She was born without legs in a time when such people were institutionalized or worse, but she avoided that fate. They said she’d never walk; instead, she soared.
A fictional account of a girl born over a century ago who, with love and support from her family and friends, defies a culture where disability is considered shameful and disabled people are marginalized, openly discriminated against, and even treated as less than human.
Part 3 includes the following chapters:
Chapter 8 – Considering Millie
Chapter 6 – Equipping Millie
The modern, X-frame collapsible metal wheelchair was invented in 1932, but it got off to a slow start. It wasn’t until the end of that decade that John first heard of such a thing even existing. Nearly all wheelchairs at the time were rigid and made of wood; most looked like a piece of furniture with wheels attached. They were quite impractical in many ways, and Millie much preferred to walk on her hands to get around than be slowed down trying to use one of these.
The problem was that Millie was no longer a child; she was now a young teenager on her way to becoming a young lady, and walking on her hands did not look at all dignified or ladylike. John was intrigued by the concept of the collapsible wheelchair; and thought maybe if it could be designed to address some of Millie’s frustrations with the wheelchairs she was familiar with, she’d be more inclined to use it and stay off the floor.
John explained to his daughter what he had in mind and why. “Millie, I’m going to try to build you a wheelchair that you’ll actually like and use. My goal is make something that’s comfortable and easy for you. You’re not a child anymore; you’re a young lady, and I’d like you to have a more dignified way of getting around that doesn’t involve being on the floor or the ground. I’m going to make a prototype of what I have in mind, and have you try it out and tell me what you think. If you don’t like something or have an idea of what would work better, I’ll change it. Will you be willing to work with me on this?” Millie replied that she’d been thinking along the same lines and looked forward to seeing the result.
As an engineer and a metal fabricator, John had a pretty good idea of what he’d have to do to build one. Having only heard about collapsible wheelchairs but never having seen one, he’d first need to come up with a functional design. He considered whether to use steel or aluminum tubing; steel would be stronger, but aluminum would be much lighter. The point of a collapsible wheelchair is that it’s portable; it can be taken along in a car, for example. Therefore, for a girl to be able to manage taking her wheelchair with her, probably lighter weight was more important than strength.
John obtained some aluminum tubing and started tinkering with it in his free time, trying to figure out the best way to make the x-frame so that it could collapse easily but also be locked in place when in use. He also bought a secondhand wooden wheelchair that had the latest wheel design with large metal rings outboard from the wheels, which the user could grasp and use to propel herself forward. He cannibalized the wheels and some of the other components from the wooden wheelchair to use on his prototype.
After working on it for about a month, he was ready to show it to Millie and get her opinion. She was skeptical that she’d like it, but once she saw it and sat in it and pushed herself around in it, she could see the potential of this design. She told him the armrests were too high, the seatback was too upright to be comfortable, and the armrests, seatback, and seat itself all needed more padding. Otherwise, though, she liked what he’d built, and she much preferred the rings attached to the wheels over the clunky cranks she’d used in the past to turn the drive wheels.
He had her try transferring between the wheelchair and various pieces of furniture, and then try to fold and unfold the wheelchair. That she could do without too much difficulty, but they realized the chair also needed a way to be locked in the collapsed position. He had her try to lift the wheelchair, and thanks to the lightweight aluminum tubing, she was able to do that.
Then he had the idea to have try to get up into the wheelchair from the floor and then lower herself back down to the floor. When she tried to do either, the entire chair pitched forward, and if he hadn’t been there to stop it, would have dumped her on the floor and landed on top of her. He needed to find a way to stabilize it so it wouldn’t do that. He realized that small front wheels needed to be placed further out in front of the chair, and though not directly related to the problem at hand, that the chair would be a lot safer if there was a way to lock the rear wheels to keep them from rolling when they shouldn’t.
John also realized that in order for Millie to be able to get from the house to the car with the wheelchair, he’d need to construct a ramp to enable her to avoid the steps. He wondered about how steep the ramp could be without being too steep for her. That might have to be a trial-and-error thing, too.
John spent a few more weeks making the modifications Millie had requested and/or that he realized were needed, and had her try it out again. This time she was very pleased with the result. She wheeled around the first floor of their house with a big smile on her face. “I really like it, Dad!” she said enthusiastically. “You’re the best!”
Next, John got to work on a ramp. First he put in long wedges of wood on the porch in front of each door so Millie could get over the threshold in her chair. Then he needed a longer ramp to get between the porch and ground level. He decided to put the ramp in the back of the house to minimize complaints from neighbors and to not call as much attention to the fact that a crippled person lived there.
