Military

Although far from the front lines of war, the people of Idaho contributed to the US effort in World War II in myriad ways. Entrepreneurs perfected the dehydration of potatoes and onions that became staples of the rations that sustained Allied troops stationed around the globe. Idahoans mined rare metals and manufactured them into weapons and munitions that allowed US forces to compete with the technologies of their opponents. Local communities organized USO huts that provided coffee, cookies, and warm smiles to homesick troops in transit to and from the war. However, World War II also left an indelible mark on the state of Idaho. On the one hand, the federal government's ambitious construction of airports, buildings, and roads to support the war effort transformed a rural state that had lacked infrastructure. On the other hand, Idaho soil housed detention camps where American citizens were denied fundamental rights. And loss and heartbreak impacted nearly every community.

Mountain Home Air Force Base began inauspiciously as a small effort to support and train B-24 combat aircrews for the rigors of World War II. Today it represents the only active-duty air force installation in the heart of Idaho. From its shadowy rebirth in the late 1940s to its buildup under Strategic Air Command, the base housed some of the cold war's most important assets in the battle against communism. Mountain Home's most recent and longest-serving tenant is the world-famous 366th Fighter Wing "Gunfighters." Under the stewardship of the Gunfighters, Mountain Home has been transformed from a remote, dusty World War II airstrip to one of the air force's premier training facilities, readying aircrews and their support agencies for the demands of modern warfare.

In the vast sagebrush desert of Southern Idaho, Minidoka War Relocation Center had a short-lived and painful existence. The wartime operation incarcerated over 13,000 American citizens and legal resident aliens of Japanese ancestry from August 1942 to October 1945. They were forcibly removed from their homes along the West Coast--primarily from Washington, Oregon, and Alaska--as a result of Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. Their only crime was looking like the enemy. For three years, the men, women, and children endured uncertainty, created community, and demonstrated resilience, creativity, and patriotism. Today, Minidoka National Historic Site protects the legacy of the incarceration history and its important lessons in civil liberties.