Whether looking for sources for history stories or not, there comes a time for pretty much everyone when you’ll find yourself combing through the ephemera of someone else’s life: what should be kept, what needs to go to which family member or friend, what belongs in a local school, library or museum, the eternal frustration of photographs with no names written on the back and no one left to provide an answer.

I am the temporary holder of a collection of memorabilia from Knoxville High School, which closed in 1951. Most of it came from the 1943-44 school year, right in the middle of the U.S. involvement in World War II. I’m going to skip past the part where the KHS Trojans beat my Central Bobcats at their annual Thanksgiving meet-up on Shields-Watkins Field.

The school had an impressive weekly newspaper, the Blue and White. In it were stories of a truly astonishing fund-raising effort by the school. First off, it must be noted, at least as far as I can tell, that every boy in the school was in the R.O.T.C. There were four companies with about 100 students in each. They also had a girl student serving as an honorary captain for each unit.

The purpose of the fund drive was to raise enough money to pay for one North American P-51 Mustang, the fighter plane the Office of War Information said “had the highest ceiling and highest speed of any fighter plane in the war.” Per the Blue and White, “the tastes of the younger generation come high these days.” The fund raising was done by selling war bonds and stamps: the goal was $75,000.

Focus around the school was centered on that Mustang. Chapel programs were dedicated to the purchase of the plane. Teachers were asked to sell stamps and bonds, and KHS parents were asked to direct their war bond purchases to the school. There were bond booths stationed throughout the school. In the first 10 days, KHS reached almost half of its goal: $33,638.25. There was even poem to inspire friendly competition.

In the end, KHS students, faculty and parents exceeded their goal and beat their deadline by 10 days. The final total went over $80,000 (about $1.5 million in today’s dollars), which was simply extraordinary. Among the R.O.T.C. companies, Company A finished first with $15,000 in sales. The KHS band finished second overall with $5,000. The money was all handled by the school’s P-TA, delivering bonds and handling the money every Friday.

It was reported that, due to the success of the drive, a new Mustang would carry Knoxville High School’s name on it. That part I haven’t been able to confirm if it happened or not. But what did happen was the community around one historic high school came together to support the war effort, a war that left few families untouched. The graduating class of 1945 placed a bronze plaque in the entrance foyer honoring the 120 KHS students who were killed in World War II.

Beth Kinnane writes a history feature for KnoxTNToday.com. It’s published each Tuesday and is one of our best-read features.

Sources: The Knoxville Journal digital archives, Blue and White student newspaper of Knoxville High School, The Alpha & Omega of the Trojan Dynasty by Bill Hunt, East Tennessee History Center – McClung Digital Archives

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