1st Lt. L.H. Grayson, U.S. Army

The Letters and Photos of Leon and Mary Grayson, 1942 (continued)

Our maternal grandparents Leon and Mary Grayson, both natives of Savannah, Georgia, moved to Washington, D.C. in 1935. The couple preserved more than 100 of their letters and dozens more written to them by extended family. Perhaps 750 photos and negatives have also survived. Through these we are able to share in their adventures and hardships.

A Draft Deferment, a Poorly-Timed Letter

In April 1942 Leon was notified he had been awarded a hardship draft deferment, presumably after he had apprised the local draft board that Mary was pregnant with their first child. In what appears to have been a poorly-timed letter, Leon almost simultaneously requested a commission in the U.S. Army as a training or intelligence officer, perhaps hoping to avoid the possibility of being drafted as a combat soldier. The couple, married eight-plus years at that point, joyfully and anxiously anticipated the birth while hoping the Army might have limited interest in a 35 year-old junior officer expecting his first child.

An Open-Handed Couple, a Business-like Letter

According to their tax returns, Leon earned $2,400 in 1941 while Mary, a department store clerk and government typist, earned $321. Leon and Mary were always more generous and extravagant than they were frugal. Upon the death of Leon’s widowed father Col. William L. Grayson in April 1941, Leon received an advance on his inheritance, purchased their first car – a brand-new Pontiac – and the couple took a two-week long summer trip up the East Coast. Leon must have requested a further advance, as he received a business-like reply from his older brother Spence dated August 8, 1942:

“Dearest Leon, I received your nice letter this morning and am hastening to reply to it, because I want you to realize fully that I would never deprive any one of my brothers and sisters anything they needed, if I had the power to prevent it. [Older sister] Lynne is willing to sign the check… for $300.00. As soon as she returns it I will sign it and send it to you.”

Spence went on to describe the ongoing issues with their father’s estate, and acknowledged the unexpected difficulties that 32 year-old Mary was enduring in her pregnancy, further testified to by her lack of any earnings in 1942.

“I do hope so much that everything turns out just the way you and Mary want it and that, when the time comes, both Mary and the Baby will survive the ordeal in splendid shape and that the arrival will give both you and Mary a cup of happiness. Please do not think I have been trying to criticize you for I have not meant it that way. I am just in a hard position when I have to, more or less, advise everyone and try to do the things that I think Dad intended I was to do. My love to both of you, Affectionately your brother, Spence.”

A New Baby, An Upcoming Separation

Mary Ann Grayson was born August 26, 1942, with her mother Mary bearing up through the pain and complications of the birth and extended recovery. The couple arranged to have their child baptized on November 7, 1942. Having reported for a U.S. Army physical the previous day, Leon was aware that the wheels of the War Department were already in motion. Those wheels moved surprisingly quickly.

1st Lt. Leon H. Grayson, AUS-CAC (AA)

• Friday, November 20, 1942: “By direction of the President you are temporarily appointed and commissioned in the Army of the United States…. This commission will continue… for the duration of the war and six months thereafter unless sooner terminated.”
• Saturday, November 21 (from U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle): “Dear Mr. Grayson: You are hereby placed on indefinite leave without pay… commencing February 9, 1943, due to you having been called to active military duty.” The continuance of pay from the Justice Department until February could be attributed to government policy and/or accrued leave.
• Sunday, November 22: Leon departed for his first duty station (probably in their personal car, as it is almost certain that Mary and the baby accompanied him), and was sworn in as a First Lieutenant (1st Lt.) in the Army of the United States (AUS). Leon was assigned to the Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) 477th Anti-aircraft Battalion (AA). The station: Camp Stewart, Georgia, 40 miles west of the Graysons’ hometown of Savannah.

Camp Stewart was a new base, developed to be the Army’s primary Anti-aircraft artillery training center. For safety’s sake it was located in a lightly populated rural area, and on-base facilities were sorely lacking, though there was a regular bus to and from Savannah. Leon probably dropped off Mary and Ann and then spoke to his 42 year-old brother Spence that Sunday, as witnessed by two rather pointed letters, both dated Monday, November 23. Later correspondence indicates that Leon probably spent Thanksgiving Day and possibly even Friday November 26-27 with Mary and the baby in Savannah and at Tybee Beach.

Spence’s Pointed Letters

Leon and Mary were joyful, welcoming, and generous to a fault. They loved us with unqualified tenderness and affection, and we never doubted how fortunate we were to have our grandparents living only one city block away from us. We do not blame Spence for his harshness but it is undeniably uncomfortable reading his letters, even these 80 years later.

