-The electronic field trip, "We're All In This Together:
How Students Like You Helped Win WWII,"
is a production partnership of WYES
New Orleans Public Television
and the National World War II Museum,
made possible in part by the Selley Foundation.
-December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.
-President Franklin Roosevelt tells the nation
that they are at war after the Japanese bomb
American warships at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii,
bringing the United States into World War II,
fighting both Japan in the Pacific
and Germany and its allies in Europe.
16 million Americans fought in the war,
but more than 100 million,
over 80% of America's population at the time,
helped in the war effort at home as civilians,
and that includes the children of America.
In this electronic field trip,
we'll learn how kids just like you
helped the United States win the war
'cause they realize that we're all in this together.
Welcome to our electronic field trip
from the National World War II Museum
in downtown New Orleans, Louisiana.
I'm Tom Gregory.
During this field trip, we're going to learn
what kids your age did to help America win World War II,
and we want to hear from you.
You can e-mail questions to fieldtrips@wyes.org,
and we also invite you to answer some questions
by taking part in our live polls.
First, you have to sign up.
Text wyesfieldtri069 to 22333 to join
or you can play right along on your computer.
Just scroll down, and you'll see the poll questions.
Just follow the instructions during the poll questions
to participate.
You know, young people your age
did have a role in the war effort
even though they were at home and in school.
During World War II, we were all in this together,
working hard to preserve our freedom.
School yearbooks are not only a place
for friends' signatures and well-wishes.
They're a place for history.
Yearbooks from the war years, 1941 through 1945,
give us an idea of how students took part in the war effort.
They helped by saving materials
that were needed by soldiers on the war front,
like metal for weapons and ammunition,
or by eating less of the things they really enjoyed, like candy,
because sugar was in short supply.
The stories of how Americans all came together
during World War II are told in exhibits
at the National World War II Museum.
Helping us learn more about these stories
are our student reporters,
Caroline, Chris, Eliana, and Miguel.
They're going to take us on an adventure through time
with the help of museum historians
and also some very special folks
who know firsthand what it was like
to be a kid during World War II.
Let's join Eliana, Chris, and Miguel
as they start their museum adventure.
-Hey, guys. My name is Chrissy Gregg,
and I'm the virtual classroom coordinator here
at the National World War II Museum.
What I do here is I actually connect with students like you
but from all across the globe.
I use different kinds of technology
to really share with them the lessons of World War II,
but you guys are lucky enough to here today in person.
-It's really neat that we have the museum in our backyard.
Why is the World War II Museum in New Orleans?
-That's a great question.
It's actually because of this boat here, the Higgins boat.
-Higgins boat? What's that?
-The Higgins boat was an important vessel
during World War II that took our soldiers
and our Marines to enemy beaches.
They were built here by Higgins Industries.
Over 12,500 of these boats were built.
If you guys take a look at this boat right now,
what do you think makes it different than,
let's say, I don't know,
a speedboat or a fishing boat, something like that?
-Well, it's got a ramp on the front of it.
-You are exactly right.
It does have a ramp.
Why would you want a ramp on a boat?
-Well, it would be easier to get on and off of the boat
than having to hop off the side of it.
-Exactly.
That is really critical to its design.
So when soldiers would land on those beaches,
they could unload the boat within seconds.
It was a design by Andrew Higgins
right here at Higgins Industries
in New Orleans.
-Were they important? -My gosh, yes.
General Dwight Eisenhower, who later became
President of the United States, said,
"Boats like these won the war for us."
But you know what?
That's a story for another time.
I'm getting ahead of myself.
Let's go into the vault
where most of the museum's collection is held
and learn a little bit more about history
and the study of World War II.
All right, guys.
Right now we are in the museum's vault,
where we house some of the museum's
160,000 artifacts we have in our collection.
Just a little bit of those are actually on view here
at the museum.
Now, being in a museum that's totally dedicated to history,
and you all study history for years and years in school,
we all know that history is important, right?
But why is it important?
-So we learn from our mistakes and we don't repeat them.
-But also to learn from the good things
that happened in the past so we can repeat them.
-History also shows how much has happened over the years.
-Yeah, and I think you guys are all correct on that,
but I'm going to add one more point.
History is full of the best stories ever told,
and on whatever topic that you really enjoy,
whether it's art, music, war, sports,
movies, science -- you name it,
there is a history of that certain topic,
and if you research it and study it and learn all about it,
it'll enhance your enjoyment of that topic.
Another question for you all.
So, we know history is important,
but what is history, exactly?
-Oh, history is what had happened in the past.
-So what you ate for breakfast, is that history?
-Well... -No.
