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HISTORY OF DAVIS COUNTY
outings at Lagoon Resort and elsewhere, married, and became Davis County residents. 34 The Second World War. Americans had been preparing for war before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. They did so by supporting the Allies through what President Franklin D. Roosevelt called an "arsenal of democracy." These preparations readied the United States for an unwanted but inevitable involvement against the Axis forces. Congress reacted immediately to the loss of life in Hawaii by bringing the nation into the conflict. Roosevelt's approval of the war declaration rapidly lifted Davis County and most of the country out of the Depression and into a period of patriotic service and support that prepared the way for an era of growth and prosperity Davis County contributed its share of men and women to the Allied fighting forces through enlistments and military drafts. Of the 62,107 Utahns serving in 1945 in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, 1,450 were killed in action and another thousand died from other causes. Each Davis County community sent off sons and daughters to the war, honored those who returned, and memorialized those who died. Fifty-two women were among those who served in World War II from the county. Fatalities from Davis County included forty-one members of the army and sixteen from the navy.35 Latter-day Saint meetinghouses installed plaques in their foyers listing ward members who served, with a small star beside the name of each person who paid the ultimate sacrifice. On the home front, Davis County residents lent their patriotic support to the war effort through a variety of programs. Many residents became full- or part-time workers at military installations in the north Davis and south Weber area. The county's agricultural production was at the forefront of the patriotic endeavor. George E. Dibble, chairman of the county defense board, challenged area farmers to increase food production. "In behalf of national defense," he said, "we call upon every farmer in the county to do his best to bring his production into line with the county quotas on food output. It is as much our duty to comply with this request of our government as it is the duty of a draftee to report to his training station."36 The canning crops increased in the county the following year, but the loss of