His first attempt was too steep. He could tell that by sitting in the wheelchair himself and trying it out. But to make it less steep it had to be longer, and to keep it from being too long, it had to double back on itself as two shorter ramps, with a level landing between them.
Once he’d done that, he quickly realized there needed to be a way from driving the wheelchair off the side or end of the thing. A low wall or a railing or something. He got Millie’s input on this, and she pointed out that if there were a railing on each side, she could also use them to pull herself up the ramp or to slow her descent. He put in railings along the ramp’s entire length and Millie approved of the result.
Next, he had her try to get from the wheelchair into the car and vice versa. The seats of the car were too high relative to the wheelchair to do that directly, but she could get from the wheelchair to the floor of the car and then to the seat, which was better than nothing. She could fold up or unfold the wheelchair if she were on the floor of the car, but she really didn’t have any way to get it into their four-door sedan. That wasn’t really a problem, however, because someone else would always be with her to drive the car anyway.
But even though Millie was now able to take her wheelchair with her in a car, she was very limited in where she could use it. Almost no public place or business was designed taking the needs of wheelchair users into account, and there was no law or requirement that they do so. Thus, there were no curb cutouts anywhere, save for driveways intended for vehicles, nor any handicapped ramps. Steps and narrow aisles were the rule. Restroom stalls, and often restrooms themselves, were too small to accommodate a wheelchair.
John, along with his father-in-law, did have the ability to influence what their church did to accommodate Millie’s wheelchair, but they certainly had their work cut out for them. The building had two floors, with the sanctuary on the upper level a half-floor about street level, and a lower level partially underground, a half-floor below street level. Stairs were necessary to get to either floor from the street as well as between floors, and the stairs were steep and narrow. The only bathrooms were on the lower floor and were quite small. There was an unstated expectation that these were to be used only infrequently; ‘polite’ people simply didn’t use public restrooms if they could possibly help it.
Drawing from his experience building a ramp at home, John made plans for ramp going from the ground to the upper level of the church, and presented his plans to the elder board for consideration. The ramp would be at the back of the building, mostly but not completely out of sight from the street. John pointed out that such a ramp would also make the church accessible to others who needed a wheelchair as well – polio victims, wounded veterans of the Great War, and so on. John offered to pay for the materials and do all the work to install the ramp if the elders approved. They saw no reason to object, and gave the project their blessing.
The lower floor didn’t have any exterior entrances; the only way to get to it was via steps inside the building. An exterior entrance would only make the lower level prone to flooding during heavy rain. The most practical way to provide wheelchair access to this floor was by installing an elevator. The cost of a proper elevator was prohibitive, but John discovered a product called an Elevette, which was essentially a mini-elevator sized to accommodate one or two people that could be installed in a home with a curved staircase where a chair lift wouldn’t be possible. The largest size was big enough for a person seated in a wheelchair. An Elevette, though still expensive, cost only a fraction of a real elevator and required much smaller changes to the building in which it was being installed.
Millie’s two grandfathers decided to pick up the tab to purchase and install a wheelchair-capable Elevette in the church, out of gratitude for the church welcoming and accepting Millie. Again, they made the point that it wasn’t just for her use; any crippled person would be able to attend their church and not be prevented from going to the lower floor.
However, the church restrooms were still not usable by a person in a wheelchair. One Sunday morning, Millie found it necessary to use the ladies’ room. Her wheelchair wouldn’t even fit through the door. She did what she had to do, and climbed down and went into the bathroom on her hands, dragging the bottom of her dress on the ground. She went into the stall, closed the door, and pulled herself up onto the toilet.
When she finished, she had to reach awkwardly up to the sink to wash her hands, but she still then had to walk on her hands out of the restroom. Once she got back up into her wheelchair, she used a handkerchief to wipe off her hands, but it obviously wasn’t very sanitary.
The pastor’s wife had been in the ladies’ room herself, and had witnessed all of this. She was embarrassed for Millie’s sake that she had to use the restroom in such a demeaning way, and embarrassed for the church for not having a suitable facility for her. She spoke to her husband about it on the way home from church and practically demanded that the church provide the means for Millie or any other person in a wheelchair to be able to use the restroom with dignity. She spoke to some of the elders’ wives about this as well, and collectively they decided that they’d donate the money necessary to fix this problem.
After putting their heads together and consulting John on the matter, the men of the church responsible for maintaining the building concluded that it would be prohibitively expensive to enlarge and modify the existing restrooms to provide for a wheelchair. Instead, they came up with an alternative, to add a separate, unisex restroom that could accommodate one person at a time. That could be done with minimal cost and disruption.
