March 29, 2016

A Dog Named Trixie

If you've been around the blog a while, you know my mom passed away in December. While going through her things, my one sister found 9 letters that my dad had sent to his parents during WWII.
There are surprising tidbits in some of the letters. For instance, he drops the news on his mom that he's engaged. I'm sure she was surprised to read that - as were we, since he wrote that he'd gotten engaged to some gal named Evelyn, which is not my mom's name! (Have no idea what happened with Evelyn.)

But another surprise was the mention of buying a dog while on a 3-day leave in Tel Aviv! What?? Of the war stories I heard my dad tell (and I heard a few since I sometimes traveled along with my mom and dad to his "bomb wing" reunions), I don't remember him mentioning that he had a dog!

He and his good buddy, Dannie (who I met at one of those reunions - he was a great, very funny man), kept Trixie with them in their tent where they were stationed in Egypt. He wrote, "Boy is she ever smart. She really minds." As a bonus, they also found she was housebroken.
Dad's buddy Dannie with Trixie
A few months later he wrote about Trixie again: "Trixie is still as lively as ever. She really tears around. She's really full of pep. I wish I had half her energy." (He also mentions getting 2 packages of record albums from Evelyn - I'm glad to note he mentioned the dog before the girlfriend. That was probably a good indicator that Evelyn wouldn't last...)

In another letter he writes about how they've been moved to Pompei, Italy. No mention of Trixie, so I was getting a little worried about her. (Yes, I worried about a dog that I never met and who has been dead for decades now....) I was very relieved to find that another letter dated about a month later mentioned Trixie again: "Trixie is more full of pep than ever since we've moved out of the desert."

My sis also found this photo, which says "Trixie, Pompei Italy, January 44." This is the last reference I've got to Trixie.

She was a cute little thing wasn't she?

I enjoy thinking about them, snuggling and playing with their dog during what had to be a very stressful and trying time. I do wonder what happened to Trixie when the war was over, though. I like to imagine that they found her a nice little Italian family to live with, but we'll never know.

Wish I'd known about Trixie sooner so I could have asked my dad about her. He was a dog lover, so I'm sure he loved that little pup!

Thanks to BlogPaws for hosting Wordless Wednesday! Thanks for letting me be wordy! You can check out all the blogs in the hop here.

62 comments:

  1. Isn't it amazing what you find going through someone's stuff? I realized how little I knew about my dad after finding all sorts of photos when we cleaned out his house. Made me sad.......

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    1. It is sad when you realize you missed your chance to ask questions about these things. :\

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    2. I find that that generation didn't want to talk about it anyway, so don't feel too sad!

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  2. That is a super cool story! I wonder what became of Trixie too.

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  3. That is such an amazing thing to find out. I bet you will treasure those letters forever. Maybe we will see a Trixie pop up in some of your future books!

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  4. How fun to uncover these treasures. Seems odd that they could have a dog in the war, but I'm glad they did. Probably made it nice for them.

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    1. I know - isn't it weird that they could just go buy a dog? And the other weird thing - he talked about how they used some old doors from an unused barracks to build up/protect their tent. And they had a record player in their tent - plus some furniture my dad built out of old boxes and stuff. I always pictured them being in very regimented "standard issue" tents. But sounds like they had a decent little set up for themselves - complete with family dog. :)

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  5. I love reading about soldiers far from home finding comfort in little 4 legged creatures that remind them of home. Sounds like a book plot to me.

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    1. I do love historical fiction.... (Not sure I could write it though.)

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  6. So cool. I've got a bunch of letters from my dad to his mom from WWII, too. Zero mention of any dogs at all, doggone it. Though he did mention some woman named Violet :-( (My mom's name was Dorothy.) Wonder what happened to Trixie. If they moved her with them, I suspect they DID find her a good home!

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    1. Funny when you find out about your parents dating other people, isn't it? I'm hoping/assuming they did find her a good home - but they must have been sad to say goodbye to her!

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  7. What an incredible gift. We found similar treasures with our Grandmother's belongings when she passed. I still find comfort having those things around. Good for you! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the story. :) It's fun to find those treasures.

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  8. What an amazing treasure. I easily get attached to even fictional stories about dogs and people hoping they make it out happily at the end. I can imagine how you could feel drawn into a story you know is real about the lives of people you loved before you came into their lives.

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    1. It's amazing how we get attached to fictional or even real, but long dead, dogs in stories. (I recently read a non-fiction book about Cary Grant, and I'm still SO upset about this one dog that was a minor part of the story...)

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  9. What an amazing find! It's like going back in time and seeing your Dad. I bet Trixie brought him a lot of comfort and joy. Maybe you'll come across more letters soon. :)

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    1. I think those 9 letters are all there is, but maybe we'll find some more photos.

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  10. Wow, what a great find! How wonderful to have those letters to cherish. Trixie was adorable! I'm glad your Dad had her to keep him company during such difficult times. Very perceptive to note that he mentions the dog before that girlfriend of his, LOL!
    Love & Biscuits,
    Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

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    1. She was definitely cute, and I'm sure she brought them many laughs and smiles.

