Van
Buren County in World War II
VBRGS is pleased to announce the initiation of a
new book
project, ”Van Buren County in World War II”.
Since we began the Southwest Michigan Military Registry in 1997,
we have
been inspired not only by the wealth of information available about
those who
were in active duty, but also by those individuals whose efforts here
in Van
Buren County contributed to the war effort.
One might say that WWII was the last time that the United
States pulled together as one nation
toward
one common goal. Everyone at home, and
across the seas, participated in this cause in one form or another.
Many still remember the paper,
rubber and metal drives; the
ration stamps. Countless women worked in
industrial plants, such as Eaton Corporation in Lawton,
making parts for airplanes and other wartime equipment.
Many did this while their husbands were in
service, and while taking care of a home and family.
Several area patriotic organizations were
formed, including the Gold Star Mothers.
This is a story that needs
telling. First, we will gather information
about every
known soldier. This will be done by
scouring era newspapers, published books, online resources, cemetery
records,
obituaries and area manuscript collections.
Contact will be made with area Legion and VFW posts, and a wide
net of
publicity will be cast. To be
included
in the project, servicemen or women should have had one or more of the
following events in Van Buren County:
birth, death, burial, residence.
Our timeline for the project is
three years. The format will be a high
quality, hardcover
book, similar to that of the Van Buren County Pictorial History
published in 2003. We have included a submission form that
you can download and fill in. Soon, we hope to
have a form on our website where it may be filled in and
submitted online. For the “at home”
portion of the book, we don’t have a form but invite you to submit a
few
paragraphs describing memories of these support activities. We will be providing a list of some of these
groups and activities in future issues of the Echoes or on this website.
As often as possible, we would
like to add photographs. Service photos
are great, but if you don’t
have one of those, simply submit a good head & shoulders shot. At home activity photos need simply be of
good enough quality to reproduce clearly.
Submissions may be made to us by
mail, or send to Toni
Benson, project chairman, at Local
History Department .
We are also looking for volunteers to help
with gathering information, both online and in original records. Contact us for more details.
We invite you to download the
PDF form, fill it in and return it to us at VBRGS, P.O. Box 143,
Decatur, MI 49045
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