March 18, 1942 - Lottery/ Parade

St Patrick's day has been celebrated in Boston since 1876 - great fun and green beer. In 1901, Boston and surrounding communities enacted Evacuation Day on March 17 as a state holiday to honor local history. According to Google:

Evacuation Day is a legal holiday observed on March 17 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts (including Boston),commemorating the British army's retreat from the city on that day in 1776. It marks the first major victory for George Washington's Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, which occurred after soldiers strategically placed cannons on Dorchester Heights, forcing the British to abandon Boston.

I think they just combine the day with a ceremony on Dorchester Heights and the parade for St. Patrick. The day started wet but cleared enough for the parade that started around 2:30pm - like a little rain would ever stop a Boston parade. This year, there's more walking and fewer autos due to gas rationing. There's also a lot of service members marching as units. Full battalions marching with full gear to symbolize the national defense. Check out the pic on the front page:

Lottery

Imagine being 441. That was the first number called in the N.E. lottery. Seems a little confusing but once you get into the explanations, it's still confusing.

Draft Position the Easy Way?

So the lottery started on March 17 and ended March 18 after 9,000,000 names had been drawn. You can use the following to determine your fate? This is just a partial list. Mostly, young men are fairly eager to get in action and respond to the attack. We'll find that Joe was not one of those.

Arranged by Districts

Placing a whiskey ad on the page is an interesting choice. And that shoe makes my feet hurt.

Comics

A little bit of fun to end with today.

Hopefully Audrey and Joe are off having some fun. Mostly dreading April 1st. That's when the story begins. Subscribe and stay tuned.