For most of you who are too young to remember WW2, the War Bond program was a US Government program to raise funds for the war effort. The program was designed to get ordinary citizens to “invest” for a future monetary return with interest. Of course, the side benefit was that we continued to be a free nation. Stamps were available to be purchased for a minimal amount of 10 or 15 cents. They were pasted in a book such as this one. When full, they were turned in for a $25.00 war bond,redeemable some 10 years in the future.
The promotions for War Bonds were strong. Coupling patriotism with fear, many prominent radio and screen personalities travelled to promote their sale. Hollywood produced many movies in which the enemies of our country were villianized. At the end was always a War Bond promotion. There are many you can watch to get the feeling of the time.
“Avenge December 7″, Letter from Bataaan”, “Freedom Comes High” , and ” D-Day minus one” are some examples of Seventh War Loan films.
The total cost of participation in WW2 came to roughly $340 billion dollars (Todays money = $3.5 Trillion)
