The Diary of Jeffa P. Hill, Jr. - March 16, 1944 - Part I

I decided to start with this entry, because it explains the events of the previous year and gives a good background of what was going on in Grandaddy's life at that time. It's the story of how my grandparents met. Enjoy! ~Kristi


Aboard the SS Austides
16 March 1944


Dear Diary:

I have really forgotten you for quite a long time, haven't I? I will try to do better in the future. In four more days I will have been an officer for one year. A lot has happened in that year. In March of last year I went to Columbus, Ohio with Bob Duncan. There I met a nurse named Mary Louise Mahoney. We went out for three nights. Under the influence of liquer on the fourth nite I asked her to marry me. Then I went down to Camp Sibert, Alabama. I corresponded with Mary for quite some time, each letter getting more serious. After four weeks at Sibert I went to Ft. Belvoir, Virginia for two weeks of Camouflage School. Upon return to Sibert I was attached to Operations & Training Division, U.T.C. This was the turning point of my life. There I met a very pretty girl who worked in the office. Her name was Juanita Buckner. Like me, she was very shy and it was in June before I asked her for a date. The first nite that I went out with her I realized that she was the one and only one for me. She was, and is, such a dear, sweet girl. In a very short time I learned to love her with all my heart. In July, Mary decided that she would come down to Gadsden and see me. I realized that I must tell her that I no longer wished her to be my wife. When she came down I explained to her that what we thought was love was infatuation and liquor. She agreed with me and we parted friends. As the days went by, I grew to love Juanita more and more and I grew to know that she loved me also. God has been very kind to me. She has been brought up in a good Christian home and is a member of the Babtist Church which I joined July. In August I asked her to become my wife. She said "yes" and I was the happiest man on earth. I bought her the engagement ring and gave it to her after asking her father's consent. She has the best family ever! I love Vivian, her older sister, as I would my own blood kin. [Grandaddy was an only child.] And B.H. [Gran's brother] is a swell fellow. Pat [Gran's baby sister] is a cute kid and a swell girl.

--To Be Continued--


This is the entry that had us laughing until we cried, because Grandaddy was the most faithful Christian we knew and we never knew him to be a drinking man. In fact, when we read the word "liquer," we all thought it was a woman's name, since Grandaddy's handwriting was kind of flowery and hard to read. We certainly didn't think he was referring to liquor! We were also surprised to discover that Grandaddy found himself engaged to one woman and in love with another. We really got a laugh out of reading about that!