The Life of William A. Rich, Volunteer Ambulance Driver for the Americ

193 Pages·2016·2.76 MB·English

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Honors Program in History (Senior Honors
Department of History
Theses)
April 2008
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Alice S. Hickey
University of Pennsylvania, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors
Hickey, Alice S., "Departing for the Ends of the Earth to do My Humble Part: The Life of William A. Rich,
Volunteer Ambulance Driver for the American Field Service, 1942-1945- A Study of War Letters" (2008).
Honors Program in History (Senior Honors Theses). 12.
https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors/12
A Senior Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Honors in History.
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Steinberg
This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors/12
For more information, please contact [email protected].
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From the years 1942 to 1945, William A. Rich, a volunteer ambulance driver with the American Field
Service, wrote a vast collection of letters home; he served in the Middle East, North Africa, Italy, France,
Germany and India. Rich corresponded with his family and girlfriend biweekly about his experiences and
opinions, resulting in a collection of more than 300 letters. From these letters, supplemented by additional
archival sources, a fascinating narrative emerges. Rich's story explains the complexity of life on the
frontlines as a non-combatant of a total war. From the fall of Tunis to the horrors of the relief of Belsen
Concentration Camp, the letters provide an unmediated perspective on World War Two through the eyes
of a twenty-year old. My thesis seeks to examine whether these letters, and whether war letters in general,
are valuable historical documents.
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American Field Service, war letters, ambulance drivers, volunteers
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A Senior Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Honors in History.
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Steinberg
This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors/12
University of Pennsylvania

"Departing for the Ends of the Earth to do My Humble Part: The Life of William A. Rich,
Volunteer Ambulance Driver for the American Field Service, 1942-1945- A Study of
War Letters"

By

Alice Stewart Hickey

March 25, 2008

Faculty Advisor: Professor Jonathan Steinberg
Thesis Director: Professor Kristin Stromberg-Childers
“Who shall nerve heroic boys
To hazard all in Freedom's fight,—
Break sharply off their jolly games,
Forsake their comrades gay
And quit proud homes and youthful dames
For famine, toil and fray…
When Duty whispers low, Thou Must
The Youth replies, I can.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

To my grandfather, who left me an amazing story to tell

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………iv
List of Abbreviations Used………………………………………………………...v
Maps………………………………………………………………………………...vi
Chapter 1: “That Freedom and Mercy Shall Not Perish From This Earth.” The
Origins of This Thesis and Introductory Information……..…………….1
Chapter 2: A Note on Methodology- War Letters as Historical Documents…...24
Chapter 3: “Departing for the Ends of the Earth to do my Humble Part.” October
1942- May 1943…………………………………………………………….35
Chapter 4: “The Next Afternoon My Section Started Up Towards Termoli.” June
1943- May 1944…………………………………………………………….69
Chapter 5: “God, I Hope This War Doesn’t Take too Damned Much Longer.” July
1944- March 1945…………………………………………………………..110
Chapter 6: “Are You To Blame Every German?” March 1945-November
1945………………………………………………………………………….146
Epilogue......................................................................................................................165
Appendix A: A.F.S. Bulletin ‘Are You Happy in the Service or How to Find Your
Own Sewing Circle’………………………………………………………...167
Appendix B: A.F.S. Bulletin ‘Letter Requesting’………………………………...171
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...173
ii
Acknowledgements

To thank everyone who has helped me would be impossible, since I have needed
support and constructive criticisms during every step of my thesis project. To begin at the
beginning, a special thanks goes to Professor Robert Sayre who found my family and
gave to us half of the letters I now have. I also would not have been able to write what I
did without Eleanora Golobic, archivist for the American Field Service in New York
City.
At Penn, Professor Stromberg-Childers has been much more than a thesis director
for me. She always had a warm smile to alleviate my angst and an easy manner that made
our thesis section into a group of supportive peers. As for Professor Steinberg, he has
been my guiding star- I would not have been confident enough to finish this project
without his investment of time, interest and assistance. He gave insightful comments for
every draft I turned in and wise words when I was most in need of them. Also, thanks is
due to Rachel Ormansky, my peer editor, who has been constantly encouraging and
always helped me choose the right place to put my commas.
Lastly, I would be remiss to not thank my parents who taught me diligent efforts
and intellectual curiosity never go unrewarded.
iii
List of Abbreviations

‘60 Beaver Street:’ American Field Service Headquarters in New York City
ACC: Ambulance Car Company
Ack-Ack: anti-aircraft artillery
ADS; Advanced Dressing Station
A.F.S.: American Field Service
APO: Army Post Office
BLA: British Liberation Army
CCS: Causality Clearing Station
Cov.: Company (British Form)
DDMS: (British) Deputy Director of Medical Services
GH: General Hospital
GHQ: General Head Quarters
HQ: Head Quarters
LFA: Light Field Ambulance
MCO: Medical Command Officer
MDS: Main Dressing Station
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer
NZEF: New Zealand Expeditionary Force (usually referred to as 2NZEF)
RA: (British) Royal Army
RAMC: (British) Royal Army Medical Corps
RASC: (British) Royal Army Service Corps
RAP: Regimental Aid Post
Recee: Reconnaissance
Vol.: Volunteer

iv
Maps: North African Campaign

Map of the North African Campaign. The top map shows General Erwin Rommel’s early
successes. The middle is the movements of the Eighth Army but does not show the battle
of Tunisia, in which Rich was involved. The bottom map shows the movements of the
American-led Operation Torch in Western Africa.
[Folloy, Martin H. The Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of the Second World War.
London: Palgrave McMillan, 2004. Map 23 “The War in North Africa 1942.’]
v
Maps: North African Campaign

Map of the places the A.F.S. served in North Africa. Note the detail of the Middle East,
showing the places in which A.F.S. men trained before they joined the British 8th to fight
Rommel, specifically Baalbek and Haiffa. In the top left hand corner the map also shows
the ribbon that each A.F.S. driver was awarded and the Eighth Army ‘patch’ which
became a status symbol within the A.F.S.
[Rock, George. The Official History of the American Field Service: 1920-1955. New
York: The Platen Press, 1956. Inside of front cover, left-hand side.]
vi
Maps: Italian Campaign

Map of the Entire Italian Campaign, showing both American and British Movements.
[Folloy, Martin H. The Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of the Second World War. Map
26 ‘The Italian Campaign 1943-45’

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