Though the year is never clearly stated, we know from context clues that Eddie served in World War II. First, at one point he mentions that, during the Great Depression, Ruby Pier was not able to have roller coasters because they were too expensive. If Eddie was growing up during the Depression, then all signs point to him serving in World War II. Additionally, chapter 5 tells the reader about when Eddie and a group of his comrades were held captive in the Philippines, which was the site of heavy fighting in the Pacific theatre of World War II. The US controlled the islands at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, and fighting between combined US-Filipino forces and the Japanese began shortly thereafter.