AisleDash

I just love this story -- it is so noble, so romantic, and so distinctly old-fashioned. In 1944, when Maj. Claude Hensinger was fighting in WW II, a parachute saved his life. He used it to jump from a plane and land safely, and that night, he wrapped himself in it and used it as a pillow. Three years later he presented it to his girlfriend, Ruth, and suggested she might want to make a wedding dress out of it -- that is, if she would like to marry him. Ruth said yes, made a lovely dress out of the parachute, and they got married. Beyond the sheer awesomeness of the story, I am also pretty astounded that Ruth was able to create such a lovely dress out of a parachute. I cannot begin to imagine what I would have done in the same situation, although I fairly certain my wedding dress would have been something...Roman. Like a toga. Held together by safety pins.

Even more wonderful: later, their daughter and their son's bride wore the same dress.

The dress is on display at the Smithsonian -- as it should be.