Joni Wilson

Letters Home Joni Wilson

Virginia Moorman's correspondence in Letters Home was when she was between seventeen and twenty-five years old. It reveals a young woman's personal thoughts and her candid expressions about her emotions, dreams, frustrations, and challenges. Virginia was the first child of Oscar and Gela Moorman. She was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1920. Virginia graduated from William Chrisman High School (Independence, Missouri) in 1937, when she was seventeen years old. In 1937-1938, she attended Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa. The letters during this time reveal a young woman and her concerns about herself, her education, her friends, and her family. Virginia was licensed as a registered nurse in 1941 and moved to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the University of Missouri from fall 1941 through spring 1943. The letters from this period reveal a maturing young woman. In April 1943, Virginia accepted a position with the Red Cross Nursing Service in response to a need for nurses during World War 2. She was in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, from March 1944 until December 1945. Her war-time letters offer an intimate look at her experiences and her love of life while she lived on the island. It is with great respect for the people mentioned in Letters Home and their stories that this book was compiled. These personal letters offer a glimpse at an era that was technologically different from the twenty-first century, but still affirms the love for family and friends that is the same now as it was then. The letters and photos printed in Letters Home are also included in Headlong in the Middle of a Wonderful Life, an expanded book that includes additional details about Virginia's entire life.