TABLE OF CONTENTS

  About Your Adventure

  Chapter 1

  The Coming of War

  Chapter 2

  To Work or Not to Work

  Chapter 3

  Fighting a War in San Diego

  Chapter 4

  Fighting Two Wars

  Chapter 5

  A New World

  Timeline

  Other Paths to Explore

  Read More

  Internet

  Glossary

  Bibliography

  ABOUT YOUR

  ADVENTURE

  YOU are living in the United States in the early 1940s. The world is at war. How will you help your country fight for its freedom?

  In this book you’ll explore how the choices people made meant the difference between life and death. The events you’ll experience happened to real people.

  Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page. After you finish one path, go back and read the others. Use your device’s back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice. Then try a different link for a new adventure.

  YOU CHOOSE the path

  you take through history.

  For the best You Choose experience, view in portrait (vertical) orientation.

  CHAPTER 1

  THE COMING OF WAR

  The guns fell silent in 1918. World War I was over. Many called it “the war to end all wars” because they believed such a terrible conflict could never happen again. But they were wrong. Only 21 years later, war would again engulf the world.

  Dictator Adolf Hitler and the Nazi political party took control of Germany in the early 1930s. The country had fallen into a deep economic depression. Hitler targeted the Jewish people, whom he blamed for Germany’s economic problems. He also blamed German misery on the 1919 Treaty of Versailles that had followed the fighting. It had punished Germany for starting World War I. It also forced Germany’s government to pay billions of dollars to its European neighbors.

  Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany and the Nazi Party, stirred up hatred of Jews.

  Meanwhile, storm clouds gathered over Asia. Japan had invaded China. Many Americans were alarmed by the events in Europe and Asia. But they had big problems at home. The Great Depression that began in 1929 left about 25 percent of Americans unemployed. Millions were poor, and many were homeless. Americans were too concerned about finding their next meal to worry about a potential war thousands of miles away.

  That potential war in Europe became a terrible reality when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Soon Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. But few could have imagined how powerful a military the Germans had developed. Germany quickly conquered Poland and several other countries. The world was shocked when the Germans took over France in just six weeks.

  A woman couldn’t hide her misery as she dutifully saluted the invading German Nazis.

  Some Americans believed the United States should enter the war. But many Americans were isolationists who felt that their country should stay out.

  Everything changed December 7, 1941. That morning hundreds of Japanese planes attacked and destroyed a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. More than 2,000 Americans were killed.

  The United States entered World War II after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

  Congress quickly declared war on Japan. A few days later the United States was at war with Germany as well.

  The battle lines had been drawn. Germany, Italy, and Japan had formed an alliance called the Axis. The United States joined the Soviet Union, Britain, and other nations to form what was known as the Allies.

  Men and women from all over the United States signed up immediately to join the war effort. Millions of men were drafted to fight and sent overseas. But the war didn’t just affect the new soldiers. It changed the lives of all Americans.

  To be a woman married to an American soldier fighting overseas, press here.

  To be a 12-year-old boy in San Diego, press here.

  To be a wounded black war veteran from the segregated South, press here.

  CHAPTER 2

  TO WORK OR

  NOT TO WORK

  It’s a relaxing afternoon in December 1941. You’re with your husband, Edward, and a few of your friends in your New York City apartment. Soft music is playing on the radio, but nobody is paying attention to it.

  Suddenly, everyone is quiet. A news report has interrupted the music.

  “We have witnessed this morning the attack of Pearl Harbor and a severe bombing of Pearl Harbor by army planes, undoubtedly Japanese,” states the announcer. “It’s no joke. It’s a real war.”

  You’ve never even heard of Pearl Harbor, but you know this indeed means war. The party is over.

  The next day you listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on your radio. He calls December 7 “a date which will live in infamy.” The United States is at war with Japan.

  President Roosevelt spoke to Congress the day after the attack.

  You stare at Edward. He says nothing, but you know what he’s thinking. You know he’s going to join the fight. You just don’t know when.

  The following day you find out. Edward packs his bags and enlists in the Navy. You don’t know if you will ever see your beloved husband again. Will your 9-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, grow up without a father?

  You are feeling lonely and afraid. Should you stay in New York and find a job? Or should you join your wealthy mother in Virginia? You can stay at her home without having to work. But you also want to do your part for the war effort.

  To find a job, press here.

  To move to Virginia, press here.

  You’re like most married women of the time. You have grown used to cooking, cleaning, and taking care of your family. Edward made a fine living in advertising. But now his large income is gone. You need money to pay for food and rent.