-Yeah, I know. That's a tough one, right?
So, history actually is not just the past.
It's the study of the past.
If no one writes about it or researches or studies it,
then it's just the past.
It's not history, technically.
One more kind of tough question for you all.
So, you know, we use different kinds of materials
to discover the past.
What kind of materials could those be
to learn all about the past?
-Well, like all the stuff you have here in the vault.
-Yeah, exactly. Okay.
So all this stuff, whether it's letters or manuscripts, diaries,
uniforms, we've got leather saddles above us --
all of these kinds of things, yes.
What do we call those things in school?
-Primary sources. -Yeah!
You got it, primary sources.
What are primary sources?
What do they do?
-Well, they're certain things that were created in the past
that we use to study.
-Exactly. Primary sources help enhance our understanding
of that certain time period of an event in the past.
Now, here's kind of a cool thing.
Sometimes the best primary sources are living people.
-People can be primary sources?
-Yeah. People can be primary sources.
If they witnessed or experienced an event in history
and tell about it, yeah,
that's definitely a primary source.
And since World War II,
in the grand scheme of things, wasn't that long ago in history,
you know, 70, 75 years ago,
sometimes, as I said,
the best primary sources are the people who lived them,
and they're still alive today.
And, actually, I have a mission for you all related to that.
What you're going to be doing today is going
throughout the museum,
learning about the lives of students during World War II,
how students were affected by the war
and how they helped out on the home front.
But the thing is, you won't be going at it alone.
You'll be going with a museum volunteer
who was actually a kid during World War II,
and they'll be leading you through,
giving you guys insights on what life was like for them,
and so they're your first primary source,
and you're going to encounter many more as you go through.
So you guys ready to go? -Yeah!
-All right, Let's go!
-I'm now joined here with Kenneth Hoffman.
He's the Director of Education
at the National World War II Museum.
Kenneth, history books are filled with stories
of presidents, generals, and adults.
Did kids have a part in history?
-Kids absolutely have a part in history,
which is why I'm really glad that all you kids out there
and your teachers are watching today.
Now, at the National World War II Museum,
we tell one of the biggest stories in history,
the biggest war in history, World War II,
and it was a story that affected everybody, old and young alike.
So kids definitely played a part in World War II.
-Kids helped the outcome?
-Kids helped the outcome, and that's what we're going to see.
We're sending our four student reporters through the museum
with people who were kids during the war
to hear those stories firsthand.
-Kids are part of history.
They're a part of this broadcast, too.
Before our student reporters head off
to different parts of the museum
to meet up with their special tour guides,
we have a question for you.
How often do you learn about children your age
in social studies class?
A, never, B, not very often, C, often, D, all the time.
Text your answer -- A for "never," B for "not very often,"
C for "often," and D for "all the time," to 22333.
You can also answer on your computer.
We'll check to see how you responded
in just a little while.
But now it's time to catch up with Chris,
who is in the home front gallery with a very special guest.
-One exhibit at the National World War II Museum
is all about the home front.
It explains how the people who were home in America
during the war, including kids,
kept informed about the war
and about how they could do things
to help in the war effort.
Museum volunteer Joyce Dunn was in elementary school
when the war started.
-When the Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor,
America was suddenly at war.
What do you remember about that day?
-Oh, I remember it so much.
My mother had the radio on, and I'll never forget that day
when she looked and said,
"We're at war. Pearl Harbor has been bombed."
She told us, that that was part of America that was bombed.
-During World War II,
42 million kids were on home front.
What was it like for kids back then?
-Well, one thing we did was we could write our relatives
who were in the war,
and I can remember vividly writing
these V-mails to my uncle
and also to my cousin,
and that meant a lot to them,
that they would receive mail from us.
-When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor,
I understand that everything changed.
What type of things changed?
-Quite a bit changed.
First of all, the food we could eat,
everything was rationed.
My mother would have to have --
go get a ration book, and that was the main concern,
about the food and the ration.
-Everything changed, including pennies, as I see here.
Instead of copper pennies, back then, you used steel pennies.
-That's right, because copper was really needed,
a commodity for the war, because it was used for wiring.
It conducts electricity, and it was very important.
So copper was no longer used in 1943.
The government found a way to use steel pennies.
You see right here?
I have a steel penny, and if you notice, it's magnetic,
and if we had a copper penny,
I could show you that it wouldn't be magnetic.
-I have a copper penny right here.
-Yes. You see?
Okay.
And then if you see, if you try and use it, it doesn't stick
because it is not magnetic like the steel,
and that is the reason why, in 1943,
the government changed to the steel penny
in order to save the copper.
-During World War II,
I understand that there was no TV, no Internet,
no video games.
