Welcome Home!

            By the end of 1944 it was estimated that there were more than 35,000 men and women from Montgomery County in the Armed Forces.  As the veterans returned they found it necessary to contact someone as to how to return to civilian life.  Questions as to where to obtain loans for homes, insurance, income taxes, mustering-out pay and employment were but part of the problems veterans faced.  Many of the men coming out of the service were qualified for considerably greater responsibilities then when they went in.  Thousands had received training in work that had its parallel in civilian life. Other men who had interrupted their education to go to war wanted to go back to college and take up where they left off.

            In September 1944 Dayton opened the Veterans Information Center at 12 West Monument Avenue for just that purpose.  The center provided interviewing rooms for various agencies deemed critical to finding the answer to a returning veteran’s problems.

            One concern was the reconversion of industry from war products to “peacetime” products.  With few exceptions the war material going out of Dayton factories were entirely different from what they had made previously.  Instead of cash registers or automobiles, they were making computing gunsights, carburetors and rockets.  Dayton industry jobs had increased by over thirty-two thousand people by 1944, a number which did not include employees at the Airfields, nor in trades and services.  Many veterans feared that there would not be jobs for them while the factories went thorough reconversion back to civilian products. 

             Fortunately, getting a job was not a large problem for those returning home, at least in the Dayton area.  Within six months of the end of the war over ninety percent of the factories had reconverted to the products they made before the war, with over sixty percent of the companies manufacturing new products. An increase of jobs was also created from the demand for new cars, housing, household equipment and durable goods that were not available during the war.  This was good for Dayton due to its active role in manufacturing durable consumer goods, equipment and related products. 

            For veterans wanting to continue their education Dayton offered several choices.  The University of Dayton offered an undergraduate college curriculum, while the YMCA college offered a Junior College curriculum covering technical subjects.  High school curriculum of the public schools was offered through day and evening classes and through a cooperative day school plan whereby a student alternated between two weeks of work and two weeks of school.  Trade and vocational training was also offered in the public schools, both through a night vocational school and a day trade extension courses to which industrial employees went on company time.

            Dayton’s citizens faced a number of other problems as the war came to an end.  Due to the city’s population rising over 43,000 during the war, both the Police Department and Fire Department were understaffed.  The city sewage treatment plant was also working considerably beyond its capacity.  Although trash and garage collection was increased, health inspection and other city services were limited do to the shortage of manpower.

            With the exception of Patterson Boulevard no new thoroughfare to speed the handling of traffic had been developed in the past twenty years.  This was hard on a city that had a sudden forty percent increase of traffic after the war.  The bridge system providing entrance into the city from the north and west was just as bad, not having been changed for over twenty-five years.  By the end of 1944 over 50 miles of main thoroughfare were in need of paving improvements, and additional miles of new streets were needed to secure traffic relief.

            The return of Dayton’s veterans was cause for celebration.  On October 27, 1945 thousands of Dayton citizens lined both sides of Main Street to pay tribute to General George C. Kenny, local hero of the Pacific wars. 

             General Kenney had originally been the assistant chief of the air corps materiel division and top-ranking officer at Wright Field before being named chief of the Fourth Army Air Force.  In September 1942 he was moved into command of the Southwest Pacific Air Forces under General MacArthur and promoted to Lieutenant General.

              Another parade was held on November 23, 1945, the day after Thanksgiving, in honor of Montgomery County’s returning veterans.  The Dayton Daily News headline read “WE’RE GLAD YOU’RE BACK! DAYTON WELCOMES HOME ITS BOYS AND GIRLS.”

            Daytonians began putting up plaques and monuments to honor  the men and women who had made the ultimate sacrifice during the war.

            Members of the Tony Stein Post 619 of the American Legion located at 1510 Webster Street were put in charge of erecting a war memorial honoring Norh Dayton service men. Ground was broken on Memorial Day, May 30, 1944.  Sergeant Alex Szima had the honor of turning the first shovelful of earth for the $10,000 memorial, which was located at the intersection of Keowee and Valley Street. 

            The monument was designed with a circular base 30 feet in diameter, with three granite pylons, each rising 19 1/2 feet.  In the center of the monument stood a globe and an eagle, both of which had been sculptured in Vermont.  A flagpole donated by Joe Guy was dedicated in honor of of his son, Russell H. Guy, a ferry command pilot who was killed in a plane crash. A special flag, donated by Adam Toth,  was flown during the dedication of the monument.  The flag was the one that was wrapped around the casket in which the body of his son, Lt. John Toth, was returned in after he died in the service of his country. 

            The Gold Star Mothers Memorial was unveiled at 1:30 p.m. on July 29, 1951.  Located at Riverside Park on Sunrise Avenue (now part of Edwin C. Moses Blvd), the seven foot tall pink granite monument was dedicated to the men and women of Montgomery County who had lost their lives in World War I and II.  During the dedication four wreaths were placed on the monument to depict the four branches of service.

Dayton Mayor Frank M. Krebs called upon the city to support his plans to make November 1945 a special month for returning veterans.  He asked that all Dayton citizens to wear specially made “Welcome Back Fighting men and Women” lapel cards throughout the month, and to give heed to special tributes on Armistice Day, November 11 and Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1945.

            Mayor Krebs’ proclamation follows:

            “Whereas, the men and women who left Dayton for the armed forces are now returning to their homes, and

            “Whereas, these men and women, who pledged their lives to the protection of their country, have been missed in this community, and

            “Whereas, Dayton’s military men and women, who disrupted their private lives for the benefit of the whole nation, are fully entitled to a complete salute from this community, and

            “Whereas, the citizens of Dayton are grateful to these returning World War II veterans, and wholeheartedly welcome them back to their rightful places in the community, and

            “Whereas, our veterans’ organizations and the Dayton Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring “Welcome Back Fighting Men and Women” activities throughout the month of November;

            “Therefore, I, Frank M. Krebs, mayor of the City of Dayton, proclaim the month of November, 1945, ‘Welcome Back Fighting Men and Women’ month, and call on the people of Dayton to use all of the channels open to them to welcome our veterans back to this community.  I request that throughout this month our citizens wear the official ‘Welcome back Fighting Men and Women’ lapel card now being distributed by our veterans’ organizations and the chamber of commerce and I ask that special tributes be paid to our veterans on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, and Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22.  It would be appropriate to devote a portion of our church services on Sunday, Nov. 11, to World War II veterans, while Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, will be given over  to a full citizen display of gratitude and a ‘Welcome Back’ parade.

            “Whereunto, I have set my hand this first day of November, 1945.”

 Sidebar text:

The ground breaking ceremony of the Gold Star Mothers Memorial included members Agnes Moomaw, Daisy Williams,Daisy Matix, Jennie Hall and Frances Walters.  Reverend Eldred Johnston also attended. To be a member of the Gold Star Mothers you had to have a son or daughter who had died while serving in the armed forces.  The Dayton local chapter, whose members served the home front in various volunteer capacities, also established a fund for an Ohio rehabilitation center for servicemen for use after the war.