“The crew did not name or come over in the ‘Mary Ruth.’ On the nose of the ship her name is written, and under it 'Memories of Mobile.’ … A rumor has swept through the airfields that some powerful group in America has protested about the names of the ships and that an order is about to be issued removing those names and substituting the names of towns and rivers. It is to be hoped that this is not true. Some of the best writing of the war has been on the noses of bombers. The names are highly personal things, and the ships grow to be people. Change the name of Bomb Boogie to St. Louis, or Mary Ruth of Mobile Memories to Wichita or the Volga Virgin to Davenport, and you will have injured the ship… The names must not be changed.”
- Once There Was a War, John Steinbeck.
- Once There Was a War, John Steinbeck.