Dave Dunlevy Papers

The papers of Dave Dunlevy (1942-2007) contain 27 handwritten letters from him on his air force bases in San Francisco or North Carolina or overseas in England, to his romantic interest and later fiancé, Anita Hillman (1941-2006) in Fort Worth, Texas from the dates of October 1965 to May 1967. Dave’s letters outline some of his activities while on base, but also include personal activities, thoughts and musings, and inquiry into Anita’s studies at Texas Christian University. The gaps in dates of the letters indicate vacation time off base with Anita and his family, as well as deployments to Europe or East Asia. Many of his letters are devoted to declaring his love for Anita, and the letter dated April 23, 1966, which is dated two months after the previous letter, mentions his proposal of marriage to her during his time home: “Darling, I’ve wondered a good bit about just what all was accomplished while we were together[,] most important you said ‘yes’ when I asked you to marry me…” Dave also discusses the financial issues of the military, in regard to his lack of pay for many weeks. Dave and Anita eventually were married and had a son. Also included in the letters are two cards, one of which was not sent with a letter, but the other was. In one of the letters, Dunlevy sent a used Tactical Air Command patch; another letter contains mailing receipts for a package Dunlevy sent to Hillman. A third letter contains a plastic label with Anita’s name punched on; one other contains a permanent change of station order, transferring him from the San Francisco base to the North Carolina base, dated January 19, 1966 in effect for March 20, 1966. The letters are in good condition; all have been folded in some manner. The letters are handwritten in ink in cursive. One of the letters is written on official United States Air Force paper. Supplemental material on Dave Dunlevy and Anita Hillman were taken from their obituaries: https://memorials.bozemitchellmckibbin.com/dave-dunlevy/2655348/obituary.php https://obits.dallasnews.com/us/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/name/anit a-dunlevy-obituary?id=26769115