She did also go down to the train station to look at the German POWs being transported by train to some camp somewhere in the area. She said they looked so sad and haunted and afraid that she felt terrible for them. I wonder where the camp was, and how the prisoners were treated there.

I have only heard the story from my Grandpa, and I suppose he could be lying, but why would he?

Thanks to those of you who have spoken out about blackouts. I am sure many of us who have experienced paranoia in post 9/11 flying (like not allowing mothers to bring breast milk on board or letting toddlers bring sippy cups of water) will recognize that our fears are not always rational. Just as those toddlers are not actually carrying explosives in their sippy cups, air raids in the US seem absurd to us now.

Palmyra is right in between two cities, Rochester and Syracuse which, although they now seem minor, were industrial centers of the time. Rochester was the 23rd largest city in the country, but had a very skilled workforce and led in technology. The point was that the light shining in Palmyra would lure the bombers they feared AWAY from those cities. Here is a very unofficial source, but a nice personal memory of war era Rochester, touching on both points (technology vital to the war effort and blackouts). This timeline of Rochester indicates that blackouts started here in 1941 (the Cobbs Hill Reservoir mentioned is one block from my house and today would be considered inconsequential). This is from a Rochester newspaper in 1942 and indicates actual rules for the blackouts.

The Moroni statue went up in 1934..

So–when I said “government” in the story, that is what I meant. But perhaps you were thinking Roosevelt, and I am happy to think it could have been a local mayor or city council without rendering the story “rubbish.” And I was mistaken to have said “every night” because in reading up on the blackouts, I can see they were occasional, not daily. And like I said above–I agree that the idea of German bombers in western NY is comical, but it appears that they were genuinely feared. And I am not saying that lighting the statue was a brilliant idea–again, it sounds very funny–but apparently it was requested. Maybe it was the townspeople of Palmyra’s (historically anti-Mormon) hope against hope that it would get bombed. Hope that is good enough for you Mark B. and Ronan.

On ministering angels, I love the Grondahl cartoon that shows a married couple dining at a posh restaurant in the hereafter, and floating next to their table in a waiter’s outfit is a handsome guy who says “Hello, my name is Chad and I’ll be your ministering angel this evening.”