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June 13, 2025 17 mins

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Ilene Hall enlisted in the Army WAC in 1943, she was following her husband, Edward “Ken” Hall, to war. After marrying in March 1943, and with her husband completing his training and preparing to ship overseas, the young woman from Canton, Ohio, decided not to let an ocean separate them. Here she is to tell her story!

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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
from the arts to sports, and from business to history
and everything in between, including your stories. There are some
of our favorites. Our next story, well, it's one about service,
love and sacrifice. Let's follow Eileen Hall's incredible journey across

(00:33):
Europe as she searches for her husband in the middle
of World War iiO. Eileen was a member in the
Woman's Army Corps or WHACK. We got together with Eileen
and her daughter Sherry, who both live in Canton, Ohio.
Here's Eileen.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
I'm from Canton, Ohio. I was born in ten eleven,
twenty three, and my mother and dad had a restaurant
in downtown Canton, and we had a hotel up above
the restaurant, and that's where I was raised. We lived
right across the street from McKinley High School, so all

(01:12):
I had to do was walk for high school was
walk across the street and go to school. After my
mother made it to my high school graduation, and shortly
after that she passed on and my dad remarried, and
I felt very uncomfortable at home with a different mother, really,

(01:33):
and you were working at Kimpkin and Roll Bearing Company.
So it's a long time. That's seventy five years ago,
you know, so I'm trying to remember a lot of it.
I'll never forget. But and there I met a girl
and we became friends, and we worked in the stationary
supply office. And she had a boyfriend from Galli and Ohio,

(01:58):
and every time he came up to her, he brought
his brother. So she said, do you think you'd mind
dating his brother if he brings him up? And I said,
oh no, Well that was it because we just melded
together and it's just worked out. So but he was
being drafted like all the he was going to be

(02:21):
sent to Oklahoma. So after my dad remarried, I just
didn't feel comfortable at home. So I said, I think
I always wanted to go to California. So I said,
I think I'll go to California because I've always wanted
to go there. So I boarded a train and it
stopped in Oklahoma, and I thought, well, I'll just see

(02:43):
you know him while i'm here. So that's as far
as I got. We got married after I was there
a few days. We had to go through blood tests
and it was really you know. So, and we were
married in a parson's office. And then it wasn't long
after that that he was sent overseas. So I thought, well,

(03:09):
since I'm married to him, I'll go back home and
see what I can do, you know. So I went
back home and I decided to enlist in the service.
So I went in downtown Canton where they had their
recruiting office, and told them I would like to join
the Army. Well, the Navy I really wanted, but you

(03:29):
couldn't get in that one until later. So I decided
I'd get in the Army if I could. So, even
though I was married, I had to get my dad's consent.
Because of my age. I couldn't do it unless I
had my parents consent. So I went to where he
worked and told him, and he said, well, if I
don't do this, you'll do something else crazy. So he signed.

(03:51):
He was a World War One veteran, so he signed
and I took it back. And after that I got
into basic training in Daytona Beach, Florida. From there I
was I volunteer. They said, as we were being interviewed,
the girls that had already volunteered, said you'll be sorry,

(04:16):
you know, and so. But I volunteered for everything, so
I always got to pick up things that I wanted
to do, so I thought that was a good idea.
From there, I was sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia for
driver training, and I led a convoy through Georgia as

(04:37):
one of our tryouts, you know, to see how we
did and so. And then we had to go in
gas chambers and take off of the gas mask and
stay for a few minutes and then go out and
catch your breath again. And then we had to lay
down and they fired shots over a you know, to

(05:01):
see how we'd react. And then we had to go
through other training abandoning ship. We had to go, you know,
to a top of the ship that would be and
go down the sides, and a couple of the girls
were just terrified of doing it, so I helped along
with them. And then after that was all done, I

(05:23):
was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, and I was only
there for a little while. The fellows in the barracks
were used to having women there, and boy, every time
we'd walk out everywhere shoe there were guys walking with us.
So but anyway, I volunteered. They would asked for volunteers

