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It was July, 1944, and America was at war. From bases and battlefields on the Atlantic and Pacific fronts, soldiers, sailors and airmen were sending streams of letters to their favorite actresses in Hollywood, asking for pin-up photos and commenting on life in the Armed Forces. Almost all of that mail, which studios usually answered with a glossy snapshot showing the star in a saucy pose, has been lost or junked. But the actress Donna Reed, later to become famous for her roles as Mary Bailey in “It's A Wonderful Life” and the middle-class housewife Donna Stone on “The Donna Reed Show,” saved some of the correspondence she received. After nearly 65 years in a shoebox inside an old trunk, stored after Ms. Reed's death in the garage of her home in Beverly Hills, the letters have finally been made public by the actress's younger daughter. Below are letters from Lt. Norman P. Klinker and Edward Skvarna, a U.S. solider to Donna Reed. Related Article »
