Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 373

Today in World War II History—September 4, 1939 & 1944

Coldstream Guards, British Expeditionary Force landing at Cherbourg, France, Sept.-Oct. 1939. (Imperial War Museum)

75 Years Ago—Sept. 4, 1939: French and German troops skirmish on Maginot Line. First British troops land in France.

70 Years Ago—Sept. 4, 1944: British liberate Antwerp, Belgium but fail to capture Scheldt Estuary, the crucial approach to the port.

Today in World War II History—September 3, 1939 and 1944

SS Athenia in Montreal harbor, 1933 (Library and Archives Canada)

75 Years Ago—Sept. 3, 1939: Great Britain, France, Australia, and India declare war on Germany. Winston Churchill becomes First Lord of the Admiralty, his WWI post. In North Atlantic, German sub U-30 sinks British liner Athenia (112 killed, including 69 women, 16 children, and 28 Americans).

The crew of a British Cromwell Mk IV tank of 2nd Welsh Guards on the drive into Brussels, 3 September 1944. (Imperial War Museum)

70 Years Ago—Sept. 3, 1944: Anne Frank and family are deported from Amsterdam to concentration camps. Free French take Lyon, France. British take Brussels, Belgium.

Today in World War II History—September 2, 1939 and 1944

75 Years Ago—Sept. 2, 1939: Britain institutes draft for men 19-41 years old. Songs in Top Ten include “Moon Love,” “Over the Rainbow,” “Sunrise Serenade,” and “Beer Barrel Polka.”

 

Crew of USS Finback pulling downed airman Lieutenant (jg) George Bush from the water off Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands, 2 Sep 1944 (Photo: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum)

70 Years Ago—Sept. 2, 1944: Finland breaks diplomatic ties with Germany and accepts Soviet peace terms. US Fifth Army secures Pisa, Italy. Lt. (jg) George H.W. Bush’s torpedo bomber shot down over Chi Chi Jima, he bails out and is rescued by sub USS Finback; his 2 crewmen are killed.

WWII 75th Anniversary Blog Tour – In Perfect Time

Welcome to the WWII 75th Anniversary Blog Tour! To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II, eight authors of Christian WWII fiction have gathered. We’ll be sharing what our characters might have been experiencing that day, scenes from our novels, or our thoughts on this event.

For a chance to win the bundle of all eight novels – plus chances to win the individual books – please visit all eight blogs:

Cara Putman, giving away Where Treetops Glisten

Sigmund Brouwer, giving away Thief of Glory

Kristy Cambron, giving away The Butterfly and the Violin

Melanie Dobson, giving away Chateau of Secrets

Cathy Gohlke, giving away Saving Amelie

Tricia Goyer, giving away From Dust and Ashes

Sarah Sundin, giving away In Perfect Time

Liz Tolsma, giving away Daisies Are Forever

Giveaway Details

For a chance to win ALL EIGHT novels featured on our blog tour, please visit each blog, collect the answers to the questions, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the BLOG TOUR PAGE . The contest opens September 1, 2014 at 6 am EST and closes September 6, 2014 at 11 pm PST. The winners will be announced on Monday, September 8, 2014.

To win the prize of ALL EIGHT books, you must collect ALL EIGHT answers. The winner must be prepared to send ALL EIGHT answers within 24 hrs of notification by email, or a new winner will be selected.

You can enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once each day! The more often you visit, the more entries you receive! However, you only need to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once to be entered. But don’t forget…to win, you must have collected ALL EIGHT answers.

In Perfect Time

See below for a chance to win a copy of my latest WWII novel, In Perfect Time. World War II flight nurse Lt. Kay Jobson collects hearts wherever she flies, but C-47 pilot Lt. Roger Cooper seems immune to her charms. Still, as they cross the skies between Italy and southern France, evacuating the wounded and delivering paratroopers and supplies, every beat of their hearts draws them closer. Can they confront the fears and misunderstandings of the past in order to take hold of the future?

For this post, I imagined what Kay (and Roger…watch for him) might have been doing on September 1, 1939, the day World War II started . . .

Chicago

September 1, 1939

Was it wrong to go out dancing the day a war started?

Kay Jobson glanced around the nightclub—the crowd small, the music subdued. Since Kay had arrived with her fellow stewardesses, Vera Viviani and Alice Olson, the band had only played slow songs like “Deep Purple” and “Rose Room” and “Begin the Beguine.”

Vera huffed. “I don’t suppose we can expect more lively music tonight.”

Kay tipped up one corner of her mouth. “It was rather rude of Hitler to invade Poland on a Friday, don’t you think? The very day we have a layover in Chicago?”

