Pearl Harbor

My sister Lucille and I were making candy to mail to our brother Roy who was in the US Marines. We had the radio on. And we had a band that was broadcasting from a hotel in Kansas City. Just the kind of music we liked to dance with. So, then it came on that they had bombed Pearl Harbor. That was just devastating, because Roy wrote that he was going to be on a new ship, the USS Colorado. They would leave San Diego and be there in seven, on December the 7^th. And we thought he was there. But they got to their ship and it had turned around. They went in later. But it, it was close.

POW’s on Farm

That farm that we were living on was sold, and we moved to Greenwood, Mo. Well, Daddy was to be a farm manager. So he had a sale and sold everything and went down there. So the man, Mr. Benjamin Heart, got these four German POWs. That’s how we got them. I’m sure Mr. Heart was also responsible for them, but my father was, also. They would bring them out each day and come and get them at 5 o’clock in the evening. They were all very polite people.

One day my dad went down and told them when they were through eating, that he wanted them to come down because the cattle were in the road. And he had quite a herd of cattle. And he said, "When you’re through eating." And Hans said, "Mr. Arnett, we’ve already eaten." And he said, "What did you have?" He said, "We have a sandwich and an apple." My dad asked if could anyone cook, and one man raised his hand. My dad said, "I’ll bring down some meat and potatoes, because this work is real hard." My father enjoyed having the men work for him. He had no trouble what so ever.

Rationing

Sugar was rationed. In this school there were families that had not learned to speak English yet. So the lady that had the house where we rented the room said, "I volunteered you today." And I said, "Okay, what am I going to get to do?" And she said, "We’re going to go work the ration board, all this week. We have to get the books out for people." So, the mothers would come with a child that could speak English. You’d make out a book for each person. And everybody was allowed two pounds of sugar a month. It was time consuming, but it was fun.

If you didn’t get to the store like when the bread came, it would be gone. Meat was also rationed. I couldn’t tell you how much you were allowed per person. You just had to be at the store when the order came or you just didn’t get anything, even though you had the stamps and whatever to get them with.

How War Affected You…?

I learned that you can do anything that you had to do. You had to work around any regulation. You just couldn’t go do things. You made plans. You know, it was just like going to the store to get bread in the morning before it was all gone. You just paced your life that way.

Doing Your Part

We would get syrup in a half a gallon bucket. That supplemented for the lack of sugar. I would keep those when they were empty, and put this waste fat in it. When I got it full I’d take it to the grocery store. You were just helping the war. That’s what you were doing. You were being a patriotic person. I heard less complaining then from people, than any time since in my life. .