On November 25, 1943, the United States celebrated Thanksgiving as the Second World War raged on.
In one of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s largest cities, this holiday was marked quietly and quickly, as many in war industries were required to work on Thanksgiving Day.
The Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader described the war-time holiday:
THANKSGIVING IS OBSERVED; MANY WORK
Extra Transportation Provided for Holiday Visitors To the Valley Churches Hold Services
Thanksgiving Day, usually a holiday for almost all workers of Wyoming Valley, found many at their employment today. This was particularly true in the mining industry where the workers were at their posts to assist in the war emergency.
Bus and railroad employees extended their efforts to aid in accommodating heavy traffic. Many parents entertained sons and daughters home from the war service, and from institutions of learning, or from employment in other cities. Church services were largely attended, while hundreds attended football games.
Wilkes Barre Railway Company maintained regular weekday schedules. Martz and Greyhound lines ran extra sections to defense plant cities.
Court house, city hall, post office, public buildings, banks and other institutions and industries not directly in the war effort were closed and their employees were able to have a day of thanksgiving.
Regular week-day masses were held in all Catholic churches and in many Protestant churches special Thanks services took place… The Salvation Army held its usual Thanksgiving dinner, Major Benjamin Kirkman reported the Army served 75 guests.”
As for the mood was on this second war-time Thanksgiving, the editorial team at the Times-Leader succinctly described how many Americans felt about the conflict at this stage.
“THANKSGIVING DAY, 1943”
“It is much easier this year than it was last year, or even in 1941, to enumerate blessings for which we should and do give heartfelt thanks.
The tide of war has turned. Everywhere, throughout the world, the United Nations are on the offensive. Africa has been recaptured. The Mediterranean is OUR sea. A third of Italy has been taken, and the Italian people now are our allies.
We control the airways and the waters that lie under them. We are bombing the stuffing out of Hitler’s Europe, while he can launch only an occasional nuisance raid against, Allied territory. We have the submarine menace pretty well licked, at least temporarily.
In the Pacific we have begun pressing the Japs back toward Tokyo. Our planes are destroying their planes in an almost unbelievable ratio of seven to one. It is becoming almost suicidal for Nipponese shipping to venture near the war area. Last year we had to prod ourselves, and needle our imaginations, to think up reasons for Thanksgiving.
Actually, we had little more that was substantial than our traditional American cockiness, our foolish but comforting inner feeling that we are too great a nation to be beaten.
All that is changed. Now we see daylight ahead. We can even begin thinking in specific terms of a date for Victory 1944, if Fortune is kind, for Germany, 1945 or 1946 for Japan. The war isn’t yet won. It isn’t yet beyond losing.
We have progressed thus far because we put almost everything we had into the war. We must continue giving everything.
Let us be thankful that, when the time came to give, we had what it is taking to save this world for free men and women and children.
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