Date
3-2025
Department
History
Abstract
Academic scholarship on World War II is primarily based around letters and correspondence between soldiers and their families. A large body of such correspondence exists for both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan; yet, most scholarship on the state’s connection to World War II is centered around strictly the Lower Peninsula. This is especially strange when comparing the data on enlisted soldiers from both Peninsulas, as we find the percentage of the population who enlisted in the US Army from the Upper Peninsula is roughly double that of the percentage for Lower Peninsula enlistments. There are clear reasons as to why this is the case; the Lower Peninsula has a drastically larger population and a large industrial capacity, both of which also factor into the urban centers being hotbeds for cultural change. Yet, given the fascinating depth of both the military and social commentary present in the narratives of these Upper Peninsula natives during the war, its presence as a glaring blind spot in the academic study of the region is both perplexing and unwarranted. The focus of this paper is to draw attention to this disparity in a way that highlights the need for further scholarly work in examining how World War II affected the Upper Peninsula and its residents.
Recommended Citation
Croschere, Elijah H., "Stifled Voices: World War II from the Upper Peninsula" (2025). HS 390 Primary Research Papers. 9.
https://commons.nmu.edu/hs_390_primary_research_papers/9