“We’ve
just been informed that this line has been awarded the Army and Navy E Award
for production,” the foreman announced. “Congratulations ladies!” he smiled as
he walked down the line toward his office.
2
Doodle looked across the line and smiled at Margaret before returning to her
work on the bomb assembly line at Redstone Arsenal. The work was hard, but she
and her coworkers could be proud of the fact that they were making a
substantial contribution to the war effort – supporting their husbands,
brothers and cousins fighting overseas.
3
A few minutes later, there was a loud pop. Doodle looked up and noticed
Margaret staring blankly straight ahead. Her face was unusually pale and
without expression. Then she noticed Margaret’s intense grip on the rail of the
assembly line in front of her and the dark red color spreading across the
midsection of her coveralls. At the same moment, the alarm went off and
Margaret wilted onto the floor before her. Production came to a standstill.
4
“Get out!” the foreman shouted. Doodle and the other women headed for the exit
as the foreman and his associates circled around the heap in the floor that a
few moments before had been Margaret.
5
“What in the hell just happened?” screamed Betty Jean as they assembled in the
yard outside of the building. “A burster charge exploded,” one of the other
women responded.
6
“I think that it killed Margaret!” one of the others cried. “Oh my God, it
did,” Doodle thought. “That’s exactly what just happened!”
7
As she boarded the bus to return to the mill village, Edna Earl “Doodle” Miller
was shaken to her core. Margaret had been standing there smiling one minute,
and the next minute she was dead. Doodle had been just a few feet away from her
when it had happened. She kept replaying the events of the day over and over
again in her mind as the bus made its way to Merrimack.
8
As Doodle walked up the steps and onto the porch of her mother’s house, she
could see her mother sitting in the rocking chair and her darling Wayne playing
in the floor next to her. The radio was on and it was almost time for the news.
She hesitated and stood there for a moment looking and listening, not wanting
to open the screen door and tell her mother what she had just witnessed at
work.
9
“Gabriel Heatter is brought to you this evening by Kreml Hair Tonic,” the
announcer droned. “The best-dressed men use Kreml daily for that well-groomed
appearance,” he continued. “It works to restore that naturally lustrous look to
brittle and wiry, wind-tossed hair – the kind of look that the girls really
like!” he finished. “And now, Gabriel Heatter with the news.”
10
“Good Evening everyone! There is good news tonight. The war in Europe is at an
end. Germany has surrendered. The guns have fallen silent and peace has
enveloped the continent…” “Doodle, why are you standing out there on the
porch?” Mittie shouted from her chair.
11
“Sorry Mama, I didn’t want to interrupt your news!” she offered as she pushed
open the screen door and walked into the front room. By that time, Wayne had
already gotten up off of the floor, traversed the room and wrapped his little
arms around his mother’s legs. Edna reached down and scooped her son into her
own arms and hugged him tight as tears rolled down her cheeks.
12
“Well, I sure am glad this war is finally coming to an end!” Mittie proclaimed.
“Me too, Mama, me too!” her daughter agreed.
13
“Maybe it won’t be long until Buford will get to come home,” Mittie speculated.
“Maybe it won’t be too much longer till Luke and Dick will be able to come back
home,” she added. “I hope so Mama,” Edna replied.
14
“I’m really tired this evening; would you mind if Wayne and I laid down for
just a minute?” she asked. “There’s a pot of beans on the stove and some
cornbread. Aren’t you hungry?” Mittie pressed. “Not right now Mama, maybe in a
minute.”
15
The war in Europe was over, but the war in the Pacific dragged on for a few
more months. In August, President Truman authorized the use of atomic bombs
against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
16
By the end of the month, Japan had surrendered too, and Doodle’s divorce
petition had been granted by the court. Clayton’s marriage was also a casualty
of the war.
17
Millions of people had perished in the conflict. Many more had been maimed and
crippled. Countless buildings had been destroyed by the soldiers and their
armaments, but the cost to human relationships was truly incalculable.
Nevertheless, for those who had survived this fiery trial, the opportunity for
a new and better life now seemed within reach.
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