So what did you use to get all your information?
-Well, first of all,
we used the newsreel at the movie theater,
but also they had war posters all around.
They called them propaganda posters,
and these posters were made to unite us.
-Because so much equipment had to be made and so many men
who worked in the factories were now fighting in the war,
the government called on women to take their place.
They were given a special nickname.
What about the famous propaganda poster about Rosie the Riveter?
-Well, you see, during the war, the men went off,
and so they needed someone to service
and make the tanks and make everything,
and so what happened, the women went to war at home,
and it was known as Rosie the Riveter.
-This little girl looks like she would be the same age
as you during World War II, Ms. Joyce.
Why does she have a teapot, a bicycle tire, and shoes?
-The reason why, we were scrapping during the war.
You'll notice rubber from the shoes,
and all these things were sent to help the war.
There was also fat.
When you fry bacon or other things,
the fat would go in here.
Your mom or your dad would take this to the butcher,
and then they would send it to a certain place,
and they would use it for glycerin
or nitroglycerin later on.
So this was very important, the fats during the war,
because they were used very much for ammunition.
-Bacon fat was used to make bombs?
-Absolutely.
Isn't that strange?
But it was a very important part of the home front.
These are the things we did to help the war.
-Another way to help out was buying war stamps?
-Oh, yes.
This was very important during the war.
-How do these stamps work?
-Well, Chris, this is how it did.
This is a war bond book.
For 10 cents, you would fill in every blank,
and when the pages were filled,
it was $18.70, and then you would turn it in,
and you would get a $25 war bond.
The savings bond was so essential
because just think of all the tanks,
the airplanes, everything that was needed during the war,
and so how was it -- how did we get the money?
War bonds.
All the money that was collected from these bonds were used
so that we could fight the war and win.
-Thanks, Mrs. Joyce.
You've helped us all understand
how even folks on the home front,
including kids like me,
helped win the war and how we were all in this together.
-Well, Chris, it's been my pleasure,
and I think it's very important that children of your age
remember how it was in those early days,
because that was the war that really changed the 20th century,
and here we are, free,
and a lot of men and women died for our freedom,
so we should always remember that.
-I'm back here with Kenneth Hoffman,
Director of Education at the National World War II Museum.
Kenneth, breakfast to bombs?
They took bacon grease and turned it into nitroglycerin?
How does that happen?
-This was something that kids definitely participated in.
In the kitchen of most Americans,
maybe almost all Americans,
they would have something like this, a little grease can,
and you would pour the grease
from your frying pan
into the grease can,
and this filter would get all the little bits of meat out,
and the grease would go in here.
After a while, when it was all filled,
you would bring this to school on fat-collecting day.
-Fat-collecting day. -Absolutely.
And then they would put it all in a big barrel,
send it off to a factory,
melt it down and take out the chemicals.
Glycerin was the main chemical they would take out,
and then they could turn that into nitroglycerin.
-And that's turns into... -That's an explosive,
and so you could use that for bombs.
-Another thing that Ms. Joyce talked about was V-mail.
We know what electronic mail is, e-mail.
What does V-mail stand for?
-Well, V-mail -- you saw the letter V
all over the place during World War II.
What do you guys think V stood for?
Victory because we wanted to win the war,
and so we didn't have cellphones back then.
We didn't have the Internet.
So people wrote letters and sent them in the mail.
-Handwritten letters.
-Handwritten letters, and if you wanted to send a letter
to someone overseas
or they wanted to send a letter to you,
first, you would write it on a regular piece of paper.
Then they would take a picture of it,
and they would take a picture of all the letters
so that on one small roll of film,
they could have thousands of letters.
They would send that across the ocean,
and then they would develop the film
into a little picture of the letter,
and this is V-mail.
-So they actually shrunk the letter.
-They shrunk it down.
You would need a magnifying glass to read this,
but it was a way to communicate across the whole world
much better than regular mail.
They were very creative
in how they wrote letters to each other.
-Because they didn't have texts like we do.
So let's take a look at how you are texting us.
Let's take a look at your answers to the poll questions.
How often do you learn about children your age
in social studies class?
71% of you said, "Not very often."
14% said, "Never."
Well, that has all changed today, hasn't it?
Since we're talking about what kids did
to help win the war during World War II.
We have a question right now from one of our viewers.
"Was Rosie the Riveter an actual person?"
This is from the Micro School students
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
-Awesome.
Well, it is wonderful to get a question like that,
and the answer is,
Rosie the Riveter was not an actual woman.
She was all women who went to work in factories
during World War II
to help build the tanks and the planes
and some of the things you see around the museum,
but you're going to hear more about
that a little later in the program.
