Daughter researches parents' wedding date
My dad was part of the 99th in World War II. I have been surfing the net in an attempt to answer some questions that have arisen as I work on my family history.
Dad's name was Joseph James Weglarz. I am wondering if there is anyone left who remembers him. He was a staff sergeant in ordnance but I do not have any more specific information.
I am having difficulty trying to find a marriage date for my parents. I was told by an aunt that my folks got married by Dad's chaplain (no name given) before he was shipped out. He had a 10-day leave of absence, and he wanted Mom to marry him before he went to Europe. I always assumed they got married at our local church, but my aunt said my dad wanted the chaplain to do it. I asked her where the marriage had taken place, but she was not sure where they shipped out from. She has amazingly little information to share.
My mom died in January 2002. I tried to learn as much from her as possible but it is like solving a mystery. I never knew the right questions to ask and she did not offer any more information than exactly what I asked for.
One detail Mom did share was that she had a special song by Irving Berlin:
"The girl that I marry will have to be
As soft and as pink as a nursery
The girl I call my own
Will wear satins and laces and smell of cologne.
Her nails will be polished and, in her hair,
She'll wear a gardenia and I'll be there
'Stead of flittin' I'll be sittin'
Next to her and she'll purr like a kitten.
A doll I can carry, the girl that I marry must be."
Mom said something about this song being played on a harmonica (or some other instrument) by one of Dad's friends. I did not realize at the time it was at their wedding.
Do you think there may be someone who remembers any of this? I am trying to find the location of the wedding so I can know where to track down the license (assuming there was one). If anyone remembers anything about this incident it would be great.
I went for years thinking the wedding was sometime in 1943, because Mom kept saying they were married for seven years before I came along in 1950. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it was six years, because apparently they were deployed in 1944.
Deena Weglarz Butta
1930 Glenview Rd.
Glenview IL 60025