During the Second World War, the Christian organization The Gideons International distributed thousands of pocket New Testaments such as this one to American soldiers. This copy, however, was given to a civilian working on the home front. Vesta Aldora O’Donnell was given this Bible when she enrolled in telegraph school in Omaha, Nebraska. She moved to Washington state after graduation, where she worked as a telegrapher relaying messages from the Pacific Theater. In addition to the New Testament and Psalms, the Bible also includes a message from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, study aids, popular hymns such as “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” the national anthem, and military prayers such as the “Prayer of a Midshipman.”