Granddaughter fulfills veteran grandfather's promise
Summer Goddard
Emilie McGrath holds a photo of her grandfather in his WWII uniform.
Summer Goddard
Kim Cochran, current owner of James Peace’s home in Valley View, shows his granddaughter Emilie McGrath a James Peace Ranch sign and an aerial photograph of the property taken in the 80s.
Summer Goddard
James Arthur Peace
Summer Goddard
Raymond William Latty
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For her entire life, Emilie McGrath heard stories about her grandfather, Raymond William Latty, even though he died many years before her birth. Her father John Latty kept his Pops’ memory alive by sharing stories about him all through her growing up years.
Raymond grew up living and working on a family farm in Gainesville, Georgia, and he, like other young men of his generation, served in the U.S. Army during WWII. Prior to being shipped overseas to Guam he was stationed in Kissimee, Florida, where he worked on an Army flightline repairing plane engines. In Kissimee, Raymond became friends with a fellow engine mechanic, James Arthur Peace. . Peace hailed from Polson, Montana, and just like Raymond, grew up living on his family’s farm. The two men found much in common and became great friends. In a letter to his sister, Raymond said, “I met another country guy from Montana and he’s like me and doesn’t drink.” During their assignments in Kissimee, James’s brother visited and all three of them went out to dinner. Raymond wrote to his sister that dinner was really fun but super expensive, $6.25, but added, it was worth it.
Raymond and James eventually made a pact that following their release from the service, which took place in 1946, they would correspond with one another and also promised to visit each other’s farms. They were separated when Raymond was sent to Guam and Peace was sent to Korea.
Raymond thought the world of James saying that he was the bravest man he’d ever known and that he was such a good mechanic he could tell right away what was wrong with an engine just by listening to it. Emilie said this must have been true because her family always said that her grandfather Raymond (Pops) was the most honest man they had ever known.
For twenty years they corresponded with one another, telling all the happenings from the year about their farms, getting married and later about the birth of their children. John recalls his father anxiously watching the mailbox for his annual Christmas letter from James. Life however, got in the way of a cross-country trip and their promises to visit never took place. Their correspondences ended with a letter from Raymond’s sister explaining to James that Raymond had passed away.
Recently Arthur’s granddaughter, Emilie, moved from Gainesville, Georgia, to Kalispell. Emilie’s father reminded her that Pops’ good friend James, the one from his service days that he talked about all the time, had lived not far from Kalispell. Just 18 years old at the time of his Pops’ passing, John reminisced that when his father was close to dying, he said his only regret, (he was 52 years old), was that he had never gone to visit his buddy in Polson.
Emilie made the decision to fulfil her grandfather’s promise by finding and visiting James’s home, located on Foreman Road in the Valley View area. She contacted the current residents, Kim and Tyler Cochran, and they graciously invited her to come by and take photos. It turns out there are still out-buildings standing that James constructed and she also found out that James’s wife, Nancy, worked for many years as a teacher at Valley View School.
Family connections and multi-generational stories mean a lot to Emilie. As she continues to communicate with her father back in Gainesville, she greatly appreciates the special bond created by sharing family history. Thanks to her, a veteran’s biggest regret has now become a promise kept.
