Then & Now
WWII officially started in 1939 but the U.S. became directly involved after Pearl Harbor was attacked December 7, 1941. A series of war bonds were sold and residents were encouraged to buy them to support the war effort. VE Day ended the war in Europe on May 8, 1945 when Germany signed the surrender papers. The war in the Pacific did not end until Sept. 2, 1945 when Japan signed the surrender papers in Tokyo Bay on the deck of the USS Missouri. This ship is now docked at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. These ads were in the Mantorville Express newspaper from the May 1945 edition.