  One day your friend Edna tells you that a local steel plant has been converted to a factory. It produces fighter planes and other aircraft. They’re looking for female workers to replace the men who have become soldiers.

  “When are you going over there?” you ask.

  “Right now,” she answers. “Do you want to come?” The need is so great that you are hired after a 10-minute interview. Soon you are operating heavy equipment that makes sheet metal for planes.

  After an eight-hour day on the job, your muscles are aching and you are exhausted. But you are proud of your work.

  You realize that you are capable of being more than a mother and housewife. You are just as productive on the job as the men. But then you discover something. The men make more money than the women!

  You tell Edna that you’re going to complain to the boss, but she warns you to keep quiet. You realize it probably won’t help to gripe, but you feel it’s a matter of right and wrong. On the other hand, you don’t want to lose your job.

  To keep quiet even though you’re mad, press here.

  To complain to the boss, press here.

  The first few months in Virginia are ideal. But you begin to question your decision to stay at home with Elizabeth and your mother. You ask yourself, “What are you doing to help the war effort?” Your answer? “Nothing.”

  You think back to the flying lessons you took in college. You also recall reading an article in the newspaper about women flying planes from factories to military bases. Other women are testing rebuilt planes. You consider becoming a test pilot.

  You can also do more right here in Virginia. You could volunteer to help the soldiers and the war effort.

  To stay in Virginia and do volunteer work, press here.

  To become a test pilot, press here.

  “Rosie the Riveter” came to symbolize the many women who worked during the war.

  You hate to hold in your anger about a man earning more money than you. But you need the steady income. And helping the war effort makes you feel good about yourself.

  When summer rolls around, you have a problem. Elizabeth is home from school and you have no one to watch her.

  You place an ad for a babysitter in the local grocery store. Several teenage girls stop by your home to be interviewed. But none of them seem right.

  Now what? You must ensure Elizabeth’s safety, but you can’t quit your job. You’re thinking about taking in a trustworthy boarder who can live in your house and pay rent. You also have a chance to take the “graveyard shift” at work. That would allow you to work nights while your daughter is sleeping and be with her during the day.

  To bring in a boarder, press here.

  To take the graveyard shift, press here.

  You are tempted to travel to Texas for training as a test pilot. But you can’t leave Elizabeth. Her father is already gone and may not come back. She can’t lose her mother too.

  But you know you must do something to contribute to the war effort. You hear that volunteers are needed at a canteen. When you stop by, the woman in charge explains what it’s all about.

  “This is where soldiers on leave from the war and others who are heading overseas come for entertainment, food, and drinks,” she says. “We serve doughnuts and coffee and we host a dance once a month. We can sure use your help.”

  “I’d like that,” you say enthusiastically.

  Soldiers and sailors enjoyed the entertainment at a San Diego canteen in 1942.

  You are not so sure you like it a

fter a few minutes during your first shift. You hear angry words being exchanged between a sailor and a woman. Should you get in the middle of the argument or should you let them work it out for themselves?

  To try to ignore it, press here.

  To get involved, press here.

  You’re speaking with possible boarders and a woman named Gloria has brought you to tears.

  “We were destroyed by the Depression,” she says.“ We had no money. And just when my husband found a job, he was drafted into the Army. He was shot and died three months ago.”

  Gloria begs you to allow her to stay with you even though she can’t pay rent. She promises to take care of Elizabeth and do the cooking and cleaning. You can’t say no.

  Elizabeth couldn’t be happier. She smiles as she talks about all the games she and Gloria play. She adds that Gloria has a nice boyfriend who stops by and that the two spend a lot of time in the basement.

  You wonder why Gloria would have a boyfriend just a few months after her husband was killed. You become suspicious. You search the basement and find a large bundle hidden behind your sewing machine. It’s wrapped in cloth that matches one of Gloria’s dresses. You open the bundle. And to your shock, it’s full of money!

  You are tempted to use the money to pay bills, but you fear big trouble if you do. Maybe you should go to the police.

  To go to the police, press here.

  To take the money, press here.

  It’s August 1943. You hear from a college friend that the newly formed Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) is looking for female aviators for training. You have a pilot’s license and flight experience. Perfect!

  You leave Elizabeth in your mother’s care and are accepted as a trainee in Sweetwater, Texas. When you arrive you speak to Jackie Cochran, the director of the WASP program. You admire Cochran, one of the greatest pilots in American history. She even set a national air speed record, flying from New York to Miami in just over four hours.

