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Author Gretchen Knapp brings to life the challenges and contributions of daily life in World War II Buffalo.

When President Roosevelt visited Buffalo in November 1940, he found a hardworking city with a large immigrant population manufacturing aircraft for the Allies. Nearby Fort Niagara inducted over 100,000 young men, resulting in an acute labor shortage. American Brass, Bell Aircraft, Chevrolet, Curtiss-Wright, Houde Engineering and Republic Steel reluctantly, then gladly, hired women. More than 300,000 defense workers toiled in hot factories for high wages despite transportation, housing and food shortages. The aircraft plants alone employed 85,000 on forty-eight-hour workweeks. Buffalonians watched the flag raising at Iwo Jima, participated in the Manhattan Project and observed the formal surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay. Author Gretchen Knapp brings to life the challenges and contributions of daily life during wartime.

Enormous sacrifice on the battlefields and tireless effort on the homefront-- Pittsburgh answered the call to duty after the news of Pearl Harbor hit local airwaves that infamous afternoon. With its high enlistment rates and booming war industries, the city was instrumental in the Allied victory. Duquesne University professor Joseph F. Rishel has compiled the memories of seventeen residents who lived through the war years, from GIs serving overseas to real-life Rosie the Riveters who kept the mills and factories in operation. From stories of daring in all theaters of combat and hardships at home to recollections of schoolchildren collecting scrap metal, USO dances and wartime sweethearts, Pittsburgh Remembers World War II celebrates the city's perseverance and patriotism.

Long Island was transformed from a pastoral rural community to a modern suburban behemoth by playing an integral role in the homefront of World War II. Dozens of Nazi spies infiltrated industry throughout the island and communicated industrial secrets back to Germany as the FBI chased them down. Long Island held the record for producing the most fighter planes in the country with the rapid rebirth of its aviation sector. Five Medal of Honor recipients called the region home. At the close of the war, the United Nations established itself in a weapons factory in Lake Success. Author Christopher Verga charts the rise of Long Island and its role in World War II.

As the nation entered into the throes of World War II, Harrisburg was prepared to answer the call of service. Prideful as a "beehive of industry," the city was a hub for wartime manufacturing, railroads and distribution. Bond drives attracted celebrities such as Abbott and Costello as locals enjoyed "Coffee MacArthur" and "Doughnuts Doolittle" for breakfast. Market Square's Caplan's collected empty toothpaste and shaving cream containers in rationing efforts. The local Pabst Blue Ribbon plant stopped canning, and the Harrisburg Coca-Cola Bottling Works ran out of sugar as everyday products became rare luxuries. Nearly 540 area service members lost their lives in the war, leaving Harrisburg to honor their legacy for generations. Author Rodney Ross reveals the trials of life on the homefront in Harrisburg during World War II.

Niagara Falls, both a natural wonder and a tourist destination, played a prominent role on the homefront during the Second World War. Many men and women worked diligently stateside in wartime industrial plants. One of the area's largest employers, Bell Aircraft, produced P-39 Airacobras and P-63 Kingcobra fighter planes. The company also contributed to more than thirty thousand aircraft for America and its Allies. Other residents, including Mayor Edward W. Mirrington Jr., were called to serve. Through numerous personal interviews, photos and wartime recipes, author and local historian Michelle Ann Kratts honors the World War II efforts of locals both at home and abroad.

America's Only Shelter Established for Holocaust Refugees

During the height of the second World War, at the order of President Roosevelt, Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York housed 982 refugees, rescued from the horrors of the Holocaust. The community of Oswego answered the call of service and opened its arms to the survivors.

Oswegonian and WWII veteran Joseph Spereno's connection with refugee Jake Sylber helped launch his tailoring business that was a fixture in the city for more than 20 years. Then high school Principal Ralph Faust was among local educators who fought to allow the refugee children into Oswego schools, forging connections with those young people who went on to distinguished careers. Local Boy Scout leader Harold Clark created a troop for refugee children to share in the American experience of scouting.

Author Ann Callaghan Allen presents the harrowing narrative of how Oswego gave shelter to hundreds of Holocaust survivors.

From the beginning of World War II, Delaware's movie theaters played a starring role in the state's war effort.

Delaware and every town in it - from Claymont to Delmar - did its part to support the war. From base theaters to opera houses to movie palaces, Delaware's theaters sold hundreds of millions of dollars in war bonds. They served as WAAC recruiting stations. They were collection points for resource drives. They screened countless newsreels and documentaries about every aspect of the war. And they hosted the likes of Fay Wray, Gene Lockhart, Gail Patrick, Paulette Goddard, and other Hollywood stars who came to the state to keep morale high, support strong, and dollars flowing.

Author Michael J. Nazarewycz recounts how the First State, the Greatest Generation, and the Dream Factory joined forces when America's forces needed them most.

The uplifting story of the valiant Tuskegee men and women whose impact on Philadelphia during World War II will surprise even the most avid armchair historian.

At the outbreak of World War II, Philadelphians heeded the call, including the valiant airmen and women of Tuskegee. Although trained in Alabama, the prestigious unit comprised dozens of Philadelphia-area natives, second only to Chicago in the country. They served as fighter pilots, bombers, nurses and mechanics, as well as in many other support roles. The African American service members had to overcome racism and sexism on the homefront in order to serve with great distinction. Their battle for equality didn't end at the war's conclusion. Tuskegee alumni continued to serve their nation by working to secure civil rights and serve their community back home in Philadelphia. Author Robert Kodosky presents the trials and triumphs of Philadelphia's Tuskegee airmen and women.

The bucolic small-town life of Denville in the 1940s would change forever with the outbreak of World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the town mobilized, creating the Denville Local Defense Council, designating air wardens to watch the skies and establishing air raid sirens. Schoolchildren gathered around home radios to learn if there were enough supplies to heat the school, and families learned to live within the confines of a ration book. The Denville Salvage Committee proclaimed "Bomb 'em with Junk!" as it collected waste goods for the war effort. Hundreds of Denville men served valiantly in all theaters of the war, some earning prestigious military accolades and many tragically never returning. Author Peter Zablocki covers the history of World War II Denville, including interviews with members of the town's "Greatest Generation."

Within weeks of Pearl Harbor, German U-boats arrived off the Delaware coast and attacked numerous ships along the vital shipping lanes to Philadelphia and Wilmington. On February 28, 1942, two German torpedoes hit the destroyer Jacob Jones, which was carrying more than one hundred American sailors. It sank in less than an hour. A center for military activity, Lewes became a refuge for many survivors from such attacks. The dunes along Cape Henlopen hid the massive artillery batteries of Fort Miles. Residents of the beachfront communities rallied amid the blackout regulations and air raid drills with rationing and scrap drives. Spotters watched for enemy warships in concrete towers that still line the coast. Author Michael Morgan tells the remarkable story of a coast at war.

Regiments from Chester County fought bravely in all theaters of World War II, while locals at home took extraordinary measures to support the Allies. West Chester resident G. Raymond Rettew developed a process to mass produce vitally needed penicillin while a peaceful farm transformed into the bustling Valley Forge General Hospital in 1943. Women entered labor positions at companies, including Lukens Steel, to meet production demands. The Coatesville YMCA created and distributed a newsletter to soldiers so the boys on the front had the news from back home. Author Marion Piccolomini celebrates the resilience and perseverance of Chester County residents in the midst of total war.