Letters from Josephine Gloria Wierzbowski to Pfc Talmage Preston Shaw: 1943 to 1945

Josephine Gloria Wierzbowski

Jul 2014 · iUniverse

About this ebook

After my fathers passing I was given a box containing just about all the letters my mother wrote to him. I always thought how nice it would be to be able to read them and possibly have them compiled and saved for our family. It was some years later after I became retired that I was in the mood to really sit down and begin the arduous job of trying to read the small handwriting that had been written decades earlier. There was no order to the box her letters. Some were in the original envelopes, some were crammed four or five together in one envelope or just bound loosely. Gloria did not date all of her letters and a time element had to be studied before transcribing them on the computer could begin. Having mom within driving distance or phone call away I was fortunate to be able to see if she could recall any details that I missed, names and places, or words that I could not read legibly. Even with early memory problems in her glory years Gloria was able to come through for me most of the times to get the context in order. After completing and rereading her letters it occurred to me that this type of communication will not be seen again by future generations who live in the 'cyber-world'. The art of penning and expressing oneself on paper is a dying art so-to-speak. Her letters are now a treasure of history; with all the small details and twists of growing up a teen and tidbits of life during late 1943 to mid 1945.

About the author

Born in Chicago 1926. Gloria was the youngest child of 6 siblings to the Wierzbowski family. Gloria was a high school student at the outbreak of World War II. Having lived a sheltered life during the Depression the war gave Gloria the opportunity to make a visit to Tennessee to visit two Army brothers, Ray and Jim, stationed at Camp Tyson in Paris, Tn. Arrangements were made at a home by one of her musician brother's girlfriend. On the last day of her visit Gloria attended a social party for a group of local young ladies and local soldier boys. Preston Shaw was one of those local soldiers, though from North Carolina. It must have been fate for both of them. Love at first sight. There was a cross county romance and many letters to each other afterwards. During the last months of the War the couple finally married after all the worries and doubts that a marriage would ever happen or could be possible. Gloria was made for marriage and raising seven of eight children.

Born in Chicago 1926. Gloria was the youngest child of 6 siblings to the Wierzbowski family. Gloria was a high school student at the outbreak of World War II. Having lived a sheltered life during the Depression the war gave Gloria the opportunity to make a visit to Tennessee to visit two Army brothers, Ray and Jim, stationed at Camp Tyson in Paris, Tn. Arrangements were made at a home by one of her musician brother's girlfriend. On the last day of her visit Gloria attended a social party for a group of local young ladies and local soldier boys. Preston Shaw was one of those local soldiers, though from North Carolina. It must have been fate for both of them. Love at first sight. There was a cross county romance and many letters to each other afterwards. During the last months of the War the couple finally married after all the worries and doubts that a marriage would ever happen or could be possible. Gloria was made for marriage and raising seven of eight children.