john blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through grand central station. he looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. his interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a florida library. taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. the soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. in the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, miss hollis maynell. with time and effort he located her address. she now lived in new york city. he wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. the next day he was shipped overseas for service in world war ii. during the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. a romance was budding. blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. she felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. when the day finally came for him to return from europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 pm at the grand central station in new york. "you'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose i'll be wearing on my lapel." so at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.