Alice covered her giggle with one hand. “Oh dear. Is it right to laugh? To joke?”

Far from this too-quiet nightclub, the world had been turned upside down by a man with a bad mustache. What would this mean? How could Poland stand up to Germany’s mighty army? And would Hitler be satisfied if he conquered Poland? He hadn’t been satisfied by annexing Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Would Britain and France be sucked in to the fight? And would the United States be able to stay out of the fray? If so, for how long?

Kay swept her hair and her concerns off her shoulders, and she scanned the dance floor. Mostly couples. Not many unattached men. She liked the looks of the drummer, a solidly built man with auburn hair, but he hadn’t looked her way once and the boys in the band wouldn’t be dancing anyway.

“So what will this war mean to us?” Vera’s dark brown eyes narrowed in analysis. “Fewer flights, especially overseas, and especially if America enters the war.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Alice twirled a strand of blond hair, then tugged her finger free. “It’s not our fight.”

“That’s what we said the last time a war started in Europe,” Kay said.

Alice let out a soft moan.

If Kay didn’t do something, Alice would end up in tears, poor thing. “We have to find the bright side. War is hideous, but it brings change and innovation. We can be a part of it.”

“We’re stewardesses. Who can fly for pleasure in a war?” Vera drew in her full red lips.

“We’re also nurses. And maybe . . .” The article Kay had read in a nursing journal flashed in her memory. “Maybe the Army will start using our passenger planes for medical air evacuation. And maybe they’ll let nurses care for the patients.”

Something sparked in Vera’s eyes. “I saw that article. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now . . .”

“But now.” Kay gave a firm nod. “We’re licensed nurses and trained stewardesses. We’re used to handling problems in flight. I see an opportunity.”

“So do I.” A middle-aged man stood by the table, gray-haired but trim. He gave all three ladies a polite smile, then bowed his head to Kay. “I see an opportunity to dance. May I have the honor?”

The band played “Until the Real Thing Comes Along,” and Kay stood and took the gentleman’s arm and let him twirl her around the dance floor.

The world would be changed forever, she knew it. And Kay’s life would be changed forever too. If she stayed in control, she’d make sure her life changed in the right direction.

Was it wrong to dance on the day a war started?

For Kay Jobson, it was perfectly right.

Giveaways

For the main blog tour eight-book giveaway, collect the answer to this question: What song does Kay dance to? Now go to the main blog tour page to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

Before you leave . . . don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win a copy of In Perfect Time! And join the conversation – what’s your favorite song from the WWII era? Or your favorite love song?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today in World War II History—September 1, 1939 and 1944

German troops removing the Polish emblem from the wall of a post office in Danzig, 1 Sep 1939 (German Federal Archive, Bild 183-H27915, Photographer: Hans Sönnke)

Today is the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II. I will be adding “75 Years Ago” to my “70 Years Ago” posts. I hope you find them informative.

75 Years Ago—Sept. 1, 1939: World War II begins when Germany invades Poland with 52 divisions. Gen. George C. Marshall named US Army Chief of Staff.

70 Years Ago—Sept. 1, 1944: Patton’s US Third Army offensive slows due to gasoline shortage. Movie premiere of Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane.

Today in World War II History—August 31, 1944

US troops carrying supplies in New Guinea, 1944 (US Army Center of Military History)

70 Years Ago—Aug. 31, 1944: US and Australian forces secure New Guinea. Soviets take Bucharest, Romania. Stage Door Canteen opens at Piccadilly in London; Bing Crosby sings for opening.

Today in World War II History—August 30, 1944

70 Years Ago—Aug. 30, 1944: British Eighth Army launches main attack on Gothic Line in Italy, crossing Foglia River.

Today in World War II History—August 29, 1944

70 Years Ago—Aug. 29, 1944: Japanese launch drive south from Hengyang toward US Fourteenth Air Force bases at Liuchow & Kweilin. In US Twentieth Air Force (B-29s in the Pacific), Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay assumes command of XX Bomber Command, and Brig. Gen. Haywood Hansell of XXI Bomber Command.

Today in World War II History—August 28, 1944

André Diethelm, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, Emmanuel d’Astier de La Vigerie, and General Monsabert reviewing troops, Marseille, France, 29-31 Aug 1944

70 Years Ago—Aug. 28, 1944: Crucial southern French ports of Marseille and Toulon formally surrender to Free French troops. British Board of Trade announces the average woman purchases one dress, two yards of cloth, and one-quarter suit a year under rationing.

Today in World War II History—August 27, 1944

70 Years Ago—Aug. 27, 1944: The final group of Chindits, British commandos operating behind Japanese lines in Burma, are evacuated to India.