�1

Helen and Mary’s Journey Through World War II

http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/posters/wwiiwomen/wave5.htm

Colleen Enriquez, Thomas Galbraith, Rachel Paulson

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/backgrounds-book-cover-17227428.jpg

" In 1941, the United

States of America joined

World War II after the

attacks on Pearl Harbor.

Japan attacked our bay in

Hawaii in vengeance for the

United States because it

issued an embargo to stop

trade with Japan because

Japan had conflicts with our

ally, China.

After the United States joined the war, many men were drafted to

serve their country across seas, leaving their wives and children at home.

Women had to get jobs to support

their family during this time of war.

�2

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor_Japanese_planes_view.jpg

http://www.saugeentimes.com/Pictures/Museum/Women%20at%20work%20in%20WWII%20Picture%20of%20a%20woman%20on%20an%20aircraft.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/We_Can_Do_It!.jpg

In 1940, best friends Helen Brown and Mary Gibson were living the life in the

big city of New York.

""

""

Helen had a husband named Charles and two children named Barbara

and John.

Mary and her husband David were newly weds, only being married for a

year and they didn’t have any children.

""

"

"

"

�3

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IGxMKMfcFO8/TLDbfy20AMI/AAAAAAAAF5g/qx1dLgk0RiU/s1600/Joe_&_Kerrie_O'Hearn+1940s.jpg

http://www.vintag.es/2012/02/gop-women-party-hard-1941.html

http://www.theoldpicturecompany.com/images/New%20York%20Skyline%20Boat%20Harbor%201940%208x10_042(d).jpg

As the war broke out in December of

1941, men from across the country were

drafted and sent across seas.

" In early 1942, Charles Brown and

David Gibson were two of the many men

drafted. It was sad for the two women to see their husbands leave but it was

especially hard for Mary to have to be

without her new husband for the next few

years because she would be alone.

But then, Mary had an idea to join with

her husband and become a nurse so they

could stay together through the war. Mary

had always had a passion for helping people

and she thought that being a nurse would be

a great way for her and her husband to stay

connected.

"�4

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Unclesamwantyou.jpg

http://www.bethspages.com/genealogy/showmedia.php?mediaID=110&medialinkID=116

http://www.crazywebsite.com/Free-Galleries-01/USA_Patriotic/Pictures_WWII_Posters_LG/World_War_II_Patriotic_Posters_USA_Military_Recruiting_America-Cadet_Nurse_1LG.jpg

When Charles Brown went to war, Helen felt that she must do something in

part to help support her children while her husband was away. She decided that the

best thing for her would be to

start working in a factory like

many women of her time.

"

""

The conditions of the factory

weren't the best but Helen was

happy that she was doing her

part.

Since most men were across

seas, women began taking their

positions in factories like Helen and

some went into occupations only held by men in the past like playing in the

All-American Girls Baseball League.

�5

http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/world/gallery/2008/nov/11/firstworldwar-women/Gall1-8763.jpg

http://timebusinessblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/00593633.jpg?w=842

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Women's_Factory_War_work_at_Slough_Training_Centre,_England,_UK,_1941_D3628.jpg

Before Mary could get deployed, she had go through training to become

a nurse for the troops. To prepare, all nurses were trained in military nursing

and medicine, map reading, physical endurance and Army regulation

procedures. They learned how to set up hospitals with medical and surgical

wards with kitchens, operating rooms, and

laboratories. Some nurses were specially

trained for certain positions or given extra

training on dealing with mentally ill patients.

Training took place at military bases and

usually lasted 6 weeks.

Mary’s training took place at a military

base in New York. She thought it was tough

but the experience was one she would never

forget. Mary was just excited to go see her

husband when they both were home from

training.

"

�6

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/if_you_knew/images/tb-ray.jpg http://history.amedd.army.mil/ancwebsite/a&i/ww2-kw/Sc138593.jpg

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/46/84/8a/46848a021014390350c51e725aa83df7.jpg

During this time jobs were usually classified into two categories, male

and female jobs. Female jobs were often considered easier, and thus almost

always provided less pay than male jobs.

"" Jobs such as Helen’s job

of working in a factory

were considered a female

job, usually paying less

than two dollars a week.

Other female jobs were

often considered things

like other forms of manufacturing, housekeeping, waitressing, and other jobs

that often did not require huge amounts of skill.

