#war brides

Three of the German brides of doughboys of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), with their Yankee babies, arriving in New York on the transport Sherman to make their homes in the U.S., September 11, 1920. Left to right: Mrs. Z. Sanlick; Mrs. A.J. Dininger, and Mrs. F.M. Christnacht.

This week in The Clubmobile we’re talking about the women who were brave enough to leave their homes for love. Join us as we discuss women from all countries and walks of life in search of happiness during the tragedies of war. From the War Brides Act to the transition to life in America, we’re covering the staggering statistics of the women who found love in a time of war and weren’t afraid to make the journey to hold onto it.

Full episode out now ☕️🍩

“But why isn’t the top down?”

"They [war brides] married the enemy, then created uniquely American lives."

The Untold Stories of Japanese War Brides, Kathryn Tolbert

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It was 1953. Hiroko was 21, enjoying a life of movies, parties, going around with groups of other young people determined to have fun and not think about the future. There was a kind of recklessness about these young women who had seen their families and nation ruined by war.

New York Times #OTD Mar 30 1919 publishes this picture of Scotch and English War Brides of American soldiers and sailors arrive on American Auxiliary Cruiser Lousiville to join American husbands.

Later generations would wring their hands over such impetuous “gangplank marriages”—unions of young men and young women contracted in the feverish atmosphere of war mobilization—but in World War I, the American war bride stood as a model of patriotic womanhood.