The men of the church did the work themselves and had it finished in just a few weeks. They invited Millie to look it over and give her thoughts, and she wholeheartedly approved. She made sure to express her gratitude to everyone involved in the project. They all took pride in what they’d accomplished, and they even added a line that read ‘Wheelchair Accessible’ to the small advertisement the church ran in the newspapers each week.
Chapter 7 – Valuing Millie
Without warning, the Japanese Navy bombed and destroyed the U.S. Naval Base and most of the Pacific naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and Congress declared war on both Japan and Nazi Germany the next day. Suddenly, after over two years of trying to stay out of World War II, America jumped into the fray with both feet. Lines at military recruiting offices wound around the block, as young men were eager to join the fight.
Millie’s brother Jack was 20 years old and was a sophomore at Case School of Applied Science, their father’s alma mater. As soon as he finished his fall semester exams, he joined the Army along with his best friend Dick Gardner. Dick had been doing clerical work at his father’s insurance agency and half-heartedly studying for various insurance agent licensing exams when he thought to do it or his father bugged him about it.
Fannie was about to turn 19 and was a first year student at Western Reserve University studying to be a teacher. She’d graduated from high school six months earlier.
Millie was 17 years old. She’d also completed the high school curriculum about a year prior with her grandmother tutoring her. There was no GED exam at the time, so she had nothing to show for all her education, but that didn’t really matter. It was rare for even an able-bodied girl to attend college except for those going into teaching or nursing. Millie didn’t have a job, nor did she have any prospects for a job. Few if any employers were willing to hire a crippled woman, regardless of her capabilities.
By mid-year 1942, occupations employing significant numbers of young men were having severe labor shortages due to the number of men who’d enlisted or had been drafted. This is when calls started going out for women to take the jobs the men had left behind, especially in jobs deemed critical to the war effort. Initially, they were specifically looking for single women as well as married women with no children whose husbands were away at war.
Once Fannie completed the spring semester, she answered this call; setting aside her education for the duration of the war. She began working on the production line at the family’s metal fabrication business.
By early 1943, it was clear that this wasn’t enough – not enough women were volunteering. At this point, women doing work not essential to the war effort were asked to take jobs that were, and they urged all women who weren’t needed at home to care for children to step up and work in support of the war effort. It was then that Millie’s father got the idea that he could hire her to take an office job where her lack of legs were irrelevant, thus freeing up an able-bodied woman to work on the production line.
And so Millie – 18 years old, legless, educated but without a high school diploma, and under normal conditions virtually unemployable – became the business’ switchboard operator for the duration of the war and beyond. It was up to her to answer all incoming phone calls and route them to the appropriate desk or work station, and to place outgoing calls on behalf of the staff, who didn’t have the capability to do that from their desks or workstations. She also had to connect all internal calls. She was given enough time to learn the basics of the job from the current operator, and then after that it was up to her to get it done and done right. John marveled at how quickly and competently Millie mastered all aspects of the job, even those tasks in which she hadn’t been trained.
Millie took great pride in her job and for the first time in her life truly felt needed and valued for what she did – she, a crippled girl, was essential to the war effort. She knew that without a doubt, based on all of the calls to and from generals and admirals and War Department and Navy Department officials. Anyone who called the business even occasionally recognized her voice and quite a few took the time to learn her name. Millie also very much appreciated having her own money for the first time, although she had limited opportunities to spend it due to wartime rationing and shortages.
Jack and his best friend Dick were eventually sent to England with their army unit in preparation to invade mainland Europe. That took place on June 6, 1944, better known as D-Day, on the beaches of the Normandy region of northwestern France. News reports that day indicated that the Allied invasion was successful but came at the cost of heavy casualties, particularly by the U.S. Army at a place called Omaha Beach.
The entire Duncan family was beside themselves with worry about Jack, knowing he was almost certainly participating in the invasion that day. For the next week afterwards, Ruthie spent every possible minute she could spare looking out the front window, watching for a Western Union car or bicycle messenger to stop in front of their house, while praying that it wouldn’t. A Western Union telegram could only mean one thing, that the Army was informing the family of Jack’s passing, or at least his life-threatening or permanent injury.
But no such car or bicycle ever even came down their street that week, and eventually they received a letter from Jack informing them that he was alive and well. He and Dick were in a unit that had been assigned to land on Utah Beach, where casualties were much lighter. Ruthie held the letter to her chest and cried tears of joy and relief for a good hour before she could compose herself.
