Date of Award
5-2024
Degree Type
Creative Project
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
Committee Chair(s)
Susan Grayzel
Committee
Susan Grayzel
Committee
Nichelle Frank
Committee
Molly Cannon
Abstract
The Second World War was a war of stuff and stories. Much of this stuff still exists today in the form of objects, oral histories, and historic places. They remind people of the families from all over the state of Utah who sent sons, husbands, brothers, and fathers to faraway lands to fight for their freedoms. Many of these men did not come home, and those who did return came back with experiences that forever changed them. Objects, stories, and places also show how the war touched those on the home front. Women went to work in the defense industry, manufacturing parachutes that would save lives and bullets that would take them. German and Italian prisoners of war, as well as Japanese Americans, were imprisoned within the borders of the state, some of whom chose to stay in Utah after their eventual release. A military hospital even provided prostheses to servicemen who lost limbs while serving their country. As veterans and others who lived through World War II pass away, their stuff remains to tell their stories.
Recommended Citation
Watkins, Sara, "Objects of Remembering: Material Culture, Oral Histories, and Historic Sites in Utah's World War II Story" (2024). All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present. 33.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports2023/33
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