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The war in China
In January 1941 the couple travelled to China. She had to write a story for "Collier's" and he was to find out about the consequences of the war for U.S. economic interests for the "PM" newspaper. They travelled around a lot by aeroplane, truck, car, boat or horse and saw the poor life of the Chinese. They also met a Chinese general. While Martha visited Singapore and Java, he went back to the United States via Hongkong. In these years their relationship suffered from Martha not being at home while she reported from many different places in the world.
World war II
While Martha travelled through Europe, Hemingway helped the U.S.. He organised a spy ring in Cuba to defend it against German or Japanese spies. He engaged six full-time agents and more than twenty helpers. This ring observed supporters of Hitler and Franco from 1942 until 1943. Next he converted his boat "Pilar" into a spy boat to follow German submarines in the golf of Mexico.
But Hemingway wanted to work at the front, too. He was engaged by "Collier's" as chief correspondent, instead of his wife. She was angry at him and moved into another hotel. In the meantime he fell in love with Mary Welsh, a reporter for "Time-magazine".
Although Hemingway was wounded in a car accident, he flew with aeroplanes and he watched D-Day from a bomber. His wife Martha even landed with the troops on an ambulance ship. Hemingway came to France soon after and followed the 22nd regiment. This regiment first arrived in Paris, destroyed the "Siegfried-line" and defended their position successfully during the German attack in the Ardennes.
Years later he would narrate that arriving in Paris he directly drove to the hotel "Ritz" to drink something at the bar. In Paris he had always lived in the "Ritz", there was a kind of association: Ritz-Paris, Paris-Ritz.
He got wounded during a German attack, and for some days he was governor of Rambouillet.
He questioned prisoners, collected weapons and watched for German positions, but he was almost sent back to the United States because of his behaviour. He considered the battle of "Hürtenwald" as the highlight of the war. This battle was so hard that he himself took a weapon - against the convention of Genf - and shot German soldiers.
They got divorced in 1945 and immediately he tried to convince Mary Welsh to marry him.
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