322 days. Three-hundred and twenty-two days since she last held her husband’s hand – over 46 weeks and still anxiously counting. Her entire meticulously documented pregnancy lasted demonstrably less than that – 252 days since she received the news from her obstetrician, the very same doctor who delivered both her and her older sister.
And now, the young couple’s baby was just over a month old and her husband had never seen his daughter, never once held his beautiful baby girl who lay asleep, wrapped in layers because the heat from the stove was far from sufficient to keep the house warm. She could stoke the fire by adding extra to keep her infant comfortable, but that would mean having to conserve and ration even more for the frigid days ahead.
Although the groundhog did not make his customary annual appearance on the 2nd, it was well understood by now that the furry prognosticator would have seen his long, dark shadow when he emerged – forecasting six more agonizing weeks of an already unusually harsh winter. Late October had brought abnormally cool, foreboding weather and by early November, a hard freeze had already set in.
Dawn was just breaking and she had to brave the extreme cold in order to get a look at the newspaper headline before her neighbor retrieved the morning edition. She canceled her subscription months ago, having to cut out any unnecessary expenses. So, she always tried to sneak a quick peek at the latest, top-of-the-fold reports.
This morning’s masthead gave her hope, declaring, “Americans Take Kasserine Gap in Tunisia; British Probe Mareth Outposts; Nazi Attacks Slow Soviet Drive.”
She rushed back inside and turned on the radio, setting the volume low in order not to disturb her sleeping baby, waiting to hear the latest news about the war. Perhaps, it would give her an explanation of the printed headline. Maybe even some key details. Anything would be welcome, anything that is but another unannounced visit by a courier.
The last such instance was frightening enough. A man in a familiar uniform with a rather ordinary face nonchalantly delivered a most disturbing message from the US War Department – her husband, Sergeant Edward Kelly, was M.I.A. – Missing In Action. His last known location, somewhere in Tusinia in the Maghreb region of North Africa with the Army’s American II Corps.
Lilly didn’t know very much about the so-called Dark Continent and had to carefully, slowly turn her grandfather’s old, faded globe to pinpoint the country’s location. But, it did match the postmark from the last letter Eddie sent, received back in December, well before Christmas when she was in her third trimester.
He tried to write when possible, though it was difficult, given his duties. Lilly understood the situation but wished the circumstances were different. She certainly wasn’t the only wife and mother struggling. Her new husband was among the 3 million to be drafted in 1942 and was given two weeks to report for the Army’s 17-week-long boot camp.
They were married at the courthouse in early April, hoping their official nuptials would keep Eddie state-side. But, when he arrived at boot camp a week later, he learned his new marital status did not make a difference to the War Department. After completing basic training in August, he was shipped off to faraway Africa. His first letter was postmarked in September but didn’t reach her until after Halloween.
He expressed high spirits but in a nearly unfamiliar language. Lilly could tell his words were a facade meant to prevent her from worrying. But, she knew Eddie too well, having been classmates ever since middle school and dating through their senior year of high school. The young couple always planned to wed, though under much different conditions.
An early spring ceremony at their local church with their lifelong pastor and the reception in the lakeside park. Then, off to a warm climate for the honeymoon. A few years later, they’d start a family. Lilly always wanted her firstborn to be a boy and her second, his baby sister.
Now, present reality was far different. She had their baby in mid-January and could not manage the household alone, even with Eddie’s Army pay coming directly to their mailbox. So, her older sister, Janie, moved in and took a job at the local factory – a regular Rosie the Riveter they’d occasionally joke. It was something they were used to, relying on one another since their parents passed away in the mid-30s.
The girls’ mother died first, suffering from pneumonia, trying to care for their terminally ill father, who spent his last years vainly trying to fight off lung cancer. Eventually, he had to bury his wife in a non-descript potter’s field in an unmarked mass grave. His death came months later in a damp, cold cardboard Hooverville shack, leaving his daughters resigned to the Orphan Train Movement, living with a foster family until they were old enough to move out on their own.
Janie and Lilly had always been close and now, needed each other more than ever. Her big sister was struck with a dangerous childhood disease that nearly took her life. But, Janie survived, although it left her unable to have children. She eventually married, but the relationship didn’t last due to her husband’s gambling and infidelity.
The couple tried to work it out, but he continued to struggle. Then, it came to an abrupt end when he got into deep debt with the wrong people and was never seen or heard from again.
Janie’s heartbreak left her alone and with Eddie deployed and Lilly needing help, it was only sensible the sisters live together. Janie worked the second shift, so she could help take care of her niece.
