Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and the American Volunteer Group in Burma and China, 1941-1942

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Olga Greenlaw's first marriage

Oh my goodness, it seems that young Olga Sowers had already been married when she met Harvey Greenlaw in 1933 — not once, but twice! Here's a reproduction of her first venture into matrimony, which I suspect was an elopement, given that it was performed by a justice of the peace and the witness appears to have been the groom's brother. Olga is shown as 18, though I believe she was actually 20, her mother having subtracted two years from her age so that she would fit better among her classmates in the Los Angeles schools. Ray Kimball, the groom, is five years older and already divorced, though his occupation is given as "student." The wedding took place in April 1928 in Santa Ana, an hour's drive south of Los Angeles.

Marriage certificate, Olga Sowers Kimbell

The second marriage certificate is harder to make out. The ceremony took place a bit more than two years later, in December 1930, and it appears to have been blessed by the family and the church, since Olga's two sisters signed as witnesses, and the affair was solemnized by a "Priest & Minister of the Gospel." Henri Withington, the groom, is likewise 25 years old and a divorced man; online sources say that he ran a Los Angeles music store with his father. Olga, however, is shown as single, suggesting that her marriage to Ray Kimbell had since been annulled.

A tip of the virtual hat to Eileen Horan, who turned up these records after noticing that Alicia Sowers Schweizer -- Olga's sister -- was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, a name and circumstance that piqued her interest.

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