World War II Honoree

Virginia James Claudon

Hometown

Fairbury, Illinois

Honored By

Pearl Thomas

She worked as a hospital volunteer in the early days of the war. She decided to volunteer for overseas duty with the Red Cross. An illness prevented her from shipping out to Europe, and the next available assignment was in India. She was stationed in Karachi and Agra. She became a civilian employee for Army Intelligence and became a G.I. Jill where she made nightly morale-boosting radio broadcasts for the Armed Forces Radio Service to offset the Japanese doyen of propaganda, Tokyo Rose. She also performed in plays all over India for the benefit of homesick G.I.s. Served from 1944 until 1946.