The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

called for tea. Daisy and I brought it to him.
Most of the ships that docked at our village the week of the Dunkirk
evacuations weren’t as bad off as the first few, but all of them contained at
least some badly injured men. The ships arrived at all hours. We went from
crisis to crisis; the hall never emptied. The Spitfires from our airfield took off
and landed in waves, constantly, day and night, flying out to protect the
troopships as much as possible. Meanwhile the entire village fed and tended
the soldiers.
Before midnight on that first day, Susan found me at the pub. Daisy’s
mother told her what we’d been doing. Reluctantly, Susan allowed me to stay
in the village. Daisy’s mother said I could sleep at the pub, with them; the
WVS was sleeping in shifts in their headquarters down the street.
“You’re a little girl,” Susan said. “You shouldn’t have to see all this.”
“I’m old enough. I’m helping.” I wanted to tell her about the dead soldier,
but I was afraid she’d make me leave.
She gave me a long look. “Yes,” she said. “You are.”
The next morning Susan used the pub’s telephone to call Lady Thorton’s
house and speak to Fred and Jamie. And then we carried on. Whenever Daisy
or I grew too exhausted to continue, we crept back to the kitchen and slept on
the bench by the door. When we woke, we went back to work. Everyone did.
It was lucky Jamie was safe with Fred. Lucky we’d put Bovril outside, where
he could hunt. Susan and I stayed with the soldiers. It was our turn to fight the
war.
In the end, 330,000 British soldiers were saved. Winston Churchill called it
England’s “finest hour.” It was hard, listening to him on the radio, safely
home with Jamie once again, to think that there had been anything fine about
the shiploads of desperate and dying men. But at the same time, I felt
different. There was a Before Dunkirk version of me and an After Dunkirk
version. The After Dunkirk version was stronger, less afraid. It had been
awful, but I hadn’t quit. I had persisted. In battle I had won.