WWIIAM E RICA I N

Originally Published by

U.S. Petroleum Administration for WarA 1943 A

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About AMERICA IN WWII...America in WWII is the only magazine that brings you WorldWar II and the 1940s just as they were experienced by Americanpeople, at the front and on the home front. Get our bimonthlyprint magazine at Barnes & Noble, at Borders, or by subscrip-tion at americainwwii.com.

To win World War II,America needed war-

plane fuel—much morethan the country could pro-duce. More high-octanerefineries had to be built,and fast. But after a yearof nonstop effort, refineryconstruction workers weretired. Morale sagged. Sodid the pace of construc-tion. How to lift moraleand productivity? Why, comic books, ofcourse! The US government’s PetroleumAdministration for War (PAW) designed

its comic books to inspirerefinery construction work-ers with the huge impor-tance of their work. Thefirst—Comin’ in on a Wingand a Prayer—appeared inlate 1943. It was so popu-lar that PAW quickly fol-lowed up with Under-CoverWar. Did the comic books dothe trick? Hard to say—butAmerica did win the war!

For more, see “Comic Books for HardhatHeroes,” by Kevin Morrow, in the October2009 issue of America in WWII magazine.

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