war and surfing
Surfing was most directly affected by war during World War II. Six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, nearly all fighting-age surfers in America, Australia, and the territory of Hawaii had enlisted in the armed forces, "leaving the waves," as surf journalist John Grissim later wrote, "to a smattering of beachcombers, draft dodgers, kids, gentle vagabonds, and civilian locals who worked in defense-related jobs." Surfboard development came to a near standstill, and the 1928-found...