The first months of World War II in Johnston County By Benjamin Sanderford
It was January 1942, one month after Johnston County folks found themselves plunged into the Second World War. The news coming out of Hawaii was comforting. Smithfield natives Sgt. W. Garland Stephenson, U.S. Army, and J.D. Lancaster, U.S. Navy, were both reported safe. So too was Navy electrician Willard Zadock Holland of Kenly, who had been declared dead following the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor. The news from abroad, however, was mixed. The Soviet Red Army had thwarted the German attempt to take Moscow, but it was hobbled in exploiting its victory by the incompetence of the Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin. Closer to home, German submarines were wreaking havoc on American shipping
in an effort to cut the United States off from Britain. Meanwhile, Japanese forces were driving British-led troops down the Malay Peninsula, threatening the vital port of Singapore. The Japanese had also landed an army in the U.S.-administered Philippines. Thousands of Americans were now in harm’s way. This gave the belt-tightening at home a sense of urgency. The Office of Price Administration imposed a rationing regime to ensure that all nonessential resources were available for military use. Johnston County was allotted a total 118 tires for all types of vehicles for the month of January. Early February saw the rationing of sugar to one pound per person per week while the Victory Garden campaign encouraged farmers to grow more food crops. All these measures entailed sacrifices from
Johnston County people, but they were willing to make them. The Junior Class of Benson High School voted on February 12 to forego the school’s annual Junior/
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