Children and the War Effort

Children, many too little to understand the impact of their actions, participated in a number of activities during the war years. Boys and girls sponsored the collection of paper. Often, Boy Scout troops asked household residents to box or bundle their paper and leave it on their curb or porch for pickup. Classes in the local schools routinely collected money that would go towards the purchase of war bonds. Some children, like the ones pictured below, collected ripened milkweed pods from nearby fields that would be used for padding in certain military items.

Milkweed and Pod

Newspapers ran this advertisement encouraging children to “clean their plate.” Children in the United States should eat every bit of food on their plate and were continuously reminded that the starving children in Europe would gladly do so.

Charleston Daily Courier, January 1944

What sort of activities, as a child, would you be willing to participate in during the war years to assist the soldiers overseas? Would you be able to finish all of the food on your plates, even if it meant that you would have to eat those brussel sprouts your mother made for dinner? Can you think of any activities that you could do today that would help your friends or family in a worldwide war?

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