Many of our Fathers, Mothers, Grandfathers and Grandmothers served in the active military during WWII and many, many more served the War effort at home. During WWII the U.S. Army had to assume the major responsibility for protecting those public works, public utilities and industrial plants in the continental U.S. whose continued operation it deemed vital to the War Effort. Normally the National Guard and Home Guard units were dependent upon to conduct these vital security functions. But with the induction of the Guard units into federal service it left a void in the security responsibilities at home. From the early part of the war the Army relied upon Civilian Guards employed by private industries to protect industries and fill this void. In the summer of 1942 the Army began to organize these guards as "Auxiliary Military Police" in a manner that put them under Army rule and regulation. The Auxiliary Military Police, whose strength reached a maximum of 200,000 during 1943, never became soldiers but they did become and Army controlled force that answered WWII requirements for plant protection in the continental U.S..
I have an interest in the Auxiliary Military Police because my father was one of the force that guarded the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. plant in Anaconda Montana which was one of the primary copper smelters in the U.S. at the time. Fortunately I have one of his badges that he wore during 1943-45 and wanted to share it with the forum as it is in my estimation at least was an important function of the WWII war effort at home.
