In my first post, I covered my grandparents' early history in Hollywood up to the point where "Pop" asked his US Army Air Forces superiors to consider sending him overseas to join the air war instead of working in recruitment and training. They granted that request, and he immediately transferred to North Island to learn to fly Lockheed's brand new P-38 "Lightning" before joining the 48th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, serving in North Africa.

From my earliest memories, I have loved to play "dress up," and a large portion of my play wardrobe came from my paternal grandmother's cast-offs. I remember teetering around on silver high heels in a sparkly red chiffon dress liberally sprinkled with rhinestones. How I wish now that I'd known what I was wearing and saved it, but--alas!--that particular dress got worn to death and ended up in shreds long before I could appreciate its real value. Thankfully, my grandmother kept back a lot of her favorite clothes for me to enjoy as an older teenager, and I still have several beautiful pieces.