Editing Wilmette, Illinois (section)

====World War II era====
Wilmette's first brush with [[Nazi Germany]] came by way of a financial lawsuit against [[St. Joseph Catholic Church (Wilmette, Illinois)]]. In the wake of Chicago Cardinal [[George Mundelein]]'s criticisms of [[Adolf Hitler]] in 1937, (see [[Paper hanger (Mundelein's speech)]]), ridiculing Hitler for his mistreatment of Catholics, St. Joseph's was unexpectedly sued by a family in Germany, claiming to be relatives of the deceased Fr. William Netstraeter, a key figure in the expansion of Wilmette who died in 1924, thirteen years prior. Fr. Netstaeter had bequeathed a sum of $300,000 from his real-estate business for St. Joseph's, which was being held in the bank account of the [[Archdiocese of Chicago]], under Cardinal Mundelein's supervision. The lawsuit was blatantly political and clearly orchestrated by the [[Nazi Party]] in retaliation for Cardinal Mundelein's "one armed paper hanger" remark. A Chicago circuit court validated Fr. Netstraeter's will, and the money was quickly rewarded to the Archdiocese, ergo St. Joseph's. Folklore believes that Cardinal Mundelein told his chief architect, [[Joseph W. McCarthy]], to "Put the money into brick!" and construction of a large new church was instantly underway (completed in October 1939). It is believed that had Hitler/the Nazi's obtained the money, it would have gone towards Nazi military.

After the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]] in December 1941, village life revolved around the war effort: bond drives, air raid drills, scrap drives, and victory gardens were the order of the day.  The Wilmette Council of Civil Defense, under the chairmanship of David C. Leach, organized a wide range of activities, including classes designed to train citizens in first aid, fire-fighting, demolition, marksmanship, and bomb disposal.  Air raid wardens for every block enforced blackouts and manned battle stations during drills. On Sunday, May 23, 1943, a mock air raid on the village dropped hundreds of paper-bag "bombs" of brightly colored streamers, to test local readiness.  Eighty-three service members from Wilmette lost their lives during the war.

The Wilmette Coast Guard Station was given an increased workload during World War II, placing a heavy burden on the station's staff of 40 men. The voluntary civilian Wilmette Coast Guard Auxiliary was formed to assist the station's guardsmen during the war. Many of the Auxiliary's 64 members came from the Sheridan Shore Yacht Club and used their personal vessels to assist in operations.<ref name=images/>

In 1942, after a long legal battle, Wilmette annexed No Man's Land.<ref name="shea"/>

In August 1943 a ship named the ''USS Wilmette'' was given the honor of transporting [[President Franklin D. Roosevelt]], Admiral [[William D. Leahy]], [[James F. Byrnes]] and [[Harry Hopkins]] on a 10-day cruise to McGregor and [[Whitefish Bay]] to plan strategies for [[World War II]]. The ''USS Wilmette'' was a naval ship that had been commissioned in 1918 and was constructed by retrofitting the former ''[[SS Eastland]]'', a passenger ship which in July 1915 rolled over in the [[Chicago River]] resulting in 884 deaths (the largest loss of life from a single shipwreck in [[Great Lakes]] history).