Customer Reviews

We're in this War, Too: World War II Letters from American Women in Uniform

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From the training camps of Texas to the insect invested jungles of the far flung Pacific and from the Red Cross Clubmobiles in the UK to occupied Japan, this book really tells through carefully collected correspondance what the women did "over there." Theirs was an important contribution to the huge war effort and was the foundation of the feminist movement of the sixties. While these normal and healthy young women bemoaned the lack of and longed for hot showers, beauty salons and the latest fashions, not one let their vanity get in the way of their work. They did it all on the war front. Cared for the sick, organized and ordered supplies, and delivered new planes. These were the women of the Army Nurse Corps, the Navy Nurses, the WAVES, WACS and SPARS. The women of the American Red Cross were just as important and I was fascinated to learn that they too were taught how to handle firearms and themselves in all wartime situations.

Through the words of these women, we hear about their friends, love life, battles, air raids and typical military humor. Their thoughts always strayed toward home, but they were all in agreement about one thing. They would not trade places. Each knew that this experience would change them forever. I am sure it did. Their successful work during that time certainly changed the roles of all women forever.