𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓 ✈︎ r.rosenthal

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

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Dorothy Wilkens was born on the 15th of November, 1919 in Houston, Texas. She was the youngest of three children, having two older brothers, Albert and Joseph, who helped shape her into the strong-willed woman she is today. Her parents had always described her to be the worst of the three, constantly picking fights with those who she deemed to have 'deserved it', however in retrospect, the three children knew that both Albert and Joseph were entirely responsible for their sister's fighting spirit.

They lived as any happy family in the 1920's, up until the Great Depression struck in 1929. The lack of money and security gradually began to tear the family apart bit by bit as it grew hard for them all to live under the same roof. The three children basically had to sacrifice their schooling in return for survival as Dorothy's eldest brother, Albert, had to begin working at just 15 years old alongside their parents, sacrificing his wellbeing for the protection of their family's safety. Meanwhile, Dorothy had to help maintain the household chores throughout the days and as money continued to grow tighter, had to cut down on her own meals to ensure the rest of the family did not starve. Dorothy's other brother, Joseph, grew ill over time and became bed bound by early 1930 as they were unable to afford the essential treatments for his recovery.

Throughout the years, the children made countless sacrifices for their family as the young girl began to grow resentful of the world, questioning why it was her family who had to suffer. The three of them grew up with practically nothing to their names as they were unable to afford even the smallest of luxuries, such as a record player that Albert had always dreamed of owning, or even just a book that Joseph had wanted. Dorothy, however, realised early on in their struggle to not waste her energy wishing for something that she knew deep down would never come true, the constant disappointment she experienced bearing too heavy on her heart for her to keep putting herself through it.

Additionally, the depression took a large toll on their father's mental state as he turned to alcohol to escape reality, which quickly evolved into him becoming a raging alcoholic, unable to break free from the shackles of his unstable state of mind, resulting in him turning his anger towards the members of his family. Though Dorothy was only 10 years old at the time, she knew deep down that what she was facing everyday was not normal and not right, and so from the moment she first witnessed her father lay hands on her own mother after downing an entire bottle of alcohol Dorothy didn't care enough to remember the name of, she had promised herself that she would never succumb to the temptations of the illusions provided by a cheap bottle of the disgusting liquid that only brought more suffering to her family.

When the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 1st, 1941, Dorothy immediately signed up to become a pilot, despite the protests from her own family. At 22 years old, Dorothy and her family had been struggling financially for over a decade, and after witnessing what affect that strain has on people, she knew she needed to escape before she too became consumed by the acts of desperation she witnessed her parents face.

She was quickly followed by her eldest brother, Albert, as he too signed up to become a bombardier pilot. Their fellow sibling, however, was unable to join the military campaign as he was deemed to unfit for the war, and so when bidding each other farewell, Dorothy and Albert promised to write about their experiences in their letters back home, so Joseph himself could get a feel of the war as well.

Many were against a woman joining the army specifically to fight, sure many women were signing up, however they were placed in the simpler jobs that sat at the back of the battlefield, not getting to physically fight for their country's survival. Dorothy knew that she was not fit for that job, she needed to be out at front, pushing hard against the enemy to bring her country to victory, and so despite the hostility provided by her fellow comrades pulling her down ever so slightly, she fought through it with her brother by her side.

The Wilkens siblings experienced a gruelling few months of training, however their fighting spirits helped bring them out on top, allowing them to be the early soldiers sent off to bases across England. However, these placements resulted in the two siblings being separated through being placed under different commands, and so with a tearful goodbye and a promise of exchanging letters, Albert flew over to England, leaving Dorothy there to wait an agonising few more days before she too could make the journey to the small island.