Tina Rongstad was the 10th of ten children born in Pinewood, Minnesota to Norwegian immigrants. All her siblings were first generation Norwegian-Americans. Her mother joked that she had so many children she started to number them; for example – Nina (#9) and Tina (#10). “I was born in a log cabin on the farm. We … read more »
Even the married women did their part during World War II. Before the war, Iva Van Alstine was a married housewife with five children. Her husband Harold had a local job and she stayed home and cared for the children. At the time Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec 7, 1941, Iva was 26 years … read more »
Louise Unkrich: In 1943 I graduated from Olds High School, located in southeast Iowa. The summer after graduation, I read in the Des Moines Register about American Technical School in regards to drafting. I signed up for this four-week session and received a certificate in aircraft sheet metal training. During my training at ATS, our … read more »
Jean M. Holloway: Our romance started in April 1944. I was a senior in high school and Ed had just signed up for service in the U.S. Nary. Ed went to boot camp in Sampson, N.Y.. I graduated high school on June 4, 1944 and applied for a clerk’s job in Watson Flagg Machine Co. … read more »
Pauline Barker Booth: I was working as a waitress during the war in Winslow, AZ. I had two children. My girlfriend was working for the railroad and she asked me to come and work with here, so I did. The pat was okay and there was a place to live, rent-free. There were 3 girls … read more »
Betty Lou Gore: The telegram from the war department instructed me to report to Arlington Hall, Virginia on September 1, 1943, at 0800 hours. I kissed my teaching job good-bye and packed my bags. Arlington Hall had been a small college just outside Washington, D.C., which during WWII was converted into a Signal Corps Army … read more »