-We'll find out more about Rosie.
We'll also have another question for you in a few minutes.
And remember to e-mail
us your questions at fieldtrips@wyes.org.
But now we're going to the victory garden
here at the museum to meet up with Eliana
and museum volunteer Ronnie Abboud.
-Growing our own vegetables and herbs is a healthy thing to do,
but it also tastes fresher, and it's fun.
But during the war, people grew their own gardens,
which they called victory gardens,
not only for fresh food
but also to make up for food shortages.
Americans planted more than 20 million victory gardens
across the country.
These gardens produced 40% of the vegetables grown
in the U.S. during the war years.
In 1944 alone, the vegetables grown in victory gardens
weighed more than 8 million tons.
Growing food at home meant there was more food available
to send to our troops overseas.
It's estimated that an army of 1 million men
consumed than a million pounds of food every day.
I'm here at the museum victory garden
with Ronnie Abboud, who was a kid during World War II.
Now, I know so many servicemen and women
were sent food during the war,
and so I guess there was less on the grocery shelves,
so how did everyone get their fair share of food?
-Well, there was rationing.
There was a thing called a rationing book.
In addition to that, we had a victory garden,
where you grew your own fruits and vegetables
in the backyard or on the side of the house.
That was pretty common in the neighborhood,
but with the ration book, when you went to the store
to buy an item that was limited or rationed,
you had to have a coupon,
and you'd pay the regular item for the price at the grocer,
but then you had to give the grocer a stamp
out of the coupon book itself, and you had to be very careful
because if you used up all your coupons,
if you weren't careful over the month how you used them,
you'd run out of them,
and then you couldn't get any more items
until the next month.
-So did everyone get -- every American get one, even kids?
-Even kids?
Absolutely even kids.
-So was every single food rationed?
-Not every food, but a lot of foods were.
For example, sugar was very valuable, a sugar coupon,
but even if you didn't have a coupon book,
there were limitations
on what you could get in the neighborhood.
-Like you said, you also had your victory garden.
-Yes.
-So you even had your own food at home,
so I guess that made things a little easier.
-Well, it did help, because my mom,
in particular, nurtured over the garden,
making sure that everything was cared for and taken,
and then when it came time to pick the fruits
and the vegetables, we did eat, brought them inside.
And in addition to that, we had a couple of chickens,
and so we had a couple of eggs on occasion,
and we also had a pet duck.
I had a pet duck.
His name was Herbie, and at one point,
my dad said the duck ran away,
and I never could figure that out,
but I think my dad maybe wasn't being 100% truthful.
-[ Laughs ] Maybe not.
-Why do you think there were some limitations
on some things?
For example, tomatoes, some of them were canned,
some of them were not.
Fresh tomatoes were okay, but canned goods were limited.
Why do you think that was?
-Well, I know that canned goods last longer
so you could actually send those overseas
to all the people that were fighting.
-And it was a heck of a lot of people.
16 million men put on the uniform of the United States,
hundreds of thousands of women also went into military service,
so there was a lot of people that had to be fed
and clothed and taken care of.
-So did you start your garden before the war
or during the war?
-To my memory, we did not start it before the war.
After the morning of December the 7th,
after Pearl Harbor,
I can remember my mother cutting up the grass in the backyard
and digging a trench,
and my dad also helping,
and at the same time, she started planting seeds,
and I would go out there and help her weed the garden.
-Now, in my own garden, I focus more on herbs
and spices, things to flavor my food,
but in your garden, your goal was to feed a family.
-Oh, positively.
Well, it was an important part of the contribution
to the war effort.
You had to make sure that the more we could do at home,
the better we could do to serve our men and women overseas.
-Well, that sounds delicious. -It was a taste of victory.
-I bet it was.
Well, thank you so much, Mr. Ronnie,
for sharing your memories of your victory garden.
-Thank you.
-Kenneth, what foods were rationed,
and why were they rationed?
-Well, foods were rationed during the war
because there wasn't enough to go around.
That's why you needed to ration.
Some of the foods that were rationed --
meats were rationed, canned vegetables.
You heard Ronnie talking about how hard it is
to send a fresh tomato 7,000 miles across the ocean.
Sugar was rationed. -No, not sugar.
-Sugar was rationed, absolutely.
A lot of the sugar came from South America.
It had to come up by boat,
and there were German submarines in the Gulf of Mexico
that were sinking those ships.
-Wow. -So, yeah, sugar was rationed.
But they found ways to sweeten their food without sugar.
How do you think they did it?
-Honey. I'm going to guess honey.
-Honey is a way.
Also, molasses is another way.
