New bride gave ‘Waves of Hope’

Agnes Joan Negra holding a copy of the book her son, Ronald, wrote about her experiences during World War II.

Agnes Joan Negra tried to do her part during World War II.

She was a young bride in Nutley while her husband was in Europe fighting and at one point was missing in action during the Battle of the Bulge.

Radio Berlin would broadcast the names of soldiers who had been captured, which Agnes could hear because she owned a short wave radio. While she listened for her husband’s name, she also wrote down the names of the other soldiers and then wrote to their families to let them know what she had heard.

The story of what she did was written down by her son Ronald E. Negra, who was born in Nutley and lived there until he went away to college. The resulting book, titled “Waves of Hope,” was published in 2020.

Agnes never told anyone in the family about what she did—except for her husband.

When she was approaching her 100th birthday, Ron began cleaning out her closets when he came across some old boxes.

“She wasn’t a hoarder, she was a collector,” he said. “Very organized.”

One box was taped up with “1946” written on it.

“I open it up and take a look,” said Ron. “There were over 200 letters and postcards. That’s how they communicated during the war. They were from the POW families. Parents, mothers, wives, families had no knowledge whether their loved ones were alive. They were in prison camps. For the most part many families knew nothing.”

On Radio Berlin, which was accessible only via short wave radio, they would give the name and the town of prisoners of war. Agnes would listen every night at 6 p.m. when they would announce five names. Then Agnes would write to their families.

“Families were so excited to get the news,” said Ron. “She gave them hope—waves of hope. She wrote over 312 letters and got over 200 responses back. When I started reading these letters it got very emotional.”

Ron decided to interview his mom about it.

“The more I talked to her, I realized this was a slice of World War II history,” he said. “Her memory was absolutely fantastic.”

During World War II, every family in Nutley was impacted in some way.

“The Nutley Sun was the newspaper in town,” he said. “They began (printing the names of) service men and some women who were killed and missing in action. You were reminded of how many men, and some women were killed or missing in action.”

During the war, Agnes would spend days hoping to get a letter from her husband, August, who was a Nutley High School graduate who went on to become a captain on the township’s police force.

“The postman would blow (a) whistle if she got a letter from her husband,” Ron said. “If there was regular mail he wouldn’t blow the whistle. It was quite touching. I have that whistle.”

August E. Negra was missing for 44 days and was eventually reunited with Agnes after the war.

When “Waves of Hope” was published, CBS News interviewed Agnes. And then News 12 called a few days later. Magazines called too.

“It was exciting for her,” Ron said. “She was very factual. Never embellished. Never exaggerated. She was a good person to interview. It wasn’t like pulling teeth to get her to say something.”

Agnes was one of 11 children in an extremely close Italian family. They shared everything with each other, but she never talked about writing letters to the families who had loved ones missing in action.

“She never bragged,” said Ron. “She never told us anything.”

Agnes was named a “Hometown Hero” at the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.

In addition, on Nov. 4, 2021, Agnes was awarded the “Women in American History Medal,” and given a citation by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). “Waves of Hope” has been accepted in the DAR library in Washington DC and is displayed on the top shelf in the New Jersey section.

Negra, a Nutley High School graduate, went on to earn a bachelor of science degree and a masters degree in business management and marketing. He retired as an executive after working in the medical industry. He also enjoys writing about genealogy and has authored several books on the subject. He’s married to his wife Valerie and they live in Waretown.