World War II on the Texas Homefront: Shoulder to Shoulder, On to Victory! Part Two: Sacrifice and Celebration Page: 1 of 17
This text is part of the collection entitled: Randy Mallory Papers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
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.TEXAS HIGHWAYS-WWII, 2of2-MALLORY
WORLD WAR II ON THE TEXAS HOMEFRONT
Shoulder to Shoulder, On to Victory!
Part Two: Sacrifice and Celebration
Carol Gibson was nine years old, living in Sherman, when Germany surrendered
unconditionally on May 7, 1945. By the time of Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, her
fifth-grade world had become all too accustomed to World War II on the Texas
homefront.
Her father was in the Navy in the Pacific. Her mother cared for three
children at home, rolled bandages for the American Red Cross, and even drove a
truck for a while, as more and more men left for the military.
At school, Carol and her classmates sang patriotic songs with religious
fervor-from God Bless America and Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean to lyrics
from a Disney cartoon, "HEIL! (phhht!) Right in Der Fuehrer's Face." Pupils
pooled their pennies to buy savings stamps they pasted in bond books to help
fund the war effort. They constantly collected scrap metals that went into tanks
and bombs, helmets and bullets.
Wartime also colored everything outside school. The military was first in line
for food and supplies. Civilians simply had to reuse, recycle, and reduce-as the
saying went, "Make do, do without, use it up, wear it out!" Government-issued
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Mallory, Randy. World War II on the Texas Homefront: Shoulder to Shoulder, On to Victory! Part Two: Sacrifice and Celebration, text, 2005-11~; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1924386/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.