-Molasses? -That's right.
So people were creative in finding substitutes.
-Were families going without food?
Were people hungry because of rationing?
-It was very important that everyone stayed very healthy.
The more you eat, the healthier you will be,
so you had to be healthy to win the war,
either to be a soldier or to go into the factories to work
or to be a kid
to help win the war effort in the way that kids did,
and we're going to hear more about that in just a minute.
-How did they use this ration book?
-Well, here's a ration book.
It was given to Joseph Parone, here in New Orleans.
He was 8 years old, and they probably gave this
to his mom or dad,
and inside are little stamps that you can tear out,
and when you would go to the grocery store, up on the shelf,
if there was a food that was rationed,
it would have a sign telling you how much it cost.
Let's say a can of tomatoes --
18 cents for a can of tomatoes back then --
but also 10 ration points.
So when you went to buy it,
you would give the grocer the money,
and you would have to tear out stamps out of your book.
-And you'd have to plan ahead. -That's right.
If you ran out of stamps by the end of the month,
you couldn't buy any more of those rationed foods
until you got your new ration book.
-Okay. Here's another question for you.
Lots of food were rationed or were unavailable
during World War II.
What food would you find the hardest to give up?
What food would be the hardest for you to give up?
A, chocolate, B, hamburgers, C, pizza, D, fruit.
Text A for chocolate, B for hamburgers,
C for pizza, or D for fruit, to 22333.
We'll check back in a little while to see what would be
the hardest for most of you to give up.
We're looking for your answers.
We have an answer for your question.
"Who is in charge of getting ration coupons to the people?"
That's from Country Day students.
-That's a great question.
Every town, every city would have ration boards,
people elected or chosen from the community,
to organize this great effort.
We had, you know, over 100 million people
who had to get one of these books every few months,
and so you would have to line up at a certain date
downtown in your town or city,
and you would sign for your book,
and they would hand it over to you,
and it says on the back, "Make sure not to lose it."
-Don't lose it.
All part of what was going on in the home front.
Here in the U.S. Freedom Pavilion,
the Boeing Center, where we are standing right now,
you can see the types of machines and equipment
used in the war -- tanks and trucks and planes --
and, of course, there were ships, too.
During the war, more than 300,000 planes were built.
More than 100,000 ships.
Tanks and armored vehicles numbered 100,000.
Vehicles of all kinds totaled 2 1/2 million.
and guess how many rounds of ammo were made?
41 billion.
That's "billion" with a "B."
Our reporter Miguel met up with museum Chair Jim Bryant
here in the pavilion to learn how all of this equipment
was built from materials that kids helped collect.
♪♪
-In the National WWII Museum's US Freedom Pavilion,
you can get a close-up look at the types of equipment
used in the war, like tanks and planes.
It took a lot of materials, like metal and rubber,
to make war vehicles, aircrafts, ships, and ammunition, too.
And kids during the war helped to collect the materials
that were needed to make ammunition and equipment.
Here with me is Mr. Jim Bryant, who has a kid
spent most of his time collecting materials
that could be used in the war.
-Well, there was a lot going on in the home front,
and it was all in support of our effort to win the war,
both in Europe and the Pacific.
One of the things that the entire country did,
was to gather scrap -- metal, tin --
and bring it and give it to the government,
and they would then take that and build wings
of some of these airplanes you see here,
or some of the tanks -- a lot of metal there.
So, to understand --
it was an effort not only from the men
that were in the uniform,
both in Europe and in the Pacific,
but every family back home.
-So, I've heard you say "scrapping" a few times.
What exactly does that mean?
-Scrapping means gathering all kinds of different things
and turning them into things
that could be used in the war effort.
-So scrapping is a lot like what we call "recycling."
-A little bit.
But it's using all the things that you find
and redoing things to make something like this gas mask.
One tire -- 12 gas masks.
-What about this big tank?
How much metal would be used for that?
-18 tons of steel to put that thing together.
-18 tons. That is a lot of metal.
So, you scrapped other things
besides metal and rubber, correct?
-Yes.
As a matter of fact, I can remember Mother,
when she'd finish cooking the bacon in the morning,
pouring the grease into a tin can.
And you can take grease -- that's what that was,
cooking grease -- and turning it into nitroglycerine.
-So, what did you exactly do with nitroglycerine?
-We made bombs out of it.
Big, strong, heavy bombs
that did awful lot of destruction.
-So, did everybody across the country scrap,
or what it just your neighborhood?
-No, everybody across the country scrapped.
I have a scrapbook here all about children scrapping.
It's about a boy named Billy Michal
from Zimmerman, Louisiana.
