It’s a saying that wedding is destiny, and hanging likewise. For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul. Well, this saying is completely applicable to Peggy Harris, the wife of First Lieutenant Billie Harris. Being married for just 6 weeks, Billie was deployed to serve in World War II. Peggy never celebrated the end of a war with a peck on the cheek nor did she ever mourn for her loss. Peggy assumed her husband had perished, but she was never able to move on. “Billie was married to me all of his life, and I choose to be married to him all of my life.”
Born Trailblazer
Peggy Seale was young, good looking Texan girl. She was barely 18 years when she started her career at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma as an electrical mechanic for various instruments. She happened to be the only woman working as a mechanic on the entire base. Destiny placed her in the production department office where Billie’s father viewed her as his future daughter in law.
In Pursuit Of Liking
Mr. Harris wanted Peggy to write letters to his son Billie but she did not find it suitable to write to someone who was unfamiliar. On the second note, she did not want to be impolite. Shortly after, Billie started knowing her through the letters that his father used to send him giving description about Peggy. “I worked with my husband’s father at that time… He was writing letters to Billie, telling him about me, and I refused to write to him first or give him or his father my address. So, he wrote a letter to me and put it in an envelope to his father to give to me. That was my first acquaintance with him.”
Love Struck
Billie came home from the leave and in no time, opened the airplane door and greeted Peggy with a Hello! She was flabbergasted by this and gradually they started knowing each other through mails. “Meeting” through the mail, the couple began to look forward to hear from each other. Their friendship blossomed, and bond grew stronger with each letter that arrived. And so, they exchanged rings in the sunshine state of Florida on September 22, 1943. We never know what destiny have kept for us.
A Flight Of Duty
Just like any other newlywed couple , they were in the process of making arrangements for their new phase of life, but who knew the roller coaster ride was about to begin. Their two weeks leave for their honeymoon was cut short when a troop ship of pilots was torpedoed by the Germans. Billie was sent to Europe and assigned to the 355th Fighter Squadron/354th Fighter Group in October of 1943. The couple had only been married for six weeks. In her heart ,she had a strong intuition of her husband’s arrival were very little but who knew it would become a reality and would take 6 decades to solve about her husband’s mystery.
Clueless About The System
Just like any other helpless soldier’s wife in 1940s Peggy knew very little about her husband’s duty in the war. Sometimes they were asked not to disclose any information about their husbands to anyone back home. “His group was taken to Tallahassee. While the men were called up, the wives were told to go home and not to tell anyone that their husbands had been sent overseas until they had arrived safely.” Peggy could only sit back and wait for her husband’s arrival but did her husband ever return?
The Last Message
A ray of hope arose when the Army officials sent Peggy a letter claiming about the safe arrival of Billie in Europe. Soon after Peggy and Billie exchanged letters yet after sometime Peggy’s letters were returned unanswered. “Hope is like a light; even the tiniest bit gets you through the darkness.’’ On one hand Peggy was restoring about her family’s future and on another hand a distressing news notified Billie’s successful completion in U.S, Army Air Corps pilot training at Brooks Field in San Antonio. Along with this achievement came a brand new, superior rank of a second Lieutenant, and a letter declaring it was his turn to serve his country in the war.
Billie’s Achievements
Billie was sent to the United Kingdom where he flew his P-S1 Mustang across the English Channel on many missions. During this time, he achieved several medals, along with the "Distinguished Flying Across" award. In fact, Billie had flown so many successful missions; Peggy received a letter from Billie, dated July 8th, 1944, informing her that, as a result of Billie's tremendous contribution and service, he had become eligible to return home.
A Ray Of Hope
Billie shared news to sail back in few days but fate would place wounded soldiers on the ship and because of this he was supposed to hold up his place and wait for his turn on another vessel in future. It was not about time or days , it was a matter of waiting for whole life .Peggy and Billie both were hoping to meet with each other on the other hand who knew their dreams would set sail and the voyage would start without Billie on board.
