Adelaide Benjamin was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1932. She had a comfortable life and enjoyed outdoor activities with her younger brother. Her older sister did not care for outdoor activities. Benjamin attended Newman School [Annotator's Note: Isidore Newman School] and remembers the fear generated by the practice fire drills. It was a patriotic time. Benjamin remembers singing songs supporting the country and its war efforts. The recognition of Armistice Day on 11 November each year was a major event. It was a time with few women working outside the home. Benjamin's mother was a housewife. The family had a car and even a telephone so the distresses of the depression years were not apparent to Benjamin. Her father always said grace before the Sunday meal. In his words, he always mentioned gratitude for the United States not being at war. To Benjamin, war was equated to a game. She did not have an appreciation for the seriousness of such a conflict. As a result, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, she did not comprehend the situation. Her father had to explain to her the gravity of the circumstances.

Once the United States entered World War 2, Adelaide Benjamin followed the progress of the war in a number of ways but the family radio was the primary method. She and her family would listen to the ebb and flow of events on the radio. She remembers hearing the speech by President Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: President Franklin D. Roosevelt] during which he referred to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as a date which will live in infamy. In addition to radio updates, families received V Mail letters [Annotator's Note: V Mail or Victory Mail was correspondence sent to and from men and women serving in the armed forces overseas that was photographed then shrunk down and copied to microfilm. The use of microfilm allowed bulk shipments of letters to be reduced considerably in weight and volume] from relatives and friends overseas. With Benjamin's relatives being officers in the armed forces, their letters were not as heavily censored as enlisted men. Benjamin's father wanted to help the war effort so he became an air raid warden. Her father had tried to enlist in the Army and Navy but failed to pass their requirements. The Marines did accept him and he went to boot camp. While there, he got into great shape and was proud of his physical condition. After boot camp, Benjamin's father was sent to El Paso, Texas as a Marine recruiter. While Benjamin was in school, air raid sirens frightened her. Students went to the lowest floor of the building and squatted under heavy tables. Overall, El Paso was a positive experience for Benjamin. Rationing was in effect so if they did not have the requisite stamps, purchases could not be made. Sugar, butter and some vegetables were rationed. Beef and lamb were also scarce. Rubber tires and gasoline were parsed out by rationing, too. In order to preserve their tires, the family rarely drove over 35 miles per hour so as not to overheat them. Additionally, there would be frequent stops to run water over the tires in order to cool them. Trips were planned within a close radius of their home due to the rationing. Benjamin participated in scrap and salvage drives to support the war effort. She also would put a portion of her allowance into war stamps which she collected in her stamp book. She usually allocated ten cents of her 25 cent allowance to the war stamps. The family grew a Victory Garden during the war. They grew good crops in New Orleans, but the crops did not do so well in El Paso. Benjamin loved working the garden. She was a Girl Scout. It felt as if everyone was patriotic. Families with members serving in the armed forces showed a flag [Annotator's Note: the service flag was a small flag with a blue star representing each member of the family in the service. The star or stars would be on the field of white surround by a red stripe. If a member lost their life, the blue star would be replaced by a gold star] to the outside viewers of their home. The service flags were displayed proudly. Hardly any males of military age were seen in civilian clothes. Benjamin's family did not lose anyone in the war, but there were friends and neighbors who did. Benjamin learned to be helpful to her mother during this time.

Adelaide Benjamin remembers the first Christmas tree the family had out there [Annotator's Note: in El Paso, Texas]. With her father being a Marine recruiter in El Paso, the amount of family things brought from their home in New Orleans was limited. With the war going on, the tree ornaments that normally came from Europe were not available. Benjamin's mother decided on a simple means to decorate the tree. She popped popcorn and acquired some hard red berries and created strings of decorations with them. The red berries and the white popcorn were strung separately and adorned the tree. At the top of the tree was a large red bow. Benjamin's mother had learned during the war how to make do with what was available. She helped the war effort by rolling bandages. Even though she had been a member of the New Orleans Junior League, she never claimed to be anything other than a captain's wife. Benjamin witnessed her father swear in Indian [Annotator's Note: Native American] recruits. She was impressed with their stature and dignity. While the family was on a trip, they crossed through an Indian reservation. In doing so, her father decided to stop for his evening cocktail. The bar where they stopped was on the reservation. When her father learned he could not have a cocktail because of an aged treaty related to Indian reservations, he was distraught. The bar tender and her father spent time sharing the common opinion that the old treaty was not fair to the people on the reservation. Benjamin was impressed with the Indians she came in contact with. Her father had signed up as a cavalryman in World War 1. Like World War 2, he never left the United States.

