March 4, 2013
-
REMEMBERING THE WAR
I don’t remember when I realized we were at war. I do remember though, when I was four my dad came home with the news that he had been given the choice of being in the Army or the Navy and he chose the Navy. He was thirty years old with a wife and one child (me) when he was drafted. Reflecting back, I can’t picture my father as a soldier in the Army and trying to kill another human being. He was such a quiet, gentle man.
For me, World War II was just a pleasant adventure. I got to ride on a train for the first time, all the way from South Dakota to Norman Oklahoma with my mother. Dad was stationed at the Navy Base near Norman for the duration of the war as a cook and we lived in an apartment house with other servicemen and their families. So our lives weren’t much different from the way they were before the war as far as I was concerned.
I do remember some changes from before, but they didn’t affect me much. For instance, saving grease drippings and taking them to the local butcher. I don’t remember if mom was paid for the grease or given credit for something. I remember the ration stamps and things being hard to get. Gas was rationed, but we didn’t have a car anyway. We never had a car until several years after the war. We either walked or got a ride from someone.
I started school in Norman and attended kindergarten and part of first grade by the time the war ended and we returned to South Dakota. I acquired a little Okie accent to bring back home, but it’s long since gone. Strangely, it comes back a little when I’m around southerners.
I have more recollections from Oklahoma, but maybe that’s for another time.
Comments (4)
Nice bit of nostalgia, Paul. I was 4 when the war started, and 10 when it ended. My dad here in the UK was in the Fire Service, so wasn’t called up.
My memories, apart from a bomb being dropped on Lupset Estate near us, was of air raid sirens, going into the cellar, which had heavy props under the joists just in case, and playing out in the brick air-raid shelter down the street. It had no windows, so we illuminated the inside by lighting tins of boot polish and candles. Carefree days for us kids!
Thanks for a actual, refreshing blog. This s a piece of history.
That one was before my time (damn near before my parent’s time, actually), but I’m a history buff, especially where it concerns the Civil War, WWII & Viet Nam… so, thanks for sharing!
oklahoma has plenty of ways to be memorable lol. hidden beauty too.