But in December 1944, just before Christmas, there was a knock at their door as the family was eating dinner. John answered the door, and there was a Western Union messenger holding a telegram and looking very said. “Mr. Duncan?” he asked. John was so choked up just from seeing the messenger on his doorstep that he couldn’t speak, but he nodded his head affirmatively. “I’m so sorry, sir,” the messenger said as he handed the telegram to John. John closed the door in stunned silence.
Ruthie came out from the dining room to see who was at the door, and she saw John’s face and the unopened telegram in his hand, and she knew her beloved Jackie was dead. “NO!!!” she screamed as she ran to John and wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Upon hearing that, their four other children rushed to them and immediately realized what had likely just happened. They enveloped their parents in a group hug as they each cried in their own way. After a long time, they ended the hug but were all still quietly crying. John opened the telegram and began to read it out loud. “Regret to inform you…” was all he could get out before he again became too choked up to speak, but it was enough to confirm everyone’s worst fears. He handed the telegram to Ruthie so she could read it herself, and then each of their children read it in turn. As they each finished reading it, they rejoined the group hug and the loud crying for another long time.
It was customary during World War II to display a banner in a front window that had a blue star for each family member serving in the military, and the Duncans had one of those. However, if a family member in the military died in service to their country, a gold star was placed over the blue star to indicate this. The family obtained a gold star for their banner and decorated it with black bunting. That banner remained in their window for the duration of the war and many years afterward as sort of a shrine for Jackie.
Jack’s remains would not be made available for burial until sometime after the war had ended. The family therefore wanted to hold a memorial service for him once they’d received the news of his passing. They knew they wouldn’t be able to accommodate everyone at their church, so they arranged to hold the service in the high school gymnasium. Virtually their entire church congregation attended, along with most of the employees from the company business and Jack’s and the Duncan family’s many friends and acquaintances from the community who weren’t away fighting the war themselves.
Less than five months later, on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered and the war in Europe was over. The task of getting soldiers back home from Europe was very disorganized and slow. The Army had to figure out who would be staying in Germany as an occupation force, who would get sent to the Pacific to fight against Japan, and who would get to come home and stay. Also, transportation home was in short supply, as the war against Japan was a higher priority than getting soldiers back to the U.S.
Jack’s best friend Dick returned home at the very end of July. The first thing he did after seeing his own family was to go to visit the Duncans. He knocked on their door in the late afternoon that day. Ruthie answered the door, saw him standing there, and rushed out onto the doorstep to embrace him. “Oh, Dickie, I’m so glad you made it home safely!” she said as she cried tears of joy.
After a minute, he said to her, “I’m so sorry about Jack, Mrs. Duncan.”
Ruthie replied, no longer crying but with tears running down her cheeks, “I know you are, Dickie. Thank you, though. Won’t you please come in and have a glass of lemonade?”
Dick accepted the invitation and followed Ruthie to the kitchen. “So where is everyone?” he asked.
“Mr. Duncan and the girls are all still at work at the factory. Henry’s at football practice. They should all be home in about an hour, I’d say.” Alice had graduated from high school a year earlier, while Henry was about to start his senior year.
“All three girls? Even Millie?” he asked. He knew that women were working like never before to support the war effort, but he couldn’t imagine that would include Millie, especially in a factory.
“Yes, even Millie. She works as the switchboard operator.”
“Well, good for her!” Dick replied enthusiastically. “I imagine she’s proud that she can do her part, too.”
“You have no idea,” replied Ruthie. “I’m sure she had her doubts about whether she’d ever be gainfully employed and contributing to society. Frankly, I did. It’s really boosted her self-confidence.”
“So what are they planning to do when the war’s over?” Dick asked. “The girls, I mean.”
“Well, Fannie’s already made arrangements to resume college in the fall. Her father thinks he can spare her at this point because military orders are slowing down, and if that doesn’t change, she’ll go. She’s always wanted to be a teacher, and I know she’ll make a great one. You’ll have to ask the other two; they really haven’t talked about it, at least with me.
“How about you, Dickie? Do you know what you’re going to do next?” Ruthie asked.
“Well, I’m not doing anything else until we defeat the Japs. “I’m still in the Army; I’m just home on a 30-day furlough while the brass figures out who they need where to do what, fighting the Japs. I’m expecting I’ll get orders to go to the Pacific and prepare to invade the main Japanese islands.”
“I’ve heard people say that’s going to be a lot harder than invading France was,” replied Ruthie, with concern in her voice.
“That’s what I’ve heard as well. The difference is that the French civilians were on our side; we were liberating them from the Nazis. The Jap civilians will join their military in doing everything they can to stop us, and we already know in their culture it’s more honorable to fight to the death than surrender. It’s going to be bloody, that’s for sure.”
