December 7, 1941: We Enter the War

December 7, 1941: We Enter the War

Despite all of the destruction to lives and property that wars bring, the Second World War is unique in the history of the United States in that it captured the spirit of an entire country in an effort more united than at any other time. It is likely the economic hardships of the Great Depression that steeled the country’s resolve to get through the adversities of war. While perhaps that spirit of determination has been identified more clearly in retrospect, persons of any age who lived during that time will say that “people banded together” and the whole thrust of living focused on “the war effort,” from factories retooling to women joining the Armed Forces, and from the children’s contributions to composers creating the music of wartime. It was a very intense time, but one recalled as citizenry being instilled with a deep sense of service to others.

To support the war effort, six and a half million women went to work in factories, 350,000 joined the Armed Forces, and countless others assumed leadership roles in the community. Children went on a modern crusade, gathering everything from scrap metal to newspapers and silkweed; buying defense stamps once a week at school; and donating toiletry items, packing them in Junior Red Cross boxes to send overseas.

Everyone, young and old, realized that the way of life they had known was forever changed. With factories concentrating on the needs of war, the entire population of the country found they could “make do” without new products. Rationing became a way of life and coupon books determined wearing apparel and menus. We hadn’t realized at the time that our favorite dessert was really a way to not waste any milk by using it to make Junket.  

More inspiring than what the factories produced, however, was the dedication of an entire generation. Those young enough to have had their nurturing years embedded in this era saw this spirit of national cooperation as being normal, and in a strange way, the World War II era is viewed as one of the most secure times in which to grow up in small town America. Most important, this generation of children was, for the most part, happy.

We who were young children in 1941 were little aware of the war, not remembering the quiet Sunday afternoon when news of Pearl Harbor began to leak or that same evening when Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt took her husband’s place for his usual “Fireside Chat” because the President was in session with his advisors. What I do remember is the following day when the President spoke, concluding with these words, “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”[i] While not understanding his words, I will never forget how my father explained with simplicity all of what we had heard, “We are going to war.”

I remember wondering if “going to war” was anything like what my mother referred to as “battling the roaches.” Living not far from Anderson Creek which spilled into the Susquehanna River close to our house, Mother evidently had to be on guard against these miserable insects. My memory is of my mother’s hand holding a piece of bread that had been spread with a poison paste called J-O, then sprinkled with sugar, and of being sternly warned not to touch this under any circumstance. She evidently was concerned we might think it a lard sandwich which a cousin of hers relished. There were many things for a child to fear in addition to the Germans.

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[i] Evans, p. 309.