I was twelve when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We were spending the Sunday at my grandmother's house and the men decided they needed to listen to the news. We were shocked almost speechless. My fear was that my father might
have to go to war.

The war unified all of us and our patriotism knew no bounds. Every day we scrutinized the paper hoping for a victory somewhere. They didn't come at first and it was
very disacouraging. Names of Islands that we had never heard of dominated the news.

We gave up a lot of things we thought we couldn't do without. Coffee and sugar were rationed. Our shoes were
made of some kind of cardboard and canvas. New clothes
were shoddy and we didn't buy them. Some bright soul
decided to print feed sacks and we searched for three of
the same pattern so we could make a dress. Sheets were
scarce so my mother sewed four feedsacks together to make
sheets.

Cars and tires were not available until after the war. We longed for nylon hose. We had only heard about them but
everyone wanted a pair.

I haunted the mail box for letters from my sweetheart who
had enlisted before he finished highschool but was given
a diploma anyway. He was three years older than I was. He
came through safely but was a machine gunner in the infantry and marched across France and into Germany. He
was in on the liberation of one of the concentration camps.
It aged him prematurely. He will not talk about it to this
day. That generation was tough amd resilant but it left
scars on all the fighting men.

Joan and I would have killed for a batch of fudge. Our
mother was president of her home demonstration club and
had custody of the clubs sugar. When we dared we sneaked
some out to make candy with. My mother got caught splitting
a sugar stamp and trying to make two out of it. She was
humiliated.

When victory came, it was sweet. A good many of the guys
enrolled in college on the G. I. bill. Houses were available too with no down payment. You had to pay a bonus
if you wanted to get a new car as well as get on a waiting
list. Our family car wouldn't stay in gear and had to be
held in gear if you wanted to go anywhere.

I have always admired the way that the British went about
the hardships of war. I don't think we have the grit to
send our children to the country, brave the bombing and
go to work. Would country families take in our children
if necessary? I doubt it. I have known a lot of English war brides and heard their vivid recollections. I hope
we would be that practical but I think we are too greedy and
selfish and have grown soft.