Diane Pirzada's Portraits of War

by Donna Teresa

Women’s History month is very important to me, not just in the month of March, but every day. The stories of ordinary women following their passion and making it a reality are inspiring. Diane Pirzada (dianepirzada.com) will soon be coming out with a book that I hope you will read. In addition to her public speaking engagements, you have probably read her amazing story in years past in newspapers, but the great news is that the story is being published in a book.

After taking a shopping trip to an antique store in 2004, Pirzada discovered more than a dress to wear to a World War II Valentine’s Day dance; she discovered long forgotten treasures from another time. Like all great discoveries, one thing leads to another and before you know it, there’s always more to a story.

Pirzada discovered items from an American Red Cross volunteer Rosabelle Hamann. Items such as Red Cross pins, dog tags, photographs and some amazing water color portraits of soldiers that Hamann had painted while she was in New Guinea and the Philippines in 1944-45. World War II was increasing in the Pacific and Hamann decided to join the hospital service of the American Red Cross and help with the war effort. Hamann’s portraits, made a lasting imprint in Pirzada’s mind and heart.

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Right: Tony Dawes with his portrait. The Daily Times-Farmington, New Mexico, photographer Dave Watson 

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Pirzada made it her mission to locate these soldiers and find out what had happened to them. She hoped they could tell their own stories. She also wanted to give the portraits to them. When Pirzada was able to make connections with some of these soldiers, it would change her life forever.

"I located four soldiers the first year," Pirzada said. "In 2007, I began sharing the story at various speaking venues. Now, I am writing a book "Portraits of War." The book is a combination of Rosabelle’s biography and my own faith driven story. And, of course, there is the search for these men and their stories. I have always had plans for this to be a big screen movie — New Guinea, the untold story of WWII.

"Rosabelle Hamann was a great role model for women. She put herself through college during the depression and the fact that she was a woman, who went to college in the 1930s makes her unique," Pirzada said. "After the war ended she was involved in finding homes for German orphans in America. She went to Berkeley in the 1950s and in 1976 joined the faculty of Monterey Peninsula College."

Pirzada’s work has been welcomed by many veterans and families.

"The feedback has been very positive and healing," Pirzada said. "I hope to have the original portraits placed somewhere in Washington, D.C., the Women’s War Memorial or possibly at the Fort Ord location for the new Central Coast Veteran’s Cemetery. It all depends on where this journey takes me."

Pirzada’s stories are fascinating. She has kept the story alive of this great woman volunteer who painted pictures of men who served this nation during a pivotal time in world history. She never knew these portraits would survive and help teach what sometimes cannot be found in the history books or classrooms. A person’s treasures are not always made of gold and jewels but instead a simple canvass painted with love and compassion. And that, in my opinion, is the best gift of all.

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ROSABELLE HAMANN
1915-2003

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Rosabelle was a remarkable woman who defied the odds and did what women of her time dared not do.

Rosabelle Hamann was a dedicated teacher, the foreign student advisor to Monterey Institute of International Studies, American Red Cross volunteer and a woman who made a difference in the world. She was born at Mora, Minnesota on November 21, 1915. Raised on a dairy farm, her high school teachers encouraged her to seek higher education. During the depth of the depression she was able to save enough money to enter the
University of Minnesota, where she earned a teaching degree in Home Economics.

After several years of teaching in Minnesota she went to visit friends in Los Angeles during the summer of 1942. While in LA she worked briefly for Western Airlines. WWII was underway and escalating in the Pacific. Like most Americans she wanted to help with the war effort and volunteered to join the hospital service of the American Red Cross.

She was sent to Hollandia, New Guinea and later the Philippines where she attended to sick and injured. It was here that she painted portraits of the soldiers in her care. The time serving in the Pacific would be one of the most important periods of Rosabelle’s life. Her experiences and memories from the war would alter the course of her life, and ultimately that of many others decades later.

After the war ended Rosabelle lived and worked in Europe teaching at the American high school in Heidelberg, Germany. She was interested in the cross- cultural adoptions occurring in Germany following the war. In the mid 1950’s she returned to the states and entered the University of California at Berkeley earning a masters degree. In the fall of 1956 she joined the faculty of Monterey Peninsula College where she taught Family Life Education (currently titled family and consumer science) for the next twenty years, retiring in 1976.

During her time at MPC  when she was the foreign student advisor, she established friendships that continued throughout her life. She traveled the world several times and kept in contact with families on many continents.

Rosabelle Hamann was always interested and concerned about people and how they lived. There is no doubt that she could not have possibly realized how many lives she had impacted. I never met her, but she forever changed the course of my life.  I am most grateful to be called to tell her untold story. Every life has a story worth telling.

 

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DIANE PIRZADA- INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER/WRITER

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"Setting out on faith alone, I had no idea what I would find or whom I would meet. Miraculously, I immediately found WWII soldier Joe Settimio still in his hometown. I learned about Joe, a true American hero, and the effects of war on his life and family, as well as the significant role Rosabelle played in his time of need. I found three more soldiers among the twelve portraits. This captivating adventure leads to a surprising series of events. Behind each portrait I found remarkable stories from the greatest generation, stories significantly relevant to those in service today. The search goes on, as the journey continues."  Diane Pirzada

Visit the portrait gallery to see who’s been found and whose story is still unknown
Official Diane Pirzada Web Site: http://www.dianepirzada.com/

 

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Donna Teresa writes for the Monterrey Herald.  She can be reached at donnateresa@sbcglobal.net