I have the same story line. But I would add that my parents could get through just about anything with the mutual support of neighbors, friends and relatives. My parent's generation knew the value of cooperation and community. They didn't need "community organizers".
It was a different world. My Mother grew up on a huge farm in the Florida panhandle. The fact that they were wealthy didn’t mean a thing. She was one of 12 children and the youngest Daughter.
The oldest two girls helped their Mother but the rest along with the boys worked in the fields. Mother really knew what hard work was about.
My Father’s family were very prominent citizens but had little money. He was one of nine children and often had to be the substitute Father as Granddaddy was always away serving in the legislature or teaching at normal school etc.
Anyway they both came out of the depression but really they would have had about the same life if the depression had never hit. The only difference being that Granddaddy would probably have been paid better.
One thing I simply can’t get over is how really brave and tough our combat veterans of WWII were. Just this afternoon I came across a picture of a bridge across the Roer River near Julich, (I think that was the name), Germany.
I did some internet searches on those two names and eventually came across a u tube 12 minute long video of the fighting around there. The film had been taken by the signal corps and those camera guys were right in the midst of it.
They first showed the Combat Engineers along with Infantry crossing the river in near dark conditions. There wasn’t a lot of opposition but one boat full of soldier capsized. Other boats managed to save most of them.
The Germans pretty much left them alone until they completed a treadway bridge then they opened up with artillery and machine guns. The little treadway bridge was destroyed over and over but they finally had gotten enough Infantry and Engineers across to clear the opposite shore.
Each time the bridge would be destroyed the engineers just went about their business picking up their wounded and just letting the dead lie on the bridge until they had time.
They then started a heavy ponton bridge only a few hundred yards away. By this time the engineers fighting with the infantry were recalled to work only on bridges and they were no longer getting fire except long range infantry.
The picture I have of Daddy and his engineer battalion shows the bridge completed. The far side of the river shows all buildings destroyed. There are two Sherman tanks crossing and still quite a few engineers checking the bridge over.
That was some really fierce fighting. The German POWs looked like they had seen Hell. Blank faces, 1000 mile stare etc.
During the part of the fighting where they were crossing the tread-way bridge under fire I think every one of them deserved a high medal.
I really think that generation had been toughened to the point that they just did their job, and kept going until they were killed or completed it.