Military

A pictoral history of Willow Run - a relative unknown location that became the world's most famous bomber factory during World War II.

In May 1940, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt called for the production of 50,000 military airplanes. He then drafted the president of General Motors, William Knudsen, to mobilize industry in the United States. The automotive companies were called upon to produce a massive fleet of bombers, as well as tanks, trucks, guns, and engines. By the Willow Run, a sleepy little creek near Ypsilanti, Michigan, Ford Motor Company built the world's most famous bomber factory, which was the ultimate manifestation of the automotive industry's role in building armaments during World War II. By the spring of 1944, Willow Run was producing a four-engine B-24 bomber each hour on an assembly line.

Michigan's historic Fort Wayne, located on the narrowest point of the Detroit River, is named for Revolutionary War hero Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne. The fort was built in the 1840s to protect Detroit from British invasion following the strife of the 1838 Patriot War in Canada. Originally constructed of earth and wood, the fortifications were rebuilt in masonry during the Civil War, but the fort has never mounted cannons, as peace came to the international border and remains to this day. Fort Wayne has served the military as a training center, home to infantry regiments, supply depot, prisoner of war camp, and major induction center. It was a source of work for the unemployed during the Great Depression, a place of confinement during the Red Scare of 1920, and home for those displaced by civil unrest in Detroit during the 1960s. The fort continues to invite people to its riverfront view, not as soldiers but as guests, to enjoy community events on its broad parade fields and to learn about those who lived, drilled, and worked there.

When President Roosevelt called for the country to be the great "Arsenal of Democracy," Detroit helped turn the tide against fascism with its industrial might. Locals were committed to the cause, putting careers and personal ambitions on hold. Factories were retooled from the ground up. Industrialist Henry Ford, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, aviator Charles Lindbergh, legendary boxer Joe Louis, future baseball Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg and the real-life Rosie the Riveters all helped drive the city that was "forging thunderbolts" for the front lines. With a panoramic narrative, author Gregory D. Sumner chronicles the wartime sacrifices, contributions and everyday life of the Motor City.

Lenawee County was a hotbed for antislavery activities in the 1830s that translated into strong Union support in April 1861. Adrian, Tecumseh and Hudson sent hundreds of soldiers to fight and die in the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation propelled nearly fifty of the county's African American residents to take up arms to preserve the nation and end slavery once and for all. Captain Samuel DeGolyer, creator of the Lenawee Guard, escaped Confederate prison in Richmond. On the homefront, residents like Laura and Charles Haviland sheltered fugitive slaves and even donated land to help families start anew. Join author Ray Lennard as he explores the events of the war that changed Lenawee County and the nation forever.

With a population made up overwhelmingly of Polish immigrants and descendents of Poles, Hamtramck was especially hardhit by the impact of World War II. Most of the city's residents had family contacts with the old country. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Hamtramckans reacted with shock and anger--and with a determination to see fascism defeated and Poland freed. Thousands of Hamtramckans fought in the war, hundreds died. And those who remained at home dealt with the wartime life as best they could. Hamtramck: The World War II Years presents a portrait of the city at war. It tells and shows how Hamtramckans--of all ages, races, and backgrounds--coped with shortages, the threat of attack, and the everpresent dread that the next telegram may bring news of a soldier's death. It was a challenging time that demanded strength, dedication, and sacrifice. Hamtramckans stood up and delivered all that was required--and more.

In 1927, the US Navy floated a small tin hanger down the Detroit River, planting it on a grass airfield at the southern tip of Grosse Ile, Michigan. This established one of the nation's largest and most important bases for training young officers in the art of flight. Nestled among farms and lavish estates, Naval Air Station Grosse Ile (NAS GI) was home to thousands of Navy officers earning their wings before leaving to fight in World War II . Here their story is told through photographs taken by the airmen who flew and lived there, from its beginnings in 1927 to its decommissioning more than 40 years later. This is the story of men such as Pres. George H.W. Bush, who flew torpedo bombers from NAS GI. And this is the story of the ZMC-2, the Navy's only all-metal blimp, constructed at NAS GI. Finally, this is also the story of the current NAS GI. Spared the fate of many decommissioned bases, today Cessnas, Pipers, and Mooneys rest in the same hangars where Corsairs and Phantoms once prowled. Private pilots take flight and land via NAS GI's unmistakable triangle of runways, and students still earn their wings from the same concrete runways where young airmen trained before heading off to fight the Battles of Midway, Coral Sea, and Leyte Gulf.

Michigan undertook a rapid and robust response to Lincoln's call to arms during the Civil War and in many of its great battles. Read the much overlooked history in this volume.

With lively narration, telling anecdotes, and vivid battlefield accounts, Michigan and the Civil War tells the story as never before of Michigan's heroic contributions to saving the Union. Beginning with Michigan's antebellum period and anti-slavery heritage, the book proceeds through Michigan's rapid response to President Lincoln's call to arms, its participation in each of the War's greatest battles, portrayal of its most interesting personalities, and the concluding triumph as Custer corners Lee at Appomattox and the 4th Michigan Cavalry apprehends the fleeing Jeff Davis. Based on thorough and up-to-date research, the result is surprising in its breadth, sometimes awe-inspiring, and always a revelation given how contributions by the Great Lake State in the Civil War are too often overlooked, even by its own citizens.

The Willow Run Bomber Plant opened in 1941 and produced over 8,600 B-24 Liberator bombers, a key element of the Allied arsenal in World War II. In 1981, a group of aviation enthusiasts established the Yankee Air Museum about a mile away from the original bomber plant. The museum built a substantial collection of flyable and static aircraft and aviation artifacts, many of which were destroyed in a 2004 fire. Despite this loss, the museum remained open in temporary facilities while considering options for a permanent home. The museum then bought the last 144,000 square feet of the original bomber plant with a goal of renovating this facility into a state-of-the-art museum in the early 2020s. Yankee Air Museum covers some of the people and events at the center of Southeast Michigan's aviation history.

Over the past thirty-five years, a small team of explorers have surveyed the southern basin of Lake Michigan in search of World War II US Navy aircraft. The aircraft were lost during mishaps that occurred during an almost forgotten naval project which had trained thousands of aircraft carrier pilots between the years of 1942 through 1945.
Because the explorers became so proficient at locating and recovering the aircraft, the Director of the National Naval Aviation Museum engaged them in an effort to rescue dozens of aircraft for presentation to the American public. Today, these wonderful machines, which had been used by the Greatest Generation to preserve the world's freedom and liberty, are viewed by and touch the lives of millions of people each year.
As with all good things in life, it is the end result that is most known. The trials, troubles and effort to get there is almost always forgotten. This book tells the stories of how the exploration team succeeded through an odyssey within a realm no others have dared to enter.

During World War II, Michigan became a temporary home to six thousand German and Italian POWs.

At a time of homefront labor shortages, they picked fruit in Berrien County, harvested sugar beets in the Thumb, cut pulpwood in the Upper Peninsula and maintained parks and other public spaces in Detroit. The work programs were not flawless and not all of the prisoners were cooperative, but many of the men established enduring friendships with their captors. Author Gregory Sumner tells the story of these detainees and the ordinary Americans who embodied our highest ideals, even amid a global war.