On my father's 70th birthday, his brothers and sisters presented him with written memories and stories of their childhood with him. He was the eldest of 12, so there were many stories to be told!
It was a lot of fun for us to be treated to these stories - so many for the first time. You think you know everything there is to know about your parents until their siblings remind you they once had lives you were not a part of at all. They share special memories from a lifetime ago of a home and daily life together before they all went their separate ways to embark on their own families and adventures.
Today I happened across one of my favorite submissions - from my aunt nearest in age to my dad - Aunt Betty.
I've always known that my dad is very patriotic; he served in the army and even now is a very dedicated member of the Marion County Honor Guard. But I had never heard my aunt's version of how this patriotism took root at an early age - during WW II - when they were children. One thing about WW II that seems very different from every war since is how united and involved everyone became in support of the war effort - even the children, as you shall see.
So now I want to share with you her story. It is very sweet - and I thought, at times, very funny.
Maybe your fathers did some of the same things when they were little boys trying to do their part in support of the war effort. Ask them! : )
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A PATRIOTIC BOY
These are some of the memories I have of my brother during the years from the end of 1941 through spring of 1945.
The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese brought about a surge of patriotism in both young and old which grew to near obsession with Junie.
To him, it was a matter of honor and solemn duty to do anything he could to support the war effort and that included seeing that I did my share also. We listened to the radio daily to see if we were winning and to get information from Uncle Sam concerning what we could do on the home front.
Scrap iron was being collected for building ships, tanks, etc., and we spent long hours scouring the fields for junk piles and dragging heavy loads home to be picked up by whoever collected in our area.
One day Junie went to the post office and brought home a stack of folders with slots for quarters. Each folder had enough slots to purchase a $5.00 war bond. He made it clear to me that anytime I got any change at all it had to be saved and changed for quarters for the bond folder he had given me. It was with much guilt that I sometimes sneaked to the store to buy some penny candy. The exception he made for himself was that he could buy the collectors’ war plane cards and models of war planes or other military machinery. Many hours were spent playing battle with the airplane cards he collected. Of course the Americans never lost and I was always the enemy.
For Christmas in 1942 or 1943 Santa Claus brought Junie an American soldier’s uniform and of course the ever popular models and collectors’ airplane cards. I thought he looked so handsome in his uniform and he wore it with obvious pride when he had occasion to dress up. He took great care of that uniform as well as his growing collection of models and airplane cars. I was never allowed to touch them without his permission and only in his presence.
When Uncle Sam asked Americans to grow victory gardens, Junie planted one in the corner of the orchard even though Daddy had planted two large gardens and a potato patch.
Somewhere along the way Junie began checking to see if “Made in Japan” was stamped on any of our toys or other articles in our possession. If so it must be destroyed immediately. Prizes in Cracker Jacks and Mother Goose popcorn were almost always made in Japan and they could not be kept no matter how grand they were. He had a way of making me feel proud and very patriotic after he had smashed my whistle or cricket. I had made a sacrifice for my country.
One day he took me to the yard and told me there was something I must do. He had checked the things in Mother’s china cabinet and discovered the China dogs she displayed there had been made in Japan. It was a disgrace to have them in our home and I must sneak them out so we could destroy them. That I did, and we crushed them with a big rock. I don’t remember getting into trouble over that.
The day the war ended was one of the most exciting days in Loretto that I can remember. The distillery whistles were blowing non- stop and we were all in the front yard cheering and waving to the people driving up and down the road blowing their horns and screeching their tires – and Wanda Lee Lampkin ran across the field naked. -----By Betty Jean
