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Our Duty
Our Duty follows the shenanigans of Polly and Aggie, student nurses when World War II begins. Eager to be a part of the action, Aggie joins the Army Air Corps and qualifies as a flight nurse. She is shipped off to the Pacific, while Polly chooses to serve at home. Overseas, Aggie soon faces many difficulties common to this under-recognized group of brave women, including their initial lack of respect by the military brass. Aggie finally earns the respect of all around her when she keeps 30 wounded men safe when their plane ditches in the Pacific. Her letters home detail the challenges for her fellow nurses as well as the accounts of the personal lives of the airmen she came to know, many facing unimaginable dangers in the skies over Europe.Also serving as a nurse back in the States, Polly does her part to keep Aggie entertained. Her letters boost the morale of any who are privy to them, describing romantic adventures and changes on the homefront.
317 pages, Paperback
Published October 22, 2018
9 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 6, 2018
I loved getting to know Polly and the gang during nursing school and following them on their life paths after graduation. The author did a great job of creating characters I really cared about. I enjoyed the emotional highs and lows of the story. Being born after WWII, I always wondered how everyone coped during that time. This book helped me understand and opened my eyes to things I had no clue about.
October 26, 2018
I love WW2 historical fiction, and this story is a good one! The main characters are spunky and feisty, strong women who held their own both on the home front and the battle front.
In full disclosure, I worked with the author on this book but this is my honest review of the book.
In full disclosure, I worked with the author on this book but this is my honest review of the book.
February 17, 2019
An uplifting story told with an easy to read style and full of people capable of humor in very difficult circumstances. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I loved the humor and the commitment to the patients shown by Polly and her friends. Stella was an interesting character and I loved the interaction between her and Polly. This story delved into the depths of emotion that the trying circumstances of the time elicited and I was pleased to find the balance with which the story was told. When first contemplating reading a book titled 'Our Duty' I was a bit wary of it being a staid and serious work. I was so enthralled with the storytelling skills of Gerri Hilger that I read it through in one sitting... Well done Gerri and what a marvelous experience to have such mentors in one's life. The strong faith that sustained people throughout their lives.
March 14, 2019
Our Duty by Gerri Hilger is a fantastic war-time story set during the years 1943-45. As I read the novel, I kept wondering how Hilger could have created such an authentic world of time and place with lively dialogue.
Since I’ve ruled out time travel as an answer, I give full credit to her remarkable historical research and excellent writing, including valuable personal interviews.
I enjoyed this book especially because the characters could have been my parents. My future parents met in 1943 in a stateside hospital prior to my father being sent to serve in the European Theater.
Our Duty is a special book because it honors the sacrifices of women in the war effort who have too often been forgotten. Our Duty helps right this wrong.
--Jim Potter, author of Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery
Since I’ve ruled out time travel as an answer, I give full credit to her remarkable historical research and excellent writing, including valuable personal interviews.
I enjoyed this book especially because the characters could have been my parents. My future parents met in 1943 in a stateside hospital prior to my father being sent to serve in the European Theater.
Our Duty is a special book because it honors the sacrifices of women in the war effort who have too often been forgotten. Our Duty helps right this wrong.
--Jim Potter, author of Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery
September 13, 2020
Brave women who served their country with honor.
This was a good book and I enjoyed reading it but on a personal level it was hard to read about WW II our family lost a number of people during it and even though I was a young adult during Vietnam I did not lose close family or friends. I like Polly and her friends and I remember the commitment an aunt made when serving on a base in London during the war. Her letters told of young women just like Polly the emotional drain and the need to find a balance. This was a very realistic story and very well written. If you like historical that hit the nail on the head then this is the one for you. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
This was a good book and I enjoyed reading it but on a personal level it was hard to read about WW II our family lost a number of people during it and even though I was a young adult during Vietnam I did not lose close family or friends. I like Polly and her friends and I remember the commitment an aunt made when serving on a base in London during the war. Her letters told of young women just like Polly the emotional drain and the need to find a balance. This was a very realistic story and very well written. If you like historical that hit the nail on the head then this is the one for you. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
January 29, 2019
Full disclosure, my mother is the author of this book. The character, Polly is based on my grandmother. Even if she weren't, she and Aggie would be two of my favorite characters: strong, resourceful women who know how to find joy and friendship in life's trials. Both the description of life on the home front and the shared letters from the front lines created a realistic and compelling "history" of women during WWII.
January 31, 2019
Love this book! it's fun, witty, adventurous... and really shares some great moments between best friends.
November 22, 2019
As an historian, author and Kansan myself, I loved this book. I loved the brave women and men who selflessly served our country! Thank you for their stories Gerrie!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews