A tale well told, May 22, 2013   By Anastasia

Countless books have been written about World War II. Myriad movies have covered any and all aspects of the war from The Longest Day to Schindler’s List. Some give us the grand picture while others focus on one aspect or issue. Mollie’s War, a personal collection of letters written during World War II, gives the reader insight into a little-known yet essential branch of the army, the Women’s Army Corps. But even more than that, this collection of sisterly correspondence transports us to a stressful yet somehow more innocent time. Through her letters, Mollie emerges as a real person, a young Jewish girl from Detroit who surprisingly enlists as a WAC and recounts her experiences in boot camp and in the European theater. The phrasing and slang of the times makes the reader experience every detail right along with Mollie.

I had four uncles in World War II, one in Europe, three in the Pacific. Thankfully, they all came home and lived good, long lives. They wrote letters but we could seldom get them to talk about the war. Since I wasn’t born until after the war, I have no personal frame of reference. Reading Mollie’s book changed all that. A real person emerged: a person full of life, and spunk, and dedication and patriotism. How grateful I am that she and her sister saved all their letters, and that she and her daughter compiled them into this amazing memoir.

Cyndee Schaffer honored her mother’s service in the WAC (Women’s Army Corps) from 1943-1945 by compiling her letters into the book “Mollie’s War: The Letters of a World War II WAC in Europe.” Watch a special presentation by Cyndee here:
http://ow.ly/kxPvJ