(05:45):
to go overseas, so I volunteered, but there were too many,
so I wasn't going to get to go. But at
the last minute one gal dropped out and so I
took her place. And then it wasn't long after that
that we were sent to Fort dix Or, New Jersey

(06:06):
and boarded the Queen Elizabeth and headed for France. So
on a ship that in peacetime would accommodate two people,
there were twenty four wax in one room. And then
we went on and we landed at Glasgow, Scotland, in
the Isle of Clyde, and there we were met with

(06:28):
the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and they gave
us food until they decided where we were going to
go from there, and some of us boarded a train
and headed for Sutton Coalfield, England. That's where I was
going to be stationed for a while.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
And we've been listening to Eileen Hall's journey to find
her husband in the middle of World War two. A
great backstory. You can't wait to hear more. Sure you
can't either. When we come back more of Aileen whole
story here on our American Stories. Folks, if you love

(07:32):
the stories we tell about this great country, and especially
the stories of America's rich past, know that all of
our stories about American history, from war to innovation, culture
and faith, are brought to us by the great folks
at Hillsdale College, a place where students study all the
things that are beautiful in life and all the things
that are good in life. And if you can't get
to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you with their free

(07:54):
and terrific online courses. Go to Hillsdale dot edu to
learn more. And we continue here on our American Stories

(08:14):
with Eileen Hall's story. And what an adventurer this lady was,
my goodness, and so many other women who served in
the war. She wanted to be in the theater and
volunteered for it. Let's pick up, but we last left off.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Some of us boarded a train and headed for Sutton Coalfield, England.
That's where I was going to be stationed for a while,
So that's where I had to drive a jeep. I
went through the Motor Corps, so I was allowed to
drive a jeep and up to a two and a
half ton truck, so I drove the everybody in Sutton

(08:53):
Coalfield in England had to list if they had a
room available for GI's because they didn't want the women
staying in rooms. They wanted the men to be there.
So that's what I did for a while and got
them all done, and then I was sent I drove

(09:14):
a major there that four of us were drivers, and
we all drove an officer. So I drove a major.
So we were on call twenty four hours a day
for whatever reason they wanted us. So but oh, I
had to drive in the fog so bad that I

(09:35):
had to put my foot up. They drive on the
left side on the curb so I would know where
I was going. And because of that, my left leg
is not as big as my right one. It took
that much. It froze, you know, and I had to
go back to the barracks and they put me behind
a bakery and so I could thaw out to my

(09:58):
leg was so froz from driving. So we had gone
through many air raids at night, and one of the
gals said, if I'm going to get killed, I'm going
to do it right here, And so the rest of
us decided we stayed together, so that was it because
there were nightly air raids, you know. So after I

(10:19):
left England, I went to France and was with the
post office there as a driver. So every morning i'd
drive into Paris and you could there were the streets
were empty except for people going through garbage cans trying
to get something to eat. People and dogs. And that's
something I'll never forget. And as I drove to the

(10:41):
post office that I was beat Just as I drove in,
something cracked on the steering wheel and I couldn't steer it.
But I was already there, so I was. I felt
that was a blessing because if I'd done that out
in the you know, out on the streets, it would
have been something else. I have faith, and I just

(11:05):
felt I'd be protected whatever I did, because I if
I volunteered for something, I felt that that's what I
should do. So I just had a different life than
some of the other wax. But the Battle of the
Balls was going on then, and they were bringing the

(11:25):
wounded into the hospital in Paris, and our commanding officer
was called from from the hospital and asked to send
some Wax down to help the wounded were coming in
so fast. So our commanding officer called me and said,
you know, going to take some wax to the hospital.

