(H)our History Lesson: The Sullivan Brothers’ Legacy and Impact on the Home Front in Waterloo, Iowa, World War II Heritage City

About this Lesson

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the World War II home front, with Waterloo, Iowa designated as an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson contains primary and secondary source readings and media to contribute to learners’ understandings about service and sacrifice of local families, and how this inspired home front contributions. The lesson specifically looks at the story of the Sullivan brothers – five brothers who lost their lives together, and whose family campaigned on the home front to encourage others to support the war efforts. The lesson also connects to remembrance and heritage in Waterloo today.

Sullivan Brothers at Home and Memorialized

Left image
Image 1: The five Sullivan brothers at home.
Credit: Courtesy of The Grout Museum District

Right image
Image 2: Statues of the Sullivan brothers inside the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. David Marvitz took this photo. His mother used to walk to school with Albert Sullivan; they were good friends and would have graduated together.
Credit: Photo Courtesy of David Marvitz

Objectives:

1. Describe how the story of the Sullivan brothers and their family inspired home front contributions in Waterloo and nationwide.
2. Compare local, historical perspectives on service to synthesize and connect to larger wartime perspectives and themes.
3. Share examples of how local communities, such as Waterloo, honor World War II service and preserve local histories.

Materials for Students:

1. Readings 1, 2, 3
2. Recommended: Map including Iowa and Solomon Islands (South Pacific)
3. Images -- All images from this lesson are available in the Waterloo, Iowa Gallery:

Teacher Tip: The images in the Waterloo Gallery are labeled with the name of this lesson ("Sullivan Brothers") and the image number in the title. The high quality images in the gallery can be used for your classroom slides or for students to do close analysis.

Getting Started: Essential Question

How did the Sullivan brothers’ story of service and sacrifice mobilize and inspire those on the home front?

Read to Connect

Reading 1: The Sullivan Brothers

Teacher notes: This reading shares the background of the Sullivan brothers. Reading 2 and the photographs are intended to show how stories such as these were used on the home front to mobilize and inspire action. Reading 3 will share how World War II heritage and stories, such as that of the Sullivan brothers, continue to be preserved and connected to today.

You may also choose to share videos from the extension to share background and the story of the Sullivan brothers.

 The Sullivan Brothers and their Story of Sacrifice

By Sarah Nestor Lane

Stories of service overseas during the war circulated with those on the home front. This kept communities connected to the news and shared the urgency of ending the war. The government used these stories to boost home front efforts, contributions, and enlistments. The military used stories of sacrifice to instill a sense of patriotism. The government and agencies called on civilians to do their part to end the war. Actions included enlistment, working in war manufacturing, volunteering, or buying war bonds.
 
Waterloo, Iowa, had 8,100 citizens in service over four years. At least 225 did not return from their service. This included the five Sullivan brothers, George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan. The story of the Sullivan brothers of Waterloo, Iowa, was one that became well-known. It is still shared today. The five brothers enlisted in the Navy after the news of Pearl Harbor. One of their friends, Bill Ball, had died on the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack.

The military capitalized on their family's service. They shared the story of a family of service - five brothers serving - in newsreels and photographs. The Navy wanted family members to split between ships, but the brothers stayed together. The five brothers perished together on the USS Juneau. The Japanese torpedoed the ship near Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands, Pacific Ocean). It was the largest single family combat loss in US military history. Almost all their 700 shipmates also perished.

The Office of War Information used the story of the brothers. The government encouraged mobilization, home front contributions, and enlistments. The Sullivan parents spoke across the country. The family visited defense plants to boost morale and share their story. They encouraged others to sacrifice and contribute to ending the war. They also went on a war bond tour. Their daughter, Genevieve, enlisted in the Navy WAVES. She also participated in war bond rallies. 

Before enlisting, the Sullivan brothers had worked at the Rath Packing Company in Waterloo. J.W. Rath, the president, wrote a letter of condolence to the Sullivan parents. He “praised the work of the boys at the plant, their heroic sacrifice and expressed sympathy to the parents.” The Rath Packing Company added five gold stars to the center of their service flag in honor of the brothers.

Continuing to rally those on the home front, a Hollywood movie, “The Fighting Sullivans,” played in theaters across the country. President Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned a new ship in their memory, the USS The Sullivans (DD-537). The brothers’ mother, Alleta Sullivan, christened and sponsored it.

The story of the Sullivan brothers resulted in the United States Department of Defense Directive 1315.15. This became known as the “Sole Survivor Policy.” This prevented all children in one family from serving in the military at the same time if a sibling had died during military service. This policy was to make sure a family does not lose all their children to war.

Today the Waterloo, Iowa community continues to honor their memory. The city has a Sullivan Brothers Family Memorial, Sullivan Brothers Park, Sullivan Brothers Plaza, and Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum. Locals continue to share their story with sailors and visitors as an example of service and sacrifice.

