• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Denise Frisino

    • Home
    • Books by Denise
      • Whiskey Cove
      • Orchids of War
      • Storms From A Clear Sky
      • Buy Now!
    • Blogs
      • Archives
    • Podcasts
    • About
      • Denise Frisino Videos
      • In the Media
    • Events
    • Contact
    • Reviews

    December 7

    Rationing – a Fair Share for All of Us

    April 6, 2020 by denisefrisino 3 Comments

    Rationing goes back centuries, especially in times of war, strife and shortage. The concept is simple and established to prevent hoarding of any items deemed necessary for survival or to overcome the source of infliction. This action is usually enforced by the government in an attempt to direct the needed supplies to those on the front lines first, then to establish a system for distribution to the masses.
    In troubling times, learning to share and be responsible for limited access to certain products can be life changing. The Great Depression left a scar on many of my parents’ generation as every scrap was used, saved or converted into something practicable.

    Even before the Japanese attacked the United States on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, blasting us into World War Two, rationing in Britain had been established. The British Ministry of Food issued Ration Stamps, while imploring America to consider rationing of vital aluminum, gasoline, steel, food and materials necessary for battle.

    The ‘Sugar Book’ – War Ration Book Number 1 – arrived on the U.S. civilians’ doorsteps on May 4, 1942, five months after we joined the Allies in global combat. Coffee was rationed by November 27, 1942 with households limited to one pound every five weeks. Before the end of that year nine other essential items were added to the ration coupons.

    By November of 1943 the list expanded to include: gasoline, bicycles, fuel oil, firewood, stoves, rubber, typewriters, (items directly needed by the military) nylon, silk, (for Parachutes etc.) meat, flour, lard, oils, shortening, cheese, butter, margarine, plus canned, bottled or frozen processed foods, including canned milk, dried fruits, jellies, jams and fruit butters

    Remembering that women of all ages wore dresses during the 1940’s, only to have nylons become scarce during wartime, is a prime example of American ingenuity. The ladies got creative. They rubbed their legs with a coloring then drew lines up the back of their calves imitating the line of the nylons to give the appearance they wore stockings.
    When I asked my mother about this, she pointed out how the leg coloring wore off on her white dental assistant uniform. In her early twenties, she scrubbed her uniform nightly keeping it as spotless as possible while attempting to maintain a sense of fashion.

    Shoes were rationed as the materials were needed for boots to hit the ground overseas. One woman I interviewed, Barbara Bradford, told me when she was about to be married, as a gift, a family friend gave her a precious coupon to purchase new shoes. Her father became angry when she came home with sandals, not a pair of practical shoes she could wear year-round.
    Gas masks were not only issued to those in battle, but also to civilians in the event of an attack. Children to grandparents wore them. The masks offered hope, survival, not shame or ridicule.

    In 1966 I was lucky enough to spend a summer with a girlfriend while she visited her grandmother in Hawaii. Returning, I brought with me what I thought to be an item our family need to add to our menu. Spam.
    The can didn’t even make it to the shelf. My father, Second Lieutenant Joseph Frisino, having survived two years in the jungle of Burma during WWII, serving in the Signal Corps, turned beet red with anger.

    “Get that out of here.” He instructed me.

    Shocked by his reaction to a food item, I looked to my mother for help. She just shook her head in warning. The canned good was never opened but was escorted out the back door by Dad.

    Years later in my research I came to realize that during the China, Burma, India conflict, the CBI, food was airdropped into the jungle to the troops. If the Americans made it to the packages that floated on parachutes toward them–before the enemy–aside from the K-Rations, they found Spam. Their diet consisted on what could be scavenged or the limited availability of canned foods.

    Gas rationing happened again here in the United States as a result of the 1973 Oil Crisis. Depending on your license plate ending in an odd or even number determined which day you could go and sit in a long line at the gas station in the hopes the pump did not run dry before you put some in your tank. Even then, nurses and doctors were given priority so they could make it to their demanding jobs. At that time, I was living in Los Angeles and would trade cars with my cousin, a nurse, so I could sit in line to fill her car for her.

    In WW2 the rationing lasted from 1941-1946 when the men and women from all services became the main focus as they fought for our freedom and our future.

    During the 1973 Crisis, a time of shortage and rationing, American Know-How jumped into action to prevent hoarding to be certain gas was made available rationally, not emotionally.

    Today the front line has shifted. Those in the trenches are the care givers, nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, police firefighter and now some of our military who lead in the battle for lives against the Coronavirus, COVID-19.

    Yes, we are in this together. However, sheltering in place, curfews, wearing masks and rationing are not new concepts but proven safeguards.

    Following these simple rules issued for this drastic time is essential to regaining our health so we can gather when the bans are lifted and for the regrowth of our economy.

    The ‘America Way’ still exists. There are countless reminders of those reaching across aisles, fences and diversities to help. In fact, it has become stronger of late, prominent in every action of those who listen to the Public Health officials and Governors, such as mine, Jay Inslee, who are acting to halt the unseen and unforgiving threat of this virus.

    Thank you to all of those throughout our great country who wear the new uniform of the soldier, unrecognizable with faces shielded, who fight night and day to save lives. You are our heroes.