Adelaide Benjamin and her family saw the war in the movie theaters on the Movietone News films. The graphic images often frightened her. Death was portrayed vividly on the screen. She went to the movies to be entertained. Families could not entertain at home because rationing resulted in few items being available to serve while entertaining. War news was followed on a map. Benjamin watched her parents for their reaction to difficult war news. A bad reaction would frighten the children. Her parents had visited Europe after they graduated from college. They had seen some of the cities and towns that were being fought over. They had seen the monuments and buildings in those towns. They feared for the destruction of those memorable sites. False rumors of losses scared her parents. No one knew at the time of the efforts of the Monuments Men and how close the world came to the loss of more treasures. [Annotator's Note: The reference to Monuments Men relates to a group of Allied servicemen who were dedicated to the salvage of the treasures and items of historical significance.]

Adelaide Benjamin had returned to New Orleans, Louisiana from El Paso, Texas by the time the war ended. When the announcement of the German surrender was made, many people hopped into their vehicles and bought a full tank of gasoline without regard to rationing. The happy citizens drove the cars around and blew their horns in celebration. The newspaper headlines declared that there was peace, but Benjamin wished the statements had been more negative to the defeated enemy. In celebration, Benjamin's first purchases during the peace were a chocolate soda, a comic book and bubble gum. She loved seeing servicemen in their uniforms. When her father returned to civilian attire, she thought that he did not look normal. World War 2 brought importance to her life. She built a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] bomber model during the war. She hated Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo [Annotator's Note: the high level commanders of the Axis forces]. She referred to all Germans as Nazis while the Japanese were called Japs or Nips. The Victory Gardens and the scrap drives helped the homefront feel like they were helping the war effort. It gave Benjamin a feeling of purpose in her life. In recent times, the feelings in the country after 9-11 [Annotator's Note: the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001] were similar in that the citizens felt unified. People were nice to each other. Benjamin has told her children to remember that feeling because it was similar to what she felt during her childhood. Benjamin thought that the tide of battle could have gone the opposite way. England was brave to stand alone [Annotator's Note: against the Germans in 1940 and 1941]. Even though her parents disliked Roosevelt as a traitor against his class, Benjamin felt that he and Churchill [Annotator's Note: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill] were commendable leaders. The United States was unprepared for war and lucky to win. Benjamin remains in touch with a friend who was a child during the Pearl Harbor raid. The friend still remembers her mother bringing her inside during the attack.

Adelaide Benjamin knows the preservation of the memory of the war by The National WWII Museum is important. She has been a supporter since its very beginning. She worked with Stephen Ambrose [Annotator's Note: Stephen Ambrose was a biographer, author, oral historian, college professor and the founding father of The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] in the early days. The gallantry of the First World War interested Benjamin, but the events of the Second World War were personal to her. She was glad to be able to financially aid the Museum. Working with the Board of Directors of the Museum had its difficulties, but she loves the Museum. Benjamin also enjoys seeing the Museum continue to grow. The story of Higgins [Annotator's Note: Andrew Jackson Higgins] is well done. Attracting veterans to New Orleans and the Museum so that respect can be shown to them is very good. Unlike Vietnam or Korea, everyone supported the war effort during World War 2. The war had to be won after Hitler and the Japs started it. Benjamin is not in favor of war, but after being thrust into the war by the enemy, the United States had to win the victory. There is no question that the atomic bombs had to be used when considering the loss of millions of lives in the invasion of Japan. It was apparent that neither the Japanese civilians or government would give up. Someday, there might not be borders and no more wars, but during World War 2, we had to fight and we had to win.