Speakers Bureau Speaker
John S. Westerlund, Flagstaff
Westerlund retired from the U.S. Army in 1994 after a twenty-six year career as a field artillery officer that included Vietnam and three tours in Europe. He taught at Northern Arizona University and completed doctoral studies in American history (American West, Arizona) in 2001. He has published numerous articles in French and American journals, and his book, Arizona’s War Town: Flagstaff, Navajo Ordnance Depot, and World War II, received several awards for the preservation of Southwestern culture. He is currently a seasonal ranger with the National Park Service.
Presentations may be made in French, and are suitable for high school as well as adult audiences.
Anchors Aweigh: The U.S. Navy’s World War II "Training Base" at Flagstaff
By the summer of 1943, ASTC officials in Flagstaff knew the teachers college was in serious trouble. Enrollment had dropped from over 700 to 80, seventy-six women and four men. Keeping the school open in 1944 would be impossible. Once closed, would it ever reopen? College officials applied for every military training program that might save the school. Finally, the U.S. Navy sent 400 sailors and marines to the college on July 1, 1943. Part of the "V-12" program, this group would be the first of over one thousand to be trained in Flagstaff. The small, quiet campus turned into a military camp almost overnight. Bugle calls, drills, uniforms, navy language, and discipline became de rigueur. Most of the 76 female students could not believe their good luck as campus life blossomed with old and new activities alike. The infusion of government influence, money, and men not only kept the institution alive, but stimulated progress toward university status as well. New faculty members were hired, and many sailors and marines who had already studied at other universities encouraged a talented and enthusiastic faculty to extend the depth and scope of their instruction. This presentation discusses how the Navy program not only saved the school, but also left behind new traditions and enduring memories of a vibrant academic and extracurricular life.
Arizona’s War Town: Flagstaff, Navajo Ordnance Depot, and World War II
Just weeks after Pearl Harbor, the War Department announced the immediate construction of a massive ammunition depot ten miles west of Flagstaff, and the town’s population soon jumped from five to twenty thousand. The Army rushed the $17 million project to completion in a spasm of boomtown upheaval. Thousands of Navajo and Hopi construction workers stayed on to run the struggling new depot, the key backup storage facility for the Port of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Navy halted plummeting enrollment at the local teachers college (today Northern Arizona University) by shipping in one thousand sailors and marines as part of its "V-12" program. Then, the Florence prisoner of war camp sent 250 POWs to Flagstaff. These men, happy to be out of the war, were Austrian "signers" and agreed to be model prisoners. The Flagstaff story shows the remarkable co-existence of sometimes contentious ethnic communities, and illustrates the results of military expansion on social, economic, and community development in Arizona. Often humorous and at times almost unbelievable, the experience was also breathtaking, reaching the heart and soul of the community. The town became an "arsenal of democracy," where hard work and discipline were required and expected from all.
Beyond Guard Towers and Barbed Wire: Austrian Prisoners of War at Navajo Ordnance Depot
In early 1945, the Army separated 250 Austrian prisoners of war from Germans at Camp Florence and sent them to Navajo Ordnance Depot. The Austrians labored in all areas except those directly involved with munitions, and they provided valuable work during a period of severe labor shortage. Nevertheless, union representatives charged that POWs were taking away precious jobs. At the same time, local citizens protested against what appeared to be lenient treatment and the prisoners’ abundant supply of rationed items. Tempers flared and some flocked to the POW camp to taunt the enemy soldiers. Conditions deteriorated quickly after V-E Day, when the men were no longer considered "prisoners of war." Likewise, problems multiplied after V-J Day when it was obvious the men were not returning home anytime soon. They remained until April 1946, and provided over 50,000 man-days of labor vital to the Pacific Theater of operations. This presentation discusses how their POW story is unique because there was no other camp in the nation where enemy prisoners of war worked on a daily basis with large numbers of Native Americans.
Life Behind the Fence: Indian Workers at Navajo Ordnance Depot, World War II
When 8,000 workers were needed immediately for the Army’s massive construction project ten miles west of Flagstaff, almost 4,000 Navajo and Hopi workers and their families signed on and left the reservations for good-paying jobs. Conditions were deplorable for the first Indian workers. Bootleggers lurked in the shadows. The commander faced a myriad of organizational and employee problems and quickly decided to invite the Navajo and Hopi laborers and families to build an "Indian Village" of their own on the military base. Tribal representatives accepted the invitation and soon, for the first time in American history, a community of about 3,750 Native Americans voluntarily settled onto a military installation behind barbed wire fences and guard stations. Working Indian women were part of this cultural experiment. This story illustrates how regular wages heightened expectations for both Navajos and Hopis, creating an image of post-war opportunities. It shows how the Indian Village experience set the mold for future Navajo tribal leadership, yet contributed to unwanted social and cultural problems. For many Indian families, Navajo Depot was just a stopping point on their migration from the reservations into nearby Flagstaff. The war exposed thousands to a life beyond the reservation, and today the word "Bellemont" remains a part of Navajo and Hopi family history.
