Gladys Martin

By  Albert Ding and Willie Morrison

Experiences during World War II were very significant and life changing for the people who fought and gave their lives for our country.  Too often in the past, we did not give enough credit to those people who stayed behind during the war times and kept our country running.  Gladys Martin was one of the many Americans who lived through the tough times and even managed to raise a family during the Depression.  When Gladys came to our school for the interview the atmosphere was rather uncomfortable as we were crowded into a corner of our classroom   However, with Gladys' smile, along with her open and friendly personality, we were quickly assured that we had nothing to worry about.  Thanks to Gladys' friendly personality, we were able to get a clear view of the hardships and the environment during the war times.

Gladys Martin was born in the year of 1912.  Life on the farm near the city of Pullman was relatively simple.  During her education, Gladys attended country grade schools and Gladish High School in Pullman, along with her other siblings.  When Gladys was sixteen, her mother passed away leaving her to take care of her siblings until her dad remarried two years later.  Already Gladys was becoming a very strong leader who would remain a leader throughout her entire life. 

Life still remained relatively basic until she was nineteen and met a young man named Herbert Martin.  Shortly after meeting the two were happily married in the year of 1931.  In 1938, Gladys' first child was born.  in very tough times.  A few years later in 1943, her second child was born.  Not long after her marriage to Herbert, the country had slipped into the age known as the Depression.  Our young generation cannot even begin to imagine what life was like during the Depression.  However, Gladys provided a glimpse of life during those difficult years.  Gladys recalls moments when a mere $35 was the only thing between her family and starvation.  She remembers that at one point she almost lost the $35, and looking back now she smiles, but the stress during that time was unimaginable.  Gladys also clearly remembers the times during the war when she had to shop in thrift stores for some basic necessities and how all United States citizens were forced to use rationing stamps.  Each person was given a book of stamps with a stamp for all the basic necessities that the country was short on.  Stamp books were given to each person in a family regardless of age, making these books very valuable.  Regardless of wealth, all people still received only as many supplies as their stamp book would allow. 

Gladys admits that life during World War II did not affect her
family as badly as some other families, in part because the number of stamp books that their family received every month was more than enough to provide for her family.  Gladys remembers instances where she gave away valuable stamps to friends that were not as well off, simply because she had more than enough for her whole family.

In addition to using rationing stamps, Gladys was lucky enough to be able to obtain fruits and vegetables from the garden at her father's farm.  Her father was very helpful during the war times, and Gladys is still very thankful for all the aid she received from him.  Gladys was able to preserve fruits from her father's farm by canning, and that was helpful for the difficult months ahead.  Since the war began, obtaining essential items such as sugar was only possible through the stamps.  At one time, Gladys remembers running out of stamps for sugar, making it impossible to can fruit.  Unable to wait the remainder of the month, Gladys traded some shoe stamps to her sister-in-law for sugar stamps.  She recalls that it was common practice for friends during the war to trade stamps to each other depending on what was needed.

When asked the question of how well people were informed during the war, Gladys explains there were only a few television sets around during the period of the war and most people ended up relying on the radio for news.  Several years earlier, during the Depression, no one had a television, and radios were the only source of information.  Thus, it was very hard to receive information until several weeks after it occurred.  Apparently the country as a whole was very uninformed of the war effort and what was occurring in other parts of the world.  For instance, the entire United States was not even aware of the wartime atrocities committed by Adolf Hitler until several years after the war.

Regardless of how uninformed the people of the United States were of the war efforts, families still heard about the deaths of loved ones through letters.  Deaths of soldiers was the only news about the war that really traveled quickly.  Gladys knew of two boys who were killed during the war.  One of the boys lived in Pullman, and the other boy lived in Albion.  Gladys expressed a great amount of sadness for those who had died.

People throughout the nation performed small tasks to aid the war effort in Europe.  Gladys was one of the people who aided the war effort by supplying considerable amounts of sweaters and rolled bandages.  During the evenings she would sit in the living room and wrap bandages using only a knitting needle and old torn up sheets.  Once she had finished rolling her bandages, Gladys would deliver them to the Red Cross.  Gladys was well aware of the Red Cross having a neutral status during the war; however, she never thought twice about the items being delivered to Germans instead of the Allies, she simply wanted to help those in need.  According to Gladys, most people who aided the war effort by sending supplies through the Red Cross shared her view that anyone should be helped no matter what side they were on.  Along with rolling bandages for the Red Cross, Gladys also knitted sleeveless sweaters for American soldiers, so they could stay warm during the cold nights of the war.

Gladys Martin was no soldier, no weapons specialist, and no wartime commander, but she was a hero.  She fought through hard times and came out of the Depression with a healthy family and a good home, not to mention helping others in need.  In the future, we will all pass on and be forgotten, but please do not forget her name.  Gladys Martin was a hero to be remembered, and we can all learn something from this excellent example of a hardworking, dedicated individual.

When news came over the radio that the war was over, Gladys made a big pan of fudge for her family because she knew she could finally get all the sugar she wanted.