Some Memories of U.S. School Children
March 18, 2008 – 6:00 amYesterday I featured the memories of school children in Germany as reported in the book, Kaleidoscope:German School Girls During World War II, Memories and Emotions by Marianne Herdani-Lombard. Today I thought I would share some memories of high school girls as told in my book, We Knew We Were at War: Women Remember World War II. Among the experiences common to most of us were the following.
- Teachers going off to war and having less than adequate substitutes to replace them
- Classmates quitting school in their senior year to join the Navy
- Knitting scarves, socks, blanket squares and mittens (Our mothers knitted sweaters)
- Writing to our brothers and classmates in the military
- Buying war bonds and stamps. One woman reported her school purchased bonds and stamps in the amount of $600,000. Imagine that in 1943!
- Family trips cancelled due to gas rationing
- Air raid drills and blackouts
- Girls’ sports curtailed in some cases; in others, busing was eliminated
- Convoys of soldiers on trains, trucks and ships
- Collecting rubber, scrap metal, and tinfoil from chewing gum and cigarette wrappers
Other women had special memories.
Mary remembers her mixed chorus singing a medley of service-related songs for the spring concert. The Air Corps song was the one that made her blood surge as she sang, “Down we dive zooming to meet our thunder, at ‘em boys, give ‘er the gun. Give ‘er the gun!”
Others remember summer jobs working in factories and defense industries. Some recall serving as Junior Nurses Aides. Others had jobs in agriculture harvesting produce, burning caterpillar tents, and other tasks on a farm.
Ellen and a friend were asked to participate in an air raid drill, in which they were to play the role of suspicious characters trying to evade the air raid wardens. They did such a good job of evasion that the mock air raid came and went without the wardens finding the girls. As Ellen said, “Fortunately for all concerned, the wardens were never tested in a real life situation.
To read more about World War II, go to www.peggeorge.com.
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