My Grandfather's WWII Helmet

My grandfather, William Andrew Cannon, around 1942.

On October 24, 1942, my grandfather William Andrew Cannon enlisted in the Air Force at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He would become a pilot based out of Foggia, Italy during the war. During his time in Italy, he met my grandmother on the Isle of Capri. They married in December 1945 and moved to Meridian, Mississippi in 1946. They would eventually move back in Italy in 1955, where they lived until he retired from government service in March 1990. They moved to Booneville, Mississippi later than year. 

On October 25, 2014 (72 years and a day after my grandfather first enlisted), a man named Grant sent me a message through the G&J website. He owns an Ebay store called Circa1941 that specializes in WWII helmets and other military gear. He had purchased a helmet with the name Cannon written on the inside along with the serial number 4357. A quick search of this website told him the helmet belonged to my grandfather. Another quick internet search led him to Gerald & Joan and the blog posts I've written about my grandfather. We connected a few days later, and he offered to send us the helmet as a gift. My grandfather passed away on February 28, 2002, so being reconnected to him in this way is a true gift that means a great deal to our family, especially my grandmother. 

There have been times over the past two years that I've wondered what I'm doing with this blog. It has really become more of a family history/photo preservation blog, and while it provides inspiration for my work, it doesn't really do much for my business. When Grant emailed me, I was reminded why I started this business and this blog -- Through my work, I wanted to tell stories, preserve history and share memories. Because of this blog, we were reunited with a piece of our family's history and we're able to honor my grandfather's memory. If that isn't Gerald & Joan in a nutshell, I don't know what is.

Thank you, Grant, for this wonderful gift.

My grandfather, Lt. William A. Cannon, is at the bottom left. 

Update: My dad with the helmet!

joining the fight against cancer

At Gerald & Joan, there are many causes that are dear to our hearts. Unfortunately, one that has touched us repeatedly is cancer. In honor of my family members we lost to cancer much too soon, we recently made a donation to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

This specific Relay for Life will take place in Grand Prairie, Texas. A Habitat friend of mine organized a team there in honor of her husband who has been bravely batting cancer for several years. They are a great couple who gave selflessly of their time and resources as Habitat volunteers when they lived in Memphis, and it's an honor to be a part of their Relay for Life team. We look forward to a time when cancer no longer exists in the world. In our opinion, that day can't come soon enough.

If you would like to join us in the fight against cancer, you can make a donation here. You can also purchase a luminaria bag for $5 that can be given in honor or in memory of someone you love.

Our luminaria bags will be lit in memory of:

Joan Fay Stroup Portillo-Shaffer, 1933-2003

William Andrew Cannon, 1920-2001

Russell E. Shaffer, 1923-1997

Isidro N. Portillo, 1933-1984

Betty Jane Stroup Snodgrass, 1921-1980

family stories: jennie moore cannon

Jennie Moore Cannon was my grandfather's mother. Sadly, she died in 1920 as a consequence of his birth. When I was young, my grandfather told me he was born prematurely, and they put him in the oven to keep him warm. Recently, my aunt told me that the doctors wanted Jennie to have an abortion to save her life, but she bravely refused. She is buried in a field near Sweeny, Texas.

After she died, my great-grandfather left my grandfather to be raised by Jennie's mother, Martha, and her second husband, Jacob Van Bibber, in Corinth, Mississippi. He returned to Texas for work, but he was in and out of my grandfather's life.

The photograph below shows my great-great-grandmother Martha and her husband Jacob, their two children Jake and Mayme Van Bibber, and Jennie and Andy Moore, Martha's children from her first marriage. The Van Bibbers, my grandfather and his father are all buried in Henry Cemetery in Corinth, Mississippi. 

from the meridian star, 1949

The Meridian Star, 1949

Following the war, my grandparents moved from Italy to Meridian, Mississippi.

Modern day Italy and Mississippi couldn't be more different, so I can only imagine what a transatlantic move from Naples to Meridian would have been like in the late 1940s. It sounds incredibly romantic, but I'm sure it was also really, really difficult. 

If my grandmother struggled, she didn't let it show. She and my grandfather lived in Meridian until 1954, and then they spent the next 36 years in Naples. In 1990, they retired to Booneville, Mississippi, where they lived until my grandfather's death in 2002. After his passing, my grandmother returned to Naples, where she is spending her retirement surrounded by family, friends, books and her memories. 

To this day, she only talks about her years in Mississippi with fondness.

If you're curious as to what life was like in Meridian during that time, then you'll enjoy these articles from the Meridian Star that were written when my great-grandmother visited from Naples in 1949. At that time, my grandparents were pregnant with my father, their first child and my great-grandmother's first grandchild. 

The Meridian Star, 1949

Weren't they stylish? It's hard to believe these photos are more than 60 years old! My grandmother was (and still is) her mother's daughter. They look so happy to be together.

I wonder if my great-grandmother wrote about her trip....I must ask my aunt about that!