John and Dorothee Irwin met and married while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. / Provided photo
DOROTHEE IRWIN
Age: 88
Born: Nov. 27, 1922
Hometown: Cambridge, Mass.
Residence: Palm Springs
Military branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Years served: June 25, 1943-November, 1945
Rank: Corporal
Family: Husband John; four children, Marie Irwin and Jim Irwin, both of Palm Springs, Joyce Glenn of Parkin, Ark. and Christine Lancaster of Cathedral City; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild.
About this series
Staff writer Denise Goolsby will profile desert veterans from World War II through the end of 2010 — the 65th anniversary of the end of the war. Contact her at (760) 778-4587 or via e-mail at denise.goolsby@thedesertsun.com
Coming tomorrow
U.S. Marine Corps veteran John Irwin of Palm Springs.
LEARN MORE: Read about other Coachella Valley residents who served in World War II at mydesert.com/wwii.
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U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dorothee Irwin responded to her country's appeal for volunteers at a time when the U.S. was ramping up its war effort on two fronts during World War II.
“Uncle Sam was calling young women to enlist to free a man to fight,” Irwin said.
Irwin had brothers who were stationed in Europe and the South Pacific and she was eager to join team USA.
“Anything I could do to back them up,” she said.
Irwin was sworn into the U.S. Marine Corps in Boston on June 25, 1943.
Before joining the military, Irwin said she had a good job, working at Harvey Radio Lab — where she earned a reputation as a leader.
Her ability to think quickly, take control of a situation, and make wise decisions — under challenging conditions — permanently established Irwin as the “go-to-girl” — the woman you go to if you want something done — and done right.
When she told her boss about her plans to enlist, “They didn't want to lose me,” she said, smiling.
A police officer friend told her to make sure they gave her hospital duty.
“When Capt. Comfort asked, ‘What would you like to do?' I said hospital duty.'”
Wrong answer.
“He said, ‘You should have joined the Navy.'”
Taking another stab at the job question, she said she thought she'd like to pack parachutes.
Soon after, a directive came in that changed the parachute packing policy. Each man would now be required to pack his own 'chute.
Finally, “I said, ‘I'll do anything! I'll go anywhere!'”
Irwin was sent to boot camp at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The women's training was much like the men's, but the women were not allowed to carry guns, she said.
“We ran, we exercised, we had to climb over that wall. We had to jump off a diving board with a heavy pack.”
The women also learned how to forge their way out of the wilderness.
“We were taken out in the woods and found our way back with a compass,” she said.
After completing training, Irwin was eventually assigned to a Marine Corps base in California.
“We were the first 94 women to go to Camp Pendleton,” she said.
Irwin was assigned to mess duty, and one day a colonel came into the mess hall and told the male Marine in charge that he needed to add a woman assistant to his staff.
Irwin got the nod and became an assistant mess sergeant.
Her days started early. She was at the mess hall by 4 a.m., and had it organized and ready to go by the time the cooks arrived at 5 a.m.
Her direct orders were to get the restaurant out of the red.
She said she was able to turn the restaurant into a profitable enterprise.
Irwin met her future husband during this time.
One day in November of 1943, a woman sergeant told Irwin she wanted to go on a date with a pilot, but didn't want to go alone.
The sergeant floated the idea of Irwin joining her — if she could find her friend a date.
Irwin had just wrapped up another hectic work day.
“The gal sergeant said, ‘I know who I'll get!' I was laying on my bunk. I was exhausted. She got me out of my work clothes, put me in my uniform and re-dressed me,” Irwin said, laughing.
“He was nice,” Irwin said about her first impression of meeting John Irwin, a Marine Corps maintenance officer for an F4F fighter squadron. “He was like one of my brothers.”
After several double dates, the couple began going out together, alone.
In early January of 1944, “We were sitting in his Dodge coupe on the Main Street of San Clemente,” she said.
“I asked her to marry me and she said yes,” he said.
Irwin gave his new fiancee his Marine Corps squadron ring.
They married on Jan. 28, 1944 in Oceanside.
“We had a 72-hour pass on our honeymoon,” she said.
The couple celebrated their nuptials at Lake Arrowhead Village, where they paid $1.17 a day for a room because they were in uniform, she said.
Irwin's next assignment was the base exchange, where she learned how to run an office. Her responsibilities included merchandising and running a soda fountain.
Once a day, Irwin traveled around with a Marine Corps captain to all the exchange locations in camp, clearing cash and gathering register tapes.
Armed with an adding machine, Irwin returned to her exchange to run and numbers and do the bookkeeping.
“It was a fun learning experience,” she said.
Her entire time in the Marine Corps worked out pretty much the same way, she said.
