Marion had crossed the Atlantic alone at age 16. From one brother's home in New York she had crossed the United States to visit another in Nevada. She had survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and in her travels she had even walked partway across the Isthmus of Panama. But the Great War just about destroyed her.
A born leader, Marion rose through the nursing ranks to the dubious honor of head nurse of an American hospital serving Verdun. When a ship loaded with relief nurses was sunk, she and her colleagues still met the relentless waves of shredded young men with endless courage and kindness. We have a stack of silver plate photos showing before and after portraits of some of the boys who passed through Marion's hospital, barely repaired before being thrown back into the fray.
After the battle, the story goes, Marion was ordered to HQ for a medal; she went AWOL instead, unable to face the pomp and circumstance.
Through it all, Godfrey waited for his girl.
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