The bucolic small-town life of Denville in the 1940s would change forever with the outbreak of World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the town mobilized, creating the Denville Local Defense Council, designating air wardens to watch the skies and establishing air raid sirens. Schoolchildren gathered around home radios to learn if there were enough supplies to heat the school, and families learned to live within the confines of a ration book. The Denville Salvage Committee proclaimed "Bomb 'em with Junk!" as it collected waste goods for the war effort. Hundreds of Denville men served valiantly in all theaters of the war, some earning prestigious military accolades and many tragically never returning. Author Peter Zablocki covers the history of World War II Denville, including interviews with members of the town's "Greatest Generation."
Peter Zablocki is an author, researcher, teacher and the co-host of the History Teachers Talking podcast. Focusing on local history, he is the author of Denville Goes to War: Denville's Story of WWI and Denville 13: Murder, Redemption & Forgiveness in Small-Town New Jersey. Peter serves as the vice-president of the Denville Historical Society and Museum and is one of Denville's town historians. He lives with his wife and two sons in Denville, New Jersey.