Provide a brief description of sports and physical education in America during World War II.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

While the military applauded physically fit Americans, what mattered most was the mental and physical toughness that personified "head-to-head" sports competition. Combat sports such as wrestling, boxing, football, track, and other "winner-take-all" challenges would develop, according to the War Department, men who were tough, hard-nose fighters. Calisthenics and sports competitions for men were the order of the day on high school and college campuses: no more "fun and games;" a "winner-take-all" athletic competition could be the difference between life and death on the battlefield. Women's physical education programs featured both physical fitness and sports. While millions of men served in the military, millions of women manned the assembly lines making airplanes and military equipment. Women were the backbone of industry during World War II.
Men and women physical education teachers volunteered or were drafted into the service. Many became physical training instructors, while others supervised athletic competitions and fitness facilities. Because of their competitive ethos and leadership abilities, many were sent to officer candidate school and became combat officers and aviators. Women were trained as pilots and flew new airplanes from the factory to military bases worldwide.