Patrick and the Helmet Guys in WWII

Young Patrick with his Mom Bernice

My husband, Patrick, was a boy during World War II and lived on the eastern coast near the District of Columbia.  He recalls responding to blackout alerts and drills to turn out the lights and close the curtains.  After all, if the enemy planes couldn't see targets below, they would be less likely to drop bombs and initiate gunfire upon America again.  Pearl Harbor had been a foreboding event.

Everyone listened for a series of intermittent siren blasts of pending air raids or drills.  When my husband  was able to see out at night, Patrick would lie in his bed and watch the searchlights and would see the helmet guys"  (Civilian Defense Air Raid Wardens) walking and cruising about the neighborhood, checking for lights that remained on or failed to be sufficiently dimmed during blackout times.  These were scary times for all, old and young.

In an alleyway, the "helmet guys" kept a big box filled with sand, tools, and hoses in case of fires or bombing.  After the war ended, some men broke into the nearby box to split up the tools and other materials.  Baby mice scattered everywhere, startling the men, one of whom killed the mice with a shovel.  Patrick remembers thinking as a boy that these mice were the last casualties of World War II.

1942 public service announcement song from Tony Pastor and His Orchestra:
“Obey Your Air Raid Warden.”

One, be calm.  Two, get under shelter. Three, don’t run. 

Obey your air-raid warden.
Four, stay home. Five, keep off the highway. Six, don’t phone.
Obey your air-raid warden.
There are rules that you should know,
What to do and where to go,
When you hear the sirens blow,
Stop, look, and listen.
Seven, don’t smoke. Eight, help all the kiddies.
Most of all, obey your air-raid warden.
Stop, look, and listen.
Dim the lights,
Wait for information,
Most of all, obey your air-raid warden.
Stop the panic,
Don’t get in a huff,
Our aim today is to call their bluff.
Follow these rules and that is enough.
Obey your air-raid warden.