The article about Camp Roberts’ barracks demolition brought back memories of being a 20-year-old USO hostess and being bused from Los Angeles to a Saturday night dance at Camp Roberts. There were cries of outrage when the L.A. Examiner headlined, “Italian Prisoners of War Dance with USO Hostesses while American Soldiers Can’t Attend.”

We hostesses were aware that some of our dance partners didn’t converse with us, but we were unaware they were prisoners of war. One more memory of World War II: While riding on the bus through San Luis Obispo, little did I dream that one day I would be happy to live here.