Today in Washington DC, the Australian Embassy is hosting a reception for Australian war brides and their families as part of their commemorations for ANZAC Day. It is a remarkable human interest story as between 1943 and 1950, more than 15,000 Australian women (the largest permanent migration from Australia ever) undertook a long sea voyage to the United States to be with their husbands or fiances and to start a new life.

Many New Zealand women made a similar journey but my grandmother was not among them. My grandfather was an American serviceman on R&R in New Zealand during World War II. He befriended my grandmother’s family and enjoyed spending time on the family farm. Here is a photo of my grandparents at the farm in 1944:

Grandpa gave me this photo when I met him for the first time, in Florida, in 1993 soon after my mother (who was adopted) traced her birth parents. I am so glad that he saved this photo for nearly 50 years. Reading this link, History 1980-2000 has disappeared into the ether. Sorry, makes me wonder whether today’s digital emphera will be so durable.