Before the end of 1941, there were long lines of men and boys in front of the various military recruiting offices. By the summer of 1942, Congressional action had been taken to develop draft boards, and everyone between the ages of 18 and, I think 28, had to register and be available for the draft, except for some specific exemptions. I believe one exemption was based on having two or more children, and another at the specific request of a war materials-related industry. I remember large posters of a white-haired man dressed in red and white stripes and a top hat with a band of blue with white stars pointing his finger at the viewer, and large lettering saying, “Uncle Sam Needs You!”
Even before 1941, there was concern about the possibility of sabotage, because the heritage of a large part of the US population was European. Some German saboteurs had been landed by German U-boats on the East Coast and been captured. After 1941, there were large posters everywhere about “loose talk”. Even as children we were warned not to talk about the companies where our fathers worked, or what the companies produced.
Our dad was exempted from the draft because the company he worked for requested it based on the fact that they were a major war materials supplier. The letter I saw said that Dad was the only one in the shop who knew how to work on every machine the company had, and had to repair most of them. The company was Sealed Power Corporation, and some of the main things I remember they made were piston rings for land vehicles, bombers and some fighter planes.
Before 1941, our city, Muskegon, Michigan, was described as being “heavy industry”. Muskegon sits on Muskegon Lake, a small, deep inland lake with a natural channel into Lake Michigan. Along the city-shore of Muskegon Lake there were docks which accommodated large iron ore and coal freighters. Some of the production was from a couple major foundries, a major office furniture producer, Brunswick Company, which originally manufactured billiard tables, a company which produced refrigerators, and many companies involved with producing automobile parts. All of those industries suddenly began to produce war materials. If an appliance broke, there were frequently older men who learned to fix things. If something couldn’t be fixed, like the refrigerator, you went back to using blocks of ice in pans, and putting your name on a long list to be able to buy a new one “after the war”. There was no consideration of buying a new car; a long wait list was automatic.
