Army-Navy E Award During WWII

More than 85,000 US manufacturing facilities were involved in war production during World War II. From small plants with a couple of dozen employees, to mammoth, multi-location corporations, companies across the nation either converted from consumer products to war matériel or expanded their already commercial organizations. The war industry paid well, and after the economic struggles of the Great Depression, employees were thrilled to be making high wages, but just as important to many was the feeling of patriotism from doing their part to support the war effort.

Patriotism was well and good, but in 1942, the US government decided to recognize the work done by businesses and their employees with the Army-Navy “E” Award. An earlier award, the Navy “E” award was created after President Theodore Roosevelt. By the end of World War I, the Army “A” Award and the Army-Navy Munitions Board “Star” award had been added, and the three separate awards continued until July 1942, when they were merged into a single service-wide award under the War Department.

Factors involved in determining award winners included:

• Overcoming production obstacles
• Avoidance of stoppages
• Maintenance of fair labor standards
• Training additional labor forces
• Effective Management
• Record on accidents, health sanitation, and plant protection
• Utilization of subcontracting facilities.

Facilities that maintained an outstanding performance record for six months after receiving an “E”

award were granted a Star award, indicated by a white star on the pennant. Additional stars could be earned by continued performance for subsequent six-month periods until the flag carried four stars, at which time the interval was increased to one year.

A total of 4,283 plants received the “E” award, approximately 5 percent of the companies involved in war production. The final awards were distributed in December 1945. However, one award was not made until after the war because of its association to the Manhattan Project. Word could not get out about the RCA plant in Bloomington, Indiana that produced the top-secret VT proximity fuze, a fuze that detonates an explosive device automatically when it approaches within a certain distance of its (military) target. In fact, the project was so secret, the employees making the fuzes were not told what the final products were or what they were used for. Reportedly, the employees referred to the project as “Madame X.”

Initially, the presentation of the “E” award was made with formal ceremonies that included printed invitations and programs. Some of the programs were “elaborate booklets filled with photographs praising the war production efforts of the firm.” Receptions and dinners were held at high-end hotels such as an event for the Manufacturers Machine and Tool Co. Inc. in November 1942 that took place in the grand ballroom of the Hotel Astor. The multicourse dinner with drink pairings was preceded by a cocktail hour.

Probably as a cost-reduction move as well as to minimize lost production, in 1943, the government standardized the ceremonies and limited them to a maximum of thirty minutes. The program ended on December 5, 1945.

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Love and Chocolate: A Second Chance Romance

She just needs a job. He wants a career. Is there room in their hearts for love?

Ilsa Krause and her siblings are stunned to discover their father left massive debt behind upon his death. To help pay off their creditors and save the farm, she takes a job at Beck’s Chocolates, the company her father despised and refused to supply with milk. Then she discovers her boss is Ernst Webber, her high school love who unceremoniously dumped her via letter from college. Could life get any more difficult?

A freshly-minted university diploma in his hand, Ernst Webber lands his dream job at Beck’s Chocolates. His plans to work his way up the ladder don’t include romantic entanglements, then Ilsa Krause walks back into his life resurrecting feelings he thought long dead. However, her animosity makes it clear she has no interest in giving him a second chance. Can he get her to change her mind? Does he want to?

Purchase link: https://books2read.com/u/mdQerZ

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves.

Whether you choose her books set in the Old West or across the globe during WWII, you will be immersed in the past through rich detail. Follow the journeys of relatable characters whose faith is sorely tested, yet in the end, emerge triumphant. Be encouraged in your own faith-walk through stories of history and hope.

Photo Credits:

Manufacturing Worker: Pixabay/Janno Nivergall

All other photos property of the author