This new exhibit in progress at the Aviation Museum of the CAF So Cal Wing at Camarillo Airport is dedicated to the Moms who held down the fort at home during WWII while their sons, husbands, fathers,brothers and other family members were off to the war effort.
Many of the children and relatives of “Moms at home in WWII” display remember the sacrifices made from saving newspapers, aluminum foil, and other strategic items for the war effort. There were also rationing books, and food ration coupons where you could only buy a certain amount of eggs, meat, etc. Some remember Moms mixing up what was called oleomargarine, using lard and a soft gel coloring to make it look better.
There were also black draw-down shades in many windows along the Southern California Coast and Los Angeles Basin so no light could get out the windows at night providing a potential enemy target. This occurred right after a Japanese submarine surfaced on February 23, 1942 a few hundred yards off a beach 10 miles west of Santa Barbara, CA, within the Ellwood Oil Field. For 20-minutes, the sub fired 17 shells at the giant Richfield aviation fuel storage tanks, did only minor damage to a pier and pump house, but news of the shelling trigger an Invasion” scare along the West Coast. It was the first enemy ship to shell the U.S. mainland.
Come on down to our Aviation Museum at 455 Aviation Dr., Camarillo Airport and check out our expanded museum and gift shop – and be sure to bring your Mom if she is still with you to see the new “Moms in WWII” display. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 4pm, closed on Mondays.
