Editing Margaret Mitchell (section)

==World War II==
[[File:Margaret Mitchell 1941 on USS Atlanta (CL-51).jpg|thumb|Mitchell (1941) in her  Red Cross uniform aboard the USS ''Atlanta'' (CL-51)]]
During [[World War II]], Margaret Mitchell was a volunteer for the [[American Red Cross]] and she raised money for the war effort by selling war bonds.<ref>Brown, E.F., et al., ''Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: a bestseller's odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood'', p. 225.</ref>  She was active in Home Defense, sewed hospital gowns and put patches on trousers.<ref name=Oliphant />  Her personal attention, however, was devoted to writing letters to men in uniform—soldiers, sailors, and marines, sending them humor, encouragement, and her sympathy.<ref name="daughter"/>{{rp|518}}

[[File:Margaret Mitchell Christens USS Atlanta (CL-104) 1944.jpg|thumb|left|upright|USS ''Atlanta'' (CL-104) is christened by Margaret Mitchell Marsh (1944)]]
The [[USS Atlanta (CL-51)|USS ''Atlanta'' (CL-51)]] was a light cruiser used as an anti-aircraft ship of the [[United States Navy]] sponsored by Margaret Mitchell and used in the naval [[Battle of Midway]] and the [[Eastern Solomons]]. The ship was heavily damaged during night surface action on November 13, 1942, during the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]] and subsequently scuttled on orders of her captain having earned five [[Battle star#Navy warships|battle stars]] and a [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] as a "heroic example of invincible fighting spirit".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/atlanta-cl-51-iii.html|title=Atlanta III (CL-51)|website=NHHC|access-date=June 4, 2024|archive-date=June 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604125911/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/atlanta-cl-51-iii.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Mitchell sponsored a second light cruiser named after the city of [[Atlanta]], the [[USS Atlanta (CL-104)|USS ''Atlanta'' (CL-104)]]. On February 6, 1944, she christened  ''Atlanta'' in Camden, New Jersey, and the cruiser began fighting operations in May 1945. ''Atlanta'' was a member of task forces protecting fast carriers, was operating off the coast of [[Honshū]] when the Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945, and earned two battle stars. She was finally sunk during explosive testing off [[San Clemente Island]] on October 1, 1970.<ref>[http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-a/ix304.htm USS Atlanta (IX-304, formerly CL-104), 1964–1970] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108084914/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-a/ix304.htm |date=November 8, 2012 }}. Retrieved January 22, 2013.</ref>