Throughout the twentieth century, mail call was the most eagerly awaited event of the day for soldiers overseas, while at home, it was the arrival of the postman. Thousands of these letters have been saved, tucked away in trunks and enjoyed by descendants of the letter writers. Many such collections have been published, but to have both the letters and the drawings sent home by a service member is something special. Gwin Mounger, a surgeon with a portable surgical hospital in the Pacific Theater, clearly had talent and had taken some art lessons. He obviously enjoyed depicting his surroundings for his wife and two small children back home in Oxford, Mississippi. His daughter Katharine Mounger Jones (Kay), then five years old, has collected these letters, drawings and photographs her father sent home and made them available in this volume. The editor of this volume, Katharine M. Jones, grew up in Mississippi and now lives with her husband Bill in Winchester, VA. In 2011 she published the diary of her great, great grandmother, Georgina Barrett Devlin, "The Diary of a Southern Lady," in which Mrs. Devlin recounted her life in Mississippi from 1852 to 1912.
About the Author: Dr. Gwin Mounger, the author of the letters included in this collection, grew up in Mississippi and received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Tulane University in New Orleans. He married Katharine Davis, had two children, and was practicing medicine as a physician and surgeon in Yazoo City, Mississippi, when he joined thousands of other Americans in volunteering for service in World War II. He was sent first to New Guinea and then to the Philippines, where he was part of a team of surgeons who operated a Portable Surgical Hospital. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service under fire. After the Japanese surrender, he and his unit went to Japan and were eventually evacuated back to the United States at the end of 1945. The letters he wrote home and the drawings and photographs that accompanied the letters were saved by his family and are what constitute "Devotedly, Gwin." The editor of this volume, Katharine Mounger Jones, is his daughter; her previous work as editor, "The Diary of a Southern Lady," was published in 2011. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1961 and currently lives in Winchester, Virginia, with her husband Bill, who also contributed to this book.