Evening star., 1946-02-17
[I"HE Statue of Liberty!"

//"H HE Statue of Liberty!"
Nearly all of the 1865 GI
brides stood at the deck rails
of the majectic Queen Mary
last Sunday morning. craning necks to
get first view of the towering figure,
green in the bright light, which Symbol
lized for them the end TO their long
voyage across the Atlantic to new land
which is to be their home
A great adventure for all of them.
They watched with eager faces the
impressive skyline of New York as the
huge liner nosed her way up the harbor
They had made the journey with high
hopes and their eyes were bright One
of them mentioned the fact she was
bound for Brooklyn and was all interest
when an American fellow passenger
pointed out the location of a street in
the sprawling city where she was to 60.
One Said She'd Even
Go to Timbuktu
I spoke to one, mentioning the fact
that it must require a lot of courage
for these women to leave their old homes
to make start in land that was
strange to them. Her instant reply was:
"I'd go anywhere-to Timbuktu-to
join my husband. I haven't seen him
for year."
And that apparently was the spirit
which animated the great majority of
40 yryStrn vxyI.o 1oL
Mary.
A bitterly cold breeze blew down
the bay Sunday morning, but most
OF the wives stood it out on deck, many
OF them with children in their arms,
For in addition to the wives-and one
mother of Navy lieutenant commander
who resides in California-there were
668 infants and children accompany
ing their mothers.
"csoh," said one of the wives, "Iye
never been so cold.' Which seemed
strange to me after month in Lon
dons penetrating dampness, fogs and
rain. 1t was explained to her that
temperature in many parts of the United
States dropped far lower than in Eng
land, where they speak of so many
degrees of frost" meaning two or
three or more degrees below the 80
freezing point
Miss Liberty Caught Their
Interest Right Away
Another wife, as she turned away
from her first view of the Statue of
Liberty, with her loyalty still to things
British, murmured: TT doesn't come up
to Big Ben"
The CT brides, taken as whole, were
f1ne-looking lot of young women.
Many of them looked almost like chill
dren themselves-under 20 years of age
and some under 18. AS for the children,
they are healthy, bright lot of young
sters, showing they had been well cared
for. There were strict orders aboard
ship that the children must never be
left unattended. The consequence was
that everywhere mother went her
child or children went with her. One
young wife exhibited large knot on
her wrist, the result of carrying her baby
almost constantly since the time of the
processing" of the CT brides at It'd
worth before they all were brought to
Southampton to board the Queen Mary.
Held up for a whole extra day before
sailing because of gale that prevented
the great SO 3,000-ton vessel from getting
out of harbor, the wives took full ad-
vantage of the hearty meals-so much
more food than they had been accus-
toned to in England either during the
war or since. In addition, they stormed
the ships canteens, buying candy and
soft drinks galore, and generally stuffed
themselves. The result was that when
they did get under way, the roll and dip
of the great ship in a heavy swell sent
many of them to bed and the medical
attendants, the Red Cross workers and
the stewardesses had busy time caring
for them.
In day or two, however, most of
them were on their feet again, and
enjoying the trip, interested in the
many entertainments provided for them,
including moving pictures in the main
lounge and on deck, shown afternoon
and evening. Sea-sickness missed the
children, generally. They looked like
swarm of Palmer Cox's Brownies" as
they tottered along the corridors or on
the decks.
They Were Accustomed
To Standing in Lines
English, as they were, they were used
to standing in long s-queues-and it
was the common thing early in the voy-
age to see wives with babies in their
arms, lining up two hours before the
canteens opened, in order to make their
purchases.
They were full of questions about the
land which was to be their new home
and regularly scheduled talks were de-
hvered to them about American customs
American climate and cooking. Many
OF the wives were keenly interested in
learning, If they could, whether they
would be resented by their American
sisters once they had landed and un-
dertaken to make homes for their hus-
bands This was, in fact, haunting
fear of a number of the brides. They
were afraid American girls might feel
they had no business marrying Amer
lean men who might otherwise have had
American wives Thev feared foa tbot