Small Family History Book Brings Wartime Activities to Life

Early this month, a young relative asked about our family in World War II. In response, I created a small (six inch by six inch) photobook focused mainly on the military service of my Dad, my two uncles, and my aunt. Bite-sized family history projects like this don't take a lot of time to prepare and don't overwhelm the audience with details--using images to bring ancestors and stories to life.

The cover (see above) shows the four focus ancestors, with a colorful border around each image. Even a small touch of color is important because the next generation has complained that "black and white is boring." The text is dark green, and the background is light tan, avoiding the dreaded black-and-white that makes eyes roll among my younger audience.

On the back cover, I repeated the two most colorful images from the inside pages. Top left, the unit shoulder patch from Dad's US Army unit. He was in the 3163d US Signal Service Company, and everything on that patch has significance, from the thunderbolts forming a V for victory to the blue star in a white background, which stands for the Army Service Forces, and the broken chains, freeing Europe from the Axis. I explained the significance inside the book.

Lower right on the back cover is the shoulder patch for the 9th US Air Force, to which my aunt's WAC unit was attached. This particular image is from that WAC's unit history, researched and written by my aunt, Sgt. Schwartz.

Inside, I also included a few sentences (with photos) about the military service of Dad and Mom's first cousins, noting that Mom was in the New York City Air Warden Service. 

This attractive bite-sized book has a hard cover and looks professional, with flashes of color throughout. Now the next generation will know that our Schwartz and Burk ancestors were active during World War II in the US Army, US Army Air Force, US Marines, US Navy, US WACs, and on the home front as well.

Repurposing Ancestor Stories to Share More Widely

Now that I've written a family history booklet about my mother (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) and her twin sister (Dorothy Helen Schwartz, 1919-2001), I'm repurposing the content to share more widely. The bite-sized stories are already written--why not condense, adapt, and post on multiple websites, sharing family history with a larger audience without spending a penny or a pound.

Another approach is to begin with a brief bio you post on a website like FamilySearch or Fold3 or Find a Grave or WikiTree, and use that as the basis for a written booklet or a photobook or some other family-history document for your family to enjoy.

Case Study: Choose Photos, Write Headline

Above, a snippet from the Fold3 memorial page for my aunt, WAC Sgt. Dorothy H. Schwartz, who served during World War II. She's not the first ancestor I've memorialized for free on Fold3, but she's the most recent--a good case study for how to repurpose content.

First, I selected and uploaded several images of my aunt that I had inserted into my booklet. Previously, I had cropped the images to remove extraneous background. For the main profile photo at top left of her Fold3 page, I uploaded a portrait she sent home to her family, prominently featuring the sergeant's stripes on her uniform.

Next, I wrote a headline for my story. My goal was to highlight not just my aunt's military background but also what she did in her life. Therefore, I included her military rank, her full name and dates, and the fact that she was a "decorated WAC" (she earned the Bronze Star in World War II) and, later, a high school teacher.

Case Study: Content for Story

Now I was ready to write the actual story. I consulted the booklet I wrote about my aunt for the main points to include. As context for my aunt's life, I wanted to say something about her family, her education, her specific role in the WACs, and what she did after her honorable discharge. This was covered in my booklet, so all I had to do was copy out sentences, condense where needed, and write smooth transitions.

In the five succinct paragraphs I wrote for the Fold3 memorial, I managed to say:

• Dorothy was a twin (I included her twin's name and their birthdate).
• She lived and went to school in the Bronx, NY, then went to Hunter College.
• She enlisted as a WAC and had a tense voyage across the Atlantic with 650 other WACs headed for Europe. 
• Exactly what her role was as a WAC, listening in as officers made decisions about bombing and transcribing her notes into written orders.
• Dorothy received the Bronze Star and wrote the history of her WAC unit.
• Dorothy returned to school for education courses, then taught at two Bronx high schools until retiring.
• She later became an advocate for renters' rights and consulted on retirement issues.
• When Dorothy died and what cemetery she's buried in (next to her twin).

