Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes To War 21 Cincinnati Goes To War
In 1941, like most American cities, Cincinnati industries expanded their businesses and began producing was in the throes of recovering from the Great Depression. special war related items. The Queen City's citizens were concerned also with the ever In late 1940 and early 1941, a growing number expanding war in Europe. Many favored President of Cincinnatians had decided that war was inevitable and Roosevelt's support to the countries fighting the Axis. took active roles in the preparedness campaign. They Others, under the leadership of Cincinnatian, Senator volunteered for civil defense training, participated in Red Robert A. Taft, advocated isolationism, and still others took Cross programs, raised funds for War Chest campaigns, and no position but fervently hoped that the United States could contributed to scrap drives. Others volunteered for military avoid war. service or registered for the draft after the passage of the By 1940, although the President and Congress Selective Service Act, the first peace time conscription in talked of avoiding involvement in the foreign conflict, the American history. United States had begun preparing for a possible war. However, the debate on and concern over the Defense spending rose, the armed forces began moderniz- United States' involvement in the war ended on December ing, federal agencies planned for full war production, and 7, 1941, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. With the new war plants were built. The defense buildup created a United States at war, Queen City residents mobilized their demand for products manufactured by Cincinnati compa- energies and threw their total support into the national war nies, particularly chemicals and machine tools. Other local effort and Cincinnati went to war.
Greater Cincinnatians took active roles first in prepared- ness, and then in working towards an Allied victory. ffifitffBlM Doing Your Bit Traveling, Shopping, or Eating Americans Can't Ignore the War
To help the United States win the war, civilians made sacrifices so there would be enough weapons, vehicles, food, gasoline, tires, and other supplies for the armed forces. As "vital materials" including iron and copper went first to the military and war industries, and as factories switched to war production, Americans on the home front had to make do with less. There were fewer tires and less gasoline; less red meat, coffee, and sugar; and fewer consumer goods including cars, shoes, bicycles, and stoves. Because wartime shortages could cause prices to rise, encourage hoarding, and prevent fair distribution of goods, the Roosevelt administration set up a national system of rationing and price controls in 1942. Until the end of the war, every Cincinnatian — like every American could get only limited quantities of some products and could not buy other items at all. Although rationing and shortages were more severe in Great Britain and the Soviet Union, all Americans felt the impact of the war.
lected and sorted ration stamps and tokens when cus- tomers purchased rationed items. Spring 1991
This is to Certify that pursuant to the Rationing Orders and ReguL tions administered by the OFFICE OF PRICE ADMINISTRATION, a agency of the United States Government, i (Name, AddreM, and Description of y^muajo whom the book is iuued:)
(Count,) (Suu) Stamp* must not be detached except in the pretence of the r
TRY CRISCO'S NEW DELICIOUS, SUGAR-SAYING fcromr CAKES
OUR LABOR AND OUR 600DS Ail FIGHTiNB
In May 1942, the federal gov- To get the most out of their While the war created shor- ernment began rationing, red ration points, homemak- tages of gas, tires, and food, which established monthly ers added fillers to meat Americans also faced limited limits on purchases of foods dishes, bought less popular supplies of many other items that were in short supply. cuts of meat, and reused ranging from building mate- Consumers had stamps that cooking fats. rials, to shoes and stockings. allowed them to buy set When silk and nylon went into amounts. military products such as par- achutes, stockings became hard to find. Many women used leg makeup to create the look of stockings. 24 Queen City Heritage Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Your Bit 25 HOW MILEAGE IS RATIONED
Car owners received books of Different books and stickers gas ration stamps and match- showed the amount of gas a TTTI ing window stickers for their driver could buy. The "A" vehicles. Before pumping any books and stickers the most gas, the station attendant common type —were sup- checked the window sticker, posed to provide enough fuel made sure it matched the for driving about 240 miles driver's ration book, and then each month. tore out the correct number of stamps for the purchase. Queen City Heritage
"YOU KNOW, DEM....SOMETIMES I WISH WE'D CONE EASY ON OUft TIRES BACK IN 1942/*
The wartime rubber shortage Because the armed forces' Motorists drove more slowly meant that local tire retread need for rubber came first, the as suggested in the chart of operations had plenty to do. federal government rationed "Victory Numbers"—to make tires and limited driving on their tires last, then got the home front. retreads. Gasoline rationing also helped save rubber because people wore out fewer tires if they drove less. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Tour Bit 27
OHIO DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
TO EVERY OHIO MOTORIST FOR THE DURATION IMPORTANT INVITATION TO YOU AND YOURS NON-COMBATANTS EVERYWHERE WANT TO DO THEIR UTMOST TO WIN THE WAR IN THE SHORTEST TIME POSSIBLE- THIS IS A CALL FOR COMPLETE MOBILIZATION OF ALL MOTORISTS TO HOLD SPEEDS TO 35 MILES AN HOUR TO SAVE TRANSPORTATION AND TIRES FOR WAR-DO YOUR PART-SWAP RIDES- ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME FOR V-l-C-T-O-R-Y JOHN W. BRICKER Govcrnoj of Okio
GEORGE McCONNAUGHEY
H. G. SOURS -«^ Oinctet—Ohio Department of Hijfcw.ys
To help save tires and gas, the The OPA sent out materials federal Office of Price Admin- on carpooling and, in late istration (OPA) encouraged 1942, ordered firms with Americans to share rides. more than 100 workers to set up "transportation commit- tees" to encourage ride- sharing. 28 Queen City Heritage Everyone Can "Get in the Scrap'
Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the help end the fighting and speed an Allied victory. federal government and private organizations were asking From the summer of 1941 through the end of Americans to donate scrap materials and all kinds of used the war, Greater Cincinnatians enthusiastically gathered items for the war effort. rubber, paper, rags, grease, and metal for scrap drives. Salvage drive organizers had two primary The Hamilton County Waste Materials goals: to build up the country's industrial resources and to Conservation Committee regularly met or exceeded its boost civilian morale. quotas. Scrap came from factories, municipal governments, The collection of scrap metal, rubber, grease, house-to-house collection drives, and more than 3,000 and paper expanded the country's supplies of raw materials. collection barrels that volunteers placed on city streets and Contributions of: binoculars and guns for British civil in downtown buildings. defense workers and clothing for distribution by relief By September 1945, the Hamilton County agencies saved time, labor, and materials in American salvage committee had collected 50,000 tons of waste paper, factories. 2,000 tons of grease, 4,000 tons of rubber, 3,500 tons of rags, In addition, salvage drives improved home and 645,500 tons of tins cans and scrap metal. The committee front morale. Participating in collection efforts gave civilians sold these materials to scrap dealers and gave the nearly of all ages a chance to feel they were doing something to $110,000 in proceeds to the USO and other charities.
m in »r%*%*:
I ikfii ffli mf $*• Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Tour Bit 29 They've got more places to go than you!...
