I remembered three special men who have gone to this extent in What Leora Never Knew: Ivan Steenkiste from Belgium, Mathieu Carre from France, and Gaston Adier who is the mayor of Carling, France.  I just learned that Mathieu does has a copy of the book.

These three kind men are also mentioned in a story in Chapter 9: Memorial Day in The Immigrant and the Outlaw.

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.