(11:47):
So I got a ton and a half truck and
loaded it with wax and drove into the hospital and
front of the hospital and walked in and hear the
gis are all laying on the floor and you could
just walk sideways, and so they we would kneel down
and talk to him and take you know, we all
went and talk to each one and ask what where

(12:09):
they were from, and just got them calmed down before
and then they finally found room for them all. So
but when I had time off, I was allowed to
take the jeep and I became acquainted with two fellows
from Iowa, and one was had his left leg amputated
below his knees, so he was going to be sent home,

(12:31):
and he said he hated to see go home without
seeing Paris. And I said, well, I'll see what I
can do. So I went to my commanding officer, told
her to the store and she says, you take a
jeep and show him wherever you want to go. So
where there were two wax in the back and me
driving and him sit beside me, and I took him
all over Paris. So he was, you know, excited about that,

(12:55):
and we kept in touch for years after I got
home home. So, but I got a letter from my
husband saying he was going to be sent to the CBI.
That's a China burma, and I thought, and I started crying,
and the officer was below me, and she came up
and wanted to know why I was crying, and I said, well,

(13:17):
my husband's going to be sent to the CBE area.
And I said I'd probably never see him again, and
she said, I'll see what I can do. So she
got me orders attached to Mark Clark's but he never
knew I was part of his service. So but that
got me to early airport and asked, you know, if

(13:39):
anybody was going to Paris, and there there was a
plane just out there that was going to be going
to Italy. And I told my story to the guy
at the desk, and so he said, that plane right there,
you can get on. So they put down the bombay
doors and I walked and they one on one side

(14:02):
and one on the other, lifted me up and putting
in where the gun tour it is and That's how
I rode from there to.

Speaker 1 (14:10):
Italy.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
And I got off of the plane and I was
standing on the road and I didn't realize right in
front of me was the Tower of Pisa, because I
didn't realize it was that big, you know. And so
I walked out and I started hitch hiking, and along
came a British guy in a truck with three soldiers

(14:32):
in the back, and one was They were attending to
one and I said, what happened. She said, he got hurt,
but not by fire. I don't know exactly how I
got hurt. And they're going into Rome. So they stopped
for water, and the driver of the truck had to
come back and stand in front of me so I

(14:52):
could lean to the back because the people just came
from everywhere and they wanted to touch me, and you know,
and I didn't know what to do. So they looked
out for me, and then we left and went on
to Rome, to the Red Cross there, and they put
me up for the night. The next morning was a Sunday,

(15:13):
so it was church, so I went down and went
to church, and after a little while before church started,
a fellow sat down beside me and he looked at
my pat He says, you're not from around here, and
I said no, and I told him my story. He said,
I'll see what I can do. So the next day

(15:34):
he had gotten permission from his officer and he was
able to take me from Rome to Milano. And on
the way it started to rain and the fella didn't
know how to do the top to the jeep. So
I showed him how to do that and he took

(15:56):
me up and my husband was waiting for me waiting there.
So we had our honeymoon on Lake Como, and I
had our own villa attached to a regular one which
is owned now by George Clooney. And I'm sure George
Clooney doesn't know it, but I'm going to write a
letter to him sometime if he ever gets it. The

(16:17):
villa DSSD. Yeah. So yeah, that was the fifth Army
rest camp. So we left from Laharre on the eb
Alexander headed for the United States. As we pulled into
New York Harbor, all the lights came on and they
took us off the boat and fed us the best

(16:38):
Thanksgiving dinner we ever had. So and from there we
had to go to Fort Dix, to get released from
the army. And then I boarded a train for Canton, Ohio.
And when I got to Canton, there there were my
husband and my dad and just welcomed me home. He

(17:00):
got home seven days before I did. But other than that,
why I think my experience was something that not too
many people have the opportunity to experience. So that's my
love story and I love to tell it, so and
thanks for the opportunity to tell it. So that's it.

Speaker 1 (17:25):
And that's it, and thanks for the opportunity to let
us tell it, Eileen. And what a beautiful story about
so many things, particularly just a sheer sense of adventure.
Off to Europe to fight Nazis, searching for each other,
learning how to drive trucks and tanks, supply lines to
defeat one of the world's worst enemies in history. Eileen

(17:47):
Hall's journey to find her husband in the middle of
World War Two. Her story here on our American Stories
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Host

Lee Habeeb

Lee Habeeb

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