A Sudden Outbreak
Peggy was expecting Billie’s knock at the door until a telegraph arrived. It was not a message from him but from U.S Military reporting Billie’s disappearance since 7th July, 1944. It came shocking to her as on one hand she was holding telegraph sent from the military, informing about Billie being missing in action while on another she was holding a handwritten letter dated 8th July, 1944 in which Billie informed his arrival. It would have been hard for anyone to settle in such circumstances. What could have been Peggy’s next step!?
Strong Minded Women
Peggy wasn’t the one who could sit and mourn any information that was sent to her. She questioned the Army about this conflicting statement. “I told them I had a handwritten letter dated July 8 so he couldn’t have been missing on July 7. I didn’t know if the telegraph operator had made a mistake or if it was a mistake at the war department.” Harris subsequently received a second telegram correcting the missing in action date to July 17, 1944.” Well that was not all; Peggy was a tough lady who once jumped into male dominating workforce without any reconsiderations. She was not about to give up.
Peggy As Exemplar!
In 1940s, Peggy was a female mechanic portraying attitude of a poster child ‘WE CAN DO IT” of her times. She wanted her answers from U.S army and her first and foremost doubt was about her Husband. The conflicting information left her with many questions in her mind.
Not Acquiring It
Supreme Headquarters in Allied France issued an official military paper in regard to Peggy’s enquiry reporting that First Lt. Harris had returned to the United States on leave. Peggy and Billie’s parents were together in this. Though, they were not convinced but still wanted to cling on to whatever information was sent to them. They wanted to be hopeful that he was fit as a fiddle. She tried to connect links and took up every little support she received. “Billie’s parents and I chose to believe that he was back in the United States. We were hoping that he was in a hospital somewhere and maybe just didn’t know who he was or had lost his memory. We had heard of cases like that.”
Red Cross To The Rescue
Peggy wanted to accept this news about Billie, even after knowing that it is without any proof but on the other hand she was not a woman who could sit ideally at home and wait for her husband’s return. Thus she contacted local Red Cross to look into the information for any unidentified injured soldiers and also to know if any contact with military hospitals could be made to assist in locating or identifying her husband. "I was told not to be concerned, that no doubt he was being ‘processed,’ possibly at some military hospital," Peggy recalled.
Play Devil’s Advocate
It was time for Peggy to roll up her sleeves and find answers. She then contacted the Congressman Ed Gossett of Washington D.C. who once forwarded the query of Peggy to International Red Cross Headquarters in Switzerland. On one hand when she was taking small steps to find her husband, on the other military was making the matter worse with the false reports in response to the enquiry of Congressman. While the International Red Cross at the beginning revealed that Lt. Harris was missing in action, next he was killed in action and lastly again missing in action. What could have been Peggy’s reaction to this?
Go Back To The Drawing Board.
Surely, it would have been a perfect storm for Peggy, getting one after the other such confusing information where she had no clue of her true love. In the process of comparing apples to oranges , she came to a conclusion that her husband have never returned to his base camp Nazi-occupied Northern France, around July 17, 1944 where it was his last scheduled mission.
Waiting For Him..
While friends and families were greeting, meeting and celebrating the return of their loved ones when the war ended in May 1945, Peggy was the one who was waiting for just a hint of news of her husband, Billie. It is said that, couples who are ‘meant to be’ are the ones who go through everything that is meant to tear them apart and come out even stronger than they were before. Gradually when the world began to move on, Peggy on one side was expecting that Billie either would have been injured or would have lost his memory but deep down she was preparing herself for terrible news. Peggy wasn’t innocent enough to wait in dark hours; she buckled up herself for a new journey of her life.
Getting A Second Wind!
Peggy Harris received the first notification from military in 1948, as to where her husband was laid to rest. Though it would have been a storm of emotions in Peggy’s heart and mind after listening to such devastating news but still she managed to cope up herself. However Billie’s correct location remained unknown by the time in 2005 local congressman, Rep. Thornberry, took the stage and carelessly announced Billie was a troop that went missing in action as a part of his speech without even knowing the accurate information. Although, Thornberry did eventually express his regret for speaking of a matter he knew nothing about.
A Helping Hand.
