The AI-assisted biography of my maternal grandmother is in ABC Biography of #7 Emily Kemp (Auble) Carringer (1899-1977) of Illinois and California. I wrote a story about her life in 1916 in Ask AI: Describe Emily Auble's Life After the Death of Her Father In 1916.
The AI-assisted biography of my maternal grandfather is in ABC Biography of #6 Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976) of San Diego, California. I wrote a story about Lyle being a young working man in 1916 being teased about being boring in Lyle's Story: Finding Courage in 1916-1917.
(AI NotebookLM infographic -- Emily and Lyle's Story: The Promise Made)
Emily and Lyle's Story: The Promise Made
Mid-April - Waiting for the Inevitable
The Selective Service Act worked its way through Congress. The newspapers tracked its progress daily. There was debate about the age range—should it be 21 to 30? Or wider? Should there be exemptions for essential workers? For married men?
Lyle and Emily fell into a routine shaped by the awareness that their time together might be limited. Every evening after work, he walked her home. Every weekend, they explored some part of San Diego—Balboa Park with its beautiful buildings from the 1915 Exposition, the harbor with its increasing Naval presence, quiet neighborhoods where they could pretend the world wasn't at war.
One Saturday in mid-April, they rode the trolley out to Hillcrest and walked for hours, talking about their families, their childhoods, their hopes and fears.
"Tell me about growing up here," Emily said as they sat on a bench overlooking the city. "You were born in San Diego, right? What was it like?"
Lyle thought back to his childhood on 30th Street. "Smaller," he said with a smile. "Much smaller. When I was young, you could walk to the edge of town in any direction. The 1915 Exposition changed everything—suddenly San Diego felt like a real city. But before that, it was almost like a frontier town."
"I love that you've always lived here," Emily said. "You know every street, every neighborhood. You have roots."
"Don't you feel rooted? You've been here since you were young, haven't you?"
"We moved here when I was twelve," Emily said. "From Illinois, where I was born. Father was a painter and wanted warmer weather all year round, Mother wanted to be near her brothers, who'd already moved to California for work and the climate. So I remember other places, other homes. San Diego is where I grew up, but it's not where I'm from, if that makes sense."
"It does," Lyle said. "But Emily, home isn't just where you're born. It's where you belong. And you belong here. With me."
She looked at him, and Lyle saw his own feelings reflected in her eyes. "Yes," she said simply. "I do."
Late April - Decisions and Declarations
On April 28, the Selective Service Act passed through Congress. President Wilson would sign it into law on May 18. All males aged 21 to 30 would be required to register for military service.
That evening, Lyle and Emily sat by the harbor long after the sun had set, watching lights flicker on ships in the bay.
"I'm going to enlist," Lyle said. "Before the draft registration. I've made up my mind."
Emily was quiet for a long moment. "When?"
"Soon. Maybe next week. I want to talk to my parents first, and I need to arrange things at Marston's. Charlie Morrison can take over some of my duties until they find a permanent replacement."
"A replacement," Emily repeated, and Lyle heard the pain in her voice.
"Just temporary," he assured her, though they both knew he couldn't guarantee anything. "I'll be back before you know it."
"Will you?" Emily turned to face him, her eyes glistening in the lamplight. "Lyle, men are dying over there. This isn't some adventure story—this is real war. You could be killed."
"I could also be assigned to a desk job here in San Diego," Lyle countered. "The Marines need clerks and accountants too. With my experience at Marston's, they might keep me stateside."
"Do you really believe that?"
Lyle sighed. "No. But I have to believe I'll survive. I have to believe I'll come home. Because if I don't believe that, I'll be too scared to go at all."
Emily took both his hands in hers. "I'm terrified," she admitted. "We've only just found each other, and now you're leaving. It's not fair."
"I know. But Emily, that's exactly why I have to go. To make the world safe for people like us—people who want nothing more than to build quiet, ordinary lives together. If I don't fight for that now, what kind of future will we have?"
"A future where you're alive," Emily said fiercely. "That's the future I want."
"And I want to give you that future. But I have to earn it first. Don't you see? I can't ask you to wait for a man who didn't have the courage to serve when his country needed him."
