Cleveland County, North Carolina, selflessly gave to World War II, with 6,500 people--more than 11% of the county's population at that time--taking part in the conflict. This rural county, which contributed almost double its share of service personnel, lost 190 fine young men--almost five times the expected casualties for a North Carolina county. Cleveland County residents participated in most significant engagements of the war, in every imaginable capacity, and in every branch of service--from the infantrymen, to the sailors, to the airmen, to the marines. At home, window banners displayed blue stars for each family member serving and gold stars for those who made the supreme sacrifice.

This highly anticipated follow-up to Rutherford County in World War II continues to illustrate the tremendous contributions of a brave community to the World War II effort. Rutherford County residents participated in almost every major campaign of the war, including Pearl Harbor, the air offensive in Europe, and D-Day, and those on the home front did all they could to support the troops. These patriotic photographs-many of which were collected by the authors during personal interviews with local veterans and other dedicated residents-memorialize this proud county's service and commitment to the war effort.

Berthed on the Cleveland lakefront, the battle-hardened submarine USS Cod serves as a proud reminder of the wartime contributions from the Greater Cleveland community. Clevelanders did their duty and more, from round-the-clock work on the factory assembly lines to the four Medal of Honor recipients on the front lines. The Cleveland Bomber Plant churned out thousands of B-29 parts, while Auto-Ordnance Co. developed the design for the Thompson submachine guns used by GIs on nearly every battlefield. Indians pitcher Bob Feller left the game to go into the service, and Clarence Jamison flew with the famed Tuskegee Airmen. Through interviews and archival material, authors Brian Albrecht and James Banks honor a time when Clevelanders of all stripes answered the call to arms.

During World War II, more than six thousand prisoners of war resided at Camp Perry near Port Clinton and its branch camps at Columbus, Rossford, Cambridge, Celina, Bowling Green, Defiance, Marion, Parma and Wilmington. From the start, the camps were a study in contradictions. The Italian prisoners who arrived first charmed locals with their affable, easygoing natures, while their German successors often put on a serious, intractable front. Some local residents fondly recall working alongside the prisoners and reuniting with them later in life. Others held the prisoners in disdain, feeling that they were coddled while natives struggled with day-to-day needs. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, former POWs and residents, as well as archival research, Dr. Jim Van Keuren delves into the neglected history of Ohio's POW camps.

The colossal scale of World War II required a mobilization effort greater than anything attempted in all of the world's history. The United States had to fight a war across two oceans and three continents--and to do so, it had to build and equip a military that was all but nonexistent before the war began. Never in the nation's history did it have to create, outfit, transport, and supply huge armies, navies, and air forces on so many distant and disparate fronts. The Axis powers might have fielded better-trained soldiers, better weapons, and better tanks and aircraft, but they could not match American productivity. The United States buried its enemies in aircraft, ships, tanks, and guns; in this sense, American industry and American workers, won World War II. The scale of the effort was titanic, and the result historic. Not only did it determine the outcome of the war, but it transformed the American economy and society. Maury Klein's A Call to Arms is the definitive narrative history of this epic struggle--told by one of America's greatest historians of business and economics--and renders the transformation of America with a depth and vividness never available before.

North Carolina did more than its part during World War II. This Southern state trained more troops than any other state in the nation. Can one still find the military posts and shipyards, the cemeteries and memorials, the convalescent units and R&R facilities today? This volume describes in detail both the state's 20-plus military sites and the eight little-known North Carolina prisoner of war camps. Images and memories tell the story of service personnel and their families who contributed to the war effort at much personal sacrifice. The book reminds readers of how those Carolinians who remained behind did their part through supporting the troops, rationing, salvaging metals, growing Victory Gardens and purchasing War Bonds.