Before the war, it was a quiet little village. There was not much work in the village, but the church was the heart of everyone. The year of 1941 was the beginning of World War II for the United States. Virginia was only five at this time and did not know what was going on.
Everything changed for the little girl.
When the war was going on, people had jobs. Some families were moving to California for jobs working for shipyards. Franklin Roosevelt was president when Pearl Harbor was bombed. He said that we were declaring war on the Japanese people. We were very scared. The U.S. needed volunteers to help fight so the little girl's father volunteered.
Everything changed for the little girl. The only people left in the village were women, children, and old men. Women had taken over the men's jobs. People had to start rationing food. They were only allowed five pounds of sugar and one pound of butter per month. It was also hard to buy silk stockings. They needed the fabric for parachutes. When the men came back to their village during the war, they were injured. People were always wearing black because there was so much death.
The little girl became afraid of the Japanese. The Japanese wanted to win the war so bad that they would commit suicide to do so. Her brother also worried a great deal. While her father was away fighting, he died. The doctor said that he died of depression.
Her father got wounded and eventually came home. He also had jungle rot. Jungle rot is caused when your skin is always wet. It makes the skin rot. A few years later her father died of cancer. She also feels this was caused by the war. Her father became addicted to cigarettes while there and this is how he got cancer.
Her father went to the war a very calm man. He came back very irritated. The only happy memory she has from this time in her life is the day the Japanese surrendered.
Virginia Rodriguez is no longer a little girl. She is now an educational assistant at Kennedy Middle School. She has helped us understand more about World War II.
- Amber Eaton, Matthew Valdez, Yvette Quintana