Air Raid Warden Card of Charles Wing

Pictured here is Charles Wing’s Air Raid Warden card. The sepia-tinted card has a photograph of Wing, and states “This is to state that the bearer Chas. D Wing has qualified in the Volunteer Service of Civilian Defense as Air Raid Warden and is authorized to perform the duties of that office. Franklin County Council of Defense.” It is signed by Floyd F. Green, Chairman; Lee M. Green, Division Chief; and D. K. Finley, Executive Director. The card features the Civil Defense icon: the letters “CD” inside a white triangle, inside a blue circle.

Civilian Defense is a government program which provides guidance and assistance in emergency response and was first developed to protect the public from enemy attack in times of war. Originated during World War I, a federal agency called the Council of National Defense directed the program. The Office of Civilian Defense coordinated the program during World War II.

In Ohio, the Ohio State Council of Defense led efforts to prepare civilians for a potential air attack or sabotage. An article in the December 27, 1942 “Columbus Dispatch” explains: 

“Enemy planes launching a surprise night attack would find Ohio shielded by a curtain of darkness State Defense Director Ralph H. Stone said Saturday…Stone, in a review of the growth of civilian defense in Ohio since Pearl Harbor, asserted half of the state’s population has had blackout experience and the other half has been sufficiently well trained to extinguish ‘all lights that might form a target pattern for Axis bombers.’” 

Charles Wing was appointed Air Raid Warden for Sharon Township on December 19, 1941, by Worthington Mayor Leonard Insley. According to a March 5, 1942 article in the “Worthington News,” Worthington’s Civilian Defense organization was the first to be organized in Franklin County. As Air Raid Warden, Wing cooperated with Columbus and Franklin County groups to implement plans in Worthington and Sharon Township. 

A February 19, 1942 article in the “Worthington News” describes an Air Raid Warden school that was held over the course of four days in the Worthington Town Hall, and included an event open to the public at the grade school auditorium, at which “pictures [would] probably be shown.” That same issue of the News describes the broad efforts taking place throughout Worthington in the war effort, including selective service registration, a service flag presentation by multiple Worthington churches and the appointment of Charles Fuller as Captain of Auxiliary Police, in connection with civilian defense.