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| My Grandmother Helen turned 90! |
This January- my hero had her Birthday. My Grandmother, the one who has told me the
most about living out WWII rationing and life during the War turned 90 years
old. It was a wonderful time to
celebrate with her and to hear some new stories.
My Grandmother is the reason that I chose to see what living
under WWII rations was like. She has an
amazing story. She was married at the
beginning of the War and followed my Grandfather as he went through flight
training in the south, then to California where she worked as a riveter making
air planes. She was sent back to South
Dakota to live with my Grandfathers dad when she couldn’t live on base with my
Grandfather, then would pack up 6 months later to join him somewhere else. She learned to live on very little and to be
happy sharing a home with other military wives, sleeping on the couch because
there were not enough bedrooms. (Many bases did not have family housing).
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| With my hero! |
My Grandmother is a strong woman – who learned how to care
for herself and do what she needed to do to keep a family while my grandfather
flew DC3’s from Brazil to Mexico for repairs then flew them back to Brazil (on their
way to Europe). This experiment has been
a wonderful way to connect with my Grandmother and to hear the woman’s side of
the story of WWII.
It was amazing to see how people honored the life of my
grandmother and I was glad to be a part of it.
The history and stories of this generation is so important to hear and
to remember. They are amazing stories of
survival and of finding joy in the midst of chaos. They truly are the greatest generation and I
am proud to know them and learn from them.
Nice tribute, Katie.
ReplyDeletei "found" your blog just a couple of days ago and i really like it. i'm from germany and very interested in the 1940s - my grandmother was born 1914 and i learned so much from her about simple life during and after the war. when i saw the pictures of your grandmother i decided to finally leave you a comment. it is so interesting to see "the other side" in the states, compared to conditions in germany. i guess one thing all the women had in common: you had to be real clever and work with all the tricks to make something out of the bit you were able to get ;-)
ReplyDeletei am doing a lot of work at museums - reenacting postwar and american occupation. it is so important to remember - and i just wanted to say thank you for what you are doing.
best wishes from germany
nadine