Upcountry History Museum

Exhibit

Weaving Our Survival: Upcountry Stories of World War II illuminates the sacrifices of the WWII generation and the ways the war affected life in Upcountry South Carolina. This exhibit will educate visitors about the Upcountry textile industry’s essential role in supporting the war effort, and the extent to which this war impacted our communities’ economic and cultural development and created the Upcountry we experience today.

The WWII generation is leaving us, with 1,700 WWII veterans dying every day. There is limited time to gather their oral histories, photographs, and documents before this incredible information is lost to us. This exhibit honors the great military and civilian sacrifices of “The Greatest Generation.”

Veterans who contributed to this exhibit shared their memories of Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, Monte Cassino, D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima, and the liberation of the death camps. Others recounted their experiences working with the secret digitized code known as SIGSALY, answering phones in Paris with the Signal Corps, serving as a Women’s Army Corps member, or drawing maps used for the bombings on Japan. Those who were on the home front remembered growing victory gardens, entertaining troops, watching Jane Wyman promote war bonds on Greenville’s Main Street, making mattress covers for the Navy at Stone Manufacturing, and paying their respects to President Roosevelt at the train station in Greenville after his death in April 1945.

The major themes of the exhibit include:

• The Upcountry Reacts to War: the Great Depression, the outbreak of war in Europe, and Pearl Harbor
• The Home Front: The Red Cross, local churches, schools and USOs
• Textiles Gear Up for the War Effort: Government contracts and the local textile industry
• Upcountry Men and Women Go to War: The European and Pacific theaters
• Colleges and Universities: Serving as training centers and communities of home front support
• Upcountry Camps and Bases: Camp Croft and Greenville Army Air Base
• Coming Home: The transition to civilian life, reflections on the WWII era, and the lasting impact of WWII on individuals and the communities of Upcountry South Carolina)