Fran Dickinson, 20, a Buffalo Evening News employee, sells the Buffalo Evening News Extra about the war in Europe on April 1, 1939. World War II broke out in September of that year.
BILL DICKINSON
Buffalo steps up during World War II
It was all hands on deck for Americans during the Second World War, but as impossibly big as the conflict felt for everyone across the country, it was truly all-encompassing for the residents of highly industrialized cities such as Buffalo.
Thousands of local boys were shipped off around the world and thousands more were stationed at bases nearby. Women took their places in the factories, most of which shifted to fulfilling war-time contracts. Local companies like the Bell Aircraft Corporation established themselves as major players in the war effort and their respective fields.
A squad of peeps from Pine Camp descend on Niagara Square from Court Street in the Army Day Parade, April 1942. The peep was smaller than its better-known brother, the jeep, and could cross almost every kind of terrain; mud, sand and shallow water.
BUFFALO NEWS ARCHIVES
Bell Aircraft workers inspect machine gun turrets in 1944.
BUFFALO NEWS ARCHIVES
Being a hub of critical activity brought with it an overriding fear. The people of Buffalo saw the headlines and newsreels recounting the bombing of Pearl Harbor and constant shellings of London and other European cities, and were forced to confront the possibility of being the next target.
Buffalo school children prepare for an attack by the enemy during World War II with air raid drills, 1942.
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Buffalo stepped up during the War, leaving the struggles of the Great Depression behind and enjoying several years of great prosperity. Buffalo continued to grow after the war, its population peaking around 580,000 in 1950.
Fran Dickinson comes home from Europe after serving in the Battle of the Bulge, Oct. 12, 1945. He is greeted by his mom, Anna, at their home at 30 Berwyn Ave.
BILL DICKINSON
These and hundreds of other stunning images can be found in The Buffalo News's new book, Buffalo Memories II: The Early Years and the 1940s!
Also check out WNY Veterans: A Buffalo News Salute to our WWII Heroes.
$39.95