Rumors of War: The War before Pearl Harbor

The War's Voices

Broadcast and Commercial Recordings of Speeches and Interviews of World War II-era Personalities.

Winning the Home Front

War-related Entertainment, Propaganda, and Ads Targeting World War II-era Radio Listeners.

G.I. Jive

Popular and Topical Songs of World War II.

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boys

USO Shows, Armed Forces Radio, V-Discs, and Other Morale Efforts Targeting the Military.

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War Reports, News Flashes, and Informational Programs Regarding World War II.

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World War II-era Broadcast and Recording Technology.

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Winning the Home Front

As war gripped the rest of the world, America watched, waited, and, thanks to radio, listened. Along with battlefield updates and news reports from foreign shores, radio serials, patriotic programming, and defense tips for the home front foreshadowed the coming of war, keeping radios humming, and listeners asking not if we would become involved, but when.

The five radio broadcasts presented here come from original studio transcription disc recordings in the Arthur B. Church - KMBC Radio collection and the J. David Goldin collection in the Marr Sound Archives.

Broadcast #1
With the defense industry in full gear, America lurched toward engagement, and the modern weapons of war took on star status. One program, "Defense in Action," produced by the National Defense Advisory Commission for broadcast on the Mutual Broadcast System, played like an infomercial for the defense industry, visiting production plants, interviewing workers, and describing the latest tools of battle like they were shiny new cars on the showroom floor. In this program, from February 1941, American tanks take center stage.

Broadcast #2
As war spread, Americans eagerly followed each development, spawning a new approach to journalism and a revolution in broadcasting. This heightened interest in world events was not lost on radio scriptwriters, and Axis spies soon joined gangsters and cattle rustlers as radio's arch-villains. In this April 12, 1941, episode from the Tom Mix "Ralston Straight Shooters" show, Tom and his sidekick Wrangler (along with their horses, Tony and Calico, respectively) use their cowboy moxie to stop an enemy saboteur from bombing a munitions factory.

Broadcast #3
By the early '40s, with the country still reeling from the Depression, domestic victory was doubtful enough without having to battle the Axis. As it had during the 1930s, Radio played a key role in cheering the nation during these difficult times. This September 11, 1941 effort, "Uncle Sam for You," a "civilian national defense song" penned by KMBC organist and musical director P. Hans Flath, runs the gamut from sincere patriotic exuberance to jingoistic pep rally.

Broadcast #4
With neutrality acts repealed, soldiers drafted and mobilized, defense industries working night and day, and American ships almost defiantly plying enemy waters, America's entry into the war seemed assured. In the shadows of looming conflict, President Roosevelt, in this Navy Day address from October 26, 1941, expressed America's resolve, equating the challenges of war with America's pioneer spirit and western expansion.

Broadcast #5
By late 1941, the only unanswered question was when war would come, and this uneasiness was just as palpable on the farm. Rural listeners had been a key radio audience since the medium's beginning, and now, with war on the horizon, rural programming reflected these new concerns. If featured on "Country Journal" a year earlier, Connecticut farmers Mr. and Mrs. Maynard Sykes might have discussed their son's chores; however, on this broadcast from November, 20, 1941, a little more than two weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor, their draft status is the main topic.

Text by Kelly McEniry, Marr Sound Archives
Digital Audio by Scott Middleton, Marr Sound Archives

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