Author James Madison is the regional winner of the 2013 Indiana Authors Award.

A remarkable Red Cross woman on the job in wartime England and France

Elizabeth Richardson was a Red Cross volunteer who worked as a Clubmobile hostess during World War II. Handing out free doughnuts, coffee, cigarettes, and gum to American soldiers in England and France, she and her colleagues provided a touch of home—American girls with whom the boys could talk, flirt, dance, and perhaps find companionship. Usually the job was not hazardous—except when V-1 and V-2 rockets rained down on London—but it required both physical endurance and the skills of a trained counselor. Liz Richardson is a witty writer and astute observer. Her letters and diaries reveal an intelligent, independent, and personable woman with a voice that rings true. With commentary by historian James H. Madison, this book is an exceptional window into a past that is all too quickly fading from memory.

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At a time when war memories are fading with the passing of each veteran, Madison gives voice to Liz's recollections, capturing her zest for life and her deep understanding of war.

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Richardson's story, skillfully reconstructed by Madison, pulls back the veil of romantic myth that sometimes obscures World War II, and lets us see the face of wartime humanity in all of its guises—bored and fearful, but also alive and charged with hope.October/November 2008

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All in all, this account makes for informative and enjoyable reading for the scholar, undergraduate, or anyone interested in women's participation in the war, and in particular the American Red Cross Clubmobiles. March, 2010