Would this relationship lead to arrest today?

[nogooddeed]

I was reading an online story about a soldier killed in a plane crash in Alaska in 1952 whose remains were discovered two years ago, recently identified through DNA and will be buried in his hometown.  At 21, he married a 15 year old and they had a child two years later, just before he died.  Reading the article, it was obvious they loved each other.  So, how would that relationship, given the ages, be viewed today?  If differently, why the shift in attitude? 

[hoops902]

When you say "if differently", how do we know how it was viewed then? 

[movingforward]

Loretta Lynn was almost 15 when she married a 20 or 21 yr old in 1947. I could be wrong but I think it was "looked down upon" back then.  It didn't lead to arrest but I am not so sure it was viewed much differently than it would be today. 

[midjd]

15-year-olds are still permitted to marry in some states. (In California, there is no minimum age as long as the parents consent).

globaljusticeinitiative.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/united-states-age-of-consent-table11.pdf

[zibazinski]

No kidding. To me that's a form of child abuse or endangerment.

[Nazgul Girl]

   Back when, I knew (sort of ) a couple of girls in H.S. who weren't even pregnant, and got married at the ages of 15 and 16.   They dropped out.  Most of us thought it was stupid.

[alabamagal]

My husbands grandparents got married when she was 14 he was 16.  This would have been in the early 1930s and in Georgia.  First child when she was 16.  Last (#5) when she was 42.

My grandfather dropped out of school and went to work in the coal mines at age 13 (in 1925) in Pennsylvania to help support his family (12 siblings total he was #3).  Although he lacked formal education, he was a very intelligent man, master at crosswords puzzles.  My grandmother also did not finish school, at 15 she was put in a trade school that taught women how to cook, sew and other household chores so that they could get a job as a maid or nanny.

Now refer to the post on how we treat young adults nowadays.

[movingforward]

When I was 15  I went out on a few dates with a 23 yr old.  Now I look back and wonder what the hell a 23 yr old was doing with a 15 yr old.  We only went on maybe 3-4 dates because he was a lot more - um - "advanced" than I was and I wasn't ready to go there.  I mean really, what was wrong with this guy that he wanted a 15 yr old girl rather than a 23 yr old woman... granted I had a 23 yr old body, but still why was he not dating women his own age.  I thought it was cool then that he wanted to date me but looking back it just seems weird. 

[Tennesseer]

Jun 20, 2014 9:23:24 GMT -5 nogooddeed said:

I was reading an online story about a soldier killed in a plane crash in Alaska in 1952 whose remains were discovered two years ago, recently identified through DNA and will be buried in his hometown.  At 21, he married a 15 year old and they had a child two years later, just before he died.  Reading the article, it was obvious they loved each other.  So, how would that relationship, given the ages, be viewed today?  If differently, why the shift in attitude? 

I would like to know where this soldier was born, grew up, where the couple met and lived at the time of their marriage. The mores at the time of his marriage and where they were married may not have been that unusual for their region and times.

[swamp]

White people used to own black people and that was seen as OK. What is acceptable changes.........

[movingforward]

Jun 20, 2014 11:11:10 GMT -5 swamp said:

White people used to own black people and that was seen as OK. What is acceptable changes.........

  There are whole slew of behaviors that were once deemed acceptable.  Thank goodness I didn't live back in the 1600s because I am pretty sure I would have been burned at the stake...

[swamp]

I remember being about 13 and some of my acquaintances were dating 18 year olds. At the time, that seemed really cool and the guys were just awesome.

Now I look back and realize what losers the guys were.

[Cookies Galore]

A friend's relative was on that flight. She posted this article on Facebook a while back: www.delawareonline.com/story/news/nation/military/2014/05/21/missing-del-mans-remains-coming-home/9398761/

[Phoenix84]

I knew someone in college who was 18 and was going to marry his 18 year old girlfriend. They insisted they were in love and it would last forever, but who knows? I thought they were too young.

[Phoenix84]

I don't know, I wasn't around in the 40's.

I would imagine it was at least frowned upon back then.

[dannylion]

When my grandmother married in 1915, she was 15 and my grandfather was 27. Things were different then. 

According to my grandmother, she was the pursuer, which I can believe. I never heard an unkind or disrespectful word pass between them.  They were happily married until my grandfather passed away at the age of 85.  I think my grandmother was determined to marry as soon as possible because she was the eldest of 16 children in a rather chaotic family.  I expect she was tired of the constant childcare duties as there were at least 10 children in the family by the time she married.  She and my grandfather had two children. 

[busymom]

The neighborhood I grew up in had a cute old couple, where the bride was 16 when they got married. I don't believe he was more than a year or two older than she was. They were still very much in love in their old age.

[Miss Tequila]

Jun 20, 2014 10:49:41 GMT -5 movingforward said:

When I was 15  I went out on a few dates with a 23 yr old.  Now I look back and wonder what the hell a 23 yr old was doing with a 15 yr old.  We only went on maybe 3-4 dates because he was a lot more - um - "advanced" than I was and I wasn't ready to go there.  I mean really, what was wrong with this guy that he wanted a 15 yr old girl rather than a 23 yr old woman... granted I had a 23 yr old body, but still why was he not dating women his own age.  I thought it was cool then that he wanted to date me but looking back it just seems weird. 

Exact same situation here. I'm tall and was shapely and did not look 15. But what the hell could a 23 year old have in common with a 15 year old? I have a 15 year old now and the thought of a 23 year old dating her makes me want to kill!

[Formerly SK]

Jun 20, 2014 10:53:20 GMT -5 @tbird said:

Jun 20, 2014 10:49:41 GMT -5 movingforward said:

When I was 15  I went out on a few dates with a 23 yr old.  Now I look back and wonder what the hell a 23 yr old was doing with a 15 yr old.  We only went on maybe 3-4 dates because he was a lot more - um - "advanced" than I was and I wasn't ready to go there.  I mean really what was wrong with this guy that he want a 15 yr old girl rather than a 23 yr old woman... granted I had a 23 yr old body but still why was he not dating women his own age.  I thought it was cool then that he wanted to date me but looking back it just seems weird. 

when I was 17 I dated a 31 yo. He refused to go to prom with me and that pissed me off.

Yes - looking back is when you realize WTF. At the time, it eludes you.

When I was 18 I dated a 31yo for about 1.5 years.  He had tons of premature grey hair, too, so he looked even older.  We ended up living together for 3-4 months.  I ended it because I outgrew him.

Looking back now I'm simply flabbergasted that that relationship occurred.  The poor guy was just horribly stunted.  I was a complete idiot (even in 18yo terms) but I cannot imagine now what a 31/32yo would have in common with someone 13 years younger.