Civil Defense

My wife and I became air raid wardens. After some training we were issued a 3 gallon pump type fire extinguisher which could be used on small incendiary bombs. . . . When a drill called for a blackout we were expected to watch our assigned territory for any light and get it out.

Paul E. Gregory

Michigan was considered a possible enemy target because of its huge defense industry and the Great Lakes transportation system. Michiganians served as air-raid wardens, enforced blackouts, learned how to spot enemy planes, delivered messages and staffed emergency disaster stations.

I was almost nine years old when World War II began, and my father's activities . . . were important to me. For one, he was a block warden. During air-raid drills he donned an arm band, grabbed a flashlight and checked houses for escaping light. Dad had to know how many people lived in each house in his territory in case rescue operations were ever needed.

Mollie McCain, Grand Rapids

The Michigan Office of Civil Defense (OCD) organized Neighborhood War Clubs to assist air-raid wardens and help circulate information on government programs. The government encouraged people involved in civilian defense to wear uniforms, pins, badges or helmets as symbols of participation in the war effort. More than 400,000 Michigan citizens helped civil authorities maintain home front vigilance during the war. The photo shows training manuals and other Civil Defense artifacts in the exhibit.

I was five years old when World War II broke out. . . . I remember seeing hundreds of objects flying over the city [Sault Ste. Marie]. Grandmother said they were barrage balloons. Each one had steel cables suspended from them; if an enemy plane flew in low, the cables severed the wings from the fuselage.

Carol Hamp

During World War II, the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie were heavily guarded. More than 577 million tons of freight passed through the locks from 1941 to 1945, even though ice blocked shipping for a part of each year.