KEEP SCRAPPING Save Rubber RON AND STEEL-RUBBER flll OTHER METAlS-RftGS CHECK YOUR TIRES NOW MOVE JILL SCRAP NOW]
Scrap metal collected by Boy As the war went on, officials and bronze sculptures were Scouts for the war effort in government and industry destroyed for the metal they made an impressive sight on found that they needed more contained. Fountain Square. of some kinds of scrap and that other materials were not useful. Americans' eager support of salvage drives led to some unfortunate decisions about what should be scrapped. Souvenirs of earlier wars, his- toric steam fire engines and locomotives, antique pewter, 30 Queen City Heritage Every Possible Provision for Their Protection"
"The citizens of every community have a right saboteurs eager for information about troop movements and to assume that their representative officials have considered defense production. every possible provision for their protection and safety The Hamilton County National Defense against sabotage or any act of war." Cincinnati Bureau of Council was formed in November 1942, to coordinate area Governmental Research, Memorandum, June 12,1941. civilian defense activities. By July, over 62,000 Hamilton As Germany bombed Britain, Americans County men and women had trained as civilian defense air worried that U.S. cities could also be attacked. In response, raid wardens, fire watchers, emergency rescue workers, and the Roosevelt administration created the Office of Civilian messengers. Defense (OCD) in May 1941. Fear of air attack soon diminished, but The OCD encouraged state and local govern- Hamilton County civilian defense recruited volunteers ments to develop defense plans that would limit injuries throughout the war to help with scrap drives and war bond and property damage in an attack. The federal government rallies, work in child care centers, and help harvest and can also warned Americans to be wary of possible spies and vegetables from Victory gardens.
Posters warned citizens that possible spies and saboteurs could be listening for informa- tion about defense production. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Tour Bit 31
OORNIER Do 19 (GERMANY)
Markings Description Long-range, mid-wing, 4-engjned bombing monoplane powered by 4 Bromo radial engines of 650 h.p, each. Little information is available on this plane although it has been in service for some time. Reported load capacity is about 9 tons and it is capable of speeds in excess of 200 m.p.h. It is known to carry at leost 4 machine guns in addition to its bomb load. Has gunner's position under nose and probably in the tail.
Recognition Characteristics Large 4-engined bomber of generally angular appearance. Twin fins and rudders are mounted on upper surface of stabilizer half-way between tip of stabilizer ond fuselage, and are strut-braced. Tapered wing of high aspect ratio.
Specifications Span 106 ft.; length 78 ft.; height 19 ft.; empty weight 24,000 lbs,; loaded weigM 40,700 lbs.; max. speed 235 m.p.h.
Pag© 18
Civilian defense officials Communities and individual trained volunteer spotters to factories organized blackout identify enemy airplanes such and air raid drills. At least one as German bombers that local defense plant the Procter might be able to reach the & Gamble Company's Ivory- U.S. They stockpiled but never dale used a hand-cranked used gas masks and alarm siren for tests. rattles. 32 Queen City Heritage
Wardens made sure that Volunteer air raid wardens streetlights and outdoor made sure their neighbors fol- advertising signs were put lowed air raid and blackout out, and that interior lights precautions during drills. were covered; they cleared the streets as sirens blared "warnings" of enemy aircraft. Wardens urged Cincinnatians to put up blackout curtains in their homes and create "ref- uge centers" in the safest rooms. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Tour Bit 33 Not So Easy To "Carry On'
Although most Americans tried to continue women held down war jobs, often with irregular hours, and their normal routines, the war caused change and stress in tried to raise families while their husbands were gone. their daily lives. Wartime uncertainties frequently produced Americans of all ages faced new tensions short engagements and quick marriages. The housing during the war. When the military or war work took a family shortage forced people to live with parents, in-laws, or member far away, those who stayed behind had to cope with friends. loneliness and worry over those who had gone. They tried And families found the war made it harder to to create a new routine for daily life. get together for a meal, to go to church, or even have a War changed the family. Men cooked meals, conversation. and children cared for younger brothers and sisters. Many 34 Queen City Heritage
Cincinnatians conserving gas The war often disrupted fam- and tires traveled up river on ily life, but organizations such the steamboat Island Queen as the Boy Scouts offered to Coney Island amusement supervised, useful activities to park to ride the Wildcat roller help keep young people out of coaster, swim at Sunlite Pool, trouble. picnic, and dance at Moonlite Gardens. Spring 1991 35
For many American children While children of the 1940's Wartime flying had a special American youngsters dili- the war was an exciting time, were interested in many fascination that the other, gently studied aircraft identifi- and entertainment and toys aspects of the war, aviation earthbound elements of the cation books and built model with military or patriotic was a favorite. conflict lacked. Aircraft devel- planes. One Cincinnati news- themes played upon their opment went through contin- paper responded to this inter- interest in the conflict. ual and exciting changes; mil- est by issuing sets of stickers itary pilots appeared par- of squadron emblems. ticularly romantic and heroic. 36 "Food Fights for Freedom": America Plants Victory Gardens
During the war, the federal government encouraged civilians to grow much of their own food, so the armed forces could use more of the nation's commercially canned produce. Because the military required vast amounts of food, the government announced a "Victory Garden program" to help ease home front shortages. The Hamilton County National Defense Council directed local Victory gardeners into already-existing community garden projects or encouraged them to start new gardens. By 1943, when one-fourth of the food produced in the United States went to the military, Hamilton County boasted nearly 70,000 Victory gardens. Backyard plots helped feed families, while others on public property sent produce to school and factory cafeterias. Victory gardens also offered Americans recreation and a chance to contribute to the war effort.
OAN LET FRESH FRUITS AND VI U HAVE A ' POTATOESEs\ A POUND J J PLANT A VICW GARDEN
; •• ;• •
The vast majority of Ameri- better cut. The government Homemakers adapted to the cans obeyed rationing and asked consumers not to deal shortage of familiar canned price regulations; however, with these "black goods by trying out new many businesses sought marketeers." recipes using Victory garden higher profits through "black produce and learning how to market" activities. preserving fruit and vegetables. An estimated one in five of all American businessmen received some warning for violations of price control and ration laws, such as ignoring price ceilings or selling low quality meat for the price of a Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Tour Bit 17 Paying for an Expensive War
The federal government financed about half the cost of the United States' participation in World War II with taxes, and the rest with loans. The government borrowed a major portion of this money through the sale of war bonds to individuals, banks, and businesses. There were eight nationwide bond drives. The first war loan drive began in June 1942, and raised $12.9 billion; the total for all drives was $135 billion. Hamilton County exceeded its quota in each drive and won national recognition for raising 193% of its quota during the Second Bond Drive. By December 1945, area residents and institutions had purchased over $1.7 billion worth of war bonds. Bond drive organizers used a variety of sales techniques. Over 8,500 volunteer "bondadiers" went door- to-door; Cincinnati public school children bought defense stamps each Tuesday; workers signed up for payroll deduction plans; and businesses worked "Buy Bonds" reminders into their newspaper and radio advertising. One of the largest groups formed to encourage bond sales in Greater Cincinnati was the Women at War Committee. Made up of members of local women's organizations, the group provided 4,000 bondadiers and sponsored banquets, concerts, exhibits, and other special events promoting war loan drives.
