I'm struck by this again and again as I transcribe letters written by Farkas cousins to the family tree association during WWII. These cousins were in the service (some in the US Army, some in Army Air Corps, some in Navy, some in WAC) and their letters home are filled with observations that bring history alive and illuminate how the war experiences affected them personally. The letters also reveal personality and, often, a dry sense of humor.
Above, the letterhead from a cousin's letter written in January, 1943. Notice the words running along the ribbon at bottom of the image--"Prepare for Combat."
Cousin G enlisted to fly but he couldn't land the way the Army Air Force wanted, he wrote home in a 1942 letter. At that point, he chose to train as a navigator/bombardier.
In this 1943 letter, written from an Army Air Field in Monroe, LA, cousin G is "waiting around for shipment to Advanced [training] which will be in Coral Gables, Florida." He mentions that the school is run by Pan-American (Airways) and he has to satisfy a tougher standard. Why does he care which school he attends?
"The main reason I decided upon the Gables was that most of the navigation is over water and from what I hear that is pretty important when you have to pick an island out of the whole Pacific."Cousin G understands that he has a role to play in history and takes it seriously, even when his letters make the family smile. His role in history affects his family history too, and I'm proud to document what he wrote to the family during these critical years. Plus I'm learning more about historical details as I add explanatory endnotes to the letters, ensuring that future generations will get the full picture of our family's contributions to and experiences in World War II.
I never expected when I started genealogy that I would fall in love with history. And when I finally transcribe my grand uncle's WWII letters I know I will have to learn more.
ReplyDeleteAnna, I feel exactly the same way. Now that I see how history affects family history in a personal way, I LOVE history and love learning more through my genealogy! Thanks for reading and commenting.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was in the Army Air Force in WWII, and last year, my brother gave me some of his papers from that time showing that he didn't do so well in his flying training, so he ended up as a navigator. He was young, so only served at the very end of the war. Yet another thing I should blog about at some point!
ReplyDeleteYou are completely right! We can only fully understand our family when we know the place & times they lived in.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have these precious letters to read!
ReplyDeleteThose letters sound like a wonderful treasure! I wish we had WWII letters from either of my husband's grandfathers. By the way, I recently used Twisted Twigs and ordered the WWII info for both grandfathers. Only one has come in so far, but it had some wonderful treasures! Including a photo of this 21-year-old man who lived to be 92. What a treasure!
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