Personnel

HILDA WHITAKER, 

BETTY HARDMAN, 

DOROTHY DURANG

 

Red Cross Girls

 

Betty June Hardman -- Born on April 24, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan and she lived there during the entirety of her childhood. Her mother was from Detroit and her father was from Arkansas, so it's hard to say about her accent. According to census records, in 1940 Betty and her older sister Francis were both working as elementary school teachers in Detroit. Betty got married in February 1946 to Ralph Porter (her husband was not from the 100th). The gents on base were apparently quite fond of Betty, and I'm including an entry from the journal of Lt. Tony Pecyk, who stated "The girl I enjoyed dancing mostly with was a Red Cross girl named Betty Hardman – a marvelous dancer. It was a pleasure to be with her. She in my opinion was the essence of American femininity – poise, clothes, looks, and popularity – to darn popular if you ask me. Another fine point of Betty was that she knew what kind of perfume to use to obtain a certain affect. The perfume she used was a subtle one. You know – the one that makes a girl more magnetic and alluring due to its captivating fragrance – wow –listen to me. Anyhow, I’ve decided to know Betty a little more than I do. It’ll take time – noticing the number of boys chasing her – I mean pursuing."

 

Dorthea Jean Durang - Born on July 12, 1912 in Cynwyd, Pennsylvania (both parents were from Pennsylvania), and later moved to New Jersey. As of 1940, Dorthea was doing clerical work for an insurance company in Maplewood, NJ. She later married James Morris from New Jersey (not from the 100th) in February 1946. 

 

Hilda Perry Whitaker (later Hilda W. Purse) - Born on July 1, 1917 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and her family was historically from that area and would have been considered "upper class", as she had a debutante ball, etc. Records indicate Hilda married a man named Ashley A. Purse in 1942 (who was in USAAF training in New Mexico). I can't find their divorce record, but this is the only explanation for what happened because Ashley married someone else in 1948, and Hilda presumably kept her married name of Purse up until the point where she married Dr. Emory Kinder from the 100th in 1946 (I'm attaching an article for added reference.) If determining her divorce info is needed, I can double down and try to find something. 

 

Nov 26,1943 Mary Jane Cook and June Yaeger were the Red Cross Girls on Hang The Expense w/Big Frank Valesh, Pinky Flack, and Andy Campion