Homefront

The Anti-Valentine: "Dear John" in Military Culture

by Susan Carruthers

The cultural phenomenon of the "Dear John" letter illustrates how wartime has created occasion for the policing of gendered norms of faithfulness and forbearance, as well as a script for breaking them. 

Susan Carruthers on The Myths and History of the "Dear John" Letter

The "Dear John" letter represents a convergence of the social history of the military and the culture of family, love and relationships. Historian Susan L. Carruthers explains how the term was coined and what she learned about romantic breakups in military history.

We Are Still Living the Legacy of World War II

by Tom Hanks

The actor Tom Hanks reflects on the false narrative of closure of World War II. The forces unleashed by war and the struggle to reshape the world resonate today. 

Victory Gardens Were More About Solidarity Than Survival

“Americans like to portray that they worked hard and would have starved had they not gardened,” said Allan M. Winkler, a distinguished professor emeritus of history at Miami University of Ohio. “Victory gardens were a symbol of abundance and doing it yourself, but that was more symbolism than reality.”

A City At War: Chicago During WW II

The documentary, narrated by legendary journalist Bill Kurtis, is a comprehensive telling of nearly everything that happened in Chicagoland during World War II. 

How Americans Experienced V-E Day, at Home and in Service

by Fred Zilian

The anniversary of V-E Day in 1945 is an occasion to place ourselves in the everyday lives of Americans at home and on the front lines.

The Heroism of an Ordinary American Woman on the World War II Homefront

by Jim DeFelice

We should definitely celebrate people like Henry Langrehr, the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne, and the other troops who fought with them. But we should also spend a moment thanking people like his wife, who made their triumph possible.