Posts Tagged Iowa WWII Bonus Case Files

#52Ancestors: Week 14 – Lloyd Lester Pinney – World War II Bonus Case Files

This is week 14 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of u52ancestors-2015 Images blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year.  To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.

“He is a much older man” they whispered. When family members talked about Lloyd it was in hushed tones. When your husband is older than your parents, yes, people will talked, quietly. That lets you know there must be some juicy story to tell. As a teenager, I wasn’t that interested in the gossip.

Lloyd Pinney was indeed much older than his wife Doris Budny. At 28 years her senior, Lloyd brought some stability to Doris’s life. My aunt Doris went down a rocky path in life. The union to Lloyd in her late 30’s helped a bit. The couple would move to Mayflower, Arkansas. After that, there wasn’t much talk of Doris and Lloyd.

Lloyd outlived Doris by four years. In 1984, Doris passed away at the age of 44. Lloyd moved back up to Michigan after her death. He was 75 years old when he died in 1988.

So who was this “much older man”?

Lloyd Lester Pinney, is the son of Allison G. Pinney and Laura M. Stover. He and his sister Ella Louis Pinney were born in Webb, Iowa. Lloyd remained on the farm until he was 30. Then far away in Hawaii, the unthinkable happen. The farm boy from Iowa joined the US Navy on January 14, 1942; five weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack. He was in the service for 20 months.

I found out about his service record from the World War II Bonus Case Files. When I first saw the title of the database, I envision juicy secret war records. No such luck. Move along folks, no gossip to be found here. Lloyd was in the files because he received cash money from the Iowa Legislature for his service to his country.

Iowa, World War II Bonus Case Files, 1947-1954

The following description is from Ancestry.com

In May 1947, the Iowa Legislature approved bonus payments of up to $500 for men and women who served on active duty in the U.S. armed forces between 16 September 1940 and 2 September 1945. To qualify, applicants had to be legal residents of Iowa for at least the six months prior to their service.

Along with name, birth date and place, place of residence for six months prior to enlistment or induction, and address where a check could be sent, forms may provide a wide variety of details related to the applicant’s service. The forms in this database were filled out by veterans.

WWII Bonus Case File Application

WWII Bonus Case File Application

Lloyd Pinney WWII Bonus File Page 2_1950

Page 2 of Lloyd Pinney’s application

Lloyd’s application affirms that he was living in Webb, Iowa before he joined the service. He may have traveled to Buffalo, NY, for training, as his service started there. Lloyd’s bonus payment was $230. In 1950, that amount would cover about three months’ rent.

 

Farm Boy Moves to the Big City

The form doesn’t provide where Lloyd mustered out of service. Lloyd does make his way to Detroit, MI, most likely for work. He married Amy E. Reagan on January 3, 1945. She divorced him a scant two years later. What life Lloyd led between 1947 to about 1977 remains a mystery. I have not be able to find his name in any city directories. I don’t know when or where he met my Aunt Doris.

Because of the age difference, Lloyd was already retired when my aunt turned 40. There were no children from the marriage. My aunt and her husband had their life out in rural Arkansas. I was busy with my life in the city. And then, they weren’t there anymore for someone to talk about them.

The winds of time whisper their names to tell me not to forget them. Add their stories to the family tree the whisperer says. By gossiping, they shall be known.

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