Chas said:I wonder why anyone would want to re-enact one of the most hated individuals of the war. The Air Raid Warden. My mum had a run-in with one who reamed her out for having a little crack of light showing in her window.....in Cloverdale....British Columbia. They tended to be nasty busy bodies who had nothing better to do.
KilroyCD said:That's a rather broad brush you're using to paint the Air Raid Wardens with, and shows a complete igorance and lack of understanding of the subject. :rage: Portraying an Air Raid Warden in a living history role is all about educating the public. As a Civil Defense reenactor, one is portraying a largely overlooked aspect of the era. In certain parts of the US the Air Raid Wardens were indeed performing a vital role, and I'll elaborate on that shortly. Granted, I won't deny that there were some who were self-important busybodies, but to describe all of them that way because of a run-in your mum had with one individual is greatly unjust. It's like saying all dogs are vicious because you got bitten by one.
Now, the Air Raid Wardens (ARW) weren't always the most popular people around because they had a job to do and they largely did their job the way they were supposed to. In my research, I've come across many instances, especially in East Coast towns and cities where the ARW role was quite important, and in fact essential. I speak of the coastal towns and cities early in the war, when the German U-Boats were running up tremendous tallies along the east coast. It was because the towns didn't want to black-out because of losing tourism dollars. The situation got so desperate that the US was on the verge of losing the Battle of the Atlantic because of the U-Boats using the lights of the towns and cities to silhouette their targets. Over 600 freighters and tankers totalling over 3.1 million tons were sunk between January and August 1942, many within sight of the shoreline, and the situation became quite dire. We were losing ships far faster than they could be replaced. The ARWs in these towns had a job, an unpopular job, of making sure the blackout precautions were being followed. It was a matter of national security, and I'm aware of ARWs in one municipality on Long Island who were issued and carried nightsticks to help them to enforce the blackout.
Besides Air Raid Wardens, there were many other important roles Civil Defense personnel played, including Auxiliary Firemen and Auxiliary Policemen. Auxiliary Police helped guard vital rail lines, tunnels, bridges, munitions plants and even military installations. Auxiliary Firemen helped flesh out the ranks of firefighters, ranks thinned by the draft and enlistments. I could go on...
These people were proud of their service to their country, as many were unable to serve in the military because of being too old or too young, had a medical reason or were in vital defense jobs. But they could serve their country in the Civilian Defense.
So to belittle their importance with such a statement is an insult to those who served and to myself, and I strongly suggest you do a little reseach next time before you post such an inaccurate and inflammatory remark.
Chas said:Much that happened on the home front was essentially window-dressing and for propaganda purposes; like collecting scrap iron etc. The utility of it was mainly in making people feel as if they were involved in some way, no matter how limited.
Chas said:As far as the contribution of CD to countering Operation Drumbeat, you are way off base with that. Convoys, intelligence and a/c countered the U-Boats. Still not sure how you connect CD to countering the U-Boat offensive of Jan-March 1942.
KilroyCD said:I'm saying that they were a part of it. You seemed to miss the point that the U-Boats were using the lights of the towns to silhouette the ships. By enforcing the blackout, the ARWs were able to help diminish this advantage to the U-Boats.
LizzieMaine said:Absolutely right. There were documented incidents of U-Boat activity offshore here on the Maine coast -- with spies landing near Ellsworth, dead German sailors washing ashore here in Rockland, a
Story said:As well as vehicle headlights along coastal roads.
We had just had the crapped kicked out of our military in the western Pacific. Watching your own merchant ships burn off the coast was a complete morale killer.
Chas said:If you're referring to the spectacular job of enforcing the blackout during "Drumbeat", then I would counter that the CD wasn't doing its job AT ALL. By the time they got around to enforcing the blackout Drumbeat was pretty much over.
Chas said:There is only one case that I know of where a German U-Boat was sighted by people ashore -Reinhardt Hardegen's U-123 sinking a tanker off of the Florida Coast, and that was early in the Drumbeat operation. I think the German U-Boats were pretty competent at not being seen. So what's the claim as far as CD is concerned?
Chas said:As far as spies and saboteurs go, none were captured by the CD. One turned his compatriots in, and the rest were picked up by the FBI.
Chas said:Recommended reading: "Operation Drumbeat" by Michael Gannon.
History
Pre-World War
There is little history of civil defense in the United States before the twentieth century. Indeed, since time immemorial cities built walls and moats to protect from invasion and commissioned patrols and watches to keep an eye out for danger. But such activities have not traditionally been encompassed by the term "civil defense." The U.S. has a particular lack of early civil defense efforts because the American homeland was seldom threatened with a significant attack. Despite these considerations, there are still examples of what would today be considered civil defense. For example, as early as 1692, the village of Bedford, New York kept a paid drummer on staff, who was charged with sounding the town drum in the event of a Native American attack--a very early precursor to the wailing sirens of the Cold War.
World War I
Civil Defense truly began to come of age, both worldwide and in the United States, during the first World War--although it was usually referred to as civilian defense. This was the first major Total war, which required the involvement and support of the general population. Great Britain was subjected to bombing raids by both dirigibles and airplanes, resulting in thousands of injuries and deaths. Attacks on civilian ships, like the Lusitania, presented another threat to civilians. The British responded with an organized effort which was soon copied in the US. This was formalized with the creation of the Council of National Defense on August 29, 1916. Civil defense responsibilities at the federal level were vested in this council, with subsidiary councils at the state and local levels providing additional support--a multi-level structure which was to remain throughout the history of United States civil defense.
As the United States had little threat of a direct attack on its shores, the organization instead "maintained anti-saboteur vigilance, encouraged men to join the armed forces, facilitated the implementation of the draft, participated in Liberty Bond drives, and helped to maintain the morale of the soldiers."[2] This freedom to focus beyond air raid attacks gave United States civil defense a much broader scope than elsewhere. With the end of military conflict, the activities of the Council of National Defense were suspended.[3] Thus, World War I marked the first time that organized civil defense was practised on a large scale in the United States. Although civil defense had not yet reached the scale and significance it soon would, many of the basic features were set in place.
World War II
Posters like this were used to promote "Civilian Defense" during WWII and Comprehensive Emergency Management.World War II, which began in the United States with a devastating surprise attack on American soil, was characterized by a significantly greater use of civil defense. Even before the attack, the Council of National Defense was reactivated by President Roosevelt and created the Division of State and Local Cooperation to further assist the Council's efforts.[4] Thus, the civil defense of World War II began very much as a continuation of that of World War I. Very soon, however, the idea of local and state councils bearing a significant burden became viewed as untenable and more responsibility was vested at the federal level with the creation of the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) within the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) on May 20, 1941.[5] The OCD was originally headed by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and was charged with promoting protective measures and elevating national morale.
These organizations and others worked together to mobilize the civilian population in response to the threat. The Civil Air Patrol (CAP), which was created just days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, commissioned civilian pilots to patrol the coast and borders and engage in search and rescue missions as needed. The Civil Defense Corps, run by the OCD, organized approximately 10 million volunteers who trained to fight fires, decontaminate after chemical weapon attacks, provide first aid, and other duties.[6] These efforts did not replace the kinds of civil defense that took place during WWI. Indeed, WWII saw an even greater use of rationing, recycling, and anti-saboteur vigilance than was seen in WWI. As the threat of air raids or invasions in the United States seemed less likely during the war, the focus on the Civil Defense Corps, air raid drills, and patrols of the border declined but the other efforts continued. Unlike the end of WWI, the US did not dismiss all its civil defense efforts as soon as WWII ended. Instead, they continued after the end of the war and served as the foundation of civil defense in the Cold War.