They decided together this was the only logical arrangement, given that caring for a newborn and maintaining a household was very difficult on the meager salary of an enlisted soldier, particularly with the aftereffects of the Great Depression still lingering heavily on the economy. In fact, it would still be at least two years before the recovery fully occurred.
However, even with Janie working in the plant, money remained tight, and every cent counted. The sisters could barely afford to keep the lights on and put food on the table. Each paycheck was another brief reprieve between them and the street.
So, they had to be very particular and discriminate about every single choice when it came to money. It also meant they spent practically all their time in their house. Only when the weather was pleasant could they go to the park or take a walk around the neighborhood. But most of the time, they listened to the radio for entertainment, to pass the time, and most importantly, to stay up-to-date with the latest events.
Lilly listened carefully to the news broadcast, hoping to hear something about the headline she just read. By this time, she knew the news media was full of propaganda but couldn’t help but consume as much of it as possible. Even though she understood what she read and heard was often misleading, outright inaccurate, or lies, it didn’t matter. She, like so many others with loved ones deployed, would rather hear good fake news than genuine bad news.
It was a common practice of the day. The US government established the Office of War Information or OWI in June of 1942, by executive order of the President – Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its primary purpose was coordinating and disseminating information about the war effort both domestically and internationally.
One of OWI’s core functions was to create and distribute wartime propaganda to boost morale, encourage support for the war, and counter enemy propaganda. This involved producing posters, films, radio broadcasts, and other media to convey messages of patriotism and unity.
However, such efforts set up unrealistic expectations among the general public, though. In other words, it had unintended consequences. Mothers, fathers, and siblings believing the messaging, could totally be taken by surprise when couriers showed up on their doorsteps. An experience Lilly never wanted to repeat, especially now that she had no real idea about her husband’s whereabouts or his safety.
She kept listening to the radio, pretending to enjoy the music while doing a few chores. The house was cold, with a biting chill making its way inside, the thermometer on the front porch read just below freezing. Within the house, it could not have been more than forty degrees out of range of the dying embers smoldering inside the stove.
Lilly spread another blanket over her sleeping baby, then brewed a pot of coffee for her and her sister, waiting anxiously for the next news break or alert. Meanwhile, Janie mended her work uniform, carefully repairing a small rip.
As Lilly finished the dishes in the sink and placed them on the drying rack, bumper music suddenly interrupted the song playing, and a familiar voice spoke, announcing breaking news.
He described a chaotic scene that recently unfolded in Europe, recounting the events that had occurred during the Battle of Stalingrad – a victory for the Allies that took five long months to achieve. One that was now twenty-three days old but still being hailed.
Lilly stood close by to the transmitter waiting nervously for more news. She listened intently but impatiently, eager for something more up-to-date. Then the broadcaster teased the upcoming segment before going into a lengthy live read. Frustrated by the delay, she slammed her cup down on the counter around the corner, spilling coffee onto the floor.
The unexpected thud startled Janie, who rushed into the kitchen. Just then, the announcer resumed his news break, revealing an astounding victory achieved in Africa. He described in great detail how the Americans had run the Nazis out of the Kasserine Gap in Tunisia, defeating German General Erwin Rommel.
The sisters listened closely, carefully digesting every word, hoping to hear something about Eddie’s unit. As the radio journalist continued, he gave the Army’s American II Corps special congratulations, thanking them for their valiant efforts.
But, it was all an act – even if it was unbeknownst to the broadcaster. In reality, the circumstances on the ground in North Africa were quite different. Nonetheless, Lilly and Janie felt a great deal of pride and relief. It was quite possible Eddie was reunited with his unit and helped to drive the Nazis out of the Kasserine Pass – though they had no way of knowing.
They hugged one another and continued about their day, Janie returning to her uniform mending and Lilly attending to her daughter, replacing her baby’s soiled cloth diaper with a new one, then dressing her in warm clothing. Next, she mixed evaporated milk with a little water and added a small amount of oatmeal.
As she fed her tiny little girl, she imagined opening a new letter from her husband, reading with great joy he was safe and sound and due to come home soon. The daydream gave her a lot of comfort, and she smiled at the very thought of her family finally being reunified.
Lilly put her daughter in a playpen near the stove, making sure she was accompanied by her favorite stuffed animal, then washed out her empty bottle. While she resumed her household chores, cheerful music played in the background. As she started to do the laundry and finish up her morning routine, a shadow appeared, the sky darkened and the wind picked up, indicating a storm was imminent.
Static began to crack, interrupting the song on the radio. The noisy interference steadily increased, a very common phenomenon Lilly had heard numerous times before, but this time, it triggered an eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach. The distortion increased in frequency, compelling Lilly to turn the receiver off.
