SAN ANTONIO --There are decisions in life that change your world - one action can affect dozens of other lives. For Reba Moss, that moment came just after the end of World War II.
The year was 1946. America was welcoming home veterans eager to start family. Reba met one of them, Harold Moss, in her hometown of Big Spring, Texas. On their second date, he proposed. “He took me by the shoulders and kind of shook me to where I was looking up at him and said, ‘You are going to marry me aren't you?’ And I said, “I guess I am.’”
Harold, however, moved away. Soon, Reba met a handsome World War II Navy veteran - Yancey Edward Stewart, known as Jack. Within two months, Jack proposed.
“He asked me to marry him, and I didn't give him an answer.”
He would never get an answer. Harold arrived on her doorstep, suitcase in hand.
“He started getting stuff out of the drawer and putting it in the suitcase,” recalled Reba. He convinced her to leave town, marrying him the next day. She never talked to Jack again.
“He would see mother at the post office and get in the car and talk to her about it, ask her all kinds of questions,” recalls Reba.
But soon, mysterious envelopes began arriving, with a single random printed ad or coupon. “He would write, ‘Reba this works, try it,’ and then he'd put a “J” under there.”
The mysterious notes were, she believes, his way of letting her know he was still there. They continued until about 10 years ago. That was around the same time Reba's beloved Harold passed away.”
Today, Reba Moss searches World War II websites for Jack.
“I thought, I need to apologize to him for the way I treated him and explain to him how everything happened, that it was meant to be.”
When asked if she ever thinks about the road not taken, Reba replied, “Yes, but I don't think it could be any better because we had three wonderful kids, I have seven wonderful grandkids, and 14 wonderful great-grandkids. We had a good life together.”
Now Reba wants to know that Yancey Edward Stewart - her Jack - had the same.
If you have any information about Stewart, please contact chawes@wfaa.com. Reba recalls that he served in the United States Navy from 1941-1946, spending at least some of that time overseas. He has a younger brother and older sister, and may have gone on to live in Arkansas and California.
