian-American; some WWII refugees.
Union Reps (UAW), 12, Monitoring complaints over pay differentials and race-based assignments.
Thanks to your post, I thought some more about those planes built that night. AI tells me that it took "Approximately 3 to 5 weeks for those aircraft to make it to the UK and the Eighth Airforce. Willow run produced 1 B-24 Liberator every 63 minutes and the factory employed up to 42,000 workers, including many women, often known as “Rosie the Riveters” (more unsung heroes.)
There's a chance one of those planes built that night was "part of the December 9, 1944 daylight bombing raid on Stuttgart. The Liberators were from the 2nd Bomb Division based at "RAF Horsham St. Faith, RAF Rackheath" The target in Stuttgart was "Industrial and rail infrastructure."
My mother was and an Ost-Arbeiter in Kornwestheim, a suburb of Stuttgart. She worked at the Salamander Shoe Factory. She was from Greece - where the family fled to after the Armenian Genocide and left for Germany after the invasion of Greece in 1941. She was seventeen years old.“Ost-Arbeiter” literally means “Eastern Worker” in German. They were mostly civilians, many young women and teenagers, abducted or coerced into labor by the Nazi regime from the occupied Eastern territories. Ost-Arbeiter were part of a broader forced labor system that included POWs, Jews, Western Europeans, and others." "Estimated 2.8 to 3 million Ost-Arbeiter were deported to Germany between 1941 and 1945. By 1944, they made up a large portion of Germany’s industrial workforce, especially in armaments production."
The planes made at Willow Run helped end the war. She came to America in 1949 and eventually moved to Watertown, MA because of the Armenian Community that had come there earlier to work at the shoe factory (many Armenians were tailors and shoe makers, that's a story in itself.) The BF Goodrich factory made Jack Purcell sneakers among other things and it was located a few hundred feet from Dexter Ave where Elisa Speranza lived in 1984. I am sure she had some of the Armenian food made by my mother. My mother loved America. We were on a financial aid program for families with dependent children. My father, a merchant marine during WWII did like the main character in the song called Brandy and abandoned my mother right after I was born. Thanks to that welfare program, things were ok and I got to go to Northeastern University and eventually made it to Palo Alto where, thanks to good timing recouped the Governments kindness in taxes many many times over. Thank God we didn't have any big beautiful budget bills in the 1960's! I would never have had the chance to hear E's commentary on the Red Sox among other things.
The actions of those unsung heroes, then and now, will have many amazing and unknown effects for future generations. That's how it seems to work.
Best Substack response evah! Thanks so much for this, my friend. You should start your own Substack—you are a great storyteller.
Thanks. I could be a one hit wonder and I'm toying with the following line: "Vahe wears a braided chain, Made of finest silver from the north of Maine....." ;-)
Elisa, I so enjoy your posts. This one really landed for me - the tie of your stories to the very real, very current fight against fascism. Lifted me up, for sure, with not a small amount of renewed motivation to carry on in my own way. As always, so great to hear what you're thinking! Thanks!
Thanks so much, Bob. It’s heartening to know you’re out there fighting the good fight.
Inspiration in these troubling times. Thank you xoxo