Red and Blue 'armies' faced each other in complex and realistic training exercises. The central part of the state was selected as the site of these war games not only because of its proximity to railroads and federal highways, but also because of the similarity between its terrain and that of western Europe. Over twenty counties in Middle Tennessee were used for the Tennessee Maneuvers, which were headquartered at Cumberland University in Lebanon (officially referred to as 'somewhere in Tennessee”). Workers assembling P-38 Lightning fightersĪt the Vultee Aircraft Corporation factory, Other women served in the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), the Coast Guard SPARS (a contraction of the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus), the Women Marines, and the WASPS (Women's Air Force Service Pilots). Tennessee women joining the WAC (Women's Army Corps) trained at Fort Oglethorpe throughout the war. Later in the war, Tennessee servicemen would be inducted at Camp Forrest. Many Tennessee servicemen were inducted at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, in the early stages of the war.

The 3800-acre Naval Air Station (NAS) Memphis, located in Millington, was the country's largest inland naval base. Pilots trained at several small airports throughout the state important bases for the training of pilots and crews were located in Smyrna and near Dyersburg, and an air ferry command was located in Memphis. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from across the nation trained at various Tennessee military camps: Camp Forrest was an induction and infantry training center, Fort Campbell was an armor training facility, and Fort Tyson was a barrage balloon center near Paris, Tennessee. Many put their lives on the line as soldiers, sailors, and airmen: 315,501 Tennesseans served in the various theaters of the war, and 5,731 lost their lives. During World War II Tennessee and its citizens contributed generously to the war effort.

World war 2 navy boot camp