It was World War II – Peggy and Billie Harris were married six weeks before he was shipped off to serve his country. Billie was a fighter pilot who went missing during a mission in France. And Peggy never got a knock at the door, never got a telegram, and for six decades, she never knew what happened to her husband – in all that time, she remained dutiful to her husband. So in honor of their undying love, we embark on a journey – part mystery and part romance – to uncover what happened to Billie Harris.
The Story of Lt. and Mrs. Billie D. Harris
Life was certainly different back then, but the love shared between Peggy and Billie is a tale as old as time. Especially knowing that not once did Peggy lose faith or hope, “Billie was married to me all of his life, and I choose to be married to him all of my life,” Peggy said. With that determination and unrelenting love, Peggy constantly searched for answers about what happened to her husband, although perhaps she never quite anticipated the truth awaiting her decades later.
The Story Of Lt. And Mrs. Billie D. Harris
No Surrender
As mentioned, Peggy was relentless in the discovery of what happened to her husband. Over the years, she received many conflicting answers but nothing concrete. Peggy became incredibly frustrated, so she waited. Months then turned into years “and still no answer.” And just like that, years turned to decades.
No Surrender
Meet Cute
But let’s roll back to the beginning for a minute. In the 20’s, in Vernon, Texas, Peggy Seale turned 18 when she began working as an electrical instrument mechanic at the Altus Oklahoma Air Force Base. Not long after and she met Billie, thanks to his father. In fact, Billie’s father was certain the pair would hit it off, and they did.
Meet Cute
Not Like Other Girls
However Peggy was different than the rest of the bunch – if not for the reason that she was the ~only~ female mechanic at the Altus Oklahoma Air Force Base. See, back then it was highly unusual for women to be drafted in the army, let alone working in job roles primarily dominated by men. However Peggy stuck to her guns and followed her heart and ambitions, she knew who she was at the end of the day – nothing was going to change that.
Not Like Other Girls
Perfect Match
First of all, Peggy first met Billie’s father, who worked in the propeller department, and well, he worked his magic. Peggy and Billie were introduced soon after. Instantly, Billie was smitten. He adored how quirky and headstrong Peggy was. Other girls were more obsessed with their looks and getting a good husband – whereas Peggy was more interested in solving complicated mechanical problems. On top of that, she was highly dedicated in the servitude of her country. Although neither Peggy nor Billie could deny their chemistry from the start.
Perfect Match
Quick Note
However, we should point out, that Peggy and Billie hadn’t actually “met face to face” in their introduction. Rather, they communicated through letters. It was highly common for couples to correspond through letters before ever meeting (kind of like how we do with the internet now but less risque.)
Quick Note
Nope
However, this is how Peggy tells it: “There was an opening in the production control office so I took that job. Billie’s father was the assistant manager in the propeller department there. Soon after I came there he wanted me to write to his son who was a student pilot and I let him know that I did not write to men I did not know – particularly service men.” That’s right, Peggy wasn’t interested in someone she hadn’t met face to face and wasn’t about to start now.
Nope
Hello There
Of course Billie had heard about Peggy from his father, so he decided to give it a try anyways: “I began to get letters from Billie. I was a little fearful of this man, who had not seen me but he thought I was okay. So when he came on leave (from the army), all of a sudden the door to the airplane opened and there was Billie Harris saying ‘Hello Peggy,’ and that was about it.” Okay, now that’s terribly cute.
Hello There
Best Friends
Letters were this couple’s easiest communication method as Billie lived in San Antonio, quite a considerable distance from Peggy’s base. “Meeting” through mail, their bond only grew stronger, into something a bit more flirtatious. Ultimately though, the letters were mainly respectful and sweet in nature.
Best Friends
I Do
After corresponding via letters for quite some time, Billie decided it was time to change their relationship status. As such, he proposed and Peggy accepted. While in sunny Florida, on September 22, 1943, Peggy and Billie said “I do.” However neither of the two ever imagined just how much their lives would change within six weeks.
I Do
The Start
As the couple started their lives together as husband and wife, they of course imagined growing their family. However they needed to remain realistic, World War II was raging on and women’s rights (particularly in the workplace) wasn’t what it is now.
The Start
Duty
Despite the question marks surrounding their future, Billie was ecstatic – he successfully completed his U.S. Army Air Corps pilot training at Brooks Field, San Antonio. Moreover, this training completion meant he was promoted to second lieutenant, which also meant that a letter was sent home. This letter declared that it was time for Billie Harris to serve his country.
Duty
Carry On
Even though they were married six weeks, their relationship was about to be tested as never before. Billie and Peggy had taken an oath to protect their home so despite their happiness in one another, their servitude to the nation came first.
Carry On
Our Life
It was clear to Peggy and Billie that their vision of having children would have to wait until he returned from the war. Although neither was certain that was even going to happen.
