‘There’s nothing that we can’t do.’
You hear this sometimes.
And the cynical ones among us usually snicker and roll their eyes.
But when you think about what ordinary people did during World War II to support the nation’s war effort, you have to believe it.
It seems there was nothing those folks wouldn’t do to help win the war.
There are so many examples.
Here’s one: rubber tires, rubber work boots, rubber gloves, women’s bras and girdles.
Before the war, the American people used a lot of rubber.
And almost all of it was natural rubber which came from rubber plantations in Southeast Asia.
The Japanese conquest of the region in the late 1930s cut off this supply.
At the time, the synthetic rubber industry was in its infancy.
So, the federal government stepped in.
Massive supplies of rubber would be needed to produce war materials.
President Franklin Roosevelt designated rubber a “strategic and critical material,” and created a government agency to stockpile natural rubber and regulate synthetic rubber production.
Manufacturers were required to share patent information to enable a ramp-up in production of synthetic rubber.
The government paid to build fifty-one synthetic rubber factories.
And they contracted with the big rubber companies for 400,000 tons of synthetic rubber per year.
This agency also promulgated regulations to conserve rubber and collect scrap rubber for reclamation.
They imposed a nationwide speed limit of 35 mph — the ‘victory speed’ — to save on tire wear-and-tear.
Tire ownership was limited to five tires for the war’s duration.
Large employers had to hire guards to patrol employee parking lots to deter tire theft.
Civilians who coaxed especially long lives from their old tires became celebrities.
The combined effort of collaborative synthetic rubber production and civilian conservation worked.
By 1944, there was enough synthetic rubber being produced to meet the war demand.
Big problem solved!
Now, some might say the current generation could never match the grit and determination of World War II Americans.
And they may be right.
But, in thinking about this, remember that these people — our parents and grandparents — weren’t making sacrifices for the government or to avoid getting into trouble.
They were doing it for their sons and husbands, fathers and big brothers fighting overseas.
And that’s what is sometimes overlooked in trying to figure out FDR’s communication skills.
His new rules were explained as a way to help bring victory sooner — as a way to get involved in the fight.
He made the war personal.
So, each time an old man patched a car tire, each time a kid turned in a big roll of tin foil, each time a lady turned in a can of cooking fat…
…they were doing it for somebody they loved or for the boy who lived down the street and was in harm’s way.
And there was nothing they wouldn’t do to help him.
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I’ll see you tomorrow.
— Brenda
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