Most People Have Never Seen These 12 Photos Taken During World War II In Arizona
By Monica Spencer|Published February 16, 2016
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Monica Spencer
Author
Monica is a Diné (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tódich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. You can reach her at monica.d.spencer@gmail.com.
World War II ended just over 70 years ago and it changed the lives of millions worldwide. Today, despite its prevalence in media and still-living survivors, the war seems so far away from many Americans, both in terms of time and distance. Movies, novels, and TV shows rarely depict life during this period at home, in part because most of the action was happening overseas or along the coasts. If you were ever curious about what life was like for Arizonans during the war, here’s a brief glimpse at what it looked like.
1. Back in 1942, this is what the entrance to Williams Air Force Base, then known as Williams Army Airfield.
3. During World War II, most commodities were rationed in order to avoid shortages. This is an old ration book for a Phoenix resident from the time period.
Something interesting to note is that the photographer, Fred Clark, noted that this was a "center for evacuees," a slightly skewed description for the place.
8. Bus loads of Japanese Americans arrive at the internment camp in Poston for processing in 1942.
10. Moving to eastern Arizona, this man is operating a bulldozer at the local Phelps-Dodge copper mine in Morenci. Copper was a major Arizona product especially during the war when the country was in a shortage of the metal.
12. Copper wasn't the only metal Arizona produced for the war effort. Tungsten, mined near Kingman, was used to increase the hardness and strength of steel for tools.
