While there have been war brides from WWI (and even a few from the Philippine-American War), there was an uptick in war brides during WWII. In the span of a decade (1942-1952) roughly 1,000,000 American GI’s married women they met overseas during the war, all from different countries spanning from Britain to Japan and down to Australia. Often times, these women were discouraged by their families from marrying American troops but for these young women living in bombed out cities and living under terrible conditions such as rationing food and the growing attacks from the Axis powers, these men offered a way out to the safety of America, the land of plenty. However, there were many back home in America that did not approve of the marriages to these foreign women, including the single American women seemingly left behind as well as the government, who tried to deter soldiers from marrying overseas and immigrating their new wives to the US during war time. The Immigration Act of 1924 barred entry to European and anyone of Asian descent with the intention to keep out those who would not be seen as the ideal American. This was reconsidered and the War Brides Act of 1945 went into effect, removing the quota system that was previously in place and allowed the new brides and children of service members to enter the US. In preparation for these new brides to assimilate to American life, the American Red Cross put together a book containing information on how to become a homemaker and preparation courses for new brides and those engaged to be married. These courses helped prepare foreign women for life in the US as well as connecting those who would be moving to the same state or surrounding area to not feel too alone so far from home. These women all dreamed of a new life in America, far from the bombing and close proximity of the war, even though that meant leaving their home country and risking not being able to freely see their family or be reunited with their husband for months until he returned home as well.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first act to explicitly target a specific group, those who were Chinese, from coming to America in search of a new life. In 1924, the Immigration Act extended the exclusion to Eastern (Japan, North and South Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan), South Eastern (The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), and Southern Asians (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal). With the introduction of the Magnuson Act of 1943, Chinese peoples were once again allowed to emigrate to the US since 1882. However, they were still limited by the quotas set in place of only 105 visas issued per year. From 1943-1945, the only Asian subgroup to be allowed to immigrate to the United States were Chinese women. Racial discrimination became the factor that once again amended the act in 1947, allowing Asian spouses of Filipino, Indian, Korean, and Japanese descent.
During the span of WWII, the United States urged all "American Citizens" to join in the war effort and take on the laborious tasks and jobs that were previously only held by men and considered skilled labor. Chinese Americans answered their call to duty in large numbers, contributing to the war effort as invaluable workers and expressing their loyalty to their country. Prior to WWII, finding a job outside of the Chinese American community was impractical for these women considering working away from their community created difficulty to perform their family duties of raising children and tending to home needs as well as the language and cultural barrier that subjected them to racism and prejudice. Once WWII began, Asian American women joined the war effort in droves. They signed up to join either the WAACs, WASPs, or WAVEs, taken jobs in the shipyards and defense industry, and were also used as translators for military intelligence. These Asian origin women were welcomed to aid in the war effort and were offered financial freedom and economic opportunity outside their communities but to also take over traditional male jobs to free up more able bodied men to fight for the US. Even Hollywood star and Chinese American Anna May Wong joined in the war efforts and took on the role of Air Raid Warden for her country. These women were vital to the success of the Allied powers in WWII and gladly took on the responsibility being asked of them to help their country and fellow citizens, disregarding Anti-Asian sentiment and fully embracing their patriotic duties to their country to be able to fight for their freedom and the freedom of others.
Citations:
Gandhi, Lakshimi. “The Asian American Women Who Fought to Make Their Mark in WWII.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, May 3, 2021. https://www.history.com/news/asian-american-women-wwii-contributions.
Vaughan, James. “1944 ... War Marriage!” Flickr. Yahoo!, June 13, 2010. https://www.flickr.com/photos/x-ray_delta_one/4696871292/in/photostream/.
August 5th, 1944 (the day Margaret wrote war office) "Swinging on a Star" by Bing Crosby went to #1 on the Billboard singles charts. Bing Crosby would prove to be a major form of entertainment during the 1940s. He was consistently on the radio for having multiple number 1 singles as well as winning an Academy Award for best actor in the movie Going My Way. In 1944, Crosby was known overseas as Der Bingle by his German fans.
On the day Christine and John got married, July 8th, the SS began liquidating the Kovno Ghetto in German controlled Lithuania as the Red Army closed in on them. Roughly 8,000 Jews were moved to Stutthof and Dachau Concentration Camps, emphasizing the duality of wartime and what troops were experiencing across Europe.
Citation: “Bing Crosby - Swinging on a Star.” YouTube, November 3, 2008. https://youtu.be/rATftJiWdkw.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
Did these quick war marriages have a traditional ceremony in a church with family present, if they could be, or were they at the nearest court house? And with the large number of war marriages occurring, did they have someone to officiate a mass wedding?
How were these "war brides" perceived both in their countries or communities as well as in their new country and community?
Did their families agree with marrying a foreign serviceman or did the families not support this idea?
The Blue Envelope that Margaret used to write the war office was used when the nature of the letter or correspondence was considered a private and personal matter. These types of letters would not go through unit censorship as they contained sensitive information and could potentially make the service men uncomfortable if it was being read by someone they worked closely with, leaving censorship up to the base and allow the information to be checked without causing distress.
These interviews give insight into the new lives these women took on after marrying a GI who was stationed in their country. Many of these women talk about the drastic changes they encountered as being a new bride, immigrating to America, and trying to find community amidst feeling homesick and uneasy about such a significant life change.
The War Bride Project gives firsthand accounts of Japanese women who came to America after WWII. They talk about life in Japan during the war and how they met their future husbands, coming to America and dealing with culture shock and xenophobic attitudes, and eventually adjusting to their new "American" lives while raising families.
During WWII, the American Red Cross opened service clubs and organizations for US service members who were deployed overseas. One of the larger and well known one was the Rainbow Corner Club. The club provided much needed rest and relief for soldiers stationed in London, creating a warm and welcome atmosphere that included other American GI's to create their own small community within a foreign country. They even branched out to include a mobile club which provided coffee and doughnuts to those who were stationed outside of the city. The American Red Cross staffed these clubs with highly trained young women who were required to endure a thorough interview process as well as pass a physical and learn the art of making doughnuts and coffee. The book Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys: An American Woman in World War II gives a first hand account from one of the young women, Elizabeth Richardson, about her time at the Rainbow Corner Club.
Citations:
Amundson, Anna C. “"'This Is My Home, and My Husband Is Here': South Dakota War Brides Tell Their Stories.’” South Dakota Historical Society Press, July 10, 2020. https://www.sdhspress.com/journal/south-dakota-history-40-3/this-is-my-home-and-my-husband-is-here-south-dakota-war-brides-tell-their-stories.
“Overseas Wives' Club - The Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954) - 14 Mar 1950.” Trove, n.d. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/158800953.
“The United States Transport Airmail Issue of 1941-1944.” Philatelic Society of Lancaster County, 2022. https://lcps-stamps.org/the-united-states-transport-airmail-issue-1941-44-by-hal-klein/.
Tolbert, Kathryn. “Japanese War Brides: An Oral History Archive.” Japanese War Brides: An Oral History Archive, n.d. https://www.warbrideproject.com/.
Whitaker, Barbara. “The American Red Cross Overseas in WWII.” Barbara Whitaker, April 30, 2021. https://barbarawhitaker.com/2021/04/30/the-american-red-cross-overseas-in-wwii/.