Now the "family legend" of my aunt's meritorious service during World War II is memorialized for the world to see on Fold3. And I posted it on Find a Grave, too!

TY to Amy Johnson Crow for the #52Ancestors prompt of "Family Legend" for week #2 in the 2021 challenge.

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My presentation, "Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects," is part of the all-virtual New England Regional Genealogical Conference in April. I'll be sharing more tips for repurposing ancestor stories. Registration is now open!

The Thrill of Discovery, the Work of Writing

Isn't it exciting to discover something new about family history? I still remember cranking the old microfilm reader in a library and gasping audibly when I suddenly found my ancestor's record! 

Writing a Dorothy and Daisy Booklet

These days I've been clicking to do research as I work toward completing a family history booklet about my Mom and her twin sister (see cover of booklet at right). 

Mom and Dorothy lived in the Bronx, NY with their parents and brother until World War II began. Then their lives diverged during and after the war, with different career paths and different family situations.

Already, I've arranged 15 photos interspersed among 20 pages about the twins. I really want descendants to know more about these strong women in our family tree.

Fun and Work

Yet even during a pandemic year, when I have more time to focus on genealogy, I find that writing feels like work, whereas searching out new discoveries feels like fun. 

Just today, I made a small discovery: Dorothy's book about her WAC unit is listed in book about military women in World War II. I have the history she wrote, but it was just plain fun to find my aunt's postwar project acknowledged in this way! 

Sharing Discoveries Keeps Ancestors Alive

Future generations won't know very much more than the bare facts about the twins unless I stick to the hard work of writing about their lives and incorporating the fun discoveries I've made as well as memories of those who knew them so well. 

So I'm continuing to write one sentence at a time, and insert family photos one at a time, until I complete the joint story of Dorothy and Daisy. The finish line is in sight!

V-E Day for Farkas Family Members in the Service

My 1C1R Robert Farkas in the 303d Medical
Battn of 78th Infantry Division, U.S. Army

The June, 1945 meeting of my Farkas Family Tree was a joyous one, taking place just weeks after Victory in Europe Day on May 8.

This tree group had been formed in 1933 to maintain the close relationships among children and grandchildren of my immigrant ancestors, Moritz Farkas (1857-1936) and Lena Kunstler Farkas (1865-1938).

The "tree" met ten times a year, bringing together dozens of family members from around the New York City area.

During World War II, the highlight of every monthly meeting was when the group listened to the reading of letters written home by Farkas relatives serving in the military. Emotions ran high as the family hoped for the safe return home of all service members.

My aunt, Sgt. Dorothy Schwartz,
served as a WAC in WWII

When the Farkas Family Tree met in June of 1945, it was an especially happy occasion because of the Allied victory and pride in the role of family members who did their part. The minutes singled out the accomplishments of two family members in the service.

I'm highlighting in yellow the quoted excerpts from the minutes of June, 1945 to distinguish them from my explanations.

Sgt. Dorothy Schwartz - Bronze Star Medalist

"Dorothy, now in Belgium, seems to have had quite a riotous time on V-E Day." - This sentence refers to my Auntie, Sgt. Dorothy Schwartz (1919-2001), who was a WAC serving in Europe. She was in an important administrative support role for the 9th Air Force, and by the time of V-E Day, had been moved from France to Belgium as battles were fought and won. Alas, I don't have Dorothy's letter describing her "riotous time" but I am so glad to know that she celebrated.

"Dorothy was awarded the Bronze Star Medal." - In fact, my aunt's citation read: For "meritorious service in direct support of operations against the enemy." During 17 months of bombardment leading up to V-E Day, she took shorthand listening in as commanders discussed when and where to bomb the enemy. Her key role was to quickly and accurately transcribe the bombing orders so they could be distributed to flight commanders right away. She was always cognizant that lives were on the line, and she took her responsibilities very seriously, according to her letters home.

Technician 4th Class Robert Farkas - Three Battle Stars 

"Regional censorship being lifted in the ETO [European Theater of Operations], Bob wrote what he could about where he is and it wasn't much even though a 3d party was not reading the letters." - Robert "Bob" Farkas (1924-2014) had enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 18 and was part of the medical corps. After training, he was sent to England, France, Belgium, and Germany to provide care for wounded service members.

