Strictly G.I.: The WWII Letters of Cpl. Wanda M. Renn

This is a collection of letters written by Cpl. Wanda M. Renn, for the most part to her mother, while Cpl. Renn served in the Women’s Auxillary Army Corps (WAAC) during World War II. The letters begin while Renn was engaged in training and then follow with her service in North Africa. The WAAC of which Cpl. Renn was a member was a new organization, a new concept, never before used by the U.S. Military at that time. Many applied for these first positions, 35,000 to be exact, but few were chosen – less than 1,000. It is also noted that Renn was in the first group of military women to be sent to an overseas location; in this case North Africa which is as we all know was the beginning campaign for the United States during this war.Patricia Arnold, the granddaughter of the author of the letters has done us a great service in that she published these letters as they were and did not, as so often happens in such cases, make editorial changes to the original letters. Grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc. are as they were. Arnold has not changed the content one bit. I read a tremendous number of first hand accounts written by soldiers and I can tell you that for me this method was quite refreshing. Not all war accounts are written by people such as William Manchester; not all were professionally skilled writers.We get here a first hand account of a very young girl, away from home for the first time and thrown into a situation which was less than great. Attitudes toward military women at that time were rather derogatory and primitive to say the least and Renn has addressed this matter quite well. My mother served in this war as a Nurse and like so many member of her generation who went through this ordeal, was quite tight lipped about the whole thing. She seldom, if ever spoke of her experiences even when prompted. This little work allowed me to “see inside” the conditions and attitudes of the time. For me this was a rather special read.The letters were surprisingly well written and for the most part comprehensive. While much has changed in the military over the years since WWII, much remains the same. I am retired military myself and spent quite a few years alone in foreign countries both in and out of war zones. The daily concerns I had were much the same as Renns – worried about receiving mail was number one on the list as well as wondering if family was receiving her letters. Food was a big issue as well as comfortable (or lack of comfortable) living quarters, friendships made and of course in the uncertainly and loneliness. I suspect if we read the letters of ancient Roman soldiers we would have found the same. All in all though, Renn’s letters are amazingly upbeat in nature – this was a fascinating lady.Now folks, this is a collection of everyday letters. If you are looking for a novel type book; a work filled with high action and typical G.I. B.S. stories, you need to look elsewhere. There are no explosions, high episodes of physical drama – well, there is no John Wayne stuff. No, you get the story straight from a young girls mind; her observations and opinions – her daily life.There must be thousands of stashes of letters such as this from past war time experiences and I do wish that more people would follow Patricia Arnold’s led and share them with us. The WWII generation is quickly departing as the Korean generation and when you thing about it, my generation, i.e. Vietnam, are getting pretty long in the tooth ourselves. This is history and needs to be preserved. My hat is off to Ms. Arnold for sharing these candid letters with us.Don BlankenshipThe Ozarks

Loved reading Wanda Renn's account of her service in the Army during WWII. Left me wanting to know even more about that time in our history!

The introduction to what was going on and who the woman was in relation to the author was great, but it was the steady stream of letters that was sort of a let down. The letters themselves were wonderful and amazing to read, but they were only from Wanda so there were some gaps. If there was information that explained somethings in the letters or perhaps letters that she received from her mother and sister, it would have made for a better read. It was great to be able to read these letters and see through her eyes what it was like for women in WWII, and it shines a light on history and how far we have come with women's rights in the military.

I expected letters from the time that Wanda Renn entered the WACS till the time she left. Instead you have to suffer through her notes about love from September 1943-November 1943 and then... nothing. In other words you get to hear about her war service and dating for about eight months, all about her big love that entered her life, if I got it right, around the 12 September 1943 and then how they a couple of days later have decided to get married and filed papers for marriage the 16 September. I don't care for books like this. I care even less for books that have been written or compiled by daughters or granddaughters that say they are so proud of the person's war service, but all they really care about is the love story. And that is what the author did! She thought it was so romantic how her grandparents met and got married three months later. The letters stop in November 1943. She lets us read one more letter, a really stupid letter from Wanda and Al, written in February 1944. And then there is a postscript that says where they ended up living, having four kids and getting a divorce etc. I hate when I realize I have wasted money on this sort of garbage. Either you publish ALL the letters and give an even view of the war, or you write a love story and point it out in title or description of the book. This is dishonest! When did they marry? When did Wanda go home? When did Al go home? Where are the rest of the letters? Were they destroyed? Why are they not in there? It doesn't matter if a book was all great half way through because when it drops down to being terrible after that, the book is not worth the money, nor reading!

Amazing. A really wonderful book. I always love reading letters from the past and feeling a person through the words they've written. Strictly GI touches well into that type of thing for me.I really wish that we (the reader) would have gotten either a better introduction or conclusion that gives us an idea of what happened later in her life and maybe answered some of the topics and questions that had been introduced in the letters because it leaves you wanting to know- what happened to this person? What took place after? How does what happened affect her later on?All in all a wonderful read.

I am very interested in personal perspectives of the war and this did not dissapoint. Very intersting and full of real experiences. The letters home were very cheery since those abroad didn't want to burden or worry those at home. You won't fine tons of angst or conflict so if you are looking for a lighthearted addition to history from the war, this is a good pick.

The letters describe day to day concerns of a young person serving overseas in the military. I get a kick out of this type of document because the voices are so often upbeat.Given that the letters had to pass censors, I was happily surprised by the inclusion of a bit of information about how female troops were perceived at the time.