"""""""""

"

�7

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65824000/jpg/_65824274_getty_womens_rights_107416604.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1_beQwHHm2Q/UaNLblLEiwI/AAAAAAAAAVE/ycfOH-W-Ll0/s1600/image004.jpg

When Mary got home from her training, she was excited to see her

husband after the long six weeks with out him. The day after her arrival,

Mary and David received their notices of deployment that stated where they

would be serving over seas. Mary was excited to find that she would be

serving in Britain to help the wounded soldiers from the London Blitz. Then,

David opened his letter and found that he would be going to Poland, with out

Mary.

Mary was devastated to find that she wouldn't be with her husband

while serving as a nurse.

"""""""

"""""

�8

http://thegazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Grace-Amemiya.jpg

http://artblart.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/troops-of-the-6th-division-wave-goodbye-sydney-1940-c-australian-war-memorial-web.jpg?w=655&h=489

" As the US became further involved in the war, more and more factories

just like Helen’s began to

transition to

manufacturing parts for

the military. Helen’s

plants in specific began

to manufacture parts of

airplanes, ammunition,

and artillery for tanks.

" During this time,

conditions for working

remained dangerous,

as they were before.

"" """"

�9

http://www.pophistorydig.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/1940s-rosie-photo12-50.jpg

http://wodumedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Japanese-women-look-for-possible-flaws-in-the-empty-shells-in-a-factory-in-Japan-on-September-30-1941.-AP-Photo-650x479.jpg

The London Blitz happened on September 7th, 1940 and lasted through

May of the following year. During that time, many United States troops were

stat i o n e d i n B r ita i n ,

including Mary and some

of her fellow nurses.

When Mary arrived,

the number of wounded

soldiers was overwhelming

for her to deal with. Even

through her extensive six

weeks of training, she

never imagined what being in the field would actually

involve.

""" During WWII, many women felt that their six week training wasn't

enough to prepare them for the things they

saw on the field. They saw infections and

diseases that they had not been taught

about during training and that was a struggle

that the nurses had to figure out without

supervision and people that know what they

are doing.

"""�10

http://u1.ipernity.com/10/33/28/4343328.e5abf2ec.560.jpg

http://ftp.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-Nurse/index.html

" During the war, the number of

unionized work forces started to greatly

decrease. At the time, Helen was making

$14 a week, much less than a man or a

woman in a union would be making. As a

family of 3, living off $56 dollars a

month was hard. While Charles was at

war, making only $20 a month, the

family felt times of economic fear.

"""With a total of $86 dollars a month and two children to feed, Helen was

angry that she

wasn't getting

paid as much

just because

s h e w a s a

woman.

"" ""

�11

http://bpwusa.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/equal-pay.jpg

http://hulshofschmidt.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/1968-dagenham-ford-plant-strike-427ss1-111510.jpg

At the end of the war, after four years, Mary got to finally come home

from nursing in the war and reunite with her

husband. Mary was very excited but the

stress from spending her time with sick and

injured soldiers really had gotten to her.

Seeing the brave men that serve her

country really made her think about life

differently.

"""

""Coming home from war with post traumatic stress disorder was a common

thing for soldiers and nurses. Seeing all the death and sickness around them

made them feel sad and depressed like Mary.

""""""

�12

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/23/

"Now that Mary is home with her husband, she can finally reunite with her

best friend, Helen. Mary was surprised to see that Helen had gotten a job at

a factory while she was

away. Now that the war

was over, Helen’s factory

stopped producing things

for the war and went back

to producing what it did

befo re the war. Even

t h o u g h b ot h w o m e n’s

husbands were home, Helen

decided to keep working at

the factory but she was

told she couldn’t.

Since the war was

over, men came home to no

jobs because the women

had their once considered

“male” jobs. Many women,

like Helen had to stop

working because the men

wanted to have their jobs back.

""

�13

http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mawhc79OGX1rglq1go1_500.jpg

" Since the war was over, Mary and Helen felt a bit of relief. Their

families were safe at home and they could rest knowing that things were

getting back to normal.

The celebrations were big through out their home city of New York.

People crowded the streets,

including Helen, Mary and

their husbands.

"

""" Helen and Mary couldn't have been

happier. With their husbands by their sides,

they joined their city in a party for the war’s end.

�14

THE END

http://ispy.mnhs.org/00000000/00000395.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/War_Ends.jpg