The day the second atomic bomb was dropped, Clabe and Leora Wilson’s postman brought a telegram to their acreage near Perry, Iowa. One son was already in the U.S. Navy before Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Four more sons worked with their father, tenant farmers near Minburn until, one by one, all five sons were serving their country in the military. The oldest son re-enlisted in the Navy. The younger three became U.S. Army Air Force pilots. As the family optimist,
Leora wrote hundreds of letters, among all her regular chores, dispensing news and keeping up the morale of the whole family, which included the brothers’ two sisters. (One of them was my mother.) Leora’s fondest wishes were to have a home of her own and family nearby. Leora’s Letters is the compelling true account of a woman whose most tender hopes were disrupted by great losses. Yet she lived out four more decades with hope and resilience.
Five brothers served. Only two came home.
What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers is my journey of research and remembrance, and the companion book to Leora’s Letters. Junior Wilson is buried here in Iowa. Daniel Wilson is buried in France. Dale Wilson, my Aunt Darlene’s twin, has never been found.
Danny, Dale, an Junior have been very much on my mind this week.
Thank you, Liz, for saying their names.
You’re welcome, Joy. It’s the least I can do.
The kindness of strangers ❤️
It certainly is. And he’s been doing this for years.
Dale, Danny, and Junior are remembered today. Well done, Joy.
Bless you, John.
What kindness from Matthieu. So moving, Joy. Thinking of you today and all the families honoring those we’ve lost. I stand in awe of the sacrifices. 💝
Thank you, Vicki. I think Mathieu has been doing this for nearly a decade, at least before Leora’s Letters was even published.
Incredible. Chills and wet eyes. I love the reminders of all the big-hearted people in the world. Thank you, Joy. 💝
The photo of your Uncle Daniel’s well-cared-for gravesite in France is touching. God bless Mathieu Carre for his mission to show seven families that their loved ones haven’t been forgotten for their sacrifices-even in France! 🙂
Nancy, that cemetery holds the graves of more than 10,000 Americans, even more than the Normandy American Cemetery. Most of those in the Lorraine Cemetery, in eastern France, fell during the Battle of the Bulge. Those who live there are so thankful our boys saved them from tyranny. I guess that for one cemetery in the Netherlands, one local family has adopted one of the graves throughout!
That’s wonderful! God bless that Netherlands’ family. 🙏
There are dozens of them. Yes, God bless them.
Wow. I was thinking of the Wilson brothers today. And the Atomic Marine, and the only WW I vet I ever knew, Lonezo Montoya. I wish I’d interviewed him years ago.
Amen.
I think of our uncles often, along with my friends killed in Vietnam. Memorial Day is a good time for the beach, a picnic or BBQ, but a great time to remember those men and women that sacrificed all of their tomorrows, so we could have today.
Bob, it’s sad that I can no longer get to Perry to leave flowers at the Wilson stones. I noted that yesterday and learned that a veteran from Minburn stops there every year, to remember, to straighten the little flags, and to say their names. God bless Don Richardson.
It’s heartwarming to read about the great service of Dale, Danny, and Junior, the kindness of Mathieu, and the fabulous gravesite in France, Joy.
Amen, Tim!
I share in the sentiment of T. W.Dittmer in the above comments. Thank God for the service of these brave souls!
Thank you, Linda.