Chapter 3 of My Journey

Don't know what happened, but this post disappeared and reappeared.  During that time, I was able to read more letters and get more details and dates which I will add.  Thanks for reading!

*********************************

Continuing the saga and love story of my parents. I finally found all the letters from March of 1942 until December of 1945. Way more than I thought. My project this weekend is to sort them into years.

After my parents met in person on December of 1942, the tone of the letters begins to change slowly. It makes me giggle to see daddy going from signing his letter very formally with first and last name and rank. Then it becomes - Levi. Then it becomes - Always, Levi. By the time he was shipped overseas about July of 1943, they were madly in love. From letters over 8 months and one meeting - they fell in love! My dad was quite the romantic letter writer which kind of fits as we knew him. He and mom held hands everywhere they went until they were separated by Alzheimers and nursing home. Mom also sat on his lap in the easy chair from time to time. We kids knew what real love was.

As far as I can tell without reading the hundreds of letters, my parents only saw each other one time before daddy was shipped over seas.  Dad's letters are romantic but he hated the censorship.  He said that every letter had to be read first and censored and that it bothered him a whole lot to have someone else read his love letters before my mom did.

Since it will take me a long time - months or a year - to read all of the letters, I will finish chapter 3 from my memory.

If I remember correctly, my parents saw each other twice more when dad came to the US on furlough. On one of his furloughs, they decided to take a long walk. They found a really nice place to sit and rest, under a big huge tree. The area was beautiful according to my mom, with lots of trees and grass. There, my dad proposed. When he proposed, daddy told mom that he guessed they would have plenty of privacy because he knew that the people around him wouldn't be bothering him. Mom looked at him like he was nuts because there wasn't a soul in sight. Then she started looking around at their surroundings. My dad had proposed to mom in an old GRAVEYARD! They both started laughing and she then said yes.

After he went back to Ireland, they continued to write. They wrote letters from March of 1942 to November of 1945.  Three and a half years of letters.  According to daddy's letters, his orders to come home were cancelled 3 times.  They would get their hopes up, and then his travel orders would be cancelled.  His last letter to mom was November 30.  He was coming in on the Queen Mary, leaving England on Dec. 9.  Dad told us kids that when their ship entered New York harbor, it was a wonder the boat didn't tip to one side. When the soldiers saw the Statue of Liberty, every soldier on the boat ran to that side of the ship to gaze at her. Makes me have goosebumps.

Daddy got to Pennsylvania on December 18.  Mom and family picked him up at the train station, then they went on back to my grandparents home.  Daddy stayed with his cousin while he was there.  Mom and dad hadn't even set a firm date because they weren't sure when dad would get home. So my mom organized a wedding in about 12 days - set the date, got her dress, the photographer, the flowers, the church, the cake all in that time. 12 days - amazing! Daddy got a new suit and mom said he looked very handsome in it. Their wedding rehearsal was on New Years Day in the afternoon!

On the day of the wedding, January 2, 1946, my dad was a little late to his own wedding. He and his cousin were driving to the church from a neighboring town. The roads were icy and nearly impassable. They had to creep along so they wouldn't slide in a ditch. He made it, they got married and spent the first night with mom's sister and husband. Her sister, Elsie and husband, Al, put crackers in mom and dad's bed the first night!!!

As far as I can remember , my parents saw each other only 3 times before they got married. That is how powerful letter writing was back then.

And from that love story came us three kids, a move to Oklahoma briefly, New Mexico even more briefly and then to Fowler, Kansas where they lived for 53 years. On their 50th wedding anniversary, they renewed their vows - and there wasn't a dry eye in the church.

Rest in peace mom and daddy - I miss you every day.



P.S.  I just found a pricelss letter.  My grandma F. in PA wrote to my OK grandma the day after mom and dad got married.  Ok foks couldn't come because of the distance and dead of winter.  Grandma F told my OK grandma a little about the wedding but wanted mom and dad to share most of it.  Grandma F told OK grandma that they all loved Levi (my dad) and hoped that they would love June.  Grandma F says that June is kind of timid but she thinks the OK family will love her as much as they love Levi.  Oh My goodness, what a treasure!  In the letter, Grandma F. of PA talked about how they got mom and dad together!