He went to school in a one-room schoolhouse
with only 11 other classmates.
Well, Billy was actually chosen to attend the launch
of a Liberty Ship here in New Orleans
to represent his tiny school that won
a statewide scrap contest.
So Billy traveled to New Orleans for the first time
and was treated to an inspection tour of the city
in a Jeep and see the SS Leonidas Polk launch.
-So Billy got into a Jeep just like this one?
-Yes. Why don't you give it a shot?
Hop in.
-Thank you so much for taking me to the museum.
It has been wonderful experiencing what a kid my age
would go through during the war.
-Thanks to you.
You're very welcome.
Come back to see us. It's a great, great museum.
-I'm now joined by -- with Kim Guise.
She is a curator here at the National WWII Museum.
Kim, first of all, you're wearing white gloves. Why?
-I am wearing white gloves, because here at the museum,
we collect and display historic artifacts,
and many times those are fragile and need special care,
so we wear white gloves to protect them.
-As you saw with Jim and Miguel,
a lot of scrapping going on that turned into
a lot of factory work.
Who was working in those factories
since a lot of men were out on the battlefronts?
-Well, the labor force really changed during World War II.
So, quite a few women went into new jobs,
new opportunities that opened up
in the factories. -Really?
So moms that possibly were stay-at-home --
that was the majority of the population back then.
Moms who were staying at home,
they ended up going to factories,
leaving their kids at home?
-Yes. Even some moms.
So, daycare programs were started
during World War II, and women worked
in different jobs and factories, as well.
-And they wore that... -And they often wore these.
So, this is a scarf right here that women wore,
not just as a fashion statement but to protect their hair.
So, long hair was a risk
when you were working with heavy machinery.
You didn't want your hair to get caught in the machinery,
so you would tie it up with this scarf,
like Rosie the Riveter.
-Like Rosie the Riveter.
Let's check on our poll question.
What would be the hardest food for you to give up?
Well, actually right now the tie has been broken.
31% said chocolate.
Pizza and fruit at 30%.
Hamburgers at 9%.
So it seems --
Now it's back to a three-way tie.
Chocolate, pizza, and fruit all would be very hard
for people to give up.
One more question for you.
Students like you scrapped for victory during World War II.
Does your school have a student recycling program.
Text "A" for "yes," "B" for "no."
That's "A" for "yes," "B" for "no."
Send us your answers and we'll get an answer for you.
We have a viewer question coming up right here.
Did schools have scrapping drives?
That's from Tessa in New York.
-Schools did have scrapping drives.
So, schools were a big source of engaging children
to work in these kinds of efforts.
So they had paper drives, they had a program
called Paper Troopers, and kids would form
"paper platoons." -Paper Troopers?
-Yes.
So, they were actual units that would form together
and collect paper and scrap metal
and even large pieces.
I know a volunteer here at the museum whose friend
had a bulldozer that was broken, and they even included
the bulldozer in the scrap drive.
-Wait. They recycled a bulldozer...
-An old broken bulldozer.
And that of course won the scrap drive.
You know, the other schools could not compete
against the school that had the bulldozer,
-Looks like everybody was doing the effort
right there, in fact, scrapping a bulldozer
to make a tank.
Okay, let's go to the poll results right now.
Let's take a quick look at your answers to our latest poll.
Does your school have a student recycling program?
70% say "yes."
To the 30% that say "no," that's about to change.
That coming up in a little while.
Well, let's take a question right now
from one of our viewers.
Since women started working during World War II,
did daycare and preschools become very popular?
-They did.
Daycare started during World War II
and really took off.
So, some factories even opened up
factory daycares so you could leave your child
at the daycare at the factory, or in the factory community,
while you went off to work. So...
-The war changed life for moms and for kids.
-Indeed. -During the war,
people worked together to save things
like grease and metal that could all help
in the war effort, but there was also time
to enjoy music and movies and dancing.
Our reporter Caroline joined museum volunteer
Sylvia Murphy at BB's Stage Door Canteen
for a performance of World War II songs
by The Victory Belles.
Let's go to the show.
♪♪
-The war changed movies, songs,
and even cartoons and comic books.
-Here at BB's Stage Door Canteen at the National WWII Museum,
you can hear some of the music that was popular
during World War II.
Places like the Stage Door Canteen
were set up all over the country for soldiers
to relax and enjoy entertainment.
Famous singers and movie stars of the day
volunteered to perform for the troops.
Museum volunteer Mrs. Sylvia Murphy
remembers the songs and music and dances of that time.
What was some of the music like during World War II?
-It was fun.
And it was also beautiful.
And some of those songs have become classics now,
especially the loves songs, the ballads.
