Complete text of "Sheril Jankovsky Cunning"

Published in The Homefront: America during World War II.

Published in 1984.

"My father was the block air raid warden. I'll never forget the fear I felt as he went out during air raid alerts and left the family huddled in the hallway."

Sheril Cunning lived in Long Beach, California, during World War II (1939–45). Long Beach was a prosperous, middle-class community. When the United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, the town's casual, sunny disposition changed dramatically. Sheril, seven years old, saw the warm beaches where she played immediately blocked off; huge antiaircraft guns blocked her view of the water. Following civil defense recommendations, Sheril's mother put up heavy blackout curtains that prevented light from escaping from the house during air raid drills. The family had various plans to avoid harm in...