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!

Family Stories: Sam and Joyce

For the latest edition of family stories, our friend Kate kindly shared a sweet story about her parents, Sam and Joyce, who were married in England during World War II. Isn't their wedding photograph just lovely? What a beautiful couple!

Two days after my mum and dad were married, my dad was sent abroad to fight in the Second World War. For security reasons, he wasn't allowed to let family know where he was posted, so he sent my mum a postcard and told her he was in the road across from the local cinema. The name of the street was Cairo Road, so my mum correctly guessed he was in Egypt! Pretty clever, eh?! 

So clever! It sounds like a scene from a movie! We're sure this was just one of the many postcards Kate's dad sent to her mum during the war. Wouldn't it be fun to read some of them? There is something about written correspondence that makes us weak in the knees!

Thank you so much for sharing, Kate!