We Were in the Big One: Experiences of the World War II Generation

We Were In the Big One: Experiences of the World War II Generation is a collection of diary entries, letters, photographs, and other documents from the World War II era. Carefully selected from the Eisenhower Library’s World War II Participants Collection and other archives, this material - generated in response to the historical events themselves - reflects the mindset of the people who produced it. These documents shed light on one of the most important periods of American history. These contemporary documents reveal a great deel about the attitudes of the World War II generation toward matters such as gender, political beliefs, race, religion, social and cultural mores, and personal values. With a concise introduction and headnotes that introduce each document, Prof. Parillo provides an interpretive framework that puts the selections in context. Parillo shows how the war affected Americans across gender lines, across social and political spectrums, on the home front, and on the battlefield. This text enables readers to discover how the war truly influenced an entire generation of Americans.