American Home Front WWII Primary Sources | Through a Youngster's Eyes

• Sheril Jankovsky Cunning
• Mike Royko

Like their parents, children were totally caught up in the news and activities of wartime America. When they played, they played war games; their heroes were fathers, uncles, and brothers serving in the military; their group and club activities involved collecting scrap metal, rubber, and paper, which were recycled for the war industries, and raising money to buy war stamps and bonds. They imitated their parents by planting their own victory garden row and putting together care packages to send to overseas soldiers and European children orphaned by the war. They were very quiet during air raids, obeying all their parents' instructions. They secretly feared that invaders might appear at their door. Many children...