MUSIC AND CONFLICT:
FROM PATRIOTISM TO PROTEST
World War II (1941-1946 U.S. Involvement)
The Facts
Important Dates:
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1941: The United States joined the Allies (Britain, France, and the USSR)
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16,112,566 troops were engaged for the United States
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America suffered 291,557 casualties
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President Franklin Roosevelt enacted the relocation effort of all Japanese and Japanese-Americans to "relocation centers" for the remainder of the war
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February 4, 1941: The United Service Organizations (USO) was founded in response to request by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide morale for the troops.
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June 4, 1944: D-Day occurs when the Allies launch the invasion of Normandy in France.
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August 6, 1945: The United States dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. 80,000 people were immediately killed and thousands more died of radiation poisoning
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August 9, 1945: The second atomic bomb was dropped by the United States on the city of Nagasaki, Japan killing 40,000 people.
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1945: Both Germany and Japan surrendered. Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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During the war over 6 million Jews were systematically terminated during the Holocaust at the hands of Nazi Germany.
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Quotes or Battle Cries:
"I have seen war, I hate war." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
We no longer demand anything, we want war." - Germany's foreign minister, August 1939
"We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender." - Winston Churchill
"The world must know what happened, and never forget." - General Eisenhower, while visiting nazi death camps, 1945
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." - Winston Churchill, about R.A.F fighter pilots
"United in this determination and with unshakable faith in the cause for which we fight, we will, with God's help, go forward to our greatest victory." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Until Every One Comes Home" - Slogan of the United Service Organization
Where in the world . . .
Click the map icon to find out more about where this war took place and the nature of the battlefields.
Songs and Lyrics of the War
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B
performed by the Andrew Sisters
World War II was the in the midst of the big band era with full orchestra's playing peppy motivational songs such as the Andrew Sisters and their hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B"
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Reveille = the bugle call signally troops to awaken and take morning roll call. Reveille would be played by a "bugle boy.
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition by Frank Loesser
Another patriotic song depicting the belief in the rightiousness of the war effort is "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunication." This
Shouting, 'Praise the Lord, we're on a mighty mission
All aboard, we ain't a-goin' fishin'
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
And we'll all stay free'
Coming Together:
Click on each icon in the picture below to find out how music and war came together.
Patriotism vs. Protest
The songs of WWII were upbeat and inspring, again rallying support for the war effort. The birth of the USO provided a celebrity face to the war effort which continues to this day.
Famous celebrity comedians such as Bob Hope, and beautiful actresses such as Marily Monroe toured overseas to bring music and laughter to the troops. Additionally, these same celebrities provided public service announcements supporting the war bond effort, needed to fund supplies to the war effort.