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Mississippi wasn't that different from the rest of the country during World War II. There was rationing of food and other goods, such as metal and rubber. Mississippi did have it's own unique situations, though.
Mississippi did not have the industry that some states had, with it's primary industry during the war being Ingalls Shipbuilding on the Gulf Coast. By the close of the war, the Shipyard had built over 70 ships for the war effort. Just north of Garrard's home county in the town of Prairie< MS, a large ordinance plant was built. Outside of these two outliers, however, Mississippi stayed primarily agricultural during the war. Crop production increased during the war. This influx of demand led to more money, which led many farms to modernize. While this was primarily a good thing, it did lead to some job loss throughout the state as farms became less dependent on "hand on" workers. To help these people find work, and continue the economic increase in Mississippi, the War Manpower Commission led many to join the armed forces. This situation is what led Garrard to join the military, even if it wasn't through the WMC. Mississippi was home to two major military installations during World War II: Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, MS, and Keesler Air Field (now Keesler Air Force Base) in Biloxi, MS. Camp Shelby, at it's peak, held over 50,000 servicemen and women, as well as related services, including PFC John Garrard. Keesler, at it's peak, was the largest air base in the war and trained over 500,000 pilots and mechanics for the war. The above situations, in particular the disappearing farm jobs, led to more racism in the state of Mississippi, which would come to a much larger head after the war. The majority of the farm jobs were held by African-Americans, so they felt the brunt of the job loss. Farm labor came under the control of the USDA, which the farm and plantation owners in Mississippi had significant control over. This protected their interests and prevented further African-American independence. |