Preparing for War at Home

The photograph, taken outside Chapman Elementary School on NW 26th Avenue, shows a Portland resident posing as the victim of electric shock during a civil defense drill. Private Evelyn Bendicksen and Sergeant Olive Edwards of the Women's Emergency Corps treat the victim, as Portland Commissioner William A. Bowes (third from right) and Mayor Earl Riley (far right)—the city's directors of civil defense—look on.

In the months immediately following Pearl Harbor, the city organized an extensive civil defense system that would be able to respond in the event of a Japanese bombing raid. The Red Cross instructed tens of thousands of residents in first aid, and volunteer police and firefighters were recruited and trained. Each of Portland's 18,000 blocks was to have a block warden and six assistants who would coordinate emergency response. It was estimated that in the event of an attack, one third of the city's population would participate in some capacity.