War Through the Hole of a Donut (Hero Next Door: World War Collection)

Working as a Chicago Tribune feature writer before the Second World War, American Red Cross worker Angela Petesch employed her honed writing skills to a series of letters she sent home with the intention of creating a diary that would survive the war, even if she did not. With pluck and gusto, which was the trademark of every Red Cross worker, she tells her story from the battle zones of Europe.

Serving hot coffee and donuts was the avenue she, and her Clubmobile, traveled to touch the hearts and souls of American service men and women. This book is about hot coffee and donuts, and the world in which this seemingly domestic duty was truly a heroic endeavor.

From London’s foggy streets to the snow of the Ardennes Forest, Angela followed American GIs, including General Patton’s Third Army, through some of the war’s most defining moments. She pens a polished picture of her view of the World’s fight for freedom as seen through the hole of a donut.