(H)our History Lesson: Dayton, OH: Comparing and Connecting WWII Home Fronts

About This Lesson

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the World War II home front, focused on Dayton, Ohio, and Montgomery County, as an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson contains photographs, reading, and a primary source, with an optional activity, to contribute to learners’ understandings of the area as a WWII Heritage City. It combines lesson themes from the three other lessons in the collection to summarize the city’s contributions and encourage connections to the overall US home front efforts.

Objectives:

In a culminating product:

1. Identify important WWII location(s) in Dayton, Ohio, and describe their historical significance.
2. Summarize the contributions of Dayton, Ohio service members and civilians to home front wartime efforts.
3. Evaluate the struggles, and contributions, of Japanese Americans in the US, and those who resettled in Dayton and Montgomery County.
4. Optional: Describe similarities and differences of Dayton, Ohio, and other WWII home front(s).

Materials for Students:

1. Photos 1-3
2. Readings 1 & 2
3. Maps, project materials (as needed)
4. Student graphic organizers (See Photos 4 and 5 at end of lesson, for reference)

Student Graphic Organizers

1. Create Comparison Matrices for your students to use. To compare two cities, create a one-page sheet with three columns and four rows.  Label the left column Theme/Topic and the other columns City 1 and City 2.  For a Comparison Matrix for three cities simply add an additional column. 

2. Create two Single-Point Rubrics to assist students’ self-assessment. One is for assessing proficiency in meeting teacher-selected standards. One is for assessing proficiency in meeting objectives. 

3. For the rubric on standards, create a one-page sheet with three columns and four rows of content. Label the first column “Areas for Improvement,” the second column, “Proficient (Meeting Standard),” and the third column, “Areas of Exceeding Standard.”  Leave the first and third columns blank.  In each row of the second column identify a Standard and indicate a space for noting the evidence for meeting the standard.  Include a space at the bottom of the page for assigning points for each column. 

4. For the rubric on objectives, create a one-page sheet with three columns and four rows of content. Label the first column “Areas for Improving toward Objective,” the second column, “Proficient (Meeting Objective),” and the third column, “Areas of Exceeding Objective.” Leave the first and third columns blank. In the four rows of the second column identify these four objectives:  

a. Objective: Identify important WWII location(s) in Dayton, OH and describe their historical significance.  

b. Objective: Summarize the contributions of Dayton, OH service members and civilians to home front wartime efforts.  

c. Objective: Evaluate the struggles, and contributions, of Japanese Americans in the US, and those who resettled in Dayton and Montgomery County.

d. Objective: Optional: Describe similarities and differences of Dayton, OH and other WWII home front city(s). Include a space at the bottom of the page for assigning points for each column. 

Photo 1: Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross volunteered time, including by sewing items for soldiers and civilians.

Courtesy of Wright State University Archives

Getting Started: Essential Question

Why do you think Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio chosen as a World War II Heritage City, and what are its similarities and differences to other home front cities?

Quotation to consider:

“The story of the conversion of American industry from peace time to war manufacture is one that is not destined to reach, in its entirety, the public until the post-war era when John and Jane Doe return ‘to normal.’ Nevertheless, the conversion was accomplished, and accomplished with such speed and vigor, despite some reports to the contrary, that the versatility of industry in ‘swinging over’ to war production will occupy a place on our public library shelves just as will the battlefield accounts of the second World War.” - from “Precision Products for War,” an article on Delco Products in Dayton (The Dayton Herald; Sun, Apr 18, 1943, p. 59)

Photo 2: "We'll Keep It Flying!" poster by the National Cash Register Company, Dayton, OH. Text at bottom right reads, “We proudly fly the Army Navy ‘E’ with Two Stars for ‘Unceasing Excellence’ in the production of precision instruments and other war material. The offices and employees of The National Cash Register Company.”

Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

Read to Connect

Reading 1: Heritage City Designation

Excerpt from: “House Report 115-998, “To Direct the Secretary of the Interior to Annually Designate at Least One City in The United States as An ‘American World War II Heritage City,’ and for other purposes,” (October 30, 2018).

---

“. . .PURPOSE OF THE BILL 

The purpose of H.R. 6118 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior to annually designate at least one city in the United States as an ``American World War II Heritage City''. 

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION 

    On December 7, 1941, military forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the U.S. Naval Fleet and ground bases at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On December 8, 1941, one day after what President Roosevelt referred to as, ``a date which will live in infamy,'' the United States declared war against the Empire of Japan. Three days later, on December 11, 1941, Japan's ally, Germany, declared war on the United States. Sixteen million Americans, mostly young working-age men, served in the military during World War II, out of an overall United States population of 113 million. 

