Great Depression

The map only displays records that have geographic information. Switch to the grid view to see all records.

Map is loading...
Timeline is loading...

The timeline only displays records that have date information. Switch to the grid view to see all records.

Zamperini, Louis 1936 Berlin Olympics, Military Training and Bombing Wake Island
Louis Zamperini qualified for the 1936 Olympics and went to New York to compete with Don Lash [Annotator's Note: Donald...
Kneflin, Charles A Family of Soldiers
Charles Kneflin was born in December 1923 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had a very nice childhood. His mother was a home...
Reynolds, Harley A Reason to Join
Harley Reynolds served with the 1st Infantry Division from the time that he went in. He was in the 16th Infantry...
Winter, William A Unique Childhood
William Winter was born in 1923 in Grenada County, Mississippi. He came up during the depression on a cotton and cattle...
Shatz, Ewalt American Boy to Navy Man
Ewalt "Walt" Shatz was born in April 1923 in Visalia, California. During the Great Depression, his father worked for...
Tadewaldt, Gordon American Traveler
Gordon Tadewaldt was born in June 1926 in Aurora, Illinois. He was one of five children. When his father lost his job...
Morrow, John Angry About Pearl Harbor and Overseas Deployment
John Morrow was born in April 1924 in Marksville, Louisiana. It is a small town and he knew almost everyone in town. He...
Brignac, Martin Attack on Pearl Harbor and Defending Puget Sound
Everybody was scraping by during the Great Depression. Martin Brignac and his family made out with what they had. They...
Brewer, Chester Aviation Cadet Training
Chester Brewer joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to Midland-Odessa [Annotator's Note: Midland-Odessa, Texas] and...
Bahlinger, Marion Baton Rouge Boy to Prisoner of War
Marion Bahlinger was born in August 1925 in Baton Rouge [Annotator's Note: Baton Rouge, Louisiana]. He grew up with...
Carson, Benjamin Becoming a Marine
Benjamin Carson was born in February 1923 on a farm in Ottawa Township, Minnesota. Shortly afterward, his family moved...
Godbold, Bryghte Becoming a Marine Officer
Bryghte Davis Godbold joined the Marine Corps and attended the basic school for new officers in Philadelphia. The...
Buell, Harold "Hal" Becoming a Naval Aviator
Harold Buell attended Parsons College in Iowa [Annotator's Note: Fairfield, Iowa] on an athletic scholarship. He was an...
Weymouth, Ralph Becoming a Naval Aviator
Ralph Weymouth graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1938. He was 12 years and old living in northwest Seattle in 1929...
Moore, Charles Becoming a Navigator
Charles Moore was born in Washington, D.C. on 14 May 1919. Growing up with five siblings, Moore had a twin sister....
Leisey, Mary "Mary Abbott" Becoming a Nurse and Treating Wounded Servicemen
Mary Leisey was born in Honey Brooke, Pennsylvania. It was a small town of nearly 1,000 people. She enjoyed growing up...
Boreen, Roy S. “Swede” Becoming a Sailor
Roy Boreen was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1920. During the Great Depression, his father worked as a cement...
Hutchinson, Louis Becoming a Sailor
Louis B. Hutchinson was born in November 1925 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Philadelphia [Annotator's Note...
Downing, James Becoming a Sailor
James Downing began his Navy training outside of Chicago. He had a 30 day leave before beginning the instructions. He...
Price, John Becoming a Soldier
John H. Price, Jr. was with the 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion throughout World War 2. He started at Camp Shelby then...
Espree, Elmo Becoming a Soldier
Elmo Espree was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana in September 1921. His family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1923...
Poole, John Becoming a Soldier
John Poole was born in Mercy, Texas in 1923. The Great Depression represented hard times for Poole. His father had a...
Knudsen, Elmer Becoming a Soldier
Elmer Knudsen was born in February 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Camden, New Jersey. He had a...
Peterson, Cleveland Becoming a Soldier
Cleveland Peterson was born in Baudette, Minnesota in 1922 and grew up there. Baudette is on the Canadian border in...
Harry, Peter Becoming a Soldier
Peter Harry was born in May 1924. He had two brothers in the service during the war. His father worked for a sink...
Wolczyk, Stanley Becoming a Soldier
Stanley Wolczyk was born in Cleveland, Ohio in December 1917. His father and mother were both Polish immigrants. They...
Bonelli, William Becoming an Airman
For the first four months of his service, William Patrick Bonelli made 21 dollars a month. He had very little training...
(Reaves) Pescatore, Josephine Becoming an Army Nurse
Josephine Reeves was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in April 1919. Growing up, Reeves attended the West Catholic...
Snyder, John Before the War and Becoming Sailor
John W. Snyder was born in March 1926 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Growing up, Snyder's family was poor. However, because...
Angst, Lawrence Being Part German
Lawrence Angst was born in July 1923 in Barberton, Ohio. His mother and father were young and struggled through the...
Nolan, Warren Brothers and the Navy
Warren Nolan grew up in Algiers and New Orleans, Louisiana with two brothers. His older brother was in the Navy and was...
Tinker, June Brothers at War
June Tinker's mother started worrying about the impact of the war on her sons soon after Pearl Harbor. Tinker's two...
Bostick, Thomas Childhood to Military Training
Thomas J. Bostick was born in October 1923 in Laurinburg, North Carolina. His parents, both sharecroppers, traveled...
Golden, James Childhood to Pilot Training
[Annotator's Note: Throughout this clip, a woman off camera interjects with comments.] James Ramsey Golden was born in...
Poulson, Ernest Childhood, Becoming a Pilot and Overseas Deployment
Ernest L. Poulson was born in Ephraim, Utah in March 1921. He lived a very rural life growing up. He did a lot of...
Kuskie, Glen Childhood, Joining the Army, and Attack on the Philippines
Glen Kuskie was born in February 1924 on a dairy farm in Lincoln, Nebraska. When his family moved to town, his dad...

Pages