GI Brides of World War II
|
War Brides Facts |
| Atlantic | 48,408 |
| Pacific | 7,806 |
| Adults | 41,502 |
| Infants | 14,712 |
| Total | 56,214 |
from Troops and Cargo Transported During World War II under U.S. Army Control
War brides actually came from over fifty countries. Between 1944 and 1950, 150,000 to 200,000 continental European women married U.S. service men and 50,000 to 100,000 couples were married in the Far East.
During the war over 30,000 British War Brides alone were transported to the U.S.
Between 1944 and 1950, 150,000 to 100,000 couples were married in the Far East.
The first marriage took place in 1942 in Great Britain and Australia and ended in 1952 with Japanese War Brides.
American Red Cross
Over the course of the war, approximately 65,000 women married American soldiers and sailors. As hostilities wound down, these women, many with children, sought transport to new homes in the United States. In cooperation with the U.S. military and the State Department, the Red Cross provided care for these women and their children at assembly centers overseas and took steps to prepare them for life in the United States. Red Cross workers accompanied them on their sea voyages to America, met them at ports, and provided an array of services, some lasting for years, through local Red Cross chapters at their final points of destination. In all, the military outfitted 20 ships for this operation which provided transport for nearly 50,000 brides from Great Britain, 7,000 from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and 8,000 from Australia and New Zealand.
American Red Cross
To sail to America a G.I. bride from Great Britian needed:
- A visa, passport, 2 copies of birth certificate, 2 copies of police record and marriage certificate
- Sworn statement from husband that he could support her, with details of salary
- Statement from husband's Commander supporting salary details £10 in cash and no more
- Statement from husband's family if he were not yet home that they were willing and able to house her
- Discharge papers if she had served in military
- Evidence that she would get a train ticket to final destination on disembarking
Originated Counties of War Brides
From http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/1944.html
Around 48,000 European women, with 22,000 children, emigrated to Canada during and after the Second World War. Today in Canada there are some 300,000 children or grandchildren of these War Brides. Over one million American GIs were stationed in Britain in the two years preceding D-Day. Approximately 130,000 were black Americans. Near 70,000 British girls married their GI boy friends and 47,000 married their Canadian soldier. About 20,000 children were born to these GIs and just under 1,000 were black children. By 1950, a total of 14,175 German and 758 Japanese war brides arrived in the USA. In Australia, by 1950, about 650 Japanese girls married their Aussie boy friends and were admitted to Australia when the admission ban was lifted in 1952. Many of these brides experienced prejudice, jealousy and resentment by Australian women who were enraged that their soldiers had chosen foreign girls as wives. Some 7,000 Australian women married their American GI boy friends and travelled to the USA as war brides. The first US troops arrived in Brisbane, Queensland, on Christmas Eve, 1941.Thank you. Your Host, Michele
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