The Mouse that roared

[Franek]

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Franek
WW2 Veteran




Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 170
My Memories of WW2. ( The mouse that roared

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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

[Half Pint John]

I always like to read the story's from the Home Front. Thanks for the post.

[Franek]

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

[Nick the Noodle]

Nice thread . Any pictures from that time?

[Franek]

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

[Half Pint John]

Canada interns Japanese Canadians as possible security threats by evoking the War Measures Act.

News. Seems like this is something that has been hidden out in someone closet.

HP

[Franek]

Originally Posted by Half Pint

News. Seems like this is something that has been hidden out in someone closet.

HP

Half Pint.. That surprised me too. I knew for a fact that we Americans practiced that. But it came as a surprise that Canada did it too. I got that off of WIKIPEDIA this morning.. PSSST! Are you a Canadian?

[The Purist]

It's been no secret up here for decades. We also locked up Italians and Germans (mainly men) but the treatment of the Japanese was just as poor (and shameful) as down in the US. It was born of racism, even in terms of the day.

[Franek]

Just about everywhere you went In WW2, you would see this flag displayed in a window. A blue star designated each member of that household that was serving in the Armed forces.

A Gold Star showed that there was a member killed in action

[Franek]

Originally Posted by The Purist

It's been no secret up here for decades. We also locked up Italians and Germans (mainly men) but the treatment of the Japanese was just as poor (and shameful) as down in the US. It was born of racism, even in terms of the day.

America was at war. Thousands of innocent people died in that cowardly attack. America did not know where the next blow would come from. As far as i am concerned America did what they had to do. German Bund members were interned too. At the end of the war the Japanese received reperations for their internment.. There was no Racism. It was WAR>

[lcm1]

Of course we did Gerry the countrys safety came first it had to! I went to school with a young bloke my age, the family name was Hess, his father was a POW in the first world war and married an English girl then settled in England, the whole family 'disappeared' No I do not know if there was any connection with a certain well known person, but I doubt it!

[Johan Banér]

Originally Posted by Franek

America was at war. Thousands of innocent people died in that cowardly attack. America did not know where the next blow would come from. As far as i am concerned America did what they had to do. German Bund members were interned too. At the end of the war the Japanese received reperations for their internment.. There was no Racism. It was WAR>

Except the German Bund members actually did present some kind of ideological stance that was acted upon. Fine.

The Japanese Americans were just Japanese Americans. There's the problem.

[Franek]

Originally Posted by Johan Banér

Except the German Bund members actually did present some kind of ideological stance that was acted upon. Fine.

The Japanese Americans were just Japanese Americans. There's the problem.

At that time, how was America to know this? We were attacked, and took necessary steps to protect ourselves..
No Japanese were ever physically harmed.
That is more than I can say about Japanese treatment of American POW's.

[Roadkiller]

You are comparing apples and oranges.

American and Canadian citizens of Japanese extraction were rounded up and sent to internment camps in the interiors of their respective countries. Despite this shoddy treatment, many fought bravely for their nations. I refer you to Daniel Inouye MOH as but one example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Inouye

This did not happen to US or Canadian citizens of German or Italian extraction. I wonder why?

Japanese, German and Italian personnel who were in the US or Canada (in this case in 1939) when war was declared were put into prison camps of various sorts and were indeed better treated than US or Canadian citizens imprisoned by the Japanese.

[Half Pint John]

Originally Posted by Franek

At that time, how was America to know this? We were attacked, and took necessary steps to protect ourselves..
No Japanese were ever physically harmed.
That is more than I can say about Japanese treatment of American POW's.

Japanese???

I thought the subject was Americans with Japanese ancestry.