My mother was determined her family be represented in the war effort although there were, literally, no men. Her father died when she was 16. He had been drafted into the Tsarist army, sent to Siberia to break rocks, escaped and made his way alone to Odessa, where he took ship to North America. No cousins on her father's side in this country. Her mother came here at age 13 with her 16 year old sister, later another sister and their mother joined them. My mother was one of four sisters, all unmarried when the war broke out. By chance, her two aunts had only daughters, all still unmarried.
She tried to join Marines. Back then they gave IQ tests, The Sergeant said she had the highest score he'd seen! But Marines checked corrected and uncorrected vision; her corrected was OK but she was blind as a bat without glasses. The doctor applied for an exemption because he considered her such an outstanding candidate. She got a letter that exemption was denied but she should join the Army as they only tested corrected vision. She tried, but was told their "New York quota" was full. New York quota had nothing to do with being from New York. At that time, first question on the form was name, second religion, and "New York quota" was a euphemism for Jews. The Army did not want a whole bunch of Jews out there fighting Hitler! Go figure. She tried the Navy and this time it worked.
In occupied Europe, Quakers smuggled Jewish children to Britain and the U.S. at great risk to themselves and the children. Some of my cousins on my father's side smuggled their 2 year old daughter to Britain, yes, an illegal immigrant. There was no way to get word to the family she had arrived safely. That is Cousin Lola. The only survivor. Everyone else on both sides of the family were murdered in Nazi death camps.
If you are wondering where I get my feminism, my anti-fascism, and my support for immigrant rights ... and my lousy eyesight ... now you know.