Ruthie changed the subject. “So will you be able to stay for dinner, Dickie? I’m sure everyone would love to see you again.”
“I’d love to have dinner with you; thank you,” Dick replied. Even though he’d only arrived home earlier that day, he’d already told his family he’d be eating with the Duncans if they invited him. For the next hour, Mrs. Duncan caught him up on what had been going on locally and/or involving people they both know while he’d been away. Both of them carefully avoided mentioning Jack any further.
About 45 minutes later, Henry arrived home from football practice. The two young men greeted each other, but due to their seven year age difference, they didn’t have much in common to talk about. Henry went up to his bedroom until dinner.
Shortly after that, a car pulled into the driveway and the rest of the family piled out. As they came in the back door, Ruthie greeted them and said, “Look who showed up at our door today! Dickie’s home on furlough!”
John greeted him with a big smile and a firm handshake. “Glad to see you made it home safely, son. Can you stay for dinner?”
“Yes, sir; Mrs. Duncan’s already invited me.”
Next, Fannie gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek, and Millie wheeled over to him and held her arms out, inviting him to bend down for a hug from her. He did so, and received another quick kiss on the other cheek from her. Alice didn’t know Dick as well, and was content to just wave and say hello to him.
“If you’ll excuse us, Alice and I are going to go get out of these work clothes and get cleaned up a bit,” Fannie said to Dick, and the two headed upstairs. There was a brief, uncomfortable pause as Dick, Millie, and her parents all kind of looked at each other, not quite knowing what to say or do.
“Well, I need to get back to preparing dinner, said Ruthie. “Millie, I could use your help, please. John, why don’t you and Dickie go relax and catch up while we do that?”
“Dickie, would you like a beer?” John asked as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out two.
“Yes, sir; thank you,” Dick replied, and the two men headed for the parlor. “I forgot you got one of those right before the war,” he said to John, referring to the fridge. “My family still has an icebox.”
“What can I help you with, Mom?” asked Millie.
“Oh, nothing, really,” Ruthie replied quietly so as not to be overheard by the men. “I just said that because it seemed like things were getting a little awkward there. Why don’t you just keep me company instead?” Millie would have rather gone to the parlor with Dickie and her father, but she didn’t want to embarrass her mother, so she stayed in the kitchen with her.
Dinner with Dick was pleasant. He avoided talking about combat, but he otherwise told them about his time in England and France, most of which was spent with Jack. At the time, the Army made a point of trying to keep buddies together in the same unit, and the Navy tried to assign them to same ship.
After dinner was over, Dick’s expression turned serious. “I need to tell you about what happened when Jack was killed,” he said. “We were both squad leaders in the same platoon. Jack was well-liked and respected by his squad. This was during the early days of the Battle of the Bulge. The Krauts were on the offensive and we were being pushed back.
“I wasn’t with him when it happened, but from what his squad members told me, a live German grenade landed in their midst. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jack dived on top of it to shield his men. An instant later, it exploded. The men closest to him sustained some minor injuries, but that’s all. Jack sacrificed his life to save theirs, at least, maybe the lives of his entire squad; I don’t know.”
Everyone around the table was crying now, including Dick.
“I just felt you needed to know that. Jack was as brave and selfless as they come, and he died a hero. You have every reason to be extremely proud of him. I expect he’ll be awarded a medal posthumously once the Army processes the paperwork, the Distinguished Service Cross, I’d guess.
“He was my best friend in the whole world, ever since the third grade,” Dick said through his tears. “I don’t know why he had to die but I was spared. I would’ve gladly traded places with him.”
Upon hearing that, Fannie and Millie, who were seated on either side of him, simultaneously reached over to put their arms around him and console him. They were quickly joined by John and Ruthie, and then a moment later by Alice and Henry.
“We’re so glad you were spared, Dickie,” replied Ruthie through her tears. “You can’t feel guilty about it; if you hadn’t been, who would have come to tell us what happened? Who would’ve told us about what Jackie did in England and France? You carry the memories of his time in the Army, that’s why you were spared.”
“Thank you for that, Mrs. Duncan,” Dick replied. “You’re right.”
About a week later, on August 6, the U.S. military dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in an effort to hasten the end to the war and avoid the massive casualties expected from an invasion. The single bomb utterly destroyed the city. The U.S. government called for Japan’s immediate, complete, and unconditional surrender or else there’d be more of the same.
The entire world paused to see what would happen next. Japan thought the U.S. had few if any additional atomic bombs, and that either they were bluffing, or else they could only destroy another city or two before running out of bombs. Japan dug in its heels and refused to budge.