In 1942, two structures went The Citizens' Navy Committee The Hamilton County war sav- up in downtown Cincinnati on of Greater Cincinnati spon- ings committee gathered the Tyler Davidson Fountain sored the construction of the volunteers and donated mate- esplanade to promote bond U.S.S. Victory, a sixty-six-foot rials to erect a "bond pier" at sales and military service. model of a destroyer that the Vine Street end of Foun- served as a naval recruiting tain Square. Representatives station and bond sales office. from civic, fraternal, and Thousands of Cincinnatians social groups sold bonds from attended the Victory's July 17 the pier throughout the war. dedication, where 151 recruits took the oath of induction into the Navy. 38 LETS FlY THIS FLAG
II? n IIFIMII FS jSTJMM i fill!
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Younger Americans made Over 300 local firms received The federal government pres- In October 1942, Etta Moten, their contribution towards an the Minute Man Flag in recog- ented special flags to firms co-starring in "Porgy and Allied victory by helping with nition of their workers' com- where ninety percent of the Bess" at the Taft Theater, bond sales or purchasing ten mitment to purchase bonds. employees committed at least opened a war bond and stamp cent and twenty-five cent ten percent of their wages to drive sponsored by the local defense stamps that they buy bonds through a payroll Negro Citizens' Committee. saved to buy bonds. deduction plan. In July 1942, Cincinnati, like other Ameri- Cincinnati's Gruen Watch can cities, also held separate Company was the first plant civil defense meetings and in the nation to receive the War Chest drives to raise award. money for social service agencies. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Tour Bit 39 Wartime Strains on Public Services
The war created new and greater demands on community services — particularly public transportation at a time when the organizations that provided those services faced shortages of workers and materials. The needs of defense plants and the military came first during the war, so city governments and companies providing services such as public transportation had to meet people's growing needs with fewer resources. The Cincinnati Street Railway Company had more passengers because of tire and gasoline rationing streetcar use in the city rose steadily, peaking at almost 500,000 rides on one day in December 1944. But federal limits on the use of buses and on the production of new streetcars and track made expanding service difficult.
The street railway mainte- nance shops also refurbished fifty older streetcars that had been retired. The company showed its support for the war effort by painting patriotic messages on these rebuilt cars. 40 Queen City Heritage Supporting Those in Uniform
Cincinnatians rallied to support American the end of the war, its facilities in Union Terminal had served servicemen and women through activities that included over three million troops. volunteering with the USO and Red Cross, knitting and The city's nine other USO lounges for sewing garments, and sending newsletters overseas. American military were at the bus depot, the airport at The Red Cross and the USO were the largest Lunken Field, and downtown clubs; two all-black facilities groups that organized wartime programs for the benefit of operated at the YMCA and YWCA "Negro" branches in the Americans in uniform. West End. In February 1941, six national service The Cincinnati area chapter of the American organizations joined together as the United Service Red Cross organized thousands of volunteers for hospital Organizations, or USO, to take primary responsibility for work, blood drives, making or collecting clothing and housing, feeding, and entertaining military personnel medical supplies, packing Christmas gift boxes, and other traveling between home, training camps, and assignments. efforts to aid United States military personnel. Cincinnati's USO was one of the busiest in the country. By
USO centers offered a variety of amenities: lounges, reading and writing rooms, cots and overnight rooms, showers, swimming pools, gymnasium facilities, bowling lanes, snack bars, meals, and game rooms. At Union Terminal, USO workers also checked bag- gage, mailed letters, and helped care for servicemen's children. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Tour Bit 41 THE CARRIER PIGEON
OCT. 10, 1942 INDIAN HILL. OHIO
TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE THE CARRIER-PIGEON
Lieutenant Clarkson Beard is As- This is the flirt number of a Paper speoially published for 70a— sistant KeconnalaaoQe officer of hi* the lioys and men in the Services who haTe gone from our families Battery at Camp Ohaflee. Arkansas. associated with the Indian Hill Chapel. You are always in oar Allie and "Cactus," the Lakeland thoughts and prayrrs — and we want you to know it. Hut we thought pup. are vamp-following lor theprea- that you would also like to know from time to time what is going 00 ent and are Mtabliahed at a ''share at home 011 the Hill; what news we haTe of your old friends, snd so home" iu Fort Smith, Arkansas. forth. The ••Carrier-Pigeon" will tell you as well as we can pat it to- That doesn't mean she's turned share- gether. There will be nol«e ol all forts, and nothing will be missed cropper, v but is a domestic arrange- that is likely to interest you. But vou can help as to make it more ment by which you have a private interesting still, if you will. A note from you about your doings — or bed-room, but share the use o( the anything, would please us all heie. and add Talue to the Paper for kitchen and bathroom. those who are away. Send it Hi Mrs. Stanley Rowe, Mrs. Robert L. Black, or the Rev. F. J. Moore. The Church of the Advent. Kemper Lane. Meanwhile, we hope you will like the little Paper which we Bill Taft is tremendonslr incensed send with our greetings and sincere wishes for the best of luck aud a because they turned him down for safe, return. all the exciting branches of the Ser- vice and at present he is working in ths personnel department of the His daaghte allexi .lean Davidson MISSING - - - main Red Crone Headquarters at born thi a in mi ler, and she snd WaahinKton. He and his bride went macis sre Kt• 1 ing at Vernou Place WITH A HAPPY ENDING to Murray Bar for their wedding trip Contin U -
Throughout Cincinnati and Local women in the Knitting Dorothy S. Rowe edited The across the country, women Division of the Red Cross Pro- Carrier Pigeon, a newsletter worked on their own, in infor- duction Corps turned out for servicemen from families mal groups, and organized by thousands of items for men in associated with the Indian Hill the Red Cross to knit sweaters the service, in navy and army Chapel. After the war, the and other garments for Amer- hospitals, and for foreign war men presented Rowe with a ican servicemen. relief. The June 1943 quota silver punch bowl engraved for volunteers with the Red with their signatures and with Cross of Cincinnati and the names in block letters of Hamilton County included those Indian Hill servicemen 3,733 sweaters and 600 pairs killed in the fighting. of gloves. 42 Queen City Heritage Cincinnatians Lend a Helping Hand
Many Americans helped people whose lives A significant number of Cincinnatians helped had been turned upside down by the war. Cincinnatians join these people. Between 1933 and 1941, local Jewish their countrymen in efforts that included collecting supplies institutions and social service groups helped some 1,000 for British victims of German bombs, taking displaced German and Austrian Jews escape Hitler and resettle in European children into their homes, and helping West Cincinnati. In 1940 and 1941, Cincinnatians gathered Coast Japanese Americans and European Jews reestablish clothing and raised money for "Bundles for Britain." A few normal lives. provided homes for British children evacuated from that Ordinary people in Europe and in the United embattled country. From 1943 to 1945, three Cincinnati States found themselves in danger or facing new difficulties hostels provided temporary housing for some 600 Japanese because of World War II. European Jews faced imprison- Americans relocated from western internment camps. ment and death. German air raids on England destroyed Such efforts benefited a relative handful of homes and threatened lives. The U.S. government sent West people, but showed that many Americans still cared about Coast Japanese Americans to bleak interment camps. the well-being of strangers.
