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Contents > Australian WWII War Brides of American Servicemen: Myths, Stereotypes and Realities by Robyn Arrowsmith

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When Dorothy Thompson met Leroy at the Trocadero in Brisbane, initially she was not keen to go out with him.  Although attracted by his ‘good dancing and politeness’ she claims she wasn’t interested in Americans, stating emphatically: ‘I didn’t want to get married until I was 25…and least of all marry an American’ (D. Thompson, Interview, September 19, 2001). Reluctant to accept the notion of romantic love displayed by her American suitor, Dorothy continued to go out with other men and at first refused to wear his engagement ring, and seemed almost willing to be deterred by obstacles surrounding their wedding arrangements.  It was much later that Leroy told her that he had made up his mind to marry her the first time they met.  In resisting what seemed like the inevitability of fate, Dorothy perhaps had already realised her reluctance to leave Australia:  possibly due to fear of the unknown. Perhaps Dorothy’s rebellion against accepting Leroy’s serious advances, was a natural response, and in fact the ‘very stuff of romance’.  As Katie Holmes (1995, p.13) claims in her study of women’s diaries, ‘to set or reject the terms set by men’ was a prerogative which women could claim, and to utilize this right was one way in which they had some say and could exert control over a situation.

These examples clearly evidence that rather than being ‘good-time girls’ who ‘threw’ themselves at Americans, these particular women initially resisted such liaisons and were actively pursued by their husbands-to-be, some of whom confidently decided on first meeting, that this was the girl he would marry. 

It can be argued that the reinforcement of contemporary gendered stereotypes, which saw the powerful military male as hero and saviour and the passive young female waiting to be wooed, created an atmosphere of heightened romance rather than one of physical pleasure.  Sometimes, finding their Australian dates reluctant to go out again, the Americans refused to take ‘no’ for an answer and pursued their romantic targets, wooing them with flowers and gifts. (Campbell, 1989, p. 68).  The very persistence displayed in their romantic quests sometimes paid off and they won the hearts of their Australian girlfriends.

Contrary to contemporary stereotypes and more recent research, my interviews with war brides show that not all Australian girls were simply in pursuit of sexual pleasure, nor were all relationships based on brief encounters. Certainly, among this group of women, there were some ‘whirlwind’ romances, and some babies were conceived before marriage, but while wedding ceremonies were often arranged at short notice, most marriages were the result of months, and sometimes years of getting to know each other and developing friendships, often through letter-writing 2. Communication in this written form, during periods of physical separation for weeks and months, clearly heightened the romantic nature of these liaisons and allowed the couples to express their feelings in an appropriate and socially acceptable form.3 

Peggy Dunbar Blackman, who grew up in Sydney, had only two dates with her husband-to-be before he was shipped out. She found letters an excellent means of communication, both proving to be good letter-writers and discovering that they had many common interests. Peggy recalls: ‘We liked the same kind of books, and music and theatre and all of those kinds of things.’ (P. Dunbar, Interview, September 29, 2001).

Dorothy Hammond’s future husband was shipped out one week after they had met.  Dorothy announced that she was going to marry this American and her father said ‘I’ll give it three months and you’ll forget all about it.’  However, through letter-writing Dorothy got to know her future husband, and she tells how ‘we just kept writing each other letters and getting in deeper’. (D. Hammond, Interview, September 19, 2001).

The flow of letters over extended periods created heightened expectations, as well as offering opportunities for freedom of expression.  Many romances developed and many courtships were conducted through letter-writing, even though censorship regulations applied at that time.

Despite soaring marriage rates for all ages in Australia after the outbreak of the Second World War (McDonald, 1975, p.203; Grimshaw, 1994, p.265), getting married in wartime was not easy, and to marry an American was particularly complicated, requiring a deep sense of commitment. Australian girls faced opposition from both Australian and American authorities who actively discouraged these marriages.  Australians generally thought that girls should wait to marry Australian men who were away defending their own country.  Also, when invasion seemed less imminent, Australian perceptions changed, and the initial popularity of the Americans waned as they were seen as ‘overpaid, oversexed and over here’. (Lake, 1995, p. 66). American authorities officially classed Australian brides as ‘aliens’ who had to comply with legal requirements and apply for permission to enter the United States as immigrants regardless of their husband’s status. (Potts & Potts, 1985, p. 332).

An official letter from U.S. Army Headquarters, in August 1942, directed that all registered Celebrants in New South Wales be informed of ‘the harm done to the individuals, the armed forces, and the war effort by the continuation of the practice of marrying members of the United States Army Forces’.4 Celebrants were requested ‘not to perform such marriages’ without written authority from the prospective husband’s Commanding Officer’, at whose sole discretion permission was either granted or not. 5  In Brisbane, Archbishop Duhig spoke out against American-Australian weddings, fearing bigamous unions, and urged a complete ban until the Americans could prove their legal freedom to marry, and refused to allow such marriages in Brisbane Catholic churches. (Campbell, 1989, pp. 64-5).  

In Townsville, Gladys Borger had taken Catholic instruction as her future husband was a Catholic, but when he returned from New Guinea the priest wanted to sight his baptism papers which were impossible to get from the United States at that time. Gladys recalls: ‘so the priest wouldn’t marry us, and we got a Methodist Minister’ to perform the ceremony instead.  (G. Borger, Interview, September 29).  Such opposition certainly strengthened their resolve to be married, thus demonstrating a continuation of traditional values midst the upheaval of an unpredictable wartime period.

Official policy of the United States Army Forces discouraged marriages of American soldiers in Australia during the progress of the war, announcing that ‘Australian girls who marry American soldiers at this time do so at their own risk’, and that ‘marriage does not confer American citizenship’. (Street, 1966, p. 228).6             

Meanwhile many Australian girls and their American fiancées were at the mercy of officialdom to make their future plans. It often took months for the paperwork to be completed, and after permission was granted, to prevent hasty and ill-planned marriages, a mandatory waiting period of six months was introduced before the wedding could take place.   The U.S. Secretary of War issued a directive that personnel who married without authority would be subject to severe disciplinary action.7

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Contents > Australian WWII War Brides of American Servicemen: Myths, Stereotypes and Realities by Robyn Arrowsmith