“I don’t feel a bit out of order in writing you this way.”

Letter #1: “Dear Leon:- I am inclosing [sic] herewith a check for $100.00 for you. You did not seem to be able to understand me… the Estate has less than $500.00 in it in cash and, because of your extravagance on spending everything you had, which amounted to $4,477.81, plus between $3,000 and $4,000 worth of stocks, you are now putting yourself in the position of draining the Estate for your personal needs…. I am, also, sending a check for $100.00 to Mary. It is unthinkable to me that you would so arrange your affairs that you would leave your wife and baby unprovided for in Washington.”

“It is my opinion that you would be better off if you would let Mary handle your finances and you should make an allotment to her, of at least two-thirds of your Army pay, and, in addition, you should let her draw what pay you have coming from the Department of Justice and let her pay it on your bills, because you have proven conclusively that you cannot handle your own finances…. [I]t might be a whole lot cheaper for Mary to come home and stay with her folks where she can live on your allotment and, at the same time, pay some of your debts.”

“You might very well say this is nonw [sic] of my damn business, and, perhaps, it is not, but, inasmuch as you are constantly broke and do not seem to be able to take care of yourself, I don’t feel a bit out of order in writing you this way…. [W]hen Dad was living you never squandered money the way you have in the last year and a half. I do wish for you every success in the Army and believe if you will apply yourself, as you are capable of doing, that you will make a real success, but now is the time for you to make up your mind to do it. Affectionately, your brother.”

Letter #2: “Dear Mary, I am inclosing [sic] herewith a letter I have just written to Leon. I cannot, for the life of me, understand what he has done with the cash he received in just a little over a year, in addition to the salary of $2,600 for a year and a half.“

“I was much surprised on yesterday [sic] when he told me you had no funds and that he had only $4.00 in his picket [sic]. I am not going to give you a long harangue… but somebody is going to have to take over Leon and his finances…. I think it is your duty, as his wife, to insist that he turn over everything to you and let you handle it all….”

“Of course, you can make your own decision, but it is much more expensive to live in Washington than Savannah…. [I]n your place, I would not do a damn thing until Leon makes ample provision for you and the baby by turning over what money he has coming from the Department of Justice and, also, giving you a monthly allotment out of his Army pay. I am sorry I had to call these things to your attention, but it seems like somebody needs some advice and you should take a firm hold or you and the baby will be the ones to suffer, because I know Leon is not going to let himself suffer at any time. With best wishes and love to both you and the baby, I am, Affectionately, Spence.”

Leon’s Subsequent Letter to Mary

“I think about those nice days at the beach and we’ll have some more fun soon.”

The only remaining letter we have from 1942 was mailed to Mary in Savannah and is marked “Saturday A.M.” (inferred date November 28). It is upbeat and jovial despite the notation “Enclosed: letter from Spence to bank” It reads:

“Darling Sweetheart, Just a line to say how much I love you and that I’ll see you after next weekend – the Bivouac ends Sunday so guess I won’t have a chance until then. I loved talking to you and our baby – You don’t know how much the “puppie” misses you.”

“I may get transferred in a month or so – probably will, but then you can’t tell – I even might go back to civilian life…. There doesn’t seem to be much future for the “over age in grade” officers in AA – And they are transferring them to other branches and letting them go left and right.”

“The bivouac isn’t bad, but the “puppie” gets tired out in the wilderness with sun, dirt, weeds, etc. Guess the old man isn’t what he used to be and would be better off in the “Chairborne” Army.”

“I love you Darling sweetheart more than the world and want you to have anything and everything you or Ann want – I think about those nice days at the beach and we’ll have some more fun soon. Give Daddy, Mother, and the family my love – Hug and Kiss our precious baby… and lots of hugs and kisses for the most beautiful, nicest, and most wonderful girls in the world. Your ‘Puppie'”

Transfers and Future Plans

Leon was correct about an upcoming transfer. A certificate headed “HEADQUARTERS, 35th Coast Artillery Brigade (AA) Camp Stewart, Georgia” and dated December 26, 1942 attests that Leon had satisfactorily completed the basic and advanced courses of Officers’ Troop School. A document dated January 7, 1943 indicates that Leon was already in Bayonne, New Jersey, and was ordered to report to Fort Totten, New York on January 11 for a five-week training course. The initial family plan did not seem to include Mary and Ann staying in Savannah, as life insurance paperwork filled out in December at Camp Stewart listed Washington, D.C. as the beneficiary address.