Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes Today, 08:38 AM #1 (permalink) Franek WW2 Veteran Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 170 My Memories of WW2. ( The mouse that roared -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In December 1941. I was just 15 years old. America was in the midst of the great depression. There were no jobs. Unemployment was at 25%. People would do anything to make a buck to feed their families. Then on the morning of December 7th 1941, Japan attacked America at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Germany declared war on America. After over ten years of lying in slumber, . Like a sleeping Giant America awoke like a mouse that roared.The defense industry went into full swing. Shipyards sprang up building Warships, Cargo and Troop ships, and landing craft. The auto industry stopped production of automobiles and started building trucks, jeeps, and tanks, and half tracks. The aircraft industry built Fighters and bombers. Suddenly there was a great demand for workers.All able bodied men were drafted into the Armed Forces. People from the impoverished South came north to fill the jobs. Women were called on to fill the ranks. They did a great job. America was a United Patriotic Country.We were proud to be Americans.. Men went off to war. Young Women joined the Army WAC's and Navy WAVE's , A lot went into Nursing. The kids and old folks filled the job market along with ROSIE the RIVITER. Food Gasoline and many other products were rationed. But nobody complained. I went into the Aircraft industry, Dad went into the shipyards.. i was paid 45cents an hour.. That was good money in them days. Although meat was rationed, there were still plenty of chickens.. So food never did become a problem. Little by little America started to become a mighty nation. I tried to enlist at the age of 16 but was told that I was too young. Draft boards sprung up in neighborhoods and men were drafted and sent off to war.. Still no one complained. Men were classified as 1A. Fit for duty.2A offered a deferment if you held a high job. 4F was a reject.. Flat feet would keep you out of the service
Franek Private Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Punta Gorda Florida Posts: 10 Rationing in WW2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Right from the beginning rationing started in America. Gasoline was one of the first. But since very few people owned automobiles it did not make much difference. Stickers and coupons were issued to Automobile owners. The rest of us walked or took public transportation. There were but very few obese people back then. We walked for miles and thought very little about it. this was our way of life. On a date with our girlfriends we walked hand in hand and bought a couple of hamburgers from White Castle for ten cents. To us that was a treat. There were no drugs, no Hip Hop. or Rap music. We danced to easy listening music. Life was simple, but pleasant. In those days when a kid fell down, there would be five or six mothers to go to their aid. This was America at its finest. By the end of 1942, half of U.S automobiles were issued an 'A' sticker which allowed 4 gallons of fuel per week. That sticker was issued to owners whose use of their cars was nonessential. Hand the pump jockey your Mileage Ration Book coupons and cash, and she (yes, female service station attendants because the guys were over there) could sell you three or four gallons a week, no more. For nearly a year, A-stickered cars were not to be driven for pleasure at all. The green 'B' sticker was for driving deemed essential to the war effort; industrial war workers, for example, could purchase eight gallons a week. Red 'C' stickers indicated physicians, ministers, mail carriers and railroad workers. 'T' was for truckers, and the rare 'X' sticker went to members of Congress and other VIPs. Truckers supplying the population with supplies had a T sticker for unlimited amounts of fuel. View a T Ration Card. Rubber, tires, nylon, meat, shoes were a few of the things that were rationed.. But somehow no one cared
Following the United States joining the War it truly becomes a World War with most areas of the world effected in some way and choosing sides , There are so many important facts that happened in 1942 we have only a few facts and leave it to others more knowledgeable than ourselves to provide a more detailed account The minimum draft age is lowered from 21 to 18. German saboteurs who were part of Operation Pastorius are arrested and sentenced to death by a United States military commission executed on August 8th Thirty members of the Duquesne Spy Ring operating in the US are jailed for 300 years French Admiral Jean de Laborde scuttles the French fleet anchored in Toulon harbor, in order to keep it out of German hands. British asked to bathe in 5 inches of water or less to help the war effort. After a lengthy period Allied troops led by Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery defeat the crack ( Afrika Korps commanded by Field Marshal Rommel in the second battle for El Alamein. Singapore Surrenders to the Japanese Norway under German Occupation is ruled by Vidkun Quisling, The K9 corps begins training dogs for use in warfare American and Filipino defenders surrender to the Japanese and are force marched on the "Bataan Death March" In Allied countries around the world government war efforts encourage the population to help by giving scrap metal as much needed raw materials for guns and tanks US Gas Rationing goes into effect 3 gallons per week The Alaska Highway from Alaska through Canada is completed US Munitions Workers Give Up Labor Day Weekend Holidays to Help With War Effort The Battle of Midway when Japanese attacked Midway and due to US strategy was a resounding success for US Forces which resulted in the loss of 322 aircraft and 3,500 men from the Japanese Navy. Executive Order 9066 is signed into law which authorized the physical removal of all Japanese Americans into internment camps Canada interns Japanese Canadians as possible security threats by evoking the War Measures Act. The Mediterranean island of Malta is awarded the George Cross Medal for Bravery
Everywhere you went during WW2, you could find this flag displayed in a window. a blue star designated each member of that house hold that had a member in the Armed Forces. A Gold star designated a member that was killed in action.
