Maxine Camper and son Raymond Jr. left Fort Wayne on April 11, 1946, to join First Lt. Raymond Camper at Erlangen, Germany.
The Campers had been living with Maxine’s father, W.D. Starling, on Wells Street while Lt. Camper was serving in the Army during and after World War II. Maxine was notified in late March by the War Department that she and her 9-year-old son would be among the first group of wives and dependents of Army personnel to sail to Europe.
Maxine and Raymond Jr. received vaccinations and quickly began packing for the trip. Maxine was allowed to take 350 pounds of baggage and her son could pack 175 pounds. Household goods and their car were to be shipped later, according to a March 30 story by Tom Gilliam in The Journal Gazette.
Maxine had received letters from her husband about stores, gas stations and other services being added to a block of houses were they would live.
Maxine and her son both said they were happy to be rejoining Lt. Camper, but Raymond Jr. was worried about his bike. He hoped the Army would let him take it.
“It’s a good bike – better than any ol’ German bike,” he said.
Maxine and Raymond Jr. arrived in Bremerhaven, German, on April 28 aboard the transport Thomas H. Barry, according to an Associated Press photo that appeared in The Journal Gazette on May 3.
Lt. Camper, who had been in the Army for four years, was stationed with the Headquarters Group Utilities Section of the Ninth Air Force and had served overseas for 25 months. The Campers were expected to remain in Germany for two years.