Helen and Her Married Man

Now that we have covered the very heavy and depressing topics of racial prejudice and self inflicted injury in the military, we are moving on to a lighter and much more entertaining note. After arriving in Japan, Helen quickly made acquaintances with the stationed officers at Johnson Air Force Base especially with one specific Lieutenant Thomas Moore, Air Force Pilot. Mentioned often in her letters home and extensively in her private diary, the “terribly attractive” Tom Moore is a prominent actor in Helen’s adventure to the Far East. First described in November 20, 1950 letter to “Mom and Pop” she wrote:

“I went down to the officers Club with a Lt. Tom Moore who I’ve been dating- He is 26, married and has a daughter- never thought I’d see the day when I’d be dating married men but some- how over here it seems to make little difference- But as one old Red Cross gal told me “you just gotta watch it.” Many a little Red Cross gal has suffered a  broken heart because she loved a married officer.”

Though saying they are “just friends” at the beginning Lt. Moore is mentioned in passing quite often, Helen frequently accompanied him to the Officers Club and dined in the Officer’s Mess Hall. They “danced and kissed on New Year’s Eve” according to a December 31, 1950 diary entry. Their relationship continued until Lt. Moore was reassigned to an Air Base in California, though Helen was determined not to be involved with a married officer her Jan 9, 1951 diary entry depicted an emotional send off to Lt. Thomas Moore: “Farewell Thomas. Good luck to you.You are a sweet, sincere wonderful boy – a real man… I hated to see him go. The cute guy- Maybe I’ll see him again someday.I found myself almost resenting his wife.”