Windsor Locks High School - Herald Yearbook (Windsor Locks, CT)

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16 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD EDITORIALS Today we are likely to hear a great many Americans complaining about the way the government is doing things. Far tc o many people are complaining about rationing, scrap drives, war bond sales, blood donation and all the other essential sacrifices we are called on to make. Therefore, I wish to show these people why all our sacrifices are essential and what use is being made of them. I ask that they close their eyes a minute and picture a bleak, barren battlefield in the Pacific Islands or in North Africa. On this field there is a battle being waged for freedom, and the men there are doing all they can to hold out. These men are fighting valiantly, but they know theirs is a losing battle, for their ammunition is low and their equipment poor. Why is this condition thus? These complainers know as well as I do. It is be¬ cause of the bonds they didn’t buy. The blood donors that some scotf at are to be congratulated. Theirs is a great and noble task. The plasma which these people contributed is being used right now somewhere on some battle front saving the life of an American soldier. He may be your brother, your son, or your neighbor. The gas we are going without is enabling our bombers to fly over Germany and cripple the nazi industries so that we at home mav have no fear of ever coming under the cruel regime of Adolph Hitler. The scrap we donate is going into the making of battleships so our Navy can clear the seas of the Jap menace. Yes, ail this and much more is being accomplished by the sacrifices cf those here on the home front. Thus, I beseech you who are inclined to complain, to think these things over and start out anew with a fine spirit of self-denial for our great country. It you do this, you may not get any praise or reward, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are bringing us closer to the victory that all America is praying and fighting for. John Conley ’43. The United States At War ini1 , Wh ? n l Vake Island and Pearl Harbor were attacked December 7, UJI, by the Japanese, the United States was plunged ruthlessly into the midst of war—such a war as the world has never experienced before Immediately we were confronted with the problem of insufficient supplies and inadequate troops. The American people promptly “got to¬ gether and worked out ways and means for providing the things needed most. For some time prior to the attack. President Roosevelt had sensed the danger ot on-coming war and had so ordered voung men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-five to be drafted into the armed forces As the war progressed, the age limit dropped from twenty-one to eighteen. Thus the problem ot sufficient troops was solved. Our next task was to provide these defenders of our country with the arms and ammunition so urgently needed. This was accomplished by cutting down on gasoline rub¬ ber and other things our boys needed more than we did.

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THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 15 IN MEMORIAM In memory of Walter Gorka, a former student of this school, who gave his life fighting valiantly for the principles and ideals upon which our great democracy is founded.

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THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 17 Women began to play an important part in the war effort by offering their services in the Ambulance Corps, joining the WAACs or WAVEs, and taking up first-aid courses. Booklets and articles came out on physical fitness and wed-balanced meals, and the styles of clothing were altered by cutting down on the amount of material used. es, indeed, a great many changes have come over this land of ours in the past year but the one thing that will never change in America is the determination that we Americans shall stay free. Marian DaMonte 43. Home Home! You mean my home? The little white house set back from the road, with the cozy atmosphere of simplicity, the smell of cookies from the old wood stove. Here with the dotted Swiss curtains and the carpeted floors; here democracy is symbolized. Home! The place where every American man, woman and child will find his first duty—a duty for which he is responsible—to conserve every resource,to end extravagance and the wasting of all necessities. Home! You mean the cabin in the lonely forest, covered with the snow of winter, the fisherman’s simple dwelling, the smart cosmopolitan homes? Yes, they are homes multiplied by forty million people. Home! The rain-battered ranch house, lonely, humble, out of the way, the farmhouse simple and quiet-like but symbolic of every American home and American spirit. Home! Simple is the word, with the gentle sound and heart-warming eflect; for in those four letters, in that one word lies the pattern of life, of liberty itself. Home! Here the child learns its first conception of right and wrong; here ideals and principles are instilled to make a lasting impression on the mind of the youth. Home is the place where all life’s battles are won, where courage is pieced together by the pattern of life. Home is the place, the only place. Eufrasina Colo ’44. WHO MAKE UP THE ARMY? The setting sun cast brilliant rays of oranjre and crimson across the evening skv. In a distant meadow the srentle lowing of the cattle ' an be heard amid the sound of small feet stubbornly kicking the turf. Coming in sight of the red barn, Johnny Williams heaves a sigh of relief, for he knows that the day’s work is done. Perching himself on a milker’s stool, the small boy clad in worn overalls rests his weary body. Sitting there alone gives Johnny time to think—to think of hew things had been before December 7, 1941-—before his big brother, Jim, had taken his mother’s hands and had said in a stern voice: “Please don’t say ‘no,’ mother; there’s a job to be done and I am the one they need.” Mrs. Williams had wept, but she knew that her son was brave and meant every word he had said. . , , es ft was all so very clearly impressed upon the boy’s mind— Jims leaving, the terrible months of anxiety which ensued, the black