Beverly Hills High School

"Once a football hero or a batting champion, Joe Norman now is on Uncle Sam’s team, and we may be sure that he is fighting just as hard to bring the same glory to America that he formerly brought to Beverly."

Just as today, teenagers during WWII had their own specialized slang and private in-jokes which they used to communicate with their classmates and friends. This fact is noticeable on almost every page of the 1943 Watchtower yearbook from Beverly Hills High School, on which are adorned humorous inscriptions and lengthy notes. Even with the war as an ever-present backdrop, students still maintained vibrant social and personal lives at school. Even if they realized that at a moment’s notice – they – like the example given with school’s mascot Joe Norman – might be called upon to serve such as those names bearing asterisks beside them on the graduation program. What do these asterisks mean?