An Army in Skirts: The World War II Letters of Frances Debra [Hardcover]

Frances Debra Brown (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0871952645 | ISBN-13: 978-0871952646 | Publication Date: June 23, 2008 | Edition: First

Over 150,000 women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in World War II. Although the majority of WACs were assigned to duties in the United States, several thousand received overseas assignments. More than 7,600 WACs served in the European theater of operations (ETO), mostly as communications workers, stenographers, typists, and clerks. Only 8 percent worked in jobs considered unusual for women such as mechanics, draftsmen, interpreters, and weather observers. Frances DeBra Brown was a draftsman at American headquarters in London and Paris, where she worked on classified material. Frances DeBra was born and raised in Danville, Indiana. An Army in Skirts: The World War II Letters of Frances DeBra contains the letters that Frances wrote to her family and letters from family and friends to Frances. The letters vividly detail her World War II service, beginning with basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. After an assignment at an army air field in Marianna, Florida, where she worked on the post newsletter, she was shipped overseas on the HMS Queen Mary. While in London she worked through buzz bomb and V-2 rocket attacks, slept in shelters fully clothed, and made the acquaintance of a young English woman and her family. Arriving in Paris two weeks after the city's liberation, Frances witnessed the city's devastation and the effects of war on the populace. During her stay in Paris she attended classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and received a marriage proposal.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frances DeBra Brown, a teacher, artist, and art conservator, lives in Yazoo City, Mississippi. A prize-winning miniature artist, her work was accepted by the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers for its art show at The Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, England. She is a member of the American Institute for Conservation and the International Institute for Conservation and has cleaned and repaired hundreds of paintings and has done conservation work for the Mississippi State Capitol, the Hall of Governors, and the Old Capitol of Mississippi Museum.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 274 pages
• Publisher: Indiana Historical Society Press; First edition (June 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871952645
• ISBN-13: 978-0871952646
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,282,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Personal Story, July 7, 2009

By 

Cordially Yours (St. Joseph, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Army in Skirts: The World War II Letters of Frances Debra (Hardcover)

"An Army in Skirts" is a time machine built from the letters and memories of a young woman who served her country in uniform during World War II. Frances Brown takes us into her world in a straight forward, understated, and often times startling manner. She seems to have taken in stride the daily dangers from bombings in England and France. In contrast, her letters home speak of ordinary but very interesting details of daily life as a WAC, because war information was censored. Together, the two viewpoints make for a facsinating read into our parents' or grandparents' world. In particular, I was so impressed with the morals of her day, even in the midst of war.

5.0 out of 5 stars The simple day-to-day matters of survival as well as larger issues of war and peace, August 10, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Army in Skirts: The World War II Letters of Frances Debra (Hardcover)

An Army in Skirts: The World War II Letters of Frances Debra collects the letters Frances DeBra Brown sent to her family, while she served in the Women's Army Corps in World War II as a draftsman at American headquarters in London and Paris. Chronicling her WW II service from her training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia to her assignment at an army air field in Florida to surviving buzz bomb and V-2 rocket attacks in London and witnessing the devastation of Paris a scant two weeks after the city's liberation, An Army in Skirts is the candid testimony of a woman's perspective - thoughtfully discussing the connections Brown made with individual people and the simple day-to-day matters of survival as well as larger issues of war and peace. Highly recommended.