As I mentioned, my father and uncle joined the Marines on the same day in February of 1939. They obviously became buddies and shared stories about their respective families. Both came from rather large families – my mom being one of 11 and my dad one of 8.
They were stationed in Quantico, Virginia. Being located only 4 or 5 hours away from my grandparent’s, Harry and Mabel Parks, home in Allentown, Pennsylvania I guess they discussed a visit by my dad. And after a reasonable amount of time … or about two years … my dad and another Marine buddy, Charley Daniels, planned a visit in July with plans to have a double date with my mom and Aunt Lucy.
The family lore goes the my Uncle Frank had a photo of his three sisters near his bunk. My dad … so the story goes … looked at the photo and said, “This one’s too tall.” pointing at six foot tall Aunt Lucy. “This one’s too young.” pointing at 13 year old Aunt Louise. And he continued with … “If I ever get to Allentown, I want to date this one!” pointing at my future mother, Bernice. And to complete the deal, he put an arrow on the photo indicating his choice pointing at Bernice in the middle of the photograph.
