The Department of the Navy, which includes the Marine Corps, opened up recruitment of enlisted men to African Americans for segregated units.
This was a change from the existing status in which the Navy only accepted blacks as messmates, and the Marine Corps not at all.
The Marine Corps had been all white during its history, something which is not true of the Navy, which actually had only become segregated in the early 20th Century.
The first enlisted black Marine was Howard P. Perry. He survived the war and died in 1986 in Virginia, the state he enlisted in. The first black recruit for established general service was William Baldwin.
The Grand Coulee Dam opened.
It was a major and celebrated Depression era project in an era in which such major construction projects were highly celebrated.
Sarah Sundin reports the following:
Today in World War II History—June 1, 1942: RAF launches 1000-bomber raid on Essen, Germany. US Navy lets Blacks enlist in services other than the mess—but not as officers and only in segregated units.
The raid on Essen was only one day behind the 1000 plane raid on Cologne.
She also notes the opening of Treblinka concentration camp in occupied Poland.
And she also notes that employees of Kaiser Shipyards were extended the benefit of the Permanente Health Plan. That may seem like a minor thing, but acts like that brought about the current American health care system. Before World War Two, there were health insurance companies, but during the war they expanded greatly as an employment benefit. In order to curb inflation brought about by labor demands, the government had frozen wages, but it didn't think to freeze benefits, which were rare at the time. Health care plans rapidly became a benefit offered by some employers to entice employees.
Health insurance has, as a result, became a standard feature of American life and a dominating force in our health care system today, in contrast to other countries where state supplied health coverage is the norm.
The Afrika Korps broke through British lines at Sidi Muftah. Fighting was hand to hand.
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