Parks Go To War

View of McDonald Ranch Headquarters at White Sands National Monument from top of old well derrick (April 1945)

Photo courtesy of Los Alamos Photographic Laboratory

During World War II, national parks were part of the war effort. Many park roads and facilities once crowded with tourists now hosted military equipment and personnel. Because the government owned the land the national parks were seen as ideal locations for things such as military training camps and airfields, Rest and Recreation (R&R) areas, and coastal defense sites.

But at what cost? Throughout the war, National Park Service Director Newton B. Drury and his park superintendents and site managers were in a battle of their own. Drury was responsible for protecting the precious resources of national parks "unimpaired" for future generations. He had to find a balance between aiding the war effort while resisting the overwhelming demands for potentially destructive uses of park lands and facilities. Working with the military to provide appropriate areas for training, R&R, and coastal defense, Drury and his superintendents and site managers were able to save many parks' pristine landscapes and historic resources from long term, and in some case irreversible, damage.

To learn more about the National Parks during World War II see “Far-Reaching Effects:” The United States Military and the National Parks during World War II by Janet McDonnell, former Bureau Historian of the National Park Service. And also the NPS article National Parks’ Homefront Battle: Protecting Parks During WWII. In addition most of the National Park Brochures for the 1940s are online on our historic brochures website.

The National Park Service also has park units that didn't exist during World War II, but were created as a direct result of the war. To learn more about these parks see our Visit WWII Parks webpage.