Minuteman Minute | The Great Maneuvers

As America prepared for war, American service members passed through Southern bases by the hundreds of thousands. To remember their time there, they purchased souvenirs.

Hi, I’m Will Roulett, director of the National Guard Memorial Museum here in D.C., and this is your Minuteman Minute! This pillowcase and souvenirs like it were purchased by American service members passing through Camp Shelby, Mississippi, as the U.S. prepared for the possibility of being drawn into World War II. In September 1940, President Roosevelt enacted the country’s first peacetime draft, which added about one million men to the Army over the next six months. In October 1940, the National Guard’s 240,000 men were mobilized for a year, which immediately doubled the size of the Army. With huge numbers of men now available, the Army planned a series of training maneuvers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and the Carolinas for the fall of 1941. The exercises served as testing grounds for new draftees, National Guardsmen, and commanders who either demonstrated their ability to maneuver large formations in the field or were relieved by Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall. After Dec. 7, 1941, National Guardsmen, who had expected to be on active duty for only a year of training, found themselves on active duty for the duration of World War II, but were better prepared for it. Come learn about this – and a whole lot more – at the National Guard Memorial Museum. I’m Will Roulett, and that’s been your Minuteman Minute, brought to you by the National Guard Educational Foundation.