Our Life
Girl Power
During an interview Peggy spoke about how she handled the situation at the time, “His group was all taken to Tallahassee, and the wives were taken there to a huge hotel.” Further instructions were given to the wives upon arrival, Peggy explained: “When the men were called up, the wives were told to go home and not tell anyone that their husbands had been sent overseas until they had arrived there safely.” Little did they know just how long Peggy would have ti wa
Girl Power
What’s Next?
While other wives waited and received news of their husband’s status, Peggy waited 60 years for a definite answer. Due to disorganization and a bureaucratic mess in the U.S. Army, Peggy heard numerous tales about her husband. At first, Billie was reported as missing, then that he was alive and well. Until a letter finally made its way to Peggy, she had heard nothing definitive.
What’s Next?
The Letter
So the letter that Peggy received only further confused her, “A telegram came – the moment I opened it, I went into pieces. After a while, I looked at it again, then I went down to the telegraph office and brought with me letters from Billie that were written after the date of the telegram. The telegram said, ‘missing: July 7th’, and I had letters, hand written letters, dated after that. Later, they came up with ‘missing in action: July 17’.” Nothing made sense regarding where Billie was.
The Letter
No Updates
Of course Peggy refused to give up and kept searching, “I was told not to be concerned, that no doubt he was being ‘processed.’ Billie’s parents and I chose to believe that he was back in the United States. We were hoping that he was in a hospital somewhere and maybe just didn’t know who he was or had lost his memory. We had heard of cases like that.”
No Updates
Red Cross
Despite numerous efforts by Peggy and Billie’s parents, no new news about Billie was ever found. So by March 1945, Peggy accepted that she would never see her husband again. However she decided to contact the International Red Cross as she needed the truth.
Red Cross
A Possible Breakthrough
Through the Red Cross, Peggy continued to get conflicting reports – although the Red Cross was able to reveal information about Billie that Peggy hadn’t heard before. Her search for the truth seemed to finally break even.
A Possible Breakthrough
Back To Square One
However as soon as a breakthrough seemed possible, the news uncovered by the Red Cross proved to be another dead end. Again, Peggy learned Billie was missing in action while another claimed he was dead. It seemed that no matter where Peggy turned, there was no concrete news about her husband.
Back To Square One
A Thorn
Finally Peggy decided to write her congressman, in the hopes he could finally uncover the truth. In 2005, she wrote a letter to Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, who was the vice-chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Thornberry replied and said Billie was “still listed as ‘missing in action’ in the National Archives.” But this wasn’t the case.
A Thorn
Cousin Of Mine
Thornberry never actually checked the achieves, he just made it up. That’s when Peggy’s cousin, Alton Harvey, stepped in. Harvey had grown up with this Billie mystery and he also wanted answer. “Didn’t feel it was right that he just went off to war and didn’t come back – end of story,” Alton said, “You need to know what happened to him.” So Harvey took it upon himself to find answers for Peggy. He requested Billie’s military records – and that’s all it actually took to find answers.
Cousin Of Mine
Finally?
Upon reviewing Billie’s military record, Harvey finally uncovered the truth, “I said that can’t be,” Alton recalled. “It never dawned on me he was there.”
Finally?
The X Files
The file showed that Billie was stationed in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it showed that Billie was meant to fly a P-51 Mustang, where supposedly allied bombers fly across the English Channel on a daily basis.
The X Files
Homebound
Additionally, Billie had completed nearly 100 missions and was due to return home – the date was July 1944. Immediately Billie wrote home, saying how thrilled he was to come home. However Billie was informed he would have to wait for his trip home, there was another important mission he needed to complete.
Homebound
Decisions
Billie Harris was flying over Nazi-occupied northern France when his plane was shot down. And Billie was faced with one of his hardest decisions…
Decisions
Life-changing Decision
One, he could eject from his seat and save his life – however his place would crash into the town of Les Ventes in Normandy, killing many people. Or he steer his plane to a clearing, saving the town’s people but losing his own life. For Billie, the decision was clear.
Life Changing Decision
Identity
Billie made the decision to crash his place in a nearby forest, where even in death, he saved countless lives. And the people of Les Ventes have never forgotten it. They buried Harris in the local cemetery and the townspeople proceeded to cover his grave completely with flowers.
Identity
Memorial
According to CBS News, the Les Ventes townspeople continue to faithfully march down the main road — called Place Billie D. Harris — three times a year in order to commemorate the fallen pilot. The pilot they never met but never forgot.
Memorial
Hero
As a result, Billie’s grave is indeed the most decorated grave in all of Normandy. As soon as Peggy learned of what the townspeople do, she was in awe. Moreover she finally learned the truth of what happened to her husband.
Hero
The Truth At Last
In 2006, Peggy and Harvey visited Les Ventes. Additionally, Peggy is very happy with how her late husband’s memory has been honored all these years. “How can I not be grateful and hold these people very dear,” Peggy said.
The Truth At Last
My Love
As for Peggy, she never remarried and tries to visit Normandy annually. “When people speak of closure, they are people who have never experienced anything like this,” explained Peggy. She goes on to say that any time two people spend together and who unconditionally love one another, is a treasure.
My Love