Between 1943 and 1945, homes and jobs. George Many parents sent their chil- The Parson twins stayed some 600 Japanese Ameri- Shumida operated a drill dren away from the war in with Mr. and Mrs. Herbert cans left government intern- press in a local war plant. Europe to live with American Koch in Kennedy Heights, and ment camps and resettled in families for the duration. Ellen Kaspar (left) lived with Cincinnati with the help of the Three children who found Gene Ach and her family in federal War Relocation temporary homes in Cincin- Wyoming. Authority (WRA) and local nati were Desmond and Nor- church groups. man Parsons, who came from The WRA, cooperating with England, and Ellen Kaspar, a local Quakers and the Episco- Jewish girl from Germany. pal Diocese, set up three hos- tels where former internees stayed while looking for Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Doing Tour Bit 43 Broadcasting Brings the Battle- front to the Home Front
During World War II, radio stations through- out the United States offered a growing range of war-related programs in response to civilians' hunger for news of the fighting overseas, and federal officials' desire to build support for the war effort. Americans listened to an average of four and one-half hours of radio a day; WLW, WSAI, WCKY, and WKRC were the four major stations in Cincinnati. National and local stations competed in providing regular, up-to-date news about United States' forces and the Allies' progress. Listening to the radio, the nation joined President Roosevelt's prayer for the young men about to invade Europe on D-Day. Federal agencies encouraged, guided, and sometimes coerced radio, as well as newspapers, magazines, and movies, to carry explanations of the ideals for which the Allies were fighting, and to encourage civilian efforts on the home front. While nationally broadcast programs by Kate Smith, Glenn Miller, Jack Benny, and other entertainers briefly took listeners' minds off wartime anxieties, the stars also urged listeners to buy bonds, donate blood, and even save grease.
Cincinnati radio stations WLW, WSAI, WKRC, and WCKY kept news-hungry lis- teners informed about the progress of the war and American war aims. WLW was the acknowledged leader, with a larger news budget, audience, and transmitting range. 44
Entertainment helped relieve Peter Grant drew eighty per- WLW boosted its wartime WLW's Gil Kingsbury was one the worry and tensions of cent of the local radio audi- news staff from six to four- of Cincinnati's premier local wartime, and WLW's Moon ence for his 11:30 p.m. news teen, subscribed to all major newsman throughout World River program of music and broadcast on WLW. He also news services, and secured War II, and then became the poetry was a favorite. announced many of the sta- an agreement for local news station's Washington corre- tion's drama and variety coverage from The Cincinnati spondent in 1945. programs. Enquirer. The station also pro- duced a program of shortwave broadcasts from Allied coun- tries, and NBC picked up one of its several news commen- tary programs. Cincinnati does to War: Plowshares Into Swords Plowshares Into Swords Industry Adapts to Survive
Wartime restrictions, regulations, and shor- ing "non-essential" or restricted consumer goods scrambled tages of materials and manpower meant that American to get what they could. businesses had to change packaging, manufacturing The war brought opportunities to increase processes, the quantities and types of goods they turned out, production, expand facilities and work forces, and earn and whom they hired. Companies that could not adapt often larger profits. But to take advantage of the opportunities, closed. companies had to adjust.For many businesses, adjustment To provide the Allied war effort with huge meant survival. A firm that could not obtain and fill quantities of needed goods, the federal government government contracts, or find a product for which the allocated industrial supplies and labor. Plants manufacturing government would allocate workers and materials, might items for the war received first priority in the distribution join the half-million American businesses that shut down of equipment, materials, and workers. Companies produc- during the war.
es with contracts to to possible spies, produce war supplies had to their facilities more secure meet requirements set by the against sabotage and espio- military and federal govern- nage. At larger, more impor- ment in such matters as hir- tant factories such as P&G's ing practices and quality Ivorydale, the plant guards inspections, but improved were armed, given extra train- security was a particular ing, and designated as auxil- concern. iary military police. Managers of plants doing war work had to take air raid precautions, warn workers against divulging information Queen City Heritage
The Globe-Wernicke Company wing sections for cargo planes The federal government con- continued to produce wood and fuselage tails for fighters. trolled metal supplies more and metal office furnishings Ninety percent of Globe- closely than almost any other after the defense-buildup Wernicke's factory was industrial material. Hamilton's began, but because workers involved in war work. Mosler Safe Company sur- and supplies of steel were vived wartime restrictions on limited, most of the desks, fil- steel by using its peacetime ing cabinets, and tables made experience in making heavy in the Norwood factory were steel objects to turn out for the federal government. A turrets for tanks and armor portion of the Globe-Wernicke shields for artillery pieces. plant was converted to pro- duction of aircraft parts — Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 47
As companies finished one war, but with wartime restric- rial, and bought sixty new The Peters Cartridge plant at government contract, they tions on labor, materials, and punch presses. Kings Mills initially made had to pursue others which machinery it took on projects Osborne also used these rounds for the .45 calibre Colt might or might not be related related to the war effort to and other presses to make automatic pistol. Later it to previous work. Cincinnati's keep its York Street plant tokens for PX stores at mili- received contracts to turn out Osborne Register Company busy. tary bases and POW camps millions of cartridges for the produced ration tokens for the In 1944, Osborne Register throughout the United States, M1 carbine. Peters workers entire country, then took on spent five months stamping and to stamp parts for air- formed the bullets, and loaded other, less well-known jobs. out two billion ration tokens plane pilots' survival flash- and assembled the cartridges. The Osborne Register Com- for the United States Office of lights. pany made a variety of tokens, Price Administration. The firm advertising items, and com- cut the dies to stamp the tok- memorative coins before the ens, developed the fibre mate- Women employees became One of the Crosley Corpora- A mainstay of U.S. military important at Crosley in 1943 tions's most important products communications from the when they replaced some 800 was the SCR-284 field radio, deserts of North Africa to the male workers — about half which the company designed, islands of the South Pacific, the work force — who had built, and shipped directly to the SCR-284 operated from a entered military service. The the armed forces. Women battery or a hand-cranked following year, the firm recru- employees did most of the generator and had a range of ited 1,000 additional female assembly work. about seven miles. employees. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 49
II I can do with less gas for the car J. but HOw i MISS MY dreft!
