Heritage, Fall 2005 Page: 23
39 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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(The era of World
War II) was a period
of historical demarcation
so distinct it
was like a chalk line
snapped across the
continuum of thenation's
develop
ment. Nothing...was
the same on one
side of that line as it
was on the other.forms, is
resource
resolvethat the realization of a finite
drives renewed purpose and
rather than resignation.Increasingly, attention is shifting to new
perspectives of the story-perspectives
such as those inherent in the lives of individuals
who dealt with the war effort on
the home front. And the good news is that
for the immediate present that part of the
past is pervasive. Those who seek to know
more about the personal side of the war's
effects on Texas will find the individuals
and their stories, as well as the related
sites, in all regions of the state.
Within the context of wartime Texas, a
young Beaumont boy diligently guards hisbackyard against would-be foreign
invaders, using silhouette spotter cards to
search the skies for enemy aircraft that
may have eluded coastal defenses. At
places like High Island, Galveston, and
Port Isabel citizen volunteers stand on the
beach, systematically scanning their part
of the Gulf of Mexico with binoculars for
telltale signs of submarines. Out west in
Hall County, a second grader goes door to
door with his red wagon, soliciting metal
remnants from neighbors for two massive
Continued, page 24Opposite page, top: World War II postage
stamps from letters that were sent from
Brooklyn to a New Yorker who was training in
Amarillo during the war. Provided by Dan Utley
and Texas Historical Commission. Below: a
1942 scrap metal drive parade that took place
in downtown Elgin. From the Texas State
Library and Archives.This page: A war ration book that was issued in
1945 to David Mosely as a newborn. Reprinted
with permission of David Mosely, from the
Texas Historical Commission.I REMEMBER * **
As a newly married bride in 1943, Betty Bailey Hall, now of Austin, joined her officer
husband, Adin, at the Red River Ordnance Training Center in Texarkana. She said that
everyone grew victory gardens at the time, and hers contained green beans and tomatoes.
"Canned goods were at a premium, since the metal for the cans was considered
precious. So whatever we could do to feed ourselves and help conserve metal was helpful."
Hall remembered sugar and meat rationing, which meant that housewives could not
be extravagant and had to plan meals more carefully.
To do her part, Hall volunteered for the Red Cross, making sandwiches for the soldiers passing through Texarkana. She
explained that the meat they used was probably a pressed ham product, but by the time it was ready to be put into sandwiches,
it was already removed from its original container and sliced. There was no label to identify what the meat contained.
"I recall a Jewish soldier coming through the line and asking me what sort of meat was in these sandwiches. He said
that all he'd had to eat recently were cheese sandwiches, and he was hungry for something else. But I couldn't identify what
was in the meat. I didn't want to encourage him to go against his religious beliefs, but I felt sorry for the young man."HERITAGE FALL 2005
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Fall 2005, periodical, Autumn 2005; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45371/m1/23/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.