Veterans Day 2016 was a very busy time for Mollie’s War as we crisscrossed through the Chicago land area from Olympia Fields to Huntley and all places in between.  We talked with 4 and 5 year old children at a preschool in Elmhurst as well as 90+ year olds who served in WWII.   Everyone had a story to tell whether it was the woman who talked about her parents who both decided to enlist.  Her mother was accepted but her father was not–then they had to get her mother out of her enlistment.   There was the gentleman who served in both WWII and Korea.  The gentleman who served in WWII and talked about his father serving in WWI and being in the forest area in Northern France when the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918 ending WWI.

All in all it was a very meaningful time for Mollie’s War.

The online book club of the 1st WAC Separate Battalion, Headquarters Company invited me to hangout at their first book club meeting to discuss “Mollie’s War” using “Google Hangouts.” It was my first time using Google Hangouts but so much fun. There were lots of good questions and comments. I so appreciated it as they said–Mollie was a huge inspiration for the creation of this group. Meeting a group of women committed to sharing the story of the WACs by reenactment was awesome!

I feel so honored that Associate Director for Grants and Programs at the Illinois State Library asked me to be one of the main speakers at Jesse White’s Salute to Veterans in September at the Illinois State Library.  This is truly an honor and my mother (Mollie) would have been so proud.

Chicago Writers Association unveiled its 2016-2017 Speakers Bureau. If you are looking for a speaker about women in the military during WWII, please keep me in mind. I am listed on the Speakers Bureau in the History section: The Journey of Mollie’s War : WACs and WWII.

http://www.chicagowrites.org/chicago-writers-association-speakers-bureau/

Today, July 19, would have been my mother, Mollie’s, 100th birthday.   It would have been a very big celebration!  We miss you and love you so much!  Thank you for everything that you did for all of us.

I will be at Printers Row on Saturday, June 11 from 10 AM until 1 PM at the Midwest Writers Association table #237 talking about our group, MWA, and selling autographed copies of my book, “Mollie’s War.” If you are in the area, please stop by and see us.
http://printersrowlitfest.org/

Thank you to Sally Chapralis for posting about Mollie on her Memorial Day blog for First Person Public Relations:
http://sallychapralis.com/blog/

I am excited to be part of the Illinois Humanities Board of Directors Reception for Legislators in Springfield bringing “Mollie’s War” to the Illinois State Library.

As we complete another Women’s History month telling Mollie’s story, I am touched by all of the comments and stories that I have heard along the way.   Everyone seems to have a link to WWII.   A woman in Yorkville talked about wanting her 14 year old granddaughter to learn about the history of the WACs in WWII.  It was so neat to meet a woman who was a WAC in Frankfurt, Germany in the 1950’s.  I enjoyed hearing from the men who served in WWII–and seeing the replica of a plane that one of the men flew.  Just yesterday at the Railroad Retirement Board Workplace Diversity committee program for Women’s History month, a woman told me the story of her mother’s service as a WAAC (a year before my mother) stationed in some of the places where my mother was stationed.   We traveled the state from Palatine to Mattoon and lots of places in between!