History Spotlight: Columbus and the Home Front (World War II)

SOURCES: Columbus and the Home Front: Memories of Columbus, Georgia During World War II. Shaw High School Young Historians, 2007. Most of the images are from the Library of Congress and were taken in 1940 and 1941.

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During this month, we will showcase a 2007 project of the Shaw High School Young Historians, Columbus and the Home Front: Memories of Columbus, Georgia During World War II. Today's Spotlight is an introduction to set the stage of what was happening in Columbus during the war. For the following Thursdays, we will highlight several of the interviews that were made for the project (you will recognize many of them!).

Columbus prior to World War II was well known for its textile industry. During the war years, the textile mills produced a variety of products for the war effort. In the Bibb Mill alone, material was produced for such wide-ranging products as parachute harnesses, assault boats, life rafts, pontoons, tarpaulins, tents, uniforms, leggings, belts, fish nets, hammocks, wire insulation, gas masks, rifle slings, tank straps, "and many other things." Anderson Mills, formerly Meritas Mills, produced rayon tire cord for the military. At the Archer Hosiery Mill, special armor for the B-29 (Super Fortress) and the B-24 (Liberator) were manufactured. Lummus Industries, known nationwide for its cotton gin production before the war, converted one entire warehouse facility to manufacturing 37 mm high explosive shells and 20 mm ball ammunition. Elsewhere in its plant, it produced a variety of products for the Navy, to include bow plates, deck and pilot house assemblies, and ammunition racks for submarine patrol craft constructed in Jacksonville, Florida. Goldens’ Foundry made steering mechanisms for the ubiquitous Liberty cargo ships and three-ton lathe beds for turning 90 mm shells.

That World War II forever changed Columbus is undeniable. The depression years had been rough ones for the city. The New Deal had brought some new construction to the city— notably Jordan High School and the Second Avenue Court Building/Post Office. For the most part, however, the city had changed little during the decade. In 1939, with war clouds on the horizon, Fort Benning began to grow, and its growth spilled over into Columbus. Construction and expansion on Post had a ripple effect on the city, as construction workers, workers for the newly created and expanded war industries, as well as soldiers' families and relatives crowded into the city and competed for living accommodations, eating and shopping opportunities, and entertainment.

The 1940 census for Columbus, Georgia, showed the population to be 53,280, an increase of 10,000 over the previous decade. By 1942, that population had grown to around 60,000, and that of "Metropolitan" Columbus was estimated at over 100,000. By 1945, the city proper included an estimated 75,000, while the metropolitan area now had increased to 125,000. Those figures do not include Fort Benning, which in 1940 counted 9,200 officers and men; by 1942, that figure had climbed to 50,000, and by the end of the war to around 100,000. City residents described the streets of downtown Columbus during the war years as a "sea of khaki."

It was an exciting time for Columbus, and especially for the children, teens and young adults who lived in the city at the time. Much emphasis has been placed on "The Greatest Generation" - the young men and women who went off to war and made the world safe for democracy - and this is only right. What has not appeared to any great extent has been the "home front" experience, especially that of the local Columbus, Phenix City, and Chattahoochee Valley region. To support the men training at Fort Benning and elsewhere, and fighting on battlefields around the world, it took a concerted nationwide effort by millions of people, who collectively transformed the United States into the great "arsenal of democracy" it became. What took place in Columbus and Phenix City was a microcosm of this national effort.

Columbus was also a typical southern town of the period, which meant that it was racially segregated. Although soldiers of both races trained at Fort Benning and fought for a common cause, rules for segregation, whether written or just understood, were followed both on the military reservation and off, and ignored only at the peril of the offender. Still, the war marked a departure point in race relations that ultimately led to the Civil Rights movement of the 50's and 60's and integration of the 70's and beyond.

The subject of Phenix City elicited an interesting reaction on the part of the interviewees. Teenagers during that period usually gravitated to the bars and dance halls when possible because there was music and entertainment; furthermore, it was fun and exciting, and adults usually did not allow it. As long as one understood and obeyed the rules, there were few problems. Single girls were always escorted. For the married crowd and younger children, the perspective was understandably different.

Rationing became a fact of life by mid-to-late 1942. It was a sacrifice that most people bore with little complaint. Ration stamps could be saved and traded for special occasions. Adjustments were made and life went on. War Bond drives were frequent, and there was considerable pressure to achieve "goals" at every level-at the job, at the school, at the city and county level, and so on. For example, the quota for Muscogee County for the 5th War Bond Drive (1944) was over $61 million. Although buying stamps for one's war bond booklet was appreciated, quotas of this scale were achievable only through the generous contributions of the big companies and well-to-do in the town.

The Infantry is known as the "Queen of Battle" and many comments in the interviews you will see in the coming weeks were made about the fact that Columbus assumed a reputation for being "the mother-in-law" of the Infantry because of the numerous marriages that resulted from wartime relationships. This was nearly always a mutually beneficial occurrence since it injected new blood into the region's gene pool and spread the culture across the nation.

Wartime construction was focused primarily on Fort Benning and its supporting infrastructure. Since on-Post housing was limited, even with wartime expansion, the Federal Government assisted in the construction of Benning Hills (for Officer housing) and Baker Village (for enlisted and civilian contractors). Baker High School was constructed during this time period as well. The county airport, opened for traffic in 1944, was built through a joint city-Federal Government project. Civilian construction languished unless it could be related to the war effort, but once the war was over and construction materials again made available, a veritable construction boom hit Columbus in both the commercial and private sector, the likes of which have probably not been equaled before or since.

The 27 people of Columbus and Phenix City who were interviewed for this project came from families that ran the spectrum from well-to-do to middle class to poor, both Black and White, who shared the common experience of growing up or living in the local area during the war years. Most were children or teenagers during the war, with a sprinkling of young adults. Despite sharing a common experience and a common hometown, their stories were as varied as the number of people interviewed, and perspectives differed significantly according to age, marital status, race, and socio-economic position within the community.