As a 25-year-old Red Cross volunteer in World War II, Rosemary Norwalk served coffee and sympathy, donuts and hope to soldiers stationed in Southampton, England. As a retired public relations officer living in Seattle, Norwalk now serves the entire Red Cross World War II volunteer force with her book, Dearest Ones: A True World War II Love Story. A memoir by way of journal entries and the letters Norwalk sent to her family during her service tenure, the book illuminates the volunteers’ important role in bolstering the spirits of men being sent to, or returning from, the slaughter. While detailing every expenditure on sundries like gum and cigarettes, the Red Cross kept incomplete records of its World War II volunteers. Dearest Ones remembers their good deeds. Hear Norwalk’s tales when she reads from her book at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 3040 M St. NW. Free. (202) 965-9880. (Christopher Porter)