Stan Stokes: A Reflection Of Growing Up During WWII
May 20, 2019 at 12:28 a.m.
Stan Stokes: A Reflection Of Growing Up During WWII
By Drew Beck-
War time is never easy for all involved. Constant fear, the overbearing thought of a loved one not coming home, the threat of war coming to your home soil, these are all worries of people during wartime.
Stan Stokes, 88, actually reflects somewhat fondly of his years as a boy during World War II. He especially remembers watching his heroes, the soldiers, bravely defending America on the big screens at the local movie theaters.
“We came out of the theaters wishing we were older so we could go [to war],” Stokes explained. He vividly remembered these “newsreels” as they were called, and being starstruck, as they were being shown in his hometown movie theater in Warsaw.
Stokes was born in Warsaw on Nov. 14, 1930. He had a normal childhood, going to school and being part of his local Boy Scout troop. All that changed, however, on Dec. 4, 1941.
About a month after his 11th birthday, Stokes clearly remembers the events of this day. He was driving with his family when he saw a man selling newspapers in an alley. The newspapers were headlined by news that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. A day later, the United States would enter the war.
“At my age, there wasn’t much I could do because I was too young to serve,” Stokes recalls. As an 11-year-old, it was difficult to really help out in the war effort, but Stokes still found ways to contribute.
His Boy Scout troop, Troop 36, would ride around in a truck and collect newspapers from front porches to then take to scrap yards in Warsaw to be reused for various purposes. While this seemed like a minor task, Stokes fondly remembers feeling very good about helping.
Another way children could help with the war effort was through tire drives. Tires would be collected and then taken to a place where they would either be reused as tires for vehicles in war or other purposes. While Stokes does not remember exactly if he helped with this task, he remembers seeing it happening in Warsaw.
Due to many resources going to the war, during the time of World War II, no new cars were made. This was not the only thing that took a hit due to resources going to war.
“All manufacturing was for the war effort,” he recalls.
Of course, this was a time for rationing as well. One main resource Stokes remembers having rationing for was gasoline. Civilians would have to put a “C” on their front windshield, so gas stations would know how to ration their gasoline.
“We had this sticker ... we could only buy a certain number of gallons of gasoline per week,” Stokes explained. Farmers, however, were able to have different rations on gas, as they needed more for their heavy machinery.
Gas was not the only thing to be rationed, Stokes explained. “Such things as shoes, sugar, flour, eggs and other foods as well,” he recalls.
Since there was no TV yet, the only way for people to see footage of the war was at the movie theater. Reporters overseas would film battles, and then turn those into “newsreels” that would then be sent back to the states to be shown in advance to the movies.
“There was never any blood or gore shown because there was a sort of unspoken code that all theaters followed. If you wanted to see casualties or comments from generals or politicians, you would have to turn to newspapers to find this information,” Stokes said.
“Before the movie, you would see a newsreel, and you would see these troops and there was a narrator telling where these troops were and maybe mentioning the progress of the war,” he said.
“We came out of the theater wishing we were older so we could go.”
Even without ever stepping a foot on enemy soil, Stokes remembers feeling every bit apart of the war.
Stokes can also remember seeing men going off to war.
“In Warsaw, draftees and enlistees would board a Greyhound almost weekly,” Stokes explained.
Ralph Boice, a local movie theater owner, would film these occasions and then turn them into short films and show them at his theater.
Stokes recalls that in 1944 Warsaw has an outstanding player, and he was having a stellar senior season. When it came time for the sectional, Warsaw had a very good shot at winning the title, and this player was going to lead them. Then, the night before the sectional final, this player was drafted and sent to war.
“So, he didn’t play in the sectional final, and we lost,” Stokes recalled with a half-smile.
Stokes now resides in Grace Village, with his cat Abbey. He has two daughters and several grandchildren.
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War time is never easy for all involved. Constant fear, the overbearing thought of a loved one not coming home, the threat of war coming to your home soil, these are all worries of people during wartime.
Stan Stokes, 88, actually reflects somewhat fondly of his years as a boy during World War II. He especially remembers watching his heroes, the soldiers, bravely defending America on the big screens at the local movie theaters.
“We came out of the theaters wishing we were older so we could go [to war],” Stokes explained. He vividly remembered these “newsreels” as they were called, and being starstruck, as they were being shown in his hometown movie theater in Warsaw.
Stokes was born in Warsaw on Nov. 14, 1930. He had a normal childhood, going to school and being part of his local Boy Scout troop. All that changed, however, on Dec. 4, 1941.
About a month after his 11th birthday, Stokes clearly remembers the events of this day. He was driving with his family when he saw a man selling newspapers in an alley. The newspapers were headlined by news that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. A day later, the United States would enter the war.
“At my age, there wasn’t much I could do because I was too young to serve,” Stokes recalls. As an 11-year-old, it was difficult to really help out in the war effort, but Stokes still found ways to contribute.
His Boy Scout troop, Troop 36, would ride around in a truck and collect newspapers from front porches to then take to scrap yards in Warsaw to be reused for various purposes. While this seemed like a minor task, Stokes fondly remembers feeling very good about helping.
Another way children could help with the war effort was through tire drives. Tires would be collected and then taken to a place where they would either be reused as tires for vehicles in war or other purposes. While Stokes does not remember exactly if he helped with this task, he remembers seeing it happening in Warsaw.
Due to many resources going to the war, during the time of World War II, no new cars were made. This was not the only thing that took a hit due to resources going to war.
“All manufacturing was for the war effort,” he recalls.
Of course, this was a time for rationing as well. One main resource Stokes remembers having rationing for was gasoline. Civilians would have to put a “C” on their front windshield, so gas stations would know how to ration their gasoline.
“We had this sticker ... we could only buy a certain number of gallons of gasoline per week,” Stokes explained. Farmers, however, were able to have different rations on gas, as they needed more for their heavy machinery.
Gas was not the only thing to be rationed, Stokes explained. “Such things as shoes, sugar, flour, eggs and other foods as well,” he recalls.
Since there was no TV yet, the only way for people to see footage of the war was at the movie theater. Reporters overseas would film battles, and then turn those into “newsreels” that would then be sent back to the states to be shown in advance to the movies.
“There was never any blood or gore shown because there was a sort of unspoken code that all theaters followed. If you wanted to see casualties or comments from generals or politicians, you would have to turn to newspapers to find this information,” Stokes said.
“Before the movie, you would see a newsreel, and you would see these troops and there was a narrator telling where these troops were and maybe mentioning the progress of the war,” he said.
“We came out of the theater wishing we were older so we could go.”
Even without ever stepping a foot on enemy soil, Stokes remembers feeling every bit apart of the war.
Stokes can also remember seeing men going off to war.
“In Warsaw, draftees and enlistees would board a Greyhound almost weekly,” Stokes explained.
Ralph Boice, a local movie theater owner, would film these occasions and then turn them into short films and show them at his theater.
Stokes recalls that in 1944 Warsaw has an outstanding player, and he was having a stellar senior season. When it came time for the sectional, Warsaw had a very good shot at winning the title, and this player was going to lead them. Then, the night before the sectional final, this player was drafted and sent to war.
“So, he didn’t play in the sectional final, and we lost,” Stokes recalled with a half-smile.
Stokes now resides in Grace Village, with his cat Abbey. He has two daughters and several grandchildren.
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