In December, 1946, Elva’s Papa came home from the war. She thought everyone she loved was home and safe. Then the letter came.

The Kramers were grateful for the gifts and asked that Elva’s family would now help others in need. Dr. Kramer sent a list of ten families and included tracings of their feet, hoping shoes could be found for them.

One letter read:

“We have only one pair of boots and must take turns. I work at night, and my husband works during the day. We spend the rest of the time in bed for warmth.”

Soon, Elva’s family has received one hundred foot tracings. 

Mama works late into the night translating German letters and writing to everyone she knows asking for help, and Elva helps her knit wool socks. 

A few months later, “a thousand tracings lined the walls and floors.”

Elva begins to correspond with a girl named Eliza who says that her father, a doctor during the war, still hasn’t come home over a year after the war has ended. 

By the middle of 1948, there are fewer and fewer tracings. Nearly two years after Elva’s Papa came home, Elva gets a letter telling her that Eliza’s Papa is also home.

In the Author’s Note, Lita Judge says:

“The aftermath of World War II brought great suffering to people in Europe. Thousands of Americans responded, healing the wounds of war with kindness. My grandparents, Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom, headed one relief effort initiated by American ornithologists. This is their story. They enlisted the help of fellow scientists, and together they sent care packages to more than three thousand people in fifteen countries throughout Europe.” 

Judge learned the story when she discovered a box of foot tracings in her grandmother’s attic. Then her mother began to remember details. Now Judge shares with us the story of regular people who quietly helped thousands of suffering strangers. Like many, many others of the Greatest Generation, they did it because it was the right thing to do. When the job was done, they didn’t expect to be hailed as heroes or awarded medals. Sometimes they didn’t even tell their grandchildren.

This book is available at Amazon.com.