"Bob has three battle stars." - He served in B Company, 303d medical battalion of the 78th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, and I believe I spotted him in this photo of the 303d. He's smiling in the next-to-back row, 6th from the right. Bob was one of the most prolific of the letter-writers, sending home frequent descriptions of what he was doing and seeing during training and all over Europe. He wrote that he learned more from the aftermath of the first combat experience in Europe than he did from all of his previous training.

Let me salute all the servicepeople who participated in the Allied war effort leading up to V-E Day.

This is my post for week 19 of Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors genealogy prompts - service.

Genealogy, Free or Fee: Ask an Archivist!

In a recent entry, I told how I discovered that a letter written by my Aunt Dorothy H. Schwartz (1919-2001) was included in With Love, Jane, a compilation of correspondence from WWII servicewomen edited by Alma Lutz.

As shown in the table of contents at right, Sgt. Schwartz's letter was on p. 104, one of more than a dozen contributed by "Indispensable WACS."

My aunt's letter began with the salutation: "Dear ____" and had a vague date ("1943").

Who, I wondered, was my Auntie writing to? And when did she actually write the letter that wound up being printed?

I did an online search to find out more about Alma Lutz, and learned that her literary notes and other papers were in the archives of her alma mater, Vassar.

You know what I did next, right? I picked up the phone and called the archives, leaving word about my request for more information about the author's contact with my aunt.

An hour later, I had a return call from the archives! They were delighted to do a quick search for materials from my aunt. And an hour after that, I received an email from the archivist, attaching the pdfs of two V-mail letters from my aunt to Alma Lutz. (Thank you, wonderful archivist! No lengthy wait, no fee.)

You can see the second of the letters to Alma Lutz at top, in which my aunt claims not to remember who she was writing to, not even the approximate date of that letter.

As the archivist said in his email to me: "So, while I can't solve the mystery of 'Dear Blank,' I hope that I can at least provide a little context for its inclusion in the final volume."

The V-mails did indeed give me more background about my aunt and her wartime activities. Now you know why I suggest that researchers go ahead and "ask an archivist."

NOTE: For more "Free or Fee" tips for genealogy, please see my special page here.

Military Monday: "650 WACs Defy the Subs"

My aunt Dorothy Schwartz was one of 650 WACs in WWII who sailed aboard the RMS Aquitania from New York City on July 8, 1943, arriving at dusk a week later in Gourock, Scotland. It was a risky voyage because the ship sailed alone, without a convoy, under absolute secrecy. They never knew when a German submarine might follow or attack.

RMS Aquitania in Southampton, England

Before the trip, the WACs were held incommunicado at Camp Shanks in New Jersey (guarded by MPs) until they were taken by train to the ship. As historian of the WAC Detachment of the 9th Air Force, Auntie wrote that the WACs "enacted an Ellery Queen radio mystery drama concerning the importance of being security-minded."

Doris Fleeson's article is the cover story

Famed war correspondent Doris Fleeson sailed along with Auntie and her fellow WACs, as well as hundreds of British military personnel. Later that year, Fleeson's long article about the voyage was published in Women's Home Companion as "650 WACs Defy the Subs."

In reading Fleeson's article, I was struck by her mention of "gangplankitis," which she says is "the fear of boarding a ship that might be attacked. Men soldiers have succumbed to it. Sometimes they are hospitalized. Sometimes they are carried aboard. The Wacs entirely escaped gangplankitis."

Once the Aquitania docked and the WACs disembarked, they were met by dignitaries including US Army Captain Sherman, who told them: "You are here safely. The safety of the troops to come depends upon your discretion." Quite a solemn welcome to WACs who would help the Air Force coordinate bombing of enemy targets.

The oral history of Mary Williams Elder was another good source of info about what it was like to be aboard the Aquitania as one of the 650 WACs.

NOTE: This is my "Uniqueness" post for the April 2018 "Genealogy Blog Party" by Elizabeth O'Neal.