America’s Home Front Heroes
An Oral History of World War II
Stacy Enyeart
Foreword by Larry Aasen
Copyright 2009 by Stacy Enyeart
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
America’s home front heroes: an oral history of World War II / [compiled by] Stacy Enyeart;
foreword by Larry Aasen.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-313-37789-1 (hard copy: acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-0-313-37790-7 (ebook)
1. World War, 1939–1945—Personal narratives, American. 2. World War,
1939–1945—United States—Biography. I. Enyeart, Stacy.
D811.5.A18 2009
940.530730922—dc22 2009028495
ISBN: 978-0-313-37789-1
EISBN: 978-0-313-37790-7
13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5
This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook.
Visit www.abc-clio.com for details.
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An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
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This book is printed on acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Foreword by Larry Aasen ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: Bust, Boom, and Beyond xvii
Civilian Home Front Recollections xxv
It Was a Time for . . . Heightened Passion 1
Civilian Survivor of Pearl Harbor Bombing—Margaret Motivalli 3
Bail or Jail—Robert Greenberg 7
Sad News from the War Department—Earl Kerker 9
Mixed Emotions duringWWII—E. Harold Greist, Jr. 13
World War II through the Eyes of a Child—Charles Hazelip 16
Dear Daddy . . . From Lynette and Bud—Lynette Leynes 19
I Was a Ten-Year-Old Mascot at Panama Canal—John E. Schmidt, Jr. 21
Saying Goodbye to a Loved One—Lucille Barrett 23
Mourning the Death of a Living Soldier—Terri Webster 24
Journal Notes from a College Student—Helen Toles Buffington 26
From German Immigrant in 1927 to Doctorate in
1956—Norman Jasper 36
Waiting for MIA News—Gordon P. Brown 39
It Was a Time for . . . Caution and Prejudice 45
A Japanese American Interned—Gene Takahashi 48
An American’s Viewpoint of Internment Camps—Mary E. Williams 52
What’s More Important, Pants or Your Soul?—
Mozzelle Bearden Ivey 54
Conscientious Objector to the War—Gregg Phifer 56
Facing the War at Home as a 4-F—W.V. (Mac) McConnell 59
The Riot that Brought an Army Together—Clarence Inniss 62
It Was a Time for . . . Flag Waving 67
Wartime Housewife/Mother of Martha Stewart—Martha Kostyra 69
War Bond Tour with Jack Dempsey, Boxing Champ—Marion
McManus 72
A Fighter to Be Reckoned With—Justin Barzda 75
The Corsair . . . Lean and Mean—Lee DiBattista 77
Navy WAVE Pharmacist Mate—Anne Cole-Beers 79
USO Volunteer . . . Dramatic Experiences—Vivian van Allen 82
My Postwar Experience—–Del Markoff 84
Working Together in a Time of War—Mary Kowalsky 86
Key West, Florida, 1941—Armer White 89
Newspaperman in a World War II Shipyard—Frank S. Hopkins 91
It Was a Time for . . . War-Plant Women 95
Nineteen-Year-Old Depth Charge Factory Worker—Mina Burke 100
From Civilian Directly to Army WAAC—Anne Breise 102
One of the First Women Workers in the Brooklyn Navy
Yard—Ida Pollack 105
From Receptionist to Payroll Unit Factory Worker—Jean Gates 107
Aiding the War Effort, as a High School Student—
Josephine Maupen 110
Single in Florida . . . Date at a POW Camp—Helen Rezendes 112
A New Wave of Female Engineers—Jean Geelan 115
Reflections: Yesterday 119
Reflections: Today 121
Index 123
FOREWORD
What happened on our home front while the world watched World
War II? Stacy Enyeart felt the need to share that experience with those
who know little or nothing of its impact on our country’s history. Using
her expertise as a professional writer, television producer, and community
activist for seniors, she started her journey into the past. America’s
Home Front Heroes is the result of that journey. It reveals the highly
emotional time generated by the war and its effect on people back
home.
