The United States entered World War II in December of 1941. The war effort quickly became the focus of everyday life, from music and movies to careers and rations. Radio broadcasts were an important factor in spreading information about the war -- in 1942, there were 50 million radio sets in the US. Commercials reminded listeners of rations and alternatives to scarce products, and broadcasts raised morale and money for the war. To finance the war, the US Treasury sold war bonds. In Chicago, the Treasury hosted a weekly radio show on WBBM, the local CBS affiliate. It featured special musical performances and interviews with soldiers to inspire people to buy bonds.

Helen Mary Knox, later Williams, was born on January 10, 1920, in Chicago. She grew up in rural Milledgeville in northwestern Illinois, and received a degree in Speech from Coe College in 1942. She was one of the first female radio broadcastsers in Iowa before moving back to Chicago. There, she was a reporter and assistant program director at WIND, and a writer and broadcaster at WBBM. Knox-Williams left the Chicago area for the West Coast after World War II, living in Phoenix before settling in the Los Angeles area. She taught middle school for several years and then left her position to co-found Outward Bound Adventures, an outdoor leadership education program. Knox-Williams passed away in 2006.