They were in the movies, they were on the radio,
and we all enjoy them so much.
One of my favorite songs back then was the songs
about the people leaving.
They were leaving their families,
they were leaving their loved ones,
and so the songs reflected that.
-Why was dancing so important?
-Well, you know, it brought people together, and it was fun.
The dance of the day really was the jitterbug,
and all the high-school kids could do that.
And of course, a lot of those high-school kids
became soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen,
and the radio was our big entertainment,
as were the movies.
And not only did we see movies, we saw the news of the day.
[ Upbeat music plays ]
Everybody would look at those pictures
of the boys fighting and getting in the airplanes
and things and wondered if they would see familiar face.
And then of course, they had the cartoons,
Superman and Popeye.
I remember Popeye was a big Nazi fighter.
-Oh, look. The Victory Belles are about to perform
some of the songs from World War II.
-♪ He's in the army now blowing reveille ♪
♪ He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B ♪
♪ They made him blow a bugle for his Uncle Sam ♪
♪ It really brought him down because he couldn't jam ♪
♪ The captain seemed to understand ♪
♪ 'Cause the next day the Cap' went out and drafted a band ♪
♪ And now the company jumps when he plays reveille ♪
♪ He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B ♪
♪ A root, a toot, a toodlie-a-da-toot ♪
♪ He blows it eight to the bar ♪
-Now we're here with The Victory Belles
who just put on a wonderful performance.
What do you feel you've learned from learning all the music
and dances from the World War II period?
-You know, it's an incredible era.
They're known as "The Greatest Generation,"
and I think the music reflects that, as well.
-And for the most part, to the audience it means...
to the audience that we're delivering it to,
it means memories, like, good memories.
-And their music brought so much hope and joy to everyone
on the home front as well as the boys who fighting overseas.
-Well, for me, it was wonderful,
because the music and the movies kept us all upbeat,
and it kept us focused on what we were doing,
and it made us very proud to be Americans.
-It feels also like it was a way of saying,
we're in this together,
which really helps in hard times.
-You know, one of my other favorite things about the music
of the 1940's was that it brought everyone together,
and it wasn't just the music.
Everyone gathered around their radios at home,
or, if they were our age, they went out
to the canteens and to the dance halls,
because they were all dancing.
So I'm gonna show you a few moves.
Y'all want to dance with me?
-Okay. -[ Laughs ]
-So, I'm gonna show you this, the Truck.
And if you just step on one foot
and then let your heel drop...
and then bring up the other one...
and then step on your left,
and then drop that heel.
And you can keep goin'. And now you're Truckin'.
Easy, easy. -And you can wave your fingers.
-[ Laughs ] And you can wave your fingers,
and even switch back and forth.
And if you walk forward...
So all it is is you're just going
to lean into your right hip
and point that right finger down,
and then lean into your left, and then keep switching.
And you can move forward and back.
[ Laughs ] -It's very cutesy.
-And easy, easy stuff.
And I'll show you how you can put it all to music.
Hey, Joe, hit it!
[ Chuckles ]
[ '40s dance music plays ]
All right, you ready?
Here we go. We're Truckin'.
[ Music continues ]
And...
[ Laughs ]
Y'all are doing great. Yeah!
[ Laughter ]
[ Music continues ]
♪♪
-Good job. -Well, now you're ready to go
learn some dances from 1940's.
e-That'd be great.
-That music as popular today as it was during World War II.
And now one more poll question for you.
Do you think today's music will be listened to
70 years from now?
Text "A" for "yes," or "B" for "no."
That's text "A" for "yes," "B" for "no."
Will they be listening to the music
they listen to today 70 years from now?
Because the music and entertainment and the movies,
it was all about war at that time?
-It was. Even the entertainment.
So, war permeated every aspect
of life on the home front, including...
I brought an example from our collection,
from the museum's archives.
This a comic book -- Don Winslow of the Navy.
-Don Winslow of the Navy? -Don Winslow.
So many not as famous as Superman or Batman,
but Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman
also fought during World War II
through their comic stories.
-And the songs had titles and themes...
-The songs related to the war as well.
So, boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B...
"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition"...
-That was an actual song?
-That was an actual song. A hit song.
-And movies too? -Movies as well.
-So, the movies all related...cartoon,
comics...everything related back to the war.
-Now let's take some more questions
you've emailed us at field trips@WYES.org.
Were there any famous World War II musicians
from New Orleans?
-There was in fact a very famous musicians
from New Orleans, some of you may know,
Louis Armstrong.
So he was active also, you know, already during World War II.
-"Satchmo," as he might be known,
and there's actually a Satchmo Fest right here
every August in New Orleans.
