According to her official government 201 file Florence E. Wylie got her wartime job at the Seattle Port of Embarkation on 5 October 1943. She progressed from Junior Clerk to  Administrative Assistant over the course of her service in the Marine Payroll Section of the Civilian Personnel Branch. She was responsible for bond issuance schedules, retirement deductions, computing sick leaves and certifying allotment payments. She was  great at her job as she moved up through the civilian ranks rapidly and received an “Emblem Award for Meritorious Civilian Service” in 1945.

 

Sweetie, a nickname she received as a child from her father, came to Seattle from Des Moines, Iowa along with her mother. She worked on the Seattle waterfront and Kenny Lee was enrolled at the University of Washington’s V-12 program. 

 

No letter exists about their first meeting but it is known that Marji Atwater, who was the sister of Kenny’s best friend Leo, was in Seattle and Marji’s soon-to-be husband, Charles Ott, was one of the V-12 crowd. So Kenny knew Marji and Kenny knew Oot but how Sweetie got into the mix is unknown. The four of them continued to be lifelong friends however so something magical must have happened. 

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