It Was Our War Too

During the Second World War which began in 1939 in Europe and ended in 1945, children and young people around the world were caught in the melee. Through first-person interviews, the author has collected stories of 18 individuals who ranged in age from preschool to early 20s at the time. Some youth as young as age five were forced to flee for their lives to unknown destinations, leaving home and security behind. They survived by the kindnesses of strangers with food and shelter. Other...
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During the Second World War which began in 1939 in Europe and ended in 1945, children and young people around the world were caught in the melee. Through first-person interviews, the author has collected stories of 18 individuals who ranged in age from preschool to early 20s at the time. Some youth as young as age five were forced to flee for their lives to unknown destinations, leaving home and security behind. They survived by the kindnesses of strangers with food and shelter. Other youth contributed to the war effort by helping with the Belgian and French Resistance movements across Europe. European countries represented include Hungary, Romania, France, Germany, Belgium, England, East Prussia, Yugoslavia. Other stories are from Australia and the United States. Sometimes the war brought happiness, as with a young woman from Australia who fell in love with an American soldier.On the American Homefront a teenage Rosie the Riveter unknowingly built a top-secret defense item that would be useful in helping to stop the war. A female member of Civil Air Patrol learned how to help defend her country. A Midwestern Hollywood film star earned high status as the Army's only official pin-up girl. The sad realities of war are reflected by a teen who arrived home from school to see a dreaded telegram in her mother's hand, relaying news of her father's disappearance, days before learning of his death. How her family coped after the war is a lesson in resilience and determination.The good, the bad and the ugly accounts are told from first-person interviews with those who witnessed the death and devastation and terror of war and survived. Each young person's story contributes to the heritage of the historical movement we call World War II, making each tale one of interest and amazement.