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Sunday January 27, 2008 I interviewed my great aunt Evelyn Owens. I visited her in Belleville, Illinois in her current home. My mother, sister, Evelyn's son and his wife, all discussed World War II and what it was like to live during this time period. I chose to interview my great aunt because she was the best source that I knew of that could give me an Americans perspective of the war. Evelyn Owens was born in Belleville Illinois in 1917. She was an older sister to Audry and daughter to Maurice and Pauline Klemme. It was 1938 when she graduated from Duke University with a teaching degree. During World War II Evelyn was 24 years old. Her husband, Joe, and her couldn't get married in a church because celebrating was frowned upon during the grim times. Instead they had a small wedding in her mother’s home. It was June 1942 when Joe was drafted to the Air force. First he was trained at Scott Air Force base in Belleville. Then he was sent down to Florida for more extensive training, my great aunt went with him. After training both went to New York while they waited for him to be sent out of the country. Evelyn described the black outs that would commonly occur on the cost to confuse any possible bombers. A few weeks later Evelyn's husband was sent to New Finland, there he worked with planes that were headed for Europe. She remembers looking forward to the letters sent from him describing New Finland and what his job was like. Evelyn and her sister moved in with their mom and dad. Together they enjoyed listening to the radio, backing cookies for the soldiers over seas, and Evelyn remembers her mother sewing headbands for the nurses volunteering for the Red Cross. Also, occasionally rooms in the house were rented out by her parents to soldiers just coming home from the war and reestablishing themselves. Overall she said the experience of living with her parents and sister was very fun. In the community she said that there were often scrap metal drives. People from all over the area would donate pots, pans, silverware, and other unused medal objects to make into bullets for the war. Not only metal was limited but also meat and milk products. For theses products ration stamps became a type of currency. She said that every week she would pick up her stamps in order to buy these scarce products. She said the government was encouraging people to take out war bonds to help financially support the war and described poster posted all over town with slogans like "The Greatest Investment in The World". Evelyn said she remembers that she was in Cuba, Missouri visiting a friend on December 7, 1941 when she found out about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Evelyn's husband returned home from New Finland October 1945 in good health. In conclusion Evelyn's experience during World War II was difficult. However, after the war she said life did go on. From this interview I took away a number of lessons. Not everyone living in this time period was drastically effected, that many people in the community participated in contributing to help the war, and there were many hard working people in the war that were not necessarily fighting but on the sidelines. From this interview I have gotten a better understanding of what World War II was really like.