Intersection Column | Forgotten Heroes

by Elizabeth Camden

When I was in college, I used to walk past a gorgeous old house slowly being swallowed by climbing ivy and the passage of time. I’d heard that an elderly man lived there, and that he’d done heroic things during World War I. He was a hero, but not a soldier. A neighbor told me that he’d been a volunteer for a long-forgotten group of Americans who banded together to save an entire nation from famine.

I was fascinated and started researching the group he worked for: the Commission for the Relief of Belgium. This was in the 1980s and long before easy internet research, so I couldn’t find much about the oddly named organization. I got my degree, moved across the country, and rarely thought of that strange house and its reclusive owner.

Decades later, while writing a trilogy of novels set during the Great War, I remembered that idealistic group of people who banded together to help Belgium, and thought it might make the basis for a great novel.

Here’s the story: imagine a nation where the food supply was suddenly cut off and millions of people were in danger of starvation. That was the reality for Belgium in 1914. German forces had invaded, and the occupation disrupted the import of food and supplies. At that time, Belgium was the most heavily industrialized nation in the world, and they didn’t have the farmland to feed themselves. Entire communities teetered on the brink of famine, but most of Europe was too consumed with war mobilization to send help.

Then a remarkable American initiative sprang into action. Volunteers raised money and coordinated the delivery of millions of tons of food, averting an almost-certain calamity. Through creative solutions and sheer determination, they created one of the largest humanitarian operations the world had ever seen. Ships crossing the Atlantic carried grain, sugar, and milk; then volunteers in Belgium used the canal system for distributing supplies to every corner of the occupied nation. And yet, despite saving countless lives, the story has nearly vanished from memory—an extraordinary example of generosity and can-do spirit that once helped shape history.

In Beyond the Clouds, Delia is a fictional character who volunteers for the Commission for the Relief of Belgium. As a staunch pacifist, she cannot support the war, but is committed to alleviating the wreckage caused by the conflict. The man who once broke her heart is now a dashing war hero, but too injured to keep fighting. Suddenly, these two people who parted ways so bitterly years before must join forces to help coordinate life-saving aid.

Raising money and food was only part of the challenge. Delia crosses the ocean to live in occupied Belgium, overseeing the dispersal of food to nine million people. She is fearful of the dangerous Atlantic crossing and living in a war-torn land where she doesn’t speak the language, yet she finds the courage to go. I admired her. To me, people who act despite being afraid are more admirable than those simply blessed with fearlessness. Fiction can inspire us to be a little braver in our own lives, and it was a privilege to write about the courageous people who served the Commission for the Relief of Belgium. Beyond the Clouds is a high-stakes love story set against a backdrop of war and hope.

And as for that mysterious house I used to pass on my way to class? I never summoned the courage to knock on the door and ask the man his story. I was too shy, too timid. I don’t know if he would have welcomed speaking with me or not, but I missed my chance to find out.

I really wish I’d met that man. This incident is a small reminder that we often regret the things we don’t try more than the things we do. In the years since, I’ve carried that lesson with me to venture beyond my comfort zone.

While I’m sorry I never met that elderly man, I’m thrilled that walking past his house introduced me to this little-known chapter of World War I history. And now I’m grateful for the chance to share it with a wider audience—and to remind readers that heroism doesn’t always wear a uniform.

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About the Author

Elizabeth Camden is best known for her historical novels set in Gilded Age America, featuring clever heroines and richly layered story lines. Before she was a writer, she was an academic librarian at some of the largest and smallest libraries in America, but her favorite is the continually growing library in her own home. Her novels have won Christy, Carol, and RITA Awards and have appeared on the ECPA Bestsellers list. She lives in Citrus County, Florida, with her husband, who graciously tolerates her intimidating stockpile of books. Learn more at ElizabethCamden.com.

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About the Book

As teenagers, Delia Byrne and Finn Delaney fell in love while flying kites and dreaming of a future together—until betrayal tore them apart. Now, as America enters World War I, Delia works for peace as a paralegal and pacifist. A decorated war hero, Finn is eager to get back to the front but is assigned to use his fame to raise funds instead. A shared mission draws them together again, and old sparks of romance begin to stir—until duty sends them behind enemy lines in occupied Belgium.