This important book paints a vivid picture of on-going sacrifices on
the home fronts across the United States. Luxuries were practically
nonexistent and food, clothing, gasoline, and many other items were
strictly rationed. New car production came to a halt. There was a ceiling
price on just about everything. For those in combat each day could
mean death. Those at home lived in constant fear that they would
receive a dreaded telegram from the War Department. There was a
daily connection, at least in spirit, between the home front and battle
fronts.
Across the country, most Americans were very patriotic putting flags
on their houses, collecting money for the USOs, purchasing war bonds,
and making do with what they had. When the service people came
home on furlough, they were treated like the heroes they were.
I saw both sides of World War II—first on the home front, then as a
soldier from 1943 to 1945. As a sergeant in the glider regiment, I
served in France in the 13th Airborne Division, which was one-half
paratroopers and one-half glider troops. I was prepared to silently transport
and drop troops across the Rhine in Germany to help General
George Patton’s advance toward victory. So, from two different wartime
perspectives, I submit the following.
THE HOME FRONT ON AN AMERICAN FARM
As a civilian on the home front until 1943, my life, just as everyone’s,
took on many new challenges but at least we were still at home
in America. As a boy, growing up on a wheat farm near Fargo, North
Dakota, I found that life was a constant struggle. American farms were
not happy places to be during World War II. First of all, the war
seemed remote to most farmers who had few if any contacts with
Europe. Their machinery was old because new products were nonexistent.
The country needed more food, and farmers worked double time
to produce it because during the war, little or no food could be
imported from abroad.
For many years before World War II, there were plenty of farm
hands available to help with the harvest. During the war, most of these
workers were in the army. The workers who were available were above
the draft age and many were too old to be much help. More day
laborers had to be found so colleges gave their students leave time to
work on farms.
German prisoners of war were forced to bring in the crops. Most of
these men were so happy to be out of the war that they worked hard
and were well behaved and friendly. It was strange to think that only a
short time before, these men—now prisoners—might have been shooting
at our troops.
In America’s Home Front Heroes we meet a few of the many women
who took over wartime factory jobs when men went into the service.
Well, the same routine took place down on the farm. Many housewives
learned how to drive tractors, bring in the hay, and milk the cows.
Although they did not look like fashion models on the tractors in all
the dirt and dust and they missed their pre-war dresses, they were proud
to show their husbands “that anything you can do, we can do better!”
My mother’s diaries reveal some of the more subtle effects of the war
on the farm home front. Two of her three sons served in France during
the war. Every day she worried about them. Her good days were the
days she got a letter from France. The home front story on the farm
was not very pretty. It meant work from early morning to late at night.
At this time our home, like many other houses, lacked electricity, central
heating, and indoor plumbing. Our family’s farm was near a
x Foreword
railroad track and we would often see troop trains going by. The farmers
would sometimes yell, “go kill those bastards.”
THE HOME FRONT EFFECT ON SOLDIERS
In 1943 I enlisted in the army and was confronted as a soldier by the
new world across the Atlantic Ocean in France. Every day soldiers
thought of home and hoped for a letter. When a soldier got cheerful,
happy letters from home, he knew their intent. And, when soldiers
wrote home, they, too, tried to be cheerful. The death of my best friend
by a landmine left behind by the Germans was an example of the kind
of news that never got into letters to the home front.
The home front did a remarkable job of providing the soldiers with
candy, cookies, and other welcome items. Soldiers would sometimes get
their hometown newspapers. These were closely read because they
wanted to know the news—both good and bad—from home, the casualties
of war, those who had been discharged, and the girls who had
gotten married. “Dear John” letters were often received.
To be perfectly candid, soldier’s morale was crushed by news of draft
dodgers, war profiteers, and photos of people living it up in the night
clubs. Although most people on the home front supported the war and
realized sacrifices had to be made, there were times when they, too,
needed a break from the stress it caused. The familiar weekend pass
served the same purpose for armed services personnel.
From my own perspective as a soldier, the home front seemed a million
miles away. Although my head was on the fighting front, my heart
was still at home! America’s Home Front Heroes challenges typical history
books’ emphasis on facts and figures. Instead, without dismissing
the harsh realities of a world at war, it highlights the human experience
and brings us closer to those who went through the ordeal at
home.
