Glen Bentley: A local perspective on the war
Air Raid Warden
Air Raid Wardens are used to check around the area in case of an “air raid”. Just like Glen’s father many men in the United States and England were on watch for an air raid. Most men that are in the positions as Air Raid Warden were unable to join the military. While Glen’s father as in Torrance a P-38 crashes near his father while his father was getting ready to begin his round as a Air Raid Warden.
The Douglas Company
While Redondo Beach wasn’t really active during World War 2 but there was an company that built planes or the Army and the Air Force. Even post war the company continued to build planes for the United States.
Blacked out houses
As tensions between Japan and the United States got worse people were scared of another bombing happening. Which was correct because Japan was planning to bomb and invade the United States but failed by the US scoring victories against the Japanese. But because people were scared of the bombing from the Japanese people began to stop using electricity at night to made it harder for bombing because the houses were not recognizable in the air because there was no light.
Ration Cards
While in the war people had to ration everything because the troops fighting overseas need the supplies to fight and treat wounded. In order to ration without disorder happening people received a ration card. This cards had
status just like the different passes for Disneyland the higher you are with your job, the more supplies you can obtain. For instance most of the government works received more gas, food and etc. Glen’s father had obtained a B- card for his family which allowed him to get 8 gallons of gas instead of the 4 gallons of gas you get with an A- card.
Missouri Peace Treaty
When the Japanese decided to give up on the war, they signed the peace treaty on the USS Missouri. The USS Missouri was a battleship in the Pacific Fleet during World War 2. While it was a normal battleship, it was also the last battleship the United States built for World War 2. Under the supervision of General Douglas MacArthur the peace treaty was signed by Japan Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijirō Umezu.
Glen Bentley is 85 years old and was born in Kansas on December 25 1930. Glen was raised in Torrance California through out most of his childhood. He was 10 years old during the time of World War 2. During the war his father was a priest and his mother was a stay at home mom. Glen's father also a was an air raid warden for his community during the war. Despite the fact that glen nor his father actually fought combat in the war they still participated to help their county in any way they could.