WW2 Journal Entry by liz brack

WW2 Journal Entry by liz brack https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h en-us 2022-03-04 15:55:27 UTC 2026-03-15 17:47:22 UTC hello@padlet.com Thursday, October ninth, 1941 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2081951147 Before the Japanese attack, there was so much talk about weather America should join the war. John and I thought America should stay out of it. It would have been safer for the children if we did. His family had just began recovering from the Great War and The Depression two years before we got married! We couldn't afford another war. Michael, Rosie, and Jane were too young to say goodbye to their father. Before the attack, America was neutral in the war and I was okay with that. As long as nothing happened, we had no reason to join the war.
I was scared of joining the war. Not only did I worry about my husband and children, I worried about myself. I didn't know much more than being a wife and mother. I knew how to cook, clean, sew, and care for my children. But what else did I know how to do? John tried to reassure me as much as possible. He told me Roosevelt would keep us out of the war and protect us. I tried everyday to believe him. ]]> 2022-03-07 15:47:34 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2081951147 Sunday, December seventh, 1941 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2081997720 On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It was a devastating loss for our country. So many lives were lost and most of our ships had damages. At this point, John began thinking we would be in the war too. I asked him to keep quiet about it around the children. They were too young to deal with the stress of a possible war.
That morning, John and I went to church. We didn't usually go to church, but it felt right that morning. Most other people seemed to have the same idea since the church was full. We stayed for the whole service and then went home for family lunch with the children.
I tried to go about my normal chores and John went to work the next morning. It was such an odd day. How could I act normal right now?]]> 2022-03-07 16:08:09 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2081997720 Monday, December eighth, 1941 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2085192526 On December eighth, the United States declared war on Japan. Because of allied systems, we also declared war on Germany and Italy. John and I knew it would change our lives. We weren't rich, but we were comfortable.
I began to worry John would be drafted to the war. I knew he had to apply for the draft when he was younger, but I never thought the draft would be a possibility.
John came home from work that night and we just had family time. We wanted to enjoy the peaceful time we had for as long as we could. The children didn't know what was happening and we wanted to keep it from them for as long as possible.
I think its strange that so many people near me are excited to enter a war. I'm assuming people are more upset than before because of the attack.]]> 2022-03-09 02:25:10 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2085192526 Wednesday, March fourth, 1942 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2085223342 John had gotten the news that he would be drafted. I was so scared and I knew he was too, but he tried to hide it. John had to leave me and the children. We had no protector, no breadwinner, no father, no husband. I felt hopeless and helpless.
We thought John would be drafted later. He is younger, only 33, but he has children and a wife. I guess the country really needed him.
The children didn't understand whats happening. I tried to simplify it for Michael and Rosie. Jane was much too young to understand anything yet. I wished I didn't have to explain this to my children. I wished we didn't have to go through this at all.
Since John wasn't going to be working as a doctor, I knew I would have to get a job. I had heard some neighbors mention factory jobs for women, jobs to produce war materials. I thought that would be something I would be interested in. I knew I would be producing materials for my husband. Even thought I couldn't fight in the war, I still had options to contribute.

]]> 2022-03-09 02:49:13 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2085223342 Tuesday, May twenty-sixth, 1942 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2086034347 May twenty-sixth, I was getting ready for my first day of work. I had already gone through a short training, I was finally getting to work. I was very excited!
My job was to help make bullets and detonators. I knew the job was very risky but I was getting paid about $30.00 a week. Making the detonators was the scariest part of my job. I knew that they could explode if I wasn't careful.
My neighbors had a daughter that was twelve at the time. She was wonderful. She would watch her siblings and my children while my neighbor and I went to work. I was so grateful. I would try to have her over once a week for dinner as a gratitude.
Working was new to me. Usually John went to work and I would stay with the children. Then, I was working, John was at war and the children were at home. Everything was new for us and we were still learning it all. ]]> 2022-03-09 13:19:13 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2086034347 Saturday, May twenty-second, 1943 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2086616787 After I had been working for about two months, I had gotten much better at my job. After a year, I was almost an expert. I worked for a little over forty hours every week. After a while, it was easy to put the bullets together. I still preferred making bullets, it was less frightening. I still had children to come home to.
My neighbor and I started going to work together. Since we worked in the same factory, it was better for us to go together. It made our commute more enjoyable.
May was when we started rationing more. Transportation became more limited, and it was harder to buy clothes or shoes. With three growing children, it was difficult to keep my children nicely clothed. Meat, dairy, dried fruit, jellies, and coffee were limited. Limited food was also difficult with three children.
I had been growing a victory garden for a little over a year. It was something good for me and the children. It was also much easier since rationing had gotten so intense. I grew things like parsley, peppers, cabbages, celery, asparagus and lettuce. Our garden was very green. It was nice to have Michael and Rosie involved, but Jane was still too young. ]]> 2022-03-09 17:53:27 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2086616787 Friday, July seventeenth, 1944 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2087403186 I had started planting my victory garden over two years ago. It was exciting for the me and children. I knew it would be nice to have less dependence on the stores. The children helped with what they could, but I didn't expect do much.
I had been working for a while at this point. My job was more mindless at this point, it was so repetitive. It was, however, nice to have an air conditioned work space. Working for so long can get so tiring and it was so stuffy in that building.
I worried a lot about John. We hadn't seen each other in years. I feared Jane would grow up without a father. We sent letters as much as he could respond. He would always tell me how hes doing and what the war was like. It was so comforting to receive his letters.
Something that had bothered me was the lack of support for women in the work force. I knew that there was a war across the sea, but it felt like no one supported the working women. We weren't directly in the war, but our soldiers would have no supplies without us. Of course, I knew most support would be to the soldiers. It felt like we were being underestimated again.

]]> 2022-03-10 02:53:19 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2087403186 Monday, September third, 1945 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2087445354 I had sent my last letter to John on August 14th. I never got a response because he was on his way home. The war was over on September Second, 1945. It was such a wonderful day. People in my subdivision celebrated the good news and big cities like, New York, were bustling with joy. It was refreshing to see the country come together to celebrate. I knew John was on his way back home.
I missed John more than anything but I knew I would get to see him soon. I worried he would look different. After four years, how could you look the same. The children definitely changed a lot. Michael was eight after his birthday in August. Rosie was seven and Jane was five. I had seen them grow, but John might not have remembered their voices. He had missed Jane's first steps. I hoped that Michael and Rosie would remember their father after not seeing him for so long.
The war ended and John is coming home. ]]> 2022-03-10 03:17:41 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2087445354 Monday, September seventeenth, 1945 lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2087474880 After John came back home, everything felt normal again. Finances were different than before, but John made it feel right. The world was still recovering from the war but our neighborhood was very pleased with the end of the war.
Michael and Rosie never forgot their father, it was probably my constant reminder of his existence. Jane loved John from the moment she met him. It was a perfect father and daughter connection. I was so thrilled with their reaction to each other. It was like Jane knew him her entire life.
The war finally ended and our little home was restored with peaceful chaos. ]]> 2022-03-10 03:36:31 UTC https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2087474880 Sources lizbrack14 https://padlet.com/lizbrack14/459fmvmmif0btt7h/wish/2087482030 https://www.nps.gov/articles/Rationing-in-WWII.htm#:~:text=The%20OPA%20rationed%20automobiles%2C%20tires,lard%2C%20shortening%2C%20and%20oils.

I also used some information from notes :)

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