My father and my uncle were friends in the Marines in the South Pacific during the war. When his friend got a "Dear John" letter from his girlfriend, my father gave him his sister's address and they began corresponding and got married in 1945. They had two children, 7 grandchildren, and I don't know how many great-grandchildren by now--none of whom would have been born if my father and my uncle had not been friends in the Marines.
What a loving family! It makes perfect sense now.
My grandfather was in the 509th PIB. He made the first ever U.S. combat jumps into North Africa. There would be over 50 nonexistent people if he'd been shot instead of captured on a ill-conceived and busted mission at Avellino, in the mountains of Italy.
http://www.historynet.com/the-darkest-valley-paratroopers-in-italy.htm