Atolls

What was it like to live on the World War II home front in the mainland United States and its territories? The war was an all-out effort, calling on civilians to do their part to support the military effort. That war may seem like it happened long ago, but the innovations and sacrifices still affect our lives today.

To understand the geography of the American home front in World War II, we need to go back as far as the middle of the 1800s. In 1940, almost 19 million people – 12.2% of the US population -- lived in these US jurisdictions.

The American government and the American people were aware of the conflicts brewing in Europe, Asia, and Africa in the 1930s. Still hurting from the losses of World War I and in the grip of the Great Depression, there was little congressional or public interest in getting involved. In fact, there were efforts to keep America out of the conflict.

The attacks of December 7, 1941 that began at Pearl Harbor were not the only targets of America's enemies. By the time World War II was over, Japanese forces had attacked the US mainland and almost all American territories in the Pacific. Some of these places of the Greater United States fell under enemy occupation. In the Atlantic, German U-boats targeted cargo ships. Germany, Japan, and Russia all had operatives and spies living and working across the country.

This lesson is based on the World War II facilities at Midway, among the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The facilities have been designated a National Historic Landmark.

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is located in one of the Northern Pacific Ocean’s most isolated island archipelagos. Covering 139,797 square miles of tumultuous seas, craggy basaltic islets and low coral atolls, this World Heritage Site contains a world of superlatives.

The NPS's American Battlefield Protection Program awarded a 2021 Preservation Planning Grant to the University of Guam. The university plans to further document the remnants of World War II shipwrecks in the Chuuk Lagoon and shed light on how the conflict between the US and Japan impacted the Chuukese.

Discover lesson plans associated with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Minor Islands.