An uneasiness started to grip her as lightning struck in the distance, followed by a booming, startling clap of thunder that resonated through the house, causing her baby to cry out in fear. Lilly quickly picked up her daughter and held her close, attempting to pacify her infant, as Janie ran into the room, offering her assistance.
While she comforted her child, gently rocking her daughter in her arms, she looked out the living room window and caught a glimpse of a man wearing a uniform and carrying a satchel, slowly walking down the sidewalk, clumsily putting on a slicker as a light freezing rain began to come down.
Lilly abruptly turned away, refusing to look again, indulging an almost superstitious instinct. If she just ignored him, the messenger would simply pass by, continue down the sidewalk, and eventually disappear. Hopefully, never to be seen again on her block.
She tried to keep herself momentarily occupied, attempting to sing a sweet lullaby to her baby, but could not concentrate and experienced great difficulty due to a growing and stubborn lump in her throat that caused her to hum instead, though even that wasn’t really possible with her elevated stress level.
Notwithstanding her mother’s unease, the infant calmed down, allowing Lilly to put her back in the playpen, next to her favorite stuffed animal. But another crack of thunder immediately threw the newborn into an utter panic, forcing her mother to pick her up again.
Rocking her baby gently, Lilly turned the radio back on for some soft, soothing music, but it spit out more static, with a noisy buzz that scared her infant, causing the tiny little girl to cry. She hurriedly turned the receiver off again and started to pace back and forth, unwittingly exposing herself to the courier outside, who was now walking up to the porch of a house only a few doors down.
A strong wind whipped against the house and the fire in the stove suddenly died out, allowing the frigid chill outside to creep into the home unabated. Janie swiftly filled the stove broiler and lit it again but to no avail – it was too damp and could not easily be rekindled – it would take quite a bit of time to restart and even more time to effectively warm the room.
Meanwhile, the baby continued to inconsolably cry. Frustrated but not dissuaded, Lilly rocked her infant and begged the tiny girl to stop whining in as much of a sympathetic voice as she could muster. Her exasperation grew and now, the messenger was starting to walk down the sidewalk toward her house.
Janie clumsily tried to revive the dead fire while Lilly desperately continued to calm her daughter in vain as the rain freezing rain kept falling, the wind howled, and the thunder boomed once more.
All the while, the courier slowly strolled up the walkway, right to their house, fishing through his overstuffed bag.
“No! Not again!” Lilly thought. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to play out. The mailman should have delivered a letter from Eddie in which he joyfully declared his eminent return and the start of their new life together as a whole family.
The messenger climbed the steps to their porch, hurriedly pulling a package out of his tote, containing new, neatly folded handkerchiefs. He opened the package, took a cloth mouchoir out, unfolded it, carefully refolded it, and then quickly stuffed it in his dry, inner shirt pocket.
The courier gently knocked on the front door but it made a loud, foreboding sound, sending a fright through the sisters who reluctantly reached to turn the knob and open the door.
With her eyes welling with tears that began to stream down her cheeks, Lilly greeted the man in a timid, trembling voice, squeezing her baby tight, as if to shield herself from the frightening situation.
The messenger somberly tipped his hat, reached into his bag, and pulled out an envelope. He read the print to ensure he had the right address, then presented the communication.
Janie immediately stepped in front of her sister and snatched the envelope from the man, wiping tears away from her eyes.
She took a deep breath, swallowed hard, sighed, and tore open the envelope, pulling out a yellow cable, sent from the War Department.
Janie hesitantly unfolded the telegram section by section and started to read the message. In a matter of moments, she began trembling and erupted into tears. With her hands shaking uncontrollably, she passed the message to her sister, putting her free hand over her mouth.
Lilly frantically sobbed as she read the yellow cable, then began to quiver, reading the message again. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Her husband Eddie had been found and was on his way home to be reunited with his wife and child.
Balling, Lilly clenched the cable tightly, and threw her free arm around the messenger, completely catching the courier by surprise.
Seeing his confusion, she pulled her arm back, unfolded the telegram, and held it up for him to read. As his chest swelled with pride, he smiled happily, and they all shared a joyful laugh in much-needed relief after such a tense introduction.
The sisters thanked the man profusely, kissing him on the cheek and celebrating the good news. Lilly hugged him again, grinned cheerfully, and thanked him once more.
Then, she looked down at his open satchel, and soberly seeing it was still stuffed full of telegrams from the War Department, the smile gradually disappeared from her face. He had many more deliveries to make and practically none of them, if any, would be good news.
With a somber sigh, she hugged the messenger for the last time and gave him another kiss on the cheek. In return, he hung his head and nodded in silent acknowledgment.
Then, they watched him slowly walk three houses down the block, nervously take another cable out of his pouch, and reluctantly ring the doorbell.
