 Editor in Chief Bill   | 17 Jun 2021 9:41 p.m. PST |
In the wake of the initial Normandy landings on D-Day, a strange vehicle hit the beaches: converted London buses driven by three female volunteers from the Red Cross. Their mission was to bring a taste of home to the soldiers fighting World War II. Their weapon of choice was the doughnut… From Military: link |
 deadhead  | 18 Jun 2021 5:23 a.m. PST |
Now that would make quite a conversion for a GMC truck! Great find. Led me to Google and many an image if you try American Red Cross Clubmobile. I am sure I still have a Deuce and a Half in the attic unmade……. |
| CVA31bhr | 18 Jun 2021 5:38 a.m. PST |
Heard tons about donuts as one of our family friends, who just passed at the age of 102, was a "Donut Dollie" She drove the vehicles, having been trained in VA by the Army. She lande3d in France on Omaha not long after Overlord, followed the 1st Army to Belgium, met up with her twin brother the second week of December as he was in the 106th Infantry Division and would die in the initial barrage of the Ardennes Offensive. She and her team got trapped near St Vith behind German Lines and hooked up with a mech unit withdrawing from the area, made it to Nurnburg by VE Day, Berlin right after that, then came home to a long and successful life. |
| 79thPA | 18 Jun 2021 7:03 a.m. PST |
Anything that requires "1 tub of lard" is good tasting, and good for you. |
| Shagnasty | 18 Jun 2021 7:45 a.m. PST |
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 Legion 4 | 18 Jun 2021 9:30 a.m. PST |
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| Mark 1 | 18 Jun 2021 10:02 a.m. PST |
Anything that requires "1 tub of lard" is good tasting, and good for you. Particularly good for people who suffer from low cholesterol. I, alas, and not one of them. -Mark
(aka: Mk 1) |
 ColCampbell | 18 Jun 2021 1:43 p.m. PST |
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| deadhead | 18 Jun 2021 2:32 p.m. PST |
Well thanks to both of you for bringing this our attention twice. Well worth it, even after all the gags. Also, not that much evidence that ingested, dietary, fats make that much difference to one's lipid profile. Some, yes. But it is much more genetically determined in most of us. |
| Blutarski | 20 Jun 2021 4:22 p.m. PST |
If you are ever travelling in the Berkshire Mountains region of SW Massachusetts, consider stopping at "Mrs Murphy's Donuts" on Rte 202 in the town of Southwick. It has been there for many years and they still make donuts "the old fashioned way"; a single donut must have a quarter of a pound of lard in it. Be prepared to wait in line. Someone tried to open a "Dunkin' Donuts" franchise across the street from her a couple of years ago; it lasted about two months before closing its doors.
B
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| Buck215 | 20 Jun 2021 6:26 p.m. PST |
A serious question to anyone who would know: considering the Donut Dollies brought a small taste of home via the donuts and the welcome smiles of the Dollies themselves, did they receive some sort of special recognition for contributing to troop morale during the war? |
| Blutarski | 22 Jun 2021 9:12 a.m. PST |
A very interesting question, Buck. IIRC, were not the "doughnut dollies" part of the USO? B |
| Blutarski | 22 Jun 2021 11:23 a.m. PST |
OK, I did some homework. The doughnut dollies were apparently US not connected to the USO. They originated as the brainchild of a couple of enterprising Salvation Army women in WW1. Go here for their interesting story – link In WW2, Korea and Vietnam the doughnut dollies were apparently part of the American Red Cross program. One difference: the Salvation Army provided the doughnuts for free; the Red Cross charged for them. B |
