Ruth Mary Gossage (1926 - 2008)

Born 28 Nov 1926 in Idaho

Ancestors

Died 6 Feb 2008 at age 81 in Olympia Thurston Washington

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mary Gossage [send private message]

Biography

Ruth was the oldest daughter. She and her first husband had two sons. They lived to know all of their grandchildren and some of their great-grandchildren.^[1] During WWII while her husband was at sea in the Navy she worked at a prisoner of war camp in Oregon. She tells of one of the prisoners having carved a cradle for her first child with whom she was pregnant at the time, and of being told by those she interacted with while serving their meals that they were being treated much better in the prisoner of war camp than they had been in their nation and in the military.^[2]

Research Notes

The only prisonor of war camp I found in Oregon during WWII was in the Medford area. Ruth's Grandfather was also temporarily living in Oregon during that time working in the woods nearby. Prisoners from the camp also worked in the woods. From this, it is tempting to extrapolate that her Grandfather, Robert Gossage, supervised prisoners who worked in the woods with him. Being past the age of serving in the military, perhaps that is how he chose to serve during WWII, as well as to be protectively near to his granddaughter while her husband was serving in the U.S. Navy and his Lloyd's three sons were serving in the war. His son's two younger daughters were at home and still in school at the time.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Ethel Gossage
2. ↑ Told to Mary Gossage by Ruth who was her Aunt.
3. ↑ Mary Gossage