Editor’s note: The following is part of a series recapping Manteca history. World War II was a defining moment in Manteca’s history. Not only did dozens of young men cut short high school educations or abandon farms jobs to enlist in the days following Japans sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, but the economic struggles on the home front plus the impact of returning waves of soldiers laid the ground work for the next 20 years of the community’s growth.