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Nebraska’s geography was responsible for one of the major economic and social developments of the war. From border to border, the Army built a dozen air bases — far from the coasts. Ainsworth, Alliance, Bruning, Fairmont, Fort Crook, Grand Island, Harvard, Kearney, Lincoln, McCook, Scottsbluff, and Scribner all got air bases or satellite airfields during World War II.
Even before the war, in September 1940, President Roosevelt’s Advisory Commission to the Council of National Defense (NDAC) was looking for possible army ... Read more
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Regular military units are generally made up of men and women from different regions of the country. National Guard units are based in individual states. So, when a state’s National Guard unit distinquishes itself, it is often a source of pride for the entire ... Read more
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Throughout the war, Nebraskans were constantly bombarded with propaganda to help keep morale high, and those on the front lines were bombarded with propaganda intended to beat morale down.
"We were all the good guys. We did everything right and the Germans and the Japs, they looked awful and they sneered and they said lousy things. They were bad! It was really propaganda. I just accepted it. What else did I know?"
— Rose Marie Murphy Christensen, Columbus, grade school student.
Our ... Read more
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On March 24, 1942, Joan Catalano was the first woman inspector to be hired by Martin-Nebraska. Women were later hired as inspectors in receiving, detail manufacturing, general assembly, finishing and planting, hangars and flight test, and modifications departments at the plant.
However, there were ominous indications that these gains might ... Read more
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"It was something different to see minority people. . . . their presence was a little uncomfortable for some residents in the community."
—Elaine Hatten, Hastings, NE
Rick Wallace interviews Willie Trip about his experiences at the Hastings Naval Ammunition Depot during World War II. An NET Television’s THE WAR: NEBRASKA STORIES interstitial,excerpted from NET Television’s series, Next Exit. Courtesy 2007 NET Foundation for Television
Racism was a serious problem in World War II. The defense factories needed more workers than small towns ... Read more
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"Ironically, at home, the soldier’s mothers, wives, and daughters were being told, ‘Go home to Mexico, where you came from.’"One mother is reported to have said, ‘Send my son home from Germany first.’ "
—From Our Treasures, A Celebration of Nebraska’s Mexican Heritage by Dr. Emilia González-Clements
In the early 1900s, Mexicans migrated to Nebraska in large numbers for many reasons. Some left Mexico to escape the Mexican Revolution. Some came here to better their economic condition. Nebraska offered work in the ... Read more
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"I remember once in a difficult part of the war that these MPs made the patients (German prisoners of war) think that they were not going to give them food from the carts. . . . I cried and said, ‘Oh, you can’t deprive them.’ This (guard) said, ‘Oh, we’re just kidding.’ But I know they weren’t. They were angry with the Germans."
—Barbara Gier, Seward, NE
Nurse, 203 General Hospital in Paris
World War II lasted over three and a half years ... Read more
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Across the country, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin had become the most vocal hunter of communists within the U.S. government. He was an ambitious politician who seized on the growing fear of communism as his political crusade.
In February, 1950, McCarthy was slated to speak before the Republican Women’s Club in Wheeling, West Virginia. During the weeks before, China had fallen to the communists and Russia had tested an atomic bomb. Two years before, an official in the State Department, ... Read more
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In an attempt to ensure the patriotism of their employees, many cities and states enacted "loyalty legislation" during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Nebraska followed the example of many other states and passed a loyalty oath law that went into effect in August, 1951.
Basically, the law required all state employees to sign a loyalty oath in order to keep their jobs. That included teachers and staff in public schools and at the state university and state colleges. The oath ... Read more
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When Gen. Curtis E. LeMay became commander of the Strategic Air Command in 1948 he was appalled at the lack of professionalism in his bomber crews. LeMay rebuilt SAC and, in the process, presided over a huge change in the life of Omaha and Bellevue.
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As more and more nuclear weapons were being built, put into planes and on top of rockets, there were individuals who thought that the doctrine of deterrence through MAD — Mutually Assured Destruction — was just that, mad. They felt that it was better to negotiate to resolve differences with communist governments rather ... Read more
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From 1948 to 1992, 2,583 SAC crew members were killed in the line of duty. Early in its history, SAC decided they needed to honor and remember those who died. And so, the Strategic Air Command Memorial Chapel at Offutt Air Force Base was built in 1956. It includes a sanctuary with seating for 360 people, stained glass windows and an educational-administrative center.
The stained glass windows depict the missions of the various SAC units and were inspired by the Bible ... Read more
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Concerns about nuclear war also had an effect on government. There was a rush in the 1950s and 60s to provide shelters for governmental agencies and bodies.
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The year after the first strike, the American Agriculture Movement decided to take their demands and their tractors to Washington DC. They were demanding a revision of the 1977 Farm Bill. They argued that the bill encouraged large scale production, but did not guarantee of high enough prices to keep small farms in business. The AAM emphasized rallies and protests against the political system.
A protest rally in the nation’s capital was planned for January, 1978, which would bring a nationwide ... Read more
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In the early 1980s, there were several radical farm groups that had organized to prevent the loss of farms. The groups had different prescriptions for how to solve the problems of agriculture, but they shared a belief that farmers weren’t to blame for their problems. Instead, these groups blamed a conspiracy of powerful national and international groups — like Jews or Masons — who were trying to take over the food system.
Arthur Kirk denied that he was a member of ... Read more
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An auction in a rural community is a complex social, economic and even political event. It is also an emotional event. A farm auction usually means that the farmer is leaving — either by choice or because he or she can no longer make it financially. Neighbors gather to look through and bid on household items and equipment. In one moment, they’re looking for bargains. In another moment, they’re celebrating the life of their neighbor. They catch up on community ... Read more
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The new Internet economy ran over telecommunication lines that reached all the way around the world. Most of those lines were made of fiber-optic cables — glass fibers that carry light waves that transmit digital signals. One of the largest owners of these fiber-optic networks was a Nebraska-born company — Level 3.
By the end of the 20th century, Level 3 Communications Inc. operated a 16,000-mile network of fiber-optic cable that connected more than ... Read more
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The Internet traces its beginnings back to a U.S. Defense Department project during the Cold War. The system was supposed to be a way to let computer users, attached to different networks, exchange data with each other.
The key questions were:
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In December of 2003, a dairy cow in Washington State was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Because this illness may cause an animal to behave strangely and lose muscle control, consumers knew the disease by another disturbing nickname, "Mad Cow Disease." As of 2017, there have been no cases of Mad Cow Disease in cattle in Nebraska.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) took a number of steps to insure the quality of American ... Read more
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The first of the politically active farmers’ groups was the Grange, or the "Patrons of Husbandry" as they were formally known. The Grange was organized in Nebraska in 1872 with 50 local chapters springing up during that year. Two years later they boasted 20,000 members. The group tended to be stalwart champions of the yeoman farmer. It was said that a Grange member could go to a statewide convention in the big city with a $10 bill in his pocket ... Read more
