The Letters of Leon and Mary Bell Grayson, Jun-Sep 1944
Our maternal grandparents Leon and Mary (Bell) Grayson, natives of Savannah, Georgia, moved to Washington D.C. in 1935 after Leon was offered a position in the U.S. Justice Department. In November 1942 Leon, then 10 years removed from his past experience as a junior officer in the Georgia National Guard, was ordered into the wartime U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) less than three months after their first child Mary Ann was born. The couple preserved dozens of letters and other documents through which we are now able to share in the adventures, joys, and occasional hardships of “Puppie” and “Mummie,” the pet names they used for one another.
East Coast Postings
Newly commissioned 1st Lieutenant Leon Grayson was significantly “over age in grade” at 36, and the Army wasn’t sure how to utilize men like him. The whole family returned to Savannah when Leon was initially posted to nearby Camp Stewart for training. By early January 1943 Mary and the baby had returned to Washington, though they visited periodically during Leon’s short stints at CAC bases in Bayonne, NJ and Queens, NY into March 1943, and often during his ensuing year-long assignment to Fort Eustis in Newport News, VA. Leon was briefly reassigned to Camp Stewart in May 1944. Mary and Ann also returned to Georgia to live with Mary’s parents and younger siblings. Though it was almost certainly discussed, no mention is made in any surviving letter of the June D-Day offensive in Europe. Lawrence Morgan, the fiancé of Mary’s 21-year old sister Betty, waded ashore at Normandy on D-Day+5 on June 12. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps were simultaneously approaching the Philippines, where Leon’s younger brother Bill had been a Japanese prisoner of war for more than two years.
“When our new little angel comes…”
Leon meanwhile left Savannah alone on June 17, 1944 for Camp Davis, NC to appear before an Army CAC board to decide his future. Leon wrote on June 18: Have a nice room – Much nicer than Eustis or Stewart. Am at the Officer’s Club listening to the piano – Smoking a cigar, having a beer and loving and thinking of my wonderful, beautiful girls. Something tells me I’ll like this place and that Daddy will come out 100%. You can’t tell I might stay here and then we Four can swim at Wrightsville Beach next summer.”
What did Leon mean by “we Four can swim”? This is the first written indication that Mary, then 34-years old, was pregnant with their second child, a fact confirmed by allusions in subsequent letters. Leon and Mary struggled with fertility issues, and Mary’s pregnancy with Ann had been difficult. It was a comfort to Leon that Mary was staying with family, and not having to deal with pregnancy and child care at a remote post or without her husband in Washington D.C. In the uncertain meantime Leon wrote on July 3, “Not much news.… I guess it will be another week or so, but you can’t tell as anything can happen in the Army. Sometimes I think I might get out and then I think they won’t let me out. However, …when our new little angel comes we can all plan, if I’m in the Army, to live together wherever we are stationed – Maybe California – they sent someone out there a week ago.”
“No Suitable Assignment Exists”
On Saturday, July 22 Leon finally announced, “Well, the ‘Puppie’ is going back into the inactive reserve…. I think I’ll come to Sav’h for a few days then go to Washington and go back to work.” He signs the letter, “The ‘Loving’ Puppie, no [more] ‘fighting’ Puppie.” Orders dated July 28 state in part, “1ST LT LEON H GRAYSON is granted terminal lv of six days eff 31 Jul 44… & upon expiration of terminal lv 5 Aug 44 will revert to an inactive status.” Leon’s official discharge certificate lists “Cause of Separation” as “Relief from Active Duty of Officers for whom no Suitable assignment exists.”
“Your peace of mind at this time will be good too”
A Washington, D.C. neighbor wrote to Mary on July 25. “I have just received a card from Leon saying he was going back to Civilian life.” She asked if Mary would continue to stay in Savannah, and wondered if she should ship the clothes her own baby had outgrown as previously planned. “I am so glad that Leon is going to be home with you again…. Your peace of mind at this time will be good too and don’t forget if you decide to come home your old Aunt Jean + Nellie will help you all we can.”
“I surely would like to be there with you”
Leon spent those few days in Savannah in early August, but by August 14 he is writing from their Washington apartment. “Dearest Sweetheart and Baby Ann, I love you and miss you – But it won’t be long before we will be together again. I’ll be back on the job [at the Justice Department] by the time you receive this.” Postage was free for service members during World War II, and excepting a few “special delivery” letters this was the first time Leon had to affix a stamp to his correspondence – 3¢ for a letter and 1¢ for a postcard. On August 22 he wrote, “I surely would like to be with you on Ann’s birthday [August 26]. I sent a basket of candy etc for a present…. Anyway “Mummie” its a sort of joint present for my girlfriends. “Puppie” enjoys talking with you so much and is so happy that you are fine.” Leon also related that he “Received a letter from Senator [Walter] George’s office and upon the Attorney General’s return Sept 15th the question of advancement will be discussed.”
A Glaring Absence
We have eleven letters and postcards written to Mary and Ann from Washington postmarked August 14-31, 1944. Four were sent “Special Delivery.” The frequency of Leon’s correspondence (in which as above he also mentioned long-distance phone calls) and the increased tenderness within exposes the glaring absence of any mention of Mary’s pregnancy. On August 25 Leon named five Washington friends and said, “Everyone is so anxious for your return here, but ‘Puppie’ most of all. Haven’t received any mail of any interest other than letters from my heart.” These are letters we do not have. Assuming Leon was the more faithful writer, Mary was undoubtedly the more faithful preserver of letters. “The Burlesque has opened up but I’ve sort of lost interest in movies and theaters – We’ll take in some good shows when you get back here…. Meanwhile, I’ll be loving you and Ann all the time. All my love to my hearts, Your ‘Puppie’.”
Our next and final letter was written and postmarked September 12, leading to the conclusion that Mary must have been sufficiently healed from her miscarriage to travel to Washington shortly afterward. “‘Puppie loves you more than the world and is ‘existing’ until he is with his hearts again. All my love, Your ‘Puppie’ and ‘Daddy Boy.’”
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