Anacostia High School

"This is about the last time we'll be marching to 'The War March of the Priests.' But it's a long way down this aisle. Long enough to remember..."

World War II touched many American lives in the years the United States took part. While many men and women served in the armed forces—some overseas, some on the front lines—the war also impacted day to day life on the Home Front, and the students at Anacostia High School were no exception. The retooling of factories for war production and the planting of victory gardens marked major efforts at home to fight the total war; but there were also everyday sacrifices by individuals, including students. At Anacostia, students helped raise money with bond drives, or donated some of their own money. Some joined school clubs that were formed to help in the war effort, or to train and prepare for enlisting. Some even gave away personal items for scrap to help build the tools to fight the war, such as the “tin jalopies vanishing,” no doubt having been given up for the scrap metal (perhaps to make a tank? A bomber? A battleship?). What other sacrifices did students such as these make to help the war effort, and win the war a world away?