My Mother's Secret Wartime Sweetheart.

[scotrace]

My mom would have been a teen during the war, graduating around the time of the war's end. She passed away in 1996.

Among her things: this package from a private in the Army (apparently AAF). It is a boxed set of three colorful hankies, each with the old style USAAF logo, from a base in Sioux Falls, SD.
I know nothing about this other than what you see. I imagine that she wrote him as a pen pal. I have no idea if she knew him outside this letter writing circumstance. He felt comfortable enough to send a gift, so that's a clue.
I wish I knew the story. Here are the hankies.

The box they were mailed in. Pvt. Glenn A (Hanly? Haney?)


They are wrapped in this satin "pillow."






I'm guessing the young private bought them on base as a souvenir, and mailed them off. I'm very glad to have this. And the mystery!

 

[Captain Nemo]

That is a neat mystery. Could Private Haney be a cousin? Could he be someone she knew from school that was a couple years ahead of her, graduated and joined the Army?

 

[scotrace]

Both perfectly good possibilities.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

My Dad sent Grandma a small pillow from Mitchell Field in the NYC area where he was stationed before the war broke out. It looks VERY similar to the handkerchief set. It may have been USAAC not USAAF though being early in the war.

Later

 

[rjb1]

It's possible that "Sweetheart" overstates the situation. People were more hospitable in those days, especially to soldiers, and they could be from a guy that her family met socially or invited for a dinner.
Here in mid-TN there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers involved in the Tennessee Maneuvers and local people would invite them to dinner, to picnics, to church, or other social events. We have several photos in the family album of soldiers with my mother, my aunts, and some of their female friends. There are also photos of individual soldiers that were sent to her by the soldiers from various locations after they left Tennessee. I asked my mother who they were and she could not remember their names.
I didn't ask if she got any presents such as your mother got, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did.
There is no way to know how your mother felt about him, but I bet he was engaging in some wishful thinking about her. It's great that you have those.

 

[DharmaBum]

Wow....excellent stuff. The mystery makes it even better. Would love to know what your able to find out.


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