More than 200 love letters written during World War Two that tell the intimate story of a couple’s wartime courtship are now available digitally through the Nashville Public Library after being discovered in a Nashville home. Ray Whittaker and Jane Dean met while both were students at the historically Black Meharry Medical College in Nashville, but lost touch when Ray left Tennessee before being drafted into the Army in summer 1942. Ray decided to reestablish contact with Jane who was working as a medical lab technician at Vanderbilt University, and her first reply greeted him somewhat formally as Dear Wm R while listing mutual acquaintances who had recently gotten married before signing off lovingly.
Just two months after their first letters the romance heated up rapidly, with Ray teasing Jane about having something very important to tell her and even suggesting he might ask her to marry while joking about needing someone to help him spend his officer salary. Jane was initially skeptical asking what makes you think you still love me and whether he was just lonesome and far from home, but Ray won her over by explaining he had dated other women but never found the companionship and love he wanted until reconnecting with her. The couple married on November 7 in Birmingham, and just two days later Jane addressed him as my darling husband expressing how wonderful it was to have such a sweet husband while hoping the war would soon be over so they could be together always. The letters donated to Metro Nashville Archives in 2016 offer an intimate glimpse into love during wartime and experiences navigating racial issues in the segregated military, with archivist Kelley Sirko saying you cannot help but smile when reading through them.