Slowly, Peggy’s hope and energy was going down in flames. As said it takes two to tango! So you can imagine Peggy’s response when Billie’s own nephew Harvey Alton joined hands with Peggy. While Harry didn’t have a better plan than Peggy, he himself started his search with better skills, funding and technology. Harvey did bring something extremely valuable to the table; thus, the search was over.
Well Begun Is Half Done?
Harvey Alton staunched himself to seek all necessary information about Billie. He explained, “Didn’t feel it was right that he just went off to war and didn’t come back – end of story.” He continued, you need to know what happened to him.” Now a day we can easily get details online but few years back, all the army records were either disorganized or thrown in different directions in several departments. However, Harvey wanted to start from scratch. So when he asked for Billie’s military file, he was asked to wait for another six months for copy. Thus they were supposed to wait again.
Get Wind Of Something!
When Harvey gained access to the records of his Cousin, while he was skimming through everything he jumped to a point realizing –why was Billie’s information easily approachable. But the question was who and why someone would have been interested in the details of Billie. Fortunately, they came across few details shared by staff revealing that a French women last year ordered copy of Billie’s records. It was humble of the staff person to share the woman's name and contact information. Peggy was finally near in finding answers to her questions.
Expounding Settlements.
A saying -It is always darkest before the dawn is well applicable to the long dark hours of patience and wait for Peggy. The files exposed that Lieutenant Billie Harris was, in fact, posted in the United Kingdom. Billie was an exceptional, foremost soldier and patriot, but that was not all. Accomplishing almost 100 missions, Billie was entitled to return home as of July 1944 but what would have happened to him next?
Stout-Hearted
Billie continued to do his mission as there was no room for him on the cruise that was heading back to home. In July of 1944, First Lieutenant Billie Harris flew his flight over France. Who knew that will be his last mission? His plane was shot down however he prioritized the lives of countless strangers above his own, thus decided to protect until his very last breath. With a blink of an eye Billie's plane faded into the forest, and the people of Les Ventes watched the plane, saving lives of these people he disappeared out of their sight but into their hearts forever.
Bask In Glory.
Billie was extraordinary, courageous and did a selfless-act that saved the lives of many. In return they laid him to rest at the world's most famous cemetery, in Normandy, France. Little did they know about him, so they assumed he was a Canadian It did not matter from what origin he belonged, as he will be a hero in their heart. The moment Peggy came to know about Billie’s remains, she could not resist herself and visited there. It is “the most decorated grave in all of Normandy” according to CBS News.
Celebrate The Bravery.
After 68 years of wait and knowing about his heroism, Peggy was invited to celebrate her husband’s bravery. “The woman said that the people in Normandy wanted to have a parade and ceremony and she invited us to come. She told us to set the date, and we set it for Easter of 2006.” On her way, she visited Normandy where she noticed that the name of the main road has been named- Place Billie D. Harris of a small town in Les Vente. CBS news revealed that in a memory of Billie, town members’ march down the street once in year and have done so for the past 60 years.
Sing The Praises.
When she came to know about her husband’s whereabouts ,she decided to make an annual pilgrimage to the nearby woods with the help of Guy Surleau, the only living witness who speaks highly of Billie Harris. People were so grateful to Billie’s decision and Guy, being one of them said that he would have done more for him. In response of him Peggy said, “I like to think that he was still conscious enough to know that a friend stood by him,” a sobbing Peggy said. “And that this man is that friend.”
True Love Never Dies.
It is difficult to love and wait for someone who is far away especially when one’s loved one is in the military. I can’t even imagine what Peggy Harris of Vernon, TX went through when her husband, 1st. Lt. Billie Harris, left for Nazi-occupied Northern France in 1944 and never returned. After only 6 weeks of wedding and a long search of 68 years Peggy finally came to know about her missing husband. On American soil, Billie’s life and his heroism, will always be remembered. Peggy makes sure to visit her husband’s grave every single day. Peggy expressed, “When people speak of closure, they are people who have never experienced anything like this,”. This tale of ageless love that knows no boundaries is an inspiration to all. “True love doesn’t have a happy ending; True love has no ending...”
