Lady GI: A Woman's War in the South Pacific: The Memoir of Irene Brion

Irene Brion's experiences as a WAC in WW II begin with her enlistment in 1943, as a young former teacher with a patriotic yearning to serve her country and a desire for adventure. Ms Brion's career in the WACS takes her across the US to New Guinea and the Phillipines. She chronicles her experiences in marvelous detail, sharing her thoughts, joys, doubts, sorrows and fears with clarity and understated forthrightness. What shines through is an adventurous spirit, an inquiring mind, a very observant eye, cheerful matter-of-factness and the gift of placing the reader very much in her Li'l Abners (WAC field shoes)in the midst of the day-to-day realities of her service in the Pacific war--life in tents and Quonset huts, enduring monsoons and humidity, longing for letters from home. We meet the people she meets and feel as if we, too, know them--the WAC's, GI's and Australian diggers who pass in and out of her life. What is most striking is the way in which these young WACS, far from home, took up the challenges facing them with grace and humour. Strong friendships helped alleviate the boredom, arbitrariness and uncertaintty that seems to accompany wartime service. For those of us born in the post-war generation, both in the US and Australia, Ms Brion brings history to life and personalizes it. She also briefly fills in historcal details about the New Guinea and Phillipines campaigns. The writing is beautifully descriptive and conversational as well as informative. It was surprising to learn that the WAC's were sometimes viewed rather negatively Stateside-not because of enemy propaganda--but because they were seen as taking the jobs of male soldiers. My only regret as a reader is that the memoir ended so quickly with her discharge and return home. I wanted Ms Brion's conversation to continue, to explain what happened next in her life after the war and what became of her friends--I wasn't ready to say goodbye. But, perhaps, like wartime itself, delightful meetings seem all too short. It is a real treat to have been introduced to this Lady GI.