Wartime

Ed and Dodie were not married yet when President FD Roosevelt signed into law the first U.S. draft: The Selective Training and Service Act, Sept. 16, 1940.

The newlyweds started life in upstate western New York and moved several times, winding up back in Dayton by 1942. As a pharmaceutical detail man, Ed represented Petrolager Laboratories based in Chicago. Among the new products he introduced to physicians was baby formula. He received several letters of praise from Petrolager.

As the U.S. involvement in World War II escalated from 1941 on, the couple returned to Dayton and rented a house on Catalpa Drive.

Two significant things happened in 1943: Ed was drafted into the U.S. Army. And Dorothy became pregnant with their first child.

Ed shipped out for California and active duty in August that year. He was stationed at Camp Callan, near San Diego, for both basic and advanced training. Fallen arches made him ineligible for combat, so Ed first became a clerk and then turned his writing ability and salesmanship to duties orienting newer recruits and reporting for the regimental weekly newspaper.

He later was transfered to Fort Ord, near Carmel, California.

The picture above left shows PFC Edmund "Puffy" Gravett in California.

Dorothy, working on her Victory Garden and managing ration cards, awaited the arrival of their daughter, Sarah Anne (forever known as Sally to the consternation of bank clerks) who was born early in November in Good Samaritan Hospital.

A detailed account of Mother and baby's first days -- first children always get the most attention; sorry Hannah -- shows a regulated schedule of feeding and sleep. Although bottle-feeding was gaining momentum in the 1940s, Dorothy believed in the more natural breastfeeding. One note from the diary in Dode's crisp Gregg handwriting:

"Baby didn't cry. Had to waken baby for feedings."

Dorothy was a devoted and delighted mother. She loved the daily routines involved with raising a child and keeping a house.

Ed came home on leave when Sally was six months old. The picture on the right captured that moment, and the happiness of the new mother.

Fact-checker finds: Ed's father was incorrectly identified in an earlier post. His name was William Allen Gravett.