William (Billy) IinoBill Iino was a Nisei, second generation Japanese American, who grew up in Oakland, California. His parents ran a grocery business of ten stores throughout the East Bay Area called "Frank's Market," until the onset of World War II when they and their children were incarcerated at the Topaz concentration camp in Utah in 1942. Bill was drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 22 and soon thereafter recruited into the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. While stationed in Livorno, Italy he worked in the personnel headquarters. The most dreaded experiences he recalled was identifying the dead bodies of members of the 442nd RCT, some of whom had been his friends growing up. He was honorably discharged from the 442nd November 1945 and returned to the Bay Area. He raised a family and had a number of business ventures: running a grocery store, to real estate, to dry cleaning. He loved people, fishing, and humor.
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Jany LoreJany was a singer and performer living in Nice during World War II. She met Billy at the Red Cross where they shared a dance and then consequently sparked a relationship which was maintained through letters and personal visits when Bill was given military leave. Jany, a French girl, talks mostly about how much she loves and misses Billy, often begging him to write her quicker and more frequently. She also has tasked herself with helping Billy with his French learning. Because of Jany's talent, she is asked to perform for many different groups of soldiers as part of a traveling performance troupe, similar to the USO girls. Through the letters, we get a better sense of her emotions and feelings towards herself, the war and of course, Billy darling.
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Gilbert Lodin and Gaby LodinGilbert and Gaby Lodin were often referred to by Jany as uncle and aunt Lodin. The couple were very close to Jany and Billy despite them not being family. Jany viewed then as additional parents, which was especially important because Jany did not have a good relationship with her father. Mr and Mrs Lodin also adopted Billy in a way, as evidenced by them asking him to call them "aunt and uncle" Lodin. Mr. Lodin travelled often and also received gifts from Billy such as flint and chewing gum. The couple are clearly very interested in Billy and even struck up a correspondance of their own!
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Suzanne BaumeSuzanne was another person that Billy became close to during his time in France. She was a teacher working on one of the military bases and often asked Billy about his time on the front. She encouraged him to practice his French so that she could practice her English. Her letters have the most contextual information and she often reflects on the war and what it means to her and Billy. She is equally interested in Billy's life back in America and expresses her gratitude in terms of being able to correspond directly with an American currently in France.
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