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• 1 2021-06-29T15:25:28+00:00 Women During World War II 23 The challenges women faced during World War II plain 2021-07-21T18:21:24+00:00

  As I was researching women’s contributions during World War II, I stumbled upon the book We Are a College at War: Women Working for Victory in World War II. The introduction to this book discusses a letter written to a woman at Rockford College from a man in the service, who wanted to know what the woman was doing on the homefront. The text states, “The gist of the discussion was how fortunate you are as a girl, to be going to school, and continuing your normal life with minor unpleasantness, in spite of the war. Of course, no one felt you should endure any undue hardships, but some men were wondering what you are contributing to the war effort and eventual victory” [1]. 

  While there are no recorded letters like this relating to Hope College, it is important to acknowledge that the women faced challenges on the homefront. The majority of the women remained at Hope College during the war years, but many sources from the time indicate the fear and uncertainty that the women felt during the war. 

  An account from Pinks Mulder Dudley claimed, “It was exciting: the uniforms, the passionate goodbyes, the promises to wait for our heroes’ return. But it was also scary. We saw those newsreels. We knew that some of those we hugged goodbye would be wounded, and some would not be coming back at all. And our part seemed very small-sending care packages of cookies and candy, knitting scarves, huddling around radios for the latest news” [2]. 

  Scrapbooks from women, such as Jane Fowler, indicate that marriage was on the minds of the women in the 1940s [3]. When the men began leaving for the war there was a rush to solidify relationships before men went to war. Myra Berry stated, “Civilians and soldiers alike left for Christmas recess or furloughs, and as at other breaks during the war years, the return of students to campus found many a new sparkler on the third finger left hand. As men were being sent around the world, there appeared to be an urgency in establishing permanent ties with loved ones left waiting at home” [4]. The Anchor featured the student who got engaged over Christmas break in the article, “Diamonds Dazzle Dorm Damsels During Definitely Delightful and Dandy Days” [5].  

  Even though many Hope College females got engaged, there was a rule against marrying while still a student at Hope College. Vivian Tardiff, a student at Hope during the war, wanted to marry her fiance, Gerard Cook. Cook received leave for a week in March and the wedding date was set for March 17. The couple got married and had a three day honeymoon in Chicago before Gerard Cook left for the military and Vivian Cook returned to class. 

  Vivian recalled, “I was called to the Dean’s office a few days later and was informed that I could not be married and go to Hope! I was in complete shock. I replied many knew I was getting married, and no one told me this and I only had two months left of college out of four years. I was told that I had to meet with the governing board of directors and they would decide my fate” [6]. The board decided to allow Vivian Cook to complete her last few months of classes, but ultimately this was because Cook didn’t live in the dormitory. 

  The women who got engaged or married then had to worry about the safety of their fiance or husband until they received news or they returned from the war. One writer expressed her fears in her poem, “Come back to me” [7]. 

  It wasn’t just the women’s sweethearts leaving either. Brothers, cousins, etc. were also called into duty. The Anchor published an article about Nola Nies, a senior from Hope, receiving the call from her brother before he was sent overseas and knowing there was a chance he would not return. 

  Rosey Maatman remembers following the war through the radio, newsreels, and newspapers, but not realizing the full weight of what was occurring around her: 

  "We (during our Hope years) were pretty secluded from the war itself, unless you had family over there. It almost didn’t seem real at first. We were still kind of naive. I guess we just didn’t think about the big things. Some time ago my family visited an American military cemetery in Oxford, England. There were all those white crosses and a wall with names on it. When I started to read them, I realized what had happened. I cried all those tears I couldn’t shed at the time because I was too naive” [8]. 

  There were echoes of Maatman’s feeling of nativete in the Anchor as some headlines like, “Take Time to Help Now,” “This Emergency Affects US-or Did You Know?,” and “Let’s Get Going” all called for more participation in the war effort [9]. 

  One article entitled “I’m a Coward” references the difficulties on the homefront. The writer of the article asserts life on the homefront is more difficult than being in the service as a woman. There are a lot of ways for women to help the war effort, but those back home compose the foundation of the war effort and must remain hopeful while facing the unknown [10]. 

  The women on Hope’s campus saw the headlines that a former Hope College student had died in duty or the son of a professor was killed. Many of the women traveled to the train station in the evenings or on the weekends just in case a soldier came through with news on a loved one [11].

  Vivian Tardiff Cook also got a taste of the politics of the war in one of her most impactful memories from the war. Vivian Tardiff Cook participated in oratory. and wrote a speech entitled “Americans with Japanese Faces.” The coach at the time, Dr. Schrier, wanted his students to choose controversial subjects. Therefore, Cook chose to write about the Japanese Americans placed in internment camps during World War II. Tardiff began her speech by establishing her ancestry and explaining how fortunate she was to be a child of parents who were neither German nor Japanese. Dr. Shrier expected Tardiff to win the competition and was surprised when she came in third instead. Tardiff and Shrier discovered that each judge scored her first except one, who scored her at the very bottom for each category. When asked why he scored the way he did the judge stated, “‘No damn Japanese’ was going to stand there and tell him America was wrong in their treatment of those ‘damn, dirty Japanese.’ The problem was his son was fighting the war in the Japanese Theater at the time” [12]. Tardiff explained this was an impactful moment for her during the war and she taught her communications students about the power of prejudice. 

  Even after the war ended, the women continued to be impacted. Libby Hillegonds stated, “All the profs were glad to see the service men come back to campus to raise the academic level a notch, finish their education and get on with their lives. They had a little different perspective after their war experiences and were more serious about life” [13].  

  Metta Ross, a professor at Hope, also noted this change in the men. In an oral interview she explained, “The girls’ attitude toward their men friends changed, not because of me but because of the changes in life, these men coming back from wars mutilated and nerve sick” [14]. The atmosphere in classes evolved because veterans wanted to know why things happened as they did [15]. 

  World War II remains the most costly war in terms of loss of life and the veterans witnessed a lot of that first hand. The trauma from World War II changed them and this change would have impacted the females in classes and through their relationships with returning veterans. 
  
  References: 
  [1] Mary Weaks-Baxter, Christine Bruun, and Catherine Forslund, We Are a College at War: Women Working for Victory in World War II (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010), ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hope/detail.action?docID=1354648.
  [2] Eileen Nordstrom and George Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years (Holland, Michigan: Hope College, 2008), 65.  
  [3] Scrapbook, Fowler, Jane F. (Waldbillig). Papers, 1942-1943 (H95-1249.50), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI, 
  [4] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 39. 
  [5]“Diamonds Dazzle Dorm Damsels During Definitely Delightful and Dandy Days,” Hope College Anchor, January 13, 1943. 
  [6] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 54.
  [7] "Come Back to Me," Hope College Anchor, May 6, 1942. 
  [8] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 70. 
  [9] “Take Time to Help Now,” Hope College Anchor, November 11, 1942.“This Emergency Affects US-or Did You Know?,” Hope College Anchor, September 17,1941.“Let’s Get Going,” Hope College Anchor, January 28, 1942. 
  [10] "I'm a Coward," Hope College Anchor, February 9, 1944. 
  [11] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 71. 
  [12] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 52. 
  [13] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 58-59. 
  [14] Dick and Phyllis Huff, “Metta Ross Oral Interview,” March 15, 2002, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI. 
  [15] Metta Ross, February 20, 1945, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.