THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: Thursday, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505040353 SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
Bread was selling for 11 cents a loaf at Overton's Market. Ration cards were still needed for sugar and gasoline.
Bob Hope's latest film - ``Princess and the Pirate,'' featuring Virginia Mayo - had opened at the Colonial Theater in downtown Norfolk.
Ocean View Amusement Park was advertising its ``New Bath House,'' plus free nightly dancing to the tunes of ``Joan Brandon and Her Magic Orchestra.''
That was the home front 50 years ago during the first week of May 1945.
Overseas that week, Hitler had committed suicide.
``Germany Beaten, Eisenhower Says,'' blared local newspaper headlines.
``One Million Nazi Troops Surrender,'' said another.
Locally, the newspapers carried the daily toll of dead and injured soldiers: ``14 Tidewater Men Listed as Casualties.''
This weekend, a half-century after the beginning of the end of World War II, Norfolk is planning to return to the days just before Victory in Europe Day, or ``VE Day.''
A special commemorative program to celebrate the 50th anniversary of home-front experiences in Tidewater is being sponsored by the MacArthur Memorial, Norfolk Public Schools and a variety of community organizations.
Scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the MacArthur Memorial, the free program will begin at 10 a.m. both days.
The activities will include a book-signing and remarks by Dr. Marvin W. Schlegel, author of ``Conscripted City,'' and Dr. Tommy L. Bogger, co-author of ``Norfolk, The First Four Centuries,'' from 6:30 to 9p.m. Friday in the MacArthur Memorial Theatre.
Also scheduled Friday evening are presentations on the activities of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard during World War II and on the changing landscape of Norfolk since the war.
In Norfolk, as in many other cities, the VE Day celebration took place prematurely.
``On Saturday night, April 28, when a broadcast from San Francisco announced that news of the German surrender might be expected momentarily, Norfolk started to celebrate,'' wrote Marvin Schlegel in ``Conscripted City.''
``The sky to the north was full of light and sound as Navy ships turned on their searchlights and blew their whistles. Restaurants and taverns closed up to get out of the way of the celebration. Auxiliary police called headquarters to ask for their instructions for handling the crowds. The staff in the Virginian-Pilot newsroom stood by, waiting for confirmation to get out an extra.''
However, President Harry Truman said, a half-hour later, that the report was without foundation.
Another week would pass before the news became official. The Associated Press reported on Monday morning, May 7, that the Germans had surrendered. But Truman didn't make the official announcement until 9 a.m. May 8.
At the end of the speech, sirens, bells and horns sounded, but the edge had been taken off the excitement.
A steady rain dampened whatever high spirits might have been left in the celebrants. Although larger stores closed according to prearranged plans, the others stayed open. That night special services were held in the city's churches, where people gave thanks for victory in Europe and prayed that triumph in the Pacific would come soon.
Norfolk's commemoration this week is a fitting tribute to those who labored at home to support the war front, said Dr. Preston Burton, education coordinator for the MacArthur Memorial.
Nearly 10,000 students from almost 30 schools have worked with the museum to present various art, music and vocational displays, he said.
``It is the first time I can remember when a school system and museum worked so closely together,'' he said.
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Salvation Army and Red Cross organizations also will be represented.
Many will feature re-enactments, using military equipment and uniforms of the World War II era. There will be automobiles of the 1940s, displays showing the Civil Air Patrol and a re-enactment of the Aircraft Warning Center, which played a critical role in civil defense. Participation in bandage rolling, as performed by the Red Cross during the war, will be held.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard will have an exhibit showing its contributions during the period.
Fashion shows depicting the era, along with hairstyles of the '40s, demonstrations of a ``victory garden,'' ``V-Mail'' letters, dance steps of the period and choral and instrumental music of the '40s, also will be held. MEMO: HOME FRONT DAYS AT THE MacARTHUR MEMORIAL
MACARTHUR SQUARE THEATRE
Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
THEATRE GALLERIES
Norfolk Naval Shipyard Exhibit
Special exhibit on the home front. Norfolk City Planning Department
shows the changing city landscape the war caused, with maps
andphotographs from the era.
STAGE, 10 a.m.
Kindergarten performance
School choral groups
School instrumental groups
School or community dance groups
LAWN AND SQUARE
Military re-enactment, displays
CLASSROOM A
A bedroom of the 1940s
Office equipment of the 1940s
CLASSROOM B
Veteran and home-front participants videotape
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Museum
Open to tours
5:30 p.m.Conclusion of outside activities
6:30 p.m.Book signing, Dr. Marvin W. Schlegel, authorof ``Conscripted
City,'' and Dr. Tommy L.Bogger, co-author of ``Norfolk, The First Four
Centuries''
7:30 p.m.Remarks by authors
8:10 p.m.Norfolk Naval Shipyard during the war
8:30 p.m.Changes in Norfolk during and after the war
8:50 p.m.Discussion and questions
9:00 p.m.Conclusion
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Presentations and performances by public schools and community groups
continue.
In case of inclement weather, some events will be moved to the
pavilion at Nauticus.
- Steve Stone, Staff
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BILL TIERNAN, Staff
Jennifer Jackson of Danbury, Conn., visited the World War II exhibit
in the Theatre Galleries of the MacArthur Memorial in downtown
Norfolk Wednesday. Jackson was in Norfolk to attend a job fair.
KEYWORDS: WORLD WAR II HISTORY by CNB