America's Arsenal: How Pittsburgh Powered WWII
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- WQED reports on Western Pennsylvania's contributions to World War II, including the Bantam Jeep designed in Butler, LST production on Neville Island, steel production in Homestead and the Westinghouse artist who created the Rosie The Riveter image. (Original WQED premiere: November 7, 2011.)
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I'm so proud to be born and raised in the great steel city of Pittsburgh. I give all the credit to my father and grandfather's for their sweat and tears, to supply the American armed forces, with the tools, ships,and arms to prosecute the war with our enemies. I say thank you and God bless you!
"A time when a generation pulled together" Contrast that with today and it's enough to depress anyone.
Isn't that the DAMN truth... its a sad America that i live in... we would rather kill one another than to stand beside eachother... smdh
America was just as divided the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor as it is in this day and age, matter of fact because of the meat grinder that WW1 was less than 25 years before most Americans opposed our entry into WW2, but of course after Pearl Harbor everything changed, and don't you remember how united the country was immediately after 9/11? I don't recall people squabbling about the same old routine stuff that they had been the day before 9/11, and just like the day after Pearl Harbor the day after 9/11 everyone had forgotten about their little pet peeves they always have about people on "the other side" because just like after Pearl Harbor everyone had a common enemy.
And here's a few facts that might shed a different light on things for you, in WW2 ⅔rds of US military personnel who fought in that war were drafted, of course after Pearl Harbor there was an initial wave of patriotism and the military recruiter's offices were filled with guy's enlisting, but that didn't last long after the coffins started coming home and pictures of dead troops started showing up in Life magazine, that's right ⅔rds of the "greatest generation" had to be drafted into that war.
In contrast despite the common myth that the men who fought in Vietnam had to be drafted and were drug over there by their hair kicking and screaming the fact is ⅔rds of them actually volunteered, that's right the truth is the image's are actually reversed from the reality of it, by percentage they were actually twice as patriotic as Americans greatest generation.
Now here's the real kicker, 100% of all the troops who served in the middle east in the past 20 years volunteered, not a single one had to be drafted into the longest war in US history, every single one volunteered.
So stop and think about those statistics before the next time you say that Americans are too divided to do what they did during WW2 or go saying something about "kids these days".
Yes brother, you are so right and it's very sad. I'm from Michigan, and we used lots and lots of your wonderful steel! Thanks to all of you Pennsylvanians who's grandfathers and great-grandfathers made this steel for the war.
I worked not far from the Chrysler tank plant that build the old Sherman and other tanks.
My grandfather built large military trucks at the old REO plant. My uncle built B-17, 24, and B 29 wheels at Motor Wheel Corp., and my friend, Garnet, made 3" naval and artillery shells at the Oldsmobile Car plant, all in Lansing.
We Americans have so much to take pride in. We need to love one another!
Its amazing how much Steel was produced in Pittsburgh over the years , Bridge Steel for the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge come to mind all from came from Bethlehem Steel iirc , Ships , Locomotives and Railcars , the War effort, especially Tanks , incredible ! Thank you Steel Workers and Foundry Men. 🇺🇸💪
My grandmother was a welder making torpedoes at the sharon pa plant and the shenango lake is my backyard which was only about a 5mile drive away from Westinghouse. It still stands today and test torpedoes have been found over the years in the lake. Also live about 5miles away from Camp Reynolds, a service depot and POW camp.
It's wonderful to hear this information. I had never heard about the huge impact of Pittsburgh manufacturing in WWll.
That’s where my Grandfather worked. Nice to see and learn about it now.
This was a fantastic video. My family has liv4ed in W. Pa since the 1880's. My great uncles was killed in the Homestead steel works . My grand father then left Homestead and moved to work i as a carpenter build the coal mines near Altoons where both my dad and I were born. It is fantastic to see how important our part of the country and state were in our winning the war and it makes me really proud of still being a western Pennsylvanian.
Great film, I love hearing how America worked together when it really mattered. One flaw, at 7:07, he mentions the the battleship Oregon? It was built in 1893, and spent WW2 as an ''ammo hulk'' according to Wikipedia. Stricken: 2 November 1942. Hull symbol: BB-3, Sold for scrap, 15 March 1956. The USA launched about ten battleships during WW2, all saw some combat. The last four are still afloat.
As a graduate of Carnegie Tech (Mellon) my father started at Alco products in Latrobe, later joining IBM in the automation of the steel industry up and down the valleys. Years later, we visit the USS Cod Submarine in Cleveland and he was very proud that the hatch and it's spring were manufactured by Alco. My grandfather was a metallurgist at J&L during the war and thus was draft exempt as a strategically important position. Everyone played their part during those days. Today, we're at war for 20 yrs in Afghanistan, and unless your kids friends go there (mine did), you wouldn't even know it. No wonder we lost.
Pymatuming Lake, where the electric torpedoes were tested, wow!, I remembering fishing and water skiing on that lake in the 60's and early 70's.
I was born and spent the first couple of my years in Butler. Later became a big jeep fan and owner.
My mother worked for the US Navy during WWII in procuring steel for ship building.
well done thx
Sooooo good.... Thank you, for the wonderful story of truth, and the American way... back in the day!! We are still strong, the kids just don't know it, but they will wake up... I have my faith.
