Burlington, Iowa

Sadie and I lived on a small farm in Burlington, Iowa. It was a quiet town on the Mississippi River. We had two sons, Tyler, 22 and Dillon, 24, who were off in the war. They had been at war since December of 1941, almost four years now. I was a wheat and corn farmer. I also raised hogs and cattle, my wife took care of the garden and the house. We had a small house but a lot of land.

I was sitting by the fire one night, and heard wonderful news; our boys were coming home from the European Campaign. I couldn't wait to tell Sadie the news. We had prayed for this day and it had finally come. The neighbors had apparently heard this great news, since it was a small town, and they were all coming to celebrate with us. I hopped in the Ford and flew to town, to get Sadie. I didn't remember the drive, I was just smiling, and my boys were coming home.

The last four years had been nerve racking. Sadie had to get a job in the Burlington Bomb Factory. She worked on an assembly line packing the bombs into wooden crates. I spent all my time harvesting corn, wheat, pigs, and cattle for the military. Everything we raised or grew went to the military. We lived on rations, (gas, sugar and rubber etc.) The only fun we had was going to an occasional dance, a movie and a few picnics on the river.

One of the few inventions we were able to get was a thrasher machine. It took the grain off the stocks and separated them so it wouldn't have to be done by hand. It saved a lot of time for my wife because she didn't have to feed the extra field hands.

I took the 60 mile trip from Burlington to Washington; it was a one and a half hour trip in the Ford Mercury V type. Picking up the boys was the happiest time of our life. They said they would get a ride from a taxi service. But, we were too excited to let them! Once we had arrived at the military base, Sadie and I ran all the way to the runway where the boy's plane was to be landing. It was great seeing them! Sadie thought they looked skinny and she wondered where our beef and pork had gone. The one thing they missed the most their mothers cooking. It seemed like a short ride home, probably because all they did was talk, about the fun stuff they got to do, all the places they had been and seen, and all the new friends and acquaintances they made.

We tried to stay as far away from the bad stuff they saw and did as we could, because it was a new beginning. They had always been very optimistic, ever since they were old enough to know what happy was. In the months that followed the war, the Burlington bomb factory was shut down, Sadie went back to being a domestic housewife and doting mother. The boys are helping me get the farm back to its original state. Tyler ended up going off to college at the University of Iowa, majoring in agriculture 2 years after returning home. Dillon on the other hand was a mama's boy and didn't