Sgt. Larry Aasen,
Retired U.S. Army
PREFACE
One may be prompted to ask why I was inspired to write on the overwhelming
subject of the World War II home front. Frankly, it was a
challenging project written to provide a nostalgic voyage for “the greatest
generation,” and to remind the “baby boomers” what terrific parents
they have. It was also to open the eyes, minds, and hearts of today’s
generation by exposing them to the amazing strength and resilience of
their grandparents in the face of war. Finally, it was to share a unique
moment in time revealing a unified country at war to preserve peace.
History will recall the home front heroes of the Second World War,
but only they can verify the facts. The writing was an irresistible and
rewarding experience.
America became involved in World War II in response to the Japanese
bombing of our naval installations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on
December 7, 1941. We were blindsided by their sneak attack, which
led to immediate action. That the war intimately touched the lives of
innocent civilian men, women, and children worldwide is a wellknown
fact. More elusive today with recent generations is the impact it
had on the civilian American home front.
From 1941 to 1945 each day involved a sacrifice in some way tied to
helping the war effort. Luxuries were a thing of the past. Just imagine
in the “land of plenty,” food, clothing, and gasoline being strictly
rationed, new car production coming to a halt, and a sudden and serious
lifestyle change for all! The O.P.A. (Office of Price Administration)
was created to put a ceiling price on just about everything. Did
we complain? Absolutely! Grumbling was rampant, but patriotism was
flying high so we adjusted to the imposed regulation. Unfortunately, we
must make note of those who took advantage of these tough times and
showed a disregard for patriotism. When the O.P.A. was created,
money-hungry individuals operated “black markets” for those who
could afford their excessive prices for goods.
America’s Home Front Heroes is an uncomplicated look at the complex
American home front. It is not focused on dates that we tend to
forget or details typically offered by historians; instead, it highlights the
civilian impact and mood of an emotionally charged era. It was shakeup
time for American traditions, including the conventional female
role of the housewife, shifting her into the wartime workplace outside
the home. It spawned an unprecedented period of America’s growth
and prosperity. It left in its wake a self-sacrificing generation of young
people; some of whom, sixty-three years later, have chosen to share
through letters, journals, and interviews their recollections and often
bittersweet experiences, painting an eyewitness portrait during a wartime
home front. It is important to look back and reflect on the home
front as we survived its trials and tribulations. I can’t help thinking
how fortunate we are to have this valuable resource as an example from
which to draw strength and resilience today.
The World War II home front as a subject has intrigued this author
for decades. It has been the focus of writers and film makers over the
years, but few from the generation who lived through the era. In reading
their personal submissions, a feeling of kinship with each participant
and an obligation to share these collective experiences became
my contribution. It became even more important to me as the passage
of time will soon silence the voices of those who lived the experience,
leaving history books as the only source of reference.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It is with endless appreciation that I acknowledge those men and
women who made possible the writing of this book—namely the home
front heroes of World War II and their personal sacrifices. To complete
the picture, my thanks for the help and support of those mentioned
below and their steadfast belief in the project. Their names are presented
in no particular order of recognition.
To Joanne Dearcopp—For her patience; firm, soft-spoken advice;
her clear concept of the book’s content and her valuable
consultation.
To Dr. David Harper, D. Min—Over a long journey of writing, his
spiritual and pragmatic counsel were inspiring. His ability to relate to
the subject matter and empathize with the task at hand was a constant
source of encouragement.
To the Westport Public Library reference department staff—For
those who always provided the urgently needed answers to questions.
And, of course, to the library as an amazing research source.
To Teresa Errico and Neal Casaubon—Local college students, who
served as editorial assistants and grew to understand the significance of
the World War II home front, a subject rather unfamiliar to them and
apparently many other young students.
To my Pen Women pals (National League of American Pen
Women)—For those who served, sometimes unknowingly, as a support
group of creative women.
To Florida State University, Institute on World War II and the
Human Experience—for the wealth of their resources.
And last, but not least, to a variety of other people who kept me on
track with their positive reaction to the book’s concept.
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