Thinking about Aunt Teenie

Francis Bougere and Marie Ernestine Booksh, Spring 1944

Vera Begue Booksh with daughter Vera Booksh, Wilton Booksh Jr.
and his sister, Marie Ernestine Booksh, Spring 1944

I always think about Aunt Teenie (Marie Ernestine Booksh) on June 6. She and Uncle Bou were married on New Years Eve, 31 December 1943, and they only had a few months together before he left for England. She was only 24 years old when she died on 5 June 1944, the day before D-Day.

The family sent a telegram to her husband, but it wasn't delivered until after the invasion. Uncle Bou was a radioman in the Army Air Corps and they didn't want to distract him from his work on that important day. I was just 3 years old at the time, but I remember it well. It was my first experience of death and I missed her so much. I remember standing at the back door that night and seeing a shooting star. Mama said that meant someone's soul was going to heaven and I was sure it was Aunt Teenie. She was a dear, sweet loving person.