The last good war, World War II, was a totally different war than just about all we have fought since, including the one against terrorism that we are fighting today. First of all, everyone knew in their innermost selves that we were at war – and knew it virtually every waking moment. There was no way to avoid it; the newspapers, magazines, radio, movies were full of it (think of CNN on steroids). We all had ration books and, most importantly, we all had brothers, uncles or cousins who were in the armed forces.
For a kid physically removed from any possible danger the war was an exciting time. The movies were filled with gallant Americans fighting the dirty enemy. “The FBI in Peace and War” and similar radio programs warned us constantly of the chicanery of the enemy. Posters, such as the famous “Loose lips sink ships” one, appeared in many public and private places. Thoughts of death and mutilation were far from my mind until the big brothers of the
Even the newspapers were exciting: the huge headlines, the maps of places with exotic names, photos and stories of the heroes in combat. My reading skills and knowledge of geography improved considerably during the war.
The war was central to my growing up and had significant impact on my family. I was almost five years old when we entered WWII. And, in some ways - since it is the first memory I can recall – it was the beginning of recorded time for me. It was a Sunday night around 7. The kitchen had not yet been divided in two; it was still a very big room. I was playing on the floor. The radio was tuned to the news as it always was when Aunt Jennie visited. Then, the interruption – the Japanese have bombed
Despite our being 3000 miles from the front, the war became our life. It was our constant companion. It so captured
Some background
I don’t want to delve into politics too much but some background is necessary. Although my mother was born in the States, we were very much a first generation Italian immigrant family. My father had come here in 1912, my mother spent some of her youth in
Since
Although my mother came from a family of seven girls, we were closest to Aunt Jennie, her sister, and Uncle Musty, my father’s brother. Both Jennie and Musty were strong personalities. I don’t know whether they were always politically conservative or not, but during the war they were definitely anti-Roosevelt. My aunt’s hatred of
The economy
Today, Bush cuts taxes and urges us to go out and spend as a way to beat the enemy. This approach was totally opposite to what happened in the war years. We couldn’t buy many things without a book of ration coupons. Getting a new book of coupons was like getting a pay check. When we went to the grocery store, we took along our ration books. When my father bought gas for his car, he needed his ration book. Of course, new cars were not seen, as the production of all the car companies went for military purposes. The names of airplanes were as well known then as the names of cars today – Flying Fortress, P-47, Stuka, Spitfire, Zero; I can still see them in my mind. Miniature planes came along with your box of cereal.
Price controls were also in effect. Our wartime economy was a government-run economy. And, it really had to be as the economies of our allies were in shambles and this war really had the potential to destroy Western Civilization.
Air Raid Drills and other wartime activity
What could be more exciting to a little kid than an air raid drill? The sirens blaring, the closing of the curtains, the dowsing of the lights. But, maybe because you were a kid you knew it was only a drill. It couldn’t be real; the Krauts and the Japs were very far away. Yet, when the horns blew, my father, who was an air raid warden, put on his helmet, picked up his flashlight and went out to check that there were no lights shining from any homes or businesses in the neighborhood. We, of course, shut all the lights, drew the curtains and then peeked out to see whether anyone had their lights on.
The only way to communicate with the troops was via the mail. (Unless of course, your son was wounded or killed; in that case you’d get a telegram.) So, my mother would write letters to her sons and, for some reason, she felt that I should do so also. My sisters were exempt from this task, but I was not. It was a real pain for me as I had no idea what to write and would be frustrated by my inability to do so.
After
We spent days rolling the aluminum foil in which gum sticks were wrapped into a giant ball. Where this ball went I know not, but it was a patriotic thing to do. As it was patriotic for the females to knit sweaters and assemble bandages.
Daily entertainment was largely over the radio; periodically, we would go to the local movie house when they were giving out free dishes. Movies then were accompanied by newsreels which largely reported the
While before the war
Even now, almost sixty years later, I find it hard to comprehend the power of the atom bombs we dropped on
VJ Day
VJ Day was the day the Japanese surrendered. It so happened to also be the Feast of the Assumption (a fact noted by the religious among us). My sisters, cousins and I spent the day cutting up newspapers which we threw from the window when the formal announcement was made. The whole country was a bedlam. Even
Back to “normalcy”
The return to the life we led before the war never happened. The Cold War began virtually immediately. In many ways this was even scarier than the hot war that had just ended. But, that is the subject of another day.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing that, Al. Born in 1946, the war was well over before I became aware of such matters, but I still remember the rationing that continued for some years afterwards, and was reintroduced in Britain during the ‘Suez Crisis’ of the 1950’s. My sister was born in 1941, and told me later of her wartime recollections, but it was fascinating to read from the perspective of an Italian-American child.
Post a Comment