Children growing up in America during the 1940s knew something extraordinary was unfolding. Their nation was fighting the largest and most devastating global conflict in history. After enduring the hardships of the Great Depression, Americans were thrust into another national struggle. Victory brought relief and celebration, but those joyful days were tempered by memories of the terrible sacrifices that had made them possible.
Returning veterans were welcomed home with parades and public ceremonies, but the most meaningful reunions took place quietly with grateful families. Those who served—and especially those who gave their lives—were honored with deep respect. As the war gave way to the prosperity of the 1950s, many Americans finally began to experience the promise of the American Dream.
Suffield resident Lorraine Richard Dieli, now 91, remembers those years as though they happened yesterday. Born in 1935, she was the sixth of eight children in a close-knit French Canadian Catholic family who moved from Massachusetts to Hartford in search of work. Family dinners were a nightly tradition, and with ten people around the table, Lorraine joked that she had to fight for her share of the potatoes.
Lorraine Richard Dieli
Sitting in her cozy kitchen on a rainy summer morning, Lorraine recalled Saturday mornings at the movies, where admission and candy each cost five cents. The program always began with government-issued newsreels showing the growing threats from Nazi Germany and Japan, followed by cartoons and a feature film. At just six years old, the newsreels frightened her so much that she often covered her eyes or stepped outside until they ended. Like many Americans, her family hoped the fighting overseas would never reach home.
That changed at Christmastime in 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lorraine vividly remembers the worried expressions on her parents’ faces and the sudden tension that replaced the holiday spirit. With two older brothers eligible for military service, the family knew life would never be the same.
As a schoolgirl in Hartford, Lorraine remembers seeing sailors on leave and observing wartime blackout regulations designed to protect communities from possible air attacks. The precautions reflected Connecticut’s growing military importance. Before Pearl Harbor, the state had established what became Bradley Field, an Army air base that played an important role in the nation’s wartime defense.
When war was declared, Lorraine’s brother Roger was 20 years old and working as a machinist at Pratt & Whitney, a company that produced nearly half of all Allied aircraft engines during World War II. He soon enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a machine-gunnery sergeant in the Pacific. Fighting through Guadalcanal, Saipan, Iwo Jima and other brutal campaigns, he endured some of the war’s fiercest combat. While sheltering in a foxhole, Roger was wounded twice—once in the hand and again in the arm. Treated by a medic and unable to leave his unit, he returned to battle and received two Purple Hearts. The Marine beside him was killed.
Throughout the war, Lorraine faithfully wrote letters to her brothers on lightweight government-issued stationery with its familiar red and blue borders. She prayed the rosary with her family and continued attending Saturday morning movies, where the newsreels reminded everyone that the war was still raging.
One day Roger’s mother received a letter in unfamiliar handwriting. Lorraine still remembers her mother’s anxious expression as she hesitated before opening it, fearing the worst. Instead, the letter was from the nurse caring for Roger, reassuring the family after his injuries.
When the war ended, Roger returned to Pratt & Whitney.
Lorraine’s younger brother, Leo, also enlisted. Trained as a radio operator, he served in North Africa, Italy, Belgium and France, coordinating the communications essential to troop movements and military operations. Although he never saw combat, his work was vital to the Allied war effort. After returning home, he resumed his career in radio and electronics.
Lorraine remembers how kind her brothers were to her. One of her favorite memories is of Leo finding an old bicycle, repairing it, painting it and surprising her with the gift she had wanted so badly.
Like many veterans, neither brother spoke much about the war after returning home. Lorraine believes they shared their experiences only with fellow veterans, if at all. They occasionally mentioned harmless memories—Roger developed a lifelong dislike of green beans after eating them almost daily—and once told of a grenade that landed between him and another Marine but failed to explode. They also brought home souvenirs—enemy flags, caps, pistols, and other keepsakes—tangible reminders of places and experiences they rarely discussed.