J. Clyde Haney (Joseph) was born on September 2, 1912 in Dakota, Minnesota. As a child, Haney moved to Madison, Wisconsin to be raised by his grandparents. After graduation, he began working for the local theater in Madison and eventually took a job in marketing with the Fox Entertainment Corporation. Vera Wolferman was born on September 12, 1918 in Madison, Wisconsin. She attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, played the violin in the UW Symphony Orchestra, and earned a degree in accounting and finance. Haney and Wolferman met while she was a student at the university and eventually married in early 1940. The couple had their first child, Richard C. Haney, in November, 1940, and moved to Janesville a year later.
After the United States entered the war, Haney was an active member of the war effort at home. He helped raise a large portion of money for the Rock County, Wisconsin Red Cross, and conducted War Bond Drives in Janesville. Haney was drafted into the Army in February, 1944 after the exemption keeping pre-Pearl Harbor fathers from being drafted was dropped. He received basic training at Fort Blanding and was selected for advanced training in Intelligence Reconnaissance. Once Haney was in England, he underwent airborne training and was then attached to the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division. During the Battle of the Bulge, the division was selected to help relieve the 101st Airborne Division under siege at Bastogne. He was treated for frostbite during the battle, and was declared wounded. However, he recovered from this and was sent back to his company. The 17th Airborne Division was also selected to participate in Operation Varsity, the codename for the airborne crossing of the Rhine River. On March 24th, 1945, Haney was killed when his glider crashed during the opening phases of the assault. He was buried in the United States Military Cemetery at Margraten, Netherlands.
After the death of her husband, Vera remained in Janesville and worked to support herself and her son. She remarried in 1950. In 1972, she traveled to Europe to visit the grave of her husband. Richard attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison and earned a PhD in history. He specialized in 20th Century history and taught at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. In 2005, he compiled the correspondences his father had sent home in the book "When is Daddy Coming Home?" an American family during World War II.