I'm proud to be from Pittsburgh. My grandfather fought with 2 of his brothers not making it home. with about 15 relatives in the milles making these weapons of war.
Thanks for producing and sharing this video. However I am a bit saddened that so much of our manufacturing might has been moved offshore.
Kaiser Steel in San Bernardino California produced lots of steel, gypsum, etc.
Beautiful video. But, the man said that USS Oregon came out of that plant? There was a USS Oregon?
I loved seeing the conning tower at park in Portland.
Hitler's greatest threat sitting in the Heartland and he could not do a thing about it.
When America realized it could be a war based economy.
and why are we not making it now??
wow 2011!!! feels like 1999
I was thinking the same thing.
Good show, thanks...but "Battleship Oregon"??? Not during WWII.
Battleship Oregon? I don't think so.
"more steel than Britain" Food for thought.
8:24 Hitler never had a way of threatening Pennsylvania's steel mills, or any other part of the American war machine. The Soviets did, however, less than 20 years later, via ballistic missiles and nuclear annihilation. I wonder if that's why the US government gave up its country's advantages in heavy industry so easily.
Often wondered if Pa produced the most for the WW2 war effeort. Besides PITTSBURGH Bethlehem steel produced then most steel I believe of any plant in the world and Philadelphia had Frankford Arsenal that produced all the small rounds for the war and both large Budd companies made small planes and other things.Philadelphia made the Battleship New Jersey and other ships at Philly Naval yard.
Western p a. My family from south side . 4 uncles in ww2 my dad was 2 young but dropped out of h s 2 work onthe b and o!
Grandpa worked in the steel mill
I HOPE THAT I'M WRONG BUT I DON'T THINK THIS COUNTRY WILL EVER GET BACK TO PRIDE SOLIDARITY AND LOVE OF COUNTRY THAT WE ALL HAD THEN.
Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.
Pittsburgh itself produced 27% of the nations steel for the war. The western PA Pittsbugh area (within a half hour drive of Pittsburgh, produced 41% of the nations steel during WWII. Now, if Bethlehem produced more than that then that means all the other steel plants in Ohio and Indiana were essentially sitting on their hands. Yes Bethlehen and further south east in Philadelphia played a huge role as well especially in turning all that steel into boats, but don't let your pride get the best of you. There's a reason they had a plan to blow up the horseshoe curve railroad, and that was to stop the massive quantity of raw steel coming out of western PA. 95 million tons compared to Bethlehem's 73 million. It's documented. Either way, Pennsylvania steel powered the war effort. No need to get offended by rankings or get into a pissing match.
I thought g m made the jeep
Willys & Ford
I was born on the North side
What an amazing time it would've been to live back then. When times were easier and people were semi-normal.
And millions of Americans discriminated against and oppressed. It was a great time for white men.
You know what amazes me?? It is just how stupid people are. they see all the closed plants and how our industrial might has dwindled and how most of our manufactured goods are imported and how jobs with a decent wage are scarce and how even those with education right up to the bachelors degree have to struggle to make ends meet and virtually none of them question the elite of our power structure who made things this way. The most tragic thing about America is how people accept our degradation as inevitable, How this once shining example of a free Republic where their once was plenty if not for ll at least for most. to this state of existence where decent jobs are scarce and most people do not even own their homes
Jaja, towns dedicated to factoring machine guns. All These towns become hunted and gosth cities year later
Jaja, they are preserving or are they stealing suckers
Ok only people from Pittsburgh will know this yinz head Dan to the rankin bridge and go dan to the waterfront the go to permanty’s get some cole slow and then you the movie theater then yinz can see the homestead massacre monument
only if I'm back in time to watch the Stillers game with my jagoff friends.
Huh?? Did you even graduate elementary school?
Wow, somebody using voice-to-text who HAS NO IDEA the number of spelling mistakes his thick accent is generating. 😳
Anybody can anyone tell me what word “yinz” was supposed to be?
If you’re not from W. Pa., just get on with it and go away. You wouldn’t understand.@@Skyprince27
I love watching documentaries, but sometimes they suddenly force me to end it,
when they include B.S. This one ended at 2:07, right after the word "democracy". Shhh...
You see, I grew up in a country where I have been reminded almost daily that I was living
in a country in which "the people rule" and that I was enjoying the benefits provided by
democracy. In fact, we the people of my country of origin, got to "enjoy" low wages created
prolonged poverty resulting in a feeling of "hopeless emptiness". The country was under
communist dictatorship at the time. So let me ask my fellow Americans:
When, if ever, did you realize that you have been living in a communist country?
On and off, since 1933, would be my guess. When I arrived here, almost forty years ago, I did
not recognize that fact. Now I can safely say, using an old folks' saying, roughly translated:
"From a bucket to a pail". Fisherman might be able to figure out the meaning of it.
SU and US...two sides of the empire coin. A huge alcohol/drug dependent and depressed and dumb workingclass making less than 50 years ago. 40 years ago I visited the GDR. Feels a bit like modern day murica only cleaner, safer and the people looked much healthier.