ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the impact military service had on the subsequent lives of men who experienced deprivation as young children during the Great Depression. It compares, in particular, the experiences of two cohorts of young men who were members of two very different communities—the textile-mill community of Manchester, New Hampshire, and the California cities of Berkeley and Oakland in the San Francisco Bay Area. In each case, the long-term impact of the war on the lives of young men encountering it depended on life chances that were structured by class, community setting, adversities inflicted by the Great Depression, and options provided by World War II. Of special interest are the children of working-class families and their life chances within a declining textile-mill community and the vibrant urban setting known as the Bay Area.