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  11. Isn't it amazing? When my mom died, I found all my dad's letters he had written to her in WWII. I transcribed published most of them, and then got sidetracked while in the middle of the third volume of letters. I hope I can finish transcribing them some day soon. You can see some on my website, if interested ksmueller dot com. My dad didn't have a dog in the war with him, although I bet he would've liked one! <3

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    1. I stopped by your site - very cool that you have so many letters between your folks!

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  12. My dad is working his way through one of several hundred letters from my grandfather to his family during WWII. I can't wait to read them.

    If you get us a picture for Phod's bday by Thursday evening, we can squeeze you on:)

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    1. Thanks - going to find a photo for Phod and send it!

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  13. what a treasure. The fact that there are few hand written letters now means we've lost so much history for future generations. If they even care about our lives. I love that Trixie helped keep your Dad sane during a hard time. LeeAnna

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    1. So true - all those emails probably just get deleted. Nothing's the same as a handwritten letter!

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  14. What a wonderful discovery! I love family treasures like that. And who knows... Maybe the mystery of Evelyn and Trixie could inspire work down the line. Such a sweet little dog!

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  15. That is an amazing find! I'm sure it brought you closer to your dad. I also wish we knew what happened to Trixie, but I am wishing that she had a happy ending. She looked like a sweetie.

    Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie

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  16. How amazing to find these letters. Trixie is very cute! I am sure she found a nice home after the war.

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    1. I'm sure she did too - you can tell how much they cared for her from the letters and photos, so I'm sure they would have made sure she was all set before they left

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  17. Some friends of mine spent a year in Europe about 20 years ago. They said there were so many dogs that ran about the countryside and found a family to live with. Later the dog may be sent off and live with someone else. They adopted a dog living in their motor home but left it at a farm ( not a "farm") when they left. It was torture for them but rather common in their experience.

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    1. Glad it wasn't a "farm"! That's interesting that it was a common thing.

      When we were in Greece, there were so many homeless dogs, it was really sad. Glad the dogs your friends saw found families to care for them - even if the families changed from time to time!

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  18. It's wonderful that you found the letters and learned something new about your dad and his doggy companion Trixie. I'm sure your dad and his buddies made sure she was well cared for after the war.

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    1. Yeah, I'm sure they must have! Can't imagine they wouldn't have.

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  19. Oh, I love this! What a gift, to come across your father's old letters and to learn about Trixie (and also Evelyn, lol). What a great story. I'm thinking it might make a nice fictionalized novel, no? P.S. Trixie was a cute little thing.
    Cheers and happy weekend.

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    1. It does kinda spark some novel ideas... just not sure I'm up for trying to write historical fiction! I love to read it, but not sure I could write it.

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  20. What a great story, and how wonderful that you found it! I wouldn't have even known they let them keep dogs in their tents back then. What a great comfort during a very tough time. I'm sure Trixie ended up living in a happy home once the war was over. Your Dad obviously loved her and would have made sure of that!

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    1. I know - I thought the same. Had no idea they'd let them keep dogs in their tents!

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    1. It does give me a wee idea... but not sure I could turn it into a full book!

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  22. Oh my goodness how cool!! It must have been so nice to have a dog to calm the anxiety of that time. What a neat find!!

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    1. I know, right? I know if I was in such an environment, I'd definitely want a dog to love on!

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  23. Those kinds of 'buried treasures' are so moving about what life was like for our parents. And while you didn't have them to ask more specifics about them, the mere fact they shared a slice of your dad's life is comforting nonetheless. They certainly made me smile as I too recently learned of some surprises with my own parents. ღ

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    1. I think since we tend to only know our parents as "parents", it's always interesting to learn about their life pre-parenting.

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  24. What an AMAZING treasure of a find!! It made me smile and even tear up a bit. So special to have the letters/pictures/memories!! Also glad he didn't end up with Evelyn as we wouldn't have YOU!! :-)

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  25. What a cool find. Maybe your Dad's buddy kept Trixie (and Evelyn too...lol)? Were there any parts of the letters redacted? Some of the letters I have seen from soldiers during that time had parts cut out, presumably to remove military sensitive information.

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    1. No, there wasn't anything redacted. The letters were pretty short and just some basic info about their living conditions, etc. He did complain about the food quite a bit!

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  26. So sorry about your mom but what an amazing find. My dad who passed away 4 years ago was in Vietnam and had a mongoose Monty as a pet while he was there. I loved hearing stories about Monty. He had to leave him behind since mongooses are illegal in the USA. I wish I had a pictures. I'm also very happy he choose your mom over Evelyn clearly the right decision since it resulted in you

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    1. Oh, a mongoose named Monty?! That's pretty awesome. What a bummer he had to leave him behind - but I bet he was a great friend for your dad in a tough time.

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  27. How very cool that your sister found these letters. I have all the letters my dad wrote to my gma when in vietnam and the ones she wrote him.

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    1. Oh, that's neat that you have the letters going both ways. (Will people have our emails some day???)

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  28. hello pooch smooches its dennis the vizsla dog hay wot a grayt storry!!! and i kan say frum persunal ekspeeryense that dogs naymd trixie ar the best dogs ever so i am shoor i no why yore dada luvd that trixie dog so mutch!!! ok bye

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    1. I thought of your lovely sister Trixie when I saw that name in the letters!

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  29. Wow that's pretty cool. I imagine a dog really helps in that transient lifestyle.

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