World War II-Era Pen Pals Meet After 63 Years

Oct. 1, 2010— -- It's been a lifetime since a 13-year-old American girl struck up an unlikely friendship with a German pen pal just as the United States was recovering from World War II.

But 63 years after their first letter crossed the Atlantic, Dorothea Harjes and Vivian Smallwood have finally met face-to-face in an airport reunion complete with hugs, smiles and tears.

"I thought I better do it now or we'd never get it done," Smallwood, 75, said. "It was wonderful."

The pair, who hit it off after that very first letter, have steadily remained in contact since the day in 1947 that Smallwood saw an advertisement to be Harjes' pen pal on the back of a cornflakes cereal box.

Their friendship has seen Harjes' marriage to an American soldier, the births of 25 grandchildren between them, and the advent of e-mail.

"She just told me everyday things that were going on and a few things about her family and I did the same with her," said Smallwood, who has saved every single letter she ever received from Harjes. "We just struck it off really good."

"Sometimes it's just maybe a couple of notes a year from either side," Harjes, also 75, said. "We were busy, but we always kept in touch."

The two are now spending a week at Harjes' farm near Green Isle, Minn., where she moved after marrying her American soldier beau.

"I just got to thinking about it. We had talked about it off and on that we ought to get together," Smallwood said. "We were getting older."

A planned trip for Harjes in 2007 was canceled after her husband broke his femur in a farming accident. Then, just as the two had begun making plans again this summer, Harjes' husband again fell ill, this time with heart troubles and also began treatment for prostate cancer.

So Smallwood, who uses crutches and a wheelchair to get around, boarded a plane from her home in Sedro-Woolley. Wash., to finally meet her friend.

"I couldn't believe it. It still seemed so strange," Harjes said of the moment she laid eyes on Smallwood. "It was just so great."

It was only as adults that Smallwood realized the hardship her friend had gone through, living in Berlin during World War II. While Smallwood was nestled in a small Washington state town, Harjes' family had it much harder.