WWII in Kansas
In 1939 Hitler and Stalin signed a “nonaggression pact” which meant that Germany and the Soviets could not fight against each other for ten years. This means that Germany would invade Poland and not have to fight the Soviets which worried England and France. London and France were worried because Poland wasn’t very strong militarily. So to start the war Germany invaded Poland and Poland fell to Germany. Once Poland was invaded, two days later France and England declared war on Germany. In early 1941 Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria had joined the Axis which was with Germany. In late 1941 the US entered the war after being attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.
Kansas during WWII was pretty exciting. Eight new air stations, as well as nine reserve stations, including the Kansas bases at Olathe and Hutchinson were located here. The second World War did not introduce the navy to Kansas. A naval reserve air base was already in operation at Fairfax Field, the municipal airport at Kansas City. Also in Kansas is the Big Red One which is the infantry based at the military base in Fort Riley, near Manhattan. During this time period around ww2 there were three important people in Kansas. They are Dwight D Eisenhower, Amelia Earhart, and golden parks.
Dwight David Eisenhower was born in Texas in 1890. He was raised in Abilene KS. Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915. He married Mamie Geneva Doud on July 1 1916 while he was stationed in Texas. They had two children. In just 28 years he rose to the rank of Supreme Allied Commander. Eisenhower directed the allied invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and the Normandy Invasion. After the war he was elected president and did a lot for the country like interstate highways, People to People International, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. On March 28, 1969, Eisenhower died. His body was returned to Abilene and buried at the Eisenhower Center. A lot of public middle and high schools are named for him. An Eisenhower memorial on the National Mall near the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is in the planning stages.
History.com Staff. "World War II History." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history>
"Dwight D. Eisenhower." Kansapedia. Kansas Historical Society, Sept. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2016. <https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/dwight-d-eisenhower/12043>
"Naval Air Stations in Kansas During World War II." Kansapedia. Kansas Historical Society, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-naval-air-stations-in-kansas-during-world-war-ii/13277>
"Famous Kansas." There's No Place like Kansas, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.travelks.com/things-to-do/history-heritage/famous-kansas/>
