Column

Waiting! Waiting! Waiting!

For those on the home front during World War II, it was a time when personal lives were put on hold. We waited for the postman to bring V-Mail from those serving our county. We waited for draft notices telling family and friends to report for duty. We waited for the Marion Star each evening. Would it carry an item on the death of someone we knew, or of another defeat or victory? What new schedule of rationing points would the OPA announce? (OPA" was the powerful "Office of Price Administration" that controlled our lives.) We clipped the schedule of rationing stamp expiration dates: "Red stamps QRSTU through August 3, VWXYZ through September 30, etc." 

As the draft continued, more and more friends were serving overseas. Since we had no boys in our family to serve, my sister, Mary Hemmerly, volunteered for the Women's Army Air Corps. My dad, Ray Hemmerly, was in his fifties and too old for the draft, but he served as an Air Raid Warden in our neighborhood. He was among the 500 who patrolled the streets when mock alerts sounded. Any sliver of light showing would bring a knock at your door, and an order to correct the infraction. In those early years of the war, invasion seemed a real threat. 

When Ethel Blake came to pick up tomatoes for canning-surplus from our Victory Garden-she mentioned the worker shortage had hit Blake's Florist, and offered me a job. I was delighted to have the opportunity at 40 cents an hour. The day before Christmas we reported to work at 4:00 A.M. to pack roses to fill the orders received from our military who had placed orders at $4.00 a dozen at bases around the world. 
About this time my friend, Mary Burtch Johnston, was working at the Scioto Ordnance 
Plant, making $1.00 an hour. Since all work there was hush-hush, it wasn't until years later that I learned she, and the other workers, were putting their lives on line, and they earned every cent they were paid. 

The lives of about 100 farm families had been disrupted when they were forced by the government to vacate their land for the building of this war plant on 12,000 acres northeast of Marion. The Marion Engineer Marion Engineer Depot was built east of Marion about the same time. This brought an influx of workers into Marion, and a housing shortage developed. We converted our second floor into an apartment that was quickly rented.

Rationing, recycling, war bond drives, long working days-all these became a part of our everyday lives. We strained grease through cloth into cans, we piled up newspapers for scrap drives, we limited our driving to match our gasoline stamps, we hoarded ration points to have enough sugar for Christmas cookies. 
By May of 1945 the war was over in Europe. Hitler's suicide ended his infamous career. The revelations of the concentration camps horrified us. Some troops headed for reassignment to the Pacific Theater. 

But much of the waiting would over-sooner than we expected. General MacArthur and his troops landed on Okinawa in June. Our three top military leaders warned Japan that the invasion of the main islands was coming, and that utter destruction was the only alternative to surrender.

On August 6, electrifying news broke. An atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by an Army Air Force plane! Lowell Thomas began his 7:00 P.M. radio broadcast by saying, "The Atomic Age has begun." We learned that the plane, "Enola Gay," had dropped a "devastating new bomb equal to 20,000 tons of TNT," and that the pilot and crew had returned to base safely. This was our answer to Japan's refusal to surrender.

After the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, three days after the first one, Japan surrendered on August 14. We breathed a sigh of relief, and took to the streets to share our emotions. Churches opened their doors for services of thanksgiving. We hugged strangers, and a parade formed. Workers at the Scioto Ordnance Plant left their posts, and gathered at Hotel Harding to celebrate. The Benevolent Order of Eagles, in a full-page ad in the Star, spoke for all of us with, "Thank God It's Over." 

The postwar period began immediately. Factories planned for conversion. Rationing was eased. Carl Rieff at the Scioto Ordnance Plant announced that all war contracts had been canceled and most of the 1,347 workers had been released. Many workers, who had come to Marion to take war jobs, chose to stay in Marion rather than to return to their southern homes. Many of the 500 women who were expected to resume household duties chose, instead, to look for new jobs. 

All the manufacturing plants in Marion had been involved in producing war materials. Now they announced reduction of hours from 50 and 60 hours a week to 40 or 45. The Huber Manufacturing Company continued the construction of their new 220x 400' plant along George Street. 

Controls were lifted on manufacture of 210 items. Once again we could shop for radios, refrigerators, trucks, electric fans and ranges.
Troops from Europe had been pouring back to the States all summer long, with transports debarking troops in Boston, New York and Newport News, Virginia.. On August 29, American and British troops came ashore at Yokashuka Naval Base, and General MacArthur and 7,500 airborne troops landed near Tokyo at Atsugi Airfield. He reported, "the occupation goes splendidly.".
We breathed a sigh of relief, and resumed more normal activities. Seven thousand of us attended the Marion County Fair. Nobil's Shoe store ad proclaimed "OPA Release #10. Women's and Men's shoes, $3.50 and $2.99. No coupon needed." 

Even though the draft continued, already seven million servicemen and women were scheduled for release. At first, 85 "points" were needed for release, and the weekly announcement of a lower figure was eagerly compared to the number of points our family and friends in the military had accumulated. 

We mourned for the nearly 170 Marionites who had given their lives. Without all the sacrifices during World War II-and vigilance that continues today-our lives would be much different.

Trella Romine
A Marion native, and a founding member of the Marion County Historical Society, Trella has authored or edited a number of books and articles on Marion County history. She has served on the board of The Marion County Historical Society since 1970, and was on the board of the Ohio Association of Historical Societies for ten years.