" Memoirs by sailors, soldiers, and pilots who fought in World War II abound, but here is a rarity: a personal account by a woman who served in both the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and the American Red Cross during the war and occupation. The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was established in 1942, allowing American women for the first time to serve, in supporting roles, in the military. The following year, Violet A. Kochendoerfer, an independent and adventurous young Minnesota woman, joined the WAACs. Kochendoerfer tells of enduring buzz bombs in London as her 315th Troop Carrier Group took part in D-Day operations; of providing service clubs for the 82nd Airborne Division as it forced the last bridgehead of the war; of witnessing the final surrender of the main German Army and the liberation of a concentration camp; and of meeting and celebrating with the Russians after the Germans surrendered. Her story, some of it told through letters she wrote home, provides a woman's unique perspective on historic events usually recounted only by men.