Christmas For the Boys At War-- Part 2: Miss Connie & the Sergeant

"The response was overwhelming.  About 21,000 readers volunteered o send gifts, and for some it was the start of long pen-pal relationships with soldiers they'd never met."

One even turned into romance and marriage.  Years later, the Tribune found Connie and Francis Harmon living on a farm near Ottawa, Illinois, and wrote:

"Sgt. Harmon, a member of the 129th Infantry regiment, opened a tinsel-wrapped parcel bearing an unfamiliar name, that of Miss Connie Roberts of Madison, Wis..  He was puzzled for he had not heard about the Tribune campaign.  ...Grateful for being remembered with candy, a fountain pen, and other presents, Sgt. Harmon wrote to thank Miss Roberts."

Soon they were writing each other regularly and sharing photographs.  They met in person for the first time in 1945 and got married on Valentine's Day 1946.  They had six children by the time the Tribune wrote their story in 1954.

Romance After a Gift of Friendship.  --GreGen