War Through the Hole of a Donut

by Angela Petesch

Working as a Chicago Tribune feature writer before the Second World War, American Red Cross worker Angela Petesch employed her honed writing skills to a series of letters she sent home with the intention of creating a diary that would survive the war, even if she did not. With pluck and gusto, which was the trademark of every Red Cross worker, she tells her story from the battle zones of Europe. Serving hot coffee and donuts was the avenue she, and her Clubmobile, traveled to touch the hearts and souls of American service men and women. This book is about hot coffee and donuts, and the world in which this seemingly domestic duty was truly a heroic endeavor. From London’s foggy streets to the snow of the Ardennes Forest, Angela followed American GIs, including General Patton’s Third Army, through some of the war’s most defining moments. She pens a polished picture of her view of the World’s fight for freedom as seen through the hole of a donut.

Paperback

First published May 11, 2006

Reviews

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 bk 306. Another of the books about the work of the American Red Cross during WWII. This is the story of a Chicago Tribune feature writer who goes to war with donuts and coffee. This has some narrative, but by and large it is the letters home to family that provide the bulk of the book. Her past as a feature writer shows in her letters - the details and the knowledge of when to say a lot without providing specifics (i.e. individual names, places). An interesting woman who did not return to journalism when she left Europe. I enjoyed the letters and was able to pair up one wedding with a wedding described in another Red Cross Clubmobile account. I love making those connections. Enjoyable, with a few slow spots.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book from Dad. It is a compilation of letters written during WWII, from the author to her family, relating her service in the Red Cross. She and a number of other women served the troops by using mobile kitchens that produced coffee and donuts and followed the Army from England, to France after D-Day and then through other European countries into Germany. The letters were written with the intention of being printed into a book, but it seems that plan did not come to fruition until very near the end of the author's life.
Angela's time in England and France overlapped with my Dad's service in the Army Air Corp, although he did not go to the Continent. I will ask him if her ever was served by the Clubmobiles, as they called the mobile kitchens.

[Jan Polep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love a book written in letter form. Firsthand account of a Chicago Tribune employee turned WWII American Red Cross worker, as she trucked around England and Europe handing out donuts and coffee. Slow in spots but continually supplies a candid peek at civilian and military wartime living not often shared in other WWII books or movies. And I finally figured out what a Chick Sale is!