Quotation Source:

J.W. Rath letter: “Sullivans Given Two Tributes in Congress Record,” Waterloo Sunday Courier, January 17, 1943, p. 1

Reading 2: Sullivan Family Reaction

Note: The following items are presented together to share the perspectives of the parents of the Sullivan brothers and connect to their later advocacy work on the home front. The letter and the broadcast were only a month apart.

Part 1: Media

Alleta Sullivan wrote a letter to the Bureau of Navy Personnel asking for news about her sons in January 1943, as recorded by Alleta’s great-granddaughter, Kelly Sullivan. The Sullivans would later receive confirmation of the loss of their sons and receive a condolence letter from President Roosevelt.

Listen to the following letter: The Sullivan Brothers: Alleta Sullivan's Letter to the Bureau of Naval Personnel from the National Museum of the Pacific War (2:36)

Part 2: Reading

“What Have you Given for War?” Sullivans’ Query

Sister of Five Missing Navy Men Weeps as Parents Broadcast from N.Y.

The Courier, February 1, 1943

‘What have YOU given to win this war?’ 

That was the challenge issued to the nation Sunday night by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan, of Waterloo, whose five sons, 20 to 28 years old, have been missing in action with the navy since Nov. 14.

Speaking from New York in a broadcast of ‘We, the People,’ the Sullivans avoided mention of their own great sorrow to appeal for a greater effort toward victory by the people as a whole. 

In their 10-minute appearance before the microphone both delivered sincere messages, heard by thousands of Waterloo residents.

‘Today’s Mrs. Bixby”

Mrs. Sullivan, introduced as ‘today’s Mrs. Bixby,’ since she, like Mrs. Bixby of Civil War days, had given five sons for her country, thanked the ‘hundreds and hundreds’ of persons throughout the nation who had sent expressions of sympathy. 

She told her audience her five sons went into the navy together, demanded to serve together and were lost together, in the Nov. 14 sinking of the U.S.S. Juneau in the south Pacific, because ‘that was the way they wanted it to be.’ 

Since it was ‘what the boys would have wanted,’ Mrs. Sullivan said, she and ‘Dad’ were trying hard to ‘keep our chin up, no matter how hard it is.’

“To Make World Better”

She said she knew now her sons, and others in the battles all over the world, were ‘fighting to make this world a better place.’ The brothers always felt, she said, that ‘if you can fight, you ought to.’

Mrs. Sullivan urged all listeners who were qualified to handle war production jobs to pitch in and speed victory.
In his brief talk, the father, an Illinois Central freight conductor, said he and ‘Mom’ were ‘going to miss the boys,’ but observed that Albert, youngest of the five, had left a ‘cute little grandson for us,’ referring to Jimmy, who will be 2 years old on Feb. 13. 

Sullivan said he believed the five sons were in the fight to make sure ‘this little kid, and others like him all over the world, would have a decent world to grow up in.’

“All Got to Get In.”

The father declared further: 

‘We’ve all got to get into this fight, every one of us. And we feel we have right to ask, ‘what have YOU given to win this war?’”

Tears rolled down the cheeks of Miss Genevieve Sullivan, only sister of the Sullivan boys, as she sat at home here, listening to her mother and father on the radio. With her were Mrs. George Abel, mother of Mrs. Sullivan; and Miss Peggy Ball, Fredericksburg, Ia., whose brother Bill, was killed at Pearl Harbor.

It was Ball’s death that the Sullivan brothers promised they would avenge when they entered the navy Jan. 4, 1942. 

Reading 3: Preserving History

Background: This letter was included as supporting documentation in Waterloo, Iowa’s “American World War II Heritage City Program Application." It is used to highlight the role of preserving history in the local community, how stories of World War II are shared today, and to hear a family perspective on the Sullivan brothers’ story. Kelly Sullivan was also the reader of her great-grandmother’s letter in part 1 of Reading 2.

By Kelly Sullivan, August 2023 

“My name is Kelly Sullivan. I am the granddaughter of Albert Sullivan, one of the five Sullivan brothers who were killed in World War II. I am the proud sponsor of an Aegis Guided Missile destroyer named for my grandfather and his brothers, USS The Sullivans DDG 68.  . . .

As the ship’s sponsor of the USS The Sullivans (DDG 68), one of my main jobs is to teach my sailors about the
Sullivan brothers and how the community of Waterloo played an important part in World War II. Each year, I have
a group of active-duty sailors who get to do what the Navy called a namesake trip. The sailors come to Waterloo
to hear the history of the Sullivan brothers and also to hear about all of the other heroes from our community. . . The best thing about these namesake visits is that the sailors go back to the ship and tell the stories that they learned while visiting Waterloo.