Three days later, on August 9, the U.S. dropped a second, more powerful bomb on the city of Nagasaki, obliterating it as well. But the third bomb wouldn’t be ready to be deployed until about August 19. The Japanese officials likely didn’t know that, but it bought them time to reconsider whether they wanted to continue to allow the U.S. to destroy them one city at a time. On August 15, Japan time (Tuesday, August 14, U.S. time), they announced they would agree to the unconditional surrender demanded by the Allies. World War II was over!
In the eastern U.S., this was announced on the radio early in the evening on August 14. Immediately, everyone who’d heard the broadcast poured into their front yards and streets and celebrated any and every way they could. They cheered and shouted and rang dinner bells and honked car horns and lit firecrackers and fireworks. They laughed and cried and sang and hugged and kissed and danced. The commotion drew the attention of those who hadn’t had their radios on, and they quickly learned of the announcement from their neighbors who had, and joined in the celebration.
After celebrating with his own family, Dick made a beeline for the Duncans’ residence. The entire Duncan family was outside in front of their house celebrating. As soon as they saw him approaching, they all burst into tears, as did he. He ran up to them and they smothered him in a group hug. He then proceeded to dance with each of the Duncan women, right there on the front lawn. First Fannie, then Alice, and then Mrs. Duncan. Dick looked down at Millie, sitting in her wheelchair. It was clear from her expression that she wished she could dance with him, too, but was resigned to watch her sisters and mother do so.
Then Dick impulsively went over to Millie, bent down, put his hands on her sides, and picked her up out of her wheelchair in one quick motion. He then held her close with one arm around her waist and the other extended to the side and holding her hand, and proceeded to dance for the two of them. “Dickie!” she shouted in surprise and mock protest, but from her expression it was clear that Millie was thoroughly enjoying this. They were physically much closer than the others has been when they’d danced with him, but that was necessary because he had to support Millie’s entire weight as they danced.
As she sensed he was about to set her back down in her wheelchair, she just as impulsively kissed him on the lips. It was a closed-mouth kiss, but she didn’t pull away. Dick then pushed his tongue between her lips, and she parted them enough to let him French kiss her as she pressed her own tongue against his. But it only lasted a second or two, and then Dick ended the kiss and set her down as he grinned from ear to ear. As they kissed, Millie’s sisters and brother all simultaneously made it clear that they noticed by loudly exclaiming “Ooooohh!!!” in a happy, singsong voice.
Then just as quickly as he’d arrived, Dick ran off, clearly looking for other friends to celebrate with. Alice looked at Millie and asked, “What was that all about, Mills, hmmm?” Millie was red with embarrassment and simultaneously elated. It was the first time she’d ever been kissed like that. “It was just a celebration kiss, that’s all,” she said to no one in particular. Her family all looked at her skeptically, and Millie wasn’t sure she even believed it herself.
Chapter 8 – Considering Millie
As the war was winding down in the late summer of 1945 and soldiers continued returning home, Millie realized that her time working might be limited. The men would want their old jobs back, and the women would also go back to their former jobs or being housewives or whatever. The woman she’d replaced at the switchboard was still working on the plant floor, and Millie assumed she’d want to come back to the switchboard. Millie has no doubts she would be out of a job, despite her father being the company president. He was not one to show favoritism to relatives or friends.
But it was a chaotic and confusing time for businesses providing war materiel. All outstanding military orders were quickly cancelled after the Japanese surrender. There was a huge, pent-up demand for civilian goods, but those orders didn’t come in as quickly. John announced to his entire staff that he was giving them all a week off with pay, with the exception of those needed to fill high-priority civilian orders or to keep the office functioning. No one had had any significant vacation time since the war had begun nearly four years earlier.
He asked everyone, especially the women, to give serious consideration about what they wanted to do job-wise. He would accept resignations and consider other requests after they returned from their week off. Fannie and Alice enjoyed their week off, but Millie was needed to continue to answer the phone. After everyone returned, John had the woman who originally had switchboard duty fill in for Millie so she could have a week off as well.
Fannie already had planned to quit and return to college, so there was nothing left for her to decide. Alice also wanted to go to either college or perhaps secretarial school, but not knowing the war would end so suddenly, she’d made no arrangements to do so and it was too late to be accepted for the fall semester. Until she had that worked out, she was flexible about continuing to work on the production floor, elsewhere, or not at all. Millie wanted to keep working; she loved having a purpose; a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
After having spent a week back on the switchboard, Millie’s predecessor decided that she didn’t want to keep working long-term; as soon as her husband returned from the war, they planned to start a family. In the meantime, she was flexible as well. John decided to lay her off along with Alice and many of the other women; if business picked up before enough men had come back, he told them all there was a chance he’d call them back. Millie would keep her job.
