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- David Walter Hulet: Written by Dorothy Acker Hulet, Jul 1996, for aprogram at the LDS girls camp in the Dillon area. 'A young girl stood in the station watching as the last train pulledslowly away. She was scarcely nineteen or twenty years old, her facetear stained, her clothes rumpled from staying up all night so as not tomiss a single moment of their last hours together. Her bridegroom of amere 20 days was on that train heading for points unknown. She, ofnecessity, was left behind. It was 1945, she a 'war bride' and he was a US Airman in the service ofhis country which was still at war after four long years. Her story wasplayed out all over the nation, small variations but essentially thesame. He'd promised to be 'Home For Christmas' or that 'I'll Be SeeingYou In All the Old Familiar Places.' Statistics were against him. 292,000 young men would lose their lives, three times that many would bewounded and show scars for the rest of their days, lost arms and legstorn cruelly away by hidden mines on the battle fields of the world. The war was global, it spanned the world with the Allies (United States,Great Britain, the USSR and China) against the Axis Powers (Germany,Italy and Japan.) Victory for the Allies had been declared in NorthAfrica, Sicily, and finally in Germany where Adolph Hitler had (up tothis time) reigned supreme. But Japan still had to be reckoned with. The war in the Far East was far flung and new names cropped up in oureveryday lives, names like Okinawa, Guam, Iwo Jima and Attu Island;Hiroshima and Nagasaki. New things happened in our everyday lives like rationing of food,clothing, shoes, gasoline, tires and anything that could not be spared bythe war effort. Plastics became a substitute for metal; Daylight Saving Time became afact of life; Tupperware a household word. Women invaded the workplacesince all eligible men were serving their country in a long and drearywar. Patriotism was sparked and every facet of our lives went into the 'WarEffort.' Servicemen were clothed and fed at the expense of thecivilian. The armies rolled on rubber tires in metal vehicles, civilianswalked or pooled rides. Skies were filled with new fighter planes. Theseas were blanketed with warships. Tonite, we are showcasing entertainment for the serviceman. USO showscropped up where ever there were bases. The United Service Organizationwas interested only in the comfort of the serviceman, they fed him andserved him drinks, they told jokes and stories of home. They sang to himand danced for his toe-tapping pleasure. 'I'll Be Seeing You' 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' 'Sentimental Journey' ,the stirring 'Marine's Hymn' and 'Anchors Aweigh' became our theme songs.Listen now as we take you into the wonderful world of music during this,the time of World War II.'
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1922 - 1991 (69 years)
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