By Howard Wilkinson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

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WASHINGTON - Of the hundreds of reunions that took place Thursday on the National Mall, where tens of thousands of World War II comrades-in-arms gathered, none was more touching than that of three Cincinnati women who never fired a shot.

Helen Colony of Dent and Mary O'Driscoll of Montgomery walked into the Veterans History tent at the National World War II Reunion, a sprawling tent city set up on the mall in the shadow of the Capitol.

They were part of a panel called to discuss their experiences nearly 60 years ago as American Red Cross volunteers serving Allied servicemen overseas - Colony in the China-Burma-India theater; O'Driscoll in England, France and Belgium.

But what they found inside the tent gave them far more joy than being chosen to have their stories recorded by the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project.

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WWII PROFILES

Over the last seven weeks, The Enquirer profiled local veterans who served their country during World War II. Charles Butke Grenade explosion ended his 2 years at war Hilda Hines War carried young nurse far away from home John Craven Experience made him an avid historian Andy Byrd Navy vet feels 'lucky' to see memorial Ray Black Marines suffered heavy losses in combat Clifford Park Veteran shares war's horrors with students George Allen Soldier fought Nazi forces and U.S. racism Memories of heroes The veterans of Post 72 can sit and joke about wartime experiences, remembering the best while letting the more disturbing memories stay locked away.

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They found their longtime friend and fellow Red Cross volunteer, Leona Cox.

"Oh, my dear Lee, I'm just so thrilled to see you,'' said Colony, as the three women hugged under the white canvas tent.

Cox had served during World War II as a Red Cross volunteer in the Mediterranean. She went home to Cincinnati, raised a family and recently moved from Wyoming to Washington to live with her daughter, Kathie Cox.

Kathie Cox pushed her mother's wheelchair through the Washington heat and humidity and tens of thousands of Reunion visitors, all so she could surprise her old Cincinnati friends.

The three women, all in their 80s, laughed and talked and hugged each other again and again, while they waited for the Red Cross panel discussion to begin.

And they made plans to see one another again during the four-day celebration here to dedicate the National World War II Memorial, which stands farther down the Mall, between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The formal dedication is 2 p.m. Saturday.

Among the three friends, there were more than 180 years as Red Cross volunteers. Each came home and worked for decades for the Cincinnati chapter of the Red Cross.

"We have been friends forever,'' O'Driscoll said. "We share so much with each other.''

One thing the three share is the experience of being a young woman volunteering to leave her home and travel across the world to bring comfort and friendship to battle-weary soldiers, sailors and flyboys.

O'Driscoll was part of a "clubmobile'' that followed troops wherever they went, offering them a place to get a bite to eat, relax and talk to someone with a sympathetic ear.

"The GIs liked us because we had the same hometown accents they did. We were like a piece of home," O'Driscoll said. "What we did was important. We raised their morale."

While O'Driscoll's experience took her from England to liberated France and Belgium as the Allies swept across central Europe in 1944 and 1945, Colony served in India. That's where Indian army officers, fighting alongside American and British forces, talked her and herfellow volunteers into setting up a blood bank for wounded Indian soldiers.

"We were right out on the front line, so we could only take a half-pint of blood from the healthy soldiers instead of the usual pint,'' Colony said. "We worked under difficult conditions, but we got the job done.''

Their friend Cox was in Italy after the Allies vanquished the armies of Hitler and Mussolini. There, she tended to lonely soldiers with food and a ready ear.

"We were always treated so well by the GIs; they were gentlemanly,'' Cox said.

"Even today, when I meet a veteran he always thanks us for what we did. It's a good feeling.''

E-mail hwilkinson@enquirer.com