  Cochran has words of warning for you. “This could be dangerous,” she says. “You will be testing warplanes. They might not all be safe. But we must find out. Your mission is important for the safety of our bombers overseas.”

  Your first two missions go well. But on your third mission, the unthinkable happens.

  Jackie Cochran (right) was a top racing pilot.

  You’re flying a twin-engine plane when you notice you are running out of fuel. The fuel gauge must be broken! You are flying over an area with many houses. You can try to bring the plane down, but you could land on a home and kill its residents. Or you can keep flying and hope to find an open area.

  To keep flying, press here.

  To bring the plane down, press here.

  You never have liked the dark. But you have to overcome your fear and take the graveyard shift at the airplane factory. You need the job and your country needs workers.

  It is often pitch black outside when you walk to work at midnight. No lights are allowed during air raid drills along the Atlantic coast. People are worried about a possible German attack on New York. Any lights that can be seen from warplanes would make a tempting target.

  One night before you leave home you hear the sirens roaring. It’s an air raid drill! Elizabeth is scared. You don’t know if you should stay home with her and risk losing your job or go to work.

  To stay home, press here.

  To go to work, press here.

  You have never been one to keep quiet when someone is taking advantage of you.

  “Hey, Mr. Foster!” you greet your boss angrily. “Why am I making less money than the man I’m working with? I’ve been working here longer than he has and I do just as good a job.”

  “That’s easy,” he says. “You can’t be doing as good a job. You’re a woman. Women are weaker. This is hard, physical work.”

  “That’s not true!” you yell. “I’m doing the same job just as well as any man here, and I should be paid the same!”

  “How would you like to get paid nothing for having no job?” he asks.

  Men and women worked together to build planes for the war effort.

  He’s threatening to fire you. “I’d rather get paid nothing than work here,” you tell Mr. Foster. “Either I get equal pay for equal work or I quit!”

  “You won’t have to quit,” he answers. “You’re fired!”

  You storm out of the factory and walk home. You need money and now you have no job. You want to help the war effort and now you can’t.

  But you know that with so many men overseas there is a need for female workers. You start to feel better when you realize that other jobs are waiting for you. And you hope you’ll be paid fairly.

  THE END

  To follow another path, press here.

  To read the conclusion, press here.

  You run to the police station and show an officer the cash.

  “This money isn’t stolen,” says the officer. You are relieved, but only briefly. “It’s counterfeit!” he says. “Phony money. Your boarder is a crook!”

  You try to keep calm. The woman living in your house and her boyfriend are criminals. There was no dead husband. You’re sure of it! She must have made up the entire story. And she’s been spending every day with your daughter.

  Soon the police raid your home. They arrest Gloria and her boyfriend.

  The babysitter didn’t work out. The boarder certainly didn’t work out. You need the money, but keeping Elizabeth safe is more important. So you quit your job at the airplane factory and take another one as a waitress in a coffee shop. The owner lets Elizabeth stay with you until she returns to school.

  A World War II poster called female workers “soldiers without guns.”

  You are not earning as much money, but it’s worth it. For the first time in a long time, you have peace of mind.

  THE END

  To follow another path, press here.

  To read the conclusion, press here.

  The air raid siren is wailing. Elizabeth is shaking, and you are hugging her.

  “I know it’s a little frightening,” you whisper in her ear. “You’ll be fine. I have to go to work now.”

  “No, no, no!” Elizabeth screams as she bursts into tears. “Don’t go, mommy!”

  You think for a moment. You’ve never missed work. You figure one night won’t hurt. You call your boss. You don’t want to lie and tell him you’re sick, so you tell him the truth.

  “Every child in this city is scared right now,” he bellows. “You get yourself into work or don’t bother coming in again!”

  You have no choice. You know what is more important—and it’s not your job. After you calmly tell your boss you won’t be in tonight, he slams down the phone.

  You’ll stay home but you know you must have a serious talk with Elizabeth. You put your arm around her and speak softly.

  “During the Depression, people were out of work,” you tell her. “People were poor. Some people were homeless. But President Roosevelt told Americans something that made them feel strong. He said, ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ That means you have nothing to be afraid of but being afraid. And that’s what I want you to think about.”

  Elizabeth says nothing, but you can tell she’s taking it to heart. You know she’ll be fine.

  But will you? You’ll have to start looking for a new job tomorrow. But as you face your uncertain future, you know you made the right choice.

  THE END

  To follow another path, press here.

 

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