Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

While I consider myself the resident storyteller of the family, I discovered the following 10-page memoir written by my grandma within one of our photo albums, and have to say she did a fine job illustrating key moments in her life.  I've transcribed what she wrote, keeping all spelling errors and edits intact. The only addition I made was noting her brother's name [Raymond] when she was referring to him in third person and only by pronoun and, of course, the contemporaneous photographs. I don't have any context as to what brought about this document or whether a more finalized version ever existed in some fashion. Edna (Dean) Millhouse, circa 1956. " [?], quite hilly West Virginia until the butter was a solid pound rolls at this point in time, we had no refrigeration but some time later did have an ice box and at that time we could buy 25-50 and 100 pound cakes of ice. Always had to be sure to remember to empty the drip pan, or we would have a wet mess to clean up. Ou...

When one imagines staying on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with the beach at their fingertips and palm trees canvassing the horizon in front of picturesque, cotton candy-colored sunsets, it's likely not to be in the thick of a world war. However, my grandmother, Edna Arlene (Dean) Millhouse, could recount just such a memory. Edna Dean on Tinian Island, 1945. During World War II, she utilized her training as a registered nurse to serve in the U.S. Army as a 1st Lieutenant. Edna Dean during World War II. While part of her service remained shoreside at Newton D. Baker General Hospital in Martinsburg, West Virginia, one of her wartime assignments brought her to the island of Tinian, part of the Northern Mariana Islands to the east of the Philippines and mainland Japan. Edna Dean in between her parents, Beatrice and Chester Dean at Newton D. Baker General Hospital. After Saipan was invaded, Tinian became the next target for the marine forces. The name Jig Day was ...