A short time later, a War Department official came to the plant to discuss business with John; specifically what to do about military orders that had been completed but not shipped, or that were in progress when the cancellation came in. The official was meeting with John in his office when he excused himself to go to the restroom. By chance, Millie was coming out of the ladies’ room as he was about to enter the adjacent men’s’ room.
The official immediately noticed that Millie was in a wheelchair, of course, but he was much more interested in the wheelchair than he was Millie. “That’s a mighty fine wheelchair you have there, Miss,” he said to her. “Where did you get it?”
“My father designed it and made it for me,” she replied.
“How do you like it?”
“I love it. It’s very comfortable to sit in, it rolls freely with minimal effort, it folds up flat so it can be put in a car, and it’s made of aluminum so it’s light enough that I can lift it easily.”
“Your father is obviously a very skilled man. Who is he, if I may ask? I’d like to speak to him about this.”
“You’ve been meeting with him today. He’s John Duncan, the company president.”
“Thank you very much, Miss Duncan. You’ve been most helpful.”
The man returned to John’s office. “I just met your daughter in the hallway,” he said. I’m very impressed with the wheelchair you made for her. We have a huge demand for wheelchairs for our wounded soldiers right now. We’ve only been able to get the clunky wooden ones, and even then not nearly as many as we need, due to prioritizing metal for war purposes. But that’s all changed now, of course. If you think you can mass-produce those, we should probably sit down and discuss terms.”
John replied, “We could do that, but my shop is only equipped to make the metal frames for them. Most of the other components, such as the wheels and seat, I scavenged from a wooden wheelchair or scrounged up elsewhere. What we could do is supply the frames to an actual wheelchair maker who could then assemble them.”
Over the course of the next few weeks, John worked out a three-way deal with the War Department and a wheelchair maker. The design had to be tweaked slightly, with the frame made larger to accommodate a man, and made of steel to be sturdier and to keep the cost down.
Word soon got out to the man’s Navy Department and Veterans Administration counterparts, and they also very much wanted the new collapsible wheelchairs. Soon, the business had orders from those agencies as well. The factory would be cranking out wheelchair frames as fast as they could make them for the foreseeable future.
Now that the war was over and Dick was virtually certain to be discharged from the Army, he needed to figure out what to do next. Obviously, he needed a job, or else go to college on the G.I. Bill. He was 24 years old and had a high school diploma. He’d worked for a year and a half after high school at his father’s insurance agency before enlisting in the Army, but his heart was never in it.
Dick gave the matter considerable thought, and decided he would get serious about getting licensed to sell insurance and work for his father. His father was in his mid-50s now, and Dick knew he wanted him to take over the business once he retired. In order to do that, he needed to gain experience now, while his father was still around to mentor him. Dick discussed this with his father and they agreed he’d start working at the agency right after his discharge was final.
Right after Labor Day, Dick received a telegram with orders from the Army to report to Lockbourne Army Air Base near Columbus for discharge processing. From what he’d heard, it would only take a few hours, but he’d need to be prepared to spend the night. The telegram instructed him to bring any Army equipment in his possession and turn it in, but he knew they weren’t interested in his uniforms or the personal use items he’d been issued. They wanted weapons and tools and that sort of thing returned, but he had nothing like that.
On the scheduled day, he donned his khaki Army uniform and caught a ride to the bus station. He brought with him his orders and a duffel bag that included his fatigues (olive drab uniform) in case he needed them for some reason, and some civilian clothes as well. Wearing his uniform and carrying orders, the bus line didn’t charge him for the ticket; they’d instead bill the War Department for his travel.
By the time he arrived at the air base, stood in line, and was processed, it was too late to catch a bus home. He’d spend the night in the barracks and catch the first Army bus headed to the civilian bus station in town the following morning, and hopefully be home in time for dinner.
That night at the air base, he went to the NCO* Club and had a couple of beers, but he didn’t know anyone and didn’t feel like talking to strangers. He went back to the barracks and just laid on his bunk and thought about his future.
* Non-Commissioned Officers (sergeants)
He wanted to get married and start a family, but he didn’t have a sweetheart. He was between relationships when the war began and he’d enlisted in the Army. He didn’t have any girl “adopt” him and write letters to him while he was away. At this point, he really didn’t have a crush on anyone, either.
He thought about the Duncan girls. Fannie was like a sister to him. Could he develop romantic feelings for her? He wasn’t sure. Alice was only 19 years old; that seemed like too big of an age difference. And then there was Millie. Poor, crippled Millie. He’d always felt sorry for her; pitied her, even. There were so many things she couldn’t do, like go to school, or play hopscotch, or jump rope, or dance.
