Interview of Virginia Emrich on her experience running Red Cross recreation clubs in Australia for U.S. troops during WWII

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Description:

In the first of two oral history interviews, Virginia Emrich talks about running Red Cross recreation clubs for U.S. troops during World War Two. Emrich discusses her Red Cross training and says that she was slated to go to Europe, but protested the assignment because she wanted to go to the Pacific and was finally sent to Brisbane, Australia in 1943. Emrich says that her first assignment in Australia was to staff a club which had a beach, golf course, and tennis courts and recalls troops from New Guinea and other front line units rotating through Brisbane for rest before the Philippine invasion in October 1944. Emrich says she was later moved to Darwin on the north coast of Australia to run a recreation club and describes her duties there, the tropical heat and humidity, the rains, mud, and insects and says that the troops were not allowed to swim in the ocean because the stingrays were so fierce. Emrich is interviewed by Virginia Cornett.

Date Issued:

1983-05-04T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Michigan State University. Libraries

Collection:

Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project

Place:

Australia, Brisbane (Qld.), Australia, Darwin (N.T.), Australia, Brisbane (Qld.), Australia, and Darwin (N.T.)

Subject Topic:

World War, 1939-1945, World War, 1939-1945, Participation, Female, Soldiers, Recreation, Soldiers, Recreation, World War, 1939-1945, War work, Red Cross, Recreation centers, and Recreation centers

Subject Name:

Emrich, Virginia, 1913-2008, and American National Red Cross

Subject Genre:

Interviews, Interviews, and Personal narratives, American

Language:

English

Rights:

In Copyright

URL:

https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5wt4s