Welcome to World War II Woman
January 30, 2008 – 10:53 amHi folks,
Today is the first day of my blog, World War II Woman. I am told that I must write a new entry every day. That’s a big order. But I will try to post a message the first four days of the week (Monday through Thursday). Meanwhile, I hope you and your friends will dip into this blog and share your thoughts, memories, and questions.
World War II Woman is devoted to the experiences and memories of women who lived during the 1940’s, and it also includes anecdotes that have been passed down from one generation to another. Some of my material will be drawn from my book, We Knew We Were at War: Women Remember World War II, a collection of 42 first–person accounts of the war years. For more information on me and the book, please go to www.peggeorge.com.
I was inspired to assemble these stories because of the remoteness of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan compared to the daily drama my generation experienced during World War II. Everyone from schoolchildren to the elderly was involved in some activity. I sometimes wonder if we who are living today would be willing to make the sacrifices of food rationing, gasoline rationing, the draft for all eligible young people, the lack of our many material comforts, and much more. Right now, it appears we are unable to even cut back on gas consumption.
Among the topics to be included in this blog will be girdles (yes, girdles) for the war effort, nylon stockings, brothers and teachers off to war, tar on our bathing suits from ships destroyed at sea, women in the military, our own Rosie the Riveter, Gold Star mothers, and, of course, everyone’s memory of white oleomargarine with the little red capsule.
Please join me. If you are too young to remember, now is a good time to sit down with your mother, grandmother, aunt, or next door neighbor to listen to what it was like when we knew we were at war. And then, share with the rest of us.
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