When the United States joined World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the global trade of raw materials was in a state of uncertainty and disruption. Basic commodities such as rubber and cloth immediately became precious and valuable to the war effort.

Scrap drives were organized across the country, encouraging citizens to contribute their rubber to make jeep tires, their clothing to make cleaning rags, their nylon and silk stockings to make parachutes, and their leftover cooking fat to make explosives.

One of the most vital materials to collect was scrap metal. A single medium tank required 18 tons of it, and a single Navy ship hundreds more.

Scrap metal drives became competitive, almost frenzied affairs, as communities vied to out-contribute each other. Housewives threw in their aluminum pots and pans, farmers sacrificed their old tractors, and cities and towns ripped up wrought iron fences, trolley tracks and historic Civil War cannons.

People were encouraged to imagine their household items being transformed into armor and weaponry for their soldiers and sailors in harm’s way. In Lubbock, Texas, a bust of Hitler was erected as a target for patriotic citizens to hurl their cookware. Walt Disney donated two iron Bambi sculptures, which were said to contain enough iron for 10,000 incendiary bombs or one 75-millimeter artillery piece.

Ultimately, the effect of these scrap metal drives on actual war production was marginal at best. Their true value was in galvanizing citizen morale and a sense of patriotic unity, and making everyone feel a part of the war effort.