My foster dad worked in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard during WWII and lived in Long Beach. He said that all the homes in Long Beach had to have the windows painted over or covered in order prevent light from escaping at night. Vehicles could not use their headlights at night. He said the the military had laid out streets with lights out in the desert so that should Japanese aircraft fly in they would see the lights out in the desert and bomb those. He said that every night he could hear the ratcheting of winches letting up balloons attached to steel cables which were designed to sheer off the wings of incoming enemy aircraft. He said there were anti-aircraft batteries located in numerous places in Long Beach. I would imagine San Diego did similar things.

Have you tried doing a Google search or visiting some historical museums in San Diego?

Mikey, thanks so much, this is the type of info. I needed to remind me of stuff. I had forgotten about the camouflage
surrounding factories, shipping piers, etc.
I was raised in San Diego, have been gone nearly 30 years now.

My grandma told me they had to cover all the window panes with oil paper so that lights from houses were not visible at night. She and her friend were walking home from a party one night, got stopped by a man posing as MP (maybe he really was, who knows?), and they just ran home as fast as they could.

There's a CD compilation called 'Songs that Got Us through WW II':
1: Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrews Sisters
2: I'll Be Seeing You - Frank Sinatra/Tommy Dorsey
3: Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Duke Ellington
4: Till Then - The Mills Brothers
5: G. I. Jive - Paul Estan/Johnny Mercer
6: I'll Walk Alone - Martha Tilton
7: Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive - Johnny Mercer
8: Don't Want To Walk Without You - Helen Forrest/Harry James
9: Long Ago (And Far Away) - Jo Stafford
10: I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You) - The Ink Spots
11: There'll Be Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs Of Dover - Jimmy Dorsey
12: Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer - The Song Spinner
13: Sentimental Journey - Les Brown/Doris Day
14: It's Been A Long, Long Time - Harry James/Kitty Kallen
15: When The Lights Go On Again (All Over The World) - Vaughn Monroe
16: Yours - Jimmy Dorsey/Bob Eberly/Helen O'Connell
17: I Wonder - Louis Armstrong (bonus track)
18: Waitin' For The Train To Come In - Peggy Lee

My dad was a seventeen-year-old soldier stationed at the Presidio in Monterey, CA and these songs really bring him back to those glory days.

Good luck with the paper!
Rain

Rain, thanks so much for your input here! I really appreciate your time and effort. I had completely forgotten about the songs that were so popular and the "big band" sounds. When we talk about war, it usually is a sad thing & we want to forget, but there were good times too!
Thanks again, Pat