Lottie's Photos: World War II, 1939 - 1945

Dad's brother Bert on the right, 1943

My father did not serve in the military during World War II but that does not mean our family was not impacted by the war. It is not something that our parents talked about – at least not during my lifetime which began five years after the war ended. Now, as I read Mom’s diaries, I am learning about the many ways that the war did impact them very directly and I can imagine that it would have been a stressful and frightening time. 

The war began in Europe in 1939 but Mom commented on the war very little prior to the bombing at Pearl Harbor. She made a couple of comments about Gramma Pattillo being concerned that Bert would be drafted but otherwise the war was not something she wrote about.

Then Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. On that day she wrote, “Today is a day that none of us will ever forget. Japan declared war on the United States. Over 300 were killed in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Two British ships The Repulse and Prince of Wales were sunk. We had dinner with Ed’s folks and had the radio on all afternoon listening to news reports. It made me so upset that finally I got Ed to take me to the show. Ma went too, but Pop stayed home and listened to the radio. The show was empty. Everyone was home listening to war reports.” 

The next day she went shopping in San Francisco with her mother and wrote that all the Japanese-owned shops were closed. There was a blackout that day and 30 Japanese warplanes flew over San Francisco. “Everyone is frightened.” 

On December 9th she wrote that her father did not get home from work until after 8:00 PM because he got caught in a blackout and traffic was stopped for 45 minutes. Over 1500 Americans had been killed, and the government was asking citizens to stay home at night, keep their lights off, and have sandbags and buckets of water handy in case of fires. Hundreds of people had quit their jobs so they could enlist. 

Mom even signed up for civil defense work but as far as she wrote she never actually did any, whereas Grandma Pattillo did volunteer work by folding bandages at the Oakland Army Base. Mom went Christmas shopping on December 10th but all the stores closed at 4:45 because of the danger of air raids. Then on December 12th she wrote about a blackout that lasted two and a half hours, so she and dad just went to bed early. 

Food rationing was another way they were directly impacted. Mom frequently commented on the difficulty of getting meat, butter and sugar. In March of 1943 she wrote, “we are allowed sixteen pounds per week of meat, cheese, oil and fat, plus 1 pound of round steak and one pound of butter.” Not only was the quantity of meat limited but the quality was also reduced. She noted that things got worse when her favorite butcher was drafted. Coffee was rationed and they were only allotted four gallons of gasoline per week.

During the war people were encouraged to plant Victory Gardens to help compensate for food shortages. Mom and Dad always had a garden and mom was doing a lot of canning of what they produced but finding enough sugar for fruit canning was a challenge. Dad was growing corn, carrots, beets, spinach, squash, cucumbers, cauliflower, tomatoes, lettuce, cantaloupe, beans, watermelon and parsley in his garden. 

The threat of Dad being drafted was a constant and kept changing throughout the course of the war. On January 3, 1944 he was notified by the draft board that his status was rated 1A. That was eleven days before Kathy was christened so he had a wife and two young children, which worked to his benefit. On February 18th they learned that he had passed his military physical and was told he would likely be called up in 21 to 90 days. Mom must have been worried sick. It was at this point that Dad started to teach mom to drive so she would be able to take care of things if he had to leave. 

Dad applied for a deferment but in April he learned that his application was denied. To avoid being drafted he had to find work in the defense industry, so for a short time in April of 1940 he worked with his father-in-law at Union Iron Works in Oakland. Dad liked the work and tried to join the union but the union bosses would not let him join, so Dad was forced to find work elsewhere. During this time, he worked for several different trucking companies delivering gasoline. 

Their anxiety would have been compounded as their friend's and Dad’s brother Bert were drafted or enlisted. Bert quit a job he didn’t like and to avoid being drafted he signed up for the Seabees. Mom has a few photos in her album that Bert sent home like the one above taken in 1943. Cliff Gossett and Harold Mohr, two of their closest friends, both enlisted in the Marines and coincidentally were shipped out, to San Diego for training, on the same day – May 22, 1944. The two of them fought in a battle in Okinawa. That same day in May, Dad’s draft status was changed to 2A until November 26th, so they had a six-month reprieve. Fortunately, six months later he got another deferment. Then in April of 1945 he was again notified that his status was 1A. This time he applied for a deferment based on his job at Union Iron Works. 

Marge’s brother-in-law Kenny Philbrick was sent to England for his service leaving his wife Mary and Marge to help with the milk delivery service he worked for. Ernie Moore escaped the draft when he was labeled 4F for having flat feet. 

In July Bert was transferred to Camp Hueneme which was near Los Angeles. Later he was sent to Rhode Island and Marge flew there to see him. In October he was home on leave and then he was sent to Hawaii, and then in March of 1945 he was sent to Guam. 

The Germans surrendered on May 8, 1945. That same day Dad’s latest deferment request was denied. The following month their very close friend Harold Mohr was injured during combat. A bullet hit him in the neck. Initially, he could only speak in a whisper and for the rest of his life he had a unique gravelly voice. Harold was transferred to Mare Island and for a time and he and Mickey lived together in a Quonset hut on the base. 

In August of 1945 she wrote that, “gas rationing ended, blue points were withdrawn, red points were lowered and lots of priorities and rules were changed.” In September their friend Cliff Gossett was sent to China but he was back in San Diego by December. Jessie left her newborn son Clifford with mom for a few days so she could go see Cliff. At the same time, Marge was looking for an apartment to rent in Alameda anticipating Bert being released soon. Bert and Cliff both got home on December 11, 1945, and everyone’s lives began to go back to normal.