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Show 'LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON' Statistics Show Equal Foreign Marriage Rate for Both Wars Influx of war brides to all parts of the United States leads' to the general impression that G.I.s serving overseas during World War II were more addicted to marrying foreign girls than were their doughboy fathers of World War I. From the British Isles, France and Germany, even from far-away Australia Aus-tralia and the Philippines, have come bride ships transport ing war wives to America to Join their former G.I. husbands. The common impression that the average G.I. of World War II was more inclined to take a foreign wife than was his counterpart of World War I is contradicted in statistics compiled by Metropolitan Life Insurance In-surance company. Records indicate that there were about 52,500 marriages with foreign girls during World War II. compared com-pared with an estimated 4,000 to 8,000 during the war of a quarter century ago. Records for war marriages mar-riages at that time are very incomplete. in-complete. Despite the Increased number, num-ber, however, the foreign mar-rlage mar-rlage rate of the two generations of servicemen is practically equal. t, Longer duration of World War II and the far greater numbers serving serv-ing overseas account for the increase in-crease in marriages, statisticians point out. Third Have Children. Duration of the war also is responsible re-sponsible for an increased number of children in war marriages. The 52,500 foreign brides coming to the U. S. to Join their husbands were accompanied by 17,500 children, indicating in-dicating that nearly a third had children. In a majority of cases there was only one child, although there are instances of as many as three children. War marriages were most com-mon com-mon in European and Mediterranean Mediterran-ean theaters. Nearly 60,000 of the 70,000 brides and children camt from these two areas and they represented rep-resented more than 30 different nationalities. na-tionalities. Great Britain had the largest per centage of war brides, 75 per cent, followed by France and Italy witt 15 per cent each, Belgium and Ireland Ire-land with 3 per cent each, with about 4 per cent from the othei countries of Europe and North Af rica. Many From Australia. From the Pacific area came 10.0OC war brides, 85 per cent of whom were from Australia. Another 10 pel cent are from New Zealand and t per cent from other countries, particularly par-ticularly the Philippines. Age of war brides varies considerably, con-siderably, with marked concentrations concen-trations in the late teens and early twenties. Just as personnel of the armed forces was recruited from every state in the Union, so will thesi wives and children of ex-G.I.s set tie in every part of the country. |