...No soap can do what dreft does for dishes, silks, woolens!" m
Many companies won profit- Procter & Gamble, one of replaced the metal can with a also discontinued its largest able government contracts by the city's largest companies, glass jar. size boxes of Oxydol and other making something closely did not stop making consumer Naphtha, used in many detergents to discourage related to their peacetime pro- goods, but met wartime short- soaps, was another "strate- hoarding. ducts. Cincinnati's Fashion ages and restrictions by gic" material and had to be Frocks switched from sewing changing the packaging and eliminated from home front ladies' dresses, "non- production of many of its products. P&G's Dreft deter- essential" work, to sewing household items. gent also contained an ingre- parachutes for the military. Steel was an "essential" dient needed for the war material for ships, planes, and effort; it went off the market, guns. To avoid stopping or though advertisements made limiting the production of sure housewives remembered Crisco shortening P&G the product. The company 50 Queen City Heritage
Cincinnati chemical plants — Much of this output of familiar Much of what Cincinnati's Procter & Gamble, Emery products was destined for Procter & Gamble Company Industries, Amsco Products, new uses. Part of P&G's soap supplied to the military, laun- and others — prepared output helped in the process- dry soap, hand soap, and immense quantities of the ing of fabric and metal that cooking fats, was like its civil- products for which they were went into each Gl's uniform ian products. But other ver- already well-known: cooking and personal equipment. sions of these items, as well fats, industrial solvents and Emery and the So-Lo Works as materials and knowledge finishes, glycerine, pesticides, made candles in small cans derived from peacetime soap, and even candles. for soldiers to use in tents. manufacturing, were applied in different industries. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 51 WE'RE PROUD OF EVERY AMERICAN FIGHTING MAN WE'VE DONE OUR PART V HIS FOOD AND EQUIPMENT
Helmet processed by soap be- fore pointing.
Cotton and wool prepared and processed into cloth by spec textile soaps.
Cotton webbing cartridge belt which was given a long series of soap baths in its manufacture. Cooking fats-used to prepare his bread, his favorite desserts, and in Emergency Rations. Fats are high-energy foods.
Glycerine ond cellulose for the smokeless powder in the car- tridges his rifle fires. Soap used as a lubricant in machining the rifle barrel.
Soaps for the Army laundri Soap for his personal clean! which keep his uniform and ness and health and to dec and maintain his weapons and ready for inspection. top condition.
Leather for shoes, belts ai rifle strops made tough and pliable by penetrating soaps.
OVER 1500 PROCTER & GAMBLE MEN AND WOMEN ARE NOW IN UNIFORM
Various manufacturers used P&G soap products to process fabric for uniforms and cloth equipment, prepare metal for plating or painting, and as lubricants in metalworking. Soapmaking also generated glycerine which was used in explosives, quick-drying paint, medicine, plastics, and water- proofing. 52 Queen City Heritage The Arsenal of Democracy Needs Cincinnati
For many Greater Cincinnati businesses, supporting the war effort meant manufacturing larger quantities of the same products they had made before the war, or making those goods to meet government or military specifications. Years before the United States entered World War II, the armed forces contacted Cincinnati companies to place orders related to the defense buildup, or to make plans for those firms to enter defense production if America became involved in the conflict. Local firms that processed food, cast and stamped metal, built machine tools and other machinery, assembled vehicles, and made chemicals stood ready to supply the military. When the U.S. declared war, many Cincinnati factories shifted to defense production. But other local plants, like Allis-Chalmers' electric motor assembly shops in Norwood and Cincinnati Milling Machine Company's machine tool production facilities in Oakley, needed only to make more of their usual products, and make them faster.
While most area contractors military colors, and desig- involved in aircraft production nated L-3 "Defenders," saw made only a component part military service in training, such as a propeller or engine, liaison-observation, and artil- Aeronca in Middletown, Ohio, lery spotting work overseas. assembled complete air- The planes served the war planes. The U.S. Army pur- effort in the Civilian Pilot chased over 1,300 Areoncas. Training Program and Civil Air During the war, the two- Patrol activities. seat light monoplanes made by the Aeronca Aircraft Cor- poration and modified with military equipment, painted in Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 53 54
Throughout Cincinnati, When the war began in Machine Company, known as large and small machine Europe, Greater Cincinnati "The Mill." shops made the machine tools had over thirty-five machine that drilled, shaped, and cut tool firms that kept busy sup- metal for guns, aircraft plying machinery to new engines, tank turrets, and defense industries. The area's every other kind of war mate- two largest machine tool com- rial. The military also needed panies were the R.K. LeBlond machine tools for its arsenals Company, which produced and machine shops on air eighty-five percent of the bases and aboard ships where machines used by the Allies war equipment was repaired in making cannon barrels, and and refurbished. the Cincinnati Milling Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 55
Pharmaceutical companies The labs at the firm's Read- The Wright Aeronautical fac- piece, and reassembled them had to meet both civilian and ing, Ohio, plant took part in tory near Lockland assembled for shipping to factories in military needs. The William S. government research projects around 60,000 airplane other cities where they were Merrell Company, the area's on germicides, antibiotics, and engines during the war. Most installed in aircraft. largest drug maker, had con- anti-malaria drugs. of them were the "Cyclone" Although the Lockland plant tracts from the armed forces R-2600. built some engines for larger to prepare huge quantities of All engines that came off planes late in the war, the various medicines in different Wright assembly lines went majority of its output went forms: one billion tablets, forty next to test shops and were into the Army's B-25 "Mit- tons of ointments, 63,000 gal- run at high speeds long chell" medium bombers and lons of liquids, and 250,000 enough to reveal any prob- the Navy's SB2C "Helldiver" syringe ampules. lems. Workers then took the dive bombers. engines apart, checked each 56 Queen City Heritage Making Something Different for the War
While government agencies and the military Some manufacturers made new items that needed many items that already were made in Cincinnati, were similar to their pre-war products, so the transition was they also needed many that were not. Dozens of local simpler. The Charles E. Sorin Company, a local maker of companies turned out new products to meet wartime needs. men's leather belts, shifted easily to producing shoulder Existing American plants made ammunition slings for the Ml carbine. boxes, rifle grenades, parachutes, gas masks, and other war Other firms — particularly those that had materiel. But the armed forces needed huge quantities of concentrated on a single specialized item — found these items, so the government asked companies in themselves making completely unfamiliar objects. In Cincinnati and across the country to switch from their usual Cincinnati, the Artistic Furniture Manufacturing Company products to goods needed for the war. built armored flak jackets for bomber crews, and Rookwood Pottery fabricated wooden water pipe for army camps.
»••*.« >:•>«:.<>-...: r*,•,.*.•..••
Several Cincinnati firms were The U.S. Playing Card Com- The government shipped such involved secret projects to pany produced about 100 escape aids to European provide U.S. personnel in decks of cards with map prison camps in packages enemy prison camps with sections sandwiched between from made-up charitable escape maps and radios. the fronts and backs. When organizations. the backs were soaked off, the pieces could be assembled into maps of Germany. Gold- smith Sporting Goods pro- duced four dozen baseballs and softballs in which radio parts were concealed. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 57
i*f%<
The war effort had little need Although the federal govern- hauling trailers. The Mosler Safe Company for the Cambridge Tile Com- ment halted the construction Trailmobile made every- made the armor plate shields pany's usual product. But the of cars, trucks, and trailers for thing from small jeep trailers which protected the crews of firm's equipment proved well- private consumers and most to vans for hauling cavalry 37mm anti-tank guns. suited for making crackers commercial uses, the compa- horses shown here. The com- that were packed in the boxes nies that had made them kept pany's engineers designed of "K-rations" issued to soldi- busy making vehicles for the trailers that could be disas- ers in the field. war. General Motors' assem- sembled for easy shipment bly line in Norwood put overseas, special medical together 4x4 trucks, and the trailers, and even "expansi- Trailer Company of America ble" office trailers to provide (Trailmobile) built military ver- portable command centers for sions of its peacetime cargo- the army. 58 Queen City Heritage Making a Part of the Product
The most important role for Cincinnati factories was in making tools, component materials, or parts of GI gear, rather than fully finished weapons such as planes and guns. The majority of Greater Cincinnatians engaged in war work did not turn out completed equipment. Local firms generally fabricated a sub-assembly or component part, like armor shields or aircraft wing flaps. Other companies in other cities brought together the pieces manufactured by subcontractors to assemble tanks, airplanes, cannons, and so forth. Workers making component parts often did not know how the pieces would be used. Sometimes this was because the small parts did not look like anything familiar, but other times the final product, aerial bombsights for example, was secret and workers were intentionally kept in the dark. In many cases, what a Cincinnati plant produced was even more basic to defense plant activities elsewhere. Locally- made tools and chemicals were crucial to manufacturing weapons, vehicles, ammunition, explosives, medicine, ships, and aircraft.
