Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys: An American Woman in World War II

Elizabeth Richardson was a Red Cross volunteer who worked as a Clubmobile hostess during World War II. Handing out free doughnuts, coffee, cigarettes, and gum to American soldiers in England and France, she and her colleagues provided a touch of home—American girls with whom the boys could talk, flirt, dance, and perhaps find companionship. Usually the job was not hazardous—except when V-1 and V-2 rockets rained down on London—but it required both physical endurance and the skills of a trained counselor. Liz Richardson was a witty writer and astute observer. Her letters and diaries reveal an intelligent, independent, and personable woman with a voice that rings true. With commentary by historian James H. Madison, this book is an exceptional window into a past that is all too quickly fading from memory.