The sailors are actually required to take tests to learn more about the city of Waterloo and how the city played a
huge role in World War II, not just with the loss of the Sullivan boys, but also the industry of the city.

The loss of my grandfather and his brothers is known as the greatest loss to one family in a single battle in our
country’s history. The city of Waterloo does an amazing job of honoring the boys and all of our veterans. For a
land locked state, we had many men sign up for the Navy after the boys were killed. The Navy saw it as a
wonderful public relations opportunity and made a poster that said they did their part. Waterloo can be credited
for a good deal of recruitment during World War II. The movie “The Fighting Sullivans,” which was released during
World War II, also did a lot to help promote patriotism and support for our American troops.

My great grandparents went on a war bond tour for a whole year after the boys were killed to help support the war effort. My favorite video of my great grandmother is where she says we will continue the fight, as my boys did not die in vain. I have always admired them for their perseverance during their unimaginable loss. . . .”

Image 3: Office of War Information poster: The five Sullivan brothers “missing in action” off the Solomons… They did their part.

National Archives

Quotation to consider:

“The story of Waterloo in World War II is the story of service and sacrifice. The city maximized its military production capacity, sent soldiers and sailors off to war, and maintained enthusiasm on the Homefront, even in the darkest days of heavy human and material losses. The sacrifices the city made represented the essence of why Americans rose to fight and why they prevailed in a dangerous moment of history. Its heritage should be preserved.”

- August 2023 documentation in Waterloo, Iowa’s “American World War II Heritage City Program Application."

Student Activities

Questions for Reading 1

1. Why would the enlistment of the five Sullivan brothers be a story shared by the military publicity?
2. Where did the Sullivan brothers work prior to enlisting? [Note: You can learn more about the manufacturing in Waterloo in this lesson.]
3. How was the story of the Sullivan brothers’ sacrifice used to inspire action on the home front?
4. How did the surviving Sullivan family contribute to home front war efforts?
5. What policy was created as a result of the Sullivan family’s story?

Image 4: Alleta Sullivan greets employees at shipyards in Brooklyn, New York, after she had urged them to speed war production. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan toured war plants to encourage war workers.

Waterloo Sunday Courier, p. 1, February 14, 1943

Questions for Reading 2

1. Part 1 (Listening to letter): Why did Mrs. Sullivan write to the Bureau of Navy Personnel? What were Mrs. Sullivan’s plans for a ship christening? Describe the tone of the letter.
2. What did Mrs. Sullivan urge others to do?
3. Describe Mr. Sullivan’s stance on the responsibilities of others to contribute to the war.
4. The Sullivans continued to travel and advocate on the home front for war contributions. In another appearance, Mrs. Sullivan’s words were summarized as: “In part, Mrs. Sullivan declared that sacrifices win wars and the worst kind of hoarding is the hoarding of services from a government that needs them.” (The Daily News, Feb. 2, 1943)

• What do you believe Mrs. Sullivan meant by "sacrifices win wars"?
• What effect do you think the Sullivan family’s words had on people on the home front during that time?

Questions for Reading 3

1. How does Kelly Sullivan contribute to sharing and preserving local history?
2. What is the purpose of active-duty sailors visiting Waterloo today?
3. How was the story of the Sullivan brothers used on the home front to promote service and sacrifice?
4. How is the story of the Sullivan brothers and their family preserved in local history today?

Lesson Closing

How did the Sullivan brothers’ story of service and sacrifice mobilize and inspire those on the home front?

How do communities such as Waterloo honor the heritage and stories of World War II today?

Extensions

The Sullivan Brothers in Media

The following videos can be used in part or whole to learn more about the Sullivan brothers.

The Sullivan Brothers, by Naval History and Heritage (3:36)

Service and Sacrifice: Remembering the USS Juneau and the 5 Sullivan Brothers, by the Grout Museum of Waterloo (9:06)

The Sullivan Brothers Sing “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” from the Grout Museum of Waterloo (July 11, 1941; audio only, 0:51)

The Fighting Sullivans movie from Vintage Classics (1944; 1:52:12, clips could be used)

Additional Resources

Remembering Waterloo's five Sullivan brothers – A collection of primary sources by the Cedar Falls-Waterloo Courier, a local Waterloo newspaper

Saving Private Ryan: The Real-Life D-Day Back Story – The History Channel shares more information on the connection and background of the “sole-survivor policy,” Directive 1315.15 Special Separation Policies for Survivorship, and how it connects to the Sullivan brothers

Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum: Sullivan Brothers exhibit – Learn more about the local exhibit in Waterloo

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This lesson was written by Sarah Nestor Lane, an educator and consultant with the Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education, funded by the National Council on Public History's cooperative agreement with the National Park Service.