A World War II letter I recently found
on eBay led me 
to the story of a star-crossed love affair, a very accomplished
woman, and a doll brought from France to a little girl by a handsome young Army
officer who wanted to marry her mother.
The undated letter was written from France, probably in late 1944 or early 1945, by Army Lieutenant Harold E. Grant and addressed to Inez Varner in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was easy for me to find information about Inez since I had her name and address. She previously had a short-lived marriage and was a single mother to a daughter, Marlo. Lt. Grant, on the other hand, was a mystery. There are numerous men named Harold Grant in the WWII enlistment records, and I didn’t know his hometown or date of birth. Since I couldn't find him, I concentrated on finding Inez’s daughter Marlo.
In the letter, Harold professed his desire to marry Inez: “I do want to marry you dearest, that is if you’ll have me. And despite all the difficulties I reiterate that they can be easily overcome.” He goes on to write, “Nothing should stand in our way. I believe that Marlo likes me now, even if only a little bit. I wonder who loves me more, you or your little charming daughter. Remember when you asked me whether it was you or Marlo whom I came to see? It was a combination of the two.”
Harold mentioned other people known to him and Inez,
which indicated he was familiar with Inez’s family. The more I
read the letter, the more questions I had. How did Harold and Inez meet? Did
they get married? What happened to Marlo? With a lot of searching on Google and
Ancestry.com, I found Marlo, who is now living in Florida, and contacted her. She
solved the mysteries for me in an email (she referred to Harold as Hal).
Marlo explained that Hal was at one time stationed at Camp Robinson, outside Little Rock, and Inez worked there as a secretary. They met, developed a relationship, and stayed in touch via letters when he went to Europe. After he returned from the war, he took her to New York to meet his family, presumably as a prelude to marriage. As Marlo tells it:
“I am the Marlo in the letter from Hal. I have a doll that he brought me on return from France, and I have photos of my mom and Hal when he took her to New York City to meet his parents. He showed her everything anyone could name in NYC including what looked like seats behind the Yankee dugout. I was only three at the time this letter was written. I recall knowing that the visit did not go well because he was Jewish, and we were not. I do not know what happened after that. Thank you for your correspondence. We bought the letter on eBay tonight.”
Once I knew Hal’s hometown, I found the rest of his story. He wa
s an outstanding
athlete in college and was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in the
Battle of the Bulge. After things didn’t work out with Inez, he married a nice
Jewish girl in 1949. He was a successful businessman, owning textile plants
in Rhode Island and New Jersey. He and his wife were married for 65 years, and
both lived into their nineties. He died in 2013 and his wife in 2016.
As for Inez, Marlo said, “She and my father were not married more than a couple of years. She had two serious relationships after Hal. Both men died. She was not very lucky in love!”
Inez may have been unlucky in love, but she was successful in her career. She worked her way up to
become Executive Director of the Arkansas Home Builders Association
and was the first woman elected to the Executive Officers Council of the National
Association of Home Builders. Marlo notes that, “When
she left, they hired two men to take her place and probably paid both of them
more than she ever made!”
Inez did eventually marry, around 1970 when she was well into her forties. She passed away in 1985 at age 63. Her daughter Marlo married in 1966, lived in Ohio and traveled the world with her husband, Dr. William B. Campbell, an optometrist who took part in trips to provide eye care to people in underdeveloped countries. He passed away in 2019.
Marlo lives in Florida and has five children and many
grandchildren. She still has the doll Hal brought
her from France and her mom’s photos of that trip to New York.
Marlo sent me several photos from Inez’s New York visit. They are vintage post-war New York. There are scenes from Yankee Stadium, a picture of the Apollo Theater, and a photo of Inez and Hal at a restaurant in the Hotel Astor on Times Square. They’re elegantly dressed, and Inez is wearing a huge corsage.
The
most poignant photo is one of Inez standing in front of a rock monument. On the
back Hal wrote, “From this rock I took a picture of the most beautiful girl in
the world.”
to the story of a star-crossed love affair, a very accomplished
woman, and a doll brought from France to a little girl by a handsome young Army
officer who wanted to marry her mother.The undated letter was written from France, probably in late 1944 or early 1945, by Army Lieutenant Harold E. Grant and addressed to Inez Varner in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was easy for me to find information about Inez since I had her name and address. She previously had a short-lived marriage and was a single mother to a daughter, Marlo. Lt. Grant, on the other hand, was a mystery. There are numerous men named Harold Grant in the WWII enlistment records, and I didn’t know his hometown or date of birth. Since I couldn't find him, I concentrated on finding Inez’s daughter Marlo.
In the letter, Harold professed his desire to marry Inez: “I do want to marry you dearest, that is if you’ll have me. And despite all the difficulties I reiterate that they can be easily overcome.” He goes on to write, “Nothing should stand in our way. I believe that Marlo likes me now, even if only a little bit. I wonder who loves me more, you or your little charming daughter. Remember when you asked me whether it was you or Marlo whom I came to see? It was a combination of the two.”
Harold mentioned other people known to him and Inez,
 |
| Marlo at age three, when her mother was corresponding with Hal. |
Marlo explained that Hal was at one time stationed at Camp Robinson, outside Little Rock, and Inez worked there as a secretary. They met, developed a relationship, and stayed in touch via letters when he went to Europe. After he returned from the war, he took her to New York to meet his family, presumably as a prelude to marriage. As Marlo tells it:
“I am the Marlo in the letter from Hal. I have a doll that he brought me on return from France, and I have photos of my mom and Hal when he took her to New York City to meet his parents. He showed her everything anyone could name in NYC including what looked like seats behind the Yankee dugout. I was only three at the time this letter was written. I recall knowing that the visit did not go well because he was Jewish, and we were not. I do not know what happened after that. Thank you for your correspondence. We bought the letter on eBay tonight.”
Once I knew Hal’s hometown, I found the rest of his story. He wa
 |
| Inez and Hal at the Hotel Astor in New York. |
As for Inez, Marlo said, “She and my father were not married more than a couple of years. She had two serious relationships after Hal. Both men died. She was not very lucky in love!”
Inez may have been unlucky in love, but she was successful in her career. She worked her way up to
 |
| Inez with Ronald Reagan in 1960 at a meeting of the Arkansas Home Builders Association. He was on the speaking circuit as an ambassador for General Electric. |
Inez did eventually marry, around 1970 when she was well into her forties. She passed away in 1985 at age 63. Her daughter Marlo married in 1966, lived in Ohio and traveled the world with her husband, Dr. William B. Campbell, an optometrist who took part in trips to provide eye care to people in underdeveloped countries. He passed away in 2019.
Marlo lives in Florida and has five children and many
 |
| Hal brought Marlo this doll from France. |
Marlo sent me several photos from Inez’s New York visit. They are vintage post-war New York. There are scenes from Yankee Stadium, a picture of the Apollo Theater, and a photo of Inez and Hal at a restaurant in the Hotel Astor on Times Square. They’re elegantly dressed, and Inez is wearing a huge corsage.
 |
| Inez posing somewhere in New York. On the back Hal wrote, "From this rock I took a picture of the most beautiful girl in the world." |
