Office of Civilian Defense was a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
federal emergency war agency set up May 20, 1941, by to co-ordinate state and federal measures for protection of
civilians
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...
in case of war emergency. Its two branches supervised protective functions such as
blackouts and special fire protection and "war service" functions such as child care, health, housing, and transportation. It also created the
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...
. The agency was terminated by Executive Order 9562 of June 4, 1945. The
Office of Civil Defense
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) was an agency of the United States Department of Defense from 1961–64. It replaced the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization. The organization was renamed the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency on May 5, 1 ...
with similar duties was established later.
Fiorello La Guardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fr ...
was the first head of the office, succeeded in 1942 by
James M. Landis, followed in 1944 by General
William N. Haskell. While the agency only had a paid staff of 75, it supervised and coordinated the efforts of civilian volunteers estimated to have topped 11 million. Volunteer tasks included firefighting and air-raid preparedness. Children, under adult supervision, could volunteer in the Junior Citizens Service Corps, and were especially helpful in wartime
scrap drives.
See also
*
Gilbert A. Harrison, chairman of the Youth Division
*
Lorenzo D. Gasser
Lorenzo D. Gasser (May 3, 1876 – October 29, 1955) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, United States Military Government in Cuba, Pancho Villa Expedition, World War ...
, U.S. Army major general,
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
liaison to OCD, later assistant director in charge of civilian protection.
*
United States civil defense
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Office Of Civilian Defense
1945 disestablishments in the United States
Civilian Defense
Politics of World War II
Agencies of the United States government during World War II
Government agencies established in 1941