[Dixielandjazz] PBS series "The War"

[Don Kirkman]

On Tue, 2 Oct 2007 17:52:38 +0100, pat ladd wrote:

>very intrigued by the Burns `War`. A mate in Maryland has already given me a 
>head up. I hope that we get it over here soon, it sounds pretty well done.

>I am puzzled by the references to blackouts, rationing etc etc. All the 
>stuff which I have read by our servicemen who were sent to Canada for 
>training and to the US  to try and pass on battle experience to US fliers in 
>training have all talked of the shock of being in a country where the lights 
>shone brightly and food and drink were in good supply.

It probably varied by region.  I was in high school then so don't know
many details, but I think inland there generally may not have been
blackouts.  I lived in inland California and we weren't particularly
dark at night.

>What were the blackouts and the searchlights for?  No one had an airplane 
>that could reach the US. OK the Japs floated some balloons with incendiaries 
>on across the Pacific and the Germans were experimenting with an up graded 
>V2 with a piloted section which in theory could have reached the Atlantic 
>seabord, but it came to nothing.

There was a lot of hysteria and uncertainty for the first several months
after Pearl Harbor.  Some Japanese submarines actually fired on targets
on the California coast (with almost no damage) and rumors led even the
military to expect air raids and Japanese navy attacks along the
California coastline.  This resulted in a one night "Lost Angeles air
raid" when many rounds of AA shells were fired at what was supposedly
attacking planes.  I think the final guess was that the threat was one
or more of our own anti-air balloons.  There almost certainly are Google
hits for anyone interested in pursuing this.

>The U boats lurking off the US coast were targeting US coastal traffic by 
>lining the cargo boats up against the brightly lit shore line.

The U-boats also landed some small number of (incompetent) German agents
on the Atlantic coast, most of whom were quickly rounded up.

>What was the extent of the rationing? Any idea what quantities were 
>involved?

Items included rubber objects (tires, especially), motor fuel, butter,
sugar, meat.  Used kitchen fats were recycled to make explosives
ingredients, and scrap metal, especially aluminum, was turned in for
recycling.

I don't recall the quantities of rationed items, but they may have
varied as the war moved on.
-- 
Don Kirkman