Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 114

Today in World War II History—November 10, 1942

Destroyer USS Dallas in the Wadi Sebou off Port Lyautey Airfield, November 1942 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Nov. 10, 1942: US takes Oran, Algeria, and Mehdia, Morocco.

In a daring raid in Morocco, destroyer USS Dallas steams up the Wadi Sebou under the guns of the Kasbah fort, and takes Port Lyautey Airfield.

Victories in North Africa lead Churchill to proclaim, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Movie premiere of Road to Morocco, starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour.

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Passages of Hope by Terri J. Haynes

When Gracie McNeil’s beloved Gran dies, Gracie is stunned to inherit the family home in Philadelphia – and her uncle is infuriated that he was bypassed. But this is Gracie’s chance to fulfill her dream of opening a yarn shop – and to overcome her lifelong history of failure. As Gracie is performing renovations on the house, she uncovers a mysterious door leading to a cellar. With the help of Clarence, a handsome family friend, she tries to find the truth about her home’s past – and what that might mean for her own future.

In 1855, Olivia Kingston uses her home as a station for the Underground Railroad, keeping her illegal work hidden even from her own husband. But then a woman goes missing from her cellar, leaving her baby, Hope, behind, and other passengers also go missing from stations throughout Philadelphia. Olivia and her husband are pulled deeper into danger – as free Blacks, they could be kidnapped and sent into slavery in the South.

What a beautiful story! Passages of Hope not only illuminates the fascinating and dangerous work of the Underground Railroad, but tells of the longing for family and home. Separated by time, Gracie and Olivia are both intriguing heroines, strong but vulnerable. Terri J. Haynes‘s writing brings these women and their trials to life, using a poignant ribbon of the search for belonging to tie it all together. I couldn’t put this novel down!

The post Passages of Hope by Terri J. Haynes first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—November 9, 1942

Royal Canadian Mounted Police mug shots of Werner von Janowski, 1942 (National Archives of Canada: C-107138)

80 Years Ago—Nov. 9, 1942: German planes transport troops to El Aouina Airfield in (Vichy) French Tunisia to combat Allied landings in Algeria.

Germans force Danish King Christian X to appoint collaborator Erik Scavenius as prime minister.

German spy Werner von Janowski is landed by U-boat U-518 at New Carlisle, Québec, but is arrested within hours on a tip from a suspicious hotel clerk.

The post Today in World War II History—November 9, 1942 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—November 8, 1942

Map of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French Morocco and Algeria, 8 November 1942 (US Military Academy)

80 Years Ago—Nov. 8, 1942: Operation Torch: 400,000 American and British troops land in Morocco and Algeria in three main forces.

US troops and equipment landing at Z Beach, Arzeu, Algeria, 8 November 1942 (US National Archives: 195516)

American troops aboard a landing craft en route to the beaches near Oran, Algeria, 8 Nov 1942 (Imperial War Museum: 4700-01 A 12661)

In Naval Battle of Casablanca, US ships sink nine Vichy French warships.

Battleship USS Massachusetts maneuvering off Casablanca, Morocco, 8 Nov 1942, as seen from destroyer USS Mayrant (US National Archives: 80-G-K-2133)

Nurses from US 48th Surgical Hospital land with Torch forces, the first and last time women land with the assault during the war.

Nurses of the US 48th Surgical Hospital marching from the Arzeu docks, Algeria, 9 November 1942 (US Army Medical Department)

The post Today in World War II History—November 8, 1942 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Lessons from the 1940s – No Complaints

They waded ashore in chest-deep water in Algeria and took shelter behind sand dunes. Snipers and strafing fighter planes aimed for them. They ate cold rations and dug slit trenches and dealt with fleas, mosquitoes, lice, and flies. And they were women.

Nurses of the US 48th Surgical Hospital marching from the Arzeu docks, Algeria, 9 November 1942 (US Army Medical Department)

When I was researching nursing in the Mediterranean Theater (North Africa, Sicily, and Italy) in World War II, I was struck by the conditions these young women worked in.

They had a difficult job to begin with. Work schedules varied, usually on the order of twelve hours a day, six days a week – but in crisis times, they worked far more. They took care of the wounded and watched healthy, promising young men die. Their tent hospitals were often bombed – sometimes by accident, sometimes when conditions forced them to set up close to military targets, and sometimes by intent.

Sleep, when it came, was in a crowded tent with a slit trench down the middle – both for protection during attack and for drainage of rainwater. The women dealt with mud so thick it pulled their combat boots off. To prevent malaria, they took Atabrine which turned their skin yellow. Supplies were often short, and the women improvised with available materials. They washed their hair and their underthings in their helmets.

This was no day at the spa.

US Army Nurse Corps recruiting poster, 1944

Did they complain? I know they did, but what I’ve read recounts girls giggling in their slit trenches, working together with purpose, and bearing up astoundingly well. During the Anzio campaign in early 1944, when the hospitals were attacked almost every day and several nurses were killed, the commanders considered evacuating the nurses. The women refused. They had work to do and they could handle it. (Read more: “Courage under Fire: US Hospitals at Anzio”).

“GI Angel” by Fletcher Martin, depicting an Army nurse in North Africa, 1943 (US Army Medical Department, Office of Medical History)

I wrote this in my nice clean office wearing nice clean clothes with a nice clean meal in my tummy. No mud. No bugs. No enemy attack. How often do I complain?

We have a complaining culture. Despite excellent living conditions, we complain. I know I can learn a lot from the nurses of World War II.

How about you?

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Today in World War II History—November 7, 1942

Recruitment poster for US Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, WWII

80 Years Ago—Nov. 7, 1942: US Marine Corps approves establishment of women’s reserve.

New song in Top Ten: “I Came Here to Talk for Joe.”

The post Today in World War II History—November 7, 1942 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—November 6, 1942

US recruitment poster for the WAVES, WWII (US National Archives: 513650)

European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operation ribbon, WWII

80 Years Ago—Nov. 6, 1942: US Marines cross Nalimbiu River on Guadalcanal.

US authorizes three Theater of Operation ribbons—US, Europe/Africa, and Pacific/Asia.

First WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) report for shore duty.

The post Today in World War II History—November 6, 1942 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—November 5, 1942

British coastal defense gun at Gibraltar, 4 Jan 1942 (Imperial War Museum: GM 278)

80 Years Ago—Nov. 5, 1942: Vichy French governor of Madagascar officially surrenders to the British.

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower arrives in Gibraltar, his headquarters for Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa.

Songwriter George M. Cohan dies in New York City, age 64.

Sheet music for “Over There” by George M. Cohan, 1917 (public domain via Duke University via Wikipedia)

The post Today in World War II History—November 5, 1942 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—November 4, 1942

Carlson’s Raiders landing at Aola Point, Guadalcanal, 4 November 1942 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Nov. 4, 1942: British Eighth Army is victorious at the Second Battle of El Alamein—Germans under Rommel retreat to Fuka in defiance of Hitler’s order not to retreat.

Carlson’s Raiders (US Marines) land at Aola Point, Guadalcanal, to harass Japanese behind the lines.

The post Today in World War II History—November 4, 1942 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—November 3, 1942

Lockheed Ventura of No. 21 Squadron RAF over IJmuiden, the Netherlands, 13 February 1943 (Imperial War Museum: C 3404)

80 Years Ago—Nov. 3, 1942: RAF flies first combat mission with Lockheed Ventura medium bombers, over the Netherlands.

Hitler orders Rommel not to retreat at El Alamein in Egypt.

On Guadalcanal, US Marines take Point Cruz and land at Koli Point.

The post Today in World War II History—November 3, 1942 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.