Dad’s Letters Home from WWII – Volume 18 (The End)

This has been an incredible journey discovering and sharing all these letters. I have so many questions that I wish I found them when my Mom was still alive. However, this is the last letter I have and, fittingly, it’s not complete. The last page is missing.

As I said before I never got to know my Dad as an adult, he died shortly after my 14^th birthday. Watching his growth throughout these letters has been fascinating. In the beginning you can see his youthful exuberance about being away from home, traveling to Florida, and starting a new adventure but also being a bit homesick. By the time he’s ready to ship overseas he’s more confident and comfortable as well as a bit nervous about the realities he was about to face. In the end, there appears to be a bit of relief for having survived it all and a need to look to building a future.

ARMY AIR FORCES
Flexible Gunnery School

March 8, 1945

Hi Folks,

            Well, here I am again and as usual I haven’t a heck of a lot to write about except that I’m still in the best of health and everything is okay.

            The weather down here is okay, it rains quite a little but other than that it’s okay, it’s a little chilly down here this morning but most of the time it’s fairly warm. The food down here isn’t too bad it’s quite a bit better than when I was here before, I think I’ll have to start taking P.T. soon and boy will that kill me. Doing P.T. now after missing it for about ten months boy will I be sore and stuff, of course it will do me good there’s no doubt about that it’s just the thought of getting out there and doing it. See how lazy I’m getting.

            Well, I’m certainly glad that George has received his commission, I told you that he would but you had to worry about it, so you see there was nothing to really worry about. As soon as you get his address be sure and send it to me so I can get in touch with him. By the way, did Dad give George the money that he was supposed to?

            Speaking of a furlough, I should get one sometime in June or July and I may get married then too. I’m not quite positive yet whether Rosemary and I should but I certainly would like to, of course I’ll have to talk it over with Rosemary first and if we decide to then I’ll let you know. So you see you may be loving another addition to the family, a wonderful daughter-in-law. What do you honestly think of our getting married this summer?

            I’m not saying that we will but, of course, it hasn’t been decided yet but we may and I’d like to know what you think about it.

            As yet I haven’t received any pay and my cash is running low I’m going to see if I can get some sort of a partial payment, that is, if they’ll give it to me.

            Mom, don’t go back to work on the railroad unless it is absolutely necessary, it’s no place for a…

A lady? A woman? A mother? Your guess is as good as mine, that’s where the letters end. Did he and Rosemary get married that summer? No. That would happen two summers later, though. Did they live happily ever after? Only they could answer that. They were happily married until he died of cancer in 1979. I can tell you they had six kids that they would say are amazing. Plus, dozens of grandchildren, many great-grandchildren, and even a great-great grandson but, sadly, my Dad only met a few of them.

Having flown 70 missions over Europe, my Dad received an Honorable Discharge on September 30, 1945 as well as The Air Medal for meritorious achievement.

He instilled a tremendous work ethic in all of us and never once glorified war.

As a young boy after getting caught up in the Hollywood drama of the movie, Midway, in 1976, I foolishly asked him if he killed anyone when he was in the service. I got a very sobering and stern lecture about how one should never ask such questions. He told me that no one wants to kill another person during war and that other person had a family. They were someone’s father, brother, son, grandson, cousin, or friend. He stressed that I should never forget that or take it lightly. If you were in the service it was part of your job, get them before they got you so you could go home and see your loved ones again. Taking a life was nothing to be proud of so you should never, ever ask that question to a soldier, he told me. It was the ultimate buzzkill but I’m glad he did it. Those words have carried with me ever since. War should never to be taken lightly or rushed into.

He rarely spoke to us about his time in the service. There was only one story that I really remember. As a tail gunner, he used to sit in his seat in the back of the plane leaning forward and likely resting against his gun when traveling to and from their missions but on one particular mission, he was exhausted and not feeling well so he leaned back in his seat for the flight and a small piece of shrapnel blasted through one side of the plane and out the other. Had he been sitting in his normal position, it would have gone through his head and I never would have existed. If that had happened to me, I’m pretty sure I’d never fly again!

What I liked most about reading these letters was that I could hear his voice as if he was reading them to me and that was pretty special!

Oh, and you should know that there was rarely a conversation at the dinner table that wasn’t about football or his beloved track.