    Stay safe, Stay inside, Share.

    Filed Under: Armed Forces, World War II Tagged With: 1941, 1973, American Know-How, burma, coffee, December 7, gas masks, gas rationing, hoarding, Parachutes, Pearl Harbor, rationing, rubber, spam, The ‘Sugar Book’, the great depression, War Ration Book, WW2, WWII

    Captain Richard McNees

    December 6, 2016 by denisefrisino

    Richard McNeeseIn the fall of 1941, a young U.S. Navy Ensign, Richard McNees, had time on his hands while he waited at the San Diego Naval Base to be shipped to Hawaii for duty. Originally from Salem, Oregon, then Washington State, Dick had just completed his training at the navy’s boot camp in Great Lakes, situated in northern Chicago. Restless, he spent his three weeks back on the West Coast reading navy regulations on how to handle top secret information. Boredom was directing his future.

    Dick was fascinated by cryptography, board coding and decoding. Communication between the naval departments was getting heavy and they needed willing hands and agile minds. So, as the three weeks flew by, he eagerly amassed the knowledge of the codes. Then on the six day trip aboard the USS Tangier to paradise, the young sailor continued his studies until he arrived at Pearl Harbor on November 3, 1941. He took a required test and was given top security clearance.

    He was assigned to a brand new air station at Kaneohe, which was being referred to as the “Country Club of the Navy–all new and beautiful.” Dick had a two room suite with bath in between, all to himself. The base was half empty. Life was good.

    Pearl Harbor AttackBeing a Sunday, at 7:00 a.m. the morning of December 7, 1941, most of the sailors were still in bed. Dick and three others were in the mess hall enjoying their breakfast as the duty officers were returning from their scouting missions in their PBY’s. They had canvased the southern portion of the island and were back to give their reports. The first two pilots sauntered in, relaxed, it had been a beautiful sunrise with the ghost of the full moon suspended over the Pali Mountains. But then the third scout arrived breathless. Ensign Bill Tanner, commander of a PBY, had patrolled the shore to the north of Pearl Harbor and spotted a submerged submarine. He dropped a depth charge which brought the sub to the surface, and radioed in his findings. (Later it would be discovered that the USS Ward, patrolling nearby, received the transmission and sunk the Japanese Ko-hyoteki class two-man midget submarine as it was attempting to enter Pearl Harbor.)

    “Are we at war?” Bill asked the few men gathered at the table. And then all hell broke loose.

    Dick heard airplanes and was the first to rush out the door as a Japanese Zero came straight for him firing deadly bullets. He ducked as chips from the strafing pounding the building fell on him. Armed with a wooden spoon and pan, he ran into the BOQ, Bachelors Officer Quarters, to rally the men. In just a few moments their lives had changed forever.

    McNees would continue to use his top security clearance at Pearl Harbor, where due to his specialty, one early morning, he was charged with delivering an important package at 2:00 a.m. to Admiral Nimitz, shortly after the Nimitz took over for Admiral Kimmel.

    “He came out of his bedroom wearing a white channel robe. Took the package and then told me I was dismissed.”  Dick beamed at his brief encounter with the man who would lead the U.S. to victory in the Pacific Theater.

    Attack on Pearl HarborAs a fighter pilot, Dick led formations in several battles. He survived the battles of Midway, Tinian, Le Shima, (now Lejima), Iwo Jima, where his brother was going ashore as a navy seal, and Okinawa, to mention a few. His career spanned 35 years and he flew over 40 different types of planes.

    I had the honor of going to Boeing’s Museum of Flight with Captain McNees and watch his eyes brighten as he spoke of the various aircrafts he had flown and taught generations of pilots to maneuver.

    There is no replacing such a man who constantly sought knowledge and gave back to his community so generously. He was a soft spoken gentleman, a hero and one of the true “Greats” of that generation. I will forever hold dear the time and stories he shared with me, and of course, continue to give thanks for his bravery and love of America.

    Koneohe Bay

    Save

    Filed Under: Navy, Pearl Harbor Tagged With: 1941, December 7, navy, Pearl Harbor, pilots, World War II, WWII

    Primary Sidebar

    There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island. ~ Walt Disney

    Books by Denise


    Published through

    Awards

    Recent Posts

    • The Day of Infamy Touched Many Shores
    • The USO – Home Away From Home
    • Rationing – a Fair Share for All of Us
    • D-Day Mistakes, Madness and Miracles –The First Wave
    • Memorial Day
    • Battle of the Bismarck Sea

    Tags

    1941 1942 Always Ready armed forces Asia Australia Battle of the Bulge British Canadians civil war code breakers D-Day December 7 decoration day East-Wind-Rain Emperor Michinomiya Hirohito Guadalcanal iconic kiss Imperial Japanese Army interview Iwo Jima Japan Japanese Land of the Rising Sun Magic memorial day navajo code talkers navy New Guinea Nippon nurses Pacific Theatre Pearl Harbor Philippines pilots President Roosevelt President Truman queen mary Semper Paratus Solomon Islands SPAR V-J Day World War II WW2 WWII

    © Copyright 2017 Denise Frisino · All Rights Reserved ·

    Its Here - Storms From A Clear Sky - Now Available! Dismiss