Dec 7th, 1941. A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
On this sad day, the jumping off day for our country’s full participation in WWII, I was 2 years, 6 months and 11 days old. It would mark an important point in my life, my upbringing, and my future. Yes, I remember that day. Not in detail, but a memory of pain and tears, frustration and fear and anger, and a building of resolve by the citizens of the United States of America. Not since 1812, when the British attacked our shores, had we been attacked on soil that belonged to our country, and with the loss of resources and life. On that fateful morning, the United States lost 19 Warships, 300 aircraft and the lives of over 2,400 U.S. servicemen, all in about 90 minutes time. In January, 1942, scarcely a month after the attack, President Roosevelt established the War Production Board. Up until that point, factories and businesses in the United States had been turning out autos and trucks, and household items for the public. Now they were to retool and become war production industry. It also had the job of curtailing materials for war productions - metals, fabrics, petroleum products, rubber, paper and plastic. All would be needed for weaponry and the supplying for our military personnel. For example, in 1941, about 3,000,000 autos rolled off the assembly lines. During the war, only 139 additional cars were manufactured. Lionel toy trains were replaced to make items for warships, such as compasses. Ford made Liberator bombers. Alcoa Aluminum produced airplanes. The Mattatuck Mfg. Company switched from upholstery nails to making cartridge clips for Springfield rifles. The young men of America, inflamed by anger, rushed to register to serve in the armed forces; in 1941 - 923,842, 1942 - 3,033, 361 and in 1943 - 3,323,970 men. Between November 1940 and Octo-ber 1946, there were 10,110, 104 Americans inducted into the military. To replace the men entering service, the women of America donned jeans and overalls and tied their hair up in scarfs and walked into factories all