While an unprecedented number of Americans served in World War II, the country drastically increased its war production on the home front, serving not only the needs of the armed forces of the United States but her allies as well--in what President Franklin Roosevelt called ``The Arsenal of Democracy.'' The combination of millions serving in the military, during a period of necessary and drastic increases in production, led to significant social changes on the American home front. 

The World War II period resulted in the largest number of people migrating within the United States in the history of the country. Individuals and families relocated to industrial centers for good paying jobs out of a sense of patriotic duty. Many industrial centers became ``boomtowns,'' growing at phenomenal rates. One example, the City of Richmond, California, grew from a population of under 24,000 to over 100,000 during the war. . . .” 

Reading 2: Dayton Newspaper Article (1943)

"Ohio Defense Chief Says Dayton is 'Hot Target'"

The Journal Herald (Dayton, Ohio), Thu, Jan 21, 1943 (p. 3)

---

Dayton and Ohio are the hottest targets in the country because of their war production, Ralph H. Stone, executive director of the Ohio Council of Defense, declared last night at a mass meeting at the Oakwood civilian defense corps at the National Cash Register company auditorium.  

Stone spoke shortly before about 400 members of the Oakwood organization were “graduated” for completing work in various defense classes. 

“The Oakwood defense corps is quite advanced,” Stone said, “and you should continue your efforts as long as the emergency exists.”  

Stressing the importance of Dayton and Ohio as an enemy bombing target, the state defense director said the civilian population should not assure themselves “it can’t happen here.” 

He asked for continued cooperation of the Oakwood organization with the Dayton Council for Defense. 

Lt. Comdr. Thomas P. Sharkey of the navy also spoke, telling of his experiences in the South Pacific war zone.  

A blackout of the auditorium was staged with simulated bombing noises and flashes of explosives. The Montgomery county Red Cross chapter presented a two-act skit explaining how the aid-unit would operate in an emergency.  

The Patterson Field band played before and during the program. The Red Cross skit was under the direction of Robert O. Earl.  

The graduation oath was administered the oath to the civilian defense workers by Prosecuting Attorney Mills Matthews, Rev. Raymond K. Riebs gave the invocation. Motion pictures also were shown.” 

Photo 3: Conversion. Cash registers to gun magazines. A boring operation on the Oerliken machine for 20mm anti-aircraft guns. Many regular employees were retained when a large cash register manufacturing plant changed over to war production. National Cash Register Company, Dayton, OH, February 1943.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Questions for Reading 1

1. What was the purpose of the bill (H.R. 6118) according to the report?

2. Why do you think Dayton and Montgomery Co., Ohio, were designated as a World War II Heritage City? Use details from the bill and from the lesson information.

3. Are there other cities you think of when considering home front contributions during wartime? Which, and why?

Questions for Reading 2 and Photo 3

1. Why would Dayton be considered a “hot target” to enemies? (Consider information also learned in the prior lessons on Navy WAVES, war production and aviation, and Japanese American resettlement.)

2. What was the purpose of the skit, blackout and simulated bombing? (Opinion: Do you believe these types of productions were helpful at the time? Why, or why not?)

Culminating Activity/Mastery Product

To demonstrate student understanding, support students in creating a final product that meets the following objectives:

1. Identify important WWII location(s) in Dayton, Ohio (and Montgomery Co.) and describe their historical significance.
2. Summarize the contributions of Dayton, Ohio service members and civilians to home front wartime efforts.
3. Evaluate the contributions of women in the services and civilian roles on the home front in Dayton.
4. Optional: Describe similarities and differences of Dayton, OH and other WWII Heritage city(s) / home fronts.

Mastery products should be:

. . . student-led. Students work as individuals or in collaborative groups.

. . . student-directed. Students are offered a variety of choices for product type (report, slide presentation, artwork with written descriptions, video product, etc.).

. . . student-organized. Teacher facilitates by providing students with the comparison matrices and/or resource links from throughout the series of lessons.

. . . student-assessed. Teacher supports student self-assessment and reflection by providing students single-point rubrics to assess for meeting standards and/or lesson objectives.

Note: Depending on time and scope, the comparison of Dayton to another WWII Heritage city(s) within the mastery product (objectives) may be omitted. However, comparing cities is recommended, as it connects students to a deeper understanding of the WWII home front.

Please view this page about the American World War II Heritage City Program for information and resources on other cities.

Photo 4: Single-Point Rubric (Standards; Blank) [Teacher selects priority standards for assessment.]

Courtesy of Sarah Lane.