In my sophomore English class, we just finished read the A Seperate Peace by John Knowles.  To conclude the unit on the book, our teacher has asked us to select one of five different projects.  I have chosen to do a report on what happened in the USA during World War II.  I am looking for information on victory gardens, air-raid wardens, the stars that families with loved ones in the war put in windows, rationing, bonds, etc. As a veteran of World War II perhaps I could help you with some information about  what you are looking for.  For instance, yes, some people had victory gardens where they raised vegetables but there weren't too many and actually, although there was rationing of food and spot food shortages, there always seemed to be enough basic food to go around.  Yes, there were volunteer air raid wardens in some areas.  They were organized and coordinated by the Office of Civil Defense.  Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia of New York City was the first head of OCD and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was his assistant.  Every phase of civil defense was covered by voluteers.  Air raid spotters, fire fighters, air raid drills, first aid instruction, message carrying, etc. Families hung little flags with stars on them in their windows to designate that one or more members of the family was serving in the armed forces.  One blue star for each family member serving.  A Gold Star meant that someone in the family had been killed in the war. Almost everything was rationed including gasoline for cars, tires, food, _meta_l products, coal, firewoord, etc.  Ration boards were set up throughout the country.  They were manned by volunteers.  The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was set up which established rationing procedures and set up price controls on about 90% of eveything sold.  Over 30,000 volunteers were recruited by OPA to handle the paper work.  Every man, woman, and child were issued a ration books for the items being rationed. War Bonds were sold on the payroll deduction plan.  The government pressed hard for everybody to buy War Bonds, the most prominent one being the Series E $25 bond which sold for $18.75 and which paid $25 on maturity after 10 years. Everyone, including those in the Armed Forces were pressured into buying the War Bonds, but they sold well since people had little to buy and no better place to put their money. For more detailed information, I recommend the book V for Victory: America's Home Front During World War II, by Stan Cohen.  This is an excellent pictorial history with many colored photos of such things as ration stamps, gasoline coupons, etc., and a well-written sketch covering each of the topics mentioned above and then some.  It is (or was) published by Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., Inc., Missoula, Montana.  It was in its fifth printing in 1995.  ISBN No.0-929521-51-X. W.J.Hopwood