Georgia's Home Front: World War II

Soldiers and Families

Photograph of men in front of a U.S. Air Force plane, Bainbridge, Georgia, 1944

Photograph of mechanics, Bainbridge Army Airfield, Bainbridge, Georgia, 1944

<h2>Georgia’s Army Airfields</h2>
In 1939, 300 million dollars (the equivalent of four billion dollars today) was spent by the federal government to expand the Air Corps and improve airport infrastructure. With the required training of as many as 4,500 pilots per year, new training bases were sought in the Southeast. Georgia became a desired location thanks to its flat terrain in the eastern part of the state, and its mild winters. Twenty-two installations were ultimately established in Georgia, mostly at municipal airports with existing runways.
Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins employed more than 23,000 people in the Air Technical Service Command who repaired Army aircraft and trained nearly 60,000 repair mechanics. Atlanta Army Airfield was the busiest controlled airport in the United States in 1943. More major Army airfields were located in Savannah, Statesboro, Thomasville, and Waycross, while contract flying schools were established in Albany, Augusta, Americus, and Douglas.
In Bainbridge, municipal leaders from the city of Bainbridge and Decatur County purchased 2,070 acres of land which they leased to the Army for one dollar a year. On March 16, 1942, the Army authorized 9.9 million dollars to construct a basic flight training base on the property.

Photograph of men resting beneath a plane, Bainbridge Army Airfield, Bainbridge, Georgia, 1944

Military Activities

Women's Involvement

Civilian War Efforts

Coming Home

In 1942, the War Department ordered that all prisoners of war be relocated to the United States, to reduce the challenge for US military forces to supervise them overseas. Prisoners were processed on the front lines of battle, and transported on ships and trains guarded by military police for their eventual arrival in the United States.
The first prisoner of war camps were situated in rural facilities. As the war progressed, and the number of prisoners exponentially increased, standards were eased to include camps in more densely populated areas. POW labor was often used to build these facilities.
More than 425,000 prisoners of war were brought to the United States by 1945 and were held at more than 490 different facilities across the United States. Forty of these camps were located in Georgia.
The treatment of prisoners of war was governed by the Geneva Convention, which instructed that enemy soldiers be treated respectfully, and asserted that their humane treatment would ensure the protection of American prisoners of war overseas. Standards were enforced by members of the International Red Cross, the International YMCA, Swiss diplomats, and United States government officials, who visited the camps.

Georgia's Home Front: World War II

Prisoners of War

Prisoners of War