Devotedly, Gwin

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.