Lots of Love – My Mother, A Wise Military Wife

Posted On September 26, 2020

The Military Wife, Who is a Mother, Endures Difficulties

I’ve been thinking about my mother quite a bit this week and how wise she was. Thoughts were triggered by a post a friend, Jessica, made on Facebook. She is a military wife with three young children and she was posting about how hectic things were trying to move from the East Coast to Hawaii. She had professional movers packing their belongings. She said it was quite stressful, which, no doubt, it was.

Her post made me think of my mother and what her life was like when my dad was stationed in various locations in the States and then in Europe during World War 2. Both of my sisters had been born before he joined the Army.

My parents rarely spoke about this time and my sisters were too young to remember much about it so what I recall may be slightly inaccurate and is based upon what I’ve heard mentioned throughout the years.

I remember Mother saying that she and my sisters followed my dad to Texas and somewhere up north, maybe Michigan. I know they also took a train from Mexico, MO, to Louisiana. She would stay in an apartment while he was on base. I don’t think she ever stayed at any of those locations for any length of time, but she did whatever she could to stay near him while stationed in the U.S. That couldn’t have been easy with little money and two young girls.

When she wasn’t following him, Mother and my sisters lived in Columbia, MO, and usually had sisters or cousins living with them to help pay the rent.

The story of my parent’s marriage is truly a Love Story. One year for Christmas, I gave my parents books they could write in to share their life and memories with me. Each day had a question for them to answer. Those books have become some of my most prized possessions.

One question was “Relate your happiest memory as a youth.” My dad wrote, “The first time I saw Mildred. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.”

They met at a Sunday School party when she was a freshman and he was a senior. Another question was, “What qualities first attracted you to my father? Mother wrote, “He was tall and handsome. He was friendly–At 93, he is still tall and handsome.” Daddy said throughout his life that Mother was the prettiest girl he ever met and she was still the prettiest. They married when she was 19 and he was 23.

World War 2

Life in the military was so different then because of communications. There was no Facebook, FaceTime or internet. There were no cell phones. Mother followed him around because that was the easiest way to stay connected. When he went to Europe, most of the communication stopped. I know it was difficult for all families who had someone fighting in the war; not knowing where they were or how they were, or if they were even alive.

My parents did write to each other but mail delivery wasn’t consistent or fast. After some time, my dad wrote my mother a letter expressing how very much he was missing her. In it he talked about how hard it was being away from her. He stated that many of the soldiers were cheating on their wives with women they were meeting overseas.

A Wise Decision

Naturally, this gave my mother some worry. She could feel the longing in his words. She trusted him, but, being the Wise woman she was, she also took action.

She got a manicure, made sure her make-up and hair were perfect and donned a black velvet pantsuit. Then, even though money was scarce, she had some professional photographs taken.

She sent the pictures to my dad in a letter where she wrote, “Don’t forget what’s waiting for you at home.”

I’ve never read these letters, but I think one of my nieces has one of them. These two pictures are favorites in my family, both because of how she looked and the story behind the pictures. Wouldn’t you agree that my mother was a wise woman?

A Long Marriage

Daddy returned to his beautiful wife after the war and they were married for 73 years before he passed away in 2010.

I have other stories I will share about my mother and the wisdom she exhibited. She taught me so much about love and marriage.