War Ends in Europe

On May 8th, 1945, the war ended in Europe.

While people were dancing in the street in Times Square, New York City Policewoman Mae Foley was on her way downtown. She’d taken the 7 train into Midtown from Queens that morning but didn’t realize she wouldn’t be able to move through the cheering crowds.

Finally, she maneuvered back down the stairs and onto the crowded subway. As the train pulled out, the roar began to subside. She’d have to visit the department stores on Fifth Avenue another day.

Not that she wasn’t thrilled that the war had ended. She was. And grateful and relieved.

Thankfully, the world would know peace again.

Plus, the post-war changes meant that the NYPD could begin a recruiting campaign; they needed new officers now more than ever. And, her son-in-law Fred would return home and daughter Florence would be happily planning their next move to a place of their own.

And Mae? She felt the winds of change blowing like a gale. Everything was going to change and quickly.

By the summer of 1945, she’d been a policewoman with the NYPD for twenty-two years—longer if you counted her five years of volunteer service with the Women’s Police Reserve. Maybe it was time to think about retirement.

Just a few days later, the 108th precinct was buzzing with the news that the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, General Dwight D. Eisenhower himself, would be coming to New York in June for a victory parade.

All hands on deck; everyone would be on duty that day, uniforms pressed, brass polished, and everyone moving out smartly.

Mae looked forward to that event, even if it meant long hours on her feet in those tight shoes. But still… the promise of retirement’s freedom nagged at her.

Mae Foley loved to travel. And she missed it.

With so many cruise ships being commandeered by the U.S. Navy during the war, her cruising days had taken a hiatus lasting nearly five years. Not to mention that even if she could have booked a cruise, it would not have been heading to Europe.

She’d taken a couple of brief trips during the war, but it just wasn’t the same.

Now, if she retired, she could go when she pleased, where she pleased. That was definitely something to celebrate.

But first, maybe she’d take a practice vacation and drive down to Florida for the winter. She’d sit on the beach and look out over the ocean. Be a snowbird who wasn’t on a schedule. She wouldn’t plan to return to the city until the daffodils bloomed.

Or maybe she could find her way back to Bermuda. She loved the Caribbean and would definitely be ready to return there. But the war with Japan was still looming over the country, and that dream would have to wait.

Once she arrived home again, Mae got out her maps and her well-worn travel planner and began to fill in a few details for the possibilities of that dream.

Maybe it was time.