Last night, I was at Lara’s Fine Dining, enjoying dinner at the Early Childhood Mental Health Program Board/Donor Appreciation event. Outside the window was a placid marina that just over 80
years ago was the epicenter of the Richmond Kaiser Shipyards, bustling 24/7 with 100,000 workers building and launching ships at a rate that has never been beaten.
Just when I thought I knew everything about shipbuilding and the WWII Home Front, I read the most recent book on the subject,
Launching Liberty, by Doug Most, published just this year. While the book covers a lot of the details with which many are familiar, it provided a historical backstory about how the shipbuilding program was born, and, most importantly, it made the case
that building thousands of ships in yards all over America, was absolutely critical to victory. In WW II. For the first years of the war, Hitler was sinking ships faster than they could be built, but that all changed. Without the cargo ships, the food, vehicles,
tanks and ammunition could not have been delivered to the front where they were needed. The war could actually have been lost.
The book is about shipyards all over the country, but it focuses on Richmond, the most productive shipyard of all.
Most makes extensive use of oral histories to bring life to the shipyard saga. One is about Lewis Van Hook, the father of Richmond electrical contractor and my friend, Clarence Van Hook.
The Amazon summary of
Launching Liberty:
This enduring book tells the heroic, gripping, yet overlooked story of one of World War II’s monumental achievements—the building of America’s
fleet of Liberty ships.
.
With the shadow of war looming large over American life in 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew it wasn’t a matter of if the United States would be pulled into battle, but when.
He foresaw a "new kind of war," one that would demand the nation be prepared in ways like never before. America’s most critical need in preparation was not drafting more soldiers or manufacturing more guns. It was building more ships that could carry enormous
supplies of weapons, vehicles, medical gear, food, and clothing to US and allied troops around the world. One ship could feed three million men for a day—an entire fleet could sustain troops for years.
Launching Liberty tells the remarkable story of how FDR partnered with private businessmen to build 3,000 vital cargo freighters longer than a football field—ships he affectionately dubbed "ugly ducklings." To lead
its emergency ship-building operation, the government turned to Henry Kaiser, who had delivered the Boulder Dam ahead of schedule and was beginning to revolutionize healthcare for workers—but who had never built a ship in his life. Kaiser led the way in creating
a network of shipyards from coast to coast and recruited tens of thousands of workers eager to help protect their country and carry America to victory on board the Liberty ships.
Launching Liberty is a tapestry of voices reflecting the diverse American experience of World War II. From the halls of the White House to the cramped quarters of half-finished cargo ships, we hear from naval architects,
welders, nurses, engineers, daycare providers, and mothers balancing family life with the demands of wartime economy. As union tensions rose, tired prejudices toward working women and people of color came crashing down, giving rise to Rosie the Riveter and
her cousin Wendy the Welder. This book uncovers the inspiring, untold stories of those who rose to the challenge, to protect not only their freedom, but their country’s democracy.
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