Mayor Scott LeMay and the City Council received information on the upcoming exhibit World War II – Manufacturing Victory at the April 18 work session.
It is part of a larger national exhibit that the city of Garland had tried to bring here in 2021. It wasn’t available at that time. However, they were able to get it to Garland this year.
In addition to the main exhibit, Garland’s manufacturing history that helped support the war effort will be highlighted. It will feature photos, artifacts, oral histories and interactive audio-video, as well as Garland-specific panels.
Some local manufacturers and groups that were involved in the war effort include:
- Southern Aircraft Corporation – 1941-1947
- Guiberson Diesel Engin Corporation – March 1942 – August 1942
- Continental Motors – 1942 – 1946
- Luscombe Aircraft Corporation – 1945 – 1970s
- Garland Women in Wartime Manufacturing
- Garland After WWII
“It’s an important part of our history that we don’t talk about very much,” District 5 Council Member Rich Aubin said.
Also, Aubin recognized the efforts of Kim Nurmi, the Heritage Crossing coordinator.
The exhibit, including the program, materials and promotion will cost $39,895. Additionally, the mayor and council received information on several promotional opportunities with varying costs.
The exhibit will be at Garland’s City Hall, 200 North Fifth Street in downtown Garland. Exhibit dates are June 6 – Aug. 15. It will be open on some nights and on weekends.
About: In 1940, the world was at war. The United States—a virtually unarmed nation was still struggling with the Great Depression—was not. Most Americans, wary from our experiences with the Great War and focused on their economic security, wanted to keep it that way. However, it was clear to leaders that America must find a way to support Britain’s fight against Germany. Even if it was only to keep American boys away from the front lines. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, knowing that Americans couldn’t afford to let England fail, called the nation to serve in a different way:
Our allies “ask us for the implements of war, the planes, the tanks, the guns, the freighters which will enable them to fight for their liberty and for our security. Emphatically we must get these weapons to them, get them to them in sufficient volume and quickly enough so that we and our children will be saved the agony and suffering of war which others have had to endure.”
The exhibit Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy shows how Americans responded to Roosevelt’s call to action. It shows the transformation of the U.S. from an isolationist nation reeling from the Great Depression into the world’s greatest industrial power. In factories throughout the country, Americans produced tanks, planes, ships, and guns in an unprecedented surge. This not only brought the country out of the Depression but created our mighty military forces. In addition, it supplied the Allies abroad, opened doors of opportunity to millions of citizens, and propelled social change.
In addition, it was an era of tremendous industry and innovation, solidarity, and hope; a moment of unprecedented engagement and connectedness. As Americans took Roosevelt’s words to heart and saw each man and woman as a vital part of the war effort, their efforts yielded a tremendous return and took a vital step on the noble path that defined the WWII generation. — https://www.nationalww2museum.org/.
