I remember December 7th. 1941. I was 14 years old. We
lived on the Corner of Shaw Avenue and North Seventh Street. Our neighbors
were The S. V. Perry family. The Jeff Johnson family lived just north of us. We all felt
rather content in our own little world. None of us had any idea of the horrible news we
were going to hear very soon.
It was a Sunday Morning just like any other Sunday. I was up and was out side playing.
Our next door neighbor Mr. S. V. Perry come out of his home and started running
towards our home. He was shouting to me, "Where is your daddy?" My answer was,
"Daddy is in the house."
I knew when I saw him running something bad had happened. I thought some of
the family had died or hurt themselves in some way. Mr. Perry jerked the door open and
ran inside. He seemed so excited and I still just couldn't imagine what had happened. Then
Mr. Perry shouted, "The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor".
This didn't mean much to me, because I didn't know where Pearl Harbor was. I began
trying to get my parents to listen so I could ask where it was located. I finally found out it
was in Hawaii. I then knew that the Japanese had made an assault on the United States even though
In 1940 Hawaii was not a state of the USA.
Now the rest of the day was spent sitting by the radio listening for updates. Although the
news reporters were not allowed to tell all the news they were reporting that many had been
killed and wounded. Also many ships had been sunk or destroyed in the harbor. Many of
the airplanes were also destroyed because of the sudden and unexpected sneak attack,
On Monday morning President Roosevelt declared war on Germany and Japan. I was in
Jr. High School at that time. Next morning one of the teachers brought a radio to the school.
I think the teacher was Mrs. Melbert Knod. It was set up in the auditorium which was used mostly
for study hall. We all went up to the auditorium and listened to President Roosevelt give a
speech. I remember the president saying I don't like war. My wife Eleanor doesn't like war. My little
dog Fido doesn't like war. The president didn't say war as us Arkies said it, He said wauh.
Sounded strange to us.
This put us in the bloodest war in which the USA had ever been involved. Several
Servicemen from De Queen lost their life in WWll. Their names are listed on the
monuments on the Southwest corner of the courthouse square.
Many of the soldiers in Pearl Harbor were in town on passes. They hustled back to their
duty stations. Many of the ships were sunk. Some of the ships remain there till this day.
The war started a whole new way of life for the United States. In just a few days rationing
went into effect. Gasoline was rationed and also sugar. Tires were also rationed. The
county organized a huge drive to gather all the scrap metal they could. The county built a
huge pen on the north side of the Courthouse Square and everyone took their scrape metal
and threw it in the pen. At least one time I remember them having scrape metal stacked
about 20 feet high. Tires were just about impossible to get. You had to apply, get a certificate
and then go to a dealer and wait. In most cases if you did get a tire it would be a recap. The
recapper in De Queen at the time was Wolf Tire Company. They were located at the corner of
Stillwell Ave. and 2nd. Street. The man that worked there and did the recapping was named Charles
Chenowith. I am not sure of spelling of his last name.
He lived north of De Queen on highway 71.
In the gas rationing department they had 3 different stickers. You had to put the sticker on
the windshield. Then you got a book with stamps in it. The A stamp allowed you to buy 3
gallons of gasoline. The B stamp allowed you to buy 4 gallons. The T stamp allowed you
to buy 5 gallons. The T stamps was only for trucks. Most cars got an A stamp. Back in
that era if you had a T sticker you would be allowed much more than cars. We got enough
stamps in our book to run our pickup for a year. We left our book at the Filling Station
where we bought all of our gas. The owner would use the tickets for other people needing
gas. Wasn't legal but it was common practice.
New cars were not produced during the war. The manufacturing companies stared making
vehicles for the Military. They produced all types of vehicles for the war effort. The jeep was the most popular of all. After the war many people bought them through surplus for hunting and working the
farms. They were a 4 wheel drive so you could go almost anywhere with them. The larger
trucks very not very compatible to civilian life. They were too cumbersome and slow.
Getting all of these stamp books ready for use was a tremendous job. These were nation wide projects so getting them out to the people after they were printed was a big job. They were mailed out most of the time, although you did have to go somewhere in town and sign up and list all the members of your family. Getting all of these stamp books ready for use was a tremendous job. These were nation
wide projects so getting them out to the people after they were printed was a big job. They were mailed out most of the time, although you did have to go somewhere in town and sign up and list all the members of your family.