Diana Marie Fodero

Dunny Mans Picnic Diana Marie Fodero

Carefree and beautiful, Peggy Yeats fell in love with an American serviceman stationed in Australia. After a hasty marriage in Queensland, Peggy's beau Hart was shipped off to war. During his absence, she gave birth to Diana Marie, the author who wrote this biography of her mother's life. When the war ended in 1945, the Australian wives of American servicemen received free passage to the United States to be reunited with their husbands whom they hadn't seen in years. Peggy, Diana, and hundreds of other Australian brides boarded the S. S. Lurline for the long voyage to the states. Peggy and Hart were reunited in San Francisco and the new family boarded a train to Wichita, Kansas, where they would live with Hart's parents until they could earn a living. Peggy found life in the United States difficult and longed to return to Australia. Weaving historical detail into the narrative, this poignant biography provides a vivid account of the life of one of more than 12,000 Australian war brides and of her journey to return her homeland. Dunny Mann's Picnic captures the feelings and thoughts of one woman's struggles and triumphs.