So many of the women I’ve written about in The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line, faced a crisis of faith in their young lives. Some found themselves struggling for a chance to prove themselves, yearning for acceptance, hoping to find a sense of belonging. Others struggled simply to survive pain, torture, and fear of the unknown.
Many found solace in prayer and had their own specific prayers that helped them through the darkest of times. Others knew the power of faith in their own lives and through the experiences of their wartime service.
Ola Mildred Rexroat achieved her life’s dream when she graduated from flight school at Sweetwater Texas and earned her wings as a Women Air Service Pilot (WASP). It wasn’t the package as originally promised – she and the other WASPs were not commissioned as lieutenants; they were to remain civilian pilots. But the WASP women, over 1,000 of them were undeterred by the restrictions that governed them. They flew every type of plane in the Army’s inventory, took on any mission given them – whether ferrying new planes to their ultimate stateside destinations or towing targets, like Millie did. She was on hand in March 2010 when Congress recognized the WASP with the Congressional Gold Medal.
Then Chaplain of the Senate, retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Barry Black welcomed the veteran fliers with a special prayer.
…Though many of these brave women are no longer with us, the memory of their service will endure. Lord…let those who gather here today, know that they are American heroines, who have brought honor to you and country. Bless, keep and sustain them in all their tomorrows and beyond.
Millie wore her Congressional Gold Medal to an Independence Day ceremony at Mount Rushmore in 2010.
Mary Taylor Previte spent five years of her childhood imprisoned by the Japanese occupiers in China. In her autobiography, she tells the story of the day the Japanese soldiers arrived at the gates of her boarding school, and Japanese gunboats were at anchor in the harbor. She recalled how she and her brothers and sisters would sing music from Psalm 91 each morning at worship:
I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.
On August 17, 1945, the concentration camp where she was imprisoned, was finally liberated by American ‘heroes,’ the men Mary never forgot. “I have walked with angels and miracles all my life,” she recalled. “My world was full of mystery and surprise.”
Mary Previte in 2000 with a piece of parachute embroidered for the soldiers who rescued her and others from the concentration camp in 1945. She called them her ‘falling angels.’
Diet Eman was imprisoned by the Gestapo near The Hague, Netherlands following her arrest for working with the Dutch Resistance. She could feel her faith flagging as she grappled each day with fear and worry about her fiancé Hein. Following the War, she learned of his death and for 30 years kept her memories of that time at bay. She became a nurse, a volunteer missionary and finally she felt the calling to share her story with the world. At her funeral in September 2019, her granddaughter read her favorite Bible verse, Psalm 27.
Though an Army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
She kept with her that last letter from her fiancé, tossed out the window from a train on its way to Dachau. She held onto her engagement ring as well, the words engraved inside a testament to her life, “Love conquers all.”
Diet with some of her memorabilia from the war, including her fiance’s last letter to her, tossed from a train taking him to the concentration camp Dachau.
Ruth Gruber, the amazing journalist and witness to history experienced first-hand many of the momentous events of 20th Century history. At her very core was an innate sense of right and wrong and dedication to telling the story of the Jewish people. She continued to witness, report, and live inside her stories well into her nineties, becoming involved wherever she found injustice and oppression.
As the 21st century dawned, Ruth found herself deeply affected by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. She said, “In these difficult days, with heartbreaking stories of suicide terrorists and innocent victims, I find it more important than ever to live and write inside of time… We must keep working for peace, fighting injustice, and raising our children and grandchildren to live with decency, dignity, and hope.”
She passed away at the age of 105 in November 2016. On the page for her online obituary, many people left their thoughts, prayers and expressed their gratitude for her contributions to the world. One wrote:
Take note of the blameless ones, And keep the upright one in sight. For the future of that man will be peaceful. (Psalms 37:37)
Ruth Gruber at the dedication of the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum and Education Center in Oswego, NY on October 6, 2002.
Ruth Gruber at the dedication of the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum and Education Center in Oswego, NY on October 6, 2002.
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