Hello , I'm so happy to finally be writing you again! Thank you for opening this email today. I do not take your time and interest for granted. I discovered recently that my message to you in mid-April announcing I was going on hiatus from the newsletter was never delivered. I apologize for seemly disappearing for months with no explanation. I took a much needed break from social media and writing my weekly newsletter. It's good to be back. A couple significant things happened while I was gone. In other excitement, I've heard from the granddaughter of Belle Valentine, the woman I wrote you about who made a heroic
effort trying to save her POW husband on the Bataan Death March.
Times They Are A Changing
Fort Lee, (which bore the name of slave-holder and Confederate General Robert E. Lee) has been renamed Fort Gregg-Adams for two soldiers who served when the army was segregated and would not have been allowed in the all-white officer's club and other areas of
the garrison at the time. In addition to Charity Adams, the redesination of Fort Gregg-Adams honors Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg. The African American, two star general was the first black to earn the title of lieutenant general in the US Army and became the only living soldier in modern history to have a military installation named after him. read more on this story here...
Retired LTG Arthur Gregg (left) and the late LTC Charity Adams show in image from the Naming Commission, which selected their names as the replacements for Ft. Lee in Prince George County. “We are deeply honored to have Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams as the new namesakes for our installation,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Simerly, a commanding general at Fort Lee.
Lt. Col. Charity Adams was the first black woman officer sworn into the newly formed Woman's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942, after Congress voted to allow women in military roles during WWII. In 1944, at just 25, Adams
took command of the all-women, all black 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion in England. The unit successfully cleared out an overwhelming backlog of mail sent to soldiers fighting in
Europe.
Major Charity Adams inspects women of the 9888th Postal Directory Battalion in England,
1945. US Army Photo At the renaming ceremony in late April, the post's commanding officer Gen. Mark Simerly said Charity Adams "repeatedly took a stand against the notion of separate but equal facilities for Black and white soldiers....Offered the chance to lead the first Black women's unit to deploy into harm's way, she leaped at the
opportunity." To read the full story, order my book here...
The Incredible Story of Belle Valentine
Another WWII-era
woman who leaped into harm's way, Belle Valentine, was a US Army wife in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked. Her husband Henry Butler Valentine served in the Army under General Douglas MacArthur. Fierce fighting had ravaged the Island of Luzon for five months when dire news swept through cities and villages. April 9, 1941, American and Philippine armies on the Bataan Penisula had been forced to surrender to the Japanese Imperial Army. Belle, expecting her fourth child those five months, must have worried for her husband's life every day. After the surrender, she received horrible news. The 75-thousand starving and disease-stricken soldiers taken captive were being forced to march 65-miles in the hot, dry season. The Japanese provided them no food or water.
According to this photo, Belle became a US Army nurse. Photo courtesy Bristol Bay Times and Dutch Harbor Fisherman I cannot imagine what went through Belle Valentine's mind. On the one hand, her husband was alive. But could he stay alive while a prisoner of an army known for its brutality? The Japanese had utter contempt for soldiers who would surrender rather than fight to the death. I know one thing. Belle was determined to do everything in her power to save him. When I first discovered this story two years ago, I was frustrated because of the very little I could find about Belle and her husband. Imagine the thrill when I got a message from Belle's granddaughter! And a day later Her great-granddaughter Lauren emailed me with this memory. I remember the first time I heard the story about my great grandmother. I was a junior in high school and we were going over WW2. I was telling my Grandma what I learned about the [Bataan] Death March and she told me about my great
grandmother. My Grandma is so strong and I always wondered why. That day I sat and listened to her mother's story holding on to every piece of information." That story is unforgettable. Belle made her way to the route and began searching for her husband. Incredibly, She located him.
The Bataan Death March, April 1942. US Army photo. Belle followed the throng of prisoners giving Henry what food and water she could. Many civilians tried to aid the marchers, but the Japanese guards could be extremely harsh, beheading men for the least offense, shooting those who fell behind or stopped for water. Belle
stuck near Henry until she went into labor and had to fall back to give birth, not in a hospital or even at home, but in the Bataan jungle. She had a healthy baby boy and set off to catch up with her husband. She was able to find him again and tell him he had a son named after him, Henry Butler Valentine, Jr. After the Bataan Death March, Belle never
saw her husband again.
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Here's special shout out of thanks to the new subscriber who signed up for this newsletter during my time off. I hope you'll enjoy the coming editions and l look forward to getting to know
you. During my time off from the newsletter and social media, I have not been twiddling my thumbs. My main focus has been writing a mystery novel. It's a completely new direction for me, more of an experiment than anything, and I am loving it. Click through these images to see what else I've been up to!
- I got braces. First time. I feel badly that I was not more sympathetic when my kids went through this!
- I planted my garden. The arugula seeds were the first to come up.
- I set up my summer office on my front porch!
- Took time away with my husband and friends to relax and go kayaking at Priest Lake, Idaho.
- Cooked some delicious food! This is my Lemony Lentil & Chickpea soup with arugula.
- The garden is growing!
I continue to practice
aerial silks and have a couple circus performances coming up. A commercial was filmed at our gym and I got my three seconds of fame.
Photo courtesy of @SpokaneAerialPerformanceArts, @terrainspokane and @fatgratitude.
And I read. A lot!
To be honest, I mostly listened to audio books. Got through a lot of thrillers and mysteries, as that is what I'm currently working on. Some better than others.
I'm so lucky reading is part of my day job! What have you been reading lately? Until next week...
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students, teachers, librarians and writers visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com. Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this
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