As the country marks the anniversary of D-Day, we remember one of history’s great acts of mobilization and sacrifice. But what we often forget is that when World War II ended, America faced another test of mobilization—this time at home.
Millions of veterans returned expecting to begin the lives they had fought to protect. Instead, they were greeted by a country that could not house them.
By one contemporary federal estimate, the country needed more than 2.5 million new housing units in 1946 for veterans and their families alone. At the time, the U.S. population of 151 million was less than half today’s 331 million, and the housing shortage was so steep that many were forced to make do in ramshackle trailers, even tents.