Helen Stevenson Meyner

Helen Stevenson Meyner was the eldest daughter born to William and Eleanor Stevenson in 1928. After graduating from Colorado College with a B.A. in History she served as a Red Cross field worker in Japan and Korea in from 1950 through 1952 before marrying New Jersey Governor Robert Baumle Meyner in 1957.  An enthusiastic and detailed observer, Helen wrote “diary letters” to her family in the States during these two years where she describes the experiences of her daily activities in the Far East during the American Occupations. In a letter written to her parents on November 20, 1950 Stevenson writes, “I’ve decided that it is too much work to write nice, detailed letters home and try and keep a diary too. So from now on my letters to you will be a diary. I shall number them and will you please be sure and keep each and everyone of them. I want them as valuable reference when I get home.“  Her letters provide a unique perspective into the happenings of the American military in the early 1950’s. These blog entries will focus primarily on Helen’s observations documented in her letters.