These colorized photos show a new side of World War II
The 1930s and 1940s were a time of upheaval for the US and the world at large.
Reeling from the start of the Great Depression in 1929, the world soon faced a greater disaster with World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945. Though the US did not enter into the war officially until after Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the global war still affected the country.
The following photos, from the US Library of Congress, give us a rare glimpse of life in the US during World War II in color. They show some of the amazing changes that the war helped usher into the US, such as women in the workforce and the widespread adoption of aerial and mechanized warfare.
Mrs. Virginia Davis, a riveter in the assembly and repairs department of the naval air base, supervises Chas. Potter, a National Youth Administration trainee from Michigan, in Corpus Christi, Texas. After eight weeks of training, he will go into the civil service.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congres
Answering the nation's need for woman-power, Davis made arrangements for the care of her two children during the day and joined her husband at work at the naval air base in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Jesse Rhodes Waller, AOM, third class, tries out a .30-caliber machine gun he has just installed in a US Navy plane at the base in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
A sailor at the base in Corpus Christi wears the new type of protective clothing and gas mask designed for use in chemical warfare.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Jesse Rhodes Waller, AOM, third class, tries out a .30-caliber machine gun he has just installed on a US Navy plane in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Feeding an SNC advanced-training plane its essential supply of gasoline is done by sailor mechanics in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Av. Cadet Thanas at the base in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Pearl Harbor widows went into war work to carry on the fight in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Mrs. Eloise J. Ellis was appointed by the civil service to be senior supervisor in the assembly and repairs department at the naval base in Corpus Christi.
After seven years in the US Navy, J.D. Estes was considered an old sea salt by his mates at the base in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy, a former office worker, painting the American insignia on an airplane wing. McElroy was a civil-service employee at the base in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Aviation cadet in training at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Plane at the base in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Ensign Noressey and Cadet Thenics at the naval air base in Corpus Christi on a Grumman F3F-3 biplane fighter.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Working with a sea plane at the base in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Aviation cadets at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi.
Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
Mechanics service an A-20 bomber at Langley Field in Virginia.
Alfred T. Palmer/The Library of Congress
M-3 tank and crew using small arms at Fort Knox in Kentucky.
Alfred T. Palmer/The Library of Congress
M-4 tank line at Fort Knox in Kentucky.
Alfred T. Palmer/The Library of Congress
A young soldier of the armored forces holds and sights his Garand rifle at Fort Knox.
Alfred T. Palmer/The Library of Congress
Servicing an A-20 bomber at Langley Field.
Alfred T. Palmer/The Library of Congress
A US Marine lieutenant was a glider pilot in training at Page Field on Parris Island in South Carolina.
Alfred T. Palmer/The Library of Congress
Marines finish training at Parris Island in South Carolina.
Alfred T. Palmer/The Library of Congress