Let's take a look at the answers to our poll.
Will today's music last for 70 years?
54% say they will not be listening to this music.
So while 70 years from now people will still be doing
the jitterbug, no one will be doing the Whip and Nae Nae.
Sorry to say. Let's go to another question.
Did our troops overseas have entertainment provided to them?
That's from Keith. -They did.
There was a group called the USO Camp Shows,
United Services Organization.
And they had a division form just to bring
entertainment overseas to troops.
So some famous performers participated in that effort,
including the comedian Bob Hope.
So they would bring whole stage shows right overseas
into the field where soldiers were fighting
and providing that much needed break.
-Let's check in with our reporters
for a quick recap of what they learned.
♪♪
-So, how was your museum adventure?
-There are so many great exhibits here at the museum
that tell the story of how brave men and women
served their country during a time of great need.
-Visitors can marvel at big planes and vehicles
in the U.S. Freedom pavilion, the Boeing Center.
-They could see "Beyond All Boundaries,"
the 4-D movie that takes visitors
on the journey through World War II.
-And even explore the museum's newest immersive exhibit
The Road to Berlin, all about the war in Europe.
-There's so much you see here.
You can't fit it in in one day.
-You could even learn how folks on the home front,
including kids like us,
helped soldiers on the battlefield.
-We really learned so much about what it was like
to be a young person during the war,
not just from the artifacts from the museum
but also from our friends who were kids
themselves during the war.
-I think they were all really our best primary source
to teach us how things like rationing
and scrapping and victory gardens.
-And posters...and war bonds...
-And movies...and song and dance...
all did make a difference.
-Even though American students were far away
from the battlefronts, their efforts supported
our men and women in uniform.
-They were all working together towards a common goal.
-To ensure victory and bring their loved ones back home.
-Because they knew...
-We're all in this together.
♪♪
-I think all the kids, our student reporters,
learned that kids did matter on the home front.
What they did at home helped with victory on the battlefront.
-Absolutely. Absolutely.
You saw it from growing the victory gardens
to scrapping the metal and rubber
to help make the war materials, to reading about the war
in their comic books and listening
to the music about the war.
Absolutely. Kids had a big part in the war.
-Did kids know that they were having a big part in the war?
Was that clear to kids of school age?
-Yes, I do believe so.
That was...
Like I said, it permeated every aspect of American life.
So that was always at the forefront of kids' minds.
-There was a patriotism that the kids were instilled
through media, and probably through their parents,
that went in everything
they did all day long. -Absolutely.
From the time you woke up in the morning,
"Can I have some more sugar for my cereal?"
"No, you can't," you know, to what you're gonna do
after school, after your homework.
Let's take that wagon around the neighborhood
and collect all the scrap metal from the neighbors
to turn in at the big scrap drive.
-We've learned what kids like you did to help
win World War II more than 70 years ago.
Now it's your turn.
The museum has a project
that you can get involved in, Get in the Scrap!
Here's Kenneth to tell you a little bit more about it.
Kenneth? -Absolutely.
Well, you heard our museum volunteer
telling our young reporter about scrapping,
collecting things for the war effort.
Today we call it recycling.
Well, the National WWII Museum is challenging you
and your teacher to get in the scrap.
It's a project all about recycling
and energy conservation that is inspired by the efforts
of kids scrapping on the home front.
It's easy, fun, and you can win a bunch of prizes.
So sign up today at getinthescrap.org.
-And it's more than just the contest.
It actually helps the environment.
-Absolutely.
We want the young people today
to realize that they can have a positive effect on their world
just like American kids did during World War II.
-So kids today, just like the kids
in World War II, can make a difference.
They can make history. -Absolutely.
And that's why we're so glad that you all watched today.
-Making history.
We want to thank you for joining us
for this electronic field trip "We're All In This Together:
How students like YOU helped win WWII."
And teachers, to get the latest updates
about future field trips, go to wyes.org
and sign up to receive our newsletter.
Also, this field trip will be archived
on the WYES website
at www.wyes.org/field trips.
And you can also go to the National WWII Museum
at www.nationalww2museum.org
to link to this field trip and learn all about
what the museum has to offer.
And I know that many of you had questions
that we just couldn't get to.
Well, all you have to do is go to that website.
Many of those questions may be answered.
You'll probably find exactly
what you're looking for at that website.
So remember, get in the scrap.
And thanks for joining us here at the National WWII Museum
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
♪♪
-The electronic field trip "We're All In This Together:
How students like YOU helped win WWII"
is a production partnership of WYES New Orleans
public television and...
The National WWII Museum.
Made possible in part by The Selley Foundation.