The American Woman and World War II: A HandHeld History

by Allan Seiden

Events on Dec. 7, 1941 would prove the catalyst to a wide range of changes in American life. One of on-going significance was the change in lifestyle and career options possible for women. World War II proved pivotal in initiating this liberating and demanding process of change. For some women the war years (1942-1945) meant active military service. For others, service meant working in government offices, and in the factories and munitions plants that produced the vast quantity of equipment and goods that victory demanded, with the United States called The Arsenal of Democracy. Still others, like the author's mother, followed drafted husbands to stateside postings, returning home to raise newborns as single parents when the call came for their husbands to be transferred. So it was that Allan Seiden was born at Camp Carson, Colorado, where his father, an Army Sergeant, was posted until an untimely transfer just days before Mr. Seiden was born. This book, in the story it tells, is dedicated to those many women who rose to the challenge, maintaining continuity, not only for millions of men in arms, but in the nation's ability to meet the unrelenting demands of the war effort. Working for the common good, they helped redefine and broaden the role of women in the life of the nation.

The first 54 pages are dedicated to the history of American women in World War II. The last five pages are postcards.