Ethel Caroline Gray World War II Veteran

Meet Ethel, she has been my grandmother’s friend for many years. When I was younger my grandmother, Ethel and I would all go out on Saturday mornings to yard sale. Ethel has always had a good sense of humor and I would enjoy her company whenever she was around. While talking to my Grandmother a month prior to this post I learned that Ethel served in the military during World War II as a truck driver. This is her story……

It was 1944 when Ethel made the decision to enlist in the service. Ethel chose to join the Army as a way to get away from the bothersome man who lived across the street. She served a full term of two years as a truck driver out of Camp Kilmer New Brunswick. She drove anything from buses to ambulances. While on tour Ethel had to pick up a soldier who had a shrapnel in his back. Ethel and the injured soldier got to talking and come to find out they had met years prior and he told her he never wanted to see her again because she went to a bbq with a couple of guys to grab something to eat.

One of Ethel’s duties as a truck driver was to pick up the soldiers who just got back from combat and drive them back to base. One group of guys got on the bus and said “great we survived the war and they stick us with a woman driver”. Ethel replied “don’t make me nervous this is my first time driving”. In 1946 Ethel married a man she had met that worked out of the same motor pool in which she was serving. Soon after she was discharged.

Overall, Ethel enjoyed her experience and serving for our country.  One of Ethel’s fondest  memories during her time was hanging out with her group of six guy friends.