Customer Reviews

Dearest Ones: A True World War II Love Story

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I picked up "Dearest Ones" in a discount store and didn't expect much. There's a certain sameness to the World War II diaries of young women: young woman from small town bucks convention, kisses parents good-bye, and runs off to get liberated. She has some very mild adventures, makes a lot of friends, says "gee golly whiz" a lot, and swans on home at the end of the book. A postscript informs us that she settled down with a man named Bob or Hank or Earl, of whom we heard absolutely nothing in the course of the book except for a few mentions of "letters from So-and-So in the South Pacific," and is living somewhere in the midwest near her three grown children.

Boy, was I surprised, and pleasantly so. Perhaps it helps that Rosemary Langheldt was older, in her mid-twenties, and already a career woman when she applied to join the Red Cross overseas. It also helps that she seems to have been a very curious and thoughtful person. As other reviews have mentioned, she takes notice not only of the glitz and fun of work abroad, but of Britain's sometimes stifling class distinctions, American racial prejudice, and the difficult moral compromises involved in the occupation of Germany. There is also plenty of romance, fun, and gee-golly-whiz adventure, but one never gets the sense that Rosemary lost track of her primary reasons for being in the Red Cross or saw her job as a mere means of adventure. Rather, she was there to work and the adventure happened along the way.

She was keenly interested in other people, making this book a pleasure to read-- it can be incredibly frustrating to read a diary when the only "character" the diarist is able to make three-dimensional is the diarist herself. She had a skill for interacting with people (I get the sense that I would never in a million years have been able to handle her job) and trying to understand them, and that curiosity and interest in humanity permeates the whole book. (I also feel compelled to mention, as a reader, that I really appreciated the narrative cohesiveness of this book. If someone is introduced, then they will be around until a reason for their departure is given. A lot of diaries suffer from people and events appearing, disappearing, reappearing, necessitating either a lot of head-scratching or awkward footnotes. This book doesn't have that problem. Rosemary was a really excellent correspondent.) This is really a stellar example of the genre, probably one of the best I've read.

I came across this book at a local bookstore and thought it was a very touching and well-written account of love during wartime. As the author lived in my area, I was able to meet her and have her sign my copy. I'm so glad I did as she passed away August 22, 2002. What a great keepsake for her family and a wonderful book for the rest of us. So if you've been meaning to write your memoirs, don't put it off! It may not ever be listed on Amazon but it would probably mean a lot to your loved ones.

Dearest Ones is a wonderfully touching historical account of WWII and of the untold heroines of the war. This is a must read for all WWII historians, it provides a different account of the war and the untold efforts that went into the war effort. The authors details in her letters home carry the spirit and humor of those who served with the Red Cross overseas.

I have had the pleasure of meeting several of the women who served with American Red Cross overseas. They are truly wonderful women, who continue to serve their country, community, and the Red Cross with the compassion and spirit that Rosemary describes in Dearest Ones. Keeping in mind many of these women are grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, they have more energy, happiness, and effervescence than I do at 22- they are truly irreplaceable and inspiring. Read this book to capture their love, inspiring nature, and the sparkle of their unique lives.

I did not have the pleasure of being served by Rosies and her crew in England.I spent my war in Italy and fell in love with the "Red Cross Girls".They were so brave in bringing their coffee and doughnuts to all of the combat troops and placing themselves in danger against advice.Rosies'book recalled those glorious days and the great treat it was to see those fine girls who gave of themselves as well as the coffee and doughnuts.

This is a wonderful book that I enjoyed the entire time I was reading it. It is one of those treasures of American history that should be read by anyone interested in WWII history. It is valuable look at the war from the perspective of an American Red Cross volunteer stationed in England. Not a nurse, as the author points out as the usual assumption, but one of those moral boosting "doughnut dollies" that sometimes were the last friendly female face a soldier would see before embarking for the battlefields of Europe.
Mrs. Norwalk was a wonderfully skilled writer at the time she wrote the letters and journal entries that make up the book. And the book is equally well crafted and edited, giving a detailed look at the work of the Red Cross workers on the docks of Southampton, England, their everyday lives and yes romances as the subtitle implies. It also includes personal photographs taken at the time.
An interesting item on page 99 is a list that explains the code used by the Red Cross to communicate the number of ships arriving or leaving, their sailing dates, and the number of soldiers to expect so they would be prepared and have enough volunteers, coffee, and doughnuts for them.
My sincerest thanks to Mrs. Norwalk (now deceased)for sharing this personal history with us, it reminds me very much of the letters my father wrote my mother during WWII that I have published into a book entitled: All My Love, Forever: Letters Home From A WWII Citizen Soldier. - Dale Lane

This book just can't be put down. Many thanks to Ms.Norwalk for sharing her amazing experiences. Dearest One has an honored place on my bookshelf.

What a wonderful book! Rosie's letters and journal entries transport the reader to the 1940s like no other book I have read. This book offers a keen insight, as well, into the American Red Cross, an organization that is what it is because of people like Rosie. Bravo!

Rosemary Norwalk left ardent swains and professional position to become a "doughnut dolly" with the American Red Cross. This University of California graduate and San Francisco native brings a disciplined eye to the social climate and
the broad spectrum of Americans thrown together by World War II. Following training in Washington, D.C. where she had to be restrained from sitting in the back of the bus, to commentary on the bravery of the ordinary Londoner under the buzz bombs, to experiences managing the large operation at a major port, she is insightful and forthright. Her many letters home are tied together with good historical notes on military operations and progress of the war. Mistitled a love story, it is instead a story of women who dared to step up and take on great responsibility for providing troop support both departing and returning through Britain. An example: A new"girl" arrives and one of the current Red Cross "girls" rushes to Rosemary with misgivings over her attitude and different looks. " The new girl announces: I'm Lil...I'm a Jew and I'm from Brooklyn and I don't like to take orders.' It was a challenge, not a greeting. I took a deep breath in the silence, then stuck out my hand and smiled. I hoped cordially. 'Welcome, Lil. I'm a gentile, I'm from San Francisco, and,' I groped for the right words, 'I don't like to give orders, so we ought to get along fine.' "

I enjoyed this book so much! I found it by accident while browsing Amazon.com and am so glad I did. I thank Rosemary for taking the time to compile her letters and journal entries after all these years and sharing, in a real way, this time in history with us. I really came to care about her and the other women she worked with during WW II. She managed to bring that time in history to life for me in a personal way. I recommend it highly!

Settle in with some coffee and donuts and get ready to enjoy this book. The letters Rosie sent home are fascinating, but her insightful journal entries really make this story outstanding. Her descriptions of her Red Cross co-workers are wonderful; you really feel that you know them. And her adventures in England are also well described: you'll learn how to wangle an invitation to a private tour of a castle, and how to behave when meeting the royal family. But it's more than just light-hearted adventure: Rosie has moving encounters with young GI's and a disturbing encounter with Leavenworth prisoners. And the section of her book dealing with her time in Germany will haunt you. This is a funny, insightful, and moving book.