In October 1943, a South Hadley family received a letter from their son, an Army Seargeant, reminding them that it was time to start shopping for Christmas. The very same day, news arrived that the young man had been killed in action two weeks earlier. In Ware, Mary Lane Hospital struggled to find nurses to care for their patients, and evacuation shelters popped up across the state to accommodate citizens struggling to heat their homes without oil during the cold New England winter. Easthampton school children rounded up 10,000 pounds of scrap metal for the war effort. Nearly 3,000 women donned overalls and went to work at the Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, and a pilot from Quincy dropped a bomb on Nagasaki, bringing World War II to an end.

Pulled from the pages of newspapers, memoirs, and government documents, this book tells the story of the people of the Bay State and of their trials, triumphs, and tragedies during the Second World War. Within its pages can be heard the voices of those who fought and of the loved ones who waited at home for their return. From Medal of Honor recipients to those who knitted socks and tended Victory Gardens, it is a tribute to their tenacity, courage, and sacrifice. This is the story of MASSACHUSETTS AT WAR.