Dance… He remembered the night when they announced the Japs had agreed to surrender. He had danced with her; he just had to do all the legwork for the both of them. And then there was that kiss they’d shared. She’d initiated it, but he’d taken it to the next level and she didn’t stop him. He’d frenched a crippled girl and liked it. It had even gotten his heart racing for a few seconds there.
When he and Jack were preparing to invade France, Jack had made him promise that, if anything happened to him (Jack), he (Dick) would look out for Millie and make sure she was taken care of. Of course, Dick realized that as long as she had family up to the task, he really didn’t need to do anything. But someday, her parents would be too old to provide for her, and who knew if her other siblings would still be around and would be able and willing to? Dick knew he would need to stay in touch with the Duncans for as long as Millie lived so that he could monitor the situation and know if he ever needed to step in.
He’d been pleasantly surprised to learn that Millie had been gainfully employed and supporting the war effort for the past few years. She was much more capable than he’d given her credit for. She could be, and was, a productive member of society. Maybe he shouldn’t be pitying her for what she couldn’t do, but rather admiring her for what she could do.
Dick shook his head hard, trying to rid himself of any romantic notions he had toward Millie. The idea was crazy, getting involved with a girl in a wheelchair. There were so many able-bodied girls out there who’d jump at the chance to go on a date with him. Most of them hadn’t had a date since the young men had all gone off to war.
But would any of them really be interested in him, or would they have settled for anyone who came along? Since none of them had made any effort to write to him during the war, it was hard to say. Millie, on the other hand, had kissed him on the lips. There was no expectation that she should do so; her sisters hadn’t set the precedent by kissing him first. So it occurred to Dick that perhaps Millie was in fact interested in him. And just maybe, if he allowed himself to be really honest about it, he was interested in her, too.
But Dick didn’t do that – allow himself to be honest. In denial that his was attracted to a crippled girl, he asked Fannie out instead. When Millie learned of this, she couldn’t help but be envious. She was disappointed, but not surprised, that Dickie would choose Fannie over her. But still, she wished nothing but the best for her older sister. She wondered if there was anyone out there for a girl with no legs.
Fannie, however, acted like a date with Dickie was no big deal to her. Even after she returned from the date and Millie asked her how it went, Fannie was nonchalant about it. Millie wondered whether she was just downplaying it in order to spare her feelings. Unbeknownst to her, though, Dick came home from the date less than enthused as well. It’s not that it went badly – they had a pleasant enough time – but there just wasn’t any spark there. He wasn’t feeling it, and he got the impression Fannie wasn’t either.
A week and a half later, Dick came over and asked Fannie on a second date, hoping that maybe if they kept trying, something would develop. He was completely caught off guard when Fannie turned him down.
“Dickie, I think you’re a swell guy and everything; don’t get me wrong,” Fannie said to him, trying to let him down gently. “But I just don’t think you and I are meant to be. You’re too much like a brother for me to be able to muster up any romantic feelings toward you. I can’t in good conscience lead you on and let you keep spending money on me. I hope you understand.”
“Believe it or not, I’m kind of relieved you feel that way,” Dick replied. “I’ve been thinking pretty much the same thing. I just didn’t want to give up on you without really giving it a try first, but if you’re feeling the same way, I guess it is kind of pointless.”
Fannie smiled at him. She didn’t expect him to take it so well. A moment later, she realized why he probably did.
“Let me ask you something, Fannie,” Dick said, “and please be honest with me. How would you feel if I were to ask Millie out instead? Would you be jealous? I don’t want to cause bad blood between the two of you.”
Fannie searched her feelings before responding. “No, it wouldn’t bother me,” she replied honestly. “That should tell you something – that there really was nothing between us.” Then Fannie recalled the kiss he’d shared with her sister a few weeks earlier. “I think Millie would be thrilled to go out with you, and you deserve a girl who feels that way about you, Dickie. I think you should ask her. I’ll be rooting for both of you!”
“I really appreciate you saying that, Fannie,” Dick replied. “You’re the best!”
“Just promise me this, Dickie,” Fannie said to him. “Don’t let her fall in love with you if you’re not serious about her, too. If the magic’s not there, then end it. It might be hard to do, but it’ll only get harder if you wait.”
“I promise,” he said to her.
“Good. I know you’ll do the right thing,” Fannie replied. “Well, she’s in the kitchen washing dishes if you want to ask her now.”
“Might as well, then.”
“Good luck,” Fannie said with a smile.