One night when I was staying with Grandma, I heard airplanes fly very low.   They sounded like they were going to crash into Grandma's house.   They made the windows in the house rattle.

"Grandma, what is that noise?" I asked, very frightened.

"Don't be afraid, Precious." she said. "Those are big airplanes taking our boys overseas to win the war and keep us safe."

I wasn't really that aware of World War II.   I do remember a few things though.   Momma, Daddy and I had books with stamps inside.   We got the books at the post office and they were called "ration books".

Everyone in the United States was allowed just so many rationed articles a month.   Things like butter, sugar, flour and gasoline.   When you bought those things from the grocery store, the store person put a stamp in your book.   When your book was full, you couldn't get any more of those items until the next month.

One time, we were visiting my cousins in the big city and all at once the sirens started going off all over the city.   All the street lights went off and my aunt had to run from room to room and pull dark, heavy, black curtains over every window.   This was called a "black out".   It was just a practice so in case the bad people from overseas came to bomb the city, they couldn't see any lights and they wouldn't be able to tell where the cities were.   Black Out wardens walked every street in the city to make sure no lights were coming from any building.

We didn't have to do that on the farm.   I guess the bad people didn't want to waste their bombs on one farm at a time.   They were just interested in the cities where the factories made tanks and airplanes and stuff for the war.

We collected scrap metal and tin cans and milkweed pods.   The metal was taken to the big cities and turned into bullets and parts for airplanes.   The milkweed pods were used to make parachutes.

Right around Halloween time, my Momma and Grandma set boxes up on the kitchen table and filled them with stuff for the boys overseas.   I got to stand on a chair and pass them the things they wanted.

They called them "Care Packages".   In them, they packed a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.   A bar of soap and a washcloth, candy bars, razor blades, cigarettes, Christmas cookies and a Christmas card.   Some boys from our neighborhood were overseas, so Grandma and Momma felt they were helping them.   We never knew who got the boxes.   The Red Cross picked them up and sent them overseas to whoever needed them.

All the time Momma and Grandma packed the boxes, they talked about how happy and lucky we were that my Daddy didn't have to go to war.   He was the only child of a farming family.   He had to take care of his farm and help with Grandma's farm.   He was expected to grow food that our country needed.   That was his war effort.

I was very glad my Daddy didn't have to go to war.