Chapter 22
7:30 PM
September 24, 1941
Lafayette Room
Officers Open Mess,
Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania
Kari Hansen, resplendent in her new Navy uniform, stood in the receiving line with her arm intertwined with the arm of her husband, Naval Lieutenant Mark Hansen. The line formed inside the double oak doors of the stately Lafayette Room in the Officers’ Club at Carlisle Barracks, the venue for Kari’s Bon Voyage Party.
Marta and Phillip Genero stood next to the Hansens. Marta looked stunning, as usual. Still, the stress of Kari’s overseas assignment had taken its toll. To provide comfort, Phillip held Marta’s hand.
First Lieutenant Genero stood next to his dad, looking sharp in his tailored Army officer’s uniform with the glittering silver wings pinned above the left breast pocket