"You're asking me to wait anyway," Emily pointed out.
"Am I?" Lyle's heart pounded. "I haven't presumed...that is, I didn't know if you'd want to..."
Emily smiled through her tears. "You're asking me if I'll wait for you. The answer is yes. Of course I'll wait. I love you, Lyle Carringer. I've known it for weeks, even though it's crazy and we've barely known each other. But I do. I love you."
"I love you too," Lyle said, and the words felt like the most important he'd ever spoken. "When I come back—"
"When you come back," Emily interrupted firmly, "we'll build that house in North Park. With the garden and the fruit trees and bird baths and fish ponds. And we'll be happy."
"When I come back," Lyle continued, "will you marry me, Emily Auble?"
Emily laughed and cried at the same time. "Are you proposing?"
"I suppose I am. I don't have a ring, and I'm doing it all wrong, but yes. I'm proposing. Will you marry me when I come home from the war?"
"Yes," Emily said without hesitation. "Yes, I'll marry you. When you come home."
They held each other on the seawall, the lights of San Diego twinkling around them, the dark Pacific stretching away toward a war neither of them fully understood. Ships moved in the harbor, carrying young men who might never return. But in that moment, Lyle and Emily chose to believe in a future—improbable, uncertain, but achingly real.
May 16, 1917
On May 16th, two days before the draft registration, Lyle walked Emily home from work one final time before he planned to enlist. They took the long route, through downtown and down to the harbor, then up through the quiet residential streets toward Harrison Street.
"Tomorrow I'm going to talk to the Marine recruiter," Lyle said. "I've put it off long enough."
"I know," Emily said. "I've been counting the days."
"My mother cried when I told her. Father just nodded—I think he expected it. They're proud, but they're scared too."
"So am I," Emily admitted. "Scared and proud both."
They stopped in a small park a few blocks from Emily's house. It was quiet at this hour, the streetlights just beginning to flicker on as dusk settled over San Diego.
"I want you to know something," Lyle said, taking both her hands. "These past four months have been the most important of my life. Whatever happens—wherever the Marines send me—I'll carry the memory of you with me. Your laugh, your kindness, the way you see the best in everything. That's what I'll be fighting for."
"Write to me," Emily said. "Every day if you can. I'll write back. I'll tell you about Marston's and San Diego and all the ordinary things happening here. I'll be your connection to home."
"I'll write," Lyle promised. "Every chance I get."
They walked the final blocks to Hawthorn Street in silence, holding hands, trying to memorize every detail of this last ordinary evening. At the gate, Emily turned to him.
"This isn't goodbye," she said firmly. "This is just...see you later."
"See you later," Lyle agreed. "I love you, Emily."
"I love you too. Come home to me, Lyle Carringer. That's an order."
He smiled despite the tightness in his throat. "Yes, ma'am."
One last kiss—chaste and tender and full of promise—and then Emily walked up the path to her house. She turned once at the door to wave, and Lyle waved back. Then she was inside, and Lyle was alone on Hawthorn Street as the last light faded from the sky.
He walked to the trolley stop, his mind full of everything that had happened since that January dance. Four months ago, he'd been a shy floorwalker who could barely talk to girls. Now he was a man in love, about to become a Marine, heading to war with a promise to keep and a future to build.
The trolley carried him home through the spring night, and Lyle watched his city slide past the windows—the downtown lights, the residential neighborhoods climbing into the hills. Tomorrow he would enlist. Soon he would leave all of this behind.
But he would come back. He had to. Emily was waiting.
And somewhere in the future—uncertain but real—there was a house in North Park with a garden and fruit trees, and a life full of quiet happiness with the woman he loved.
All he had to do was survive a war first.
...to be continued
Here is the Video Overview of this post by Google NotebookLM:
This is historical fiction based on the facts that are available for the life and family of my maternal grandparents, Lyle and Emily(Auble) Carringer. It is based on my research, social history and society norms at the time and place, and it is likely realistic. It might have happened this way.
Stay tuned for the next chapters in this family story.
Here are the previous chapters:
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