I'm the Girl Who Makes the Little Gizmo That Screws Inside This Bigger Thing That Goes on Top of Something Else . . . Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 59
It was important for plants to keep their machines and employees working so that one of the federal agencies overseeing industrial resour- ces did not reduce their allo- cations of labor, supplies, and equipment. 60 Queen City Heritage Gathering the Manpower — and the Womanpower — to Win the War
America's industrial work force surpassed all portion of the traditional work force. known production records during World War II, but this To help meet the local demand for workers, achievement took the combined efforts of management, Cincinnati's vocational schools offered day, evening, and late organized labor, and federal agencies to meet the nation's night classes that included machine design, aircraft engine vast manpower needs and to keep workers as productive as assembly, and welding. Area companies and firms possible. nationwide kept workers who were past retirement age, and At the peak of war production, about 180,000 recruited women and minorities. Greater Cincinnatians worked in some 2,000 different Resistance to women, black, and Appalachian manufacturing facilities. Yet military service took away workers sometimes led to harassment and strikes. thousands of young and middle-aged white males — a large Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 61
PERMANENT JOBS FOUNDRY WORKERS ICOLQRED' NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY
PLANT TRANSPORTATION PLAN GOOD SALARY GROUP INSURANCE PLANS VACATION WITH PAY MODERN WELL-EQUIPPED PLANT CONVENIENT LOCATION THIS IS ESSENTIAL WORK THE WILLIAMSON HEATER CO.
DOWNTOWN OFFICE, 337 W. 5th St. PLANT OFFICE, 4558 CINCINNATI, OHIO MARBURG AVE., OAKLEY
Black women traditionally had The "E" banner, was part of Fashion Frocks' production of worked outside the home the federal government's parachutes and other war while raising families, but efforts to encourage speed equipment was so effective middle-class white women and quality in war work. and innovative that the com- and older women entered the pany won an Army-Navy "E" paid labor force in large award in 1944, receiving an numbers for the first time dur- "E" flag and pins for every ing World War II. employee. Queen City Heritage
The battle begins with your job! DO IT RIGHT
American industry was des- Working mothers relied on As war production boomed, perate for workers, and taking friends or family for child care many companies trained new a war job was a patriotic and because the few federally- employees and hired non- good-paying option for women funded child care centers traditional workers, most who were single, whose hus- were rarely near plant sites. A notably women and African bands were in the military, or 48-hour work week meant Americans. Firms also urged whose children were grown. shopping on lunch hours older workers to postpone For women with young chil- because stores were rarely retirement. dren, taking a war job was open Sundays or evenings. often necessary to supple- ment their husbands' salaries or military allotments. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 63
in the m 64 Queen City Heritage A Crossroads of the Nation's Rail System
Railroads played a major role in the success of the United States' war effort, and Cincinnati's Union Terminal and rail yards were a crucial link in the American rail system for both travelers and freight. Because major rail lines from the south, east, and west met in the Queen City, local factories shipped much of their products and supplies by train. From mid-1941 to mid-1945, an average of over 55,000 freight cars were loaded or unloaded at plants and warehouses in Greater Cincinnati each month. During the same period, area rail yards dealt with an even larger volume of through traffic, switching about 110,000 cars each month from trains arriving in Millions of troops Cincinnati to other outbound trains. Cincinnati was also a junction for passenger - are on the move traffic; thousands of people changed trains at Union Terminal to complete journeys to other cities. The city was one point where African American passengers heading south had to switch to segregated "Jim Crow" cars, while those coming north could leave them.
Is YOUR trip necessary? OFFICE OF DEFENSE TRAi
At its most active point in The need to move war World War II, Union Terminal personnel and restrictions on handled about 420 trains per auto travel increased day, around 20% of which passenger traffic on the were special trains for troops, railroads. In 1944, an government personnel, and estimated 34,000 people POWs. The number of traveled through Union scheduled commercial Terminal each day. passenger trains changed little from the late 1930's. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Plowshares Into Swords 65 66 Queen City Heritage War Boosts the River Trade
The Ohio and the nation's other rivers became in America's wartime transportation network, hauling bulk increasingly important supply routes during the war, as cargoes such as coal, coke, petroleum, and construction barge companies moved strategic materials and inland materials to defense plants and military facilities on or near shipyards built vessels for the military. rivers. Shipping and ship building increased with the Military vessels — mostly landing craft and coming of war. The Cincinnati-based Ohio River Company destroyer escorts — traveled from the shipyards where they barge line hauled just under 2.5 million tons in 1939 and were built, down the Ohio to the Mississippi River, and recorded profits of $160,000. Those figures rose in 1944 to eventually overseas. Cincinnati had no shipyards, but it was 4 million tons and profits exceeding $1.7 million. home base for Coast Guard personnel who helped the The barge companies were a significant link permanent crews of these warships navigate down the Ohio.
In 1942, the federal Defense Plant Corporation (DPC) contracted with several inland rivers shipyards to build twenty-one powerful towboats and 535 barges. The government then leased the DPC towboats and barges to private companies. 67
Despite the limitations of airlines used craft such as the Members of the Army Air Cincinnati's main airport, twin-engine DC-2, and Corps worked at Lunken Field wartime commercial and military flights could range and flew in and out of that military air activity was heavy, from light courier planes to airport on a regular basis. as frequent flights carried heavy bombers. Cincinnatians provided passengers and cargoes support services for these related to the war effort into personnel, including ground and out of the city. transportation and a canteen. Lunken Airport had been improved in the late 1930's and easily accommodated small planes such as Aeroncas. But commercial Queen City Heritage Serving Uncle Sam The Manpower Demands of the Army
The service branch that needed the most men Army air and ground units engaged in combat and women was the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Air Force. from the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, to Europe and North Over 70,000 Greater Cincinnati men, among them most of Africa, to Asia and islands in the Pacific. Army support the area's draftees, and 4,000 women served in some part of troops, including administrative, medical, supply, engineer, the Army. intelligence, training, and transport units, were likewise By late 1941, Selective Service and the assigned to duties around the world. mobilization of the National Guard had expanded the Army A Greater Cincinnatian who went into the from a peacetime force of several hundred thousand men to armed forces during World War II generally served in the a force of more than 1.6 million. After the United States Army. declared war, the Army's growth accelerated. In the spring of 1945, more than eight million men and women were serving in the Army. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Serving Uncle Sam 69
Prepare in Duplicate
APR 1 2 1945
ORDER TO REPOBT FOR INDUCTION
The President of the United States,
GREETING: Having submitted yourself to a local board composed of your neighbors for the purpose of deter- mining your availability for training and service in. the land or naval forces of the United States, you are hereby notified that you have now been selected for training and service therein.
