the 40's

This is a bit of a long post, but important to me. My brother is doing a project for school on the 40's so we asked my grandfather for music of the time, and he's gotten really into revisiting the decade. For background, my grandfather was in WWII, on a Navy battleship in the South Pacific, signed up before the US got involved. He survived Pearl Harbor and was discharged when his dad died to go home and care for his mother. One of his older brothers was also working in the war efforts. My grandfather was in the service from the time he was 17 to almost 22.
So he calls us today with a scenario he's clearly planned out about if we were in the war, and what it would be like. We were too mesmerized to think of recording the call, but I tried to type up the gist of the story. It's sparse and not well done, but I thought it was a great story. Below is what I got of it. Also, here's a song from one of the CD's of WWII music, one of my favs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKW0QZgi79M

You know, you get a letter in the mail this week, saying the government is interested in your sister’s artwork and would she send in a portfolio of her work. They want her work to make posters. And you’re trying out at Paper Mill Playhouse. They put on four shows in the season, and you’re auditioning for a, for the plays. You’re graduating in a year, and you and your girlfriend are going to college. She’s going off to college to study. Your sister goes into New York City to show her portfolio to the government, you know. And the next week a letter comes in the mail for you. It’s a draft letter, and you’re going into the army. Or see the world, into the navy. You have to report to camp and they give you two weeks to sort out your affairs and such. And then you have to report.

So when you’re at camp there’s no phone. Only phone you can use is when you’re on leave, and you got your quarters. So there’s no phone, you can’t call home. You said goodbye to family, to your mom, your sister. You don’t have pictures of them or anything. And you say goodbye to your girl, and she says goodbye. You take a picture of her with you, and she has one of you. You don’t have any pictures in uniform yet, though, so you go to those booths they had. You know, a quarter for four photos, that type of thing.

Anyway, when you’re not on leave, there’s no phone to call home, so you write to each other. You get letters from your mother. You loose touch, you see. You get letters, sure, but, you know. You don’t know how your girl is. You don’t know what your sister’s doing. And your girl too. She’s of at college, learning. She’s studying in secretarial school or teaching. ‘Cuz you know, the girls took over the work force while the men were gone. Not just Rosie the Riveter. The young college girls trained as secretaries or industry, they were working now. They weren’t working when you left.

And so your girl tells you there’s a formal at school. And a week or two go by, and you ask her, but what about the formal? And she doesn’t answer. You know, on leave you get guys coming back, saying they got married on leave. Yeah, they say, but does she write to you? Well, no. See? So you’re wondering about her, and you’re wondering about your family. And you don’t know if your sister is working with government, making government posters. You don’t hear from her. Your brother is two years ahead, over in the action in Europe, so you don’t hear from him. So you start to wonder, and she wonders about you too. Don’t know what happens, you know. And when you get back, who knows. She’s not there, or some things have changed. You know, it’s different. It’s not the same anymore.

Anyway, just thought I’d give you that scenario I was thinking of, and I’ll call you if I think of anything else. I guess sone things just came back to me after I heard the hit parade music, you know? Anyway, I won’t bother you any longer. I'll say goodnight.