Thanks for the Memories

So once again I am inspired to sit at the computer and ramble.  This time the inspiration came from a NPR radio broadcast of a curious topic.  ‘All Things Considered’ was interviewing Mark Harris, the author of a book titled “5 Came Back”.  Since I am a history buff and love all things history, the broadcast caught my attention.  The five who came back were five very famous Hollywood directors from the era before WWII.  Turns out that George Stevens (Diary of Ann Frank), Frank Capra (It’s A Wonderful Life), William Wyler (Best Year of Our Lives) John Ford (Grapes of Wrath) and John Huston (African Queen) were all enlisted in the service to document WWII.  

I am assuming that the interview of Mark Harris was purposely aligned with the release of the documentary based on the book, launching in several cities this week and on Netflix.  So, I tuned in to Netflix to watch the 3-part series.  Interesting, very interesting.  Some parts were very hard to watch, others were very enlightening.  What captured me was each director’s personal story of the war and the battle each waged with the federal government to get the story told as it unfolded before their cameras.  Each had very different perceptions of what should be shared with the American public.  

Theodore G. Hallsted

And that got me thinking about the war stories shared in my home as a child.  Both my parents served; Dad as a Marine and Mom as a Navy Nurse.  Typically I believe most of these stories came from the father.  But in our house that was not the case.  Dad’s service was interesting.   Because he was that last man in Warren County Ohio who could repair farm equipment, all others had been drafted, the local farmers banded together each time he got a draft notice.  The farmers petitioned the Draft Board to block his draft…and they were successful in their efforts until June 30, 1945.  Finally the Navy got him.  On his train ride from Cincinnati to Norfolk a Marine was on the train looking for volunteers to switch to the Marines.  No one stepped forward.  He came back a few minutes later and called out three names, Theodore Gibson Hallsted was one of the names.  Thus began Dad’s short lived career in the Marines.  As it turned out he never left Parris Island.  He was stationed there until August 24, 1946, the entire time doing repair work on the various vehicles on the island.  

Dorothy Poff

Mom on the other hand had an exciting Navy career.  Her only ambition for all of her life was to be a nurse.  She graduated from the Miami Valley School of Nursing in Dayton, Ohio on September 15, 1941, less than three months before Pearl Harbor.  She joined the Navy Nurse Corps on August 18, 1942 and served in various locations throughout the Pacific Arena; including Australia, Philippines, New Guinea, Guam and Hawaii.  Her stories transfixed me as a child.  Her corps served immediately behind the front lines, caring for the wounded as they were moved off the battlefield.  I have a vivid memory of when the movie “Mash” first showed up in movie theaters.  She and I went to see the movie.  Ten minutes into it she got up, stomped out of the theater and let me know that that was absolutely not how it was in a field hospital.  When I moved to Guam she asked me to send her a photo of the Guam Naval Hospital, she wanted to see if it looked the same as when she served there.  It did.  

Mom's Nurses graduation ceremony

I still have many of her photos from that time and a letter from her Miami Valley Hospital colleagues congratulating her on her service and sending their best wishes.  Many of her photos are noted Finschhafen, New Guinea.  Turns out that Finschhafen was a major battle on New Guinea between the Japanese and Australian forces; the battle waged from Sept. 22 to Oct. 24, 1943.  When the Allied Forces won the battle the site became one of the largest Allied Bases in the Southwest Pacific.  Mom was there.  

Mom served in the Navy until December 5, 1945.  She returned to her hometown of Red Lion, Ohio.  Met and fell in love with Ted Hallsted, and the rest, as they say, is history.  

So, watching the documentary on Netflix brought back many memories of my childhood.  It motivated me to dig through boxes of old photos and files of documents that I have at hand.  It caused me to one more time; ponder my parent’s lives, what they experienced, what they contributed.  

Ellen Cole on the left and Mom and the right.  Ellen was Mom's best friend, they went to nurses training together and joined the Navy together.  Eventually, Ellen helped deliver me and I was named after her, Sue Ellen.

Nora, Mom's younger sister, Ellen and Mom, on the Poff Family Farm in Red Lion, Ohio just prior to all of them joining the Navy and serving the the Nurses Corps.

At Finschhafen, New Guinea with her colleagues.  The photo is dated 1943, which means it was taken shortly after the liberation from the Japanese forces.

Local children at Finschhafen.

Notation on the back of this photo in Mom's handwriting says it was a Japanese Pill Box (?) dated 1945 on New Guinea.