You will, therefore, report to the local board named above at City Hall, Norwood, Ohio _ (PUo. of nporttec)
This local board will furnish transportation to an Induction station. Yon will there be examined, and, if accepted for training and service, you will then be inducted into the land or naval forces. Persons reporting to the induction station in some ins* a now may be rejected for physical or other reasons. It is well to keep this in mind in arranging voor affairs, to prevent any undue hardship if you are rejected at the induction station. y To wage war on such an unprecedented scale, the fed- eral government needed mil- lions of men and women, thousands of whom came from Greater Cincinnati. Peo- ple were needed for service in the armed forces and to staff agencies of the growing fed- eral bureaucracy. * Every member of the Army, For every soldier trained to whether a non-combatant fight, the Army employed such as the medic above or a about five service people in rifleman in a foxhole, had a support roles. Of those who job to do so that the massive prepared for combat, perhaps wartime military organization only half saw action, like could function. these infantrymen leaving their landing craft at Omaha beach in Normandy. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Serving Uncle Sam 71 Caring for the sick and wounded was a specialized Army support job. More than 300 doctors and several hundred nurses and medical technicians from this area served in Army medical facilities both overseas and in this country. 72 Queen City Heritage an. < Most men who saw actual America's armed forces fighting in Army ground units assigned members of different were in North Africa and racial groups to segregated Europe, though a significant units. Both African American number also took part in the and Japanese American campaigns in the Pacific. Cincinnatians served in such support and combat units. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Serving Uncle Sam 73 Army Fliers Win Air Superiority Retaking the Pacific: The United for the Allies States Marines The U.S. Army Air Force (AAF) was not an Marines had major roles in land combat in the independent branch of service during World War II, but Pacific as the Allies attacked and retook Japanese held members had a distinct identity within the Army. Men and islands; units saw hard fighting and often suffered high women of the AAF also felt that they played a special role casualties in campaigns for the Solomons, Marshalls, Guam, in the war as Allied air superiority proved vital in defeating and Okinawa. Greater Cincinnati sent about 9,000 men to the Axis. the Marine Corps and about 350 women. Allied air power grew as American industry Known for their tough training, Marines quickly turned out tens of thousands of airplanes. But men mounted amphibious assaults and, with the Navy, provided and women were needed to fly those planes and keep them fliers for the Pacific theater. Women Marines were not sent flying. overseas but performed support jobs at bases in the United The AAF recruited many pilots, aircraft States. crewmen, and support personnel in the Cincinnati area because the universities, Civilian Pilot Training Program, vocational schools, and machine shops created a pool of individuals with skills the air force needed. WANT ACTIONp KEEP 'EM FLYING IS OUR BATTLE CBY! FIRST CLASS FIGHTING MEN NEEDED AVIATION CADETS , SOLDIERS Aggressive, U*S*Narine Corps/ Young Men, 18 to 26 Years Alert, Patriotic, Young Men, oi Age Inclusive, fox air Crew 18 and 19 Years of Age, Who Training as Bombardiers, Want to Fight for Their APPLY TO NEAREST RECRUITING STATION Navigators and Pilots. Country, Especially Desired. APPLY TODAY AT ANY II. S. ARMY RECRUITING STATION The Army Air Force did a The U.S Marine Corps took variety of jobs and flew only volunteers during World different planes — transport War II, at least, in theory. In and observation planes, practice and particularly later bombers and fighters. in the war, the USMC arranged to include some "selectees" in its ranks, though technically these men were considered volunteers. 74 Queen City Heritage The U.S. Navy While the greatest number of Cincinnatians were drafted into the Army, the U.S. Navy received the next- largest number of servicemen from this area — about 11,000. 7HUU SUB The Navy worked in all theaters of the war, moving supplies and troops, taking part in assaults, bombarding enemy positions on shore, sending planes from carriers to attack land and sea targets, guarding convoys, fighting enemy warships, and disrupting enemy shipping with submarines. The Navy considered the region that included Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois one of its best sources of personnel, most of whom received their initial training at facilities on the Great Lakes. Among the Cincinnatians who volunteered for service in the Navy were James Ferguson, an anti-aircraft gunner who served from Pearl Harbor until his ship was sunk in a 1944 campaign off the Philippines; Robert Cunningham, a crewman on transports on landing craft; and Jim Coomer, whose ship coordinated communications during island assaults. A number of Greater Cincinnatians serving in the Coast Guard during the war were not called upon to help with assaults on enemy-held beaches or to hunt down U- boats, but that did not mean their jobs were unimportant. These men on one of the USCG's boats on the Ohio River helped keep crucial river traffic moving safely and efficiently. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Serving Uncle Sam 75 Cincinnatians Go to War in Washington, D.C. As the United States prepared for war, areas of daily life than ever before. This new, larger federal thousands of Americans served their country in the growing bureaucracy drew thousands of men and women and women number of federal agencies created to oversee and regulate from Cincinnati and across the country to Washington and mobilization. Theodore M. Berry and Charles Phelps Taft to work in the regional offices of federal departments. II were among the Cincinnatians who responded to the Some local businessmen became "dollar-a- national emergency by going to Washington, D.C. year men," taking temporary federal posts for a $1 annual Wartime called for new federal agencies and government salary while receiving regular paychecks from departments to organize war production and transportation, their peacetime employers. Other Cincinnatians brought regulate supplies of materials and labor, provide housing legal or political experience to Washington to deal with new and child care for war workers, oversee security and wartime concerns. intelligence operations, and involve the government in more •\ , •> :••: Vf •- '' ». The new larger federal and political experience to bureaucracy drew men and Washington to deal with women from across the new wartime concerns. country to Washington, D.C. Cincinnatians accepted posi- tions in the numerous agen- cies created to organize war production, regulate supplies of materials and labor, and overseer security and intelli- gence operations. They brought their business, legal, 76 Queen City Heritage WAR DOGS K-9 SECTION • • • U.S. ARMY Kemarks Served as Sentry Dog U.S. Army November 1942 — September 19hU SUJtL 2993 THE QV. In addition to the Cincinnati Brutus was trained in men and women who went California, and after the into the Army, several dozen Aleutians were retaken in family pets also served. In 1944, the Army shipped him 1942, the Phillip Finkelmeier back to the U.S. He arrived family of Clifton donated their home unexpectedly and just dog, Brutus, to the Dogs for in time to ride along as the Defense organization. The Finkelmeiers picked up the Army trained Brutus for children from Sunday School. sentry work in the Aleutian Brutus enjoyed six more years Islands. of civilian life. Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Serving Uncle Sam 77 VICTORY!: Joy, sadness, and 200 tons of paper The Allies defeated the Axis powers in 1945. Germany surrendered on May 7, Japan on August 14. Euphoria swept over Cincinnati and the nation. War's death and suffering had finally ended. Celebrants remembered the American men and women who had died to win the peace, and some worried about the future. Germany's surrender in May brought a crowd of teenagers and servicemen to Cincinnati's Fountain Square, singing and shouting; an evening celebration included working adults. • '•^BPf 1^ t .""" "' —• .^WE—i— __Z^*»" ~ V But V-Day was V-E day — Victory in Europe. I |91i |j|i \ Japan had not surrendered. The U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan on August 6 and 9; President Harry S Truman announced the end of hostilities with that nation at 6:02 p.m., Tuesday August 14, 1945. • Peace — at last! A crowd of 15,000 gathered at Fountain Square, blowing horns, singing, and shouting, under a \ shower of paper tossed from office windows above. City • m cleaning crews collected an estimated 200 tons of paper that •"^•^•8882m night. Thousands attended services at churches and synagogues. The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote, ". . . our thoughts are not centered upon the exulting crowd .... Instead, they turn to the men who have nothing to say, the men who are asleep forever in the soil of a hundred far-off places, on Tarawa and Guadalcanal ... in Normandy and Tunisia, at Casino and Aachen . . . ." Economic concerns for the post-war world troubled many Cincinnatians. Government contracts were cancelled. Could returning veterans find jobs? Would this dearly-won peace bring better times that would last? Spring 1991 Cincinnati Goes to War: Serving Uncle Sam 79 The Allied and Axis forces World War II memorials suffered 17 million deaths; generally rejected heroic or United States forces recorded romantic themes. Instead, 407,000 casualties, and some communities and institutions 2,300 of these men and recorded the names of "their women came from Hamilton own" who were in the County. Greater Cincinnati's military. memorials did not commemorate the battles, but honored the husbands and fathers, sons and daughters who had served their country. 80 The Cincinnati Historical Society is pleased to recognize The Cincinnati Historical Society expresses the following individuals, firms, and institutions that its thanks and appreciation to the following individuals, worked together to create the exhibit: firms, and institutions that contributed to the exhibit: Principal Staff Adjunct Staff Oral Interviewees Betty Ann Smiddy Francis L. Apple John Steinle Ferd R. Avril E.A. Stenger Ruby Rogers Peter J. Bahra Theodore M. Berry John J. and Joan Strader Coordinator Linda J. Bailey Ruth D. Boenke Tokheim Pump Co. Joan K. Bollenbacher Truck Cab Manufacturers Geoffrey J. Giglierano Laura L. Chace Rosemary E. Burke United States Air Force Museum Historian Jim Coomer Dorothy L. Chatman United States Army Center of Deborah A. Overmyer Barbara J. Dawson Jim Coomer Military History Joyce A. Craig U.S. Playing Card Co. Historian Jonathan Dembo William H. Craig U.S. Shoe Co. David C. Conzett Charlotte Flanagan John F. Cronin Robert F. Whitehead Robert E. Cunningham The Charles Wolever family Curator Scott L. Gampfer Robert Doepke Wooden Nickel Antiques Jack Scally Courtney Hess Brent R. Finch WVXU Philip R. Finkelmeier Gibson R. Yungblut Photographer Bronwen M. Howells Irma A. Frey Mark Yungblut Robert E. Miller Judy Hutchinson Theodore H. Gardner Adjunct Historian Jerry Raisor Richard E. Guggenheim Aeronca Restoration Thomas C. Griffin Aeronca, Inc. Susan Redman-Rengstorf Gene Iglauer Air Mod., Inc. Karen Regina Wilbur D. Jones Ed and Bernadine Alderfer Sachiko Kariya Bud Baldwin Sylvia W. Reid Takashi Kariya Wally Baldwin Gregory L. Rhodes Arthur G. King Ernie Buckles John H. Leahr Jeff B. Sheppard Crown Metro Aerospace Coatings, Inc. Herman A. Lipps Dayton Plastics Co. Daniel L. Wolverton Patrick Loving Bill Deaton M. Eileen Lutz James Elizer Fred Morioka Catherine DiDanato Robert Nelsen Phillip Eckhart Advisors William L. Nimmo James Elizier Julie Norton Carl Fry Benny T. Okura Fry Steel Roger Daniels, History Department, University of Cincinnati Jo Okura Louis Gaston Allan M. Winkler, History Department, Miami University Herbert Pastor Emmett Grainier Charles A. Pierson Hartzell Propellers Robert Schletker Ron Hollen Oscar Schmidt Helen Hollenbaugh Dorothy Schotts Robert Hollenbaugh Design Craftsmen, Inc., Midland, Michigan, designed, fabricated S. Arthur Spiegel John Houser and installed the exhibit Bobbie Sterne Harry Hutton James M. Takeuchi Paul Kurtz W. Arthur Theobald Charles Morgan Frances Tojo David Morgan The following provided photographs: Masagi S. Toki Casimer Porowski Ernest Van Lloyd Harry Pratt Samuel B. Ward David Pike Sidney Weil Frederick M. Bauer Cub and Kathy Stewart Robert F. Whitehead Stits Aircraft Coatings The Cincinnati Area Chapter, American Red Cross Barron E. Wilson Ray Stits Charles Wolever The Cincinnati Enquirer Ernie Streifthau Mary Wolever The Cincinnati Historical Society, Photographs Department Chester Trent Waynesville Airport The Cincinnati Historical Society, Manuscripts Department Contributors Weber Manufacturing The Cincinnati Post Bauman Communications Richard E. Weber Edwin B. Dooley, Jr. Eric Bevins Howard Wells Charles Bond Williams Co. The National Archives and Records Administration Richard Camp Kathy Wilson The Procter & Gamble Company Carlisle & Finch Co. Dennis Wolter Cincinnati Air Conditioning Co. Experimental Aircraft Assn., The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Cincinnati Chapter, Japanese Southwest Ohio Chapter United States Air Force American Citizens' League United States Army Cincinnati Park Board Machine Tool Restoration Cincinnati Time Corp. Rudy Schneider, coordinator United States Coast Guard Coca-Cola Bottling Group, Inc., George Allendorf United States Marine Corps Confederate Air Force Museum Arthur Baumann Edwin P. Dooley, Jr. Cincinnati Milacron United States Navy 82nd Airborne Museum, Ft. Bragg James Geier Dover/OPW Corp. Charles Weisbrod Hillshire Farm & Kahn's Co. Alan E. Hoeweler Streetcar Restoration Dan Janquitto John C. Niehaus, coordinator Mark Magistrelli Besl Transfer Co. William Myers Cincinnati Transit Historical Assn. National Scouting Museum Gary Skora Orion 7 Firearms Co. Southwest Ohio Regional Osborne Coinage Transportation Authority William Powell Co. Martha P. Rowe